CHAPTER 25
G
utta had just come back from taking a swim in the pool at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Dallas. He felt calm and clearheaded as he dried himself off with an extra thick towel, ready to take on his new environment. Shy was in his own room a couple of doors down sexing some freak he had met in the lobby the night before. They had come to Texas to work, but Gutta let Shy do his thing because he had that sexy little chick Pilar on his mind.
They had been texting each other back and forth ever since the day he'd followed her to the mall. Gutta played the half-witty, half-aggressive role with her and kept her laughing. She tried to act tough and was a little stubborn and high-siddity but he could work with that. He knew it was gonna be a challenge to get her to lead him through those Dominion gates so he could get close to Mink, but he was up for it and ready to take control of the situation.
He had just stretched out on the crisp hotel sheets when his phone rang. He grinned his ass off when he saw who the caller was.
“W'sup caramel,” Gutta said as he answered the phone.
“Hi Gutta, what are you up to? Did I catch you at a bad time?” Pilar asked. Her voice sounded real sweet, but of course she was thinking he might be laid up with some other bitch.
“Naw ma, not all,” Gutta reassured her. “I actually just came from swimming me some laps in the pool and shit, trying to wake my body up. I'm glad you called me though, how is your morning going?”
“I'm straight. I'm about to go get a mani and pedi in a little bit,” Pilar said as she admired herself in her bedroom mirror and thought about Gutta's huge arms wrapped around her small waist. She admitted to herself that a thug like Gutta was intriguing, and fucking with borderline lame niggas like Barron had gotten her absolutely nowhere. She'd never been with a street dude before, but after fucking with Bump it was time for her to switch her style up. Out with the old and in with the new.
“So what you got planned for the day? My family's having a little BBQ later on,” she told him. “I was wondering if you'd like to join meâI mean if you don't have anything else already planned.”
Gutta played it cool. “I got a few business meetings I gotta hit up and see what's shaking,” he lied. “But that shouldn't take all day. I should be done kinda early, but don't be taking me to some shit where they don't know how to cook cause a nigga likes to grub and I'ma let 'em know about it.”
Pilar laughed. She was digging his aggressiveness and when she thought about it he was just what she needed. Barron was going to be at the BBQ and she wanted him to see her flossing with a strong and thorough nigga by her side. Especially one that was paid. She started scheming on how she could get some money in her pocket, some good dick in her drawers, and some get-back at Barron's ass all at the same time. Gutta seemed like the perfect candidate to make all that shit happen at once.
“I tell you what,” Pilar said, grinning her ass off. “If they don't know how to cook and the grub's not slamming, then I'll take you somewhere and let you eat something else, okay?”
“Oh yeah?” Gutta responded smoothly. “Well, I'm the type who likes to eat candy, baby. That real sweet kinda candy.”
“You so crazy,” Pilar said, giggling like a shy little girl, even though on the low the way he said that shit had her squirming in her drawers. “Get ya mind out of the gutta . . . Gutta.”
Gutta laughed with her, hyped as hell that his plan was working out even better than he'd expected. Pilar would be his key into that damn mansion. Instead of doing it Harlem style and bum-rushing up in that bitch, he would ride there in style, straight through the front fuckin' door. That shit was perfect 'cause when he caught up with Mink he needed her to know that she wasn't safe nowhere. Not from a nigga like him. Gutta laughed out loud as he hung up the phone and dug in his bag to get something to wear.
Let the mothafuckin' festivities begin!
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It was BBQ time and the tantalizing smell of smoked meat permeated the air. Suge had just lapped and tapped Mink into a frenzy in her suite, then he took a quick shower with her and they smoked some good weed together. That piff had his head nice and buzzed, while the sex his baby had laid on him had his balls humming too. Mink was picking out her outfit when he kissed her good-bye and told her he'd meet her at the 'que, and then headed upstairs to his own suite to get dressed.
Suge entered his cool suite and grabbed a beer outta the fridge and then dressed in a pair of casual slacks and a smooth navy blue shirt. He was a chill, handsome dude and his brawny, muscled-up body was a sight to behold as he headed downstairs and out the back door to join the party that was already in full swing.
Young people were swarming all over the backyard. There was a mix of college graduates and young community organizers who had the spirit of volunteerism in their blood and were passionate about the politics of the day. They had licked stamps, knocked on doors, and made thousands of cold calls trying to strum up as many votes for their favorite candidate as they could. This barbeque was for them, held in their honor as a thank-you from the Dominion family for all the support they had shown Viceroy over the past few weeks.
Mingling in the crowd and greeting the guests was something Suge knew he had to do, and he was damn good at it too. He stopped to shoot the shit with a couple of young bruhs and flirted a lil bit with a few old ladies from the Rotary Club, and after making the rounds one good time he settled down in an extra-long lounge chair to enjoy another beer.
He was kicked back and dozing under the sunshine and getting him a little snore on when a chill washed over him that felt like somebody had thrown a bucket of shade over the sun.
“Hello, Superior.”
Goddamn
. The voice was slick and cool, but there was no doubt about who had called out his name.
“Lil Bit.” He opened his eyes and peered up at her as she loomed directly over him blocking out the sunlight. “I was just about to come pick you up, baby. I must've dozed off for a minute. Damn! I'm probably late. What time is it?”
“Oh, you're not late,” Miyoko said, her sly eyes flashing. “But I bet I'm pretty early, huh?”
Suge sat up slowly and looked around. This was gonna be a good one. By now Mink was probably flouncing around out here somewhere getting her barbeque on. No doubt she was gonna act a damn fool if she peeped Miyoko sniffing around anywhere near him.
“You told me the barbeque was on
Sunday
.” Miyoko narrowed her eyes and accused him with her hand on her hip.
Suge stood up slowly and scratched his head as his eyes swept over the lively crowd. “Looks like we got us a pretty good crowd going so it must be Sunday then, huh?”
Miyoko pouted. “We had a goddamn deal, Superior! You asked me to do something for you and I asked you to do something for me in return! I'm beginning to think you aren't serious about upholding your end of our agreement.” She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I'm not sure I trust you enough to take you to see my father tomorrow. Even if I could figure out where he's keeping those papers, I probably couldn't convince him not to testify in front of that panel next week.”
“Don't get hasty,” Suge said, reaching out and snaking his hand around her tiny waist. “I made a mistake, sugar,” he schmoozed her with a wet kiss on the neck. “C'mon, now, Lil Bit.” He slid his hand down her back and pinched her lightly on the ass. “Don't be like that. I told you I was a bad boy, didn't I?”
Miyoko smiled and basked in his affection for a few moments, and Suge knew she'd decided to forgive him when she asked, “Have you eaten yet?”
He tilted his half-empty bottle of beer at her. “Yeah, if you call this liquid shit food.”
She took it from him and grinned, then locked her eyes on him as she raised the bottle to her pink mouth and made the amber beverage disappear. Smacking her lips lightly, she stuck her tongue out and ran it around the rim of the bottle, and then smiled and glanced around.
“Everything smells absolutely wonderful. How about we walk around for a little while and then grab a bite to eat?”
Suge reached out and took her hand. He was down for whatever. As long as she wasn't talking about calling off that goddamn meeting with her father tomorrow, then he was her chocolate fuckin' puppet. All she had to do was pull his strings and he'd dance like a muthafucka.
Miyoko stuck right up under him as Suge went around introducing her to the campaigners in the upbeat crowd of young people.
“Oh! I see your brother over there,” Miyoko exclaimed, pointing toward a large tent where Viceroy sat at a table surrounded by staffers who were hanging off his every word. A certain somebody was sitting at the table too, and the sight of her gorgeous face made Suge wanna pull up and dig his feet in the dirt right where he stood.
“C'mon.” Miyoko tugged at his hand. “Let's go over so I can say hello.”
Suge had known this moment was coming and he wasn't shrinking under the pressure and he wasn't about to back away from it neither. There came a time in every man's life where he had to make some tough, life-changing choices, and today Suge was gonna have to make his.
“Sup,” he called out to Viceroy as him and Miyoko walked up to the table holding hands. “You remember Miyoko, don't you?” Suge asked his brother as he presented her to the entire table. “Wally Su's daughter?”
Viceroy was born to be a politician because he was smooth as shit. As bad as he wanted that bastard Su dead his face broke apart in a huge smile. “Miyoko! Look at you. All grown up. You were barely more than a teenager the last time I saw you and now you're a beautiful young woman. I bet Wally is damn proud of you. Tell him his old partner said hello.”
“Lil Bit, this is my nephew Dane,” Suge said, ignoring the heat that was coming at him from the other side of the table and showboating Miyoko like a prize, just the way she wanted him to. “He just got out of college and he's working for the family now.”
“How you doing,” Dane said quickly and stood up to shake the chick's hand. “Yo, Pops.” He turned to Viceroy. “I'm about to take off for a minute and head across town to see about something. I'll be back in aâ”
“Ah-hem!”
Bunni stood up from the table and put her hand on her hip. Her cherry-fireâcolored dreadlocks spiraled out from her head in a mass of funky waves and her oversized hoop earrings dangled from her ears.
“Dane and Papa Doo ain't the only ones who need attention at this here table!” she said sassily, her eyes shooting daggers as she twisted her lips toward Mink. “Did you forget about somebody?”
“My bad,” Suge said, turning Miyoko back toward the table. “Lil Bit, this is my niece Mink and her friend Bunni. They're fromâ”
“Niece?” Mink shrieked jumping to her feet and spilling her cold beer. “Oh, so now you gonna front me off like I'm just your
niece
?”
“Yep, 'cause that's what you are,” Dane said grabbing Mink's arm and spinning her around toward him. “His niece and my sister.” He took the beer from her hand and grinned as he walked her away. “My very loud and lovely sister.”
“Really, Suge?” Mink snapped over her shoulder, fighting against Dane as he tried to muscle her toward the house. “
Really
?”
“
Uncle
Suge,” her boo corrected her loudly, grabbing Miyoko's hand again and intertwining their fingers together in a chocolate and vanilla swirl. “It's
Uncle
Suge to you, baby girl. Get it right. You ain't that grown yet.”
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If Suge thought us two Harlem heffahs were through with him then he didn't know shit about shit because we were just getting started.
“I'm fuckin' him up!” I bitched as we fell inside the mansion with Dane damn near dragging us through the door. “I
knew
his gaming ass was up to something slick! He's been ducking out and fronting on me for a minute and now I know why!”
“Niggas!” Bunni's voice was full of disgust as she shook her head and twisted her lips. “Did you see how that mofo walked up on us holding that trick's hand? Like we wasn't gonna have shit to say about it? I knew something was up with his ass from the beginning!”
“Y'all chill out with all that,” Dane said soothingly as he put his arm around me. “I got some Kush that's so sweet it'll make you forget all about that sexy-ass lil freak on Suge's arm.”
“That's the same bitch I saw him with on TV that night! I ignored Dane and kept yappin. That nigga musta been straight up blind because that scrawny-ass heffa was
not
sexy! “Yeah, Bunni, that's the same trick he was cheesing up with on the red carpet at the Met Gala.”
“Then we gots to go our asses back out there,” Bunni said, pacing the floor and snatching off her earrings. “That nigga puttin you to shame, Mink. He's just disrespectful. We can't let no shit like that slide. We gotta go back out there and clobber his ass!”
“Y'all ain't going no damn where,” a deep voice boomed as Suge walked through the back door looking like a muscled-up gunslinger.
Me and Bunni froze for a second. But only for a goddamn second.
“Who the hell was that bitch!”
“Don't be telling us what the hell we can do!”
“I can't believe you brought that bony-ass drink of water up in here!”
“Uh-uh nigga! You got some 'splaining to do!”
We sounded like a room full of cackling hens as we posted up and launched verbal bombs at him from all directions.