“I tried to find him.”
“Liar!”
“You can talk to Becky; she’ll tell you that I settled with Sherwin and there is a trust set up in Darnel’s name.”
“Liar!”
“If you’re his sister that money is yours,” Valencia said as Adrianna jerked the pillow from under her head. “It’s worth more than five million dollars,” she said as the pillow covered her face and Adrianna pressed down with all the force she could. Valencia struggled as best she could, but she was too weak to fight her off and she suffocated.
When the nurses came rushing in the room, it was too late. Valencia was dead and Adrianna was sitting quietly in the chair next to the bed.
Geno was sitting in the waiting room when he saw hospital security and the police get off the elevator and go rushing down the hall. After a while, his curiosity got the better of him and he got up to see if he could see what the commotion was all about. He stepped out of the waiting room and saw the commotion was outside Valencia’s room. He had started toward the room when the police escorted Adrianna out of the room in handcuffs. She looked at Geno as she passed on the way to the elevator. He rushed to the room and caught a nurse coming out.
“Excuse me,” Geno asked the nurse. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“She killed her. Suffocated her with a pillow. Said it was about cheating her brother.”
He looked at Adrianna as the cop put her on the elevator. “She was just the weapon ,” Geno said to the nurse, but on the inside, he was dying. He loved Valencia, the connection between them was strong and had survived years of separation. They had just spent the last few days together sharing the most intimate of experiences. Geno had killed for Valencia and now she was dead. “Greed … that’s what killed her.”
Chapter Thirty
Shy kissed Black on the cheek and told him not to be out too long because she had something special in mind for him when he got home. Now, armed with the proper incentive, Black got William and they headed out. Their destination was J.R.’s; in light of everything that had gone on in the last couple of days, talking to Rain about it was a good idea.
Although he was now confident that this mess was all about drugs and The Bahamas, he needed to bring her up to speed on it. It had been his experience that what happened in the islands, always found a way to affect their New York operation and vice versa. Black also wanted to hear about what was going on with Rex Steward, Hareem Epps, and Jaylinda Harvey.
Chelsea was on the phone when she first saw Black coming up the stairs. “I’ll call you back,” she said, and fumbled to hang up the phone. She had been a waitress at J.R.’s for years and got the job after Yarissa abruptly quit to avoid Carter after he dumped her.
Naturally, she’d seen him in the club plenty of times, and of course she’d heard all the stories that had floated around the club during all the years she’d worked there, and for that reason alone she was a little scared. But most of the people that came up those steps have scared her, and that list included her boss. Chelsea was scared to death of Rain, scared to the point where she still jumped a little every time Rain said something to her.
But this was Mike Black, the boss of The Family, and even though Demi had told her how nice he was, she was scared to death of him too.
“
Hello, Chelsea,” he said and walked right up to the desk. She was sure that he had no idea who she was. “I’m Mike Black.”
“Good evening, Mr. Black,” she said, and her voice cracked a little. He laughed to himself because Yarrisa and Demi were the same way when they first met him.
“Is Rain in?”
“Yes, she is expecting you,” Chelsea said, and picked up the phone. “I have Mr. Black to see you.”
“Show him in,” Rain said, and Chelsea bounced to her feet to show him in. Her hands shook as she entered the code to Rain’s office.
“What’s up, Black?” Rain said when Black walked in, followed by Chelsea. She went straight behind the bar and waited for her opportunity.
“What up?” Black said and took his usual seat on the couch. “Tell me something that I want to hear.”
“You come to the wrong place, because I ain’t got shit for you,” Rain said, and she and Black laughed.
Chelsea waited until their laughter trailed off before she said, “Can I fix you a drink, Mr. Black?” she asked and glanced at Rain. She nodded her head and Chelsea immediately picked up a bottle of Patrón.
“Thank you, Chelsea,” he said, as she poured Rain’s drink.
“Would you like the XO or the Carte Blanche?”
“Let’s try the Carte Blanche.”
Once she had finished and served their drinks, Chelsea left the office and Black turned to Rain. “You talk to Geno?”