Hold U Down (24 page)

“If I wanted to lock you up, I could. I know all about y'all's li'l ring of car thieves.”

“How you know about that?”

“I'm a cop. What do you expect?”

“So, you knew about that the whole time we were together?”

“Yep.”

“And you were never going to bring us in on that?”

“Nah, I told you . . . I love you.” He grabbed her hand and took her into his arms.

“I hate you,” Zoë cried, burying her face in his chest.

“I know, I know,” Legend said, kissing her on the forehead.

 

 

Unique couldn't contain her excitement as she walked through the cold steel doors. She was finally going to see Bigg after being away from him for two weeks. Talking on the phone just wasn't enough. Unique needed to see, touch, and feel her man. As she stood in the middle of the room, she searched the crowded visiting hall for him.

Unique spotted him seated in the back of the room and smiled. Even though he had only been in jail a few weeks, Bigg was already starting to show signs of stress. His hair and beard were in desperate need of a clipping and lining. The orange jumpsuit did not complement his muscular arms and long legs, but all in all, Bigg was still the finest man she had ever seen.

For the first time in two weeks, Bigg smiled once he saw Unique. He missed seeing his boo. His light brown eyes seemed to gleam as soon as he laid eyes on her. Unique was his everything. Living without her for the past two weeks had been like hell on earth, but Bigg knew he had to stay strong for her. He knew if Unique saw him break down that she would break down too.

“Baby.” Unique's voice cracked as she tried to speak.

“What's up, shorty?” Bigg took her into his arms and held her tight. “I miss you, ma,” he whispered into her ear.

“I miss you too.”

“That's enough, McClain,” one of the guards yelled from across the room. Mean-mugging him, Bigg held Unique's hand and sat across from her at the table.

“How you been? Ain't nobody been fuckin' wit' you, have they?” she asked.

“Nah, these niggas in here know how I get down.”

“Oh, just making sure. I didn't want to have to pull out my .380,” Unique joked.

“Look at yo' ass.”

“Have they been giving you your medication?”

“Yeah, I'm good.” Staring at Unique for a minute, Bigg noticed a difference in her appearance. “Is it just me or have you gotten thicker since the last time I saw you?” he questioned, not missing a beat.

“You know, I'm expecting my period. I always look thicker then.”

“Oh, I thought—” He paused.

“Thought what?”

“Nothing,” he said as he eyed her closely, paying careful attention to her midsection.

“I do have something I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“After your hearing, when I was leaving out, I ran into NaSheed.”

“What?” Bigg yelled, enraged.

“See, that's why I didn't tell you this over the phone.

‘Cause I knew you were going to flip out.”

“You damn right I was gonna flip out! What the fuck that nigga say to you?”

“Can you calm down please before one of these guards come and get yo' crazy ass and take you up outta here?”

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Bigg calmed himself down before speaking again. “Okay, I'm calm. What he say?”

Giving him a quick look, Unique made sure he was really calm before she spoke. “Baby, he came on to me.”

“Hold up, pause. He came on to you?”

“Yes! That crazy muthafucka was tryin' to holla at me. Can you believe that shit?”

“Yo, I put that on everything I love, that nigga is dead.”

“Fuck NaSheed. We can handle him later. What we need to concentrate on is getting you out of jail.”

“You're right, boo. It's just that this shit be getting to me sometimes. Dude was supposed to be my boy. I was just getting my life back together, and now I'm back at the very place I swore I would never be again.”

“I know, baby, I know,” Unique cooed while stroking Bigg's cheek. “But check it—I've figured out a way to get you out of here.”

“How?”

“I got a job set up.”

“What kind of job?”

“Me and the girls are gonna steal these cars—”

“Uh-uh, ain't no way in hell I'm gon' let you do that,” Bigg interrupted. “The police already watchin' you like a hawk.”

“That's what I was saying, but this is the only way I'm gonna be able to get you out.”

“You heard what I said, Nique. I'm not gon' risk you getting locked the fuck up too. It's a done deal. Let me and Paul handle this.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Now promise me you gon' listen to your man.”

“I promise,” Unique lied.

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You miss me?” he asked, taking her hand into his.

“The question is, do you miss me?”

“Hell yeah. I can't wait to get out of here. These last two weeks have been hell. I don't know how much more I can take, ma.”

“Everything's gonna be all right. I promise.”

“I hope so.”

“Do you remember when we first met how I tried to play all hard to get and shit?”

“Yeah, I remember. I knew yo' ass was full of shit.” Bigg laughed wholeheartedly.

“But you never gave up. Why is that? I was such a bitch to you.”

“Because you were different from any other chick I ever met. You was tough and all, but I knew that a soft side lurked somewhere inside your hard ass. Plus the way you made a nigga laugh, I had to get you . . . and when I saw that ass pass, I had to hit ya.” Bigg grinned, quoting lyrics from 8Ball & MJG.

“Shut up, Bigg.” Unique giggled.

“But I promise, shorty, me and Paul gon' think of something. There gotta be away outta this mess.”

“I hope so, baby. I really do.”

The twenty-sixth was fast approaching, and Unique couldn't wait. She was all too ready to get the shit done and over with. As she lay on the couch with a pillow tucked in her arms, she stared up at the ceiling. The sound of Raheem DeVaughn's song “You” was playing softly in the background as she sat and thought.

A lot had been on Unique's mind lately. Not only was she dealing with Bigg's situation, but now she also had to deal with the unexpected news of a baby. Yes, Unique was pregnant. After her visit with Bigg, she started to notice how her appetite increased and how suddenly she was always tired.

Even though she had all the signs of being pregnant, Unique still ignored it. She chalked it up to just being stressed out, but once the morning sickness kicked in, she knew something was up. That very same morning while Patience was at school, she took a pregnancy test. After a three-minute waiting period, the results came back positive.

Unique didn't know what she was going to do. On one hand, she was elated to be having Bigg's baby, but then on the other hand, there was the possibility of having to raise their child alone. Unique didn't know anything about kids. Before Bigg, she never even considered having any. Now she was faced with the possibility of raising her first child alone.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Nurse Sandy had phoned to inform that her mother's condition was getting worse by the day. The news couldn't have hit Unique at a more inopportune time. She swore if one more thing happened she was going to lose her mind.

“Hey, Nique,” Patience said, coming through the front door.

“What's up, baby sis? How was school today?”

“Fine.” Patience sighed, dropping her book bag to the floor. Lifting Unique's legs up, she sat down and placed them onto her lap. “What's wrong wit' you? Why you lookin' all sad?”

“Momma's nurse called and said she's getting sicker.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, I don't know what to do.”

“Everything's gonna be all right, Nique. Just pray on it. That's all you can do.”

“I'm so sick of people telling me everything's gonna be all right. Shit, ain't nothing ever been right. I swear if it ain't one thing it's another, and I'm sick of it.”

Not knowing what to say, Patience sat quiet. She knew her sister needed to vent.

“But anyway, we need to talk,” Unique continued after taking a couple of quick breaths.

“Talk about what?”

“This whole Tone situation.”

“What about it? We already talked.”

“I don't call me beatin' your ass talkin' about it, Patience.”

“Well, I don't want to talk about it, Unique,” Patience said, trying to get up.

“Girl, you better sit your ass down!” Unique demanded.

Rolling her eyes, Patience plopped back down and folded her arms across her chest.

“Now, like I was saying, what Tone did to you was real fucked up. I still can't get over that shit, but what fucks me up the most is that you didn't think you could tell me what was going on.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that the nigga said he would kill you and Mommy if I told you?” Patience shot, becoming defensive.

“You know I would've believed you if you would've told me, right?”

“Yeah, Unique. I was just scared.”

“When was all this happening?”

“He would only mess with me when you weren't at home or when you were out of town.”

“Wait a minute. That day I came back from Los Angeles something happened, didn't it? Because when I walked in the house, Tone's pants were unzipped.”

“Yeah.”

“Hell naw. I can't believe I didn't peep that.”

“Believe me, I tried to tell you. I just couldn't bring myself to say it out loud. Tone made me feel so . . . so . . . dirty and nasty.” Patience began to cry.

“It's all right, baby. I'm sorry.” Unique sprang up and consoled her sister.

“I feel like I'm losing my mind, Nique. I can't sleep at night. I wake up in cold sweats from having nightmares.”

“After all this shit with Bigg is done with, I promise we're going to get you some help.”

“Help?”

“Yes, honey, you need to go counseling.”

“What I need to go to counseling for? I don't need to talk to no shrink,” Patience snapped, offended.

“Yes, you do, Patience. You just said yourself that the shit is getting to you. Look at me.” Taking Patience's face into her hands, Unique forced Patience to look at her. Staring deep into her sister's eyes, Unique said, “Tone raped you. No matter what he told you, you didn't deserve that. He's the sick one, not you. Now, we're going to counseling, and I'm not taking no for answer. We're going to get past this shit, and we're going to do it as a family.”

 

 

April 26, 2005, the morning of the heist, it was one o'clock and Unique stood nestled in her favorite blanket, staring out into the sky. Thoughts of Bigg and all the things they had gone through since being together filled her mind. Their relationship had been a whirlwind. Lies, jealousy, the cops, and even murder all tried to consume them, but somehow they were making it through.

Unique wasn't giving up. She was willing to get her man back at any and all costs. It just worried her at times that maybe this would be their fate—Bigg being in jail for life and Unique raising their child alone.

Frustrated with the entire situation, she tried her best to not to think about Bigg, only to focus her eyes on a picture of them together at his birthday party. They had had such a good time that night.

He was her everything, and there wasn't anything in the world that she wouldn't do for him. There was no one else for Unique. She was convinced that God made Bigg especially for her.

Pulling her shirt up over her stomach, she imagined what would one day become a perfect, round, protruding belly. Unique still hadn't told Bigg that she was pregnant. She couldn't bear to tell him that he was gonna be a father while he was still locked up in jail.

“Okay, baby, Mommy has to take care of some business tonight, so can you please chill out until I get done?” Unique looked down and spoke to her belly. She was referring to the non-stop morning sickness she had been experiencing.

After rubbing her stomach and daydreaming, she folded up her blanket and headed into the bathroom to shower and dress. Thirty minutes later and fully clothed in an all-black skull cap, hoodie, jeans, and Timbs, Unique grabbed her car keys and left the house. A little nervousness began to settle in the pit of her stomach as she took the elevator down to the main floor, but Unique shook if off. Wasn't nothing or nobody gonna stop her. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down and walked around the building to the parking lot.

Except for the street light on the opposite side of the street, it was pitch black outside. Summer was fast approaching, so the sounds of crickets and birds chirping filled her ears. Thinking of Bigg and their baby again, Unique smiled slightly to herself. She couldn't wait to be wrapped up in his arms again.

Listening closely to her surroundings, just as she was about to place her key in the lock, Unique heard footsteps creep up behind her. She reached for her gun and quickly turned around. Realizing it was Legend, she took a deep breath and put away her gun.

“Damn, Legend, you almost got yo' ass killed! What the fuck you doing creeping up behind me and shit?”

“You need to chill. I came to talk to you.”

“Talk to me about what?”

“I know what you, Zoë, Kay Kay, and Kiara are up to.”

“I don't know what you talkin' about, so if you ain't here to arrest me, I would advise you to get the fuck outta my face,” Unique spat, dead serious.

“Yo, all that cursing ain't even necessary, ma. I'm tryin' to help you out.”

“Let me tell you something,
Mr. Police Officer
, there ain't shit you can do for me besides get my man outta jail. But, oh, wait a minute, I forgot you're the one who put him there in the first place,” Unique said, pointing her finger in his face in place of the gun.

“Shorty, look, I understand that you're upset, but we ain't got time for that right now. I know Bigg didn't kill Tone.”

“Whoopty-fuckin'-do! We all know that. Instead of going off what that lying-ass muthafucka NaSheed told you, you would've known that too.”

“Look, this my last time telling you. I ain't got time to be arguing wit' you. Either you gon' listen or not.”

For a brief moment Unique contemplated what Legend had said. Deciding she should at least hear what he had to say, she rolled her eyes and let out a loud grunt while folding her arms underneath her breasts.

“All right, I'm listening. What you got to say?”

“I have evidence that will get Bigg out of jail by morning.”

“Get the fuck outta here.” Unique twisted her lips to the side as if to say he was lying.

“I'm telling you, I'm serious. I have solid evidence that Bigg didn't kill Tone. I'm going to turn it over to Paul first thing this morning.”

“So, let me guess. This is the part where I'm just supposed to believe you and we all live happily ever after. Well, let me tell you something. If that's what you think, then you got me and life all fucked up, 'cause I don't trust you. Never have, never will.”

“Well, fuck it then. Do you, sweetheart! I don't give a fuck. I'm tryin' to help yo' ass out, but let me tell you something—if you and your girls go through with this little plan y'all got going on, all y'all gon' go to jail. As a matter of fact, I'ma personally lock every last one of y'all up. Now it's up to you. What you wanna do?”

Contemplating her choices, Unique stood clueless. On one hand, a part of her was telling her to trust Legend, but then experience was screaming
Snake!
Going with her gut instincts, she sighed and prayed to God that she was making the right decision.

“So, what's this so-called solid evidence you got?” she asked, putting her keys back in her pocket.

 

 

As Unique stood back and watched the bailiff unlock the cuffs on Bigg's wrist, she said a silent prayer to God, thanking him for allowing her to follow her first mind. It turned out that Legend was telling the truth. He had come up with solid evidence that would get Bigg out of jail. After doing some major investigating and questioning, he had learned that besides Unique, Bigg, and NaSheed visiting Tone's house that fateful night, another person had visited as well.

An unidentified caramel-colored woman reaching five feet ten in height had entered Tone's place of residence at around 10:15 that evening, approximately fifteen minutes after Unique exited. An elderly woman from the block informed Legend that she had been peeking out her window the entire time but had been too afraid to contact the police. The lady also stated that she was absolutely sure that Bigg and NaSheed did not enter Tone's house until a little after 10:45.

With that bit of knowledge in hand, Legend then went to talk to the coroner who had performed the first autopsy on Tone. His name was Joe Black. Joe confirmed that Tone was officially considered brain dead at around 10:17 that night, meaning that there was no way Bigg could have killed Tone.

Besides that, the coroner also stated that rigor mortis had already started to set in because of the temperature in the room. Whoever the woman was who killed Tone had turned the air conditioner all the way down to speed up the process. She must have been trying to make it look like the person who was there before her, Unique, was the killer, but instead she ended up screwing herself over.

Joe also told Legend that he had informed Federal Agent Lansing of this. He said that once Federal Agent Lansing learned that Bigg wasn't the killer, he became infuriated. Federal Agent Lansing said that he refused to look like a fool, and he took Joe off the case. He warned Joe that if he ever told anyone the truth about the autopsy report, Joe would wind up on the very same cold steel table he worked on.

Soaking up the information being fed to him, Legend had sat in shock. He couldn't believe the lengths Federal Agent Lansing had gone to to convict Bigg. It took him a while, but after doing some much-needed persuading and arm twisting, Legend got Joe to turn over the real autopsy report.

That morning in front of Judge Sheffield, the prosecuting attorney, Federal Agent Lansing, Unique, Zoë, Legend, and God, Bigg's attorney presented the new evidence to the court. Judge Sheffield was appalled to say the least. Not only was Bigg acquitted of all charges, but Federal Agent Lansing was charged with perjury and withholding evidence. An APB was put out for NaSheed's arrest as well.

The only thing Unique could do was cry tears of joy. Running over to Bigg, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Letting a tear slip, Bigg hugged her back just as tight. For the first time in almost two months he was able to hold her. It felt good. Bigg couldn't have been happier.

“Congratulations, Bigg,” Zoë exclaimed, giving him a hug too.

“Thanks, Z.” He grinned. Turning back to the love of his life, Bigg took Unique into his arms and said, “I love you, ma.”

“I love you too.” She grinned as she wiped her eyes.

“Now, when is my baby due?” he questioned with a smile.

“What?”

“You heard me. When is my baby due?”

“December thirty-first.”