Nikki was thrilled that her mother was back in her life and even more thrilled that she was beginning to loosen up. She still, however, was furious with her father and wanted to make sure Gina came out on the winning end of the divorce, so she paid for the best lawyer she could find.
Meanwhile, she wanted to desperately find the woman that her father cheated with and make sure her family got some redemption. Nikki tried to do whatever she could to find that woman, including hiring someone to investigate the situation through the new attorney on the payroll.
Nikki was also going to do whatever she could to support her mother during the situation. So, during the divorce proceedings, Nikki would be attending. She chartered a private plane in early October, bringing along Al and two of her men for the trip. She also booked a room at the massive casino hotel in Niagara Falls, knowing there would be celebration after the divorce hearing.
When they landed in Niagara Falls, Nikki sent Al and the two men to see what they could find on the woman that ruined her parents’ marriage, while she hopped in the back of the limo waiting for herself and Gina.
The limo pulled up to the front of the building and Nikki stepped out of the car first, wearing a blue blouse and a black leather skirt, knee-high black leather boots with a stiletto heel and her leather blazer, along with her gold jewelry and straight brown hair. Nikki’s gold Rolex snagged on the sleeve of her leather blazer as she took one final drag on her cigarette and flicked it away as she walked inside with Gina, who was wearing a purple sweater and tight black slacks, along with black leather boots with a chunky heel and her leather coat buttoned up and tied around her waist.
As they walked in, Nikki’s father was certainly surprised by her presence in support of her mother, clearly not aware of the fact that the two had patched up their relationship in the month prior.
“Nicole, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Her father said as she walked by.
“Oh, you mean you didn’t expect me to find out you ruined Mom’s life?” Nikki asked. “Well, I found out and she’s never been happier since you’ve been gone…And, by the way, we’re going to take everything you own.”
Her father simply slumped back into his chair in disbelief. The proceedings went exactly how Nikki expected, with the judge ruling in favor of every one of their demands. Nikki even wanted to take the house, but Gina declined, considering she already had the lake house and didn’t want to live in town anymore.
When the ruling came down and Nikki escorted her mother from the room, she walked by her father and flashed him an evil smile. It was apparent it was beginning to sink in that a lot of things had changed and not in his favor.
As they headed out of the courthouse, Nikki paused to light a cigarette and she knew that Gina was having a craving since she didn’t smoke in the car on the way from the airport, so she turned to her mother, freshly lit cigarette dangling from her mouth.
“Mom, need a light?” Nikki asked, cigarette bouncing between her lips.
Gina pulled her pack of Marlboro Lights 100s from her purse, extracted an all-white cigarette and placed in her waiting mouth. Nikki cupped her hands and lit it for her mother. Of course, Nikki knew that Gina needed to smoke badly, but there was an ulterior motive. She knew her father would coming out soon and Nikki wanted to give him a show. Sure enough, he came walking down the steps as soon as she offered Gina the lighter.
“You’re smoking now?” Her father asked incredulously.
“Shit happens,” Nikki laughed wickedly.
“Just so you know, you have driven this family apart,” Her father spat at her.
“She didn’t do anything,” Gina snapped as smoke trickled from her nose and mouth. “Nicole didn’t create your inability to keep your penis in your pants after 30 years of marriage. You ruined this marriage.”
Nikki simply smiled during the exchange.
“And yes, I have started smoking,” Gina continued. “But, as of today, we’re divorced. So it’s none of your concern, asshole!”
With that, Nikki grabbed her mother’s arm and walked her to the waiting limo, ushering her inside. Before getting in, Nikki made sure to blow her father a kiss as he stood dead in his tracks, gawking.
Once they reached the hotel and checked into the suite, which thankfully allowed smoking, and was one of the reasons Nikki picked it, they sat down to relax.
Nikki hung her coat in the closet and took Gina’s as well, before pouring herself a drink, sitting down in a chair and lighting a cigarette. Gina followed suit, but her daughter could tell something was on her mind.
“You OK, Mom?” Nikki asked through an exhale.
“Yeah, today was just so final,” Gina said, pulling on her own cigarette. “Thirty years of marriage are gone with a signature.”
“You’re on to better things now, though,” Nikki assured her.
“I know, I’ll get over it,” Gina smiled. “Plus, the look on your father’s face when he saw me with a cigarette was priceless.”
The two women shared a laugh, and Nikki had just finished her drink when Al knocked on the door. She had some good news.
“So, we found the woman that had the affair with your dad,” Al said. “The address I got from the lawyer isn’t that far away.”
Nikki looked at the slip of paper in Al’s hand and she instantly recognized the address scrawled on it.
“That’s Mark’s house,” Nikki said with a stunned look on her face.
______________________________________________________________________________
Nikki couldn’t understand why Mark’s address would have anything to do with her father’s affair, but she didn’t want to waste any time guessing.
She went to the closet and grabbed her leather blazer and slung it over her shoulders, cigarette still burning in her mouth.
“OK Mom, we have to go,” Nikki said as she stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray in the table. “Are you gonna be alright while we’re gone?”
“No, I’m coming,” Gina said as she leapt to her feet.
“Mom, that’s not a good idea,” Nikki told her. “You don’t want to be involved if things get slippery.”
“I’m coming,” Gina said firmly. “I need to see this woman.”
Nikki shrugged and walked out the door, the three women piling in the back seat of a Black Chevy Suburban with her two men in the front. When they arrived at Mark’s house, there was nobody home. Luckily, Nikki knew where he kept a spare key. She instructed Al and one of her men to come in with her, while Gina would remain in the car with the other, waiting around the corner until they received a signal to come in.
When they entered the house, Nikki could see the television was still on, so Mark would be back soon. She sat down in a chair in the living room so he would see her as soon as he walked in the door. Then, Nikki had her bodyguard wait behind the door and Al in the hallway. With the plan in place, she crossed her legs and lit a large Cuban cigar.
They didn’t have to wait long for Mark to return home, and when he walked in the door he was shocked to see his ex-girlfriend, clad in leather, gold jewelry and smoking a cigar in his chair.
“Hey babe!” Nikki smiled. “Did you miss me?”
“What are you doing here?” Mark asked nervously.
“Well, that’s a good question,” Nikki said, standing up from her chair and walking slowly to him. She paused once she was nose-to-nose with him, took a puff on her cigar and exhaled directly into his face. “I’m not sure you know, but my parents got a divorce.”
“That’s terrible,” Mark said. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Are you?” Nikki asked. “Because I did some research to find the whore that had an affair with my precious daddy and it led me to this address.”
“Oh, so you think I had an affair with your dad?” Mark laughed.
“No,” Al said as she emerged from the dark hallway. “But, I’m guessing the girl that lives in your spare bedroom did.”
“My sister wouldn’t do anything like that,” Mark snapped.
“Your sister does everyone,” Nikki laughed. “So, where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Mark said. “I’m not her keeper.”
“Find her,” Al said firmly as she handed Mark his phone. “And tell her to come home.”
“Do you two really think you’re going to intimidate me?” Mark laughed.
“Oh no,” Nikki smiled as she took a puff on her cigar and pointed to the burly man behind him. “That’s why he’s here.”
Nikki’s bodyguard delivered a hard punch to Mark’s gut when he turned around, causing him to gasp for air. Then he threw him into a kitchen chair.
“Call her,” Nikki demanded, smile fading from her face.
Mark did as he was instructed and announced she was already on her way home.
“Great,” Nikki said before turning to her bodyguard. “Tie him up.”
She then told Al to bring in her mother, but to keep the driver in the car in case they needed a quick getaway. When Mark’s sister, Alana, entered the house, she confused as to why Nikki was there along with her mother.
“Hey girl!” Nikki said as she feigned excitement. “How have you been?”
“What are you doing here?” Alana asked nervously.
“Oh, let me show you,” Nikki said, grabbing Alana by the arm and leading her into the kitchen where Mark was strapped to a chair with Al and the bodyguard standing on either side of him.
“Oh my god!” Alana screamed as she tried to run away. Nikki was directly in her path and cut her off, shoving her back to the ground. The bodyguard scooped her up and strapped her to the chair next to Mark’s, putting a piece of tape over her mouth.
“So, we’re here to find out why you slept with my dad,” Nikki said calmly. “The quicker you tell me, the quicker we’re out of your hair for good.”
Alana began to make some noise, so Nikki told Al to remove the tape.
“I didn’t sleep with him!” Alana pleaded.
“Oh, so if I look through your phone I won’t find anything?” Nikki asked. “For your brother’s sake, I sure hope you’re not lying.”
Alana shook her head, so Nikki grabbed the purse lying on the ground from the skirmish and picked her phone out of it. As she opened it, and began to scroll through the messages, Alana stopped her.
“OK! OK! I did it!” Alana exclaimed.
“Why?” Nikki demanded, dropping the phone.
“Because of what you did to my brother!” Alana cried.
“Mark, have you been telling stories?” Nikki asked sarcastically.
“I just told her what happened,” Mark said.
“Well, if she acted on her own, then there’s no reason for you to be here,” Nikki said. “Alana will just have to pay for her own actions.”
Nikki motioned to Al, who cracked Alana in the face with a hard right fist to the jaw, causing her to squeal, which simply led to Nikki telling the bodyguard to reapply the tape to her mouth.
“OK!” Mark blurted. “It was my idea. I wasn’t going to let you punk me out the way you did.”
“So why didn’t you find me?” Nikki asked.
“Because I loved you!” Mark said viciously. “I wanted to hurt you as bad as you hurt me, but I didn’t wanna beat you. So I did something that would last forever.”
“Well, what should we do?” Nikki asked the room.
“You aren’t gonna do a damn thing!” Mark shouted. “Before you met me you were nothing! You were an insecure little girl! You’re nothing without me!”
Nikki simply let out an evil cackle as she walked over to him and squatted down, causing her leather blazer and skirt to creak.
“Honey, you were never in my league,” Nikki smiled as she took a puff on her cigar and blew the smoke into his face. “You were nothing but a means to an end.”
Mark just stared at her.
“And, baby, if you hadn’t noticed, I’ve traded up,” Nikki whispered as she held her left hand to his face to reveal her gigantic engagement ring. “He’s a real man. Look at you. You’re just a little boy. Look at me. I’ve been gone a little more than a year and I have more money than I know what to do with. You? You’re just a lackey with no ambition, living in a fucking dump.”
Nikki stood up and turned her attention to Alana, who now had tears streaming from her face. She briefly examined her and then ripped Alana’s shirt open, showing her skin and stubbed out her nearly-spent cigar on her chest, causing her to writhe in pain. Then, delivered a hard right hand directly to her nose, causing blood squirt out immediately.
“Enough!” Mark shouted. “Do it to me instead.”
Nikki shrugged and was about to move back over to mark, when Gina -- who had been completely silent throughout the ordeal -- stepped forward.
“No!” Gina said. “Do it to the bitch that ruined my marriage! He used your family to ruin your life so you do the same to him. Kick that little slut’s ass!”
Gina then walked over to Mark and slapped him as hard as he could across the face. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I met you.”
A little stunned by her mother’s outburst, Nikki paused for a minute. Then she gathered herself and held out her left hand, Rolex dangling loosely from her wrist. Her bodyguard immediately handed her a glock from the inside of his jacket pocket with a silencer on the end.
“You ain’t gonna do anything with that,” Mark laughed. “You don’t have the balls. You always yammered on about how this life had too much senseless killing.”
“You’re right, Mark,” Nikki said softly. “And I still say that. But, baby, this ain’t business, this is family.”
Just like that, Nikki put a bullet between Alana’s eyes, causing her body to go limp in the chair immediately and causing Mark to let out a howl. Nikki cracked him in the ear with the butt of the gun to shut him up.
“You just wrote yourself a ticket to do death row,” Mark seethed. “They’re gonna know exactly who did it.”
“Oh, but honey, you won’t say a word,” Nikki smiled evilly. “See, you won’t snitch, because then your boys won’t trust you and you damn sure aren’t going to come at me after tonight. Plus, this gun is registered to you.”
Mark was shocked at Nikki’s words. She was right on all three counts.
“Don’t you remember when I took this from you?” Nikki said brandishing the gun. “It just so happened to come in handy today. The bullets actually have your fingerprints on them since I haven’t used it until just now, so they’ll trace it right back to you. Plus, given that I was your ex-girlfriend, my prints being here isn’t unusual.”
Nikki took Alana’s phone out of her purse and wiped off her prints on it, while doing the same to the gun and leaving it on the table before motioning that it was time to leave.
“Honey, don’t ever let me hear your name again,” Nikki growled at Mark. “If I do, they next bullet goes into your head. I’m going to untie you, but if you make any moves towards us, my boy here will drop your ass like your slut of a sister.”
With that, Nikki walked out, perfectly toned butt swaying as her heels clacked on the hard tile floor. For the first time in her life, she had taken another person’s life, but this was the life she was living now.
When they got back into the Suburban, Nikki lit a cigarette. The drive back to the hotel was quiet and when they reached the hotel, she knew she had to talk to her mother about what happened.
“Mom, if you want to distance yourself I would understand,” Nikki said as she sat down on the couch next to Gina with a freshly lit cigarette.
“Actually,” Gina began as she took a drag off of her half-smoked Marlboro. “I think I’d like to take you up on that job offer. As long as I don’t have to get into any actual fights or know about nights like tonight. That was...not what I wanted you to do to her.”
Nikki smiled and hugged her mother.
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