Libra Princesses

by C.N. Phillips

Genres: Christian Suspense

Synopsis

The death of their father sent Irish twins Nori and Nadia “Nadi” Porter on two different paths in life. Nori found solace in furthering her life through education, while Nadi found peace in the streets with her longtime boyfriend, Kelz.

When one of Kelz's high-profile robberies returns and leaves him dead in Nadi’s arms, life as she knows it comes to a halt. That is, until she figures out a way to get the ball rolling again.
 
Nori wants no part in her sister’s scandalous life. However, with no real money coming in and tuition due, she seems to have no choice. She agrees to help her sister continue where Kelz left off. But when a robbery goes wrong, and they end up on the bad side of a drug lord, they have no choice but to become his hired hands. To repay their debt, he asks an impossible task of them. He sends them on the Murder Express.

 

Release date: September 26, 2023

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Three years later

The moment I heard the crashing sound of glass shattering, my hands flew to the top of my freshly installed sew-in. I wasn’t the one who had dropped the tray of drinks, but I might as well have been. I took a deep breath to keep the intense feeling of annoyance at bay, but a groan slipped through my lips anyway. When anything happened in the restaurant I worked at, somehow, the blame always came back to me, especially if the person that messed up was my boss’s niece, Trish.

I worked at a restaurant called Sebastian’s, a place for fine dining. People from all over Los Angeles came there to eat. They even had a photo wall dedicated to all the celebrities who had dined there. I was behind the bar, and Trish had just left after grabbing the final drink for her table before she tripped over her own feet. She went crashing down, along with the tray in her hands.

“Dammit, Trish,” I groaned.

“I know, I know,” she said, looking at the damage she’d done.

She looked like she wanted to cry, and I wanted like hell to be mad at her. I couldn’t, though. I knew that day her mind was all over the place since it was close to her parents’ death anniversary. They had died in a car accident when she was just a teenager, and she’d been living with Tera, her aunt, ever since. Not only that, but Trish was also just like me. We were both in our early twenties, working a dead-end job just to get by, so some days wouldn’t be as good as others. The only thing was, she always got off easy. Me, on the other hand? Tera couldn’t stand me.

I held out my hand and helped Trish to her feet. We both checked her to make sure she didn’t have any cuts. By then, the bus boys had already made their way over to clean up the mess. It was a good thing it was a slow Tuesday night, and all the guests were seated at the far side of the restaurant. Still, it was only a matter of time before—

“Norielle, what did you do?” I heard Tera’s angry voice before I saw her.

Sighing, I slowly turned around to face the raging bull. Tera was a caramel-complexioned Black woman like Trish. She was a big-boned woman in her fifties and always wore a ponytail in her graying hair. Her brown eyes glared down her pointy nose at me like she wanted to snatch me up.

“Aunt Tera, it wasn’t Nori. It was me. I dropped the tray,” Trish hurried to say, but Tera held up her hand to silence her.

“Did you or did you not just come from the bar?” Tera asked her but kept her eyes on me.

“I did, but—”

“Norielle, how often must I tell you to ensure the tray is well-balanced before letting someone walk off with it?”

Her reasons for blaming me for everything got more outlandish by the day, and I wasn’t even surprised. I didn’t know what it was about me that she couldn’t stand, but I didn’t care. She could shove that dislike where the sun didn’t shine.

“I did make sure the tray was balanced before I let her take it,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “The tray wasn’t the problem. She tripped. What are you going to do, blame me for not tying her shoes? Now, excuse me. I need to remake those drinks.”

Tera’s face turned red, and I could tell she wanted to curse me out, but she knew I was right. I remade the drinks for Trish and almost decided to take the drinks over to the guests myself. What stopped me was remembering that I was nobody’s slave. Trish was a sweet girl, but she had her job that night, and I had mine. I handed the tray to her, making sure that it was balanced well before turning to roll my eyes at Tera.

Yes, she was my boss, but a person could only take so much. I fought with myself not to quit every day. The availability was flexible with my school schedule, and the customers always left handsome tips. Tera just seemed to like to press my buttons. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was trying to get rid of me.

“Is it proper etiquette to roll your eyes at your boss?” she asked, leaning her big bosoms on the bar. “I could fire you right now if I wanted to.”

“But you won’t because then, you’d have to deal with Ed, you know, the real boss and person who owns this place,” I shot back at her.

“Trust me. Ed won’t do anything to me if I let you go.”

“I’m sure he will once I hit him with a lawsuit listing all the ways you harass me. And those will back up all my claims,” I said, pointing at one of the cameras facing the bar.

Tera looked up, and her face grew red again. Seeing that I had her in a bind, I felt a small jolt of pleasure. However, she would have to wait if she wanted to say anything else to me. A group of guys entered the restaurant and sat at the bar. Turning my back on the angry bull, I sashayed over to the men, showing off my pearly whites.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I get started for you guys?”

After a long day of working and flirting for my tips, I made it home with an extra $500 in my pocket. I all but dragged my feet to my bedroom in my condo. Tossing the money on the mahogany dresser underneath my mounted television, I stripped out of my black work uniform. It was almost eleven o’clock, and all I wanted to do was take a hot shower and hop in bed. But Netflix was calling my name, and I had a date with Sam and Dean Winchester.

I went to my en suite bathroom and put a shower cap over my fresh do. I would be damned if I paid $400 for my hair to get wet and sweat out. My bathroom was probably my favorite part of the condo. It was huge, and I loved the enclosed shower. But there was also a deep tub positioned right by the window that gave the most beautiful view of the city. And built into the long sink counter was a vanity that held all my beauty secrets. My bathroom was a safe place to release and transform. I wished I had the energy to take a long bath and gaze at the lively city below, but I was drained. Turning the knob for the shower, I got in and let the water have its way with me.

After the water cleansed my body of the day, I got out and wrapped a towel around me. I was about to do my nightly facial routine when I heard something fall to the floor. It had come from the front of the condo. Instead of grabbing my facial moisturizer, I opened one of the drawers of my vanity and grabbed my .22. As quietly as I could, I crept out of my bedroom and down the hallway. The gun was aimed, and my back slid against the wall. I could hear someone moving around, and I could also see their shadow in the moonlight.

“You broke into the wrong spot, motherfucka,” I shouted, flicking on the light.

My finger was on the trigger, but I stopped myself from pulling it at the last minute when I saw who was bustling around my kitchen. Dressed in black cargo jeans and a hoodie was none other than my sister, Nadi. In her hands were a sandwich and a gallon of lemonade.

“Damn, sis, were you about to shoot me?” she asked, amused, and took a big bite of the sandwich.

“Nadi, what are you doing here?” I asked, lowering the gun and placing it on the island bar in the kitchen.

“Last I checked, my name is the one on the lease, and my bedroom is down the hall,” she said in her usual smart-mouthed nature. She sat down at the dining room table and looked at the towel I was wearing. “Where are your clothes?”

“I just got out of the shower. Why don’t you call before you just show up? And—” I rushed and snatched the lemonade from her hand when she went to drink from the jug. “Get a glass.”

“Unclench your ass cheeks. Damn,” she said, rolling her eyes and taking another bite of her sandwich. “And since when do I have to call before I show up?”

“Since you almost got shot. You haven’t been here in weeks, and you haven’t returned any of my calls or texts.”

“I’ve been working.”

“Yeah, working,” I scoffed.

“Not tonight, Norielle,” she groaned. “I don’t want to hear one of your lectures right now.”

“I’m just saying, you can check in every once in a while.”

“What do you think I’m doing now?” she said with a smirk and finished her food.

“Uugh,” I shouted and threw up my hands. “One day, you’re going to get hurt really bad, and I’m not even going to have a clue where you are.” I couldn’t even look at her. I turned away and went back to my bedroom to get dressed. As I put on my pajamas, I found myself sighing. Nadi and I were two weeks apart. Back in the day, our father, an ex-marine, had gotten quite busy. His name was Nat Porter, and he was a handsome man who moved from state to state. He was a hit with the women wherever he went, so much so that he got two women pregnant at the same time.

Chasity, Nadi’s mom, and our dad were married shortly after Nadi was born. I was sure she thought she would live happily ever after with her husband and new baby in their big house. They did . . . for a while. However, on one fateful day, their lives changed forever, and so did mine.

“Mama, where are we going?” 10-year-old me asked from the backseat of my mama’s Buick.

I stared at the back of my mother’s red wig, waiting for her answer. But she didn’t. She just continued driving fast. I looked out the window at the unfamiliar neighborhood. The houses were so big, like the ones I saw on my favorite TV shows. Like the ones I hoped I could live in one day. With Mama working all those hours at the club at night, maybe it would happen soon.

I looked back up at the front seat at my mama, that time staring at her through the rearview mirror. She looked . . . angry. Well, she was always mad at something. Most times, it was me. I couldn’t seem to do anything right in her eyes. But I didn’t know why she looked so mad that time, and she hadn’t said much to me that day. The only time she talked to me was when she told me to get dressed so we could go.

“Mama—”

“We’re here,” she cut me off.

Our blue Buick turned into the long driveway. I felt my eyes grow big when I looked up at the house it was connected to. It reminded me of a smaller version of the house in Home Alone. I felt myself growing excited and hoping I could go in.

“Mama, who lives here?” I asked.

“Come on,” she said, ignoring me again.

She opened her door and got out in a hurry. I was still too busy staring at the house to notice her grab a suitcase from the trunk. But when I saw it, my excitement turned to curiosity. Slowly, I got out of the car and shut the door behind me. She grabbed my arm and pulled me alongside her as we walked fast to the door. Before ringing the doorbell, she fixed her wig and checked her reflection in the window.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

She rang twice, and I could hear it from where we stood. Moments later, I heard someone come to the door, but it didn’t open. They were probably looking at us through the peephole. Finally, the door unlocked and swung open. On the other side, looking down at me, was a tall, dark man. He had waves in his short haircut and a beard. Something was familiar about his brown eyes, sharp jaw, and the shape of his full lips. I stared back at him until Mama cleared her throat.

“Long time no see, Nat,” she said, and when he looked at her, he seemed genuinely shocked to see her.

“T-Tammy? What are you doing here?” he asked, then glanced over his shoulder.

“I’m here because I’m tired.” Mama put her free hand on her hip.

“Tired of what, Tammy?”

“Tired of taking care of your daughter all by myself. That’s what.”

“Daughter?” Nat asked, bewildered. “My daughter is upstairs playing with her dolls.”

“Well, tell her she has a sister that wants to play too.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was my . . . dad? I didn’t know I had one of those. Well, of course, I did, but Mama didn’t talk about him much. I thought maybe he was dead or something. The more I stared at him, the more it made sense why his features were so familiar. They were the same ones I saw in the mirror every day.

“Tammy, don’t be showing up at my door starting no mess now. I’ve moved on and started a family.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You weren’t anything but a good lay. One that gave me a child. You don’t remember?” Mama rolled her neck.

“You said you lost that baby.”

“Well, I lied. I just was tired of your two-timing ass,” Mama told him.

“What the hell is wrong with you? And then just to show up at my door?”

“I tried to contact you after I had her, but by then, you’d moved home to Virginia. So when I found out you’d moved back here, I thought I’d bring you a present. Does your wife know how loose with that meat package you were?”

“She . . . can’t be mine, can she?” he asked, looking back at me. “How old are you, sweetheart?”

“Ten last month.”

“Last month?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Why are you looking so shocked? We fooled around ten years ago.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that I—”

“Daddy?” a small voice sounded.

A little girl around my age appeared on the side of him. She looked . . . like me, except she had lighter skin and eyes. She shifted her focus from her dad to us and then back to him.

“Nadia, go back upstairs with Mommy. Daddy will be inside soon.”

“Who’s she?” Nadia asked, pointing at me.

“This is your sister,” Mama said and glared at Nat. “I’m not taking care of your responsibility anymore. I don’t want this, and I don’t want her.”

“Nat, honey, what’s going on?” another voice sounded.

A beautiful woman with the same light complexion as Nadia came to the door. She stood next to her husband with a confused look on her face. Her eyes fell on Mama and then on me. When she saw me, she gave a small gasp.

“Chasity, baby, take Nadia back upstairs.”

“After you tell me who these people are.”

“Tell her,” Mama said with a smirk.

There. . .