Tan nodded her head to indicate that she understood. “The place is always packed to capacity. Get two niggas in there to stage a fight and let another nigga pull out some firecrackers and light them bitches up.”
“Firecrackers?”
“Yeah, ‘cause it ain’t no way in hell somebody gettin’ in there with a gun. The firecrackers will make it seem like a nigga shootin’. You know what happens when niggas hear gunshots inside a club.”
“Muthafuckas run out.” Tan was now getting the idea.
“Some of the ladies will be in heels and folks will be running all over each other. After you dead the bitch, all you gotta do is start running and screaming with everybody else. Nobody would ever suspect that you were part of the melee.”
“I like that,” Tan said. “And I can see myself pulling that off,” she said with excitement. She daydreamed again about Justice running out the front of her club and her being right there, getting two shots off in her face. She looked at Carlos and hated that his ass was so fuckin’ fine, but she knew that within a year, she’d probably end up having to snuff his ass, too.
Twenty minutes later, Tan pulled up to BobCutz to drop Carlos off. “You got the pictures of the club I sent, didn’t you?” Carlos asked as he opened the door. During his visit, Carlos had indiscreetly taken as many pictures from inside the club as possible and he texted them to her phone. Carlos even went back to the club without Justice on the incognito tip just to see what type of strippers Justice was working with, and to get more pictures for Tan.
“Of course. All I’m waitin’ on now is the time and the opportunity.” Tan popped the trunk opened and Carlos got out and grabbed his bag. She waited until Carlos got to the door and reached under her seat, grabbed her purse, and placed it in the passenger seat. She smiled to herself at how well Carlos thought he knew her by making that comment about the pistol and silencer she had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It was finally bike party day, Carlos pulled into BobCutz parking lot on his brandy-wine colored 2011 Harley Davidson Street Glide, and the envious onlookers at the bike party were seething that he had one of the hottest bikes on the streets. Young Chris’s, “Racks on Racks” blasted from the bike’s stereo system. Carlos took off his matching colored helmet and the savoring smell of cooked chicken, beef and pork assaulted his nose and challenged him to take care of his senses.
“This you?” Preme asked as he walked up to him licking his fingers with a plate full of ribs smothered in barbeque sauce. He hadn’t seen this bike before. Preme was a bike fanatic and he spent a good portion of his dough buying old bikes and restoring them. Since he couldn’t ride them no more, he flipped the bikes instead, earning himself a small, legal hustle that kept him under Uncle Sam’s radar.
“Yeah bruh, I just picked this up the day after I got back from the Chi.”
“Ain’t you hot in that muthafucka?” Preme asked in reference to the red crosswing jacket that Carlos was wearing.
“Naw, I breathe.”
Carlos grabbed a plastic plate from the table that was set up in front of BobCutz. As the line moved forward and baked beans, potato salad, butter rolls and of course, the beer soaked chicken wings filled the air, he got him a bite before he and Preme met Face back at his bike. He looked at the propane-fueled grills and saw that War and Luther were running the grills as if they ran the shop . . . with efficiency. Carlos knew that War could burn in the kitchen and on the grill just like his father.
“Yo’ nephew took that cookin’ after yo’ brother very well.” Preme said after he took a bite out of his ribs. His words were barely intelligible, but Carlos understood that he was saying what he had just thought.
They saw a green Chopper pull up with a tall dude driving and a thick chick on the back. Preme licked his lips because the ass poking out on that bike was hard to miss. When the driver of the bike stepped off, Preme’s grin turned to disgust as he realized it was Lil’ Joe.
“Fuck niggas always tryna shine an’ shit.” Preme mumbled loud enough for Carlos and Face to hear him.
Carlos just shook his head. He and Joe had talked briefly after the confrontation in his office and Joe seemed to be cool after he had calmed down a little, but the beef with him and Preme was never-ending.
When Sapphire took off the helmet, revealing long, flowing hair that caught lightly in the wind, Preme leaned back, “damn—fuck boy done came up didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Face dragged the word out as if it were a sentence, “I remember the days when all Lil’ Joe could get was whatever leftovers Dave left him with.”
Preme and Carlos chuckled because they knew the statement was true. Back in the day, Lil’ Joe was so big and ugly, he had to pay a chick to touch his dick. What a difference two years, a weight loss plan and some confidence made. Sapphire was a definite step up from any broad that had pity-fucked Joe in the past.
“Sup ‘Los,” Lil’ Joe greeted Carlos with a pound and a manly one-armed hug, bumping shoulders. He saw Preme and Face but did not acknowledge them. He saw War looking at him and Joe tilted his head. “Whatup War! Uncle Luke!!!” Lil’ Joe bellowed over the music.
“Dis nigga don’t see us?” Preme asked Face.
Lil’ Joe stepped to Preme and got in his face, “Yeah I see yo’ hoe ass. We outside now nigga! Leap like you got some frog in ya.” Lil’ Joe taunted Preme. Preme hopped up from his seat and stumbled back a few inches because Joe had caught him off guard.
“No!” Sapphire quickly jumped between Lil’ Joe and Preme and pushed Lil’ Joe. “Y’all don’t need to be fighting out here.”
“Fuck is y’all’s problem?” Carlos said as he once again found himself in the middle of his soilders.
“You know what it is. I ain’t forgot about that nigga tryin’ me like that in yo’ office.” Lil’ Joe was salty. He had moved Sapphire behind him and on the strength of her; he resisted the urge to drop Preme. “Look, ‘Los I only came here for three reasons: one, because ‘Phire asked me to. Two, we got business and I was gonna dip in, dip out. And three . . . you already know niggas ain’t turnin’ down no free food.”
“Well, you should’ve stayed yo’ ass home if them the only reasons you here.” Face interjected.
Lil’ Joe scrunched his face up and shook his head. “One of these days I’mma deal with yo’ lil cripple ass. Trust that!”
Face pulled a large pistol from his waist and laid it on his lap. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Come get some food man,” Carlos encouraged Lil’ Joe to follow him. His face was beet red and he was beyond pissed with all of them.
“’Phire,” Face yelled to Sapphire. “I can upgrade you baby!”
Preme and Face started chuckling but Sapphire didn’t find it funny. In fact, it pissed her the fuck off but she held her composure. Her thoughts were so jaded and dark at the moment that it took everything in her being for her to keep a straight face.
In due time, nigga. In due time
, she thought. As Carlos, Lil’ Joe and Sapphire made their way through the line, Carlos spoke his piece. “I didn’t think the two of you would get together so fast.” He was referring to Joe and Sapphire’s newly blossoming relationship.
“Well, it didn’t just happen.” Lil’ Joe explained. “You the one that told me years ago that if I like a chick, I should let her know how I felt and when I saw Sapphire again at the shop, I let her know how I felt.” Lil’ Joe hugged Sapphire and kissed her on the forehead.
Carlos nodded in approval. He always thought that once Lil’ Joe cleaned himself up, he’d be a good catch for any bitch he wanted. He was shocked that the chick had been Sapphire though.
“How you holding up?” Carlos asked Sapphire as she was loading her plate.
“Every day is a struggle, but every day I get better and better.” Sapphire spoke with confidence. “It’s funny, I find myself doing things that my mama used to do, like reading my Bible for a few minutes every night, giving a few dollars to the homeless, talking to young ladies about knuckle heads and encouraging them not to drop out of school and for the ones who did I’m tryna encourage them to go back.”
“Ms. Evans would be proud.” Carlos responded.
“I’m working on this knuckle head now,” Sapphire said as she playfully tickled Lil’ Joe on his side, he almost dropped his plate from laughing so hard.
“Don’t work on him too hard,” Carlos warned.
“I won’t,” Sapphire winked at Carlos as she walked with Lil’ Joe to socialize with some of the other bikers. Carlos liked watching Lil’ Joe and Sapphire mingle with the others and Sapphire genuinely seemed to have found a man that made her happy. For her sake, Carlos hoped Lil’ Joe didn’t do anything to make him have to slump him like he did Dave.
Carlos walked back to the where Preme and Face were still eating and talking shit.
“Carlos, I’m tellin’ you . . . get what you gonna get outta that nigga now, because I’mma body that muthafucka. He ain’t gonna make it past the summer dawg.” Preme declared.
Carlos exhaled and took a bite out of his chicken wing, he responded. “You can’t kill that nigga now because he getting shit in order on the Westside for me. And right now, I don’t trust too many niggas and I at least know Lil’ Joe.”
“You got War—you don’t need that nigga.” Preme pressed.
“I got other plans for that nigga and for you too—and nothing’s gonna work if you kill that nigga like you been threatening.”
Preme shook his head. Carlos could see that Preme was disappointed in him but at that moment in time, Carlos didn’t care. He needed for Preme, Lil Joe, Face and the rest of his niggas to get along and get money.
CHAPTER TWENTY- NINE
Justice turned on her computer and logged into her Skype account. She hardly ever used the thing except to log in and to check on Toni every now and then when she needed to make sure Phire & Ice didn’t burn to the ground in her absence. Justice saw Sapphire sitting in front of her computer screen. She was shocked seeing that Sapphire had cut her hair short and made it curly.
“When did you do that?” Justice was excited.
“A day or so ago. I went to BobCutz to hang out with Carlos and the crew and after seeing this one woman with the style, I decided I’d try it and I like it.” Justice’s heart warmed up after seeing her friend light up. She decided that she was feeling the Skype thing and she’d have to use it more often. “Carlos looked like he was glowin’ and shit. Did you finally gave him some?”
“I need to be asking if
you
been gettin’ some.” Justice chuckled. She tried to shift the weight because she knew she couldn’t hide the truth from Sapphire for long. She always seemed to know when Justice had gotten some good dick.
“Yeah, I finally put the end to this dick drought I was in.” Sapphire looked around as if she was trying to see if he was still in the room.
“Girl! Don’t tell me you got me on camera while the nigga still in the room?”
“Well, he’s not in the living room . . . but he is knocked out in the bed.” Sapphire laughed. “Thank God he doesn’t snore.”
“Details, damn it.” Justice was excited and genuinely happy that Sapphire had found someone who’d made her happy. It had been two years since Sapphire had messed around with Cross, and shortly after one of their freak-sessions, he was murdered execution style.
“Let’s just say everything about Lil’ Joe isn’t little. He’s lost all the weight and he’s definitely cut and built in the right places.”
Justice shook her head. “You bold as shit.” Justice reached for the glass of wine she had been nursing earlier and took a sip. “What if he walks in there while you’re talking to me?”
“Then maybe you’ll get treated to a freak show.” Sapphire laughed and Justice smiled. “Naw, I’ll have to turn it off. I don’t want no peeping Tom jacking their dick while watching me and Joe bone, and trust me, Joe knows how to bone.”
“Well, if Joe makes you happy, then you need to know that I’ll support y’all. Do you see it going past the sex?”
“Right now, no.” Justice was startled that Sapphire was being frank. Usually, every time she got a piece of dick, L-O-V-E came along with it. “But we’ll see. I like the fact that he has a legitimate hustle with the tow truck and he shared with me that he’s entertaining the thought of going to Johnson C. Smith and getting his bachelors. Now that he’s a little older and more mature and has some life experience under his belt, maybe college would be a good thing for him. I’m even thinking about going to UNC-Charlotte and taking a few classes even though I don’t know what I’d major in.”
Justice had considered college herself once, but she, Monk, and D. C. were making too much money for her to commit to it long term.
Maybe college would be good for her friend,
Justice thought. She might get a chance to see life beyond Charlotte.
“Lemme go check on Joe real quick . . . stay on the line.”
“Cool.”
Justice minimized her screen and pulled up a game of Spider Solitaire. She’d never played this game before and didn’t even know she had it on her computer until she saw Carlos playing it. She began clicking on cards that were matching. She still hadn’t beaten the game but it amused her and was a great time passer.
“Justice, you still there?” Sapphire asked.
“Yeah girl, I’m here. I’m playing this game Carlos showed me how to play when he was here.” Justice switched screens and went back to the cam. “He still sleep?”
“Yeah girl, punanny put his ass out.”Sapphire joked and then changed her tone.
“But I wanna tell you something.” She paused and then looked away. “I didn’t think I’d be able to get it in with Joe when I first met him. In fact, it was Carlos’s idea that we go out for a night on the town when I got back from Chicago. We went to a few places and mostly, just sat down and talked. We went to that biker party that Carlos had at the shop a week ago too. Joe has made me feel something that I haven’t been able to feel with a man—comfortable.”
“What you mean by that? I thought Cross made you
comfortable
,” Justice stated sarcastically.
“Cross was just somebody I got it in with from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, I was devastated when he was killed. But now that I’m older, I realize things with Cross wasn’t getting anywhere close to serious as I see things possibly growing with Joe—at least the potential is there. The reason I said Joe makes me comfortable is because there was a night that happened some years ago that changed my life and had an impact on how I viewed men.”