“You came to pick up the fifty thousand in the bedroom, huh? You can forget about that shit,” Bones said as he moved in slowly with the most sinister, possessed look in his eyes.
“Baby you can have it. Just please listen to me—”
Her pleas were interrupted by a smack to the face with the barrel of his gun. Bones grabbed her by the hair and flung her to ground. “Bones, no!” Oshiwa pleaded, but it didn’t stop his onslaught.
“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted as he drove a foot into her ribcage.
Oshiwa curled up on the floor in a fetal position as Bones began to stomp on her like the maniac he was.
“Where’s the rest of my fucking money? Huh? Where is it?”
“I’ll get it! I’ll get it!” Oshiwa cried as he drove another foot in her stomach.
Bones reached down and grabbed her by the back of her neck.
“Where is it? Take me to it right fucking now.”
“Okay, it’s at the condo. I’ll take you to it just calm down…please!”
Oshiwa was so dizzy the room was still spinning as he swung her around the room and pointed the gun at the back of her head. She still had a pistol stuck tightly in her waistline but never had the chance to reach for it. With a gun pressed to the back of her head, she didn’t dare reach for it now. She just needed to keep Bones calm until she could find a way to escape.
“Grab the keys,” he instructed as he spotted the keys she’d dropped lying on the floor.
Oshiwa bent down to pick the keys up, feeling her heart beating more rapidly with each second that passed. She’d held her hands high in the air showing no resistance.
“Put your fucking hands down. You stupid bitch, you really thought I was gonna let y’all play me like this? Take all my shit and leave me for dead, huh?”
“Bones that wasn’t my—”
“Shut the fuck up. We ‘bout to go out here and get in this nice little jeep you got parked outside. You better act normal as possible because the first sign or signal I see of you trying to make a move, I’m filling yo’ ass with bullets and you know I’m not playing.”
“Okay Bones, whatever you say.”
Oshiwa wanted to beg and plead but she knew this man better than any other man on this Earth. Begging and pleading wouldn’t help her now. She had to find a way to free herself. Bones concealed the gun inside his jacket but he still had his finger wrapped around the trigger as he placed the hoodie over his head and guided Oshiwa to the front door. She prayed when she opened the door she’d see a neighbor or two outside and maybe she could run screaming for help, but even that seemed too risky.
Bones had nothing to lose by shooting her in broad daylight in front of a hundred witnesses, and he was crazy enough to do it. She slowly opened the front door and peeked at her jeep parked neatly in the driveway. The block was silent without a neighbor in sight. When she stepped outside he was right behind her. Bones looked up and spotted a police patrol car riding up the block. Seconds later Oshiwa spotted the car. Bones tried to grab Oshiwa by the collar and pull her back into the house, but she managed to slip away from his grip. As the patrol car approached quickly, Oshiwa took one glance back at Bones who was now standing in the doorway in a panic.
He wanted to pull out the gun and blast her in the head but there they were driving right past the house. The police glanced at the pretty girl standing in the walkway that looked a little shaken as Bones hid behind the door.
Oshiwa seized the one and only opportunity to escape as she rushed to the jeep and hopped in while the police were still cruising up the block. She cranked up the jeep and backed out of the driveway as Bones came rushing out of the house as soon as the cops made it to the next block. As she slammed the car in drive she expected to hear gunshots ring out any second, but Bones was running after the car with his gun in his hands for the world to see. She floored the gas and quickly created enough distance between them that Bones gave up the chase.
She never looked back as she bent the corner and slowed down, not wanting to get pulled over with a gun in the car. She fumbled around in her pocket until she found her cell phone. She had a few missed calls from Doe and she quickly called him back.
“Hello?”
“That muthafucka is in my house right now. I knew I should’ve fucking change the locks! The fuck was I thinking!” she ranted.
“Who in the house?” Doe asked confused.
“Bones! That muthafucka just beat the shit out of me.”
“Where you at right now?”
“Oh my God!” she shouted, still in shock of all that happened.
“Baby, calm down and tell me where you at.”
Oshiwa took a second to calm her nerves before she went on to tell Doe what happened and how she managed to escape.
“So he has the money?” Doe asked.
“Yeah, what the fuck you think?” she snapped.
“We gotta deal with him later. We supposed to be somewhere, remember?” Doe explained.
“But we don’t even have all the fucking money now because this nigga just took fifty thousand,” she explained as she drove through a red light without even realizing it.
“I can cover it. But we gotta go do this now ‘cause if we back out I don’t think he’ll be willing to fuck with you in the future.”
They were supposed to be going to meet up with the plug but Oshiwa was so shaken up it was the last thing on her mind. She tried to gather herself, realizing she still had business to take care of.
****
Gunner and Ray had been out of drugs for almost a week waiting on the plug. Gunner was officially about to pass down his entire operation to Ray Ray and his top lieutenant. Today he would introduce Ray Ray to Chiku and from there he would be free of all the dirt and grime the game had to offer. They sat in Ray’s Benz after just ending a call with Jay, still waiting on the plug to give them a go-ahead to come through. Apparently, Chiku had other people who had placed orders ahead of Gunner and he had to wait his turn.
“I’m ready to get this shit over with. I got a hundred niggas waiting on me,” Ray complained.
It was no exaggeration either. Not only did Ray’s whole team depend on him as their supplier, now Gunner’s team would have to go through Ray also.
“Just be careful out here my nigga. I know you know how to handle business but with me and Jay out of the game and E looks like he on his way out, it’s gonna be a lot of sharks swimming in the water, you feel me?”
Ray looked at Gunner and smiled.
“You know I’m built for this shit right?”
“Fo’ life,” Gunner said as they slapped fives.
Gunner’s phone rang.
“I hope that’s him,” Ray said.
“Hell yeah, this him. Hello?” Gunner answered.
“Come in twenty,” was all Chiku said.
“Come through in twenty?”
“Yes.”
“Bet,” Gunner said ending the call.
“Shit, we might as well head that way now,” Ray said.
“Yeah, let’s be out,” Gunner said.
They would arrive a little early but Gunner figured he’d just wait in the parking lot until it was time to go inside. Chiku didn’t like people messing with his time frames so if he said twenty minutes, he meant twenty minutes.
Chapter 21
When Oshiwa had her meeting with Chiku, he was downright rude. He didn’t appreciate the fact that she and Doe had wasted some of his valuable time. He didn’t come off like the calm, easygoing man that Doe had described previously. As she watched his wife run the money through the money counter, Doe continued to apologize for the inconvenience.
“It won’t happen again, man. Like I said, something came up that couldn’t be avoided.”
“And I apologize again for holding things up. I know that time is money,” Oshiwa added.
Chiku pointed a stiff finger at the both of them.
“Okay, but last time,” he warned.
“N
ever again,” Oshiwa said.
Chiku glanced at Gugu and she gave him the nod. Once he got the go-ahead he handed Doe the bricks of coke stacked inside a laundry bag.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Oshiwa lied but Chiku didn’t respond.
As they left the apartment, Oshiwa was just glad to have put the initial meeting behind her. Outside in the parking lot, she turned to Doe.
“You think I’m doing the right thing with Bones?” she asked.
*****
Gunner and Ray sat in the car waiting on Chiku’s twenty minutes to pass. They were ten minutes early and as they sat in the car in silence, people watching, they spotted a couple emerging from the building. Gunner spotted the laundry bag in the girl’s hand and he knew that she was leaving Chiku. She was probably the one holding him and Ray up from securing their drugs. As he looked a little closer he realized that the girl’s face was very familiar. Seconds later it kicked in that he was staring at Oshiwa.
“What the fuck?” Gunner said reaching for his pistol.
“What’s up?” Ray asked reaching for his.
“That’s Bones’s bitch,” Gunner barked as he opened the car door and got out as fast as he could.
Ray was right behind him. They didn’t even bother closing the car doors as they raced toward the Oshiwa and Doe. By the time Oshiwa looked up and spotted Gunner and Ray coming, they had guns aimed at her head.
“Doe!” she shouted right before gunshots rang out.
Oshiwa managed to pull Doe to the ground just in time to avoid a barrage of bullets that sprayed the Audi truck full of holes, shattering the windows completely. Doe dropped the drugs, pulled his gun, and started shooting aimlessly as he laid on his back fearing for his life. Oshiwa crawled to the end of the truck and pulled her gun out. She couldn’t see anything above the knees from her angle. She fired at Gunner and Ray’s calves repeatedly.
Gunner and Ray had to jump behind a random parked car because they no longer had a visual of Oshiwa or Doe. Doe rose to his feet and fired more shots in the direction he thought they were hiding. Oshiwa tried to back him up as she stood to her feet and let off several shots of her own. Gunner and Ray felt like sitting ducks as bullets pinged and ricocheted off the old school metal doors of a Buick. Ray rose up just enough to see over the hood and fired five shots at the Audi truck.
Doe dropped to the ground holding his chest as the gun in his hand fell to the concrete. Oshiwa couldn’t think straight as she watched Doe lie at her feet in seemingly excruciating pain. She emptied the clip, banging at Ray and Gunner, then picked up Doe’s gun. Knelt down on one knee, she searched his pockets for the keys to the truck or an extra clip. She fumbled through his pockets a nervous wreck until she finally found the keys.
By that time, she could see the shadow of their footsteps approaching. She raised the gun and squeezed the trigger only to hear empty clicking that seemed to seal her fate. The pain of hot lead pierced her skin as she collapsed to the ground. Ray and Gunner stood over Oshiwa with barrels pointed at her dome. She raised a hand to block gunfire.
It was all over and she knew it. The only thing to do now was beg for her life.
“I know where Bones is, I know where he is! I’ll take you to him,” she pleaded, knowing it was all the ammunition she had left.
Ray was about to finish her but Gunner stopped him as he grabbed Ray’s hand that was wrapped around the trigger and eased it down until the barrel was pointed at the pavement.
“Hold up. We need to find that bitch ass nigga. Help me get her in the trunk,” he told Ray.
They looked at Doe and he wasn’t moving so they quickly snatched up Oshiwa and manhandled her until she was being tossed in the trunk of Ray’s Benz. They didn’t dare look around to see who was watching as they rushed to jump in the car and sped off, praying no one got a good look at them.
****
Michelle and Jay met back up at the hotel in a festive mood after enjoying the day in the city and hanging out with some of the people they loved the most. Michelle had her slow jam playlist from her iPod playing, hooked up to a small speaker, and they had wine plus Dom Pérignon chilling on ice. As Jon B’s “They Don’t Know” serenaded them setting the mood just right for the evening, the couple slow danced around the room staring into each other’s eyes.
“Oh?” Michelle said as Jay dipped her quickly.
She could only hope it would always be this way. Jay’s phone started to ring but he ignored it. He knew it was probably one of his homies trying to get him to come and hang out but he would see them all tomorrow. He didn’t plan on leaving his future wife’s side until the morning. But when Jay’s phone kept ringing they both looked at each other realizing the calls were coming back to back. Michelle went to turn the music down while Jay grabbed his phone.
Wanting to be transparent and let Michelle know he had no plans on leaving her side, he put Gunner on the speakerphone so she could hear him turn down whatever the invite was.
“Hello?”
“Aye,” Gunner started.
“What’s happening?”
“We got Bones’s bitch nigga,” Gunner informed proudly.
“Huh?” Jay said not comprehending at first.
“Yeah nigga, the bitch. Oshiwa?” he reminded him.
Jay couldn’t turn the speakerphone off fast enough as he walked as far away from Michelle as he could get.
“Where?” Jay asked.
“We got her in a basement in the hood. She just gave us an address for Bones.”
“He’s here?” Jay shouted not believing what he was hearing.
By now Jay had locked himself in the bathroom for privacy but he knew in the back of his mind Michelle had already heard way too much.
“That’s what she saying but we ‘bout to find out. You wanna do the honors?” Gunner asked.
“Where the fuck y’all at right now?”
****
Michelle stood right outside the bathroom door with her heart racing and tears welling in her eyes. It all was starting to feel like it really was just too good to be true. The man she loved so much and had sacrificed everything for was still mentally in the streets. She wanted so bad to just kick the door in and start screaming but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything. Before she could contemplate her decision the bathroom door came open and the guilt was all over Jay’s face.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he tried to push past her.
“No, Jay,” she said grabbing his sleeve.
“I’ll be right back, Michelle,” he repeated as he moved a few more steps until she had no choice but to move with Jay or release him.
“No, Jay!” she shouted, releasing him, now standing in the middle of the floor.
“Listen, I love you with all my heart but you gonna have to trust me this one last time.”
She shook her head defiantly.
“This is not your fight anymore. It’s not your fight, you hear me? It’s not your fight!” she shouted.
“You think so? This the same nigga that tried to kill us both and it’s not my fight? It’s always been my fight! If anything, shit I drug them into it and now you want me to act like it’s their problem? Well, I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”
“I should’ve known better,” Michelle said as she plopped down on the bed and let the tears fall like raindrops.
“This shit has to end. Don’t you get that?” Jay yelled, trying to make her understand.
Michelle pulled off her engagement ring and flung it as hard as she could in the air.
“Just go!” she yelled back.
Jay just looked into her eyes knowing it was tearing them both apart that he had to walk out the door. But still…he had to. As Michelle watched him turn his back and leave, she wanted to tell him how much she hated his guts but she couldn’t form the words because she was crying too hard. As the door slammed she fell onto the pillows and let it all out. She’d never felt pain and disappoint so strong. Only a broken heart could hurt th
is bad.
****
Bones didn’t know what his next move should be. He hated the fact that he had let Oshiwa get away because it left him like a sitting duck and her knowing his whereabouts. The element of surprise was over and now he could only think defense as he moved about the house loading up weapons. He couldn’t stay there so he was calling Pam every ten minutes, hoping she would save the day again. Pam finally called back.
“Hello?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Pam asked immediately.
“I need you to come get me right now.”
“Damn Bones, I told you not to come back here,” Pam complained.
“Look, I don’t got time for that shit. I’ma look out for you like I always do. Just come get me the fuck out of here right now,” he ordered.
“I’m on my way,” Pam said ending the call.
Bones rushed to grab all of his bags that were still packed and placed them in the front room, including Oshiwa’s cash. He grabbed the AR-15 before going to cut off all the lights in the house and then standing in the window to watch the block. He needed to see everything moving until he was out of this house and long gone.
But forty-five minutes later he was still standing in the window with the assault rifle gripped tightly. He was starting to realize that Pam wasn’t going to show. Just as he was about to turn and walk away from the window and call her again he noticed a fleet of cars coming up the block.
“The fuck?” he mumbled as he peered closer.
Bones quickly realized that the fleet of cars was all the same make and model. From the opposite side of the street came two black vans. He knew right then that the manhunt for him was about to come to an end. The big police light flashed in the window before he could dodge it as he backed out of the window and racked a bullet in the chamber of his rifle. Within minutes, police had swarmed the whole block and set up roadblocks, not allowing anyone in or out.
Bones began to sweat profusely, knowing it was time to rock and roll like never before. He knew one day it would come down to this but this wasn’t how he wanted it to end. He couldn’t put his fate in their hands. Bones took a deep breath and went back to the window. All he could see was flashlights and officers ganged up, slowly approaching with their guns drawn. Before they could reach the front door Bones opened fire out the window, gunning three officers down in the front yard immediately.
Married to the Game Page 15
