“Watch your mouth,” Boss snarled as he cut her off and grabbed her mouth, causing her to swerve into the next lane. “That’s still my wife and the mother of my child.”
“I’m sorry.” The woman stopped the car in the middle of traffic as Boss released his grip on her. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you fucking shouldn’t have.” Boss signaled for her to accelerate the car. “Is Scooter still running shit?”
“Yes.” The woman rubbed her face. “I’ve been looking for years, and no one has spotted Money. Do you think Scooter really let his father go?”
“I know he did.” Boss put his hands together. “Let’s go to the bank, and then let’s go pay Scooter a visit.”
“You don’t want to go see Aphtan first?”
“I will, right after I handle a couple things.” He held up his hand to let her know he was done talking about it.
Boss leaned back in the seat and wondered how he had let five years go by without talking to his wife and child. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to. He wanted them to be free and live free. He had a lot of time to make up for. The birthdays and holidays he missed enraged him just thinking about it. The last time he saw Aphtan, she was a girl, and now she was all grown up.
Thoughts of how he was going to take over the streets again haunted him as well. He didn’t want to go to jail again, but hustling was all that he knew. He was willing to take the chance. It was in his blood. All he had was time to think and come up with plans, so that he would never have to see the inside of a jail cell again.
He abated those thoughts as the car accelerated onto the highway. He couldn’t wait to hold his baby girl in his arms. Nothing else was as important. Of course he wanted to take over the game, but first he wanted to get his family straight.
CHAPTER 13
Scooter grabbed Tsunami and pulled her toward him. The warmth between them was pleasant and felt cozy. His hands wandered around her bare skin and made their way inside her clothes. Her body was a freeway, and he was GPS trying to get to her G spot, which was the destination.
Kissing wildly, Scooter removed her top with ease. Her perfect breasts tempted him, begging him to suck and bite them. He removed his t-shirt as she arched her back gently to welcome his lips as they caressed her skin. Her body felt so soft to him. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs as their tongues danced in sync.
The remainder of Tsunami’s clothes slithered off her wet body. Scooter slowly raised his hands, massaging her shoulders. He turned the water on. They faced each other. Her hands gripped his chest, pulling him so close that their noses were touching. He moved his hands lower, to her breasts, and felt them with hunger. Hunger for her.
Her hands gracefully moved to below his waist, feeling his naked body. They were yearning for each other. He opened his mouth and inserted his tongue in her mouth. They kissed so passionately that her opening vibrated with excitement. She stood on the precipice of life, her heart at variance with her mind.
His lips slammed against hers with full force, catching her off guard. He kissed with a ferocity that made her burst into flames. Scooter licked her lower lip, asking for entrance, which she eagerly granted. All of Tsunami’s thoughts went out the window. She could think of nothing but his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, and he moaned in satisfaction. She kissed back with everything she had in her, all the passion and love that she could muster. They broke apart gasping for breath, but he didn’t say a word, just kissed the path down her neck, making her ache with wanting.
“Grab a condom,” Scooter ordered.
“We don’t need one.” Tsunami kissed him and bit his lip.
“Get one.” He pulled away from her. “We’re not even about to get into this all over again.”
“Get into what?” She got up from on top of him. “You want us to fuck like we’re married, but we can’t even think about kids?”
“Here we go.” Scooter stepped out of the shower and walked into the bedroom. “I’m not about to argue with you.”
“You’ll never have to again.” She followed him and sat on the bed to put her clothes on. “I hope this new bitch that got you tripping with me sticks around. I’m so through with you.”
“You always say that,” Scooter assured her. “You will come back.”
“Don’t count on it.” She walked toward the door fully clothed. “I promise you, I’m not fucking with you ever again.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Scooter lay back on the bed.
Scooter lay there deep in thought as Tsunami left his mind the second she left his view. Aphtan was the only thing that he thought about. A beautiful woman was just in his presence; kissing him and sucking him, yet all he could do was think about Aphtan.
He’d never felt like this about anyone. It scared him a little, because he didn’t know how far he would go for her. In his heart, he felt like he would do any and everything for her. He had fallen in love with her, and as he looked back on when he knew her from his childhood, he figured the feelings had always been there.
He got up as her face flashed in his head repeatedly. He felt bad for having Tsunami at his crib. Aphtan was a good girl, and he wanted to treat her like one. He didn’t want to lose what he loved for something that he liked. He grabbed the keys to his car. He had to see her. He wouldn’t be able to sleep until he had.
The glow of the moon lit the stairs through the vertical window as he walked down them. He cringed as he exited the door, hoping Tsunami had driven off into the night. When he saw that only his vehicles sat in his parking area, he sighed with relief and he entered his car. He started the car, cut the music up as loud as it would go, and put the car in drive.
“Hey.” Knocks hit the driver-side window. “You got something for me?”
Scooter pulled the gun from under his seat as he shook his head at the crack head scratching at her arms outside his window. He opened the door with force, causing it to hit the woman. She wailed from the pain as he got out of the car.
The woman got on her knees. The ripped shirt she wore was blowing from the breeze that the night offered. “I know you the head man in charge, and all I need is a favor for a favor. I’ll do anything. Just help me.”
“How the fuck you find out where I live?” Scooter pressed the gun to her head. “Tell me who sent you.”
“Crack,” the woman screamed as she grabbed his leg and rubbed it softly. “Let me take care of you.”
“Lady,”—Scooter shook his leg to make her grip fail—“get the fuck off of me.”
“I’m sorry.” The woman started to cry. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you. I got food stamps. I got . . . I got . . . I got this necklace.” She took the necklace from around her neck as the pure gold locket sparkled. “It’s vintage. It was my great, great, great grandmother’s. I told myself I would never sell it, but I need this fix.”
“Get the fuck out of here.” He opened the door to the car. “I don’t know what you’re asking. I’m not affiliated with drugs.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.” Anger filled her face. “I know who the fuck you are. Don’t lie to me. Just help me.”
Scooter ignored her as he got into the car. She banged on the window, spit spewing from her mouth onto the glass. She kicked at the car as Scooter’s threats fell on deaf ears. The woman disappeared behind the car, and just when he thought she had left, the tire pressure light on his dashboard lit up in a golden color.
“Hell, naw.” He got out of the car and checked out his tires.
“I just needed a little help.” The woman held the knife out in front of her.
“Bitch.” He walked toward her. “Those were custom tires.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” she screamed as she dashed toward him. “Fuck you!”
The gunshot rang out, momentarily deafening both of them. The bullet erupted from the barrel and pirouetted into the damp night air on its mission of death. As it tore through the humidity
, the accompanying crack was muted in the cool, sodden air.
The woman jerked suddenly before collapsing to the concrete pavement. For a moment a look of wonder took over her face. It was if her body had gotten hot, because she stared down at where the bullet carved a hole inside of her. She saw blood. Then reality set in.
She slumped forward, the earlier desperation dissipating as she surrendered to the inevitable. In a few minutes it would be over, and she lay still, accepting her fate in the knowledge that in a short time, her life would end and there would be no more pain. There would be no more want for the drug. The addiction would no longer be a burden.
Suddenly the grimace on her countenance changed, now to a smile and then, inexplicably, the insane cackling laughter of one who knew that her time had finally come and that soon her heart will stop beating forever. She thought about her life until this point; the good, the bad, and the ugly situation that she was in now.
Thoughts of Boss caused her to smile bigger. Thoughts of her only child, Aphtan, brought about an even bigger smile as numbness overtook her. Guilt ate at Simone for leaving Aphtan alone in this cold world. As if the past few years hadn’t been hard enough for her. It was a relief, in a sense, to her; now she wouldn’t be a burden on Aphtan. She would now have the ability to move forward in life without anything holding her back.
“Fuck.” Scooter put the palm of his hand on the side of his head. “I don’t need this shit.”
“Aph . . .” Simone tried to speak, but the name wouldn’t come out.
Scooter stood over her; her face looked vaguely familiar to him. He had met her before and possibly knew her, but he couldn’t put it together as to from where. He watched as she took her last breath, unaware that he had taken the life of the mother of the girl he had recently fallen in love with. He reached down, yanked the necklace off of her neck, and then got inside of his car.
“I need a body picked up and the scene cleaned.” He drove off as he held the phone to his ear. “It’s outside of my crib.”
CHAPTER 14
“Lotus.” One of the strippers stuck her head into the dressing room door. “There’s someone asking for you in room three that wants a private dance.”
“I’ll be right there.” Aphtan put the blunt to her mouth before standing up to look at herself in the mirror.
It had been a couple of months since she started working at Pearl Tongue, and the money was everything Mila told her it was going to be. She found her groove in the club. The boundaries were set, and it was understood that she wouldn’t do more than dance. There was no touching allowed at all. It was for her, but mainly for the respect she had for the relationship she shared with Scooter.
The word had spread around town that a new girl was working who was bad, and that alone brought tons of money. All she had to do was show her breast, and the rest she left up to the imagination, making them come back for more, hoping to see it one day. She was making more money than the seasoned strippers and they hated her for it.
Aphtan flicked the end of the blunt onto the ground and stepped on it with her red stiletto heels. She checked herself in the mirror one last time as she fixed the black thong resting in between her ass cheeks. She gathered her thoughts as best she could and walked out the door to head to the private room area.
“Good luck,” Tsunami shouted with envy in her voice as she left the room.
“I don’t need it,” Aphtan called back to her.
She walked through the tables as men grabbed at her arm for dances. She smiled softly while pulling away from them as she focused on the entrance to the private rooms. That was where the money was. Those rooms cost a minimum of a thousand dollars to get a dance. Not every stripper was requested, but she started getting the invitation her first night working.
Stopping at the third curtain, Aphtan cut the outside world out of her mind. She had gotten used to it, but she would never be comfortable with it. It was easy money for her. She would make more money there than she would if she graduated college. It was business to her; nothing more or less.
“Somebody asked for me?” She opened up the thick curtain and walked inside.
“Cover your fucking body up,” Boss ordered as the darkness of the room hid his face.
Aphtan used her hands to cover her body. She couldn’t see him, but she knew that it was her father. She didn’t know whether to be mad or happy. It had been years since she’d seen him, yet she didn’t feel the urge to run into his arms like she thought she would the day he was free.
A full dose of embarrassment filled her being. It was like a hand had wrapped around her windpipe and squeezed until she couldn’t breathe properly. She felt like her heart was about to burst through her chest. Her mind drew a blank to the point she couldn’t remember her thoughts from only moments earlier. She shook her head, and her vision blurred just a little while a ball of lead formed in her stomach.
“Aphtan, why are you doing this to yourself?” Boss leaned into the light, his face full of scars.
“It’s good to see you too, Daddy.” Aphtan sat next to him. “Welcome home.”
“Give me a hug, baby girl.” He put his arms around her and squeezed tightly. “I haven’t held you in my arms in years. I’ve missed you, Aphtan. I’ve missed you so much.”
Aphtan didn’t want to, but she couldn’t hold back her tears. For years, she wished she could talk to her father, to hear his voice. No matter how mad she was at him for leaving, she was like a little girl on Christmas after getting an Easy-Bake Oven, when it came to his touch.
“I’ve missed you, too.” She hugged him back. “It’s been rough without you,” she cried harder onto his shoulder. “It’s been too much to deal with.”
“I’m here now.” Boss wiped the tears from her eyes softly. “I fucked up and got caught. I’m sorry I left you with so much responsibility. I’m sorry I left you to fend for yourself. It was my responsibility as a man to take care of you, and I failed. I’m sorry, Aphtan.”
Aphtan reached for him again in disbelief. She could feel him, yet it felt like a dream. She had spent many nights praying for this moment, and she couldn’t believe it had finally come. She was still collecting her thoughts, little by little.
Boss pulled away from her. “I’m about to be back on top, and I can’t have my daughter dancing at Pearl Tongue.”
“Back on top?” Aphtan held her hands up. “Shouldn’t you be trying to lay low for a little bit?”
“I have to make my move now,” Boss stressed as a waitress walked through the curtains with a bottle of Hennessy and two glasses. “I got a plan.”
“Your plan got you in jail last time,” Aphtan protested. “Just relax and lay low for a little while.”
“Aphtan, I got this.” He poured one of the glasses full of chilled liquor. “I got this.” He looked at her as if he were reading her mind. “Are you scared I’m going to hurt your boyfriend, Scooter, to take the crown back?”
“That didn’t cross my mind,” Aphtan lied.
“It should have.” Boss took a long sip from the glass. “His life depends on how he reacts to my plan.”
“Daddy.” Aphtan shook her head. “This is going to turn into a war.”
“If it does, so be it.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I knew you two would be together one day. I just can’t believe that he would let you work here.” Boss cringed. “No man wants another man to see his woman this way.”
“Let me?” Aphtan crossed her legs. “I’m with him, but he doesn’t own me. He can’t tell me what to do.”
“Lotus,” Crisco screamed from the hallway. “I know you’re not still doing that private dance when there’s niggas out here ready to spend money. Do you hear me?” He stuck his head inside of the curtain.
“Crisco.” Boss walked toward him. “I know you’re not letting my daughter work in this fucking dump when I own a third of this raggedy motherfucker. If I own a part of it, so do she.”
“Boss.” Crisco eased inside of th
e room. “I didn’t know you were out, mayne. Welcome home.” He held out his hand.
“Get your fucking hand out of my face.” Boss removed his gun from his waist and pressed it to Crisco’s now sweating head. “I don’t take kindly to disrespect. Good night.” He pulled the trigger.
Aphtan sat up as two buff men entered the room dressed all in black. Boss didn’t say a word, but the men knew exactly what to do. They carried Crisco’s lifeless body out of the room without muttering a word. Boss took a seat back on the couch as he put the gun back inside of his waist.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, baby girl.” Boss picked up his glass and took a sip.
“It’s fine.” Aphtan stood up. “I’ll go put on some clothes so that we can properly catch up.”
“Agreed.” Boss fixed the button on his suit after setting the glass down.
“Daddy,”—Aphtan stopped at the curtain and looked back at him—“I haven’t seen mama in months. Do you think you can get someone to find her?”
“I’ll get right on it,” he lied, smiling in a comforting way.
Boss watched Aphtan walk out of the room with a look of concern plastered on his face. Aphtan would never see her mother again, dead or alive. He had received the call prior to driving to Pearl Tongue that Scooter had ordered the same men who cleaned up Crisco’s body to clean up Simone’s. He couldn’t tell her that her mother was dead. It would break her heart. It would be better if she thought Simone was missing.
CHAPTER 15
The fan blew hot air on Levi; luckily, it was supposed to rain that night. As he was walking downstairs to get something to drink, the doorbell rang. Grabbing the knob and the gun under his shirt at the same time, he turned the knob; he was greeted by Mila in her work getup. She was standing there in front of him. Her posture was slumped a bit, and she was looking at him with a funny expression on her face.
“Levi?” Suddenly he felt his back against the floor. She was warm weight on him. She felt so soft. “I have some news to tell you,” she said before she laughed.
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