Bones and I were waiting in a private room where the chief was expected to come in. Presenting myself as one of the strippers, I started to remove my clothes. Bones sat behind one of the curtains that was there for viewing only. We weren't supposed to be able to see him, but he could definitely see us. He could hear us too, and when I waved at him, he told me to quit playing. I laughed, then eased my tight pants down to the floor. Pulled my top over my head, then raked my short hair back with my fingers. As I stood in lace panties and a bra, I wondered what Bones was thinking, if anything. I kept on my high heels, then quickly sprayed my tight abs with a dash of sweet perfume.
“Can you smell me?” I said jokingly to Bones. Like always, he didn't respond.
I was getting ready to say something else, but then the door opened. In walked the red-faced chief who was sloppy drunk. He stumbled my way with a drink in his hand. His eyes were wide like saucers, and he appeared quite pleased to see me standing there with a little of nothing on, waiting for him.
He looked up, then lifted his glass to the sky. “Thank you, God. I knew this was going to be a good night.”
He tossed back the drink, then laid the glass on a table that was in front of a chair I invited him to sit in. I straddled his lap, and with a bright smile on my face I began to tease him.
“You're so handsome. I guess I should be thanking God too, and I promise you that this will be a night that you'll
never
forget.”
He was giddy as ever. Couldn't wait for me to work him over, and neither could I. Normally, I would be in and out. I didn't waste time with shit like this, but since I knew Bones was behind the curtain watching and waiting for me to do away with this muthafucka, I decided to put on a little show. I eased the tie away from the chief's neck and began to unbutton his shirt. His potbelly was in my way, but I knew how to work around it. As one of my bra straps fell from my shoulder, the chief reached behind me to unsnap my bra. I hated that his filthy hands touched me, but when he pulled the bra away from my breasts, I didn't say a word.
“You're so freaking sexy,” he moaned while massaging my breasts. “I've never been inside of a black woman as beautiful as you are. My dick is already busting through my pants. Can you feel it?”
“Of course,” I said with a fake smile. “And thanks for the compliments. They motivate me, and I promise to satisfy your needs to the best of my ability.”
He dropped his head back and continued to massage my tiny breasts. I moaned while gazing straight-ahead at the curtain, then closed my eyes as if the chief's touch was doing something to me. He lowered his hands to my ass, and as soon as he reached inside of my panties, I stopped him.
“I want to taste you first. Can I taste you, please?”
He slowly nodded and watched without a blink as I stood to remove my panties. I tossed them to him and invited him to take a sniff.
“I'm in love,” he said, sniffing my panties, then gazing at my hairless slit. “Your body, daaaamn it, you sexy bitch. I'm gonna put that pussy to work tonight.”
“Please do, and keep those compliments coming. I love it.”
We both laughed as he put my panties on his head, promising to keep them. I slithered down to the floor and got on my knees. As I removed his leather belt and unzipped his pants, he dropped his head back again. I removed his tiny dick from his boxers, and as I started to stroke it, I saw the curtain move. I shook my head, alerting Bones not to make a move. The chief lifted his head, then opened his eyes. He gently touched the side of my face while gazing into my eyes.
“Your eyes speak volumes,” he said. I shifted my eyes to look behind him. But before he had a chance to turn his head, Bones pulled the trigger on the silencer and blew the chief's fucking brains out. He fell out of the chair and crashed to the floor. His blood splattered all over my nakedness. I was highly upset that Bones didn't let me handle this how I wanted to. From the look on my face, he could tell how upset I was.
I lifted my finger and darted it at him. “Mango told
me
to handle him, not you.”
“You took too long. Put your clothes on and let's go.”
“I don't take orders from you. Who in the fuck do you think you are?”
He cut his eyes at me, then walked off to exit. I used my clothes to wipe some of the blood off of me, and when I looked down at the chief's dead body, all I could do was spit on him. The sight of the nasty fat bastard made me ill.
Hoping that no one saw me, I quietly closed the door, then left from the back exit where Bones was inside of the car waiting for me. I slammed the door, turned to him, and let him have it.
“You can walk off all you want to and not deal with me, but we need to get one damn thing straight. When Mango sends
me
on a mission to do something, you need to let
me
handle it. I didn't interfere when you took your measly time dealing with those two other bitches, so please respect how I choose to do things. As long as you do that, we won't have any problems.”
Bones cocked his neck from side to side and didn't say shit. We rode in silence back to the hotel, and as soon as we got there, he went his way, and I went mine. Earlier while in the car, we agreed to get up around nine to have breakfast. Afterward, I would go on to have my meeting with the Frenchman, Arnaudo. Bones insisted that he wanted to stay with me, and then we would stop at Carmen's place to pick up the package. I wasn't sure if that was still the plan or not, but when morning came, he was at the breakfast table dressed and ready to go. I hadn't gotten much sleep, but for some reason, he looked well rested.
“Have our plans changed for the day?” I asked before taking a seat at the table.
He chewed his eggs and shrugged his shoulders. “Why would they change? We should be on schedule to get out of here at nine thirty and be on our way to your meeting. We'll meet with Carmen at noon. Hopefully, we'll be on the road by one.”
I got up to get a bowl of fruit, and then returned to the table. Dark shades shielded my tired eyes, but I could see Bones looking at me.
“What?” I said. “What are you looking at?”
“Your lack of energy. I take it that you didn't sleep well last night. Feeling bad about what you did to the chief, or should I say, what you made me do to him?”
“Don't even go there. And yes, I am tired. Can't wait to get back home, in my bed, and get some rest.”
“Then let's go. Besides, what happened to the chief is all over the news. Too many cops hanging around, and I expect for things to get worse around here.”
I agreed. And after I downed some orange juice and ate several more pieces of fruit, we left. I gave Bones directions to Arnaudo's place, and yet again, Bones seemed in awe by the immaculate house that looked fit for a king. We had been living in slums compared to this shit, but Bones knew, as I did, that we were on the come up.
We waited for Arnaudo by the poolside in comfortable lounging chairs. He didn't keep us waiting long, but he pretty much ignored Bones and walked up to me. He kissed my cheeks, then squeezed my hand with his. We walked off together to discuss business while Bones waited for us to get done. I saw him chatting away on his cell phone, and he kept looking at his watch. Arnaudo went on and on about some of his issues with Mango, but when all was said and done, he agreed to enter into a new contract with him. We shook on it, and before I left, he invited me to come back at a later day and time, without Bones. I promised him that I would.
The next stop was Carmen's place. As expected, she kept us waiting. We both were impatient, and by the time she came downstairs to meet with us, it was almost a quarter to one.
“I'm so sorry about the wait,” she said. “I know the two of you want to get on the road, so I'll have Meecho get your package and take it to the car. Meanwhile, Mr. Bones, I want to show you around. Do you mind?”
In all of her elegance, she stood and reached out for his hand. Bones remained seated on the couch; then he stood up too. I assumed he was about to go somewhere and fuck the bitch, but as she moved, he halted her steps by pulling her hand toward him.
“Unfortunately, I'ma have to take a rain check. We need to get back on the road pronto. I'm not sure what delayed you, but I just don't have time to take the tour that you want me to. But I promise you that the next time I come here, I will make time for you and only you. We can do whatever you want, and as a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to it.”
Carmen appeared disappointed, but she also gazed at him with glee in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that bitch had fallen in love.
She reached out and touched the side of Bones's face. “When will you be coming back? Hopefully soon.”
“I hope so too. Maybe within another week or two for sure.”
“Okay,” she said, then let go of his hand. “See you in a week or two then. Before then, please call me. I think it would be good to hear your voice sometimes.”
“Sure,” Bones said, then reached out to hug her. “We'll talk soon.”
I wanted to throw the fuck up. But when Meecho put the package in the car and we drove off, I was relieved. This was another successful trip. Being with Bones wasn't so bad after all. He was a real nigga, and I teased him about having feelings for Carmen, even though he had previously denied it.
“She rubbed me the wrong way yesterday, but deep down, she seems like good people. I may tap into that pussy one of these days. Who knows what the future holds?”
“We don't know, but let me warn you about hooking up with her. She's a snake. And if you have sex with her, she's going to expect for you to move in with her. One of her husbands
supposedly
committed suicide, and another one has been missing for several years. You definitely don't want to mess with her head, and she ain't like these other ordinary chicks you be fucking with.”
“Ain't nothing ordinary about the women I fuck with, so let's get that straight. And while you're over there preaching, you should be careful fucking with Arnaudo. His jealous ass don't seem to have it altogether either, so be careful messing with that dude.”
“Please. What makes you think that I've hooked up with Arnaudo? It's all about business between us. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Feed that bullshit to somebody else. I know for a fact that he's had a piece of that pussy; the lustful look in his eyes said it all. I'm surprised that you hooked up with somebody like him though. He didn't seem like your type.”
I pursed my lips and defended my actions. “Arnaudo is a very nice-looking man, so I don't know what you think my
type
is. And just for the record, I have never done anything with him. We keep it strictly business.”
“If you say so, ma. Whatever you say I believe you.”
Bones turned up the radio to tune me out. He wasn't buying what I was selling, and it wasn't long before I admitted to hooking up with Arnaudo
one
time.
“Just once,” I said. “The sex was awful, and I promised myself that I would never go there again.”
“What made the sex so awful? He didn't know how to utilize his tool or what?”
“No, he didn't, and he was too small. I like men with nice-sized packages and skillful moves. But unfortunately for me, it's been years since I've been blessed with a man like that. Maybe one of these days I'll get lucky again.”
“Maybe so. But just so you know, I'm already taken. You'll never get lucky with me.”
I playfully rolled my eyes at him. “That's good to know, but I'm not interested. You're not my type, and I have a serious problem with men who get thrills out of killing people.”
“Well, there you have it. We're no match for each other, and you ain't interested in me, like I'm not interested in you. I hope we never have to revisit this conversation again, especially since we know where each other stands.”
“True that,” I said laying the seat back so I could take a nap. “Wake me when we get to Chicago.”
BONES
I returned home to peace and quiet. Checked in with my grandmother to make sure she was goodâshe was. And after I met with Mango, and he upped my cash, I went home and slept on the floor like a newborn baby. The only time I left was to go get some food and stock the fridge. Other than that, I was happily stuck inside. I made a thick pallet on the floor, watched television, and ignored my phone. I finally checked my messages a few days later. Carmen called several times, and so did Alexis. Several text messages followed where she mentioned the results to the paternity test. Said we needed to talk. Soon. Mango left a few messages for me too. He wanted me to clear my schedule the weekend after next and travel to LA with Pebbles. That would be a long trip to take, so I had to mentally prepare myself for it. She was cool to be around, but she talked too damn much sometimes. Her attitude had slightly improved, and I somewhat liked how she got down when it came to business. She was very powerful in her own little way. But she still had a hot temper. I guess we both could learn a little something from each other, and that was always a good thing. I didn't mind letting her do things her way, but the only reason I intervened with her and the chief was because, well, I was turned the fuck on by her. It bothered me to watch him touching her, and I refused to stand there and watch her stroke his dick. I didn't know if she intended to suck it or not, but I wasn't about to watch that shit go down. That's why I ended it when I did. In no way would I tell her the real reason. She would think I was jealous and drive the shit out of me. Maybe even see it as a weakness in me. I definitely didn't want that.
Instead of calling Alexis back, I drove to her crib. I didn't want her to tell me anything over the phone, and I suspected that she had paperwork that revealed the results either way. I rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, she came to the door with Brianna standing a few feet behind her. There was no smile on Alexis's face when she let me in, and she immediately told Brianna to go in her room to play. Then she spoke to me.
“Have a seat in the living room, Bones. I'll be right back.”
I went into the living room and sat on the arm of the couch. Alexis returned with two pieces of paper in her hand.
“Before I give you this, I want to tell you how sorry I am for putting everyone through this. Since Nate's death, I've had time to reflect on a lot of things. I have to take responsibility for some of the things I've done too, and a huge part of me regrets feeling the way I do about you. But I can't help it. These feelings are real, and I've never been able to hide them well.”
She gave the paper to me, and when I opened it and saw that 99.9 percent I wasn't the father, I frowned. My face twisted, and I looked at Alexis with anger in my eyes.
“So, I guess you're trying to tell me now that Nate is Brianna's father, right?”
Alexis shook her head. “No, he isn't. There was someone else at the time, but he went to jail shortly after we hooked up. It has to be him, and I'm so sorry again for putting everybody through this. I just didn't know how much damage this would cause.”
I shook my damn head, thinking about all that had happened. Women like Alexis made me fucking sick to my stomach. Her lies had done a lot of damage, and the main person who would feel the most pain from all of this would one day be Brianna. My face remained twisted as I tore up the letter and let the shreds fall to the floor.
“Now what, Alexis? Did you tell Brianna what happened to Nate?”
Her eyes watered as she looked at me. “No. I just told her he upped and left us. I don't want her to know the truth, even though she keeps asking about him.”
“I don't know what to say about you right now. I could call you every name in the book, but it still won't do any good. Youâ”
She put up her hand to silence me. “I know, Bones, trust me, I know. And I hate that you're mad at me. I thought you would understand what I had been going through with Nate, but I guess you don't. You have no idea what he put me through, and I needed somebody to make me feel loved. That's why I turned to you.”
“You didn't need to feel loved. All you wanted was some dick. Nate was out doing his thing, and yo' ass wanted revenge. Stop talking that love shit 'cause you know damn well that I wasn't representing like that.”
Alexis lowered her head in shame. She wiped her tears, then swallowed a huge lump that appeared stuck in her throat. “What about us, Bones? Where do we go from here? Is this it, or is there any chance that we can now put all of this behind us for real and move on? I welcome your friendship, and there is no secret that I enjoy having sex with you. You may not have any love for me, but I like how you make me feel when we're together, with the exception of that one time. I know I've made some mistakes, but the question is, can you forgive me?”
I couldn't even respond to all of this soap opera bullshit she was swinging my way. And instead of saying anything else to her, I jetted. I drove off, thinking hard about her and Brianna. If Alexis didn't get her shit together, she guaranteed them a long and fucked-up road ahead. I damn sure didn't want that for Brianna, but my hands were tied right now.
I pressed on the brakes to stop at the red light. As I slowly turned my head to the left, I saw a car rush in beside me. Something didn't feel right about it, and the second I saw the window ease down, his eyes stared right into mine. A wicked grin washed across his face, causing me to duck and press hard on the accelerator. Bullets riddled my car. It spun in circles as tires screeched and burned rubber. I hurried to open the glove compartment and reached for my gun. Shattered glass from the broken windows covered me and cut my arms. I lay still until I heard a voice near my car.
“Is he dead?” I heard someone say. He peeked inside to check my status and got a personal introduction to my Glock. I fired three shots. One went into the nigga's forehead, and two went into his right eye. The other person in the car sped off, and before the scene got too chaotic, I got out of the car and ran. The car was one that Mango had given to me. It was registered in a dead man's name. My prints, however, were all over it. I guess this was one of those times when I needed Mango to cover for me.
I paced the floor in my loft while talking to him on the phone. He had already gotten several phone calls that confirmed the niggas who shot at me were cousins of Skittles. They did their homework to find out who I was and decided to come after me.
“I already got some people on this, but I want you to lie low around here for a while. Take a short trip if you have to. Go see Carmen or take an early trip to LA. Let me handle this one for you. These punks around here trying to be gangbangers, but they don't know who they fucking with. I'm glad you good, and I hope those cuts ain't nothing you can't handle.”
I looked at the cuts on my arms. They were minor, but one was pretty deep. I kept applying pressure to it, hoping the bleeding would stop, especially since it was already wrapped.
“I'm fine. I got my arm wrapped, and it looks like the bleeding is slacking up.”
“I don't want you to be fine. I want you to be at your best. I'ma send one of my special nurses over there to take a look at that cut. If need be, she'll take care of it for you. In the meantime, think about what I said. Let me know what you decide.”
I told Mango that I would let him know. And after today, maybe I did need to go somewhere and chill. But not before I did what I felt was necessary. Nobody would take that many shots at me and get away with it. The license plate number of the muthafucka driving the car was locked in my brain. All I had to do was find out who he was and take care of things myself. I didn't want Mango to handle shit for me. And even though I trusted him, I still didn't trust the niggas who worked for him. They were all haters. They disliked me because they felt Mango gave me extraspecial treatment. So why in the hell would they have my back at a time like this? Hell no, they wouldn't.
The sweet little nurse that Mango told me he'd send to take care of me turned out to be Pebbles. When I opened the door, she smiled at me.
“I heard you done pissed off some people. And in the process, you got hurt. Let me take a look at your arms. That way, I can tell if you need me to work my magic on you or not.”
Like always, Pebbles was dressed in all-black leather. A tight skirt and black, low-cut shirt that showed her cleavage. Her heels gave her much height, and as she came in from behind me, they clacked on the hardwood floors.
“I told Mango I was fine.”
“That's not what he said.”
She placed a small silver briefcase on the island, then asked to see my arms. As I stood in front of her, she removed the bandage to look at my cuts.
“This one needs stitches. The other cuts ain't as bad, but do you mind if I take care of that one for you?”
Without answering, I continued to hold out my arm. The cut was still oozing with blood. I watched as Pebbles put on some gloves and did her thing. I squeezed my eyes a few times from the needle going through my flesh, but minutes later I was all good.
“Thank you,” I said. “Now if you don't mind, I need to go make some moves.”
“Did Mango already send you a new car? I'm sure the other one you were driving ain't working anymore.”
“He said another car was on the way and mentioned that it would be parked on the parking lot. I haven't been outside to see if it's there yet.”
“Well, if it's not, I'll take you where you need to go. Where might that be?”
“To a furniture store,” I lied. “As you can see, I need to go find some furniture to put in here.”
“Sounds like fun. I have good taste too, so I can help.”
My intentions were to go look for the nigga who shot at me earlier, but I figured I could go see what was up with that a little later. For now, I left with Pebbles. The car that Mango sent was there, but I let Pebbles drive, just in case someone was watching me. As she drove to the nearest furniture store, I kept looking in the mirrors and watching every car that drove by us. I guessed I was a little paranoid, and I had a damn good reason to be.
We arrived at the store minutes later. Pebbles helped me pick out a contemporary bedroom set and a set for the kitchen. Both were way above my budget, but I couldn't deny how dope they were. I set up delivery for the following day. After that, we stopped to get something to eat. That didn't take long because all Pebbles ate was a salad. She wasn't playing when it came to food. And I couldn't complain about a woman who cared enough about her temple to take care of it.
“Where to now?” she said, then yawned. “Do you need to go anywhere else?”
I laid the seat back, then sucked on a joint I had clipped between my fingers. “Yeah, I do need to go somewhere else, but I'm waiting for Mango to text me back some information before I go there.”
I passed the joint to Pebbles, then checked my phone to see if Mango had hit me back. He hadn't, but Alexis had sent me a text. The only thing it said was: Sorry. I deleted it. I sent Mango a follow-up text, and within a few minutes he sent me a message:
No name yet, but spotted at bowling alley on Sixteenth Street. I told u we got u. Let us handle this.
My reply:
No
.
I asked Pebbles to take me to the bowling alley. And as soon as she drove on the parking lot, I spotted a gang of niggas standing next to the car from earlier. Music was blasting, a bunch of laughter and talking was going on, and no one appeared to be paying attention to their surroundings. Pebbles parked, then looked over at me.
“Are you getting ready to do what I think you gon' do?” she said.
“Yes. I'm going inside to bowl.”
I reached for my Glock to check the bullets inside. It was fully loaded.
“Point out the fool who came after you and let me take care of this for you,” Pebbles said. “All you gotta do is tell me which one so I don't make a mistake and hit some of those bitches over there who may just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“See, that's where we differ. You're never in the wrong place at the wrong time. Socializing with the wrong muthafuckas always has consequences.”
Pebbles laughed and agreed. I took a few more hits from the joint, then passed it back to her. “Stay here and don't get out of the car,” I said.
“What if you get hurt? You know those niggas probably strapped too. Don't think for one minute that they ain't.”
I held out my hand, knowing that Pebbles wouldn't listen to me and stay in the car. “Give me your gun. I may need it.”
She cocked her head back and brushed me off. “Negro, please. Don't nobody use my shit but me. Now, if you need my assistance, I'll be more than willing to help.”
Asking for her to have my back would put Pebbles in serious danger. But she loved to live on the edge like me. She got a thrill out of this shit, and I could see the excitement building in her eyes.
“Get out, stay close to me, and follow my lead.”
I opened the car door, and so did she.
“Yeah, whatever. You need to stay close to me and hope that no one recognizes you.”
Taking each other's advice, we stayed closed to each other. We cuddled as if we were a couple in love and had our faces turned toward each other as if we were in a deep conversation. As we neared the vehicle where several niggas stood, along with two females, I counted a total of seven people. There was no time to waste on conversation, and I was 100 percent sure that this was the car from earlier.
The driver was smoking a blunt while sitting down with the door open. Two niggas were next to him, and the others stood close by the trunk while talking to the females. As we got closer, I turned my head away from Pebbles and stared directly at the driver. His eyes were definitely familiar. He squinted at me, and in an instant, the smile on his face vanished. His face fell flat, and he nudged the nigga next to him. At that second, I knew that I had my man. I lifted my gun and moved quickly away from Pebbles. Fired off several shots that hit my target as he attempted to fall back on the seat and grab something. It was too late. Too late for him and too late for the muthafuckas who stood next to him. They were dead. Cooked. The others ran. Scattered like roaches and panicked when Pebbles fired bullets from her gun, making it sound like a war zone. It rained bullets, and people screamed, not knowing if they would be hit next.