“Yo, papi, let me get that pen,” he said to a guy working as a host at a restaurant on the strip, trying to sell a lobster dinner special. He grabbed a napkin and wrote his number down on it and passed the pen back.
As he handed her the napkin, he told her, “Look, Northern girl, don’t let these palms trees and crystal blue water fool you. These Miami streets ain’t no joke. Trust no one and watch your back at all times. Nothing—I repeat, nothing and no one are what they seem.”
“A’ight, thanks . . . lifesaver.”
“It’s actually Black.”
“A’ight now, Black. Thanks again,” she said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
“Why the look?”
“Just seems so cliché that your nickname would be Black.” His chocolate skin said everything.
“Yeah, that’s what they been calling me my whole life,” he said, and for the first time, she noticed his deep Southern drawl.
“Okay.” she nodded and thanked him again.
“Take that shit for face value, ya heard?” he said, strolling away.
She heard him loud and clear, but she was wondering how in the world she could take anybody seriously wearing some damn hot-ass duck boots in ninety-five degree weather.
CHAPTER 14
Back in her room, she dropped the things that she had used her discount to get on the bed and smiled. In spite of everything, Miami had been good to her today. She had gotten some really great pieces.
Bianca decided to go unpack her suitcases. Her own, previously worn personal items were placed in a shopping bag in the corner. Sooner or later, she’d find a dry cleaners to take them to. She didn’t usually wear her clothes over again, but at home she had had a deep closet of clothes waiting to be worn. That was no longer the case. The things she would keep for herself were folded neatly into the drawers and closet. Unworn, tagged items she kept in their lone suitcase. She had plans of what to do with the items, but first she had to get her essentials together and get back connected with the real world.
Bianca cracked her new laptop open and set up an entire new eBay account using the prepaid Visa card that she had gotten from the drug store under the name of Alexis Williams. Once everything was set up, she took pictures of the things she had brought with her in her suitcase, and the other things she didn’t keep for herself that she had gotten earlier. She posted them for sale, and within minutes, Bianca starting getting offers for the items.
“Ching, ching! I still got it,” Bianca raved. She was back in business.
Now, did Bianca really need the money right about now? No, but for what she intended to set off in Miami, she needed this site to make her legitimate on paper. That was something that Caesar had always stressed.
By midnight, Bianca had taken a picture of and uploaded all of her merchandise to the site, as well as sold over a thousand dollars in products. Now all she had to do was use the hotel business center to print off the shipping labels and find the nearest post office to package and mail the items.
Fearless didn’t even begin to describe the attitude Bianca had at that very moment. Knowing that the police would be looking for her for the rest of her life, she was still hell bent on living life to the fullest. She was not going to look over her shoulders twenty-four seven, but instead she was going to stay headstrong and keep it moving. If ever she did go down, she wanted to go down while on top. She wanted to prove to herself that she was something great and could do great things, in spite of her past and in spite of the choices she had made. She’d really hoped that Caesar would be the one by her side to see her rise above the hood life, but that was never going to happen.
Caesar’s good heart was what Bianca had loved about him so much, but his good heart wanted her to turn herself in to the police and face the music. That was just not something Bianca could ever bring herself to do. The police could take her kicking and screaming, but she would never go willingly. It was her word against her uncle’s. Knowing the fate of all the others before her who hadn’t gone willingly, still, Bianca was determined to put up a fight. She’d been fighting this long. Why not go out with a fight as well?
For the next three days, Bianca spent her time sightseeing, trying to get a feel for the city, and of course, casing stores. She even managed to swipe a few more pieces of merchandise and upload them to sell through her online account. Thanks to that online store, she’d been in Miami all of three days, and other than the money she spent on her electronics, she hadn’t had to spend one dime of the stash she’d brought. If she had things jumping off like this in just a few days, there was no telling what things would look like a year from now when she was good and settled.
She was determined that she would stay focused and keep her eye on the prize, but first, she had to find the prize in the first place. Her goal was to go completely legitimate. She didn’t want to continue boosting the rest of her life. She wanted to stay beneath the police’s radar, and she could do that if she wasn’t leading a life of thieving. Yes, she was going to have to find a way to make her money through a team doing the work, if the work was not legitimate.
Nightfall had come again, and she needed to get out of the hotel and see some of the nightlife. So, she
