Black Diamond 3

Book 3: Black Diamond

by Brittani Williams

Genres: African American Urban; Women's Fiction

Synopsis

Her happily-ever-after ending was just the beginning

For two years, Diamond and Black have been living comfortably on their high-class cul-de-sac with their daughter, Dior. They're ready to leave the drug business behind them, having enough money to continue their lavish lifestyle without going back to the streets to re-up.

With the loss of his sister Mica, Johnny can feel nothing but rage for the woman he once loved. Now he plans to strip her of everything that she loves. From behind bars on his death bed, he sets a plan in motion that will tear Diamond's world apart.

Fighting to survive, Diamond almost gives up—until a mystery man enters her life. She believes he will save the day, but is he genuine, or just another person out to teach Diamond a lesson?

What would you do if your prized possessions were in danger of being taken away?

Release date: December 24, 2012

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 224

Sample

“I can’t believe it’s been two years already,” Black said as he stood up, facing the many family members and friends who quietly sat at the surrounding tables that filled the first floor of the Park Avenue Banquet Hall. The room was darkened with a bright light shining directly on to Black and Diamond’s table, which sat in the front of the large room. The hall was tastefully decorated with the same colors they took their nuptials in two years earlier: teal, black, and white. Centerpieces filled with flowers that floated in blue-tinted water with silicone ice cubes blended with the rest of the décor.

Some of the attendees looked on and smiled in happiness, while some displayed evident looks of envy, wishing they could be as successful as the two guests of honor. Diamond and Black were celebrating their second wedding anniversary as well as their recent departure from the drug business. As planned, they’d invested in enough legal business to move on from the dangerous world that almost ripped them to shreds. They’d survived his imprisonment, her affair with Money, her near-fatal accident, as well as the attempt on both of their lives. After all that they’d been through, their relationship had blossomed into something much greater than anyone could have ever expected. They were the epitome of true love and, in current times, true love wasn’t easy to find. With his glass raised in the air, Black looked over to his right and smiled at Diamond as she sat in a daydream taking it all in.

“I want to make a toast to the woman who has made this life worth living. Looking back I would’ve never thought that I’d be where I am today. I have a beautiful wife and a daughter I adore. I truly have everything that a man could dream of.” He smiled while holding his glass up, thinking back to the moment he’d first laid eyes on Diamond. That was also the moment he knew he had to make her his wife. Realizing that he was getting more sentimental than normal he picked his speech back up. “Now, I’m going to stop being so mushy up here so we can get this party started.” He laughed as the guests joined him, raising their glasses and toasting them with the others seated at their tables.

After a few seconds of laughter, the DJ increased the volume on the music and gradually people began to get up from their seats and migrate to the dance floor. Black sat down next to Diamond and stared at her for a few moments before she leaned in and broke the silence.

“That was beautiful, Black.” She smiled. Her body was completely filled with joy. She couldn’t remember another time in her life where she’d been this happy.

“Well I meant every word. You know you mean the world to me,” he admitted while rubbing his hand across her cheek.

“Can you believe what we’ve accomplished? I mean things could have been disastrous for us but look how things turned out.”

“That’s because it was meant to be.” He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

“Uhhh, ummm, sorry to break you two lovebirds up but would you mind if I stole the man of the hour for a dance?” Trice said as she grabbed Black by the hand.

“Not at all, as long as you promise to return him safely,” Diamond replied, motioning with her hand and giggling.

“Scout’s honor.” Trice laughed and tugged at Black to pull him from his seated position. Trice, the mother of Black’s son, had become one of Diamond’s best friends. A few years back Diamond would have been ready for a fight but Trice had since moved on and was happily married herself. For the sake of the children, they’d all maintained an alliance that closely resembled a family. As Diamond watched Black and Trice bopping on the floor Tommy slid into the barren chair next to her.

“I know Mrs. Diamond isn’t being a wallflower at her own party now.” He laughed.

“Not at all, I’m just taking it all in. Besides, you know I’m the truth on the dance floor. You know you don’t want to see me get busy.” She burst into laughter.

“That’s a sight I wouldn’t mind seeing.” He shook his head as the literal thought of Diamond “getting busy” crossed his mind.

“You are crazy, Tommy,” she said and playfully shoved him.

“I’m serious.” He laughed as she bashfully turned away.

Tommy secretly had a soft spot for Diamond, but out of respect for Black kept it to minor flirting every now and then. Diamond knew that Tommy felt something for her but she always managed to convince herself that he was just being a clown. She also had a place in her heart for him due to the fact that he saved her life when Mica and Money conspired to kill her. But she wasn’t about to make the mistake of sleeping with the best friend of husband number two. The reality of the situation was that she actually loved Black and her new life. At that point she truly believed that there was nothing that they couldn’t overcome.

“So what’s up with you and your girl Alyssa? I thought you’d be marrying her for sure by now.” She changed the subject.

“Yeah, right.” He burst into laughter and flagged her with his right hand. “You know damn well that girl ain’t the marrying type.”

“Hell, I thought that’s the kind of woman you like, that’s all I ever see you with.” She laughed.

“That’s because the woman of my dreams isn’t available at the moment.” He gave a devilish grin.

Black came over to the table and interrupted the conversation. Diamond, relieved, quickly stood from her chair and grabbed Black’s arm as he led her out to the dance floor. Tommy sat in the chair, sipping his Hennessy and Coke. As Black spun Diamond around on the floor and a crowd formed a circle to cheer them on, Tommy stared at the couple, imagining standing in Black’s spot. He’d already taken the reins running the drug business, but Diamond would be the icing on the cake. Tommy was confident that the time would come when she’d need him and he would patiently wait for that day. For him, that would be the ultimate accomplishment.

As the time neared 2:00 A.M. the crowd began to disperse, and some of their guests grabbed trash cans to assist with the cleanup. Black sat drinking the last few drops of his Grey Goose vodka while Diamond and a few of her friends walked into the bathroom. Kiki, noticeably absent, had decided against attending the event after an argument with Diamond days earlier. Usually, the two had been able to squash their squabbles but this argument had morphed into more of a dual. The two had never been so distant and angry at one another. Though Diamond wanted everyone to believe she didn’t care, the separation had taken a toll on her. She’d lost the one person she had always been able to talk to. She was now forced to keep all of her concerns, wants, needs, and aspirations to herself. Their small circle of friends had been waiting all night for the perfect time to question Diamond about her missing BFF. Finally, as they all headed into the ladies’ room, they would get the chance that they’d been waiting for.

Diamond stood in front of the mirror re-touching her makeup and making sure her hair was perfect. The group of woman stood at different spots, all with the same question lingering in their minds. Diamond was always pretty quiet when it came to her personal business and not one of them was sure what they could ask without pissing her off. But, as they stood around the room appearing as if they had huge question marks over their heads, it was pretty evident that something was on their minds. Diamond realized that they were all just a bit too quiet and decided to break the silence to see what the hell was going on. Though she knew that most people didn’t know how to approach her, she still believed that she was one of the easiest people to talk to.

“If someone wants to ask me a question, just do it. Standing there staring at each other won’t get the answer that you are looking for.” She paused to pucker her lips and apply her lip gloss. “I know it’s about Kiki so what is it that you all want to know?”

All of the women appeared shocked and shook their heads as if they weren’t concerned. Jasmine, the older of the bunch, stepped up and walked closer to where Diamond was standing. If there was one of them bold enough to go toe to toe with Diamond, it was Jasmine. The other three—Sydney, Palace, and Octavia—weren’t as outspoken.

“Well yes, we do have a question. Kiki is supposed to be your best friend right? So, we really can’t understand what could have been so important that she would miss your anniversary celebration.”

Diamond shook her head briefly before grabbing a paper towel to dab off some of the excess gloss. “Jasmine, I think you just answered your own question with that statement, ‘supposed to be.’ Obviously she isn’t, if she would miss one of the most important days of my life. Now, I don’t cry over spilled milk because, honestly, she’ll need me long before I need her. It’s just sad that she would let a minor disagreement ruin our friendship after being my friend for so long. That makes me believe she was never really my friend to begin with.” Diamond was now using her comb to tame the fly-aways in her hair.

The group of girls remained quiet, not wanting to press the issue any further. It was clearly a sore subject and rather than causing Diamond to feel as if she was being attacked, each of them believed it would be best to just drop it for the moment, knowing that it would all come up again in the future.

Jasmine, just as quickly as she asked the “Kiki” question, changed the subject. “Well, now that that’s settled, what I really wanna know is where the hell the after-party is going down because I’m still fired up. I’m not ready to call it night just yet. And besides, I need to find a nice piece of meat to go home with if you know what I mean.” She giggled while swirling her hips.

“I know that’s right,” Palace, who was also Jasmine’s sister, agreed and slapped Jasmine a high five.

“I don’t know but I’m sure Black isn’t ready to go in either, so follow us and we can make sure wherever we decide to go everyone makes it into the VIP section,” Diamond said as she returned all of her beauty tools to her bag and headed toward the door.

The group followed her as she walked through the ballroom and out of the front door, where Black and all of the other partygoers were standing. Luxury cars lined every edge of the street and they were so amped you could hear their chatter around the corner. Diamond loved seeing her man happy and it was at that moment she realized that they did the right thing by leaving the drug game. Her eyes were locked on Black as she switched as hard as she could and walked in his direction.

Once he noticed her, he rubbed the hairs on his chin and smiled. He had every intention of bending her over and waxing her ass all over their home that evening. His dick was getting hard from just the thought and he quickly adjusted his pants, hoping that no one noticed his quickly growing bulge.

“So where are we headed, babe?” she said, standing so close to him he could feel her breath tickling his skin. The sweet scent of her Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy perfume was flowing freely up his nostrils. “The girls were hoping we could swing by Vault since they are open until three-thirty. I know I’m not ready to call it a night so I was hoping that you weren’t either.” She smiled as he caressed her arm softly with his hand.

He was silent for a few seconds as his mind was totally consumed with how much he loved her. He’d never met a woman whom he would die for, literally. There was no limit to the things that he would do for her and he was positive that she felt the same way. “That’s cool with me if that’s what you wanna do,” he finally replied.

“That’s not all I wanna do, just what I wanna do at the moment.” She giggled and playfully tugged at the bottom of her dress.

“Is that right?” he asked, adjusting his pants once again to hide his protruding manhood.

She laughed as she looked down at his crotch and back at his face. “Well let’s go, before we end up ass naked in the back of this car.”

“Yeah, we better.” He smiled as he stood up off of his car. “Yo, Tommy, let’s roll out, man. The ladies wanna hit Vault before we take it down.”

Tommy nodded and obediently walked over to his car and ordered everyone else in their crew to do the same. Just like a funeral procession they all drove off one by one with Center City their destination.

Diamond sat in the passenger seat comfortably as they made their way through the city. Every so often she’d glance over at Black and smile. If there was anyone on this earth that she loved more than her baby girl, Dior, it was Black. Visions of their past flashed before her eyes. She felt blessed to be where she was at that moment, especially after all of the wrong that she had done to get there. If you would have asked her three years ago where she thought she’d be today she would’ve most likely shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know, but if you asked her this day where she would be in three more years she would say happily ever after with Black.

Unfortunately, when you were on top there was always someone at the bottom clawing at your cuffs to pull you back down. With a jagged past and more enemies than they could keep up with, there could be someone lurking behind every corner, waiting for that brief second when they’d let their guard down. Diamond knew that they still had a lot more to do before “officially” being done with the drug life, but she wanted to enjoy this bliss as long as she possibly could.

Two men occupied a small eight-by-twelve concrete cell. Photos of hip hop video vixens and scantly clad female emcees covered the walls, with small pieces of tape holding them in place at each corner. One of the men was sprawled out on a metal-framed twin bed with a thin polyester mattress so hard it almost resembled the metal frame that lay beneath it. The man—dark skinned, weighing 230 pounds, all muscle, and standing six foot three inches tall—was resting his left hand behind his head and on top of the pillow. In his right hand, a book, Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr., had his full attention. One quote rang true: “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” As he dragged his eyes across the pages of this 1963 release, he could only compare the statements to his own experiences. For him, every moment in his life was precarious and even the most detailed plan could crumble at any given moment, which was why he always prepared a plan B in the event that things went horribly wrong.

The second man, a mix of Puerto Rican and African American, almost resembling his cellmate in height and weight, was sitting up on the edge of his neatly made bed, with a black-and-white composition book in his right hand and a pencil in the other. On the pages were handwritten notes. The meaning of the notes was only understood by the two men who’d shared living quarters for the past two years.

“Yo, why are you always reading, man? Hell, at least read some shit that’s interesting,” Reed blurted out, breaking the eerie silence that had filled the room for the past hour.

“’Cause it ain’t shit else to do. Might as well learn some shit while I’m still on this earth,” Johnny replied, still keeping his eyes on the book.

“Aww, man, it’s plenty to do like going over this plan, my nigga. I’m trying to make sure this shit is airtight. I don’t want to end up back in here rooming wit’ your ass.” He laughed.

“Right now ain’t the time for that shit. You see niggas walking up and down the block don’t you? If you don’t keep that shit on the low you’ll definitely end up back in here. I’m going to die in here so I ain’t got shit to lose. You on the other hand are just weeks away from freedom so keep that in m. . .