“Watch yo’ mouth, fam,” Carter said through clenched teeth. He put one hand in his pocket and raised a wine glass to his lips with the other. He eyed Mecca and could see the larceny in his heart. It took everything in him not to smack the shit out of him for even having Miamor’s name in his mouth.
Before Mecca could respond, Miamor walked up to them. She had watched their entire conversation and couldn’t tell what they were saying, but Carter’s body language told her that he was upset. She gently kissed him on the cheek, calming him down, and then she grabbed Mecca’s hand.
“I never got a chance to get acquainted with you. Can I have this dance?” she asked sweetly.
Carter looked at her like she was crazy and thought about what Mecca had just told him. He was totally confused. What the fuck is she doing? He stepped back and watched them begin to dance. Miamor wasn’t being disrespectful since there was distance between them while dancing, but Carter was still heated.
“So I guess we finally get to talk, huh?” Miamor asked as she danced with Mecca.
They both squeezed one another’s hand tightly, obviously both of them trying to hurt the other.
“Yeah, bitch! Finally!” Mecca said as he kept a fake smile on his face as a front.
At that moment Miamor knew that Mecca knew her past and her connection with Ma’tee and the woman that killed Breeze.
“You knew about Breeze getting kidnapped, didn’t you? You were how they got so close and told them how to get her, didn’t you?” Mecca asked.
Miamor’s nails were dug so deep into Mecca’s hand, blood began to trickle. “No, I had nothing to do with that, but I am going to have something to do with your murder. You killed my sister, and you’re going to pay,” she said between clenched teeth.
They continued to dance as if they weren’t having a murderous conversation.
“Let me tell you something-You won’t get the chance to kill me. I’m a mu’fuckin’ Diamond, and Diamonds are forever. I got a surprise for you, Murder Mama,” Mecca said sarcastically with a scowl on his face.
“And what’s that?” Miamor never showed an ounce of intimidation. She was indeed a bad bitch and had tangoed with the best in her field, always coming out victoriously. This dance she was doing with Mecca was nothing new. She was going to kill him, even if it meant she had to die in the process.
“You know, that glass of wine you just drank, it was full of sodium hydroxide, a poison that first invades your respiratory system and makes you feel like you’re drowning right before your heart bursts and kills you. That shit is killing you right now. I say you have about thirty more seconds until you drop dead. You’re dying, bitch,” Mecca said smugly.
“Is that it?” Miamor asked. “Now, I have a surprise for you, Mecca Diamond.” Miamor stopped dancing and then leaned over to whisper in Mecca’s ear, “I would never drink anything you give me. I’m a Murder Mama for a reason, nigga. I gave the drink to your mama. She’s dying, bitch,” she muttered just before gently kissing Mecca on the cheek.
Mecca instantly looked over at Taryn, who grabbed her neck as if she was choking, her face turned bloodshot red. A small crowd began to form around her. He took off to try to help his dying mother, but just before he reached her, dozens of FBI agents burst through the door with guns drawn.
Mecca crawled over to his mother as she fell on the floor. Tears were in his eyes as he witnessed his mother struggle for air. She clawed at Mecca, as her body shook rapidly. Her eyes began to roll in the back of her head, and Mecca tried to shake his mother out of it, but nothing could save her. He saw the empty wine glass next to her and knew that there was no saving her. He had put enough poison in the glass to kill ten people, but it wasn’t meant for his mother.
“Help!!” Mecca cried like a baby as tears flowed down his eyes. He watched as Taryn took her last breath and fell limply into his arms. He closed his mother’s eyelids and kissed her on the forehead. Murder was the only thing on his mind.
“Everybody on the ground now!” the sergeant yelled. He went straight for Carter and handcuffed him. He began to read Carter his rights.
Miamor was in shock. “Carter, what’s going on? What’s going? Why are they arresting you?” Miamor watched them escort her man out.
“Don’t worry about it. Come bond me out!” Carter yelled as he got guided out with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He glanced across the room at Mecca, who was lying on the floor with Taryn, and he didn’t know what had happened. Carter watched as Zyir and Ace were also handcuffed, and at that point he knew that someone had been snitching. They went straight for the heads of his operation, so they knew about The Cartel and its chain of command.
Mecca went for his gun on his waist but stopped himself, because he knew that he could not retaliate at that moment with all the feds in the room. With shaking hands and a broken heart he snuck out of the back without being seen.
Carter’s leather Mezlan shoes clicked and echoed through the cell as he paced back and forth. He kept wondering what they were arresting him for exactly. He figured it was in connection with his drug empire, but he was hoping otherwise. But when he saw the federal agents bring some of his workers out of Overtown in, along with bags and bags of cocaine, he knew the deal. They had seized the drugs from his stash spot.
“Damn!” He knew he was in deep shit. How the fuck did they find out where my spots were? Carter thought as he continued to pace the room. He ran his business very precisely, and his operation was built for perfection. They only thing that could bring turmoil was snitching. That’s how he knew there was a snake amongst him. He wished he could talk to Ace and Zyir, but they were all put in different cells. The Cartel was about to go down, and the police had enough coke to put Carter away forever.
Ace sat in the interrogation room sweating bullets. He hated himself for what he had done. Two months back, he had gotten pulled over with two kilos in his trunk. The cops found it and immediately cut him a deal. As soon as he mentioned The Cartel, they knew that they had snagged the big fish. He had ratted on his own team and their leader, and for the past month, they had been putting Zyir and Carter on wiretaps, recording their conversations.
Miamor’s hands shook as she guided Carter’s Range Rover out of the parking lot as she headed for the police station. She had already contacted Carter’s lawyer, instructing him to meet her at the precinct.
After the feds searched everyone and took everyone’s names, they let the people at the party go. Miamor kept visualizing the look in Mecca’s face when she told him that he’d poisoned his own flesh and blood.
As she pulled up to a red light, without warning, a strong hand covered her mouth. She could smell an intoxicant on the rag that was suffocating her, and knew it was only a matter of time before her body lost its strength. She got a glimpse of the man’s face when she looked in her rearview. It was Mecca.
She was getting weaker by the second. The smell of the strong substance burned her nostrils as she began to slip in and out of consciousness. Trying to struggle against Mecca, she mistakenly put her feet on the gas, and the car began to swerve wildly.
“Aghh!” she screamed as she scratched at his arms, forgetting she was driving.
Miamor’s eyes widened when she felt the car go out of control, spinning wildly and crashing violently against the brick wall on the side of the street. She couldn’t help but think that this was the day she was going to die.
Chapter Twenty-three
“Yuh a long way from Miami.”
– Ma’tee