Murderville 2: The Epidemic (22 page)

“I can appreciate a man in your position, Po,” she said as she leaned into him. “I’m not happy with Omega. He doesn’t realize how good of a woman I am.”

“That’s his first mistake,” Po said. “Cuz you’re a different breed, ma.” He gently touched her chin and brought her face near his own.

“Here is the dessert menu,” the waiter said, interrupting them and causing Po to back up uncomfortably. Dahlia shot daggers at the waiter with her eyes. She could kill him for stopping the kiss that Po was about to give her.

Po stood and threw money on the table. “I think we’re done,” he said. “Keep the change, my man.”

Po was slightly tipsy and knew that it was time to conclude the evening. His loneliness mixed with his intoxication was causing his judgment to be off. He began to walk out of the restaurant and Dahlia was livid as she walked behind him, mad that her evening was suddenly cut short.

When they arrived home Po closed himself in his office and Dahlia changed into something more comfortable. A black lace camisole and black kimono robe barely covered her bottom as she walked through the house. She went down to the wine cellar feeling the need to take the edge off with a bottle of vintage Brunello.

The cellar was dark, only lit by the dim recessed lighting
that Po had installed. Dahlia grabbed a bottle and turned to leave. She jumped when she saw Po standing behind her.

“Oh my God. I didn’t even hear you,” Dahlia screeched as she put a hand over her racing heart.

“Looks like we both were thinking the same thing,” Po said, pointing to the bottle she gripped in her hand. “The finest bottle in the cellar. You are a kingpin’s wife, ain’t you?” he chuckled.

“Share a bottle with me?” she asked. She grabbed his hand, and they went back to the kitchen.

He reached for the glasses and Dahlia came up behind him, pressing her body against his back. “You go sit down. I’ll serve you,” she said. He could feel her hardened nipples through the fabric of his shirt, and he stepped to the side as he sat at the island, watching her fix his drink.

As she reached up the fabric of her kimono rose slightly higher then her behind and showed the bottom half of her ass cheeks. Po looked away.

“We never toasted,” she said as she handed him a glass. “To new beginnings. I think the million dollars we made today proves that we are very good together. To us.”

Po tapped his glass against hers, and they sipped the wine. It wasn’t long before they went through half the bottle.

“Wine is my vice,” she said as she slipped out of the kimono, showing the lace camisole lingerie she wore underneath. “It always makes my temperature rise.”

Po cleared his throat and turned his head, trying to be respectful.

“You can look,” Dahlia said. She stood and stepped in
between his legs. He stood, and she stepped closer as she reached up to kiss his lips.

Her lips were so soft that Po devoured her, lifting her so that her ass rested in his hands and her legs were wrapped around his waist. She grinded her pussy into his crotch as his thick nine inches hardened. Po’s hands were gentler than Omega’s. Po explored her body with the intensity of a roughneck, but the smoothness of a Casanova, electrifying every part he touched. He reached to slide her panties to the side and realized that there was no fabric to move. She was soaking wet and rained on his fingers as he massaged her clit. Po knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he was mad at Liberty for walking out on him. She just ran away from him when he needed her to stand by him and support him. When shit got thick, Liberty deserted him. He needed someone who understood his lifestyle; one who would trust his decisions no matter how bad they seemed.

Po turned Dahlia around and bent her over the island, then slid himself inside of her. His girth took her breath away as he slid in and out of her. She felt his pain as he fucked her hard. His sweat fell onto her back as he held her hips and dug deeper inside of her womanhood, causing her to run. He pulled her back, filling her until her legs shook. He grunted. She moaned. He moaned. She growled. Their bodies flowed to the same rhythm.

He turned her around, lifting her onto the granite island, then slid into her again. His hands ripped her lingerie to shreds as he freed her breasts and took the chocolate
mounds into his mouth, suckling on her nipples. The shit was so good that Dahlia called his name repeatedly, “Ooh, Po. Daddy, fuck me! Baby, it’s so good. I knew this dick was good.” Dahlia was losing her mind. Po was putting in work. She felt her orgasm building. “I’m cumming, Po . . . ooh, baby, I’m cumming,” she whispered, as ecstasy took her there. Po made sure that every drop of her love came down before he followed her, pulling out of her cookie jar just in time. He held his head down as he moved away from her and leaned against the adjacent countertop. Dahlia came up behind him and rubbed his head from behind.

“It’s okay, Po,” Dahlia said. “If it ever came down to it, Po, I’d choose you. Over Omega, over Liberty, over everything . . . I’d choose you. So when the time comes for you to decide, remember that, Po. I can be your queen. You deserve loyalty, Po, and so do I.”

Dahlia didn’t want to crowd him. She had just given him the best shot of his life and had put her cards on the table letting him know that she was his, if he wanted her to be. A man of his status needed a chick like her. Liberty couldn’t handle Po. It would only be a matter of time before her good girl act began to bore him.

*    *    *

Speechless, Liberty stared at the small white stick. The pink plus sign confirmed her suspicions. She was pregnant. Mixed emotions filled her as her hands instinctively went to her flat belly. She turned to the side and lifted her shirt. She miraculously felt pregnant. All of a sudden her nipples hurt. She felt bloated, and the nausea she had been feeling
lately took a turn for the worse. Confirming it seemed to bring on all the symptoms at once.

Liberty rushed to the bed and grabbed one of the decorative square pillows off the hotel bed, then ran back to the bathroom mirror. She stuffed the pillow under her shirt and tried to imagine how she would look when her belly started to grow. Tears came to her eyes. She was happy, sad, mad, glad, all at the same time. She had always imagined being a mother, but not under these circumstances. In her dreams she saw A’shai’s little nappy-headed boy and beautiful girl. In reality, she was pregnant by Po, and although she loved him, theirs was an imperfect love . . . an unlikely love . . . an incompatible love.

I don’t have to tell him,
Liberty thought. It had been three weeks since she had left him, and he had yet to come for her. Liberty had enough money to walk away and raise her child without him.
I could just run away and be a good mother to my baby. I could find my happiness,
she thought. The feeling of having life inside of her gave Liberty a newfound view on her existence.
I’m gonna be somebody’s mother. You sure you know what you’re doing with that one, God?
She chuckled at the thought; she would be clueless when the time came. She would have so many questions and no one to go to for answers, but she was confident that she would make it through. Now, someone else depended on her. She had no choice but to get things right.

She instantly began to feel selfish as she thought of Po. It was his baby too. Didn’t he deserve to know that they had
created life together? She was so confused that she didn’t know what to do. Picking up her cell she texted Dahlia:

CAN YOU MEET ME FOR LUNCH
IN THE LOBBY OF MY HOTEL?

Dahlia received the text as she lay in Po’s bed, basking in the afterglow of their sex session. Po had put her body through things that she had never experienced before, giving her pleasure through the night as he sexed away his frustration. They both knew that they had crossed a line, but he liked the ease of being with Dahlia. She wasn’t hard to please. Dahlia got up from bed and quietly crept out of the room, not wanting to wake a sleeping Po. She replied to Liberty, letting her know that she was on her way. Dahlia showered quickly and dressed before racing out to meet Liberty.

Dahlia entered the restaurant with large Chanel shades covering her eyes. Liberty sat at a table in the corner of the room, sipping a cup of hot tea as Dahlia approached from behind.
She’s so green. She’s affiliated with Po. Her back should never be to the door,
Dahlia thought as she shook her head. It was clear that Liberty wasn’t the type of girl for Po. Someone like Liberty made Po accessible. She made him touchable. Dahlia was trying to make him untouchable. She plastered a smile on her face and sat across from Liberty.

“Hi, Liberty,” Dahlia said. “I miss you. Is everything okay?” She sounded so concerned that she almost convinced herself that she was sincere. It wasn’t that she
didn’t care for Liberty, because she did. Liberty just happened to be standing in the way of something that Dahlia wanted.

“I’m pregnant,” Liberty blurted out, unable to keep the news to herself any longer. She had to share it with someone. She needed help deciding what she should do next.

“You’re
what
?” Dahlia snapped.

Taken aback by her cousin’s sharp tone, Liberty frowned. “I’m pregnant,” she said again, this time more firmly.

“I’m sorry, Liberty. You just shocked me is all,” Dahlia replied. “What are you going to do?” she asked. This was the worst news that Dahlia could be hit with. She knew that as soon as Po found out about this baby that he would go running back to Liberty.

“I don’t know,” Liberty admitted. “A part of me wants to take this baby and just disappear.”

“You’re going to have it?” Dahlia asked. “Do you think that’s smart? You have options, Liberty. What kind of father do you think Po will be? He’s a drug dealer, and he’s dealing illegal diamonds internationally. How long do you think he’ll even be free? Men like him aren’t family men, Liberty.”

Liberty’s brow dipped in concern because the reality that Dahlia was feeding her was the brutal truth. Her life was not a fairy tale.

“I can’t have this baby,” Liberty concluded.

Dahlia sighed in silent relief. “I’m so sorry you are going through this, Liberty.”

“I’m just glad that I have you. Thanks for listening,” Liberty said.

Liberty sat still as Dahlia rose.

“You’re leaving?” Liberty asked.

“I’m sorry, Liberty, but I can’t stay. I’m going out of town to meet another jewelry buyer for Po. I’ll check up on you when I get back,” Dahlia promised. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Liberty. We both know firsthand how cruel the world can be. We’ve been beaten, raped, kidnapped, left for dead . . . Do you really want to birth a baby into such a cold place? Who is going to protect that baby, Liberty? We couldn’t even protect ourselves.”

Dahlia knew that she had hit a nerve. Liberty was too sensitive not to consider her past when deciding about her future. She reached down and gave Liberty a supportive squeeze on the shoulder, then walked out of the restaurant. As she retrieved her car from the valet, she looked back at Liberty through the large glass windows. Worry covered her face, and she could see her cousin wiping away tears.
Oh dear cousin,
she thought without remorse,
just abort that fucking baby. You’re the only thing standing in my way. Remove yourself—before I do it for you.
Dahlia hid her cruel intentions behind her sunglasses as she
grabbed her keys from the valet worker, then hopped into her car, speeding away.

EIGHTEEN

AYO RANG PO’S DOORBELL THE NEXT MORNING
and was caught off guard when Dahlia answered, half-naked, with a wineglass in her hand. He frowned slightly, then stepped around her before she even invited him inside.

“Good morning to you too,” she mumbled as she closed the door.

Ayo looked her up and down. “Don’t you want to put some fucking clothes on? Omega know you walking around this bitch looking like a street whore?” he asked, disgusted at Dahlia’s behavior. Ayo had grown up in Sierra Leone and had strict ideas of how a woman should behave. This was not the Dahlia that he had watched on Omega’s arm. He was an expert at weeding out snakes, and now he was staring one in the eyes.
Snake-ass bitch,
he thought, while shaking his head.

“Don’t you want to mind your own business?” she snapped back. “What are you, Omega’s
bitch
or something?”

Ayo was about to respond, but Po entered the room, disrupting their hostile exchange. Ayo turned his attention to Po, and Dahlia retreated to her room, both putting their differences aside for now. Ayo made it a point to make sure he put in a call to Omega. Dahlia thought that she was free to do as she pleased in Los Angeles, but Omega always covered his bases. The moment she touched down, Ayo had been keeping tabs on her. He just didn’t want to play her too closely. He would give her just enough rope to hang herself. He hoped that Po didn’t fall for the bait that she was blatantly throwing out because if so, Omega would mark him a dead man.

“What up, fam?” Po greeted.

“I’ve got three more buyers, and one of them is out of Korea,” Ayo explained.

Po’s eyebrows arose in surprise. “Korea?” he questioned.

“Korea,” Ayo confirmed. “And he has connections to every major city this way: L.A., Chicago, New York. He’s royalty over there . . . an emperor’s nephew.”

Po saw green as he thought of how much money he could make if this connection went through. He would be the largest diamond supplier in the States if he linked up with the Asian market. Everyone knew that niggas never connected with the Asians. They kept their hustles exclusive. For Po to make that deal would be major. Not even Omega had been able to secure an alliance in the Orient.

“There’s only one catch,” Ayo said.

“What’s that?” Po asked.

“He’s on the U.S. Most Wanted list. He’s considered a
threat to your country. If you’re caught doing business with him, it will be considered treason,” Ayo warned.

“If I don’t get caught it’s a gold mine,” Po replied, weighing the other option.

“More money than you can count,” Ayo answered.