Chapter 17
Between cruising on open waters and having Kennedy nearby, Relic found a small sense of comfort about his fate. After he’d finished watching Jahleel’s game, they’d eaten on the field as a family before he dropped his son off home to the same green house where Jahleel would remain because Relic wouldn’t get a chance to change that. He’d probably never hear Jahleel referring to him as dad either or have a little girl that clung to him like Navy did with Shabu. He’d let the streets consume him to the point that by the time he wanted out; it was too late. Relic wouldn’t get to experience life after hustling like only a rare amount do. Love and marriage with the woman who knew his darkest secrets but didn’t break a sweat would never come into fruition.
His fingers clenched around the helm’s steering wheel as he tore his eyes from the waters and glued them to Kennedy. Her back was facing him as she held the bow’s railing and stared into the sunset with the wind whipping her wavy butt-length hair to and fro. From his angle she looked peaceful, but judging from the liquor bottle that’d been velcroed to her hand since they climbed on the boat; Kennedy was struggling to accept his defeat. Her mind was spinning for answers, while his was winding down, ready to let the chips fall where they may.
As if she felt him staring, she glanced over her shoulder before padding barefoot into the boat, stopping at the counter for her half-empty liquor bottle and then trudging toward him. He released the wheel when she climbed into his lap without permission and swigged straight from the bottle’s neck. Relic recoiled when she shoved it toward his mouth.
“Stop being a baby, and drink over your limit with me.”
“How’d you forget your own rule, Kennedy? You said I can’t go over my limit unless what? How you ‘pose to give it to me?” he pressed, making her face scrunch up in recollection. “This shit got you lacking like that? Tonight would be a perfect time to catch your ass slipping.”
Her eyes rolled at his idle threat before she tipped back her head, pouring liquor into her mouth that she held there while cupping his chin. Her pussy throbbed when Relic grabbed a handful of her ass, forcing her closer as she brought her mouth against his. Liquor pooled from the creases of her lips as he stuck his tongue between them, sucking the liquid from her mouth to his.
She pulled back for a refill, smirking when his vast hand clasped around her throat. He tipped her backward and snaked his tongue in and around her mouth to vacuum the dark pool dry before lifting her upright.
“You’re a fucking bad influence,” he uttered against her lips, and she giggled.
“Nice to meet you, pot. My name is kettle.”
“Bullshit. You were this way when I found you, but everyone else was too damn blind to notice.”
“Orrr,” she stretched, running a hand across his fine waves. “Maybe I was doing good with changing and avoiding this lifestyle until you came and...” She paused like she was searching for the best excuse to her bad decisions. “You came and reminded me of everything that I once loved. Everything that was Koda.”
“And your first love.”
“Fuck that nigga, Relic. We don’t talk about Bruno.”
He chuckled while angling her body in his lap so that he could see the waters that were growing darker as the time passed. Relic wished he had an exact date so that he could make the best of the time he had left. For the first time in years, he wanted to spend time with his family—take a trip with his brothers and introduce Jahleel to what their lives truly afforded him. His eyes flitted to Kennedy because even a couples’ trip didn’t sound too bad with her. She didn’t smother him or get on his fucking nerves, and until that moment, she hadn’t clung to him either. Relic loved that she gave him space.
They drifted in a comfortable silence while her hands roamed over him like she was trying to collect every muscle, ridge, and wound to memory. Relic let her. If it were up to him, everything about him would engrain so deeply in Kennedy that she couldn’t fathom catching feelings for another nigga. She’d stay to ride his bid out with him, even if it lasted until they were both old and gray. She’d treat Jahleel like her son and help to raise him, so he wouldn’t miss out on having parents who loved him like he deserved.
Kennedy would have a permanent fucking reminder of him that’d make it hard for her to lock eyes with that contact he loved and reel a new nigga in. She’d love him, drown in him, and take her last breath with his name on her tongue. Relic rolled his jaw while wishing he’d gotten attached to a weaker bitch because Kennedy would move on with her life as soon as his cell door clang shut. She’d proved it with her first love that she wasn’t staying around for any bullshit.
“Are you scared?”
Her soft voice broke through his thoughts, stealing his attention like the big ass fucking distraction she was for him. He tossed his head and turned the wheel, making her arms lock around his neck as they rocked a bit from the waves.
“So, you don’t feel anything about it, Relic?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, can you tell me how you feel, please? Make it my parting gift since this might be our last time together.”
“It won’t be our last time together, Kennedy. It’s coming soon but not that soon. I’m scared for my family,” he blurted, focusing on his path so that he wouldn’t have to look her in the eyes. “Shabu, Titan, my son.”
“Judith,” she added, catching the twitch of his eye before he nodded.
“I made them dependent, and now I don’t know if they can survive without me. I think those niggas will be a fucking mess. We don’t have strong women in our family like P and Los have their mother, sisters, and girlfriends to keep them grounded. All we have is me and a mother that could never hold her own because she’s too weak.”
“Well, Shabu has a wife now. Savvy does her thing with them.”
“Why?” he asked, flicking his eyes toward her before chuckling. “Because I made her ass step up. Shabu would’ve taken care of her like we do Judith if I hadn’t put her in the field.”
“Wow, so you knew what you were doing with bringing her in?”
“I tried to do the same with Michi, but she doesn’t fuck with me, and I’m cool with that since she has her own thing going on. Neither are stand up to where I need them to be, though.”
“But I am,” Kennedy surmised, puzzling that final piece into its place. “That’s what you meant by handle everything in your absence. You finally realized that women are fucking needed, Relic. Ain’t this some shit!”
“Shut the hell up,” he grumbled but cracked a smile. It fell before he voiced, “I took Jah’s mom, and I didn’t even have the balls to give him a new one.”
Kennedy’s heart stopped—her eyes bouncing over his face for signs that he was lying or at least remorseful. Relic didn’t crack under her gaze. There was no subtle jaw twitch, forehead creases, or flared nostrils to give away his emotion. It was as if he felt nothing regarding Jessica.
“What did she do?” she breathed, and he licked his lips.
“She tried to keep me away from the one thing I love most on this damn planet.”
Jahleel .
“I didn’t want to kill her. Didn’t mean to,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. “Pierre was supposed to go there that night and scare her ass into thinking the snake ass shit she’d been doing had finally caught up to her. Once I found out , I was going to move her someplace safe out of state while Jah stayed here with me. It was an easy fix.”
“So, what went wrong?”
“P got jammed up that same night. Instead of waiting it out, I sent his friend in without him. Those greedy ass niggas tried to rob me, not knowing I’d moved my shit into the new house already. They lied and said Jessica lunged for the gun, but I knew better. I’d seen how she reacts with a gun in her face.”
He didn’t elaborate on the fact that he was the one holding a gun to her head after Shabu accidentally exposed Jessica for having and hiding his son. Had Shabu not emptied the gun of bullets without him knowing; Relic would’ve killed her then.
“That’s not adding up, Relic.” Kennedy shot him a skeptical glance before she reminded him, “You don’t trust people outside of your family, which is why you sent Pierre. If your plans get thrown off, you recalculate until it’s damn near perfect. You don’t make those kinds of mistakes. You did with her because you didn’t care about her enough to make sure she lived through that play. Maybe a part of you even hoped that it went wrong.”
“Like I said, I didn’t want to kill her, but I figured if it was meant to happen that it would... and it did.”
That was all the confirmation Kennedy needed that Relic had sent in men he didn’t trust in hopes they’d do exactly what they did—fucked it up. He didn’t give the word to have Jessica killed, but he’d done everything to ensure that it was a possibility.
“Do you regret it?”
“No,” he answered immediately and then retracted it. “Yes. I regret taking her from Jahleel because, even though she wasn’t shit, he still loved her. I thought he’d be better off without her, but I made it worse for him.”
“Because Jahleel is one of the few people you show emotions for, and you let those feelings convince you that he’d end up as hurt as you are by Judith if she stayed around.”
“And I was right because he said some shit to me recently that proved Jessica messed up his head, too. Maybe not as bad, but it’s there, and I can’t do shit about it.”
Her heart tugged at the despondency in his voice that was usually monotone and uncaring. If Kennedy did nothing else, she made a promise to herself that she’d always maintain her relationship with Jahleel. He was too damn sweet to deserve the short end of both parental sticks.
“I’ll look out for my little boyfriend,” she told Relic with a warm smile.
“I don’t need you to do that like he’s yours. Give me the bottle.”
Relic reached for it, but she held it behind her back and lowered on her knees between his legs. His eyes flicked between her and the murky waters as she poured a hefty amount inside her mouth, set down the bottle, and summoned him with a finger. He didn’t think twice before bending to reach her, tonguing her sexy ass down.
“You ever got head while steering a boat?” she pulled away to ask, caressing his thighs before moving to his crotch to unbutton his jeans.
“Is that a trick question? I told you, no one has been on here before, so no. I’ve also never gotten sympathy head, but I’m not turning that shit down.”
Kennedy cackled before asking, “How long until we get to where we’re going?”
“About ten minutes.”
“Good. That’s more than enough time to make you cum.”
Relic started to tell her she was pressing her luck, but he bitched up the second her hand dipped into his boxers—flipping his semi-hard meat out to wrap her acrylic dick grippers around it with a cocky smirk that warned him; she was about that action. She jerked him off before lowering her head to hawk a glob of spit on his dick. Relic hissed a breath when she rubbed it in and then inhaled him into her mouth.
“Fuck, Kennedy. You a nasty ass slut, and I love that shit.”
Those deep shaded irises he loved staring into lifted to lock with his, challenging him as she breathed through her nose and bobbed her head along his shaft like a true eater. She used the perfect amount of spit and suction, making him sink into the chair as his butt cheeks clenched from how fucking good her wet mouth felt around him. Relic stilled with his fingers locking around the wheel after she cuffed his balls and dipped her head as far as she could go.
“Shit, that’s how I like it. Suck this big muthafucka, baby. Put it all in there.”
He palmed her head to force her lower until he hit the back of her warm throat. She didn’t gag, but swallowed instead, contracting her muscles around the swollen head of his dick as he huffed a breath.
“You suck another nigga’s dick like this, and on Jahleel, I’ll murk his ass. You hear me, Larenn?”
Her mouth curled into a smile around his girth before she went back to work on a mission—palming his thighs while throwing her neck, determined to make him break his rule and nut again for the second time. The same as women with sex, men allowed top tier fellatio to cloud their good judgment. Kennedy wanted Relic’s head so fucking clouded that he’d never think of another bitch again.
She popped his dick from her mouth and tipped her head to suck his balls, using light pressure to not hurt him before gliding her tongue downward to focus on the spot that set men off. Relic twitched like he was glitching as she blew on it while jerking his shaft that her fingers struggled to wrap around. When his veins flexed against her palm, she lifted and slurped him back into her mouth with a pleased hum.
“Shit, you’re moaning like you love eating this dick, Kennedy.”
“I do, daddy. I do,” she garbled around a mouthful of him, causing his dick to jump from her decree. Pre-cum oozed on her tongue, and she cooed, “You taste good, daddy. Can you fuck my mouth until you nut in it?”
Relic almost busted prematurely, but he fisted his dick and tried to think about that boulder over his head that was bound to drop at any moment. He couldn’t focus on it when his biggest distraction was between his legs, batting her mink lashes while her swollen lips curved into a seductive smile.
“You’re wasting time, Relic. Hold my hair and feed me. We don’t have long.”
He did just that—snatching her up by her bundles with so much force that she winced and dug her nails into his thighs.
“Just for calling me the wrong name, I ain’t being gentle about the shit either.”
She opened her mouth to retort, but Relic stuck his dick in it.
Her face pinched but then relaxed as he held her steady by the hair, lifting his hips to jut toward her wet mouth. Relic inhaled a breath and fought the tightness in his balls as he pumped through her full lips with haste strokes that coaxed him back on that ledge he hadn’t reached since they last fucked. Kennedy was the goddamn devil—a vicious bitch who was skilled at sucking, fucking, and checking him like a big dog. Her tongue pressing against his shaft as her jaws locked made him wonder why he hadn’t taken Pierre’s advice to put her on ice.
The boat rocked as his head lolled back, his eyes shutting as he lost control and slammed his pelvic against her face in search of that euphoric feeling she gave him. She gagged and moaned, but never once complained as he bucked his hips in a frenzy. Just as his nut mounted to its peak, Kennedy jerked away from his hold.
His eyes popped open in time to see her unbuttoning her jeans to wriggle out of. She didn’t ask for permission before straddling his lap, gripping his dick, and gliding down his length in one swift motion.
Relic bit her neck and grumbled, “This shit is... fuck! Bitch, I swear, I hate yo ass.”
A giggle fell from Kennedy before she tilted backward, planting both hands on his knees to give him a clear view of her pussy taking all of him. Their bodies clashing echoed throughout the boat as she raised up and slammed down his length in a steady rhythm that caused soft pants to float from her while her walls spasmed on his thick shaft. Her head fell back when Relic gripped her hip with one hand to motion her faster.
“Fuuuck, daddy. I missed this dick so bad,” she crooned, letting him handle her however he pleased. Her body bounced in his lap as she lauded, “Look how wet she is for you, and she’s taking you so damn good.”
“Kennedy, shut the fuck up before I nut.”
“It’s your pussy, daddy. You can feed her whenever you’re ready.”
That confirmation just as he spotted his dock was music to Relic’s ear.
“Hold that thought,” he told her, gripping the wheel with both hands before he slowed down to line up his approach.
He shifted the gear and spun his wheel to the left, causing the stern of his boat to drift in the opposite direction before swinging around to align with his floating dock. After he shoved the gear into park, his focus shifted back to the wet pussy on his lap.
Kennedy screamed when her body flew up in the air before being flipped onto her back against the chair and folded like a pretzel. Relic palmed the backs of her thighs, bending her knees to her ears before he proceeded to pound her ass to shreds. Their bodies clapped together as Kennedy hollered out in a painful pleasure.
“You’re hurting this pussy so good, daddy. I can feel it in my stomach. Shit!” She pressed a hand at his thigh, but he slapped it down.
“Stop whining and take this dick like a good bitch. Let me show you why you ain’t ever going no-fucking-where, Larenn.”
Relic crushed his mouth against hers, muffling her shouting as he gripped the chair for leverage to pound her harder. He was determined to rearrange her guts, so she’d think about him anytime the next nigga hit who couldn’t reach as far as him or make her bust like his favorite pistol. Her pussy convulsing and spitting fluids on his stomach told him that she loved that rough shit.
“Good girl,” he grumbled, peeling off his damp shirt before staring into her eyes. Relic caught the flicker of surprise when his evil eye chain dangled above her head.
Kennedy gripped the nape of his neck and pulled him down for a sloppy kiss as their bodies rocked together like the waves against his boat. When she planted a hand on his ass to coax him deeper, Relic clenched her throat and glared in her eyes while long stroking her drenched pussy.
“You’re fucking with my head, Larenn.” His strokes hastened and shaft swelled with his impending release as he threatened, “Fuck me over, and I’ll kill you. You hear me, Kennedy? I will kill yo ass dead.”
She pecked his lips and stared him dead in the eyes. “Ditto, nigga.”
Her threat sent him to his peak—his forehead resting on hers while their bodies battled to fuck each other the best until he erupted with her clinging to his waist. She held him to ensure he didn’t pull out. Kennedy came behind him with soft whimpers and her legs twitching as Relic slithered his tongue into her gaped mouth. They kissed like they couldn’t get enough of each other until he pulled back to give her a breather.
“Slip your pants on while I moor the boat. We won’t be here long, but you can shower in my cabin while I grab a few things. Get the folder, too.”
“Where are we?”
Kennedy sat up to take in her surroundings. Her brows dipped when she saw nothing but trees for acres, and a few more docks that were so far in the distance that she doubted Relic had met their owners. She stood and grabbed her jeans, shimmying into them while Relic tucked himself back inside his boxers without replying. She left it alone since she refused to ask twice.
Once she was presentable, Relic guided her off the boat and then began grabbing rope to wrap around metal horn-looking pieces on its edge. She watched, admiring the flex of his arms and back muscles, while the dip in his spine looked good enough to lick the sweat off. Relic was the most virile man she’d met. Kennedy could easily see him as a husband, fixing things around his home or building treehouses for the kids. Her gut clenched because she doubted that he craved any of it, but she could see it in her future, whether with him or not.
“This should be good for the time being,” he stated, more so to himself while tugging at the end of the rope he’d tied around a wooden post.
He dusted his hands before palming the small of her back, urging her toward the thicket of trees when she hesitated. Kennedy peered around in search of land markers while Relic directed her as if he knew the area like the back of his hand. Darkness and the noisy critters rattled her nerves until the trees opened to a cleared space of land with a single cabin on the lot. She stayed a few steps behind Relic as he gaited straight to the door and tapped the small screen attached before placing his fingerprints against it. It shined green before the locks clicked, unlatching themselves.
“Well, aren’t you fancy,” she bantered as he opened the door and stepped inside. He flicked on the lights, and she frowned at the barren space housing a single couch, a coffee table, and nothing more.
“That’s about the only thing fancy about it.”
“Yea, I see.”
He chuckled while shutting and locking the door behind him. “It isn’t meant for entertainment. I put just enough furniture in here to where it wouldn’t seem suspicious, and I can nap here if necessary. This is my repository.”
“Repository as in stash house where the money and product move in and out? Don’t tell me, you’re about to try to fuck me on a floor mattress with no sheets.”
“We’ll sleep on the boat, smart ass. Stop worrying about useless furniture and enjoy the peace here. Take it in. There’s towels and washcloths in the bathroom, and a few things in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
“I could eat.”
“Good. Hurry up and wash your ass, so you can whip us up a meal.”
“I bet you fucking starve,” she quipped, slapping his folder against his bare chest before strutting off without asking for a tour or directions.
Relic let her, waiting until he heard the bathroom door shut and water running before he strolled to his kitchen. He tossed the file on the counter and then squatted to feel underneath his counter cabinet—shutting the cell jammer stored there off and then grabbing his signal booster to plug in before setting it on the counter. As soon as it lit with a connection, he fished out his new burner phone to call Drish.
“Who this?” Drish answered on the first ring.
“The only one you should be taking calls from right now. What’s that situation looking like?”
“Like you were spot on ‘bout that shit. Is what you told me to do still a go?”
Relic expelled a breath, pinching his nose before his eyes flitted in the direction Kennedy disappeared to. Muthafuckas always found a way to put him between a rock and a hard place.
“I’m out of loopholes at this point. It’s a go.”
He ended the call with that order and dropped his phone into his pocket before storing his equipment back in its rightful place. Once done, he searched the kitchen for a quick meal to busy his mind, settling on potatoes he’d found in another cabinet and two T-bone steaks from the freezer. The skeleton designated for Kennedy, that usually minded its business, went on a rampage in Relic’s internal closet while he turned on the oven to pre-heat it. He located his skillet after a quick search and set it on the counter, grabbed a knife, and then cut his potatoes into thick slices. After washing everything off once prepped, he loaded the steaks and potatoes into the skillet, seasoned it down, and slipped it inside the oven. His gaze shifted to his folder the instant he wasn’t occupied.
He paused to listen and ensured the water was still running before he flipped it open, flicking through the pages until locating the one that would incriminate him most in Kennedy’s eyes. He snatched it out. As he searched around the cabin for a lighter, he racked his brain on how that petty incident had come up in his case. Only one option came to mind.
Kiko, Mya, or both were the confidential informants.
His brain heavied with more problems he’d have to solve before he spotted his long-stemmed lighter above the fireplace he’d only used once. Relic grabbed it and then stepped outside, ambling to the side of the cabin where he squatted and dropped the paper on the ground. He sparked the lighter and placed the flame against his dirty deed printed in black and white, staring at it until the flame died and nothing remained but its ashes. He breathed easier knowing that little secret would stay kept a while longer.