by Ivory B.
It is What it is
A Hood Love Story II
Secrets
Novel by
Ivory B.
It Is What It Is: A Hood Love Story II - Secrets
(Hood Series)
Written by: Ivory B
Distributed by Smashwords
This is copyrighted Material.
Copyright © 2015 by Ebony & Ivory Publishing . All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieved system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written authorization from the publisher.
All stories in this novel are a work of fiction from the author and are not meant to depict, portray or represent any particular real person. Names, characters, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, any resemblance to an actual person living or dead are entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-0-9912593-2-8
Cover Art by DLC Designs.
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
Table of Contents
Déjà Vu
Changes
House Hunters
Feeling Neglected
Homesick
I Need You
Where Did My Baby Go?
The Aftermath
No Place Like Home
Like a Moth to a Flame
I Don’t Want to Lose Him
Just You & Me
A Night to Remember
This is All of Me
Blast From the Past
Black Out
Pay the Piper
Drama! Drama! And More Drama!
Back to Business
Bundle of Joy
This is Life
White Lines
This Can’t Be Life
Sisterly Love???
Let’s Get It On!
You Done Got it F*cked up Now!
I Love You Enough to Let You Go
Miracles Do Happen
Stay Schemin
Guess Whose Bazack!
Facing Fears
Deal or No Deal
Some Bones R 2 Big to Bury with the Dead
What’s Done in the Dark, Comes to Light
Book Club Questions
Déjà Vu
Ty did as Los told her, she spotted his truck hopped in and called Nice as she watched nervously from the garage across the street. “Baby girl what’s good?” Nice asked after answering his cell on the second ring. “Kamar,” Ty said in an uneasy tone. Nice who was at the mall with Kynah in a Little Princess store watching her get a fake makeover with fairy dust makeup heard the shakiness in Ty’s tone immediately.“Ty what’s wrong ma?” “Baby Carlos is about to get arrested; He got me sitting in his truck and said for you to call his lawyers.” “Arrested?! Ty what you mean arrested?” Nice asked astonished. “Lucky caught him with some Spanish chick at a restaurant, she flipped and the cops were called.” So many things were running through Nice’s head at that moment. He knew exactly who the Spanish chick was, Lissette; Los told him she was supposed to be meeting him out here for business but what he couldn’t understand for the life of him was how Lucky and Ty ended up there.
“Ty don’t tell me you put Lucky up to going out there on some rah, rah shit and now this nigga gettin bagged,” Nice accused knowing this was more Ty and Keema’s style. No one could convince him at that very moment that it wasn’t Ty who put the battery in Lucky’s back to have her out there acting like that. “I swear y’all chicks need to think before y’all act. What if some deeper shit come outta this? Ha? Then what? Ty I swear when I get there I’ma snatch ya lil ass up,” Nice gritted low enough for only her ears. “I ain’t put Lucky up to anything,” Ty snapped defensively. No, she hadn’t put Lucky up to coming out there, but she hadn’t exactly tried to stop her either. Only now was she thinking that she should’ve done more to talk Lucky out of coming out there to confront Los. The repercussions of their actions didn’t cross her mind until now.
“Oh my god; they just slammed him on the ground!” Ty screamed as she looked on in shock at Los being tackled roughly to the ground by three cops. “Who?! Who?!” Nice asked getting amped. “Carlos; they just slammed him to the ground and handcuffed him. They gonna break my fuckin cousin’s arm!” Ty screamed hysterically while watching on in dismay as a cop pulled Lucky’s handcuffed arms damn near to her head as she tried to get to Los. “Hell no! I’m going out there!” Ty screamed. “Ty! Ty get the fuck back in the car, stay where you at,” Nice said in a stern tone as he swooped Kynah up handing the girl who was just working on Kynah’s face a fifty dollar bill not caring to pay at the register, or get his change.
He made fast strides to the exit of the mall while trying desperately to keep both himself and Ty calm. “I’m not staying in no fuckin car, they hurting my cousin,” Ty blurted out angrily. Nice knew he would have to calm Ty down; the last thing he needed was all three of them getting bagged and Los’s truck left to be either impounded or towed. Knowing how much work Lissette was copping, he knew Los was holding close to two milli easy in the truck. If the cops found that type of money on the streets they would definitely be opening up a Fed investigation as to why that much money was in Los’s possession and not in a bank. Furthermore they would be looking into how he obtained that much money
Nice decided to go with a softer approach to calm Ty down into not panicking and making a bad situation worse. He whipped out of his parking spot like he drove for NASCAR and ordered Ky to buckle up as she sat wide eyed and alert in her booster seat. Before he could say another word Ty said some shit that almost made his heart stop. “Kamar! Oh my god they going to shoot Carlos!” Ty’s cries shook her entire core, shit had gotten entirely too real after seeing the cop pull a gun out and aim it at Carlos. “What?! Oh my fuckin God,” Nice said dragging his hand down his face while mashing down on his gas pedal.
“Ty? Ty? What’s goin on now?” “They put him in a cop car,” Ty answered through whimpers as her heart pounded hard against her chest. “Baby girl listen, I’ma need you to stop crying, be my lil soldier right now. Ty just lay low, lock them doors and don’t go out there. I love you ma, just be easy, I’m on my way okay.” “Okay,” Ty sniffled wiping her face with the back of her wrist. She felt like shit watching those cops have to sit Lucky down on the curb because she was crying so hard, Ty wanted so badly to reach out and hug her cousin but she knew she had to do what Nice told her. She read between the lines and heard what he didn’t say verbally, there was something stashed in this truck that couldn’t be discovered by the police.
By the time Nice reached Los’s truck he had Jah with him and Los’s lawyers in route to the local police station. He was angry with both Ty and Lucky for coming out here showing their asses and things ending up the way they did. He had all intentions to jack Ty’s little ass up but once he laid eyes on her his anger dissipated almost immediately. The hurt and worried look on her face made Nice soften instantly. He could see she was genuinely concerned and scared for both Lucky and Los.
“I’m sorry,” Ty said in a low tone as she opened the driver’s side door clinging to Nice. “Baby girl it’s a’ight,” Nice said pulling back slightly to look her in the face. “I’ma go get Los and Lucky right now, I need you to grab the Bent from across the street and bring it home, snatch lil mama up from Keem first though” “No! Baby I wanna go with you to get my cousin,” Ty protested. “Nah Ty I’ma take care of this, I promise. Go get Ky she’s scared; she know something’s up and she’ll feel better if one of us is there with her. You know you got making up to do anyways, Ky going to be too mad wit you for messing up Daddy’s day out,” Nice said with a chuckle. Ty couldn’t help but crack a slight smile knowing Ky was most likely very upset. Ky looked forward to her
private dates with her daddy, which equated to a full day of spoiling and attention from him. Nice placed a kiss on Ty’s forehead then helped her down from the truck. Jah shook his head at Ty with disapproval as he hopped in Los’s truck to drive it to a stash house. He was glad his wife had nothing to do with this situation today because he knew things would’ve been a whole lot worse. Nice waited until Ty hopped in Los’s car and pulled off safely before he sped off towards the precinct.
Lucky sat in a filthy holding cell trying to hold her breath, she couldn’t tell what smelled worse the crackhead sitting beside her scratching mercilessly at her infected looking arm covered in soars and scars; or the metal toilet in the corner of the small holding cell that was filled to the brim with a mixture of tissue, feces, urine and blood. Lucky was trying her best to inhale at a minimal, only taking in short quick breaths. The pungent odor that spread throughout that small space was damn near nauseating.
Lucky still couldn’t believe that she had actually been arrested. The hard, cold, steel bench she was sitting on was a harsh reminder that this was all too real and she was indeed in jail. In all there were 8 of them in the small cell and the women personalities were as colorful as their charges that ranged from Assault and Battery, Prostitution, Drug Possession, Driving on suspended license, Fraud and Larceny. Lucky listened in as the women chatted amongst each other. It seemed like every time a chick was brought into the cell she announced her charges as if it were a part of the welcoming committee ritual. All except for Lucky; she had been silent ever since she got to jail. Truth be told she was too afraid that if she said anything she would lose her battle with her tears. And she had already told herself under no circumstances was she going to shed one tear in jail. So far she had been sticking to her declaration. She had gotten through some of the hardest parts like getting finger printed and her mug shots taken without shedding one tear and she planned to keep it that way. Every time Lucky looked up she caught two younger chicks who had been popped for boosting and charged with Larceny staring at her. Please don’t make me catch another case in this bitch. Lucky thought to herself.
As Lucky sat trying to take short breaths through her nostrils to keep from inhaling too much of the foul stench in the cell she reflected on her life. She was hurting; her heart and life was literally in turmoil. In loving Carlos she was losing herself and everything she once was and stood for. Lucky used to shake her head and look down on chicks that would be in the streets fighting over a man. She prided herself in having too much self-esteem and class to be one of those chicks. And now look where she was, in jail; for doing the exact thing she once said she would never.
Many things Lucky said she would never do she was doing. Being with Los period was violating rules she had set for herself since she made it a rule to never date a hustla again after Cutty. Not to mention, her dreams of becoming a lawyer and getting accepted into any law school was now in jeopardy after today. All of this for loving a man who obviously didn’t love her in the same regards because he couldn’t seem to just say no to these hoes. Lucky swallowed hard as she accepted the sour pill of her life. Right now she felt as if she needed to humble herself, drop to her knees and ask for guidance because she was so lost. How could she have fallen so far from grace? She now realized that if loving Carlos had changed her and not for the better then maybe this was a clear sign that he wasn’t the one for her.
Detective Rick Campbell couldn’t believe his eyes. It was as if he were seeing a ghost walk through those doors in handcuffs. Carlos was the spitting image of his father. He had definitely inherited his father’s looks and most likely the family business as well from the looks of it. The sight of Carlos in handcuffs was almost nostalgic. It reminded him of a past dream that never came to a reality because Carlos’ father went and got himself killed right after Detective Campbell got enough evidence for a Grand Jury to approve a warrant for his arrest. Campbell was so close to arresting Carlos Sr. he could still taste it.
That arrest was supposed to be the defining moment of his career. A bust of that magnitude was exactly what careers are built off. Had he gotten a chance to arrest Carlos Sr. back then he would surely be either Lieutenant or Police Commissioner by now. Unfortunately it never happened but he would be damned if he let lightening strike twice. He thought to himself as he watched Los getting placed into a cell.
“Hey Camp what’s going on?” His partner asked seeing that familiar look in her partner’s eyes when he was thinking on something deep. A devilish grin spread across his lips before he answered. “Have you ever heard of Operation King Fish?” Jeffries thought for a few seconds before answering “Uh, no don’t think I have. Why? What’s going on? I see that look in your eyes. What you got up your sleeve?” Detective Campbell didn’t answer instead he bent down and unlocked his bottom drawer where he kept his most memorable cases. “I didn’t think you would know anything about it. This was way back when I used to work narcotic squad down in the Badlands; South and North Philly prior to coming out here in my golden years for something much slower paced before retirement.”
He slapped the thick file on the desk in front of his partner and her eyes lit up as if she was being let in on a top covert operation. Jeffries flipped through the pages reading old police notes and looking at surveillance photos. Then one name and photo caught her eyes; Showtime. She did remember this indeed, who could ever forget this? “Hell yeah I remember this. I was fresh out of the Academy when this all went down! The entire city was on fire, this was a huge crime syndicate, it seemed as if they had all of Philly united; South, North, West, Parts of Jersey, New York, Maryland and DC, they seemed unstoppable.”
Campbell screwed his face up in annoyance. “Unstoppable until I came along,” he corrected his partner. “We were doing Operation King Fish for 3 years and I finally caught a break, an inside man; a confidential informant. A very reliable one at that, Showtime’s brother in-law Chad Davis was married to his wife’s sister Vera. Chad was the weakest link of the organization so we started focusing on him. We intercepted a drop he was supposed to make, caught the poor bastard red handed with more keys than a locksmith. He was done and he knew it. So once we brought him down to the precinct he started singing like a bird. He gave up everyone; even his pregnant wife. All he wanted in exchange was a get outta jail free card and a couple thousand dollars to start a new life with his mistress before the shit hit the fan. I finally had Showtime by the balls. With Chad’s cooperation and all the evidence my team gathered, it only took a Federal Grand Jury hours to approve a warrant. But then the case hit a snag when our C.I was found dead. I knew Mr. Showtime himself was behind the murder and I was going to stop at nothing until I saw his ass behind bars. He had pull; I’ll give him that. He was the reason the judge put a freeze on the indictment, money talks and even dirty judges can be bought. That freeze only bought him a little time though because I went all the way up the ladder challenging the Governor’s office to look into why this man who was flooding the streets with poison was being protected by our courts. It worked too. The judge finally lifted the freeze and then the bastard goes and gets himself off’d before I could even make the arrest.” Campbell snarled still haunted by the missed opportunity feeling as if in a twisted way Showtime got the last laugh.
Jeffries shook her head in disbelief “Wow unbelievable.” “If you think that’s unbelievable look over in the cell to your left.” Jeffries looked over and nearly choked on her hot coffee. Campbell laughed at her reaction. “Yeah I know it’s spooky. I had to do a double take too.” Jeffries sat her coffee down and grabbed a Kleenex from Campbell’s desk to dab at the coffee she spilled on her shirt. “They even have the same name,” Campbell added. “So what do you have in mind?”Jeffries asked her partner knowing he had to have a master plan. “I’m trying to retire with a bang. Maybe go into politics after this,” Campbell said with an eager smirk plastered on his face.
“Williams!” A uniformed officer called reading Lucky’s name off a clipboard a
s he stood in front of the cell. Lucky stood up it’s about time they letting me get my damn phone call. She had been in the cell for nearly two hours and still hadn’t made a phone call. Although, she wasn’t too worried, she knew for sure the cavalry was on its way. Ty was there when she got arrested so she knew Ty would be working on getting her out along with everyone else from Nice, Jah, and Keema.
Lucky was handcuffed and then walked down a hall towards the rare of the precinct. With each step Lucky took it started to become very apparent to her that she wasn’t being brought to make a phone call. Her assumptions were only proved once the officer brought her to a door that read interrogation. Once Lucky was escorted into the room the officer told her to sit there and someone would be in shortly. Lucky’s defense mechanism kicked in immediately. What was she doing in an interrogation room? There was nothing she was arrested for that would require an interrogation; her crime was pretty cut and clear. Carlos had got caught out with some tramp that popped some slick shit and got her ass whipped, plain and simple. Lucky put her game face on as she sat and waited for someone to come in.
Her attention went to the door as detective Jeffries walked into the room. Lucky watched as a 40 something year old black woman with neat dreads pulled back into a ponytail walked in holding a manila folder. Lucky picked up on a lesbo vibe almost instantly, it was the way Jeffries handled herself, even the way she sat down at the table.
“Hello I’m detective Jeffries,” The woman said extending her hand for a handshake. Lucky just sat there disregarding the friendly gesture. Jeffries chuckled and withdrew her hand. “Well how are you doing Mrs. Williams? I guess that’s a silly question considering you’re here today.” Jeffries looked over at Lucky who remained stone faced. She was beautiful; and from the looks of it she would crumble under pressure in no time. “I see that you’re in quite a bit of trouble. You’re facing some serious charges here, one count of domestic violence, two counts of assault and battery, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and making terroristic threats.” Jefferies said reading off all of the bogus charges they slapped on Lucky from a sheet of paper. “What I’m trying to figure out is how a nice young lady like yourself goes from having no criminal record at all to facing this many charges? I don’t think you really understand the severity of your situation here. These are some serious charges that can result in some jail time.”
