Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Poseidon was gorgeous.
A two-story nightclub off the beach with floor-to-ceiling two-way mirror windows.
From the outside, passersby saw nothing through the windows but their own reflections.
But once inside, clubbers got the gorgeous South Beach skyline and views of the water through those same windows.
It was like being outside without being outside.
It was a freaking masterpiece.
I wore my wonderment plainly on my face as I removed my sunglasses, looking toward the high ceilings of the opulent building. Was this place a drug money front, too? Well then the Montgomerys sure dressed their dirt luxuriously.
The color scheme inside was very oceanic.
Various shades of blue – aqua, celeste, azure – adorning every corner of the club.
A basketball court sized dancefloor sat in the middle of the room, something different on all four sides.
A full bar on one end, a DJ podium on the other, and tables and VIP sitting areas on either side.
This was the kind of place where the party never died.
Except now.
Because it was Sunday morning, and the whole club was empty except for Kain and I.
Or so I thought.
“Is that Princess?”
The sound of that voice snapped me out of my wonderment. In my state of admiration, I hadn’t even realized that someone else had entered the club. I recognized that voice.
When it came to Kain’s friends, they’d all given me at least one nickname I didn’t want.
Jay called me Overalls. Even when I wasn’t wearing overalls.
Marlon, ever since the incident at the college, had begun calling me Panic Button. Or just Button for short. A nickname for my nickname.
And Amir… He called me Princess. And not as a term of endearment. It was a sarcastic nickname, meant to highlight the fact that I was both born into privilege, and being cosseted by Kain.
Of all Kain’s friends, I think Amir liked me the least. Which made me feel a little insecure because although Kain was pretty tight with all three of his closest friends, Amir was clearly his best friend.
My boyfriend’s best friend doesn’t like me.
It was only fair, though.
My best friend didn’t like Kain either.
Lux seemed to always roll her eyes whenever I mentioned him.
If she weren’t out of the country for most of the Summer, I knew she would’ve been here completely delighted about the fact that my parents grounded me for dating Kain.
She really didn’t like the idea of us together.
I always figured it was because she felt like I would get so lost in my man that I’d forget about her.
Ohhh…
Do men ever feel that way, too?
“I should’ve known,” Amir said to Kain as he walked toward us.
His tone was half annoyed, half entertained.
I didn’t understand. “You call me up on the Lord’s Day talkin’ ‘bout you need a stand-in for the rest of the week, and I’m like ‘Oh, a nigga must be gettin’ sick or some shit. ’ Nope. Just Princess.”
My boyfriend shook his head, ignoring his friend’s nattering.
Kain was taking off the black backpack he’d pulled from the trunk of his car after we’d arrived here. When I saw him grab it, I’d assumed there were drugs in there, but now I wasn’t sure.
A stand-in? What was that supposed to mean?
“Hello, Amir.” I waved awkwardly.
Amir was a tall person, standing at about the same height as Kain.
He had skin so dark that it almost really was black.
It was ridiculously beautiful. Together with his perfect head of dreadlocks, handsome face, and the fact that every time I saw him, he was in a three-piece suit, I was always tempted to ask if he modeled.
“Hey, Princess,” Amir greeted, offering a smile. It was a real one. Wow, okay, this is new. “It’s been a minute since I saw you last. Congratulations on bein’ alive.”
There it is.
“A’ight.” Kain was nodding his friend to one of the sitting areas.
When we were all seated, he started reading off a laundry list of responsibilities.
“At ten o’clock tonight, some Brownsvilles from up in Miami Gardens are drivin’ down to Poseidon to make a drop.
It should be three forty-five in there. Count it. If—”
“Yooo,” Amir interrupted Kain as he spoke, eyes darting to me. “Your girl’s the state attorney’s kid.”
He was trying to say I shouldn’t be hearing this.
“Don’t worry about my girl,” Kain dismissed. Tense. And then he went right back to what he was saying. “There should be three forty-five in the drop. Count it. If it’s short, ask once. If you don’t get some real answers…” Kain paused, and I could tell it was because I was in the room.
Amir didn’t care about my sensitivities, and went right ahead and finished the sentence.
“…make an example outta niggas,” Amir concluded the statement.
That could mean a lot of things, and I wouldn’t be asking Kain to clarify.
Kain moved on. “Monday, I’ve got nothin’ planned because of Vance, so you can go ‘head and chill.”
“It’s good he’s finally comin’ home,” Amir nodded, his cheek turning up into a half smile, before fading. “But Cierra was tellin’ me last night that you been sayin’ that you ain’t goin’ to the party, though. What’s up?” Amir briefly looked at me as if he already suspected I was the reason.
Did he say Cierra? Last night? Are they a thing?
“Vance’ll know why he doesn’t see me there,” Kain replied, moving on. “So Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it’s just a lot of back and forth errands. Nothin’ too heavy, but it is time consuming. It’s all in the calendar on my phone.”
Kain pulled his cellphone from his pocket and handed it to his friend. As a delayed reaction, I realized Kain wasn’t just letting his friend see his personal cellphone. He was giving it to him.
Did I trust anyone that much?
“Friday is yours. But on Saturday night you gotta be back here at Poseidon, right as the club opens. That three hundred forty-five thousand that you’re supposed to get from the Brownsvilles tonight goes into Saturday’s books so it can get cleaned.”
New discoveries…
Today I learned that my boyfriend is a willing participant in felony money laundering.
Today I learned the Montgomery family has established a partnership with Brownsville gang members, one of the scariest gangs in Miami-Dade County.
And today I learned that Kain and his best friend talk about handling the scariest gang in Miami-Dade County like they’re children.
And this was just one out of over sixty Montgomery businesses all across South Florida.
Honestly, I felt a little nauseous.
“I’ll get my phone back from you on Sunday. Anyone calls, forward it to voicemail. If Silas calls, let that shit ring. Don’t forward it ‘cause then he’ll just keep calling. He shouldn’t be calling you any time after Tuesday ‘cause he’s gotta head to Memphis for Laz’s funeral.”
“Bruh, Laz is dead?” Amir questioned, genuinely alarmed. “What the fuck happened?”
“Silas happened.” Kain’s words sounded tired.
“And he’s got the nerve to be at the funeral?” Amir grimaced. “What the—”
“I know… I know…” Kain shook his head. “The nigga’s got no chill.”
“Does Lyle know? How about Rochelle? Does she know?” Amir asked.
None of these names meant anything to me, but they clearly meant something to Amir and Kain. I suddenly felt like an ill-fitting part within a very private conversation.
“Nobody knows,” Kain sighed. “And you know what Ro said to Silas after she found out about Laz?”
Are Rochelle and Ro the same person? Probably…
“What’d she say?” Amir asked.
“’Come to the funeral and do the eulogy.’ And he’s really gonna fuckin’ do it.”
“Bitch ass nigga,” Amir swore, remembering that he was talking about Kain’s father as an afterthought. “I know he’s ya Pops and all…”
“Nah.” Kain waved away the start of the apology. “You had it right the first time.”
Amir shook his head, mind still reeling from new discovery. “Damn…”
After some time, Kain broke the silence.
“I’mma see you Sunday, a’ight, bruh?” Kain concluded.
Amir nodded, and started to get up with him, reaching for the backpack Kain had brought with us.
He was starting to walk away after shaking Kain’s hand, when Kain called after him.
“Bruh, you not gon’ count it?” Kain asked, a slight smile and confused eyebrows appearing.
Oh, so this substitute gangster thing is not just a favor.
Amir protecting me with Marlon and Jay last Spring was a favor. This was a transaction.
“Nah, nigga. You got mobile banking. I got your phone. And your password for everything is ya middle name. If you short, I’m gettin’ mines!”
The two men shared a laugh and just as Amir walked out the door, he looked over his shoulder at me and said, “You keep stayin’ alive, Princess.”
***
I didn’t ask Kain any questions.
I had so many, though.
Who is—was—Laz? Why did Silas Montgomery kill him? Who are Lyle and Rochelle/Ro?
Now that I knew I could ask any one of the questions in my mind and get an answer, I could no longer find the curiosity. We were laying side by side in the master bedroom, having just finished a quiet lunch, when I finally said something. I asked an easy question
“Kain…” I broke the silence, staring at the ceiling from where I laid in the bed. “What’s your middle name?”
My voice was tired.
“It’s Tariq,” he replied. His voice was tired, too. I could see him looking at me in my peripheral vision.
Kain Tariq Montgomery.
I very much liked the sound of that. Turning to face him, I asked another.
“Are you going to your Uncle Vance’s homecoming party?”
He shook his head. “Nah.”
“Why?”
“When I finally do see him, I can’t do it with an audience.”
“Because you’re going to punch him?” I asked.
“No,” he answered, finding that question funny. “Just because.”
“Do you think he’s going to be the same person from twelve years ago?”
“He won’t be.” Kain had already come to his own conclusions. “No one stays the same for twelve years.”
True.