Business is Business PT 5 Page 4

  “What’s the connect’s name?” Nicole asked.

  “He goes by the name Brady.”

  “I’ve heard stories about him. Heard he’s the real deal,” Nicole said. “Out in Miami I heard he’s more popular than the president.”

  “I’m going to make Chico regret not selling to the Mason family,” Millie smiled. “We going to put that fucker out of business.”

  “When are we heading to Miami?” Nicole asked from the back seat.

  Millie turned and looked back at Nicole with a smile on her face. “Tonight.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Frank Russo

  Frank Russo sat in his office listening to Bad News and Lethal Weapon go into detail about all the events that had taken place in the past forty-eight hours. Frank listened with a smile on his face. He was happy to hear that the Mason family was finally starting to take some losses on their end. “Next I want that cocksucker Eric to suffer. No way I’m letting him get away with stealing my hotel,” Frank said in a stern tone.

  “I went and shot up the hotel like you asked,” Lethal Weapon smiled. “What’s next?”

  “I want you to set Eric’s house on fire,” Frank said with a wicked look on his face. “And I want you to do it while he’s home.”

  Lethal Weapon smiled. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

  “What about me? What do you need me to do?” Bad News asked not wanting to be left out.

  “Your job is to take out Jimmy Mason,” Frank Russo said. “I want you to make his life a living hell until those scumbags decides to give me my hotel back.”

  Bad News nodded his head. “That won’t be a problem.”

  “I want the pressure put on these moolies. Let them know we ain’t fucking around!” Frank barked. “I want my hotel back!”

  CHAPTER 16

  Brady

  Brady sat in his back yard enjoying a nice drink while his accountant ran some numbers by him. Brady only half listened due to the distraction. In front of him, in his swimming pool, were ten naked models playing volleyball. The models played volleyball, sniffed coke, and listened to music all at the same time. “Hey, Dave, let’s wrap this up. I have some very important guests that should be arriving here any minute.” Brady finished off his drink and shook his accountant’s hand. “One of my bodyguards will escort you out.”

  Once his accountant was gone, Brady turned to his best friend and second in charge; a man that went by the name Slim. “I want that motherfucker dead before the night is out,” Brady said in a calm tone. “Stealing from me and think I wouldn’t find out.”

  “You want it quick and easy or you want it to be messy?” Slim asked.

  “Messy,” Brady answered as the maid came over and prepared him another drink. “Now tell me what you know about this Millie chick that’s supposed to be meeting with us today?”

  “I did a little research on her and her family,” Slim began. “Everything checked out she seems to be official. She got popped and did a fifteen year bid and never said a word.”

  Brady nodded his head. “I like her already.”

  “Only thing is, she works with her family and I don’t know how I feel about that,” Slim added. “But besides that she seems to be the real deal.”

  “We’ll hear her out when she gets here,” Brady said. His eyes were glued to the volleyball match that was taking place in his pool. Two drinks later one of Brady’s bodyguards came and whispered in his ear. “Some lady named Millie is out front. Says she has a meeting with you today.”

  “Yeah, send her in,” Brady ordered. He stood to his feet and adjusted his tie. Brady stood six feet tall and weighed two hundred pounds. His blonde ponytail stopped at the middle of his back. Brady favored the NFL superstar Ben Roethlisberger.

  Millie stepped out into the backyard dressed in an expensive looking navy blue skirt suit. On her feet was a pair of navy blue heels. On her face was a pair of oversized shades. Bringing up her rear was Nicole and Knuckles.

  “Hey, Brady. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Millie smiled as her and Brady shook hands.

  “Please have a seat,” Brady said as he openly checked Millie out. “I have to say you look amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, how can I help you?” Brady sat down and crossed his legs.

  “I’m looking for a steady connect,” Millie began. “Someone who can deliver a shit load of product. I have a crazy demand. All I’m lacking is the supply.”

  “How much supply are you looking for?” Brady asked curiously.

  “I need at least two hundred bricks a month.”

  Brady chuckled. “You can’t be serious.” He took another sip from his drink. “Do you have the funds to cover two hundred a month?”

  “I’m good for it,” Millie said quickly.

  “Listen, Millie. I know you didn’t come all the way out to Miami to waste my time?” Brady asked.

  “Give me the two hundred and I’ll have your money for you in three weeks,” Millie stated plainly.

  “Three weeks is a quick turnaround, Millie.” Brady stood to his feet. “Let’s say I give you the two hundred bricks and you don’t have my money in three weeks. Then what?”

  “Then you can kill me and my entire family,” was Millie’s response. Millie knew a man of Brady’s status didn’t play when it came to his money and she wanted to let him know that she was serious about her business.

  Brady chuckled again. “I like how you do business,” he said. He liked people who believed in themselves. “I like your style, Millie,” Brady paused. “So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you the two hundred bricks and you have three weeks to get me back my money,” he paused to take a sip from his drink. “But for whatever reason I don’t get my money…I’m sure you already know what the outcome will be.”

  “Thank you for believing in me, Brady, and I promise I won’t let you down,” Millie stood and extended her hand. Brady grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it gently.

  “Millie, I look forward to doing business with you for a very long time,” Brady smiled.

  “Are you this nice to all of your customers?” Millie flirted back.

  “None of them look like you,” Brady admitted. “I’m trusting you and I don’t trust a lot of people. Please don’t let me down, Millie.”

  Knuckles stood on the sideline ice grilling Brady. He didn’t like the way he was looking at Millie and openly checking her out but he knew that this meeting was a big deal for Millie so he decided to remain cool.

  “When you get back to New York go down to Times Square. There will be an old school hooptie in front of Applebee’s. The keys will be on top of the back tire and in the trunk is where all the product will be stored. Call me when you made the pick up and be safe,” Brady said.

  “Will do and thanks again for the opportunity,” Millie said humbly as she and her crew made their exit. Once Millie was out of war shot, Slim spoke up. “You think she’s going to be able to pull it off in three weeks?”

  “For her and her family’s sake, I hope so,” Brady said.

  CHAPTER 17

  The Black Dragon

  The Black Dragon sat behind the wheel of a tinted out black Yukon as he followed Eric’s Range Rover. He had been trailing Eric’s every last move for the last four days and figured today was the best time for him to strike. It was a rainy and nasty day, which meant that there wouldn’t be a lot of police around. The Black Dragon made sure he stayed four lengths behind the Range Rover. All the rain made it a little easier for the Black Dragon to fly under the radar. On the Black Dragon’s lap sat a tech-9. His windshield wipers worked in overtime as he watched the Range Rover come to a stop at a fancy steakhouse.

  * * *

  Eric sat in the back seat of the Range Rover looking over some paperwork on a new investment property he was thinking about purchasing. “These numbers are pretty good,” Eric said out loud, as he stuffed the papers back inside the manila envelope. “A
ny word on where the Russo family is hiding out?”

  Pistol Pete shook his head. “Nah but I’m sure they still have something up their sleeves. I spoke to Jimmy and he said that he has a whole crew of his men out looking for anyone associated with the Russo family.”

  “Cool, keep me posted on that situation,” Eric said as he stepped out of the back seat of the Range Rover. Immediately, one of his bodyguards opened an umbrella and held it over Eric’s head, protecting him from the rain. Pistol Pete and the rest of Eric’s security quickly formed a circle around him as they escorted him inside the restaurant.

  Eric stepped in the restaurant and immediately he spotted his mother sitting in the back along with the big beast, Knuckles. Eric made his way to the back of the restaurant and helped himself to a seat. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that Nicole was an assassin?” he huffed in a strong whisper.

  “What difference does it make?” Millie said not bothering to look up from her plate. “Y’all were both attracted to one another and y’all made each other happy. That’s all that matters.”

  “Bullshit!” Eric yelled causing other diners to nosily look over in their direction. “You are supposed to be my mother and a mother is supposed to protect their child. Not hook them up with a crazy killer!”

  “Great, so tell the entire restaurant,” Millie said unmoved. She knew why Eric was upset but there was nothing she could do about it now. “Son, while I was away I was worried about you so I hooked you up with Nicole so she could protect you since I couldn’t at the time,” Millie said laying it on thick. “I know you are upset but you know that girl loves you.” she looked up in Eric’s eyes. “She told me she risked her own life to save yours.”

  Eric nodded. “Yeah, she did.” He loved Nicole to death but he just felt betrayed and left in the dark with the whole situation. Eric hated finding out things last. Especially something about his woman.

  “I know sometimes you don’t understand the things that I do but that’s why I’m the parent,” Millie took a sip from her glass of wine. “And some things aren’t meant for you to understand.”

  “From now on I’m going to need you to be straight up with me!” Eric huffed.

  “Go see Nicole and make everything right,” Millie shoveled a piece of steak in her mouth. “Go get your girl back and get out my face bothering me before I give you a spanking like I used to do when you were a kid,” she laughed. “She’s staying at one of Frank Russo’s hotels a few blocks away from the mansion.”

  “Why is she staying there?” Eric asked with his face crumbled up. Just Frank’s name alone rubbed him the wrong way.

  “She didn’t want to stay in your hotel and upset you so I advised her to stay at that hotel,” Millie shrugged. “She had to stay somewhere.”

  Eric stood to his feet, kissed Millie on the cheek, and got ready to leave when Millie grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Sit down; I called you here for a reason.” Millie took another sip from her glass of wine. “I got the faucet put back on.”

  “Word? How did you make that happen?” Eric said with a shocked look on his face. While Millie was away, Eric had tried to score product from every wholesaler out there with no luck. “Who’s supplying us?”

  “Brady,” Millie said with a smile.

  “You mean crazy Brady out in Miami?” Eric asked with a raised brow. Eric had heard plenty of stories about Brady and they were all violent and ended with someone either dying or never being heard from or seen again. “Please be careful while you’re dealing with him.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Millie said quickly. “My concern is getting rid of all this product.”

  Eric noticed a certain look in his mother’s eyes and immediately knew that something was wrong. “What did you do?”

  “I took a whole lot of product and I have three weeks to get rid of it,” Millie said in a cool tone as if she had everything under control. “We’re having a family meeting at the house tonight at eight. Don’t be late.”

  “I won’t,” Eric said as stood and turned to head for the exit. Once outside, Eric’s bodyguards quickly formed a circle around him trying to shield him from any type of danger. Just as Eric lifted, one leg to step up inside the Range Rover one of his bodyguard’s head exploded like a melon sending blood and brain matter all over Eric’s face. Immediately, Eric was tackled down to the ground by one of his bodyguards. Pistol Pete quickly took cover behind a parked car and returned fire on the gunman.

  The Black Dragon held his finger down on the trigger of his machine gun as he moved forward shooting anything moving. He quickly reloaded his weapon as he watched one of the bodyguards toss Eric in the back of the SUV.

  Pistol Pete quickly jumped behind the wheel, threw the gear in reverse, and stomped down on the gas pedal. The Black Dragon opened fire on the Range Rover. He watched as his bullets cracked the front windshield but didn’t penetrate.

  “Stay down!” Pistol Pete yelled with his arm behind the passenger seat’s headrest as he listened to the machine gun bullets smash into the bulletproof windshield as the Range Rover tires screeched loudly.

  The Black Dragon chased after the Range Rover until the vehicle finally bent the corner.

  * * *

  Millie sat in the restaurant finishing up her steak when she heard the loud sound of machine gun fire. She quickly shot to her feet and stormed towards the exit with Knuckles close on her heels. Millie immediately thought the worst when she heard the thunderous shots. Her hand shot down inside her purse and came out carrying a .380. Millie pushed the restaurant door open and saw the Black Dragon running down the street with a machine gun in his hand. Millie aimed her gun at the assassin but held back on pulling the trigger when she saw the two cop cars in pursuit of the Black Dragon. With all of her legal troubles, she figured it would be best to just allow the authorities to take care of it. Millie slipped her gun back down in her purse as she noticed three of Eric’s bodyguards laid out on the concrete in a pool of their own blood.

  “Come on, Millie. We have to go,” Knuckles said as he gently placed his hand on her back noticing several cop cars pulling up to a screeching stop. “Eric is fine.”

  * * *

  The Black Dragon spun around the corner and dashed inside a high priced clothing store. He pushed several women down to the floor as he ran towards the back exit. The Black Dragon busted through the staircase door and paused when he realized that the back door was locked. The Black Dragon spun around and shot the first cop dead with a head shot. He quickly dashed up the stairs as the police opened fire on him trying to take his head off. The Black Dragon turned the corner as several bullets lodged in the wall right where his head was just a second ago. The Black Dragon recklessly fired a few shots over his shoulder just to buy him some time and keep the cops at bay as he continued on to the roof.

  Several cops cautiously made their way up to the roof. On a silent count of three, one of the cops snatched the door open as the rest of the cops ran out onto the roof with their guns drawn only to find the roof empty.

  CHAPTER 18

  Nicole

  Nicole laid on the bed in her hotel room staring up at the ceiling while The Weekend’s voice hummed smoothly through the small speakers. For the last two days, she kept herself cooped up in the room and away from the real world. All that was on Nicole’s mind was Eric. A part of her still couldn’t believe that Eric had actually dumped her and kicked her out because she saved his life. The more Nicole thought about it the more she wanted to march over to Eric’s mansion and kick his ass for treating her like this. “That motherfucker got some nerve,” Nicole huffed as she turned over on her side and prepared to take a nap. Lately sleep seemed to be the only way for Nicole to get her mind to stop thinking. Nicole closed her eyes as she heard light knock at the door. Nicole’s hand quickly shot under the pillow as she grabbed her P-90 and slowly headed to the door. Nicole looked through the peephole then lowered her gun. She took a deep breath before she cracked the door a
nd stuck her head out. “What do you want? And how did you find me?”

  Eric stood on the other side of the door holding a dozen roses in his hand. “We need to talk.”

  “We don’t have nothing to talk about,” Nicole shot back quickly. “The other night I think you said more than enough.”

  “Baby, can I please come in so we can talk?”

  Nicole opened the door an inch further and walked back inside the room helping herself to a seat on the bed. “Talk!” she snapped. “And whatever comes out of your mouth better be damn good.”

  “Well, I just came by to bring you these,” Eric handed Nicole the roses. “And I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for the way I spoke and treated you.”

  “Hmmp,” Nicole huffed.

  “Also I came over here to ask if you would please come back home,” Eric asked.

  “Why so you can kick me out again?” Nicole asked, being smart. On the outside, her face still looked as if she had an attitude but on the inside, she was happy to see Eric. As Nicole sat listening to Eric, every few seconds she would sniff her roses.

  “Baby, I apologize. I just don’t like being left in the dark especially when it comes to my woman,” Eric admitted. “If it wasn’t for you I’d probably be dead right now.”

  “Probably my ass!” Nicole huffed. “If I wasn’t there you would have definitely been dead.”

  “Is there anything I can do to repay you?” Eric moved in closer. He stood one inch away from her face. “And when I say anything,” he paused and licked his lips. “I mean anything,”

  Nicole stood up on her tippy toes and kissed Eric like she had just been released from doing a five-year bid in prison. “What’s this?” Nicole looked down and saw dry specs of blood on the collar of his shirt.

  “Oh, that ain’t nothing. Just had another run in with the Black Dragon today,” Eric said trying to downplay the situation. Nicole pushed Eric out of her space. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”