Knowledge sat in the chair at a lost for words by the events that just occurred. He watched his brother sleeping still and thought about how hurt Stacy must have been when Vicky and Diamond ganged up on her.
The room was empty now, giving him some time to talk to his brother alone.
"I'm so sorry for this bro. I hate seeing you like this man. Maybe mom was right; had I been there at that house to back you up like you asked, maybe you wouldn't have been shot in the first place. I was supposed to protect you and I failed. But I promise I won't fail you anymore! Doesn't matter how bad Stacy wants me to stay home with her; that's if she ever speaks to me again. Either way, I'll always be here for you."
He got up from the chair with a heavy heart, kissed Tahj on the forehead and left the hospital.
By the time he got home he contemplated whether he should go to Stacy's room and try to explain what just happened not even a whole hour ago. His heart wanted to but her wrath was not something he was mentally prepared for right now.
He stepped out of his car getting ready to walk towards the house when he was hit so hard in the face that it knocked him to the ground!
Before he knew what was going on, he found himself using his arms to guard his face from the multiple kicks and punches from several men. He curled up tighter like a baby in the womb and prayed the beating would be over soon.
Then, just as fast as it started, it was over. He felt two strong hands grip his shirt and yank him up from the ground. Without giving him a opportunity to see their faces, another man throws a pillow case over his head preventing him from seeing anything.
The five of them pick him up and toss him into the white van which quickly leaves the scene without a witness in sight. The driver takes the van around the corner and parks in the alley.
Once the engine was cut off, the pillow case was removed from his head. Knowledge looked around, he was surrounded by 7 masked men with automatic weapons, not including the driver and one other guy who didn't have a mask. Knowledge recognized him immediately.
"Nice to see you again." Said Arius. "Remember me?"
Knowledge remained quiet. Of course Knowledge remembered him. He was the same one who threatened to kill him when he was caught climbing through the window at Stacy's house.
"Damn," he continued " You-look-terrified." He cracked a huge smile. "Relax man, I'm not here to kill you. If I was, you'd be dead already without me laying a finger on you."
"So what do you want?" Knowledge finally spoke out
"Your brother seems to have come up on a lot of money lately and my boss Cyrus seems to be missing that same amount."
"My brother would NEVER still from Cyrus! Maybe you need to take a closer look at your circle of workers."
Arius grinned. "See, the thing is Kai, there was a little secret meeting a few months ago where some money and drugs were supposed to be exchanged. There were only supposed to be two people there but somehow your brother got word and just like the idiot you are, you came with him. Now I'm going to let you think about what I just said."
He thought and thought until he remembered the last time when Tahj asked him to make a move with him. His face lit up when his mind had flashbacks from that night.
"Remember now?" Arius asked him.
"That wasn't Cyrus' money." Said Knowledge
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't. The point is, your brother is interfering with shit that's way out of his league. I've been watching him since then and from what it looks like, he's spent a lot of it so far. The only reason I haven't blasted his brains out is because Cyrus didn't give me the green light. Well guess what,". He placed his hand on Knowledge shoulder. "I got the green light! I could kill him where he lays but that'll be too risky don't you think. I mean that hospital probably has cameras galore."
The surrounding men chuckled at Arius' sarcasm. They knew he didn't care about cameras and so did Knowledge.
"So here's the thing," he continued "Cyrus wants all of his money in cash by this time next week. There will be NO negotiations or extended time. If that doesn't work out, I'll kill Stacy myself to finish off her fathers debt."
"Debt? John didn't owe Cyrus shit!"
Arius leaned forward and looked at him like he was a fool. "You really don't know shit do you. Looks like somebody's been lying to you so let me fill you in. The whole reason John was killed in the first place was not solely because of the brick of coke that went missing. What John didn't tell you was that he thought he could out smart Cyrus and steal $10,000 without anybody noticing. John disappeared after that and moved his daughter into a new house with that money. So instead of laying a finger on him, he put a price of $15,000 on Stacy's head to punish John."
Knowledge dropped his head. This whole time he believed that John escaped Cyrus' brutal gang and Stacy was merely a innocent victim in the plot. Making matters worse, Stacy knew the real reason she had the price on her head.
"Sorry to burst your bubble but your little "girlfriend" is a liar."
Arius gave the signal that it was time to go. The van door was opened and Knowledge was kicked out. The goons were ready to leave but not without stomping and beating him all over again.
Knowledge got up slowly from the ground with a busted lip, swollen eye, cuts and bruises. But that was no pain compared to the truth about Stacy. He was hurt and feeling more spiteful than ever.
•. •. •.
"He's vulnerable right now." Said Vicky "You gotta take advantage of it while you can. I hate to say it but he loves that lil bitch Stacy but now that they're not seeing eye to eye, it's the perfect opportunity for you to sneak in. You've got to do whatever it takes and I'll make sure she finds out."
"But what if he doesn't go along with it?" Diamond asked
"As fine as you are girl, tuh, he's a typical man who loves bad bitches with phat asses ok. I know my son. Wear something sexy, and put your best moves on him. He'll be all over you."
Diamond suddenly remembered one particular dress that brought the ultimate freak out of Knowledge. It was short, tight fitting, with spaghetti straps to show off her breasts and cuffed her ass perfectly.
By 11 pm that night, she was walking up to his front door ready to take her place as his leading lady once again.
She knocked three times and adjusted her dress while she waited for him to open the door.
When the door swung open she smiled hard which instantly turned to a look of worrisome when she saw how badly he had been beaten.
"What happened to you!"
He didn't say a word. He walked away leaving the door wide open. At this point he didn't care if she stayed or left; he had so much on his mind.
Of course she stayed.
"Are you ok?" She asked as she sat next to him on the couch. "Who did this to you?"
"It's not important. I'm more interested in why you're here on my couch."
Diamond dropped her head, it was time to make a move on him and yet she was so nervous like he was a stranger.
"I came to apologize for how I acted earlier at the hospital. It was completely uncalled for. But you've gotta understand, I still love you and seeing her just brought those feelings back even more. I got jealous."
"Doesn't matter if you got jealous. You should be able to control your feelings. I wasn't the one who did you wrong. You were the first girl I never cheated on only to be betrayed by you my damn self."
"Trust me I never forget how bad I messed up. I don't want to get in the way of your relationship , especially if you're happy. Either way I still wanted to see if you would accept my apology. So I'll give you some time."
She got up to leave when he said the very words she was hoping to hear.
"I don't think there's much left to save with her."
"What do you mean?" She quickly turned around and stood there waiting for his response
"I'm pretty sure my mother already told you about the price on her head,"
"A little. Not much tho."
"Well turns out she lied to me about the real reason she has that price on her head. I risked my life and left everything I knew down there to bring her here just to keep her alive! I don't know if I even want to fix things now."
Diamond sat next to him and touched his face.
"I'm so sorry about that. I can't take back what she did but I can definitely help you feel better."
She straddled him and arched her back so that her ass poked out enough for him to see.
"I don't think this is a good idea. It'll only lead to one thing."
"What's wrong?"
"It's just not something I wanna do right now."
She got up and grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom.
"Care for some water?" She asked
"Sure."
While he sat there with his face buried in his hands, Diamond was busy doing something tricky. She poured him a glass of water and then took a small square package from her bra. She used a steak knife to poke a hole in it and then slipped the small circular pill into his glass of water.
"Not something you wanna do huh? I bet this will change all of that." She smiled to herself as she held up the glass watching the pill dissolve completely.
She went back into the living room and handed him the glass of water. Unexpectedly, Knowledge drunk it all in one gulp.
"Silly me, I forgot the first aid kit."
She ran back to the kitchen and pretended that she couldn't find it. It wouldn't take the pill long to take affect. All she had to do was stall for a minute or two.
She watched the clock on the wall go around twice and then took the kit to him.
Strutting towards him, she saw the look in his eyes. The same look Tahj gave her back then. He was watching her thighs rub together in that tight little dress. His favorite dress!
He was sitting back with his arm propped up on the couch, legs wide open and a sexually aggressive expression on his face.
"Ready?" She asked holding up the bandage.
He got up and snatched the whole kit out her hand and tossed it to the floor.
Next thing she knew, he had sweeper her off her feet and was power walking to his bedroom.
He carried her into the bedroom bridal style and threw her on the bed.
"You came over here with that sexy shit on and thought you wasn't about to get this work?" He slammed the door behind him and began to undress himself. When she tried to take off her dress he stopped her.
"Don't do shit, I wanna take that off myself. I just hope you're ready."
Diamond was giddy with excitement as he climbed on the bed and laid on top of her. This is what she had been waiting for and when it was all done, she would be the First Lady of the King Cartel and Stacy would only be a thought of the past!