Robyn's phone was on the floor, and she could hear Aries screaming, asking what had gone wrong, but Robyn couldn't take her eyes off of the beautiful little girl who lay before her. She couldn't believe what she had just done and was speechless. At that very moment, Robyn had sold her soul to the devil, and there would be no coming back ... and she knew it. The gunshot to the head solidified a front seat in hell for her.
She picked up her phone and pushed the end button. She then called 911 in tears.
“Hello, 911. What is your emergency?” the operator asked.
“I want to report ...” Robyn's voice began to crack as the tears continued to flow. “I want to report a murder.”
Â
Â
Aries hurried out of the courthouse, trying to be as discreet as possible and not draw any unwanted attention to herself. Her heart beat rapidly and her knees trembled as she dialed Robyn's cell and got no answer.
“Come on, bitch. Pick up de phone,” Aries said as she pushed end and redial. Again, she got no answer as she reached the parking lot. She didn't know what was going on, and her mind was racing a million miles per second.
As she got into her car, she took a look around, making sure no guards were coming after her. She thought Robyn had shot the wife, but she could not understand why. “Damn, Robyn!” Aries yelled as she hit her steering wheel with both of her hands.
Aries sped off and merged into traffic heading back over to the judge's house. After that day, her life would never be the same.
Aries pulled onto the block of the quiet suburbs, and it looked more like South Central than the upscale area that it once was. Police cars and ambulances flooded the block. Neighbors stood at the end of their driveways trying to see what the spectacle was about.
Aries' heart dropped as she saw the police putting yellow tape on the door. She slowed the car to a snail's pace and closed her eyes. “Oh my God, Robyn. What happened?” she asked as she watched everything unfold.
She looked closer and saw Robyn being escorted by three police officers while handcuffed. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as she walked to the police car. Robyn noticed Aries' car at the end of the block, but quickly turned her head, not trying to draw attention to her crime partner.
A tear slid down Aries' face as she turned the car around and began to exit the block. She watched through the rearview as Robyn ducked her head into the back of the police car. Aries knew at that point, the Murder Mamas would be no more. She couldn't understand what happened inside of the house, and she had to find out on CNN.
Aries watched the television while at their hotel room and knew that she didn't have long before the police connected the dots and began to come for her. She looked at the two duffle bags on the bed and then the photo of her best friend on the television screen. It broke her heart.
The two duffle bags contained one million of Case's dollars, and she had no time to do anything else but run. She left the rented car in the parking lot and jumped into her own Cadillac STS with the money in the trunk. She had no idea where she was about to go, but she knew that it was imperative to get out of the city, for it would be on fire in due time. Tears streamed down her face as Bob Marley's “Redemption Song” lightly pumped out of the subwoofers.
Aries would run for five years, until her past came back to bite her.
Chapter Two
Aries' past flashed before her eyes in a matter of seconds, and when she came back to her present reality, she panicked. Afraid for her life, and more importantly the life of her son, she tried to slam the door, only for it to be stopped by Case's expensive Mauri gator shoe as he placed it in the threshold.
“Agh, agh, agh,” he said as he put his hand on the door forcefully. “You not going to invite me in, Murder Mama?” he asked mockingly.
Aries hadn't thought she would ever see him again. She had put the distance of an entire ocean between them, and still he had found her. Her heart beat rapidly as the intensity from her fear instilled a helpless feeling in her gut. She knew the man in front of her wellâtoo wellâand was surprised that he hadn't shot her on sight.
“Please, my son is upstairs,” she whispered, desperately hoping that he would show her more mercy than she had ever shown any of her victims.
“I have no interest in your son ... and you have the power to keep it that way if you act right,” he said seriously.
Aries stepped outside of her home and closed the front door so that she was standing on the porch. Her body was the only barrier between Case and her home. Silently she wished that she were strapped. She would not have hesitated to blow his brains out, but she was unarmed and more vulnerable than she had ever been in her life.
Before, she was a reckless soul who didn't care if she lived or died, but she was no longer the young hothead she used to be. Now she was accountable to others besides herself; responsible for the lives of others besides her own. She couldn't pop first and ask questions later.
“Are you here to kill me? If you are, I just ask that you not do it in front of my son, and leave my family out of this,” she said as her chest rose and fell to an anxious, irregular beat.
Her eyes scanned the street as she searched for the goons who she knew Case had come with. A man of his stature kept protection around him. His hired guns were never far behind.
Case smirked as he noticed how perceptive Aries was. She had been out of the business for quite some time, but just like riding a bike, she would never forget how to do it. Her instincts were sharp, and he could see her mental wheels spinning.
Case decided to ease her mind and help her figure things out. “The roof across the street. The mail truck three houses down. The young man cutting your neighbor's grass next door,” Case said.
“They're all yours?” Aries asked uncomfortably as she fidgeted nervously while attempting to eye all of her enemies at once.
Case nodded. “I don't leave home without 'em, love,” he replied.
“All of that muscle for little old me?” she asked.
“I'm not a fool, Aries. You may have everyone else charmed with this Susie Homemaker role, but I remember what you used to be. My goon squad ain't afraid of the legend,” he stated as he looked her up and down, respecting her gangster and admiring her physique all at once.
“Give me a pistol and it'll make it a fair fight,” she shot back.
“I give you a pistol, you'll put two between my eyes,” he replied with a charming smile as he stepped closer to her, invading her intimate space.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“The way I see it, you owe me a million dollars. I'm here to collect,” he stated bluntly. He nudged her to the side with his shoulder and reached for the doorknob. “Let's finish this conversation inside,” he said with authority as he walked inside of her home, uninvited.
Aries scoffed at his arrogance and quickly followed him inside, locking the door so that they would not be interrupted. “I don't have the money, Case. It's gone,” she said honestly. There was no way that she could repay the debt. She and Robyn had split the money and Aries had spent hers long ago. It had helped her to build a new life.
“Well, that's neither here nor there, Aries,” Case replied as he sat down on her leather couch and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked at her seriously. “You see, I paid you and your girl good money to do a job that you botched.” Case sneered as he remembered how the island beauty before him had gotten over on him. “I expect to be paid back,” he said.
“I can give you a hundred thousand, maybe one-fifty. My husband is anâ”
Case cut Aries off and continued her sentence for her. “Accountant. Prince Q. Coleman graduated from Berkeley. Born to Gwenadette and Henry Coleman in 1979. Broke his right leg when he was ten years old. Has one child, your son, and right now he is sitting at a traffic light, bobbing his head to Bob Marley as he makes his way to the office. A man riding a red Kawasaki is conveniently sitting behind him, waiting for a phone call from me,” Case stated, letting her know that he was well informed on her situation. Case had done his homework, and if Aries weren't so deathly afraid, she would have been impressed.
“You've said a lot, but still you haven't said shit. What do you want?” Aries asked, growing impatient. She knew that Case had an angle because he had waited too long to come after her. Although she had changed a lot of things about herself, her ability to read people had remained the same. This wasn't about the money.
“You owe me, Aries, and it's time that you paid up. I've got a job for you, and it would have paid a million dollars, but seeing as how I have a credit with you, you're going to do it without protesting.”
“I'm out of the life. I don't do that anymore,” Aries replied.
At that moment, her son came into the room, interrupting their conversation. Aries looked at Case nervously and went to pick up her son. She rubbed his face and head then brought him close to her chest, never taking her eyes off of Case.
“I can't do what you're asking me to do. I will pay you back the money... every dime. But I cannot go back to that life. I have a child to think about,” she defended, her voice stern but her eyes pleading.
“Exactly,” Case stated. “Think of him, Aries. It is in his best interest if you cooperate.”
Aries heard the subtle threat and tears of pure rage filled her eyes. “Is that a threat?” she asked.
“It's a fact,” he said. “Now, put your son in his room and let's discuss this business. Don't come back out here with no surprises, either ... unless you want your husband to put you in the dirt before the week is out,” Case replied.
Although he didn't feel threatened by Aries, he was well aware of what she was capable of. He respected her and had seen firsthand what she could do. He would never allow her pretty face to distract him. Sleeping on a woman like Aries could lead to his demise. What Leonardo did for art, Aries did for killing. She was a seasoned professional, and Case would never underestimate her. He placed his hand in his lap so that he had quick access to his pistol and waited patiently for her to reenter the room.
Aries rushed into the master bedroom and into her walk-in closet where the safe room was located. The room had never been used. She had never needed to rely on its security before, but for times like this, she was grateful that she had talked Prince into installing it in their home. She grabbed one of her child's toys off of her bed and hurriedly carried him into the room.
“You stay in here, baby. We are going to play a game. You stay in here and hide until Mommy comes back.”
She placed him on the floor and exited the room, closing it and sealing him inside. Only she and Prince knew the code to open the door, so she was confident that her son would be safe in the event that things got ugly with Case.
She returned to the living room, and now that her greatest weakness had been concealed, her attitude had changed. Aries knew that her back was against the wall. She would have to comply with Case's proposition in order to clear the debt she had with him.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked as she sat down directly across from him.
She crossed her legs, and Case admired the contour of her smooth, thick legs. She was so exotic ... so feminine. If he didn't know how she got down, he would have never believed it. He reminded himself to stay focused as he thought of the task he needed Aries to complete.
“I need you to murk a mayoral candidate,” Case stated.
She shook her head in dismay, knowing that once she reopened this door, it wouldn't be as easy to close this time around. She had been lucky to get out of the game when she did; now he was thrusting her back into it against her will.
“What city?” Aries asked.
“Los Angeles,” Case answered.
“What?” Aries gasped as her eyes widened in surprise. Aries wasn't a rookie and didn't have overzealous ideas of the things that she could pull off. She knew that this would have been hard to accomplish. She had thought he was going to put her onto something simple, but a political figure was an entirely different ball game. In the past she had relied on an entire crew. Her girls had been her eyes and ears. Things would not play out the same without her friends and the odds would not be in her favor.
“Do you know how hard it is to put a play down like that?” she asked. “It sounds like a suicide mission.”
“For anyone else it would be,” he complimented.
Aries absorbed the information and knew that she was about to get in over her head.
“I cannot do this. I worked in a team, Case. I can't pull this off. The job's too big,” she protested.
“You're the only one who
can
do this,” Case said. “I know how you get down, so stop playing with me, ma. Do what you do and put a toe tag on the nigga.”
“And if I refuse?” Aries asked, feeling overwhelmed.
“Then you'll be a grieving widow sometime very soon,” Case threatened without holding back. “It's not personal. It's business. You do this and your debt will be void. You already know the flip side,” Case said calmly.
As much as Aries wanted to walk away from the proposition, she could not. A future that had been so clear to her the day before now held no direction. Case was mapping out the path that he wanted her to take, and to her dismay, it was a dangerous, slippery slope. If she wasn't careful, she could jeopardize her entire world. A deep sigh escaped her lips, signifying her submission to his request.
“What's his name?” she asked.
“Macy Sigel. He is a high favorite in the upcoming election. I don't want the nigga to make it to his inauguration,” Case seethed, revealing his animosity toward the future mayor.
Aries' eyes closed into slits of suspicion as she watched his reaction to the mention of Macy Sigel. “Sounds personal,” she commented.
“Nigga just forgot where he came from,” Case shot back as he restored his facial expression to his normal collected visage. He caught himself revealing too much emotion and knew that he had slipped up.
A bitch like Aries will turn that shit on a nigga quick and use it to catch me slipping,
he thought.
“We came up together in Long Beach and went our separate ways after high school. I hit the block; he hit the books. He's bankrolled his entire career off of my street endorsements. I contributed heavily to his campaign, and he was supposed to turn a blind eye to the li'l paper I'm collecting from the streets. Now that he's gained some notoriety and he's in the forefront to win the election, his entire platform has changed. Now he's on some âclean up the streets' shit, and it's interfering with my money. He has LAPD coming down hard and it's become a problem. That's where you come in. You're my problem solver.”
Aries frowned, sensing that he was leaving something out of his story. She didn't believe that Case was revealing the entire story. Her intuition told her that he was leaving out vital pieces to the puzzle. “Look, Case. I need to know your history with this man. This isn't new to me, and I can hear it in your tone that this isn't just about the money. I have to know everything,” she urged.
Case cleared his throat uncomfortably and leaned forward in his seat. He rubbed his goatee as he peered at Aries sharply. “He took something from me once before and I let it slide. I'm not taking no shorts this time around.” Case sat back comfortably in the chair as he prepared to share the story of where the deceit and treachery first began....
Â
Â
Case had stood outside of the club, shining like new money as he leaned on the hood of the all-red 1993 Beamer with BBS gold rims. His head rolled slowly to the right as he watched the fleet of ladies who walked past his car, begging to be seen in their skin-tight dresses and thick gold rope chains with matching bamboo earrings. He felt a hand turn his face away.
“Don't play yourself, Case. While you watching them, every other nigga in the spot is watching me,” Fatima said arrogantly as she leaned in and kissed her man on the lips, leaving her cherry red gloss on his lips.
He put his hand on her behind and pulled her near, loving her flirtatious nature. She knew her status and wasn't intimidated by other chickens that chased after her man. “Let's just blow this spot. I've got a party for you back at my place,” he whispered in her ear.