War. Read online

  I turn to face the guys and see Jon texting on his phone, a small smile on his face. Marlon’s still staring at Jacob, his eyes half closed. Damn, I need to help my man out. I lean in to him so that he’ll hear me over the music playing in here.

  “She wasn’t talking to him,” I tell Marlon. “Trust me, Jasmine isn’t crazy enough to call Jacob at home, not to mention, while you’re there with her. Chill out. She probably just wanted to catch a later movie with Danny.” He says nothing as he breaks his gaze away from Jacob and looks down at his empty glasses of Scotch. The waitress comes with our drink orders.

  “Mr. Kyles, Mr. St. James, Mr. Beauvais,” she says as she places each of our drinks in front of us. See what I mean? She watches the news. She reads the paper. She’s seen the cover of Forbes. She knows who we are. She knows our names. “Anything else, gentlemen?”

  “No,” Jon says as he puts his cell on the table. “That will be all.”

  “Thank you,” Marlon says with a forced smile. The waitress then looks at me to give her permission to leave. I nod and give her a half smile. She gives me a brighter one in return and then turns around.

  I look back at Marlon and see that he’s back to staring at Jacob. Instinctively, I turn around to look at Jake again. I see Malcolm sliding his bank card over the counter to the bartender while nodding to the brunette on his right. She sits up on the stool, thrusts her breasts and ass out, crosses her legs, and taps a finger on her lips as she looks at a chalkboard menu filled with drink names behind the bar: Sexy Sally, Titties on Ice, Pop It Pineapple… Malcolm steals a look at his watch and I’m sure is thinking, Order your fucking drink, sweetheart, and move along. I’m trynna be nice here. Been there, Mac. She whips her head around to Malcolm and he brings a quick smirk to his face and looks at her. She’s working with a professional here. You see, when your name and face are plastered all over television, newspapers and magazines, you can’t afford to be a dickhead. It’s bad for business.

  The brunette finally appears to be ordering and I see Malcolm shoot Jake a look. If her ass doesn’t hurry up. Jake smiles before shaking his head.

  “She’s sleeping with him,” Marlon says. I turn and see his eyes still glued on Jake. “I know she is.”

  “Maybe,” Jon says before taking a cool sip of his Jack Daniels. “So the question is, what do you plan on doing about it?” I look at Jon. He looks back at me and shrugs at the same moment that his cell phone buzzes and jumps around on the table. He picks it up, looks at it and gives a half smile before taking another sip of his drink.

  I look back over to the bar and see Jake ask the bartender for another shot. I then see Nat step over to Malcolm and whisper something to him as Malcolm leans back and takes a sip of his drink.

  NAT

  Dena saw the cops outside of our building so she bundled up the kids, went down to our condo’s lobby and asked what happened. Making sure attorneys Malcolm Blair and Jacob Blair are alright, Mrs. March. Is your husband around? they asked her. She told them no. Do you know where he is? She lied and said, I’m sorry sir, I don’t quite know where my husband is at the moment. But if you’ll excuse me, I must put our children to bed. Good evening.

  Immediately she and the kids rushed upstairs to call me. “The police are looking for Malcolm and Jacob, Nathaniel. Something’s happened. They asked where you were and I told them I didn’t know. Can they trace this call?”

  “No, we’re fine, baby. We’re on a private network.”

  “Oh goodness, do something, Nat. Please. The lights, the police downstairs, them asking me questions…they’ve frightened our children. I just had to give Piper some warm milk to calm her down.”

  “I’ll handle it, baby.”

  “Thank you. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I called Malcolm. “Jake ran into an issue at his place,” he told me. “Jasmine showed up. Winnie jumped on her, beat her ass and then jumped on Jake. Jasmine’s got a busted lip, Jacob’s got a small gash on his face. Winnie laid down the goddamn law.” I told Mac I’d see him at the bar. I immediately called Winnie:

  “Nat, I’m not in the mood for—”

  “Who dropped the kids off with Jacob’s parents?” I asked as rap music blared into my ear from her end.

  “I did.”

  “Good. You never left.” She gave me a long pause, no doubt trying to see if it was Jacob’s ass I was trying to cover of hers. Of course, it was both. I helped her out. “You’re facing a charge if Jasmine runs to the cops. Assault, Winnie.”

  “So, I went straight from their house to the bar.”

  “You did.”

  “Fine.” She hung up on me. I called Rusty.

  “I hear the police are stomping on your territory,” I said to him when he answered.

  “Damn sure are, sons-of-bitches.”

  “Don’t give them a damn thing, Rusty. You run that building, not them.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to tell me twice! I’m not giving them nothing without a court decree!”

  “The security cameras that shows Winnie coming back into the building earlier today…”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Get rid of the film.”

  “I’ll take out the tape and take it to your condo. I’ll just start a new roll of film and tell those donut-eaters I have no idea what’s going on with the cameras. I’ll drop the tape off to you now. Are you home?”

  “Just leave it up there with my wife.”

  “Done.” I ended the call with Rusty. In that moment, Malcolm and Jacob walked into Piranha’s, one after the other, a blast of cold air following them.

  “I think Mrs. Reynold’s called the police tonight,” Malcolm said to me. “You know how she is with noise. Let’s send her flowers, tell her it was a big misunderstanding. You know the routine. Say Jake and Winnie were fucking around. Sorry for the disturbance. Won’t happen again.” Mac took a seat at the bar and put his hand up for the bartender to come to him. And, of course he came running. Jacob followed and sat next to Mac, looking wired up. I immediately pulled out my android to find out the name of the Dispatch Operator who took Mrs. Reynold’s 911 call.

  Boston City Police Department.

  Access Code: 8545

  Username: PenPit

  Password: 885996

  Dispatch Log: Access Granted

  Date: January 17h

  Time: 9:45 pm:

  Reason: High Alert! Code 93Z- Assault of a government official. High Alert!

  Dispatched Officers: Officer Tills, Officer Montgomery, Officer Lye, Officer Barton, Officer Robinson, Officer Thomas, Officer Olander, Officer Russels, Officer French, Officer Wyatt, Officer Georges, Officer Jones, Officer Hammond, Officer Isles, Officer Gadley, Officer Dean, Officer Nero, Officer James, Officer Denton, Officer Stafford, Officer Bingham, Officer Hubbard, Officer Pitts, Officer Daniels

  Total Officers on Scene: 24

  Location: Brookshire Condominiums, Beacon Hill

  Dispatch Operator: Phyllis Jeffries

  Next I logged into the Boston 911 Dispatch Operating System to get the Wireless Caller Code:

  Access Name: RTHY

  Access Code: BNJ632

  Dispatch Center: Access Granted

  Dispatch Officer: Sandra Jeffries

  Dispatch Contacted: 9:41 pm

  Call Location: 02116, Beacon Hill, Brookshire Condominiums

  Call Contact Code: Wireless Caller Code 617.329.98

  Got it. Then I logged into the back server of all the wireless carriers, entering in my access names and codes, heading to their customer logs and searching for the account holder by their Wireless Caller Code. I checked:

  ATT

  Amazon

  Cingular

  Sprint

  T-Mobile

  Verizon

  Virgin Mobile

  Virgin Mobile was a hit.

  Wireless Caller Code: 617.329.98

  Access: Granted

  Account Holder: Jon Luc Saint Jame
s

  “Mac,” I walk over to Malcolm and watch him lean back while taking a sip of his Scotch. “It was Jon.”

  MARLON

  It only takes a nano second, just one split second, for Danny to spot Malcolm at the bar. This time, there are a group of three women around his crew. There’s a blond in particular who’s trying her damnedest to take Malcolm home. A man can tell these things; it’s in the way the blond’s turning her head and smiling at Malcolm. The way she has her right leg crossed over her left. Now, Malcolm’s calling the bartender over. And now the blond’s bending over the bar, giving the bartender her drink order, breasts spilling all over the counter. Sorry sweetheart, Malcolm’s just given you your walking papers. The blond makes one more attempt at seduction: she rests her hand on the collar of Malcolm’s button-up and then does a slow slide-down over his chest. Wow. This one is shameless. She wants dick and she wants it now. I look and see Danny on the hunt.

  She wants blood.

  “Oh shit,” Matt says as he stands. “I gotta stop this shit.” Jon leans over the table, grabs him by the arm and yanks him back down.

  “Sit,” Jon commands as we watch Danny barge over to Malcolm and his crew. This is what Jon’s been waiting years for. He’s always thought that Danny considered Malcolm to be a king among mortals. Now she’s about to see Malcolm for the man he is. Yes, he loves her and the kids, but he’s a man. For better or for worse, he’s going to buy a woman drinks to get her out of his hair, if subtle clues don’t work. It’s normal. It’s natural. I mean, I do it, too. But I’ve got this gut feeling that Danny could give a shit less. It’s then that I notice Marla and Jasmine with her. They’re trailing behind…slowly.

  Jasmine’s looking around. Who is she looking for, I wonder?

  “I need to text Rena,” Matt says as he grabs his cellphone out his pocket. I watch Jon look at Danny with a little grin on his face. He’s about to enjoy this.

  By the time Danny gets to the bar, the bartender is sliding a martini over to the blond that Malcolm’s trying to get rid of. Malcolm has taken out his wallet to pay for it.

  And Danny’s right behind Malcolm now.

  “Mac, Mac, Mac…” I see one of Jacob’s brothers-in-law calling as he hurries over towards bar. But Mac doesn’t hear.

  Danny reaches into her purse at the same time that Malcolm slides his card across the bar to the bartender. She then slides the bartender her money while sliding Malcolm’s card back to him. Malcolm sees that golden brown hand and red nails. He whips his head around…and I swear to God, he looks mortally terrified.

  “Oh shit,” I hear Matt say.

  Malcolm shoots up off his bar stool. The blond sees Danny and instantly bolts up, nearly running away. She and Malcolm’s reaction just made that shit seem real suspect. Damn…

  “Your drink!” I see Danny saying after the blond as she holds up the martini glass. The woman shakes her head as she continues to bolt away.

  “Come on, let’s go outside,” I see Malcolm say as he places a hand on Danny’s arm.

  And then it happens.

  Danny explodes.

  I don’t know what she’s saying but Malcolm’s crew is now attempting to huddle around them. The last thing they want is for the media to pick this up.

  “Damn, it’s not looking good,” Matt says as he looks at Malcolm and starts texting Rena again.

  “ I’m fucking pregnant...” I see Danny mouthing. “ … buying drinks … talk around town … risky … fuck you … hell no … pack your shit … fucking embarrassing … fuck you! … get your clothes … get out … white girl …” And Malcolm is pleading. He might as well be on his knees. His hand is over his heart, he’s nodding, he’s trying to talk in between her shouting, he has a hand on her arm.

  “ Harmless…” I see him saying, “ … okay … I’m sorry … never again … please … just let me … in the spare room … on the couch … Danielle, please … three kids … I was wrong … Danielle, please …”

  She’s not hearing it. Nat is trying to talk to her, no doubt telling her to relax. So far they haven’t caused a scene but when Danny and Malcolm are in a room, their presence can be masked for only so long. Sooner or later they’ll be noticed.

  “Rena,” I hear Matt say as I watch the scene. “Come to Piranha’s now. Danny’s here and she just caught Malcolm buying somebody a drink…it was harmless, just the shit you do when you’re out and you have hawking ass women…well, no baby, I don’t do it per se, but some men do…Rena, don’t start no shit with me tonight. I’m tired…just tell Mrs. Simms to watch the boys and come down here…alright.”

  Malcolm is in rare form now. I’ve never seen him look like this; he’s looking at Danny, eyes fixed on her, concentrating on every word she’s saying, nodding in submission, shutting up when she yells ‘shut the hell up!’, closing his eyes and nodding okay. Damn. He’s just trying to make his wife happy. I know the feeling.

  “Shit, Jasmine’s going over there,” I hear Matt say to himself as he looks up from his phone, finally noticing that my wife is a mere few feet away from the scene now.

  Jasmine heads over to Danny, Marla on her trail. Jasmine squeezes her way through Malcolm’s crew and tries to pull Danny.

  “Come on,” I see Jasmine saying, “Let’s go Danielle…come on…not here.” Danny’s ignoring Jasmine while Malcolm’s still nodding, still saying ‘I’m sorry’. And then Jacob gets up.

  Jacob, drunk, has pulled Jasmine by the arm. She turns, notices him and they begin to stare at each other. I watch him pull her to him, eyes red. He leans down to whisper something to her. She looks down while he does.

  My blood pressure is rising.

  Years ago, on the streets of New York, during that Christmas brawl, Jacob Blair got the best of me. But that was because I didn’t know why he and I were fighting. I thought that we were fighting over Danny. I had no idea that we were fighting over Jasmine. But now I know. And tonight, if he wants to have a rematch over my wife, I’m ready. I will murder that Blair.

  I now see Jasmine shaking her head no. What the hell is he asking her? To come home with him? She puts a hand on his chest, says something to him and then pushes him away. But it isn’t a push that’s meant to gain results. She doesn’t want him to let her go. He pulls her back to him closer. She closes her eyes.

  “Take it easy,” I hear Jon say to me. “Too many people. Too many cameras.” My eyes are glued to Jasmine and Jacob. My teeth feel like they’re breaking from clenching them together. I want to kill this muthafucka.

  I watch Jacob whisper something to Jasmine again. I watch her shake her head no and this time, I watch her pull away from him. Completely. Holding on to her purse, she rushes through the crowd of Malcolm’s friends and towards the front doors. And my heart is beating a thousand times a minute. I watch Jacob as he turns to go after her. Nat stops him, shakes his head no and points to a barstool. Jacob glares at Nat, closes his eyes and then heads to the barstool to sit.

  “Another one,” Jacob says to the bartender, holding up his empty glass.

  “That was hard for her,” I say to no one in particular. “Did you see how hard that was to walk away from him?”

  “Huh?” Matt says to me, watching the scene with Danny and Malcolm still playing out. “Shit, this is about to get ugly.”

  “I should go help,” Jon says as he stands, a grin on his face. “Be right back.”

  MATT

  And so Marla’s now rubbing Danny’s back and saying , The baby, Dan, the baby. And Malcolm’s got his eyes closed and head bowed, nodding along to Danielle and saying, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry over and over again as Jon strolls over to them. I know for a fact that shit is about to hit the fan, so I stand up. Marlon apparently thinks the same thing so he stands up with me. The only thing running through my mind now is New York City and the night we all had a big brawl outside of the Ritz during Christmas. But this is what Jon hasn’t considered: this time we’re outnumbered. Jacob’s got his in-l
aws and those are some big ass white boys. This isn’t about to be pretty. So something’s telling me to hurry my ass over there before Jon gets himself killed.

  But then, Marla.

  She apparently sees Jon approaching, out of the corner of her eye, because she turns to him. And now, with her eyes squinted and her head turned to the side, she points a limp finger at him and says, “Jon, did you know Malcolm was here when you texted me to bring Dan and Jasmine up here for drinks?”

  NAT

  “Did you know Malcolm was here when you texted me to bring Dan and Jasmine up here?”

  MARLON

  “Did you know Malcolm was here?”

  JON

  “Jon, did you know Malcolm was here when you texted me to bring Dan?”

  JACOB

  “Did you know Malcolm was here when you texted me to bring Dan and Jasmine up here for drinks? Did you do that on purpose?”

  MARLON

  And while Danny’s still cussing his ass out, Malcolm slowly opens his eyes.

  NAT

  Mac looks up and over at Jon.

  MATT

  Malcolm turns his head and sees Jon.

  JACOB

  Mac’s ass looks up and sees this muthafucka standing there.

  MATT

  Whop!

  JACOB

  Smash!

  MARLON