Black Friday: Exposed Read online

  Run Alija! Move before this nigga kills you too!

  When the words finally registered in her brain, Alija took off. Instinctively, she descended the steps two at a time with her shoes in hand. The gunshot had been so loud that it felt like bells were going off in her ears. “Oh shit ... oh shit,” she whispered as she felt herself becoming nauseous. Vomit tickled the back of her throat as she tried her hardest to hold it down before it erupted.

  “Yo!” Kasheef yelled after her as he ran up on her and grabbed her elbow. She fought him viciously, slapping and kicking for her life.

  “No! Let me go! You killed him!” she gasped as she tried her hardest to free herself from his hold. “Please ... please I won’t tell. I swear to God!” Their struggle ensued, but when Alija finally snatched her arm away from him she lost her bearings and the long fall down the remainder of the stairs introduced her face to the hard cement floor. She felt the pain that echoed throughout her limbs, but she couldn’t afford to let it slow her down. Frantically, she attempted to stand. Before she could get off of the ground, Kasheef had descended the steps and blocked her path to safety.

  “Calm the fuck down!” he growled menacingly as he grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her until she was quiet.

  “Oh my God. You killed him,” she whispered as she doubled over crying. She was unable to silence herself, but afraid of the retributions for making so much noise.

  “Listen,” he said through closed teeth as he grabbed her chin. His gaze penetrated through her and she could see her impending death in his eyes. “You ain’t see shit, you don’t know shit, nah mean?”

  She nodded up and down. With her fear controlling her reflexes she shook violently as she cried uncontrollably. She was unable to stop the sobs that were spilling out of her, but she tried desperately; afraid that if she did not be quiet than Kasheef would surely murder her where she stood.

  “Go home ... and keep your fucking mouth shut, you heard?”

  She raised her shaking hands in front of her defensively and replied, “Thank you. I swear I won’t say anything.”

  Kasheef watched her walk out of the club. He knew that he had broken the number one rule and that was to never ever leave any witnesses, but something had held him back from taking the young girl’s life. He did not like the fear that he could cause another person to have. The look of terror on the girl’s face frightened even Kasheef. He was afraid of the amount of power he held. He felt inhumane and sometimes resented the cruelty and suffering he had inflicted in the streets. He watched as Alija sped off recklessly from the scene and then placed a call to some of his goons. He needed to get the body out of his office and he needed to do it quick.

  Alija rushed into her two bedroom apartment and made sure she locked the dead bolt behind her. “Oh my God! What just happened ... what in the fuck just happened,” she repeated over and over again as she paced back and forth over the hardwood floor. “How did I get myself into this?” she asked herself as tears fell from her eyes. She could not get the scene out of her head. The blood—so much blood, and the deafening blast of the gunshot resonated in her ears. Each time she closed her eyes all she saw was the red flow of blood as it left from Ahmad’s body. She felt like she could not breathe and her hands felt dirty. She snatched her shirt off of her body and rubbed her bare skin to calm the rising goose bumps on her skin. She ran into the bathroom, kicking off the rest of her clothes on the way, and jumped into the shower—not even waiting for the water to heat up. She scrubbed her skin roughly, as if she could cleanse her soul of the sin she’d just witnessed. She had never seen a dead body before and there was a guilty pit in her stomach as if she had committed the crime herself. She sat down in the basin of the bathtub and wrapped her arms around her knees as the water cascaded from the shower head above; tears mixed with water as she cried her fear away.

  Knock! Knock!

  “Alija is everything okay in there?” she heard her sister Mickey yell through the bathroom door.

  Alija stood up and rinsed her body before stepping out of the shower. “Yeah girl, everything’s fine. I’ll be out in a minute.” Her voice cracked as she spoke as she tried to compose her rattled nerves. She dried her body, slipped into her silk pajamas, and walked into her room. Her sister and her six month old daughter lay together peacefully. Alija lifted the covers and lay on the empty side of the bed as she kissed her baby girl gently on the cheek.

  “You sure everything’s okay?” Mickey asked as she sat up and gazed worriedly at her sister.

  “Yeah Mick, I’m good,” she answered despondently as she closed her eyes.

  Red filled the space between her eyelids and she quickly opened them back up.

  “Oh yeah, your baby daddy called,” Mickey stated.

  Alija didn’t reply.

  “Alija did you hear me?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I hear you. I’m just tired. Get some sleep Mick. Thanks for watching Nahla for me.”

  With those words, Mickey went back to sleep and Alija tried to figure out how she would ever rest again with such a heavy burden weighing down her heart.

  Norelle was at home—heated. She was beyond the point of sleep. She was in full blown bitch mode and didn’t care what excuse Kasheef came home with. It was going down as soon as he walked through the door. There was no stopping the neglect, jealousy, and rage she felt at that moment. She wasn’t even going to try to keep her composure. World War III was in the making because the two of them were about to clash; egos and all. She heard his keys jingle in the lock and before he could even step foot inside she asked, “See how you do me? Do you see the shit you take me through?”

  He stepped into her view and when she saw all the blood on his shirt her attitude went out of the window. “Oh my God! Are you hurt?” she asked frantically as she rushed to his side. The innate concern of a woman for her man kicked in and her heart instantly worried for the safety of Kasheef.

  “I’m good,” he stated as he gently pushed her aside.

  “Kasheef what happened tonight?” she asked as she frowned at the obvious brush off. He sat down and put his face in his hands as he attempted to gather his thoughts.

  “Listen. If anybody ever asks you ... and I’m not saying they will, but if it ever does come up ... I was here with you all night,” Kasheef instructed.

  “Tell me what happened Kasheef. Where did all of this blood come from? Oh my God Kasheef what is going on? You’re covered in blood!” she yelled, her voice pinched in fright as she stared at Kasheef with a worried gaze; waiting for an answer.

  “Norelle, stop asking all these fucking questions! Just do what I say a’ight? You’re down for your man right?”

  “Yeah, you know that,” she whispered, her eyes searching his as she attempted to prove that she could be the type of woman he could trust with his life; his ride or die chick.

  “Then make sure you tell anybody who comes asking that I was here all night.”

  “Okay,” she agreed without hesitation.

  Kasheef stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “Go get some sleep. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow for this reunion. It looks like your little trip came right on time.” She nodded and retired to their bedroom as her mind wandered.

  Chapter Two

  “Okay. My bags are packed, all of my clients have been informed of my trip, all of my legal documents have been sent over to the courthouse, and ...” Carmen sat at her desk and thumbed through her planner as she tried to jog her memory. “What am I forgetting Dawn?” she asked her secretary who was standing before her with a legal pad and pen in hand.

  “Did you pack your needle and thread? You know what salt water can do to a sew in,” the petite white girl replied as she looked at Carmen’s hair skeptically with a playful smile on her face. She knew that her boss hated to get her weave wet and could not help but to slip in a joke before she left.

  “My weave is just fine, fuck you very much,” Carmen replied with a smile. “I get my wig done at the
best salon in New York so that’s not an issue. Now what else?” Carmen and Dawn were the only young female employees at the prestigious white law firm. Most of the other women were at least twenty years older than Carmen and Dawn, so the pair naturally had more in common because they were both in their late twenties. They had worked with each other for over five years so they were very comfortable with one another. Carmen didn’t want to be the type of boss who rode a high horse. She was pleasant and friendly. She loved to have a good time, but when she was working with a client, or concentrating on a case; it was all business. She took her job very seriously. Graduating top of her class at Spelman and then on to Howard Law for graduate school made her the cream of the crop amongst African American attorneys. Affirmative action got her through the door at one of the most reputable firms on the East Coast, but once she was there she found that she had to prove herself to her chauvinistic predominantly white co-workers. They always gave her the bottom of the barrel cases and she defended low profile criminals. She had to work ten times harder and so far she had done a damned good job by never losing a case. Dawn respected her as a person, went with the flow of the ever changing work environment, and understood Carmen’s desire to excel so they vibed easily.

  “Let’s see,” Dawn said thinking aloud. “Did you pack your condoms? God knows how long it’s been since you’ve had some and who knows you may get lucky. Maybe you’ll find one of those sexy island men with twelve inches and a smile like Taye Diggs.”

  Carmen scowled while shaking her head and replied, “You know what? You are not helping right now. Just make sure you keep everything in order here. The last thing I need is to come back from this trip and have a million and one messes to clean up.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Now will you get out of here and have fun,” Dawn said practically pushing Carmen out of her office.

  Carmen grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door. She hopped into her Mercedes CLK and sped off toward the airport. She couldn’t wait to unwind and have a good time with her old college sisters.

  Things between Norelle and Kasheef were unusually awkward. An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them and they purposefully avoided each other as they prepared for their trip. Norelle didn’t know exactly what had gone down the night before, but she was positive that it was something serious. All of the blood had been proof that Kasheef had been involved in something illegal. The fact that Kasheef was distant and solemn let her know that he was worried about whatever had gone down. She felt like she was walking around on eggshells as she moved around their home and she silently began to question whether Kasheef could provide the type of life she wanted. She had enjoyed the fruits of his street labor by being his woman. She was known city wide in every borough just off of the strength that she was Kasheef girl. Being amongst the hood’s elite was one of the perks of being involved with a hood fella, but the negative side of the game was beginning to rear its ugly head, and she was not so sure that she could live up to the expectations of being a hustler’s wife. She was expected to hold her man down in his weakest and lowest point, but knew that she would not be the one to stand tall. She did not know exactly what had gone down the night before and it was obvious Kasheef did not want to divulge the information to her, but she felt it in her bones that whatever it was, was about to change the direction of her life. She knew her man and Kasheef was worried. Norelle had never seen him like this. She only hoped and prayed that he would be able to keep up the extravagant lifestyle that she had become accustomed to. The money is what made her loyal to Kasheef and if that ever disappeared, she hated to admit it, but there was a great possibility that she would too. It sounded cruel, but she was a practical woman and her motto was: What’s Love Got to Do With It?

  “Are you almost ready?” Kasheef asked dryly as he put on a fitted Yankees cap.

  “Yeah, I’m good ...” she replied as she grabbed her tote. She looked up at Kasheef. “Is everything okay?”

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll get your bags, you grab the keys to the car,” he instructed.

  The car ride to the airport was quiet and the silence was deafening. After twenty minutes of driving, Norelle finally turned to Kasheef and said, “Listen you don’t have to go if you don’t—”

  “I’m going,” he said cutting her off. “I need to get out of the city for a couple days anyway. Let things cool down. I’ll get some sleep on the plane and be in a better mood a’ight?”

  She nodded skeptically.

  “Don’t worry about it. This is your weekend. Just have a good time,” he finished as he kissed her forehead.

  Kasheef and Norelle walked up to the port and were amazed at the size of the ship. Neither of them had been on a cruise before and was pleasantly surprised when they pulled up. Norelle was like a kid in a candy store and the smile that graced her face lightened the mood for Kasheef. He had never seen her this excited and the warm Miami sun seemed to melt his cold exterior away. They checked their bags and then checked in before boarding the ship. Every single passenger on the boat was forced to attend the safety precaution meeting, so Norelle took the opportunity to look for anyone she knew. The sorority wasn’t the only patrons on the massive ship so Norelle had a hard time finding any of her sorors. She figured that she would see them all at the welcome dinner that evening so she didn’t stress it too much. “Look at this shit,” Kasheef stated in amazement as they stepped into the main atrium which allowed them to see each level of the ship.

  “I know it’s crazy. I didn’t expect everything to be this grand I guess,” Norelle replied. Norelle found that their ocean view suite and the size of it reminded her of a very small studio apartment in New York.

  “As much bread as I broke for this room it’s kind of small,” Kasheef commented as he slid the balcony door open and stepped out into the fresh air.

  “It’s a ship boy, it can’t be too big,” Norelle laughed as she joined him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in toward her. His hard body felt good against her and she parted her lips to meet his tongue with a passionate kiss. Her hands caressed the back of his neck and she smiled once they pulled away from one another.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied. It was a response that she had become accustomed to. She had been with him for a long time and he never told her that he loved her. She didn’t need him to say it, just to know how he felt. She was secure in their relationship and was confident that he had to love her. Why else would he spend cash on her or move into her apartment and pay all of her bills? Norelle didn’t want for anything and as long as he kept her satisfied, she could live without hearing those three special words. She wasn’t a child and her fairy-tale dreams of prince charming had been long gone. Kasheef was as good as it was going to get when it came to a thug and that was the only type of man that she wanted, so she accepted him as is.

  “I’m tired, I think I’m going to take a shower and a nap before I get into this whole cruise thing,” Norelle said. “Will you be too upset if I relax for a few hours?”

  “Nah, do you ma. I’ll probably crash with you after awhile. I’m going to go find a bar and have a drink or two to get my mind right. I’ll come and check on you in an hour or two,” he responded.

  Kasheef left the room and walked through the corridors of the ship toward the main deck. There were people everywhere and Kasheef had to admit that he could get used to a lifestyle like this. Kasheef had plenty of money, but never took the time to enjoy it. He wasn’t in the streets or running the streets like most hustlers. He was the street. He controlled every corner, every dice spot, every ho stroll ... everything belonged to him. He was like the landlord, leasing out his properties, making niggas pay rent. If you wanted to work his blocks, you paid rent. If a ho wanted to walk on his stroll, she paid rent. He even had local businesses giving him a percentage of their profits. Needless to say, he was a very rich man. His wealth went unnoticed though because of his low key demean
or and he had much love in the streets, but just like Biggie said, mo’ money brought about mo’ problems. He had to keep a handle on his hustling lifestyle which is why most of his time was spent in the streets. As the boat embarked on its three day journey, Kasheef finally located a bar.

  “Can I get a Long Island Iced Tea?” he asked the bartender.

  “Can you make that two?” a feminine voice beside him asked.

  He focused his attention on the young woman standing next to him. Five foot five with an hourglass shape and caramel skin; she was easy on the eyes. Dressed professionally in a knee length skirt and a silk sleeveless top, she exemplified intelligence and sophistication.

  The bartender brought back their drinks and Kasheef pulled out a wad of money to pay for both drinks. “Hey my man, here you go,” he said as he placed a twenty dollar bill on the bar top. The woman looked at him quizzically and smiled.

  “You know that the drinks are included right?” she asked.

  “Nah, I didn’t actually. I guess I just gave my man a nice tip,” Kasheef replied.

  The woman sipped her drink and said, “I guess so. Thank you for the gesture however ... I mean if the drinks had not been on the house.”

  Kasheef felt like she was trying to clown him, but he had to admit that by trying to flash his cash in front of her he had made an ass of himself. “I’m Carmen, by the way,” she introduced as she held out her hand.

  “Kasheef,” he replied smoothly and shook it gently.

  “What brings you on this trip?” she asked nosily.

  “I’m running from the New York winter,” he stated, not wanting to give away the fact that he was actually on the boat with his girlfriend. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything with the girl next to him, but he was having a good time flirting with her.