The Cartel 4: Diamonds Are Forever Read online

  Breeze’s fingers lightly touched the still painful scar. It was tender to touch and it brought tears to her eyes. She was so grateful to be alive. To have had a second chance to love a man like Zyir for a lifetime humbled her. He was her everything. Nothing could ever tear her away from that man, not even an envious, conniving force like Illiana. You lose, bitch, Breeze thought. She pulled into the driveway of her oceanfront double villa and placed her car in park. Her head spun as she thought of all that her family had been through. Thinking of the pieces of her life that she had lost, her chest became heavy. The Diamond family had once been so close, so strong, but outside forces had come in and annihilated them. Rest in love, she thought. She gripped her steering wheel and lowered her head as she began to cry.

  The Cartel was in transition, and Zyir was the new head of state. Breeze had just been crowned the new queen, and it excited and frightened her simultaneously. The last thing she wanted was to be someone else’s target in another war, and as Zyir’s wife she was vulnerable. She hoped that he would keep her protected and untouchable to the street’s ills.

  A knock at the window alarmed her, and she quickly wiped her eyes as she turned to see Leena holding her nephew, Monroe II, in her arms. Breeze exited her car and gave Leena a smile and quickly scooped the baby from her.

  “Are you okay?” Leena asked.

  Breeze nodded and replied, “Yes, I’m fine. Are you two headed out?” Breeze asked.

  “Just to grab lunch. You wanna join us? It looks like you could use a sangria or two or three,” Leena said with a charmingly beautiful smile.

  Leena had become a part of the family. She held the only connection left to Monroe. She had borne his son and that immediately endeared her to The Cartel. She was kept and protected as if her last name were Diamond as well. Breeze even welcomed Leena into her home so that she wouldn’t miss a beat of her nephew’s life. The women had grown closer than close. Leena helped Breeze balance out the testosterone-heavy Cartel. She was like the sister Breeze never had.

  The sound of her cell phone ringing caused her to pause. “I’ll get the baby set up in the car while you take your call,” Leena said.

  Breeze looked down at the screen and didn’t recognize the number. She immediately sent it to voicemail, but when the number called back her curiosity was piqued.

  “Who is this?” she asked, knowing that only a select few had her number.

  “It’s your grandfather.”

  Breeze’s breath caught in her throat at the sound of Estes’s voice. She missed him dearly, but had mixed emotions toward him because of his refusal to supply Zyir and Carter. He had been the connect who kept The Cartel strong while her father reigned, but things had gone stale after her father’s death. Her grandfather refused to supply The Cartel with Young Carter and Zyir as its leaders, and consequently his relationship with Breeze hadn’t been the same since.

  “Hello, Estes,” she replied.

  “I need to meet with you immediately. Come to my estate tomorrow evening at eight o’clock. It is imperative, Breeze. Do not be late.”

  Breeze stood there dumbfounded by the unexpected call as she heard the dial tone blare in her ear. His instructions were clear and he gave away no clues as to what she should expect. One thing for sure was that when Estes called there was usually a storm brewing. Breeze just hoped that her family could withstand whatever blow he was about to deliver.

  Chapter 4

  “He is dead to the world, not us.”

  —Estes

  As Young Carter looked around the roundtable, he saw his family. Although his body was there physically, his mind was a thousand miles away. Visions of his Miamor clouded his thoughts. Her scent, her face, and the thoughts of all the deception she had been a part of. He looked around the table and saw all of the family that he had left, which were Zyir andBreeze. The sound of the French doors opening interrupted his thoughts. All eyes shot to the entryway, and the tension in the room was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. As the remaining members of the Diamond family sat at the table, no one said a word. They all were clueless and wondering what was the cause for the meeting called by Estes.

  Estes, with a walking cane in his right hand, slowly walked toward the table and took a seat at the head of it. Everyone’s attention was on Estes as he pulled out a cigar and lit it, taking his time as he usually did. He slowly puffed on the Cuban until it was well lit and blew out a cloud of smoke.

  “I want to thank everyone for coming this evening. I called this meeting to make an announcement. I made a very important decision a couple of years back,” Estes said as he took his time with his words, enunciating every syllable. “I made a decision to keep a secret from the family and, looking around the table, I believe I made the right call,” he stated.

  The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was wondering what Estes was about to say. However, the anticipation would not last long. Just as the last word slipped out of Estes’s mouth, in came Monroe “Money” Carter. He hadn’t missed a beat. He walked in in a three-piece Armani suit with a model’s posture. His face was clean shaven, just as he always kept it, displaying his strong jawbone and smooth skin.

  Everyone’s heart dropped as they saw the familiar face appear. Breeze let a small gasp escape as she put her hand over her lips. It was as if she had seen a ghost. She actually thought she was seeing a ghost, seeing that she had buried her brother years ago. It was too unreal to her.

  Money walked directly to Breeze and she stood up. Money was slightly taller than she, and he looked down at his sister. They stared directly into each other’s eyes, both not knowing what to say. What could a person say after going through what they had been through? Before Money slipped into a coma, his whole family was alive and well. Fast-forward years later . . . everyone was gone.

  “Monroe,” Breeze whispered as she gently cupped the right side of his face. “Oh, my God. It’s really you,” she said as she shook her head in disbelief. Her brother, twin of Mecca, was there in flesh. Monroe was back.

  It seemed like Money had an instant flashback when he saw his sister’s eyes. The horrible night that put him in the coma resurfaced to his memory when he saw his baby sister.

  Five Years Prior

  Money drove Mecca’s Lamborghini down the highway toward Leena’s home. Money hated driving Mecca’s cars. In his eyes they were way too flashy and drew too much attention. Money glanced over at Leena while she cried quietly, wishing she had never come out that night. Money wanted so badly to be with Leena, but he couldn’t betray his brother in that way. He gently ran his hand over her cheek and wiped her teary eyes, trying to comfort her.

  “Mecca doesn’t mean any harm. He does love you; he just has a fucked-up temper, nah mean?”

  “He sure has a fucked-up way of showing me he loves me,” Leena said as tears streamed down her face and she kissed Money’s hand as he rubbed her cheek.

  Money thought Leena was crying because of what Mecca had just done to her, but that was the furthest thing from her mind at that point. The tears were coming from the thought of her knowing that she and Money could never be. Leena placed her hand on her stomach as she melted in Money’s hand. She had found out that morning that she was three weeks pregnant with Money’s child. She knew it was Money’s because she hadn’t been intimate with Mecca in months. He had been too busy to satisfy her lately. She decided to have an abortion and take her secret to her grave, but the pressure was too much to handle by herself; she had to tell Money.

  “Money, I’m pregnant,” Leena said almost in a whisper.

  “What?” Money asked as he swerved in traffic, not believing what he had just heard.

  “I said I’m pregnant, Money! It’s your baby.”

  “What are you talking about? How do you know it’s mine? It ain’t mine. I strapped up every time!” Money expressed with skepticism in his voice.

  “I know it’s yours because you are the only person I have been wi
th. Mecca and I haven’t done anything in months. I know it’s yours! Remember that night . . . after those niggas tried to rob Mecca?” Leena asked, referring to the last time they had made love without using protection.

  Money kicked himself inside, knowing the time she was talking about. He was so caught up in the moment he slid up in her raw, and now he was paying the consequences of his actions.

  “Fuck!” Money yelled as he hit the steering wheel out of frustration. The guilt began to set in as Money thought about how he had betrayed his best friend and twin brother.

  “I love you, Leena,” Mecca whispered just before he lowered his face to his table to inhale the line of cocaine. As soon as Breeze dropped him off, his conscience began eating at him. He felt bad for putting his hands on the only woman he had ever truly loved. His long hair was wild and unbraided, which made him look like a madman as he used his nose as a suction vacuum for his preferred drug.

  Mecca threw his head back and held it up to prevent his nose from running. Mecca was high out of his mind. He had snorted five grams of coke within twenty minutes, and the effects of the drugs were kicking in. He grabbed the bottle of Rémy Martin and took a large swallow of it. Mecca distantly heard a Tupac song pump out of his home stereo and recognized the tune. He stood up, almost stumbling, and went over to turn the music up. “‘All I need in this world of sin is me and my girlfriend . . . Down to ride to the very end, just me and my girlfriend.’” Mecca held the bottle of Rémy in his grasp and drunkenly rapped along, thinking about his love, Leena. He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to go over to Leena and make things right. His conscience was getting the best of him. Although he treated Leena bad at times, he really was in love with her and she was the only woman he had truly ever loved. Mecca staggered over to the keys to his Benz and snatched them off the counter. He was about to confess his love for Leena.

  “Leena, I love you, baby. I’m sorry,” he said as he stumbled out the door and into his Benz. He was about to go see his woman.

  “I don’t know what to do, Money. I’m in love with a man I can’t have,” Leena said as tears streamed from her eyes. She sat on her sofa across from Money expressing how she felt about him. Their brief love affair turned into an undeniable desire to be with one another.

  Money was speechless as he looked into Leena’s eyes and realized the feeling was mutual. He began to slowly shake his head, knowing that what they had done was wrong. His father taught him that family always comes first and loyalty is the single most important thing a man can have for his family. Money’s father’s teachings were embedded in his brain as his heart and mind played tug of war. On one hand he knew that betraying his brother was wrong, but on the flipside, not taking responsibility for what he had created would eat at him. His father also told him that abortion is wrong and a real man takes care of his family by any means necessary. Money was lost.

  “Leena, this ain’t right. This ain’t right,” he mumbled as he buried his face in his palms. All Money could think about was his twin brother. Money had no other choice but to force an abortion upon Leena. He wasn’t willing to let a woman come between him and his sibling.

  That’s my flesh and blood, my brother . . . Blood in, blood out. I can’t let her have that baby, Money thought as he looked at Leena crying her eyes out. What he felt for Leena was more than just a sexual attraction; he reluctantly loved her.

  Money sat next to her so that he could console her. He ran his fingers through her hair and gently put his finger under her chin and made her look at him in the eyes.

  “Leena, we are going to get through this . . . together. We can’t have this baby, though. It is wrong,” Money said as he returned the deep stare at Leena.

  “I never wanted it to be like this,” Leena added, heartbroken.

  “Everything is going to be okay. But this between us has to stop,” Money replied as he gently kissed Leena on the lips. Money’s lips were magic to Leena. Just by his touch, he drove Leena wild. She felt her friend in between her legs begin to thump, and before she knew it her hands were in his pants looking for his rod. She gently began to stroke it, to make it grow. Money promised himself this would be the last time he would have sex with his forbidden love.

  “‘All I need in this world of sin . . .’” Mecca sang drunkenly as he approached Leena’s house. He was going to apologize to his woman and make things right.

  When he pulled up he noticed his Lamborghini parked in her driveway. “Money still here?” he asked himself as he pulled two houses down from Leena’s house. He threw the car in park, grabbed the half empty bottle of Rémy, and hopped out. Mecca staggered to Leena’s house and noticed that the front light was on. He walked in front of the house, and what he saw through the front glass made his heart drop.

  Mecca dropped the Rémy bottle, causing it to shatter into pieces on the sidewalk. He saw his twin brother passionately kissing his woman and sadness overcame him. He watched as Money pulled out one of Leena’s big brown breasts and began to suck on it.

  Mecca was in complete shock as he watched Leena straddle his brother. His eyes bugged out as he saw his brother rub on Leena’s behind with one hand while removing her thong with the other. “What the . . .” Mecca stammered as he looked in disbelief. He walked closer to the front glass and witnessed the treachery happening.

  Money and Leena were so into one another that they didn’t notice Mecca staring at them through the large front glass. Leena’s moans could be heard from the outside as she rode Monroe with more passion than she had ever given to Mecca.

  Mecca’s sadness instantly turned into rage as he reached for his gun and headed for the front door. Seconds later, bullets from Mecca’s .40-cal pistol were ripping through the front door wood. Leena scrambled to the corner of the room out of fear. She didn’t know what was going on. Money grabbed his pistol from his waist and pointed it at the door out of instinct. He saw Mecca bursting through the front door with tears in his eyes.

  “Mecca!” Leena yelled as she saw the look in his eyes. She knew that their secret was out of the bag. She had gotten caught with Money red-handed.

  “I can’t believe you, bitch!” Mecca screamed as he pointed his gun at Leena.

  Money put away his gun and tried to calm down his brother. “Mecca, put the gun down! It’s not what it looked like,” Money tried to explain.

  “It’s not what it looked like? Nigga, fuck you!” Mecca said as he pointed his gun at his brother. Mecca’s heart was broken. The two people he thought he could trust were the very ones deceiving him. Mecca pulled the hammer back on his gun and aimed it at his brother’s head. Money put both of his hands up and tried to reason with his brother. Money knew his brother very well, and when he looked in Mecca’s eyes, it was obvious that he was high as a kite.

  “Bro, listen! Put the mu’fuckin’ gun down. You high! Now stop before you do something you gon’ regret,” Money pleaded.

  “The only thing I regret is fuckin’ with this stankin’ ho!” Mecca yelled as he pointed his gun back at Leena. The thought of her being intimate with his brother sent him over the edge. “I hate you!” Mecca screamed as he put both of his hands on his head. His tears began to fall freely with no shame. “I loved you,” Mecca whispered just before he pointed the gun at Leena and let off two rounds. He watched as the bullets ripped through her chest and she fought for air.

  “Noooo!” Money yelled as he rushed over to Leena and cradled her in his arms. “Breathe, Leena, breathe!” he instructed her as blood oozed out of her mouth. Leena fought for her dear life as she gripped Money’s hands and looked into his eyes. “Breathe, Leena!” Money screamed as he tried to keep her from slipping away. “Call an ambulance!” he yelled as he looked back at his brother. Mecca was pacing the room with both of his hands on his head.

  “Oh my God. What have I done?” he whispered as he frantically continued to pace the room. He looked over at his brother and Leena and what he saw and heard broke his heart. Before she lost consciousness
, Leena looked Money in the eyes and whispered, “I love you, Monroe Carter.”

  A single tear slid down Money’s face and he felt Leena’s grip suddenly loosen and he knew that she was gone.

  A tear fell from Mecca’s eye also, but it wasn’t one of sorrow, but a tear of rage. He just witnessed the woman he loved tell his brother that she loved him. “Her last words were that she loved you . . . not me,” he whispered as he slowly raised his gun and pointed at Money. Money ran his hand over Leena’s eyelids to close them and then he gently kissed her forehead before he turned his attention on his brother.

  “Mecca, put . . . the gun . . . down,” Money instructed as he put his hands in front of him.

  “You always thought you were better than me, nigga! You could have had any woman you wanted, but you had to take mines. Now look at you! Look what you made me do. Look! Papa and Ma always favored you over me,” Mecca cried as the tears fell freely down his face and his hand began to shake. He remembered what his parents used to say when he would get in trouble, and he began to mimic them. “You need to be more like Monroe . . . Monroe wouldn’t act like that.”

  Mecca’s voice was shaky, and Money knew his brother was unstable. As all of his emotions boiled over, Mecca looked Money in the eyes and let off a single shot that entered the left side of his chest where his heart resided. Monroe heard the gunshot, but didn’t believe his own flesh and blood had shot him. As the burning sensation in Money’s chest settled in, Money fell to the ground and his life slowly slipped away. High out of his mind, Mecca watched as his brother lay in a puddle of his own blood . . . dying.

  Estes and Taryn looked at Monroe through the clear glass and watched as he struggled for his life. They had registered him under John Doe to be cautious. They were in the middle of a war and didn’t want to take any chance. Estes held his daughter Taryn in his arms as she wept like a baby. To see her son on the hospital bed with tubes stuck down his mouth was very frightening.