Payback Ain't Enough (22 page)

“Mrs. McGhee moved like two days ago. She was a nice woman and good neighbor. I just don’t understand who could do something like this. I just thank the Lord no one was home, but my condolences go out to Mrs. Petty. It’s a shame what they did to that dog. What is the world coming to?”

We contacted RedBone Entertainment but have received no comment. We will keep you posted as the story develops. This is Alexis Wiley reporting live from Fox 2.”

The media gave me the info that I needed. I still wasn’t all the way clear on how she walked away with the dope and the money, not without having some help.

“Girl, turn on channel nine, Keeta yelled into the phone. “Hurry up!” she screeched.

“Hold up. My TV ain’t even turned on.” I had a new flat screen that I didn’t even know how to work. I was still unpacking boxes of clothes and dishes. The place was still unorganized.

“Girl, you too slow. You missed it,” she snapped.

“I got it on now. What’s up?”

“It will come on again. They had your house on TV,” Keeta said excitedly.

“My house? Why?”

“They showed your neighbor, the short, black, pudgy lady. They killed her dog, and they sprayed your house all up. You lucky bitch, you moved out in the nick of time.”

“Who sprayed it up?” I didn’t want to believe what Keeta was telling me even though Briggen had already told me that there was a hit out on me.

“They didn’t say all of that. But they did tell all of your business. You probably need to call the police. You know they said it was all drug related.”

“You spoke to Briggen?” I could hear him saying it now, “I tried to tell your ass!”

“He didn’t answer his phone. Girl, somebody is mad at y’all. I’m so glad y’all weren’t home. Niggas be hatin’ when they see somebody else doing good. They interviewed the neighbor lady and she said y’all are such a nice and quiet couple, she didn’t understand why anyone would want to shoot up the house. They also said that Briggen is out on bond in connection with a drug-trafficking case. So all of y’alls business is out in the open. And oh, you got some free advertisement! They said your company’s name. When did you call it Redbone?”

I didn’t have time for Keeta’s jokes. My company’s name? I was really an open target now. I hung up with her and called Briggen.

“Oh, so your ass wanna call me now? See what you got us into, Shan? And you around here flossin’ with new rides and promoting shows and shit, like you untouchable. This ain’t no game. What if we would have been at home with our son?” he spat. “And I’ve been trying to reach you. Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

“Because I have a new one for my business, and I left the other one by mistake.”

“Are you back at the house?”

“Of course not. I moved out,” I told him.

“You moved out?” He sounded surprised.

“I sure did.”

“To where?”

I clammed up. I didn’t know if I should trust him or not.

“Shan, you know what? Fuck it! It ain’t me you should be worrying about. But remember, when the heat gets turned up, don’t call me.” He hung up sounding mad, of course. That was the story of our lives.

I called Nick. He still owed me for three keys. For real, I wasn’t worried about them. “Nick, you heard the news?” I asked him as soon as he picked up.

“Yeah, I heard. It’s a good thing you left when you did. You alright? What did Brigg have to say?”

“I’m fine, and he said what I expected him to say. When are you going to have the rest of that for me?”

“I’ll let you know. Where are you?”

“I’ll let you know,” I told him and hung up.

Shit was getting crazy. And I’m not talking only about Briggen’s house getting shot up and Shan moving and not telling him where she lived. Anthony was starting to grow on me. Briggen had been running the streets around the clock leaving me here to babysit. I wasn’t used to being cooped up in the house all day. So I would get his car seat, strap him up, and
we would be gone. What really went to my head was when my mother told me that he could pass for my son. That was the icing on the cake. From that point on, I was mommy.

I had just hung up with my mom who said they were on their way over to pick me up. It was my stepdad’s birthday, and we were taking him out. I had been babysitting Li’l Anthony all week, and Briggen didn’t come in last night. So that meant Anthony had to go. I had been blowing up his phone, worried sick about him. He never bothered to call me back, so I finally called Shan.

“Hello, Shan, this is Mia. Have you heard from Briggen?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then she finally said, “I thought he was laying up in your bed every night? You haven’t heard from him?” The bitch’s words dripped with sarcasm.

“If I had I wouldn’t be calling you.”

“Well, no, I have not spoken to him in a few days.”

Click.

This crazy ho had the nerve to hang up on me. I called her right back. I got comfortable because it was me who held the trump card.

“I can’t believe how silly you are acting. Your behavior is old and tired. When you got hooked up with Briggen, you knew he was fucking me, Sharia, and damn near everybody else. So get over it. He’s with me now.” I wanted her to understand that.

“I can’t tell. If he was with you, why are you calling me looking for him?”

“That’s because I have
your
son. I’m getting ready to go out, so you need to come pick him up, or I need to drop him off.”

“You what?” I could hear the panic in her voice.

“I have your son and I can’t reach Briggen, so come get him or I can drop him off.”

“I am on my way to the Marquis for the show. I have to oversee everything. Tonight is my entertainment company’s debut. Oh my God! How am I going to make sure everything goes right with a baby on my hip?”

“That’s not my problem.” It was my turn to be sarcastic.

“Where’s his father?”

“I told you I didn’t know.”

“Oh my God. I don’t believe this. Let me see who I can call and I’ll call you right back.”

“No, Shan. Come get him now or tell me where to meet you. This ain’t my child.”

“I’ma have Keeta come and get him. Please. Give me five minutes. I’ll call you right back.”

“Mmmhmm.” The bitch changed that stank-high-and-mighty attitude real quick.

Un-fuckin’-believable!
Here Briggen done left my son with that bitch. I couldn’t wait to talk to him so I could cuss his ass out. I called him and got his voicemail. Then I called Keeta, and when she didn’t pick up I started to panic.

Here it was my big night and I couldn’t get a babysitter. I called Mia back and as her phone rang I swallowed my pride. My stomach was starting to cramp.

“Mia, I can’t reach anyone… at all.”

“No problem. I’ll just bring him to where you are.”

“Mia, can you please keep him for me?” I had to get humble.
Here I had to call the bitch that my husband was fucking, begging for help.

Mia burst out laughing. “You know this is every bitch’s dream, right? Oh, so now you
need
me to do something for you? I’m sure this is a tragic turn of events for you.”

“Mia, I’ll pay you a grand. Just keep him for the night.” I had my fingers crossed.

“A grand?” she scoffed. “I can get that from Briggen for just lying on my back.”

“Two grand,” I told her. I knew she heard the desperation in my voice. “And as soon as I reach Briggen or Keeta I’ll have them come and get him.”

“Make it twenty-five hundred and enjoy your show. Smooches.”

The phone went dead.
Bitch.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Oh my God, this nigga is a beast. He had been fucking me crazy for the last three hours. He had me in a full buck in the middle of the bed hitting it from the back like he still owned it. All I could do was bite down into the pillow and clinch the sheets tight. His powerful push buckled my knees with every thrust. Just when I thought I couldn’t take no more he began to slowly slide in and out of my wetness at just the right angle, teasing my spot.

“How this feel?” His deep voice sent chills up and down my spine as his strong hands held me firmly in place.

“Yeees… ohhhh… yesss,” was all I could release from my mouth as a gut-wrenching orgasm threatened to take over my entire body. I moaned louder, and he stroked faster until we both exploded. He remained inside me as he fed his ego.

“Still can’t handle all this big dick, huh?”

“And this is still the best pussy you ever slid up in,” I managed to reply still out of breath.

“Hell, yeah. And it’s all mine,” he shot back, smacked me on the ass, then pulled out slow. I fell forward on the bed and just lay there as I watched him walk that sexy, glistening body to the bathroom. When I heard the shower come on I pulled the sheet over me and dozed off. About thirty minutes later he was sitting next to me rubbing my leg. I opened my eyes and smiled. He was fully dressed and smiling back.

“You straight with the plan?” he asked me.

“I told you I got you,” I responded, my voice full of confidence.

“We about to fuck all these niggas. I just need another week or two.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just hurry up.” Just as the words left my mouth he leaned in and kissed me.

“Love you.” He whispered.

“I love you, too.” As I watched him get his stuff together, I took a deep breath and scoffed at the plan that he put together. This shit was going to be sweet. I was going out with a bang.

I had got Cisco white-boy wasted. He told me that he was so drunk he couldn’t see straight and that he hadn’t got this drunk in a long time. That was just the way I wanted him.

I pulled into an alley on First Street. He said he had to piss. Before I could stop the car good he opened the door, stumbled out and began to hurl into a trash can. I popped the trunk and got out. In the back I had some Spanish wire,
also known as a garrote. I grabbed it and waited for Cisco to stop hurling. I didn’t want to get that shit all over my gators and the tailor-made slacks I wore.

“Aww, shit!” he grumbled, as he hugged the garbage can.

I leaned up against the car, waiting patiently for him to finish hurling. It seemed as if he would never stop. When he finally straightened up, pulled out his dick to piss, I eased up behind him and wrapped the wire around his neck. I pulled and tightened. He struggled to loosen the wire from around his neck, I’m sure surprise and uncertainty were running through his mind. I didn’t let go of the wire until his tongue stuck out and his body went limp at the same time. I had planned this for weeks.

Immediately I began to drag him to my trunk, heels scraping the ground, dick sticking out and all, as I tossed him in and slammed it shut. I had to get him to the casket I made for him in an abandoned junkyard filled with a bunch of cars. I had lined the trunk of an old Cadillac hearse with lime and lye. All I had to do was put Cisco in it. If and when somebody came across him, it would be too late.

If I didn’t know what being on cloud nine was before, I was well acquainted with it now. My first show was a blowout! I had at least seven offers on my voicemail from individuals and organizations that wanted to pay me to do exactly what I did for me. With the bar, I cleared about forty grand. Not bad for my first show in an economy that screamed recession. I paid
almost nine grand for security and two personal bodyguards that were on me every second.

I rang Mia’s bell and looked around and noticed that there were no cars parked anywhere. That was weird. It was only eight thirty in the morning. I took out my cell and phoned her. She picked up on the first ring. “Mia, I’m out front. I’m here to pick up Li’l Anthony. Thank you so much and I have your money.”

“We are out having breakfast. Why didn’t you call me first?”

“I was just trying to get him off your hands. Last night you sounded as if you had to get rid of him and as if he was such a burden. And I apologize for that. I was under the impression that his father had him.”

“His father still hasn’t shown up. And oh, there’s some ladies here talking about the show. They’re going on about how good it was and how they had not had a good time like that in a while.”

I started grinning from ear to ear. I knew my shit was on point. “It was the bomb. You had to have been there,” I told her.

“Now my mother is sitting here talking about letting her know where the next one is going to be and wants you to bring Ron Isley to town.”

“Tell her I will get right on that.” I was pumped.

“Look, we just ordered our breakfast. If you want, you can call me later on and you can come and get him. If his father gets back I’ll have him call you. Open my screen door and slide my money under the second door,” Mia instructed.