Keep Your Friends Close (A Makaveli’s Prince Novella) Read online

  “I am ready for love, why are you hiding from me. I’d quickly give my freedom to be held in your captivity.”

  Cameron enjoyed her voice and, for the second time in as many days, was entranced by the silky seductive tones in every note she sang.

  “Baby you give me half a chance, I’ll prove this to you, I will be patient, kind, faithful, and true.”

  They stood and slow danced. It wasn’t just the weed and warm air, Cameron could feel something electric between them. As he looked in Laila’s eyes he knew she felt it too.

  They kissed with all the excitement and anticipation of a first kiss.

  Cameron was hungry for her and what started slowly gathered pace and intensity. Laila tilted her head back as he kissed the soft tender skin of her neck. His hands caressed her body and slipped beneath her clothes. In the fading light he searched to unhook the clasp of her bra.

  Laila had her hands on him too and it had never felt so good. But then, as quickly as the clasp released, Laila turned from him and darted off the porch into the darkness.

  “Come and get me!” she called out to him.

  Damn this girl was playful and it was such a turn on to have to chase her down, he thought.

  He wasn’t far off the porch when it was clear which way she’d gone. The path down to the jetty was sprinkled with her clothes. By the time the end of the jetty was in sight Cameron could see Laila’s naked silhouette jumping into the water. His clothes fell to the ground in an instant and he dove right in after her.

  Laila swam away from the floating platform, still teasing Cameron to catch her. In a few short strokes he was upon her and she didn’t resist. His body, toned by mixed martial arts, subdued her female frame and he took possession of her.

  For nearly a minute they disappeared under the water. He pulled himself between her thighs and ran his hands over her curves. Laila’s legs locked around him. They floated back to the surface, as if weightless, and the motion between them felt explosive.

  Cameron caressed her and kissed her about her neck again. Laila moaned and tossed her head back. It was so damn good Cameron feared they would drown in the water, or at least the pleasure, if they carried on like this. He turned to the platform and in one swift motion tossed Laila out of the water and up onto it. He was quick to follow.

  There, he laid her down and began to make love to her again.

  “Give it to me,” Laila called out, clawing at the skin on his back, desperate for him to have her.

  Cameron felt a passion he hadn’t for a long time. He was overtaken by an animalistic desire for her.

  “Yes, yes!” There was fire in her voice.

  On the surface, his sex was raw and Laila was responding to that. But beneath it all, his feelings for her ran deep.

  Soon the water on their bodies had turned to sweat. Cameron was in the throes of ecstasy. He cried out like a savage beast and then crumpled down to the deck with a thud. He lay on his back and Laila draped herself over him.

  “Damn bitch, you straight up drained a nigga.”

  “I’m yo’ bitch baby,” Laila said with a smile, caressing his chest. “All yours and I’ma ride for you if that’s what you want.”

  “You know it. I wanna be with you too,” he replied urgently, “really be with you. I wanna be your nigga but shit, your sister...” The disappointment was apparent in his tone.

  “We gon’ worry about her later.”

  They held each other for a while and then Laila started to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Cameron asked.

  “You never told me you could swim.”

  They both laughed at that and then Cameron tickled her into a play fight. Soon Laila had him pinned on his back in mock surrender. He was about as helpless as a man could be with a woman half his weight straddling him.

  This time it was her that made love to him, slowly but with equal passion.

  Cameron knew he’d found something rare, something special and he was going to find a way to make it last. This wasn’t a one-time thing. He’d been there and done that. No, this was different. He’d meant what he’d said and he had respect for Laila. Despite how they both felt for each other it couldn't have been easy for her to have given herself to him so completely.

  FOUR

  Phones switched off and isolated from the world, things moved quickly between Cameron and Laila. Cameron had only planned to stay up at the cabin for the weekend but they soon extended that by a few days.

  He was surprised at how deeply he’d connected with Laila. At first he’d wanted her because of her looks and then the smallest part of him wanted to hit back at her sister for how she’d treated him. He knew it was wrong and he’d tried to resist but something about her had him hooked.

  He felt like Laila was the girl he’d always been looking for. He’d never before felt so completely understood as he did now by Laila. It was as if she could see right through to his core, past his fronting, his street life, and through to the man he was inside, the one he wanted to be.

  In between rounds of passionate sex, they talked for hours. Sometimes they lay naked on the bed just caressing each other and other times they sat out front, looking out over the tranquil lake.

  It was peaceful. Not just the lake but the state of mind that existed between them.

  Laila had grown up in the shadow of her older sister. Their mother had always doted on Tiana, playing favorites and that had made Tiana intolerable at times. After Hurricane Katrina things had become hard for them in New Orleans and their mother went back to the Bahamas. She was supposed to have found a job and then they were going to follow with their step-father. He was actually Laila’s real father but when they’d been kids Tiana had always told Laila – “We’re sisters and if he ain’t my real daddy, he ain’t yours neither.”

  Laila knew it wasn’t true but it stuck with her, like most things Tiana said. And it upset her because her father had been great with both of them. Laila had shared him with her and Tiana had soaked it up like she was daddy’s little girl, all the while blaming Laila for their mother leaving them.

  It was over a year until their mother got a job and by then she’d found someone else. They stayed with Laila’s father in New Orleans and once Laila had learnt not to blame herself because of the things Tiana had said to her she was able to forgive her mother for leaving like that.

  Cameron could relate. Tiana had stepped out on him despite how dedicated to her he’d been. When he’d told Laila about how heavy it had made his heart it was as if she felt the pain for him. They’d both been hurt before by Tiana.

  “You know,” Laila said as Cameron traced a finger down the curve of her back, “I’m not my sister.”

  “I know. I swear this ain’t nothin’ like that. I’m not using you as a replacement,” Cameron replied honestly and with a light caress of her skin.

  “I just mean I ain’t gon’ do you like she did. Straight up, if we gon’ make something of this then we can’t fuck it up. Think about what I stand to lose. Tiana will flip. I know part of her still wants you.”

  “For my money.”

  “That’s part of it but seeing us together will hit her pride hard. She won’t be able to stand seeing me giving you what she couldn’t.”

  Cameron smiled a little and Laila playfully punched him.

  “I’m serious, think on it. Once we do this it’s done for me. I can’t take it back and I have to live with it for the rest of my life. If it all goes wrong you can still walk away and move on. She’s my blood and I have to live with what I’ve done. And my family too, I have to live with their reaction.”

  “I feel you. I ain’t mean to laugh. I know it’s a big deal for you but just one time I’d like to see the look on her face.” Cameron said the words but his heart wasn’t really in it.

  “You don’t mean that,” Laila said. Cameron lay back on the bed.

  “Couple of days ago? Maybe. But now? Nah, you got me feeling faded. I can feel all that stress and
anger leaving me. You’re what matters now.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the back of her neck. “I really wanna put the past behind me and move forward, with you. I’m all yours, whatever it takes to make this work.”

  Laila turned around in his arms and pressed her naked body on top of his, her black curls falling about his chiseled chest.

  “What about this job Tiana wants you to do?” Laila asked.

  “I’m out. It’s already decided.”

  “I just get the feeling she’s not gon’ let it go. She’s on a trip like you owe her. When she finds out about us I’m just scared she might go and do something stupid.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I just wouldn’t want her doing something crazy that risks your probation.”

  “Ain’t gon’ happen. She might want a piece of me, my money and the crew’s next score but it’s down to the crew not her. I made it clear to Tyrone I’m out. Yeah, he might want me in but I know they don’t really need me. Tyrone will find someone else. He’s just frontin’ or everybody gon’ get ideas. It’s all good.”

  “So you think I should keep looking for a place?” Laila sat up on him and flicked her hair back, moving her hips in a slow grind.

  “Oh you found your place already girl,” Cameron said, sliding his hands up her thighs.

  “And what about when your music takes off and you’ve got lil’ tricks trying to get in your pants?”

  Cameron nearly flipped Laila off the bed, he reacted with such a start.

  “Fuck!”

  “What is it?”

  “I switched my cell off. I was supposed to be waiting for that call since yesterday about the record deal.”

  Cameron swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers. He couldn’t believe how forgetful he’d been. He got his phone from the kitchen and switched it on. The notification came up to show he had a new voicemail. He took it outside and started listening as he paced barefoot on the grass.

  The message ended and he turned. Laila was right behind him and she saw the look on his face.

  “What it is?”

  “We need to go.” Cameron headed straight back into the cabin.

  “Bad news?”

  “Good. But they wanted me in the studio last night. They’ve got free studio time every night this week and said this was my shot. I’m so fucked.” There was panic in his voice. He was pacing and she could see he was about to flip out.

  “Okay, go get washed up. I’ll get us packed and we can be back in Miami in a couple of hours. You got this.”

  It was starting to get dark when they set off and soon they were speeding through the dark, headlights slicing into the void ahead. Laila drove while Cameron sat in the passenger seat. He had a pair of Sennheiser headphones on and was furiously scribbling lyrics down on a pad.

  He’d called but hadn’t been able to get anyone at the studio. That wasn’t unusual. He just had to hope there was still a deall waiting for him when he got there. If there was something not to screw around with it was studio time. That pissed people off. He tried to not let that thought throw him off his game.

  He barely noticed how far they’d gone until the navigation system started frequently calling out directions as they twisted along Miami streets. Soon, they pulled up at the studio.

  “I’m probably gon’ be at this all night so you might as well take off.” Cameron hit the right combination of buttons on the navigation system to guide her home. He jumped out and was about to just slam the door shut and run in but then he stopped. He lent back in the car and kissed her.

  “I love you,” Cameron said. Laila’s face lit up with a smile.

  “I love you, too.”

  Laila pulled off and her smile lasted all the way back to Coral Gables. She parked the car in the drive and carried in their bags.

  “Oh you’ a bad bitch,” Tiana called from the kitchen. She was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar, filing her nails. “Get your ass in here.”

  Laila sat herself down and Tiana poured her a shot from a bottle of Remy Martin.

  “Gone this long and you ain’t even called me?”

  “We need to talk,” Laila said.

  “All I need to know is if you did what I said.”

  “If you want to know whether I slept with him, I did. If you want to know whether he’s going to do the job then you’re going to be disappointed.” Laila knocked back the drink.

  Cameron stepped out of the studio in the early hours of the morning. The sun was about to come up over Miami. He dialed Tiana’s number. For once, her ass could get up and come pick him up. He’d let Laila sleep in. She’d need her energy later. He couldn’t wait to ravage her all over again. A long weekend away with her just hadn’t been enough.

  “Hey yo Tia, wake your ass up and come pick me up,” Cameron said to her voice mail. It wasn’t unusual that she hadn’t picked up. He waited a couple of minutes expecting her to call him back or send him an angry text to ask him where he was.

  He paced a little but only because he was impatient for her to come pick him up. He’d smoothed things out earlier that evening and was set for another five sessions in the studio. He’d killed the session with some dope lyrics and was fired up for the next day. By the end of the week he’d have the best part of an album done. Things were moving fast but he had never been more ready.

  He tried Tiana’s phone again and still got voicemail. He tried Laila’s and got nowhere, too. For all he knew, Laila had laid her cards on the table with Tiana and they’d been ripping strips off each other ever since. They’d be tired and for certain Tiana wasn’t going to want to have anything to do with him until she cooled off. Laila was supposed to have waited until they could tell her together but he understood it didn’t always work out that way between siblings.

  Cameron had a brother he hadn’t seen for a couple of months. They’d grown up together and had been really tight but a while back they’d had a stupid disagreement they just hadn’t resolved yet. It was next on Cameron’s list of things to do now he was out of the game.

  A cab dropped him off and he told the driver to keep the change. Cameron shoved his wallet into his back pocket and saw the front door to the house was open. He rubbed his hands together and jogged up the two steps to the door. He was looking forward to seeing Laila. He hoped it was her who was up and not Tiana. He’d sneak in a few intimate minutes with her before Tiana got up. He checked his watch at the door, yes she’d be up soon.

  It hit him quickly, as soon as he stepped inside. The house had been tossed. He moved quickly across to a side table in the entrance hall. He opened the small draw and pulled out a Springfield XD-S 9mm pistol.

  He checked the magazine and pulled back the top slide. A round slid into the chamber and he took the safety off. His eyes scanned as he moved. He couldn’t believe anyone would be so foolish as to mess with him. It had to be someone who didn’t know better.

  He passed through the lounge, stepping over everything scattered on the floor, and entered the kitchen. When he saw Tiana laying on the floor, he tucked the gun in the back of his waistband and rushed to her. The place was a mess and she was lying face down on a smashed bottle. Her blood had mixed with a pool of cognac.

  “Tia,” Cameron called out in a cautious whisper to her. He was acutely aware that whoever had done this might still be upstairs. He didn’t want to alert them to his presence.

  Tiana was groggy but coming around slowly. He pulled her up against him and held her in his arms. Everything that had gone bad between them was automatically suspended as he picked the glass from her face. There didn’t appear to be too much damage apart from the gash to her scalp. It looked like someone had knocked her out with the bottle.

  “Cam?”

  “Yeah baby, I’m here. You good? Tell me what happened. Where’s Laila?”

  Tiana didn’t respond, she was probably in shock. Cameron rested her back down again, mostly confident she was going to be ok
ay. He took out the XD-S and checked upstairs quickly.

  No one. The house was empty.

  His mind raced, trying to piece things together.

  He went back to Tiana and found her now fully conscious and sitting up on her own.

  “What happened,” Cameron asked again, kneeling down beside her in the kitchen.

  “I was talking to Laila and then the next thing I know is I’m waking up in your arms feeling like my head’s about to burst.”

  “Where’s Laila.”

  “What?”

  “I looked upstairs and she ain’t here.”

  They just looked at each other. Cameron’s phone rang and startled them both. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket. Laila’s name was written across the display.

  “Laila,” Cameron said, answering it, “thank god. Are you okay?”

  “Laila ain’t here right now.” The voice was familiar but Cameron’s rage was stopping him from immediately placing it.

  “Who this?”

  “Tyrone nigga. You had better get your shit together.”

  “What the fuck nigga…”

  “If you want to see her again you gon’ get to work. See you in three hours or she’s dead.”

  The line cut and Cameron looked at the phone in disbelief.

  “Who was it?” Tiana asked.

  “That nigga Tyrone, he’s got Laila. He’s gon’ kill her.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” Cameron shouted. He was waiving the pistol and was ready to flip out.

  “She’s my sister Cam.”

  “Don’t you think I fuckin’ know that?”

  “You’ve got to get her back.” Tiana broke into tears. Cameron saw and couldn’t help but relate to it because he now had a similarly strong emotional attachment to Laila. He put aside his own grievances with Tiana and held her to his chest.

  “It’s gon’ be alright, I’ma sort this out.” Tiana held on to him, the tears cutting lines through the blood on her face.

  “I’m sorry for everything,” Tiana said in between sobs, “I promise to quit cheating and act right if you just get her back, whatever it takes. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”