Renee: All Hail the Queen

by Brandie Davis

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

Renee is queen of the city and runs it with an iron fist, but everything changes when people from her past resurface to seek revenge. They will stop at nothing until she's dead. Will Renee find happiness and let go of her demons? Or will she allow her past to finish what it started? Molested by her stepfather and verbally abused by her mother, Renee channeled her pain into passion and became the most ruthless queen-pin New York has ever seen. Haunted by her past and unable to let go of what was, she struggles to achieve inner peace while inflicting mayhem on the streets of New York.

Release date: January 29, 2019

Publisher: Recorded Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

Nightfall is when New York comes alive and the city is at its best. Billboards and building lights shine so brightly, you’d never guess the sun is missing. The streets are jam packed with children of the night, loud and full of energy, ready to party the night away. This is the city that never sleeps. It watches everyone who steps foot in its concrete jungle and sucks them in.

However, during this summer night, the city was surprisingly quiet and peaceful. Only a handful of people were out and about. Cars zoomed by but didn’t make a sound. It was eerie, as if the world had come to a halt and felt Renee’s rage.

Like a queen, Renee sat on her throne and looked out at all of New York from her terrace. Her Manhattan penthouse supplied her with the view she needed to marvel over what was hers. Her eyes danced across the sky, then made their way down to the very streets she flooded with cocaine. Renee had entered a game labeled “boys only” and had taken it over with ease. Her rage and emotionless soul made it possible for her to enter a man’s game and conquer it without apology or regret. However, tonight it wasn’t about that. Tonight the betrayal she felt didn’t come from the streets, but from home.

Her slender fingers were wrapped so tightly around the glass holding her Pinnacle and cranberry juice, it was bound to shatter. Renee looked into the night and wondered where the one man she had given her heart to was. After she had revealed to Julian three days prior that she had aborted their child, he’d cut off all forms of communication with her. He hadn’t been taking her calls, coming by, texting, or doing FaceTime with her. The way he’d cut her off, you’d think they had no history whatsoever.

Renee finished the last of her drink and poured herself another glass of vodka, minus the cranberry juice, from the bottle at her elbow. She took it to the head. Liquor had been her best friend through college. The more Julian ignored her, the more anger surged through her and ripped her soul apart. Life wasn’t fair. It was cruel and hurtful, and all Renee could ask was, Why?

Yes, she had aborted their child without his knowledge, but she didn’t understand why he was throwing such a tantrum. On many occasions, Renee had voiced that she didn’t want kids. She wasn’t mother material, and she knew it. Renee attended meetings with her connect, not with teachers. She flooded the streets of New York with the purest coke the state had ever seen, and no child deserved to have a callous queenpin as a mother. Motherhood entailed warmth and selflessness, things Renee didn’t possess.

She had lost those good qualities a long time ago and, in the words of Omarion, had an icebox where her heart used to be. So why act as if she could be Clair Huxtable when she knew she couldn’t? Julian knew all of this, including the fact that Renee was a selfish individual who showed interest only in herself. So why be surprised that she’d had an abortion?

Renee abandoned her glass and started to drink the vodka from the bottle. She thought about how true the saying “It’s lonely at the top” really was. Although she was cruel and insensitive, she cared for Julian. He had been there for her when the rest of the world had walked out, and he had remained loyal to her throughout the years. For that reason, his disappearance left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She drank the last of the vodka and stood up to get a better view of the city. She looked far out into Manhattan, until she could see nothing but buildings and darkness. She ran her fingers through her hair like a comb. Renee was losing her mind, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to break down and feel the pain she was really experiencing. She would sleep in an empty bed that night, and even though she would never acknowledge it, that was what scared her the most. A lone tear threatened to fall from her eyes, but she fought against it. No tear had touched her cheeks in five years, and they weren’t about to now. She stood there, frozen in place, while her blood ran cold and her nails dug into the railing. What Renee wanted was a normal, healthy life, but she found it difficult to admit this even to herself. She longed to have a husband and kids one day, but more importantly, she wished for the ability to let go of what had damaged her since childhood. Obtaining pure happiness would be her happily ever after, but it was conquering her demons that made it all unattainable.

He’ll be back, was all she thought. He has to.

Three half-dressed females in their mid-twenties stood in front of Barnes & Noble and watched as Jared left the bookstore and headed toward his truck. The women couldn’t stop staring at the six-foot-three, muscular brown-skinned brother with tribal tattoos running from the left side of his neck all the way down to his wrist. His serious, thuggish appearance made women want to sink in their claws and bite him.

“Damn, he’s fine,” one of the females said, loud enough for Jared to hear.

He paid them no mind. He jumped in his truck and threw the two anger-management books he’d purchased on the passenger seat. He could spot a gold digger a mile away and steered clear of them all. Jared didn’t believe in paying to play. If he didn’t have enough game to win a female over without going for broke, she wasn’t for him. After he looked down at his wristwatch and saw it was time for work, his eyes darted over to the tattoo across his wrist that read JANAE and he sucked his teeth.

“I got to get this shit removed,” he mumbled to himself. Jared placed his watch higher up on his wrist so it completely covered the tattoo.

The car door across from him flung open just then, and a skinny dark-skinned dude with a baby face and a head full of waves flopped down in the passenger seat and landed right on the books. Feeling the hard covers beneath him, he jumped up and tossed the books on the backseat.

“Damn. You see them fine-ass females over there?” he asked as he eyed the threesome.

Jared didn’t bother following his friend’s stare; he knew he was talking about the females posted in front of the bookstore.

“Leave them alone, Waves. They’re nothing but paper chasers.”

“Those are the best ones. They’ll do anything for a dollar.” Waves nearly broke his neck while trying to get a better look at the females. One of the girls, whose shorts had once been a pair of pants and who wore no bra, blew him a kiss. He nearly went wild. “Scratch that. Make that fifty cents.”

Jared laughed and started up the truck. There was never a dull moment with Waves. The two had grown up down South and had been best friends since junior high. Since as far back as Jared could remember, Waves had been a comedian. He lived off being the center of attention, so he was always cracking jokes and making people die of laughter. In high school, he had been crowned class clown and had worn his title with pride.

The joy Waves brought others was the distraction he needed from his pain. It made it possible for him to survive in a world he felt abandoned in. At the age of ten, his mother had walked out on him and his father. It had torn him apart and had made him feel like a motherless child. Five years later, she had turned her life around and started a brand-new family. She had remarried, had had a baby, and had landed the job of her dreams. She’d had everything she could ever want, but one thing had been missing from this fairy-tale life: Waves. So she’d tried to step back into his life and make him feel a part of her new family by taking him on vacations with her new family and flying him out to New York whenever she could.

Waves was thrilled to have his mother back in his life, but deep down inside, he resented her for leaving in the first place. He’d welcomed her back with open arms, but he refused to live with her. That was something he just couldn’t do.

Waves got comfortable and watched the world go by while he and Jared drove through Brooklyn. After a while, his stomach started to growl, so he focused his attention on an approaching Burger King.

“Yo, let’s head to Burger King right quick.”

“Nah, we got to get to work.”

Waves looked down at his Rolex, then back up at Jared. “Oh, hell no! Listen, I know you want to fuck Renee and shit, but I ain’t going to her house earlier than I need to. We have an hour till we’re due at her crib, so if we ain’t gonna eat, I suggest we hit up a strip club or something.”

Jared shook his head. There wasn’t a day that went by where Waves didn’t mention how mentally unstable he believed Renee was or how he knew Jared had a thing for her. Working twelve hours a day, six days a week, as Renee’s home security guard had caused Waves to form a negative opinion of her. To him, she was a cold woman with no conscience or emotions. She never smiled, never laughed at anything he said, and never even bothered to speak.

Waves and three other men, including Jared, were on her home security team. Jared was the only one who looked at her with lustful stares tinged with romance. Jared always denied his attraction to Renee, but Waves knew the truth. His best friend’s eyes revealed that he wanted more than just sex; he wanted to give Renee his heart.

“We’re going to Renee’s,” Jared announced.

Waves looked at his friend and shook his head. “Real talk, I can understand why you’re feeling shorty. She’s bad as hell. But, son, she ain’t for you.”

Jared looked at his friend from the corner of his eye. When Waves saw he had Jared’s attention, he continued speaking.

“With all the shit you went through growing up, you need yourself a good girl, not a woman who outranks you and whose government name you can’t tell your parents.”

Jared stopped at a red light but kept his eyes on the street. He didn’t like what he was hearing, but he understood it all. Renee was not your ideal woman. Men didn’t flock to women who hid behind an alias and could have them killed in the blink of an eye. In the streets, Renee was known as Jordan, a man no one saw, but everyone feared. Jared knew that everything Waves had said was the truth. He had lived a hard-knock life and needed a good girl. Something as simple as having a crush on Renee could send his life spiraling out of control. However, it was too late. He had feelings for her, and he was already in too deep.

Twenty minutes later, Jared and Waves arrived at Renee’s penthouse and knocked on the door. For five minutes, they waited in the hall for someone to answer. They were heated when a fat brown-skinned dude, with so many diamonds on that it was blinding, opened the door with a toothpick in his mouth. He looked at Jared and Waves, flung the door all the way open, and walked away.

Jared’s hands balled into fists. He had never liked Slice, and on countless occasions, he’d wanted to punch him through the wall. Slice had a slick mouth and thought he could say any and everything to anyone and get away with it. If it were up to Jared, he would be dead and stinking by now. But because Slice was third in command and had been Renee’s close friend since high school, Jared let him live. So until Renee gave the word, Jared would sit in the cut, watching his prey.

After closing the door behind him and Waves, Jared watched Slice make his way over to the living-room couch and continue playing NBA 2K19 on PlayStation 4. Jared followed him into the room, sat down on the love seat, and cracked open one of the anger-management books he had purchased not even two hours ago. Massaging his temple with his left hand, he looked at Slice and knew he would need to soak up every word the authors wrote.

He was on page five on the first book when Renee stormed down the stairs. Her Chinese red silk robe flowed in the air as she quickly passed by the men in her living room without bothering to speak. Jared’s eyes followed Renee until she disappeared into the hall. When he turned away, he saw Lyfe, the O.G. of the crew, staring at him. He hadn’t noticed Lyfe when he walked in. Then again, no one noticed Lyfe.

Waves walked into the living room just then, chomping down on a bag of Lay’s potato chips. He flopped down on the couch, and half of his body landed on Slice. Slice paused the video game, and with a screw face, he pushed Waves off him.

“Fat boy, what you do to Renee? Why she so pissed?” Waves asked as he munched on a potato chip.

“Fuck you, you skinny bastard! I ain’t do shit!” Slice un-paused the video game and continued to play. He couldn’t stand Waves. In his eyes, Waves played too much and purposely tried to push his buttons.

Waves sat beside him and watched the steam leave Slice’s head. He took pleasure in making Slice miserable. “Nah, seriously, fat boy, why she so pissed?”

Slice didn’t answer right away; instead, he held himself back from strangling Waves. “I don’t know why, you piece of shit,” he finally spit. “You know Renee don’t say shit about anything. It probably has something to do with Jay. He hasn’t been seen in over two weeks.”

Jared’s eyes got low, and he started biting the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to admit it, but he disliked hearing that Julian was the reason Renee was in such a funk. Their relationship had brought Jared to a dark place and had made him despise Julian twice as much. His eyes darted around the room. When they landed on Lyfe, Jared saw that he was staring at him again.

Lyfe knew exactly what was on Jared’s mind. He never spoke, but he noticed everything. There was a time when Jared didn’t understand why the old man was still in the game. Really, what could he do? He was frail, and his hair was damn near all gray. He looked so fragile, you’d think one touch would break him. However, after working with Lyfe for only one week, Jared had realized why Renee had him on her team. He was a beast, and he had no problem laying his murder game down.

Lyfe had been in the game since Jared was in diapers. For years, he had worked for Renee’s close friend Metro, a kingpin who had handed down his crown to Renee when he retired. Because Lyfe hadn’t been ready to leave the game alone, and probably never would be, Metro had put Lyfe on to Renee. Metro had believed she needed someone experienced and trustworthy on her team. The streets were what Lyfe was good at, so going from a kingpin to a queen had not been an issue.

Jared was torn out of his thoughts concerning Julian, Renee, and Lyfe when Renee came storming through the living room again. As quickly as she came in, she left and headed up the stairs. Seconds later she slammed her bedroom door. Jared couldn’t help but think how gorgeous she looked in her silk robe. Whenever she wore it, he’d steal a look at her legs. They were always shiny and looked so soft. Things like that made showing up to work worthwhile.

Waves shook his head. “Dude needs to hurry up and resurface, because she’s about to pop a blood vessel.”

Jared sank farther into the love seat. Nah. That motherfucker needs to stay wherever the fuck he’s at, he thought.

For a few minutes, no one spoke, each man lost in his own thoughts. While Lyfe, Waves, and Slice thought about random things that held no importance, Jared thought of the one thing that had dominated his thoughts for the past few months: how he wanted Renee all to himself and Julian out of the picture.

As Julian sat in first class, with a glass of Hennessy in his hand, his bloodshot eyes told the story of a man who hadn’t slept in days. If you looked closely, you could see the fury that dwelled deep within the shadows of this soul. Renee telling him that she aborted his child had crushed him. For days, he had cried within the privacy of his home. His pain had soon turned into anger and had grown with every day that passed.

The image of Renee sitting behind her huge cherry-wood desk, breaking the news to him, was embedded in his mind. They had sat in her office, talking about the abortion as if it was business instead of something personal. The setting alone angered him and had led him to believe she couldn’t have cared less about what she’d done. Her voice had been cold and ever so calm. She had never broken eye contact or given the slightest hint that she was disturbed by her actions.

Julian took a sip of his drink. He looked in the glass and knew he would soon need a refill. He knew his drinking had gotten out of hand since Renee told him the bad news, but he didn’t care. He needed the alcohol, depended on it. It was the only thing that he knew would numb his pain. Renee had pushed him to his breaking point. It had gotten to the point where all he did was drink. This past week, he had sat in his Miami Beach house, his place of refuge, and had talked to himself and consumed alcohol. He downed the rest of his drink now and frantically looked around for a flight attendant to take his drink order.

“She’s getting your drink now,” said a female voice.

Julian looked over and saw a beautiful woman looking at him. She had honey-brown straight hair that touched the center of her back, hazel eyes, and skin the color of caramel. She reminded him of Renee. The only difference was, Renee’s hair was shoulder length and black.

The thought of Renee sent Julian into a trance. He could see her angelic face staring back at him. Her bright, almond-shaped hazel eyes and dimpled smile made him weak in the knees, but the longer he stared at her, the more he saw her for who she really was. She was a rocklike creature with no emotions. This was the woman he had stood by for years and had allowed to eat away at his soul.

As if a hypnotist had snapped his or her fingers, Julian snapped back to reality. He looked at the stranger, the beautiful woman, who was speaking to him. She hadn’t noticed that Julian had temporarily zoned out.

“I could tell by the way you looked at your glass when it was getting low that you wanted another, but you seemed to be in a daydream when the flight attendant walked by. So I took the liberty of ordering you the same of what you had. I hope that’s okay,” she said.

Julian’s face softened. Being in the business he was in, he trusted no one and questioned everything. Her reason for ordering him a drink seemed legit, so he let it go.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” he said, turning his head to look at her. Then faced forward and drifted back into his own little world.

The woman continued to stare, as if she was examining him. Julian could feel her eyes burning a hole into the side of his face. His features hardened. He wasn’t in the mood for a conversation with some chick who was obviously trying to pick him up. He turned toward the woman, his frustration written on his face.

“What?” he said.

“Would it kill you to say thank you?”

The woman’s stare was so hard, Julian felt like she was challenging him. Her boldness took him by surprise. One second she appeared to be a nice, sweet woman. And the next, she was a controlling, “don’t take any mess from anyone” type of woman.

This broad must be out of her damn mind. I’m so stressed, I could choke her ass and easily get off by pleading temporary insanity.

The two had a staring contest that neither intended to lose. Julian was on edge. The smallest thing could push him over and cause him to take all his frustrations out on an innocent person.

Holding a drink in her hand, the flight attendant stepped in front of him just then, blocking his view of the woman. “Here you go, sir. Here’s your Hennessy.”

Julian took the glass out of the perky flight attendant’s hand and said, “Thank you.” He looked at the woman across from him and smiled.

The woman knew what he was doing. He wasn’t saying thank you to the flight attendant to be polite; he was letting her know he’d say it to anyone except her. Moreover, he was making it clear that her straightforwardness and demand for respect did not and would not faze him.

The flight attendant waltzed back into coach, and Julian got comfortable in his seat. After lying back, he closed his eyes and thought about how the moment he landed in Jamaica, he would put in motion his plan for Renee to let go of her past so they could be in a real relationship. He smiled. He couldn’t wait for the whole “friends with benefits” thing they had going to end. He wanted more, needed more. Life would be complete when their relationship flourished and grew to the highest level.

Renee was so traumatized and hurt by her past, she had become emotionally detached, wanting none of the happiness and joys life had to offer. For years, starting at the age of twelve, she had been raped by her stepfather, while her mother had stood by and done nothing but verbally abuse her. Through it all, Julian had stood by her side and had patiently waited for the day she opened her closed heart to him and they became a couple.

From the first day he laid eyes on Renee, he’d known she was the woman he was destined to grow old with. But the longer he’d waited for her depression to wear off, the more cold and withdrawn she’d become. Believing that one day everything would change, Julian had held on to hope. But when Renee had told him she aborted their child, a child he never knew she was pregnant with, he had lost it. All his patience had gone out the window. He had decided he would have her and the family he’d always wanted right then and there. There would be no more waiting. He knew exactly how to get Renee to let go of her past and look forward to their future. He would eliminate the cause of her pain by unleashing the world’s most skilled assassin to wipe her stepfather and her mother off the face of this earth.

Julian looked out the small window, at the clouds, and grinned. Soon everything he had ever wanted would be his. When he looked away, he locked eyes with those of the woman who’d ordered his drink. She’d been staring at him the whole time. Julian’s jaw tightened.

She doesn’t give up.

Once again, the two stared at each other for what felt like forever. Julian’s blood began to boil, and he felt himself getting hot. When he noticed his hand squeezing his glass with enough force to shatter it, he tried to calm himself down.

This is not the time. Stay focused.

Julian was not one to be challenged, but normally, he was cool, calm, and collected when he handled issues. He would eliminate the enemy after stripping them of their pride and confidence. However, due to the fact that he was on an emotional roller coaster, he now envisioned harming this aggressive woman. He quickly dismissed the thought. Her immaturity was not worthy of attention. He gave her his famous Colgate smile, turned away, and went to sleep.

Julian’s eyelids opened and shut numerous times before staying open to observe his surroundings that . . .