Black Diamond 2

Book 2: Black Diamond

by Brittani Williams

Genres: African American Urban; Women's Fiction

Synopsis

Some call her nice, but most call her nasty ...

Diamond, the sassy vixen that you love to hate, is back, and she has a few more tricks up her sleeve. After Kemp's death, she quickly moves on and shacks up with his best friend, Black. Unfortunately, things aren't running as smoothly as they expected. Diamond is quickly losing control of the situation—and her emotions—after multiple attempts on her life by one of the victims she believed she'd killed. To make matters worse, people from her past keep popping up and causing a ruckus, including the father that walked out on her ten years earlier.

When a fast-talking corner hustler named Money swoops in and becomes Black's partner, his soldiers become jealous. Black gets locked behind bars, and Money sets his plan in motion, seducing Diamond in an attempt to take Black's place.

With all of the drama surrounding her, the "I Rule the World" disposition that got her where she is slowly breaks into a million pieces. In Nicety, you'll watch her struggle and make mistakes that could cause her to lose the two things she loves the most: Black and money.

Produced by Buck 50 Productions

Release date: May 1, 2010

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 224

Sample

Tricks of the Trade, November 2007

I had to see for myself. If I had the strength to dig six feet under I would have brought a shovel out here to this cemetery. It was cold and dark. Most people would think I was crazy for coming out here alone at 12 A.M. but for once in my life I could honestly admit that I was afraid. I had done too much to turn back or to even apologize, for that matter. How could you say I’m sorry for shooting you? The fact of the matter was that I wasn’t sorry for shooting him, I was sorry that he hadn’t died. I was confused—I could remember that day as if it were yesterday. I stood there at the foot of the bed as both Kemp and Mica’s blood poured out onto the sheets and soaked into the bed. Someone was trying to scare me and it was definitely working. He couldn’t be alive. I didn’t stay around to check his pulse but I knew it had to be him buried there. I put on an Oscar-worthy performance at the funeral, even kissed his cold cheek. I was sure that I had gotten away with murder. What was I supposed to do now? I got down on my knees and put my hand on the headstone that read his name. So many things were running through my mind at this point. I wanted to pray but then I’d feel guilty for what I’d done to get me in this position in the first place. In my mind, things like this only happened in the movies, people who were assumed dead would return to cause a ruckus, but not in the real world. I was losing my mind—I had to know one way or another who the hell was screwing with me. Someone else must’ve been there that night—that was the only explanation that I could come up with. I heard leaves breaking as if someone were stepping on them and breaking them into pieces. I quickly turned my head and looked around. I didn’t see anyone. What the hell was going on? I thought.

“Who’s there?” I spoke loudly enough to be heard, but not too loud to wake up the neighborhood. I wasn’t trying to bring more attention to myself. The cemetery on Lehigh Avenue was directly across from residential homes so I knew if I got too loud they could hear me. Then I thought, maybe that was a good thing, in case someone was trying to attack me. “Who’s there?” I spoke again but still no answer. I focused my attention back on the headstone but at the same time I reached in my purse and held onto my gun to be safe.

“I know that I buried you. I just don’t get it. Who’s down there?” I heard the leaves again. I was getting annoyed. I stood up from the ground and looked around again. “Who the hell is out here?” Still no one answered.

Maybe I was just being paranoid. It was mid-November and pretty windy out so it could have just been the wind blowing the leaves around. I looked at the headstone one last time before walking toward my car. I kept looking around the cemetery but with so many trees you could easily hide and not be seen. I still gripped onto my gun tightly, walking so fast I was practically running. The sound of the leaves breaking got louder the faster I walked. My cell phone rang just as I pressed the keypad to unlock the car doors and damn near gave me a heart attack.

“Hello,” I said as I hurried inside of the car and locked the doors.

“Babe, where the hell are you?” Black yelled. I could tell that he was angry. With all of the stuff going on, he definitely didn’t want me out of his sight. I ditched his security to come here. I couldn’t stand to be followed.

“I’m on my way home. I’m just leaving the cemetery.”

“The cemetery? What the hell would make you go to the cemetery at midnight? You need to get back here now.”

“I just said I was on my way home.” I knew he was worried but I wasn’t a child. Hell, without me, he wouldn’t have half of what he had now. He’d still be Kemp’s understudy waiting for a chance to take the lead.

“Just hurry up!” he yelled into the receiver before hanging up. I didn’t get a chance to respond but I was ready to curse him from A to Z. Shit, he should have learned from Kemp, no man was going to tell me what to do. Those days were long over. I started the car and tried to pull off but the car wouldn’t move.

“What the hell?” I yelled. I got out and walked around to the back of the car and noticed both back tires were completely flat. Someone was definitely out here and the feeling of fear that came over my body damn near buckled my knees. I hurried back inside the car and dialed Black again.

“Come get me, somebody is out here trying to get me.”

“What?”

“Black, just hurry up! Both of my back tires are flat and I heard someone following me. Please hurry up.”

“I’m coming now.”

I pulled my gun from my bag as I nervously sat and waited. I should have never been out there in the first place. Each time I saw movement I put my fingers in place to shoot. I laughed—when it would end up being a tree branch or a plastic bag flying in the air. Was I tripping? Or was there really someone out there? I kept asking myself over and over again until something came crashing through my back window. Glass went everywhere and I heard footsteps going in the opposite direction. Once I could clearly see, I yelled, “I have a gun and trust me, I’ll shoot!” I was scared shitless and I prayed that Black would pull up at any minute. My prayers were answered when I saw the headlights of his BMW. I got out of the car and ran over, almost knocking him over.

“Someone is trying to kill me, they threw something through my back window. I’m so glad you came.” I hugged him and held on tight. The river of tears began to flow once I knew I was safe. He walked me over to the passenger seat of his car and put me inside. He walked over to my car and looked at the tires and windows before making a phone call. I wasn’t sure who he called and honestly, I didn’t care. I wanted him to get inside of the car and take me the hell home. I’d had enough excitement for one night. He was still on the phone when he climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off.

“All right, get with me and let me know what’s up. I need Merk to tow that car early. I don’t need that shit getting any extra attention . . . call me after he’s done . . . I’m staying with her tonight and we’ll link up tomorrow . . . all right one!” He turned and looked at me. I was still crying and shivering in my seat. He didn’t say a word—he just reached over and put his hand on top of mine. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say. They say what goes around comes around and maybe it was my time to get what was coming for me. I walked into the house like a zombie. Black still didn’t speak, which was probably a good thing because I didn’t know what to say. I sat down on the couch and soon he sat down next to me.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he finally broke the silence but I didn’t respond. I looked over at him and kissed him. Shit, I was more than glad that I was okay. I should have never been so foolish in the first place. I couldn’t figure out what the hell possessed me to go out to a damn cemetery at night anyhow. Though he was a man and he wouldn’t be one if he didn’t do or say the stupid shit that men do, he was the one that I loved. I mean, none of the other men in my past truly cared about me the way that Black did. With training, Kemp probably could have but Black didn’t need any of that. He did it on his own. It was then that I appreciated him even more. He could have went out to work, which is what kept us living the lavish life but he chose to stay with me. We continued to kiss each other as if it were the last kiss we’d ever have. His hands were soon all over my body and my clothes had since hit the floor. His smooth skin next to mine felt like silk rubbing across my naked body. His movements were slow and deliberate and each touch hit spots that I didn’t even realize could send chills up and down my spine. His body was sculpted to perfection and every muscle looked like chocolate greatness like it could melt in your mouth. I tried to relax and not exemplify how anxious I was but it was becoming more difficult to hold back with each second. His Sean John cologne was tickling my nose. I was in heaven waiting for him to reach my wet pussy and massage it as he’d done my nipples a few seconds earlier, but he chose to take his time. His hands slowly moved down my stomach and soon reached my throbbing clit, which was just about to erupt. My body began to shake on contact. The orgasm had been building up and just the slightest touch made me explode. Hell, he could have probably blown on it and gotten the same result.

I moved my hips to grind against his fingers as he continued to kiss me sensually. At that point, I wished that I hadn’t waited so long to get with him. I mean, when I met Kemp, Black was hanging in his shadow. I was looking for a leader so naturally Kemp caught my attention. Since money was my main objective, being with Black back then wasn’t an option. All I could see were dollar signs. I married Kemp just for the money but being with Black was totally different; it was for love. Kemp had never been a slacker in the lovemaking department but it was just something about Black that I couldn’t explain. I had never been with a man who could look at me and cause my lips to quiver. He was perfect in every sense of the word and when I felt his thick fingers slide inside of me I began to fuck them. I moaned loudly but was soon silenced as his lips touched mine and his tongue quickly followed behind. He stared me in the eyes as if there was something that he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words to speak. I wanted to know what was on his mind but I was enjoying the feeling of his fingers in my pussy too much to say a word.

“I love you,” he whispered gently, almost like sweet poetry.

With just the sound of those two words my body began to shake and my juices were running down his fingers and forming a puddle in the palm of his hand. I wanted to return the favor but he didn’t allow me to. He got on his knees and slowly pushed his dick inside of me. He wasn’t fucking me like he had any other time. He was making love to me and I was making love to him. I could lie in that position forever, with him inside of me.

“I love you more,” I finally whispered back after a few minutes of his slow lovemaking. With a slow lick of his ear and the tightening of my pussy walls he erupted inside of me. His sweat was dripping all over my face and I didn’t even budge to wipe it off. I let it dry into my skin. I wanted all of him, even the perspiration from our lovemaking. After lying next to each other quietly for a few minutes the thoughts of my earlier encounter crossed my mind. I didn’t want to fuck up the mood but I had to know what was on his mind and what his plan was. Shit, I could have been killed so I had every reason to be nervous.

“What are we going to do, Black? I mean, if he’s really alive we’re as good as dead.” I was still lying next to him with my head nestled in his chest. I could hear his heart beating and surprisingly it hadn’t skipped a beat.

“I told you I would take care of it. Kemp doesn’t scare me—he never has—but it can’t be him, we both know that he’s dead. I’m just focused on who the hell else knows what happened.”

In a way I believed that what Black said was true, but hell, everyone was afraid of Kemp—or at least I thought that they were. Black was strong and it was one of the things that I loved most about him. I mean, who wanted to be with a wimp? Every woman wanted a man that could protect her. I wasn’t crazy and I wanted to know who the culprit was just as much if not even more than Black.

“I know you told me Black, but we aren’t together twenty-four hours a day. How can you protect me when you’re not around? You saw what just happened.”

“I know we’re not together all the time but I have eyes everywhere. You have to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve got you now and I’m not letting you go. You just can’t put yourself out there like that again, babe. You have to work with me until I figure out what the hell is going on here.”

Listen to him getting all sentimental, I thought. I smiled inside because for once I believed that it was true. I’d finally found a man that told me he loved me and meant it. Some would say that Kemp was in love with me and there were even some crazy people that would say Davey was too. I knew the truth and the fact of the matter is neither one of them really loved me. I was just something they could show off and be proud of. They could say they made me and yes, I admit it, they did make me. I didn’t have shit before I met Davey and after my stint in prison I didn’t have shit when I met Kemp either, so it wasn’t a lie that I still wouldn’t have shit if it weren’t for them.

See, with Davey I was young and dumb. I fell for every word that he said and it didn’t matter how many times he cheated or did me wrong, making up was always so good. He’d spoil me; he’d give me anything I wanted and I couldn’t turn any of that away. I was living the good life—shit, much better than that raggedy-ass row home in North Philly. I had a huge apartment, a nice car, and a walk-in closet full of designer clothes and shoes. Yeah, it sounds foolish but when you come from my background you cling on to things that feel better even though there are bumps along the way. I remember feeling like there was no other man for me and begged Davey to stay when he’d threaten to leave. Because of all of the drama in my life, the nine months I spent in prison for Davey came to mind. That was the turning point in my life. Some would say that it wasn’t in a good direction but I felt that it did. If you can emerge from a situation so devastating and come out on top it has to count for something. The days that I sat in my jail cell I had a lot of time to think. I thought about the time that he gave me a STD and defended the chick that he had locked in his bedroom, nearly choking me to death. I thought about the time that he talked me into having a threesome, which later ended up sold on DVD in the streets. If that wasn’t bad enough, I learned that the woman I had sex with—for him, might I add—was the mother of his child—a child that I never knew he’d fathered. Then there was the straw that broke the camel’s back, after doing a drop-off for him I was arrested when it turned out to be a setup. So there I was in the detention center serving time and he didn’t bother to answer my calls, letters, send me a penny, or pay me a visit. It was almost as if he’d forgotten about me the day that they took me in. I was distraught. What the hell was I supposed to do? When I came home, I was broke as a bum on the corner. I had no place, no money, clothes or transportation. If it weren’t for Kiki, I would have either landed in a shelter or back in North Philly with my hating-ass Aunt Cicely and all of her damn kids! I had to do something—something to survive. So any critic that thought I was wrong for searching out a man like Kemp in order to get to the top, could pucker up and kiss my ass because they weren’t in my shoes to say what I should or shouldn’t have done. But hey, if I wouldn’t have met Kemp, I wouldn’t have met Black and that’s the wonderful thing—the thing that kept me smiling.

Black got off the sofa and I knew that it was time for work. Damn, I wanted . . .