Candy Licker by Noire Read Free Book Online Page A

next six months. But I have something else for you. A one-day trip. Seattle. Your flight leaves Friday afternoon.”

    I was nervous but I didn't see no way around it. I called Nicky back later that night and told him we needed to talk. He swung by my apartment in his fresh Peugeot and took me to an icecream parlor not far from my house, someplace he'd taken me many times before.
    There was no other way to say it so I just broke it down to him straight. “I can't make the next run,” I told him. “I'm already tied up for that day. I got other plans.”
    “Plans?” He licked his chocolate cone. “Break em.”
    I couldn't even look at him I felt so bad. “I can't, Nicky. I'm going back to New York. To sing. I've got an audition with a record label and I got a strong feeling it might lead to something.”
    Nicky stopped eating his ice cream and stared at me. He'd been good to me over the years, the closest thing I'd had to a father, really. I saw the disappointment in his eyes and I felt bad for putting it there, but I was on a mission and nobody was gonna stand in my way. My main purpose in life was to become a recording star, and no amount of muling in the world could make that happen.
    He sighed and chucked his ice cream into the trash. “What?” he asked. “What? We're not taking good enough care of you, Candy, is that what it is? What more do you want? More money? A bigger place? What? Is it a car?”
    I shook my head over and over. “I want to sing, Nicky. I want a recording contract.”
    He laughed. “You might get a contract all right. On your fuckin’ life.”
    “I have to sing, Nicky. This could be my big chance.”
    “Forget it,” he said. “Stay away from the recording business. They're all sharks, and they all work for me in some capacity anyway. Be a good girl. Make your drop.”
    “I can get somebody to fill in for me,” I said real quick. “The job'll get done and shit will be smooth. I promise.”
    “Who?” Nicky laughed again, but I knew damn well he wasn't amused. “Who's gonna make your drop, Candy? That kid you go to school with? The one who's living with you and mooching off you for free? Oh, I know. Your mother, right? You're gonna let that junkie mother of yours get her hands on my money and run it for you, right?”
    “My mama ain't no junkie,” I mumbled under my breath. “She got herself together now.”
    He stood up. “I can't believe this shit! You're serious, aren't you? Your mother? You're gonna throw your whole life away on something stupid, Candy? If I'da known you were that dumb I would've left you in that coat closet back in Harlem.”
    He balled his napkin up and hurled it at the trash can. “I take you under my wing and put myself out for you and this is the kind of thanks I get? This is the way you repay me? I'm warning you, Candy. I care about you, but if you mess things up with the family I'll do whatever I have to do. You'll be dead to me, Candy. You hear me?”
    I didn't say nothing. I had to do what I had to do too.
    “Well, fine,” Nicky said, standing up. His eyes were cold.“Let your junkie mother make the drop. If she fucks it up and gets out of pocket, you'll both end up paying. Your mother is a fiend, Candy. There's no such thing as an ex-trickster. Remember that.”

    M ama was too down.
    “Don't worry, Candy,” she told me. “I know what to do and I got you covered. Trust me, I can do this.”
    I swallowed hard. Mama needed the extra money this run would bring, but I needed Mama. She was my only backup and everything inside of me wanted to believe she could pull it off because I was between a rock and a wall. Nicky was mad at me, but Hurricane Jackson wasn't about to give us a second shot and Dominica and Vonzelle had let it be known that our entire career depended on my ass being in Harlem on Friday night.
    My head was spinning. I was so stressed I couldn't think straight. Whatever decision I made, the repercussions might come back to bite me on