Honor Thy Thug (23 page)

Pu Chang was on my heels. “I will take you back to the car.”

“I can show myself out, but I do need to speak to Mr. Li.”

“There’s a phone in the limo. It’s already being arranged for you to speak to him.”

I left him standing there and decided to take the stairs. Charli was fucked up, so I could only imagine the magnitude of the repercussions I would have to face. Tasha really had my back up against the wall with this one.

As soon as I got situated in the limo, the phone rang. I picked it up.

“Yes.”

“Mr. Macklin, did you see my daughter?”

“Of course, and I offer my deepest condolences. She had called me and told me that she had new and urgent instructions from you. I called you several times to confirm but was unable to reach you. So I decided on meeting her in a public place, just to be on the safe side. Actually, she was the one who suggested the meeting place,” I found myself explaining once again.

“My instructions to you were under no circumstances to be in my daughter’s presence. If you would have followed those instructions, my daughter would not be lying in some hospital bed fighting for her life. Because of your betrayal of my trust, I can no longer offer you my protection. This concludes our business, Mr. Macklin. And my daughter was right. You would have been a great asset to the Li organization. Kon Li told me all of our people immediately showed respect to you and took you seriously.” He hung up.

And just like that, I was left out there.

I had been sitting on the porch for the last two hours. When I saw what looked like a limo coming down the street, I jumped and practically ran off the porch. It didn’t pull up into the driveway but stopped at the entrance. My imagination was running wild. I envisioned a shot-up Trae being tossed out of the vehicle onto the ground. So I was extremely relieved when he stepped out of the car, shut the door, and began to trudge up the walkway. I ran and practically jumped into his arms.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I really messed up this time, didn’t I?”

He didn’t answer me. He pushed me away, and we went up the front steps and sat down. I sat next to him and waited as he called his attorney. I listened in as he told him that he might be picked back up on the murder charges and that Benny needed to be prepared for that. He rubbed across his bald head, while listening intently to whatever it was that Benny was saying.

When he finally hung up, all I could say was, “Baby, I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

“You have no idea! Your shit was not thought out, and now everything will eventually point at me.”

“You really think you are going to jail?”

“What the fuck do you think, Tasha? Mr. Li said all of the protection and connections have been revoked.”

“What protection? What connections?”

“Tasha, do you have any idea who you are fucking with? I had an agreement with these people. Charlie Li is a made man, Tasha. He can wipe out me, you, and our entire family right now.”

“That ain’t right, Trae. It wasn’t your fault. Anybody could have done her.”

“We better hope that he doesn’t find out who did. Tasha,
what—” He got up and started pacing back and forth. He was so angry he couldn’t even finish his sentence. “And you didn’t even check with me!”

“Check with you for what? So you could tell me not to do it?”

“Fuck, yeah! And if I was going to approve of it, I would have told you how to do it! Tasha, baby. You ain’t no gangster. What’s gotten into y’all? First Jaz, now you. You have to think things through. Calculate shit. When you don’t, serious shit like this happens. Now, look. If he somehow finds out that you are responsible for this, you best believe some serious harm is going to come to this family.” He let out a deep sigh. “The dogs? Whose are they?”

“That dude who came over on fight night with Trina.” I saw the gleam in his eyes and the light bulbs go off. “No, Trae. Oh, my god.”

“What the fuck you mean, no, Trae? Nine times out of ten, they are going to trace the dogs to him. And what do you think he’s going to do when put under pressure? He’s going to rat your ass out. This was so sloppy, Tasha. Damn!”

I thought about what Trae said. What if they did find out Jameer sent the dogs? They would kill him. I didn’t even know if Jameer had a family. Kids? A wife? What if Trina was with him? They would probably kill her, too.

Because of my insecurities, I had just signed Jameer’s death certificate as well. And that bitch was still laying up there breathing.

When Jaz called, Kaylin and I came as fast as we could. She refused to say anything over the phone, so we didn’t know what to expect. So there we were in her living room, on the couch, with her seated across from us.

“I just needed to talk to my family. Sorry y’all had to travel so far just to hear me vent, so I’ll reimburse you guys for the expenses.”

“Girl, please,” I said. “Now you talkin’ crazy.”

“Jaz, Faheem would look after my wife the same way. So don’t insult me like that. Now, tell me what’s happening with you,” Kaylin said. “And where’s Faheem?”

Jaz took a deep breath. “I know that having this all bottled up inside me can’t be good.” She got up and came over to the sofa and sat next to Kaylin. “I told Faheem I would handle everything. Y’all know that he’s in no condition to put in any work. Hell, he
is still not right mentally. He had lost little Faheem, so I felt that he should not have to be bothered with this bullshit. What was I here for? He always underestimates me.”

“Jaz, what do you mean by ‘he’s in no condition to put in any work’ and to let you ‘handle everything’?” Kaylin asked her.

I was already reading between the lines. I knew Jaz. And I knew that she was getting ready to tell us about some outlandish shit that she had done. She didn’t call us way down there to “vent,” as she called it.

“All I’m saying is, I stepped up to the plate and helped him.”

“Helped him do what?” Kaylin asked.

“So where is he now?” I wanted to know.

“He’s locked up.”

“Locked up for what?” I asked. Jaz was beating around the bush, and it was starting to irritate me.
And the plot thickens
, I thought to myself.

Kaylin had eased up to the edge of the sofa. “You helped him do what, Jaz?”

“It’s me that they should be questioning. But Steve said they should be releasing him today. They are questioning him about Oni’s murder.” She glared at us.

“Jaz, she got murdered? Are you saying that is why they should be questioning you?” I asked.

“Shit,” Kaylin mumbled. He then leaned over and whispered into my ear, “Her ass took her out or had something to do with it.”

I looked over at little ol’ Jaz and couldn’t wrap my mind around her killing somebody. So now that made two of us in the clique who’d committed the deed. But did she really actually do it?

“Angel, I see the wheels in your head turning. Chill out. I didn’t
do it, I got someone else to do it. That’s how I know that they are going to have to let Faheem go. They don’t have anything on him.”

“What’s Faheem saying about all of this?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.

“You know Faheem. He’s livid. That’s why I called y’all down here. Kaylin, I need you to talk to him. He already knew about the first one but just found out about Oni when they came and picked him up.”

“Oh, my God, Jaz! Who was the first one?”

“Who do you think? That nigga responsible for lil’ Faheem, Steele. He was the first one, and he deserved to die, just like she did. Don’t judge me, Angel.” She looked at me with one eyebrow up and one down.

“Jaz, cut the bullshit. You know I’m not judging you. But if you think I can just sit here while you tell me you had your hand in bodying two people and me not be stuck on stupid, you must be crazy.”

“Angel, please.” Kaylin raised his hand, putting it in my face. Translation:
Shut the fuck up
. “Jaz, so what do you expect me to say to Faheem?” Kaylin asked her. I knew that he was just as surprised as I was.

Her eyes got big, and she began to frown. I could tell that she was shaken at the thought of dealing with Faheem on this. “I’m not sure. I just need you to talk to him before he talks to me. I only did what I did because it needed to be done. What else was I supposed to do?” Jaz popped up off the couch and started pacing back and forth.

“I’ma be straight up with you,” Kaylin began. “You acting like what you did ain’t no big thing. Have you thought about the moves your opponent would make? I can tell you right
now, that’s gonna be Faheem’s beef. You can’t do what you did and not overthink your opponent. You can never plan for the worst, let alone the unexpected. I mean, it is what it is. And I’m sure Steele had people. You don’t think they comin’ after you?”

“Are you done? Can I talk now?” Jaz asked in a condescending tone.

“Go ahead. I’m just keeping it real with you. That’s why you called me down here, ain’t it? I’m anxious to hear your logic.” Kaylin was talking to Jaz as if she rode the small yellow bus.

“Kay, what the fuck was I supposed to do? The nigga needed to be got. The bitch did, too. So what? As far as I’m concerned, I did the right thing.”

“But it wasn’t the right thing, Jaz,” I cut in.

“Red!” Kaylin motioned for me to shut up once again. I turned my head and began to rub my hands together. I was ready to slap the shit out of both of them.

“Angel, I know you ain’t talking! You forgot that you did a nigga before? You felt as if it was the right thing to do. And Kaylin, you were down with her. You had her back.”

“So what, you think Faheem ain’t gonna have yours? Is that what this is all about?” I asked her. “Why would you even think that?”

When she got all choked up, I knew that’s what the whole thing was about. Faheem had such a temper. And whenever Jaz did anything he didn’t like, he would punish her as if she was a child. And now it looked as if she was petrified. She was more worried about Faheem when she should have been worried about some drug dealer shooting up her house and coming after her whole family.

“Angel.” Jaz started crying. “He is going to flip. If I could do it over, I would have let him handle it, but I can’t. It’s done. Please don’t leave until you talk to him, Kay.”

I got up and hugged Jaz. I could feel her body trembling. I knew that she was scared shitless. “I’m here for you, Jaz. And I’ll be here for as long as you need me.”

My sister had been blowing up my phone. This was her third time calling me tonight.

“Tasha, something’s up. Why would he leave his truck in front of the house? His neighbors say it hasn’t moved in days. And where are those damned dogs?”

“Trina, chill out. You said yourself that he was getting rid of them.”

“But he would have told me first. Tasha, he’s not even answering his phone.”

I tried to put her mind at ease before I hung up. I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Trae got to him already. But for now, I was on a mission. I had to do this. This would complete the deed. I concentrated on the click of my stilettos against the shiny hospital floors. As I got closer to Room 311, the gentleman sitting outside of the room became more attentive. He finally stood up.

“Can I help you?”

“Hello. I’m Rosalind, a friend of Charli’s. I just wanted to drop these flowers off and to see how she was doing.” I tried to get a peek to see if anyone else was in the room with her.

He stepped in front of the door and pulled out a phone. I
began to get nervous. This was exactly what Trae meant when he said you were supposed to think things through.
What if they take me away and kill me?
Trae would never know. I was out here all willy-nilly, walking right into the hands of the enemy. And why? Because of my emotions. I understood why a bitch shouldn’t run the country. Just because I was feeling catty, there I was, jeopardizing my life and the possibility of my children and husband never seeing me again.

Right when I was about to turn my ass back around and leave, he hung up. “You can visit, Mrs. Macklin, but please be respectful, and stay no more than ten minutes.”

When he called me by my last name I could have shit myself. He knew who I was. I should have hauled ass out of there right then, but noooo. I had to go and see this bitch. I needed to see my handiwork. But why would he allow me to visit?

“Thank you,” I told him.

He bowed his head slightly and moved from in front of the door. I stepped inside the flower and gift-filled room. The curtains were drawn, allowing the glaring sun to shine in. The television was on, but there was no sound coming out. I laid the bouquet of flowers with the card attached across the foot of the bed.

I stood there for a minute looking down at my nemesis. I felt a sense of empowerment. Here I was alive and healthy. There she was head, face and arms bandaged up, breathing through tubes, hanging on for her life. Life was sweet.

I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Oh, poor little Charli. Can you hear me? You fuckin’ ho ass bitch! I told you time and time again to leave what’s mine alone. I know that dick is good but is it worth what you are feeling now? I am so glad you can’t speak. I don’t ever want to hear your irritating voice again. Ever.
And if by some fluke you wake up and survive, then you better not open that nasty mouth of yours to call my house, speak to me or my husband. Trust me you won’t even survive my next attack. Most flea bag bitches have nine lives but yours will be cut at the third. So play with me if you want to. And you had the nerve to try to burn down my house? With my kids in it? Stay in your fuckin’ lane, you nasty bitch.”

I wanted to spit on her. I stood tall, turned around, and walked out. As I hit the hallway, her heart monitor began beeping really fast.

I had just finished fixing a plate for Angel and Kaylin when I heard Kaeerah yell, “Here comes Daddy and Mr. Steve!”

I looked at Kaylin preparing to eat. “Don’t get up. I will bring him in here.” I took off for the front of the house. Kaeerah was already outside at Steve’s car, helping her dad with his crutches.