Free Carl Weber's Kingpins by Keisha Ervin

within herself to hold the smile threatening to plague her face. She knew he knew why Tony ended up dead. Because he was a snitch, but she wasn’t going to say that. Playing dumb was her best bet.
    “You, Ms. Mason,” Detective Avery said and turned his nose up at her, “are full of shit. I can see it in your eyes.”
    “That’s cool and everything but I feel like you’re wastin’ my time right now, Detective Amos.”
    “Avery!”
    “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Am I being arrested?”
    When he didn’t say anything, which she knew he wouldn’t, she stood to her feet and nodded her head at him. “I take that as a no,” she said and swung her long, natural hair over her shoulder as she made her way to the door.
    “I’ll be seeing you again,” Detective Avery warned. “Soon.”
    “I’m used to niggas stalking me.” Day winked at him not thinking twice to entertain his warning. “So that’s cool.”

Chapter 6
    The watcher sat inside of the black Escalade and, through tinted windows, eyed him getting into his Mercedes-Benz. Mixed emotions plagued inside but still it was too early to make a move. Yet the time to exact revenge was coming nearer and nearer.
    Do it now! the watcher’s mental screamed.
    “No! Not yet. Soon though. Very soon,” the watcher said out loud although nobody was in the vehicle with them.
    The watcher had been keeping tabs on David Mason Jr. for the last couple of weeks, taking notice of his habits and the people who he liked to be around, and getting used to his routine. He was interesting, nothing like his cold-hearted father, but still Mason blood ran through him. Which meant he would have to pay.

Chapter 7
    The sound of running water filled the kitchen and the smell of the roast slow cooking in the Crock-Pot on the counter invaded Angela’s nostrils. She inhaled deeply and listened to her family in the other room having basic chitchat. It was the first time in weeks that they had all been under the same roof together and she wasn’t sure yet if it was a blessing or a curse. After her solo dinner with her husband she had been very standoffish with everyone, including her son. The dinner that night hadn’t even been set up by her; David had put it together. As always, everyone had to be on his time. When he was expected to be on theirs he was a no-show.
    She sighed deeply and walked to the island in her kitchen to grab her wineglass and take a sip. She didn’t even know what the name of the wine was; she just knew that it cost $2,000 and in her mind the price made it ten times better. After she guzzled down the glass Angela wiped the corners of her lips and made her way into the dining room. The first sight she saw at the table meant for six was, of course, Davita smiling ear to ear and having a conversation with her father. The next was David Jr. with his head bent down and his eyes on his phone and his fingers moving. She took her seat at the other end of the table and smiled in her son’s direction. Both of her children were a perfect blend of her and her husband, but David Jr. had her smile. He felt his mother’s eyes on him and he looked up at her, returning her smile.
    “Hey, Ma, the food smells good,” he said. “Why you always gotta cook, though? Don’t got money for cooks and shit?”
    “Watch your mouth,” Angela responded to him, smoothing out the tablecloth in front of her. “And because when my whole family is here I would like my hands to be the ones that prepare the food that you guys eat.”
    “Poison,” Day coughed into her hand and King David shot her a look, although it seemed as if he was holding back a laugh.
    He wanted them all to have a peaceful dinner and in a sense he wanted to make his absence up to his family. Things weren’t perfect among them and he felt that he had been bringing his cold heart into his home. He and Day had a tight bond but their family consisted of four. However, when it came to Angela he already knew that money was the only