Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 (The Saga Continues)

(The Saga Continues)

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Cheaper to Keep Her part 2. Copyright 2011 by K.S. Publications. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Publisher’s address:

K.S. Publications

P.O. Box 68878

Virginia Beach, VA 23471

Website: www.kikiswinson.net

Email: [email protected]

ISBN-13: 978-0984529056

ISBN-10: 0-984529055

First Edition: May 2011

1098765

Editors: JWooden & Karen Johnson

Interior & Cover Design: Davida Baldwin (OddBalldsgn.com)

Cover Photo: Davida Baldwin

A Sticky Situation

Sleeping with the Enemy (with Wahida Clark)

Heist (with Denesha Diamond)

Cheaper to Keep Her part 1

Wife Extraordinaire part 1 (Brand New Wifey series

Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

I was so happy to be out of jail. But I was happier to know that Neeko’s brother, Bishop, wanted Duke’s head on a platter more than I did. I could see the rage in Katrina’s eyes. She also wanted a piece of Duke. He was a man in desire and that desire was called death.

But I really wasn’t trying to fuck with Katrina like that. After all the shit I went through with Diamond, I’d never trust another woman. Chicks were more grimy than niggas, so I knew I would deal with Bishop more so than her.

Katrina instructed the driver to drop everyone off at her place. I had no idea if she meant for me to get dropped off with her and Bishop, because she had not mentioned it to me. Hell, it didn’t matter whatever plans she had up her sleeves for me, I was ready for anything, especially since I was no longer behind bars.

During the course of the drive I found myself staring out the side window. I looked at the cars that passed by us. I even glanced up at the birds in the sky and it felt really good to be able to see these things. Not only was I free in the physical, I was free in the mind. I’d always taken things for granted in the past, but now I’ve decided to take life more seriously and I vowed to never let another person take me out of my circle. My loyalty for others never meant shit to them, so now I’m going to do me. I’m going to take care of Lynise. And whoever has a problem with it, will just have to deal with it. I had one mission and that’s to get what’s due to me. And if I’ve got to die in the process, then so be it.

When the driver pulled up to Katrina’s spot, he hopped out of the driver seat and rushed to open the door for her. One by one, we all filed out. First Katrina, exited the limo, followed by Bishop and then me. When I stood up on both feet, I looked at Bishop from head to toe. This guy was definitely easy on the eyes. He was every bit of six feet tall. Plus, I could tell he had a nice fit body underneath his blue Vintage bottom down shirt and his blue denim Rock & Republic jeans. The way he walked and carried himself reminded me of Denzel Washington.

I’ve always found older men more attractive than younger cats. In my experience, older men had a settled down mentality about them. While younger guys acted as if they had to jump from pillow to post. Bishop personified the quiet confidence of his generation and he was looking really good to me right now. I knew I was dead wrong for sizing him up like I was doing, especially since I had just gotten out of jail. And why was I in jail . . . because of the dirty work of my ex-lover, who also happened to be an older gentleman.

Damn, I have issues. That thought wasn’t too far from the truth. I mean, you would think I had had enough of men who were ten to fifteen years my senior. But hell, I had just gotten out of jail and truthfully, I didn’t know if I would spend my remaining years on earth in a six-by-six cell with bars. So I was in serious need of being held by somebody’s man. Unfortunately for me, Katrina broke my train of thought by giving Bishop and me instructions on what to do next.

I stood next to Bishop and gave Katrina my undivided attention. As she began to speak, I couldn’t help but take inventory of the lady. She was the average height of most women, around five-five, five-six, but she had the demeanor and intrinsic strength of a man. She wasn’t masculine, that wasn’t the strength she displayed. She was a woman who knew how to get from point A to point B in the blink of an eye. I could sense she had a hardheadedness about her. She was very attractive. It was easy to see why Neeko was so in love with her. She looked as if she was around my age. But she was a tiny little thing. There was no question in my mind that she weighed maybe a hundred and ten pounds soak and wet. She kind of reminded me of a thinner Meagan Good, except Meagan’s long hair was real and Katrina was famous for sporting long and curly lace front wigs.

She looked directly at Bishop and said, “I have to call the funeral director back so we can finalize all the arrangements. So while I’m doing that why don’t you take Lynise back to your hotel and wait for me to call you.”

“How long you think that’s gonna take you? Because remember I got some things to do myself and I also need to go out to the mall to pick out a suit.”

“It won’t take me long,” Katrina said and then she looked down at her wristwatch. “It’s almost noon, so give me until around five o’clock this evening to get back with you.”

Bishop gave her a nod of approval. “All right. Five o’clock it is,” he replied as he turned his attention towards me. “Come on, let’s go,” he instructed me.

I began to follow him towards an all-white late model Suburban, with New Jersey license plates. The windows were slightly tinted but he kept the rims factory. I jumped inside and sat down in the passenger seat. The smell of new leather filled the entire truck. I took in the new car smell and exhaled. And then I laid my head back against the headrest. I closed my eyes for a brief minute to soak in the moment.

Bishop cranked up the ignition and pulled away from Katrina’s house. As he drove away my curiosity prompted me to open my eyes. I looked out the passenger side window at Katrina while she proceeded towards her house. Even though I frequent the Virginia Beach area, I had never been to this part of town. Initially, I hadn’t noticed since I had sat in the back of the limo, but Katrina lived in a gated community. She and her neighbors’ homes had to be in the neighborhood of at least a half million dollars or more. I knew Neeko had made a substantial amount of money at the club, but I had no idea he made the type of money to be able to afford this home. I mean, the club only had a packed house on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. And even then, I still couldn’t see him forking over six figures to maintain such an expensive residence.

If you asked me, he’d probably had some illegal shit going on like Duke. Since he was now six feet under, I would probably never know the real truth. Immediately after Katrina entered the house, I turned my attention towards Bishop. “Mind stopping by a fast food spot so I can get something to put on my stomach?” I asked.

“Sure. Where you wanna get something to eat from?” he replied.

I hunched my shoulders. “At this point I could care less,” I told him.

I couldn’t lie, my stomach felt as if it was in my back. Plus, I continued to hear my stomach growl so that was confirmation that I was on E. So if Bishop offered me a bowl of uncooked hotdogs I would have eaten it up in a matter of seconds. Fortunately for me, that didn’t happen. After driving for only three miles, Bishop stopped by the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach.

Immediately, an eerie feeling came over me. It started in my stomach. Duke and I used to frequent this very same restaurant when I lived in Duke’s condo, which was located at the end of this block. All of the restaurant employees knew me. How could they not? Hell, I used order takeout at lease four times a week and on top of that, I used to tip well.

That was my first concern. The second and more important concern was my appearance. I looked a hot damn mess with my hair braided back in fucking jailhouse cornrows. To bring it home, my face was bare and I knew I looked like shit without my make-up. Plus, the temperature was at least one hundred degrees outside and I had on the exact same velour sweat suit I was arrested in.

What am I gonna to do about this situation?

For one, I knew I couldn’t play myself and go inside the restaurant because I was bound to be recognized. Two, I looked like an ex-con and to make matters worse, I even looked like some jailhouse chick’s bitch. So to keep the whispering down to a minimum, I elected to stay inside Bishop’s truck. I thought he would try to persuade me to do otherwise but he didn’t. As a matter of fact, after I told him about my ties to this area, he decided to take me back to his hotel room and we would order pizza instead. I was okay by his decision to do that.

When he pulled up to the Hilton, which was only one block from the Cheesecake Factory and the exact same distance from the Cosmopolitan Building, I developed an eerie feeling in my stomach because I used to frequent this area when I lived in Duke’s condominium. Bishop looked at me and said, “Don’t worry. We’re not gonna be here long.”

Even after he told me we weren’t going to be here long, I hesitated before I open the passenger side door. This area of Virginia Beach made me feel really uneasy. Duke was well known. People in this area knew him because he was a popular socialite. So the thought of running into him or someone who knew him or our history was kind of getting to me.

I was concerned and in my mind I wondered if I was overreacting. This man, Bishop, seemed as if he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But my concern focused on knowing how sinister Duke was. Additionally, I knew how coldhearted the men who worked for him was. Then it hit me, or I should say something inside of me connected the dots and convinced that I’d be all right. After all, I was with this man called Bishop.

After a couple of minutes of much thought, I let my guard down and stepped outside of the truck. Bishop escorted me inside of the hotel lobby and then he led me onto the elevator. The elevator took us to the fifth floor. Bishop’s room was only a couple doors down from the elevator. He stuck his key card inside the lock and let us both inside. I took a seat on the sofa next to the bed and watched as Bishop picked up the remote control. He handed it to me after he pressed the power button.

“Here. Turn it to whatever you want to watch while I order the pizza.”

“Okay,” I responded and took the remote. I pressed down on the channel button and sifted through the channels until I came across a re-run of the Jamie Fox show, which was my favorite show. I tuned into the show to take my mind off everything that was going on in my life. Unfortunately, that was short lived when I heard a knock at the hotel room’s door. I nearly jumped out of my seat. Bishop looked at me like I had lost my damn mind.

“It’s okay. I’m sure it’s just the pizza delivery guy,” he assured me.

I exhaled. Breathe. I have to breathe. I was still somewhat leery until he opened the door and I heard the conversation that transpired between him and the pizza delivery guy. Once Bishop paid him, the guy thanked Bishop and left. The moment the door closed, it felt as if a huge load was lifted from my shoulders. I swear, being in this area of Virginia Beach spooked the hell out of me. If I had things my way, I wouldn’t be here at all. I would be knocking on the front door of my ex-boy friend, Devin. And he’d love it too. He’d relish in the moment of me having to crawl back to him and beg him to let me come back to live with him.

Beside Diamond’s grimy ass, I had nobody else I could go to for help. So he would had eaten this shit up! Now I can’t say what’s gonna happen with me, Bishop and Katrina. But whatever they had in mind, I needed to be included in on it, because at this point, I didn’t have a penny to my name or a place I could call my own. And before we departed ways, I was gonna have to come up with a solid plan to get back on my grind. And whether Bishop and Katrina knew it or not, they were going to be the ones to help me.

I was the third member of their Musketeer act.