The Top Dog, Part 2: Lust (The Seven Deadly Kins #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Soul Sister

X XXTENTACION’S, ‘Vice City’ punched through the club amplifiers. The bass hammered and pulsated within the atmosphere, making one feel alive. Lennox glanced at his iWatch, noting the time, then headed towards the other end of the club. He and several other bouncers made their usual rounds, rotating stations every now and again.

Wearing a black sports jacket and matching pants, he caught his image in a mirrored wall, gleaming with reflected flashing lights. His black hair had grown out a bit and was brushed back from his forehead, exposing his lowbrow, thick eyebrows and the fire in his satin gray eyes with gold flecks. Darkness flashed in his vision, in his soul, and in his heart, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. He could feel the black heat on his heels, as if something invisible but wicked was shadowing him within each step he took. Yet, he didn’t run.

Nevertheless, something had his dander up. Something unseen and unheard. Nadia should have called me back by now. Hasn’t she left yet? He glanced at his iWatch once again, then stood by the bar sizing up the inebriated and high people swaying on the dance floor. He tried desperately to stay focused on the job at hand, but it proved to be far more difficult than he imagined. It wasn’t like Nadia to not call him when she got off work, and with all of the shit going on as of late, he was resolute to keep tabs on her. After all, this was her last night at the gentleman’s club—and afterwards, she was to go home. They’d agreed that he would meet her at her apartment after he got off work.

His phone buzzed, signaling a text message. Hoping it was her, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone, but was disappointed to see it was some random email. He figured it was spam, but opened it and read it anyway. His face warmed with happiness once he got to the final sentence of the message.

Tonight wasn’t so bad after all. He sat on the good news for a few moments, relishing it, then sent Nadia a text message inquiring about her whereabouts so he could tell her, too. He waited a few minutes. She didn’t respond.

Concern welled in his throat forming an itchy knot, and he couldn’t speak. What was he to do with these feelings that were clouding his good spirits? And then it hit him. Back in the day, there was someone he always contacted when he had good news. Someone who’d been a friend from the day she’d been born—and one of the few people he trusted. Someone he missed dearly. Was this a good time to mend fences? Would he be ignored as usual? Or would good luck strike twice in the same night?

He radioed to another bouncer.

“Hey, Steve.” Static erupted on the walkie-talkie. “Can you hear me? Over.”

“This is Steve. 10-4. Hey Lennox. What it do? Over.”

“I gotta make an important call. I’m leavin’ my post, but will be back in a jiffy. Over.”

“Copy that. Do what you need to do. Over and out.”

Lennox made his way into a little office at the back of the club. The large metal desk was covered with files, crunched up receipts, and various papers, some of them stamped with the words, ‘Invoice’. He proceeded to make the call, remaining standing in the middle of the room, amid all the mess. Muffled music drifted to the room, the song indistinguishable as he called a number from his contacts that was etched in his memory.

He was startled when he heard her voice, not expecting for her to answer.

“Silva?”

“Yes? Lenny? Is this Lenny?”

“Yeah… it’s me.”

“Is… is something wrong? It’s late.” She yawned, for a split-second sounding like her old self.

He realized she was probably still somewhat asleep, and picked up the phone without even thinking about it. He’d hoped she did in fact see that it was him calling and answered without hesitation, but he knew deep down that was unlikely. She’d probably have let it go to voicemail. Why would tonight be any different?

“…Something’s been wrong for a long time, Silva. I, uh, miss you. Regardless of the tension and messed up shit between us, I wanted you to know that your prayers and encouragement worked.”

“My prayers? Prayers for what?” She sniffed, sounding a bit stopped up. His little sister always did struggle with her allergies.

“I got the bank loan to start up my own fitness center. I even eyed some property, and now I can go ’nd buy it and get started with renovations. An old car dealership over there on Barker’s Landing.”

He was met with her silence, and only the stifled noise of the music from the dance floor.

“Well, that’s good, Lennox. I’m, uh, I’m really happy for you,” she said in a flat voice.

He briefly broke the awkward conversation and looked around his boss’ cramped office—at the old-fashioned beat-up gray metal file cabinets, and a half empty bottle of booze near a dead plant. After a deep breath, he decided to take his chance.

“Just to catch you up on a few things in my life, I also decided—”

“Lennox, this isn’t a good time for a chit chat. It’s late. Maybe call me later in the week?” The words rang fallacious, devoid of feeling. This was no true invitation, just something to toss to a starving dog, so one could make it past the mutt in peace. He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. His leather Burberry dress shoes looked back up at him.

“…Why do you hate me, Silva?”

He heard what sounded like her shuffling about in the bed, perhaps tossing sheets aside, then he heard her husband mumbling words he couldn’t quite understand.

“No, everything is fine, Tony. It’s Lennox… No, he’s not… Okay… I’ll take it out here. Go back to sleep.” He heard her walking in what sounded like slippers. A door opened, then closed. “Okay.” She yawned. “I was waking Tony up so I left my bedroom. Headin’ to the living room. About what you said… Lennox, I don’t hate you, okay? I could never hate you. It’s just that—”

“Well, Silva, from where we come from, our household with our mama, love is an action word. Actions tell me how somebody feels. Not words.”

“I… I don’t want to argue with you,” she said in a whispered—almost pleading—tone. “It’s just that you changed a lot when Mom died, Len, and you didn’t listen to anybody. You were so… so angry! So rude. Closed off. You lashed out at me. At Dad. At everyone.”

“That was years ago. We were still talkin’ a bit after all of that.”

“Yeah, we were still talkin’, Lennox, but I never forgot your behavior. It scared me. I never got an apology, and when you accused me of being weak like Dad, that was the final straw for me. I had to cut you loose.”

The office smelled of liquor and old-fashioned cologne. He inhaled the odor while he mulled what she said, playing those old conversations back in his mind. He vaguely recalled saying such a thing to her, and though it wasn’t nice, the comment had merit. Regardless, it was now more than obvious he’d hurt her, and he wanted to make things right.

“You never told me you felt that way… you never gave me a chance to have this conversation.”

“Because I know you, Len. You’d just defend what you said. Double down on it. You’re stubborn, and you were… mean. I know it sounds a little babyish, and maybe I’m too damn sensitive, but I had never experienced that from you. I didn’t want to experience it again.”

“First, I want to apologize to you for that. I mean it, Silva. We had a pretty bad argument the last time we spoke, and a lot of things were said out of anger. I said you were weak because you chose Grandpa’s money and prestige over what Mama taught us about life, and about him . I was angry with you because it was like all of that went out the window when she died. It was like you were his favorite little granddaughter, and you didn’t want anything to change that.”

“Mama tried to keep me away from Grandpa, and I resented her for it. I didn’t see the mean old man you and she painted him out to be, Lennox, and I can’t vouch or co-sign for something I did not experience!”

“Silva, listen to me. We’re having this talk, so let’s air it all out. It’s long overdue. I would’ve never said you were weak if you did all of that but we still stayed close. You instead allowed Grandpa to slander my name and lie on me. He turned us against one another, and he used you to do it because you were the most susceptible to his manipulation.”

“Len, not this again. Grandpa didn’t turn me against you.”

“Yes. He. Did. If he had never gotten in your ear, we wouldn’t even be havin’ this conversation right now, and all this time wouldn’t have passed with you ignoring my calls, ignoring me when I stopped by your house to speak to you in person, and then you sending me a long ass, awful text message tellin’ me to basically fuck off and go to hell. Yeah, you share some of the blame because you actually fell for it, but he got the ball rollin’.”

“Nonsense. He opened my eyes, Lennox. He told me what you did!”

“Oh, really? Well, did he tell ya how I told him that he was using and abusing our father to the point that Dad gets piss drunk far too often? Dad’s a functional drunk now! Had to hide his grief over Mama and drown his sorrows in a bottle. Did the old man tell ya how he threatened my life?! Whatever it is that you think I’ve done, Silva, it’s a walk in the park compared to the shit Grandpa has either orchestrated or carried out with his own two hands!”

“Grandpa would never hurt you and you know it! He—”

“Listen to yourself! Think about me, the real me, and who I am! Yes, I was an asshole after Mama died. I own that! But you know my fuckin’ heart, Silva! You know that wasn’t the person I wanted to be, I was going through some things and it became too much. I was too young for that kind of pressure. Some of that pressure came from the old man. He wanted me to be an enforcer. A score settler—to run the revenge show! Do you have any idea what that is and what it would entail?”

“He’d never do that to you! Grandpa is—”

“A MOTHERFUCKIN’ DEMON WHO HATED OUR MOTHER! He’s toxic! You don’t know him! Don’t you remember what Mama said? She said he was dangerous, Silva… Why can’t you believe that?”

“Mama said that, but she was stubborn, like you, and she was paranoid, Len. Do I think Grandpa is perfect and was a great guy to her? Of course not, but I can’t deny how good he’s treated me my entire life! Because of him, I am runnin’ a successful furniture design business. No loan was needed.” He knew that was a little dig at his good news, but he let it go. “He gave me the investment money. Tony has the awesome job he has in real estate because Grandpa pulled some strings. I’m grateful, and there’s nothin’ wrong with that!”

“When Satan gives us a gift that will cost us our sanity and soul, should we be grateful for that, too?” He heard her suck her teeth and imagined her rolling her eyes. “Anyone who gets in Grandpa’s way is bulldozed over. Shot in the head. Tied up and tortured. Set up and sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit. House burned down to the ground. Do something to piss off old man Wilde? Boom! Kiss your life goodbye. HE. HURTS. PEOPLE!”

“And so did you!”

He swallowed, shut his eyes, and rested his forehead against the closed door. Placing his hand on the smooth wood, he waited for the other shoe to drop.

“He told me about you doing those… those things!” she spat.

“What things ?”

“Contract kills!” she whispered. “My brother is a murderer! How dare you sit on a high horse!”

He rolled in the silence, his heart galloping to the point of pain. He stood straight and sighed.

“It’s complicated, Silva.”

“No, it’s quite clear, big brother. You killed people for money. How could you?!” Her tone was rough with angst. “I would expect that from some people in our family, Len, but not you… not you. Grandpa tried to help you out of that mess because I also know Daddy begged Grandpa to help keep you outta prison, and it worked. Grandpa put up the money and advocated for you, and now you betray him by not only talking badly about him, spreading lies and blaming him for all of your problems, but you didn’t even give him a chance! All he wanted you to do was help with his security company.”

He burst out laughing. “You can’t be serious. That’s like Hitler sayin’ he didn’t mean any harm, and he just wanted a few Jews to teach him how to make a matzo ball soup.” He started laughing all over again, not believing his damn ears.

“Oh, is this funny to you? Well, it’s not funny to me, and I’m dead serious. The dead part you seem to know a lot about. He showed me the proof of your dirty deeds. The police had suspected you, and they were going to charge you with these crimes! They talked to Dad, who called Grandpa in a panic. Grandpa stepped in and saved the day, but the fact that you could do that… the fact that you could raise a gun and kill someone… many people… Oh my God, you’re a monster… You had been so loving and caring when we were growin’ up. You changed. People’s mothers die every day, and they don’t turn around and become killers. You broke my heart, Lennox.”

She was crying now.

He grabbed his forehead and massaged it. As this was transpiring, he saw a text flash across his phone from Nadia that simply read:

Had an eventful evening. Bittersweet

Sorry I couldn’t call you back. I love you

See you at my place in a little bit

“Silva, I hear what you’re saying. There’s a lot you don’t know or comprehend. It would take a long time to break it all down, but I’m going to address a couple of things right now, so that you have a better understanding because I can’t just let you say these things, then hang up.”

“Don’t waste your breath. It won’t change anything.”

“You need to hear the information I have to share before you determine that. You believed Grandpa with no pushback, didn’t you? Didn’t challenge him. Didn’t ask no questions. His words were bond, right? Yeah… I thought so. Now, the least you can do is give me the same damn courtesy.”

“Fine, Lennox, but just know that I find what you did unforgivable.”

“And I find the fact that you turned on me so quick is almost unforgivable, too. Now you listen here, and you listen good. I don’t have a lot of time right now. Also, you’re tired, and from the sound of things, highly misinformed.” She sighed. “I made a lotta bad choices after Mama died. I was hurtin’. You were hurtin’. Dad was hurtin’. Dad told me while I was tryna finish my classes that money was tight. He didn’t tell me right away why. It didn’t make any sense, but I was determined to finish that business degree. That meant I needed some money, and fast. Since Dad didn’t tell us why money was tight, I did some diggin’ and found out. Now I had two more reasons to get cash, Silva.

“Dad needed the dough. Come to find out, Grandpa and he had gotten into it right after Mama died. Dad blew up on him big time, said he disrespected Mama their entire marriage, and he’d never forgive him. Grandpa cut him off ’cause our father, for once in his life, stood up to him. Told him the truth. Grief had brought it on, Silva. Dad had lost—”

“The love of his life.”

“That’s right. We were living in that big fancy mansion, all the cars, expensive clothes and shit. Dad got fired, but those bills were still rollin’ in. I made a stupid decision to solve our problems. I got my hands on some fast, big money, doin’ the devil’s work. I admit that. I did it to help myself, you, and our father. The opportunity seemed to show up out of the blue, and right when I needed. A lot of the savings were gone because the bills were so damn high. Come to find out, too, Daddy was helpin’ others out as well, Silva. A lotta people relied on his assistance. He was generous and charitable, but it cost him a lot of the money that he had in reserves.”

I figure in some strange way, Daddy and Mama giving to all of those charities made him feel better about workin’ for such a horrible person: his own father.

“So, I stepped up to the plate, Silva. To this day, Dad doesn’t know I was the one payin’ the mortgage.” He pointed into his chest. “He thought it was Grandpa.”

“Oh… well I’m sure Grandpa corrected him and—”

“No, Grandpa didn’t correct his assumption. I know because when I told Dad after the cops came nosing around about my extracurricular activities, I then had to explain to him what I’d been doing, and why. That’s what got them talkin’ again—and then they mended their relationship and Dad was his accountant all over again… back under his thumb. All for greed. Did you even once, Silva, stop and think about why the police were talkin’ to Dad?”

She cleared her throat. “Well, he’s the father of a suspected murderer, and you still lived at home, so—”

“No. I was an adult. Grown. They came to him before they even came to me . He wasn’t my guardian. No interview. No ride down to the police station. Because they knew what family we come from, Silva! Cops get paid peanuts for the jobs they do! They wanted Daddy to give them some cash so they could make this shit all go away. It was blackmail! Besides, Grandpa has a reputation to uphold, right? He wants to be big time and come across as some messiah. Swoopin’ in to save the day. Dad didn’t have the money, and he didn’t want me to go to prison partially on account of me tryna help him out. The guilt would’ve eaten him alive. So, he went runnin’ to his daddy.”

“I don’t get this. I can’t understand this!”

“You can understand it. You just don’t want to, Silva. Grandpa doesn’t want me to help with his security company. He wants me to do exactly what you called me a monster for doing, only on his command this time around. He’s made several threats to get me to fall in line. He said if I don’t work for him, he’s gonna expose that Mama worked as an escort before she met our father. He’s going to tell her family, our grandparents back in Lebanon, and you know what that’ll do. Destroy them.” He heard what sounded like a cork popping. Then liquid pouring into a glass. “I’m going to send you a copy of the letter Grandpa gave me when I hang up from this call with you, so you can see and read it for yourself. I’m not makin’ this shit up, Silva.”

“But didn’t Grandpa still help you? I mean, let’s say all of this is true. He didn’t have to.” Her voice quivered, as if hanging by a thread.

“Grandpa didn’t help me out of the kindness of his heart, Silva. He did it so I would owe him. Something to wave over my head. And all that so-called help? He threatened to undo it… said he’d call some folks and have those murder cases reopened, and I’d be pinned to them. The same money that paid ’em to be quiet is the same money that could pay to make them take me down. Knowing Grandpa, he’d even have some crimes I had nothin’ to do with pinned on me, too. So yes, he told part of the truth, Silva. A rich guy I went to school with, and who knew what family I came from, propositioned me. An offer to make some money. Initially I turned him down, but a few weeks later, I approached him and asked if the offer still stood. I did it.”

She sobbed in a quiet whimper.

“I used that money to keep us in that fuckin’ house that you loved so much, to go to college so I could take some business courses to fulfill my dreams, and the rest of the money went to pay off all of Mama’s hospital bills and Dad’s debts. I didn’t have hardly a dime afterwards, but I was okay with that. Dad was back on his feet, but because I had rejected Grandpa yet again, I was kicked out of my own house. You thought I just moved out, but I didn’t. Grandpa made him do that to me. Instead of groveling though, I got a job and lived my life on my own terms. That’s why I was workin’ at that hole in the wall restaurant, makin’ barely minimum wage. I needed to take care of myself, without Dad’s blood money.”

“This… this is so horrible! I don’t know who’s tellin’ the truth and who’s lying, Lennox.”

“Think about the timeline, Silva. Think about everything I shared with you tonight, and you will see that I’m tellin’ the truth. I never wanted it to come down to this. I never wanted to hurt you, for you to know, but since Grandpa opened that floodgate, I’m going to tell you the ENTIRE story, and not just the bit that makes me look good, the way Grandpa handles delivering information. He’s extorting me. He’s blackmailing me. He’s interfering in my life! He now has someone following me around. Not every day, not consistently. But I know what I feel, and I know what I saw. He’s called our mother a whore to my face!” Silva wept louder now. “He never said it in front of you. He was careful, but he said it to me and Dad plenty of times.

“He’s tried numerous times to ruin my aspirations of runnin’ my own fitness center, like tryna keep me broke, using scare tactics and the like. You know that’s always been my dream, since I was like fourteen years old. He even interfered with financing a few years ago when I tried to open one up, so I had to use a foreign bank this time and do everything secretly, without telling a damn soul. I’m tellin’ you right now, Silva, not because I trust you—I don’t completely anymore, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual—but at this point if it gets back to Grandpa that I’ve got what I need to get started, I’m ready for him.”

Even in the heat of anger, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm come over him.

“I am tired of his shit. He has destroyed our friendship. He has weakened my and our father’s bond, too. He’s like a virus, starving all the good cells and feeding the bad ones. This isn’t just about me workin for him, Silva. It’s about control. Because I said no. I stood up to him. Do you really think someone like Grandpa can’t get someone even better for whatever fucked up position he wants to use me for? Just think about that! He wants me because I don’t need him! He’s just using you! You’re a pawn in this game, something he can rub in my face. He knows it hurts me that you wouldn’t speak to me, just as he’d planned. And he knows that I blame him for it. He wants all the credit and accolades for destroying our nuclear family.”

“I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’m trapped in a bad dream… a really bad nightmare.”

“Well, imagine that nightmare being my true reality. Because it is. You know me, Silva. I’ve done some really messed up shit, I’ll admit to that, and I was wrong for how I treated you after Mama died, but we all grieve differently, and sometimes grief ain’t fair. It ain’t pretty. I’m tryna make an amends with you because I love and value you as a person who means the world to me. What Grandpa told you about me was partially true. He failed to give you the reasons why, and that should be something that just doesn’t sit well with you. He took what he told you out of context. On purpose. I would never lie to you about this, girl.” She blew her nose, and he could tell her tears and pain were becoming more intense. “You and I have been through a lot together, baby sister.

“Losing our mother was catastrophic,” he sat down at the messy desk as he felt a bit lightheaded, “but we held onto one another. I miss… I miss my friend.” She started sobbing loud and clear. “Look, I, uh… I took enough of your time and I’m at work, so I gotta go.” He blinked back his emotions. “I’ll be showing you the letter Grandpa sent me, where he details the ultimatum of a lifetime.

“You can say it’s fake or I made it up, Silva, but just ask some of our cousins that Grandpa had his eye on if they got somethin’ similar. They did. Call Kage, okay? He knows the specific details of my situation. He’d have no reason to lie on my behalf. It doesn’t help him to lie about this for me, in any shape, form, or fashion.” She didn’t respond, but he could hear her breathing. “I’ll… I’ll call you back later sometime. Despite everything, I love you, Silva. More than you’ll ever know.”

With that, he quickly disconnected the call. More loud music thumped all around him. His mind spun with the unpleasant memories and dug up the dusty recollections of bad dreams that used to haunt him as a child. He sat there and took several deep breaths, then went to his photos on his phone and grabbed the scanned letter he’d saved, the one Grandpa had drafted, then texted it to her. There was no guarantee Silva would be convinced that his character had been framed, his reputation assassinated, and she’d been used due to her naivety, as well as their closeness, but he had to tell the truth. The truth was always better than a lie, and he had faith that it would prevail.

Getting on his feet, he texted Nadia back:

I love you. I’ll see you soon.

He slid his phone back in his pocket and opened the office door, leaving the stuffy room and entering into the cool corridor. It was a long walk down that darkened hallway, him just alone with his thoughts before his entire body was glowing with flickering lights, his ears drowning in loud chatter and boisterous laughter from the patrons. He reached the main dance area and stood back by the bar, merging back with society. Crossing his arms, he scanned all the people dancing and having a good ass time. It was interesting how people benefited from others’ hard work, folks behind the scenes, but these people having a good time rarely seemed to take into account what was done to ensure it.

There were construction workers who were often underpaid, at times risking their lives to build the structure these people danced and chased ass in. They didn’t consider or ask themselves: who was keeping the lights on? Paying the celebrity DJ who’d spent a long time perfecting his craft. Who was making the wine for them to devour? Months, sometimes years, would be spent aging it to perfection all for them to slurp it down with little to no deliberation. It was hard work for the guys behind the scenes…

Like the men and women in small offices who had desks covered in overdue bills and unpaid bar tabs because they refused to cut any staff. The top dog was often once the underdog… Someone had to take the heat and hide the secrets. Someone had to do the contract kills to keep the lights on in the big house, the little sister in oblivious bliss, and the inner rage at bay… Someone had to do the heavy lifting and the dirty work. Someone had to get down low and claw at the ground. Someone had to be the Top Dog and dig into the cool soil, burrowing deep, digging a huge hole, a perfect hiding place for the dead bodies of life’s mishaps.

A place to conceal a father’s sins and weaknesses, cover the dark shadows with light to protect a mother’s secrets and shame. A place was needed to bury the dirty bones of the wicked… All so everyone else could bask in the sun, live a peaceful life, and have a good ol’ unaware time, never knowing about the monster under the bed and the boogeyman in the closet. Someone had to do it, and that someone would do it all over again if it was guaranteed that his family would be at peace. After all, that’s what a top dog does.

HE PROTECTS. SUPPLIES LOYALTY. PROVIDES UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. Even if it means no one ever sees him, acknowledges him, or says, ‘Thank you.’ He doesn’t do it for praise. He does it for his master: Love.