within a couple of minutes of being in the club, and smel ing a set-up. In the ’hood they would say,

  “He’s the muthafucka!” And he was.

  “I know how badly you wanted to take Katrina out but it seems like Duke already beat you to the

  punch. You did see al that yel ow tape wrapped around the front part of her house, didn’t you?”

  Bishop looked back at me and gave me this wicked ass smiled. “Oh no, he didn’t,” he commented.

  And at the moment it felt as if I was in the twilight zone. I instantly wondered how he was able to get

  to Katrina when Duke was with her. And when I couldn’t put two and two together, I asked him.

  “Immediately after my boys got here we went straight to her crib. We scoped it out before I snuck

  into the house from the back. She was in her bedroom . . . actual y the master bathroom when I

  walked up on her. And when she saw me she was definitely surprised to see me. But I was more

  surprised to see how Duke had beaten the shit out of her. Her entire face was bruised up and the

  swel ing sat out at least two inches from her face. Her eyes were blacked and he even knocked a

  couple of teeth out of her mouth. She looked real y bad. ”

  Bishop’s voice was deliberate and methodical. His tone was even. He was a man in control . . . in

  more ways than one. He was straight to the point. He didn’t throw in adjectives or superlatives to

  impress me. He was just tel ing me what I needed to know. What I probably didn’t want to hear.

  Katrina in her own way had saved me. And even before he told me, I knew now that it was Bishop

  who kil ed Katrina. “I didn’t hit her,” Bishop pressed on with the story. “I told her to tel me everything

  and if she left out one thing or lied to me, I would kil her whole damn family, starting with the kids. So

  she told me everything. She even told me what she told you and how you were able to get away from

  Duke.” He cracked another slight smile when he said that. But just as quickly his demeanor changed

  and his eyes grew dark again. He was a scary cat.

  “After she told me what I needed to know, I let her know that her kids would be taken care of and the

  rest of her family would live to see another day.”

  And then he was quiet. We drove in quietness for at least another five minutes before I had to ask the

  question. “How did you kil her?” I had to ask. It damn near kil ed me not to know how he ended her

  life.

  “I broke her fucking neck, cal ed the police and reported the crime and described the person leaving

  her house as a man who looked like Duke Carrington,” he said matter-of-factly.

  The rest of the ride was driven in silence. Rest in peace, Katrina, I’m sorry but you picked the wrong

  team.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  Massive Attack-Chapter Twenty-One

  Wars are won in the strategy room, drawing up a plan and creating chaos in the mind.

  We arrived at Devin’s apartment complex and parked Devin’s car back in his assigned parking

  space. I prayed the whole way that Devin hadn’t come back home yet. Something awful would’ve

  jumped off if Devin saw Bishop driving his car.

  Neil would have punked Devin into sticking his chest out and Bishop would have put him in the

  Intensive Care Unit . . . or worse, kil ed him. I liked Devin and he had final y come through for me. I

  didn’t want to see him six feet under. There were others who deserved that faith way more than he

  did.

  I placed Devin’s car keys underneath the floor rug on the driver side and then I locked both doors.

  Bishop and I hopped in the back seat of the SUV. “Let’s head back to the hotel,” he instructed the

  driver.

  On the way to the hotel, Bishop introduced me to the two cats he summoned here from D.C. The

  tal est one name was Torch and the shorter cat’s name was Monty. Both had stoic expressions and

  looked like they were down for business—serious business. Monty looked like he didn’t take any shit

  off anyone. He also looked like he could’ve been related to Bishop and Neeko. I started to ask him

  but I changed my mind.

  Under circumstances like this, niggas didn’t give up information about where they were from and

  who they knew. They weren’t gonna tel me shit like who they fucked up, murdered or assassinated.

  Hel nah! Real niggas take care of their business and get the hel out of dodge without leaving any

  witnesses.

  I realized Bishop and his two partners had gotten a hotel room at the Fairfield Inn on the corner of

  Military Highway and North Hampton Boulevard when we entered into the parking lot. Bishop told me

  he didn’t usual y stay in three-star hotels. It was al about four- or five-star hotels for him. This was a

  step down for him and his boys. I remembered how nice this hotel used to be when it was first built a

  few years back. Now it was considered a normal spot like the extended stay hotels.

  “Let go,” Bishop instructed me as soon as the truck came to a complete stop. I fol owed him to the

  room while Torch and Monty fol owed me. For some odd reason, I thought they had plans to get rid of

  my ass, but when Bishop and I went into his room and Torch and Monty went in the room next door, I

  let out a sigh of relief.

  Once we were inside the room Bishop took a seat on the edge of the bed, while I sat in the chair

  at the smal table. It was completely quiet but I knew he was about to say something. I could tel he

  was in deep thought, so I sat there and waited. And when he final y opened his mouth, I gave him my

  undivided attention.

  “I’m impressed you made it out Katrina’s house alive and wel ,” Bishop said in a calm and

  soothing voice. I kinda smiled. I was somewhat speechless. This nigga real y did impress me.

  He real y was a fucking black knight. He knew when to be a hardcore nigga, and when he needed

  to flip the script, he could be smooth as hel . His edges were polished as compared to Neeko’s, who

  was stil rough around the edges.

  Hel , I had to admit I was attracted to hardcore, thuggish, ruggish ass niggas. But I wanted a man

  who could turn that shit off at the drop of a dime, and stil be cool and smooth as silk. That’s what I

  thought I had in Duke. But no, it was a fucking pretender.

  Bishop was the real shit!

  “We gotta figure out a way to smoke Duke out,” he began. “I know where his ass lives and al of

  hideouts, but I know his ass won’t be at any of those locations.”

  “How you know al of this shit and when I don’t even know where that motherfucka lives? Hel , if I

  did, or even knew where he hangs his hat, I’d be the first to show you,” I said.

  Bishop smiled. “Even if you knew where he hung his hat when he isn’t at home, he wouldn’t be

  there because the police are probably looking for him as we speak.”

  “I don’t think so. From the way Katrina laid it out to me, the two cats that Bishop owe money to got

  a few cops on payrol . So the police ain’t gonna let nobody get close to that bastard until they get

  their money from him.”

  “Lynise, I want you to think on a large scale. Stop thinking on the basement level and think on the

  penthouse level. Yeah, these brothers have some cops and probably even city officials on their

  payrol , but in every city half the cops are on the take and the other half are straight as fucking arrows

  . . . the same with politicians. Men of power wil never have complete control, because there is always

  someone more powerful with more control.”

  “I know the shit you are spitting out, Bishop, but this part of Virginia belongs to Duke and the two

  brothers,” I said. Hel , he acted like I was dumb as shit.

  “No, trust me on this Lynise,” Bishop replied. “Those in the penthouse hope those in the basement

  believe men like Duke and the two brothers can do what they want. But it doesn’t work that way. No,

  we have to smoke Duke and Chris out. One by one.”

  I didn’t know what to say. He was adamant about what he was saying, and that shit was eloquent

  as hel . And I believed he knew what in the fuck he was talking about. After al , he was a mil ionaire I

  don’t know how many times over and shit, beside the clothes on my back, I didn’t have shit.

  “Lynise, kil ing Katrina in her house was the key. If she was kil ed some other place, no one would

  have cared. But this was a nice neighborhood, a gated community. That in itself is already raising red

  flags at city hal and police headquarters. And that’s what I wanted. I wanted Duke to go into hiding.

  Who know why?”

  I quietly shook my head no, because I real y didn’t know his strategy. But he did. I could tel . And I

  was impressed. This muthafucka was genuine draft. He was the real shit.

  “Because men like Duke don’t know how to hide,” he explained in perfect diction and that was

  fucking me up. As much as I wanted a hardcore, sophisticated nigga, I felt outclass, and no one had

  ever made me feel that way.

  “He has to be seen,” Bishop continued. “To be seen means his pure presence strikes fear in

  people. Those people on the basement level. That’s what gives him his power. Now we have taken

  that power. But Duke can’t survive without the power. He won’t be underground long. But we stil need

  something to smoke him out.”

  Fuck, I was motivated now. I wanted to help, to add something to the equation. And I could only

  think of one thing to help him accomplish his mission. Actual y, I could think of one other person to help

  us get to Duke—that bitch, Diamond. She was the answer to our problem. Not only could we use her

  to lure Duke to us, we could also eliminate her ass in the process. Seeing that bitch squirm and beg

  for her life would be icing on the cake for me. What she did to me was unforgivable. And just like

  Katrina, she wil also find out that she was on the wrong team.

  “Al we have to do is snatch that bitch Diamond up and her stupid ass wil get Duke to come to

  us,” I suggested.

  “Did anyone move in with her after you got arrested?” How in the hel did he know we were

  roommates? “No, after I was arrested and her boyfriend got kil ed, she has lived by herself ever

  since.”

  “So she is in the same apartment you guys have had for a while?” What the fuck! “Ok, yes, she

  lives in the same apartment, in the same apartment building we have lived in for a while. But it would

  be easy to get to her because I got a little homeboy out her way that’l get her out of her apartment if

  need be.”

  “Nah, I don't want to lure her out of the apartment, I want to keep her inside and see if we can get

  Duke to come in there with her.”

  I shook my head immediately. “No, that’s not going to work. Diamond lives in the hood. So when

  Duke’s comes by he never steps foot out of his car.”

  “Do you know this for sure?”

  “Yeah, I told you I got this young cat out there that sees everything. I talked to him last night and he

  told me that a few of his road dogs is waiting for the day that Duke steps foot out of his car so they

  can rob his ass and take his whip.”

  He didn’t have a quick comeback. Once again he was in deep thought. Hel , so was I. How in the

  hel did this muthafucka know al of the information he knew. “Bishop, how you know we were

  roommates and where Duke lived and the other places he have?” I knew I took him out of his deep

  thoughts.

  “Lynise, it’s my business to know what I’m getting into and know about the people that affect my

  world.” His words just hung in the air for a moment. “I know everything I need to know to make this

  work and then I can get my ass back home, away from this damn area.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know where that would lead me after he reaped his revenge on

  Duke and Chris. Hel , I didn’t even know if he was going after the two brothers or not. But he is

  obviously a man with resources and shit, I felt foolish for doubting him when we initial y met.

  “By the way, we might just be able to accommodate your friends,” he replied. “I want to rol out of

  here as soon as it gets dark, so get yourself some rest and be ready by nightfal .”

  Sleep captured my heart, soul and body as soon as my head hit the pil ow.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  Dead Friends Tel No Tales-Chapter Twenty-Two

  Who knows how they wil die—for many, it’s stil a guess a minute before their last breath.

  The growling of my stomach woke me up and I knew Bishop was next door. I had only been

  sleeping a couple of hours. I knocked on the wal and within a minute he was there. I told him I was

  hungry. He asked what I wanted, and I told him Chinese. I watched him as he as he walked to the

  door. His body language and swagger were fucking me up inside. I supposed to be thinking about

  revenge on Diamond and Duke, and my mind was on Bishop’s fine ass. I swear he was sexy as hel .

  I stil wondered how this whole thing would play out. And what was my destiny after we kil ed Duke.

  Would Bishop just leave and leave me here? I knew he had a bitch where he lived. I didn’t know her,

  so I didn’t give a damn about her. Something inside of me told me he deserved to be with a woman

  like me. But I knew I had tightened my shit up and become a little more sophisticated. In my heart I

  knew his ass was kicking with thugs and city officials—pimps and business suits. I just knew he rol ed

  like that.

  I real y did have a thing for bad boys. I didn’t know why. They just exuded power when I saw them

  handling their business in the streets. But Bishop was on another level. He was right about the

  penthouse and basement. He hobnobbed with both levels. Yeah, he was indeed a bad boy, but he

  had plenty of money to go with his power, and that shit was an added bonus and one hel uva turn-on.

  I just knew his ass was invincible. And I was fucking love it. And what was even crazier was that I

  would stil fuck him. Fuck his woman, I had to look out for me. Shit, I figured with everything going on

  and al the loyalty I had shown him, he would love to wife me up when al ended wel . If not, fuck it, I

  would stil give him a taste of this pussy.

  When he made it back, I ate and was happy he ate with me. He let me go back to sleep and woke

  me up around eight that night and told me to get ready. If taking a shower and walking back in the

  room, I was surprised to see al of the clothes he had bought me. He just didn’t know how I wanted to

  drop to my knees and stick his dick in my mouth. And then I hoped he would tongue fuck me like there

  was no tomorrow, before he slammed that dick in my wet pussy. And damn, I was some kind of wet.

  But that shit would have to wait. It didn’t take me long to get dressed and ready. Now was the

  time for business. Pleasure had to wait for later.

  When we got back into the SUV, initial y, no one said a word. I didn’t know if this was nervous

  energy or what. Maybe it was me. As we rol ed out of the hotel, I was prepared to give Torch

  Diamond’s address when Bishop told Monty the address and he put it in the GPS. Shit, this

  muthafucka knew the address and everything.

  I thought about Bishop’s guys names. Torch and Monty. As compared to Duke’s right hand man,

  Chris. Torch and Monty sounded like trouble. Both were quiet and very business-like. I also noticed

  when Bishop was in their presence, he was different—more authoritative, which added to his al ure. It

  was like they knew who was in command. It was then I realized it wasn’t nervous energy—the SUV

  was fil ed to the rooftop with confidence. Confidence that only dangerous men could display in

  dangerous situations.

  When we got to the neighborhood, I instructed Torch to drive pass the block first so we could see

  who was out and about. But most importantly, I wanted to see if there was a threat out there. Sure,

  Diamond had a couple of haters out there who’d love to see her fal . But she also had a few niggas

  who’d at least cal the cops for her if they saw that she was in danger. I knew for a fact that if that

  Rodney cat was out there, that he’d assist in catching that bitch off guard.

  As we cruised through the ’hood to check out the scenery, I didn’t see anyone who’d pose a

  threat to us. And when I looked over at Diamond’s apartment I could also see there were two sets of

  lights on in her apartment, which led me to believe that she was there. Now I couldn’t say for sure if

  she had any guest in there with her, but at least I felt confident enough to let Bishop know that we

  were on to something.

  “I’m not sure how long she’s going to be in there, but I do know that she is there,” I told him.

  “Is there anywhere around here that we can park without bringing attention to ourselves?” Torch

  asked.

  “Yeah, go around the block,” I said. “We can park on the back street. We won’t be able to see her

  entire apartment. But we’l be able to see her if she tries to leave out of her front door.”

  “A’ight,” Torch said.

  “No,” Bishop said. Torch stopped the truck in the middle of the street. I was worried we would bring