Commit To Violence

Cruz slapped his hand away and got to his feet. He watched Black and Bobby leave. "I’m gonna kill that mutha fucka."

"But your uncle said to leave Black alone," Jorge reminded Cruz.

Cruz got in Jorge’s face. "I don’t give a fuck what my uncle says. That bitch is gonna die. And I’m gonna be the one to kill him."

After leaving La Caridad, Black went to Cynt’s to pick up his car. He had an appointment to meet Jada West at her apartment in midtown. On the way there, Bobby asked, "Do you believe him?"

"I don’t know, Bobby. He might’ve had him killed. He might know about it. Either way, we gonna have to deal with it."

"Any time we get too comfortable, somebody always comes along to try us."

"And we’ll kill them, too," Black said and thought about the natural order of things as they arrived at Cynt’s.

"So where you say you had to go?" Bobby asked.

"I’m going to meet Jada West. She said she had something important to talk to me about. You should ride. You might need her services."

"I got something that I need to take care of. And besides, her ho’s charge too fuckin’ much; a thousand dollars for some pussy? No fuckin’ thank you. But with all this shit goin’ on, I’d feel better if you took somebody with you," Bobby said.

"I’ll be fine," Black said, but he knew Bobby was right. He looked around the room. "I’ll take Victor."

Black walked up to Victor, who was being entertained by two dancers. "You doin’ anything right now?" Black asked.

"No."

Black threw Victor the keys to his car. "Now you are. Come on."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Nick hadn’t slept much that day, and what little sleep he got was haunted by dreams of Wanda walking out on him. Her last words to him before she left his apartment that morning

rang in his ears. "I really did love you, Nick, even though I never said it before now. I really did love you."

Although he always believed that Wanda loved him, there were times when he would have given anything to hear her say it. It hurt for those to be her last words. It felt like Wanda had stuck a knife in his gut and turned it. He felt bad about what he had done to Wanda, and at the same time, he didn’t feel bad about what he was doing with Rain. He didn’t feel for Rain the way he felt for Wanda, but there was something about Rain; something that made her and her sex irresistible.

Nick rolled out of bed and got ready to make his rounds. When he left his apartment, he got as far as Cynt’s. He sat down at the bar. "Johnny Black, and leave the bottle," Nick said and the bartender did as she was told. At one point Cynt tried to talk to him, but gave up when she got no answer to the question, "What’s bothering you?"

He knew that Cynt would hear about it sooner or later. He didn’t want her sympathy or her condemnation when he explained that Wanda had left him because he was fucking Rain.

While Nick was trying to drown his sorrows in Johnny Black, Bobby was at Cynt’s too. He came out of the back with one of the dancers on his arm. He handed her a bill and was about to leave when he saw Nick sitting at the bar.

Bobby walked over to him and sat down. "What’s up, Nick?"

"What’s up, Bobby," Nick said and drained his glass.

Bobby looked at him and then at the bottle. Nick picked up the bottle and poured himself another drink. Bobby signaled for the bartender to bring him a glass.

"Mind if I join you?" Bobby asked.

"Go ahead." Nick said. Bobby poured himself a drink and filled Nick’s glass. "What you doin’ here?" Nick asked.

"Gettin’ my dick sucked," Bobby said.

The two of them sat drinking in silence. Every now and then, Bobby would look around at the array of naked women dancing around the club. He knew all of them and had fucked most of them. Some came over and spoke, others just waved. One or two tried to make conversation, but Bobby quickly dismissed them. He picked up the bottle and poured him another. Then he refreshed Nick’s drink.

They sat quietly drinking through two more rounds before Bobby said something to Nick. "Something bothering you?"

"What makes you ask?" Nick replied and turned up his drink. He poured the last of the bottle into his glass. Bobby signaled for the bartender to bring another bottle. The bartender cracked the bottle open and poured Bobby another shot. By that time Nick had crushed his, and held out his glass for another.