“Over breakfast?”
“I make a mean omelet.”
“You can cook?” she laughed. “Mike Black, master chef … I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?”
“You ju
st don’t look like the ‘slave over a hot stove’ type, that’s all,” she said. I was about to say something clever, when Bobby walked up.
“What’s up, anonymous,” he said to her, and then looked at me. “I hate to interrupt—”
“Then why are you?”
“Because we have company,” he said, and pointed toward the door. Bodie Ringling had come in my joint with five of his men.
“The mountain comes to Muhammad,” I said, and Bobby walked away to get ready. This was our house and we were ready for shit like this.
I looked at her. “I hate to say it, beauty.” Whatever her name was, she was a real beauty, and that body was amazing. “Beauty; that’s what I’m going to call you until you decide to tell me your name. But, I have something that I have to take care of.”
“I understand. Handle what you gotta handle.”
“I think you should go now.” I made eye contact with Jap, one of the guys who worked security. “We’ll take up the matter of you and I another time.”
“Okay.”
“Are you driving?”
“I took a cab here,”
“What you need, Black?” Jap asked.
“See this beautiful woman out and get her a cab. Make sure that nothing happens to her. And then you get back in here,” I said, and looked at Bodie. When he saw me, he and his set started making their way toward us. “Go now.”
I watched her swing her hips out of The Late Night and then I looked back to Bodie, thinking of how bad his timing was. I glanced at Sammy, he nodded his head and went and stood where he keeps the pump just in case shit got wild.
I looked around the club to see where everybody was. I don’t know if Bodie and them noticed it, but we already had them surrounded.
When Bodie stepped up, he didn’t say anything. The nigga just stood there, mean muggin’ like I was supposed to be intimidated by that weak shit. Since I wasn’t, I picked up my glass, leaned against the bar and took a sip.
“You come to give me my money?”
Bodie laughed. “No, nigga, I came to tell you to your face that I wasn’t givin’ you a mutha fuckin’ cent.”
“Then you wasted your time. Niggas been telling me that shit for days.”
Bobby, Nick and Jamaica were behind his people. Jap was back from escorting Beauty out, and he and Kenny had moved into position.
“So you’re here wasting my time,” I said, turned and leaned against the bar.
Bodie took a step closer. “Don’t turn your back on me, nigga,” he said, and pounded his fist on the bar.
I looked at Bodie and then I grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the bar. When I did, my boys moved in quickly, put their guns to the back of Bodie’s men’s heads and took their guns. Sammy had the pump pointed at them as the rest of my security rushed up.
Just the way we planned it.
“Bottom line, Bodie.”