Still The Baddest Bitch

by Deja King

  “Don’t look now, but the house finally has a visitor,” Aaliyah said. “Okay, now look.”

  We all turned our head to face the house and saw a woman going inside. From the distance we couldn’t get a good look of who it was but we all intended to find out.

  “What ya’ waiting for…move,” Nico barked. Genesis parked our car behind Amir’s and we all headed towards the house.

  “Nico and Amir, you all go around and guard the back exit. We’ll take the front,” Genesis directed. They nodded their heads and took off. “Precious, you ring the doorbell. I’ll stand off the side and when she opens the door, that’s when I’ll move in. Aaliyah…”

  “I know. I won’t say a word.”

  “Alright, let’s move.”

  I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. I began knocking and still no answer. I thought I saw a woman walk by, so I started talking loudly through the door.

  “Can I please use your phone? I just moved a few doors down and I locked myself out. I left my cell phone in the house. Please help.”

  A few moments later I heard the door opening. When it reached the halfway point, Genesis stepped out from hiding, pushing the door open with the tip of his gun.

  “Please don’t shoot!” the woman cried out.

  “Is there anyone else here?” Genesis asked.

  “No it’s just me. I was coming to get a few things. Don’t kill me.”

  “Sit down over there,” Genesis said, pointing the gun towards a couch in a sitting area. “Aaliyah, go let Nico and Amir in.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “If you answer a few questions truthfully, we might let you live.”

  I stared at the woman and she appeared harmless. A very pretty lady that looked no more than thirty. She was dressed casually in some fitted jeans, Ugg boots, and a white cami.

  “Whatever you want to know I’ll tell, but I don’t want to die.”

  “Where the hell is Ashley?” Nico asked, storming in the room as if on a kill mission.

  “I don’t know an Ashley,” the woman stuttered, clearly fearing for her life.

  “He means Tori,” Aaliyah said, giving the correct name. The woman’s face expression changed when Aaliyah gave that name. She swallowed hard and I noticed her hands shaking.

  “I suggest you tell us what you know, before things get ugly,” I advised.

  “I don’t know Tori that well, but I used to be very close to her brother.”

  “Isn’t this her brother’s house?”

  “It was.”

  “It was until when? And if he no longer lives here, what are you doing here?”

  “It was up until a week ago, when Gregory was killed.”

  “Tori’s brother is dead?”

  “Yes. He was leaving his office in Beverly Hills and somebody shot him in his head, when he was getting in his car.”

  “Did it have anything to do with his sister?”

  “I think so. I used to date Gregory about a year ago. Although we weren’t together, we remained good friends. He told me his Tori had gotten into some trouble and she was coming to stay with him. Next thing I know, Gregory is dead.”

  “Again, why are you here?” Nico questioned, as if uninterested in the woman’s sad story.

  “Tori called earlier today and asked me to stop by Greg’s house to pick up some of her stuff. Once he got killed, she stopped staying and she didn’t want to come back. I still had a key to his place, so I told her no problem.”

  “Give us the address where Tori’s staying.”

  “I don’t know it.”

  “Don’t lie to me!”

  “Nico, calm down,” I said, watching his anger elevate.

  “I swear! I’ve seen her once since she came back to L.A., and that was weeks ago.”

  “So, how is she supposed to get her stuff from you?”

  “She said she would call me later on, to tell me where to meet her.”

  Nico grabbed the woman’s purse and pulled out her wallet. He opened it and reached for her driver’s license, studying the information. “Skylar, I guess we’ll all be waiting together because you’re not going anywhere, until I get my hands on Tori,” he said, tossing her belongings down on the table.

  “I have a mother that loves me and a little boy that needs me. My son is only two. I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t know what Tori is involved in, but it has nothing to do with me.”

  I didn’t want to say it out loud, but I wasn’t feeling good about this. Maybe it was because of my near death experience, but the fear in the woman’s voice was eating my insides up. I was all for everybody dying that had something to do with the hit at the warehouse, but not innocent people losing their lives, especially not a mother. I couldn’t live with that, particularly since I had been given a second chance with my own life.

  “Skylar, help us find Tori, and you can go home to your son. I promise you that.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Precious.”

  “I intend on keeping that promise. We have no reason to kill her, if she delivers Tori. That’s the reason why we’re here.”

  “This is my problem to deal with. You follow my lead.”

  “Oh really? I’m the one that almost died and lost my fuckin’ memory. If anybody has a bone to pick, it’s me, Nico.”

  “Both of you, that’s enough,” Genesis interjected. “We all want the same thing. Going at each other isn’t going to make it happen any quicker. So, everybody settle down. Skylar, you don’t have an address on Tori, but you do have a phone number…correct?”

  “Yeah, I think the number she’s been calling me on is her cell.”

  “Call her. Let her know you got her stuff and you want to meet with her now.”

  “Okay,” Skylar said, reaching in her purse for her phone.

  “Put the call on speaker,” Nico said, while we all stood silently, waiting for Tori to answer.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Tori. I got the stuff you wanted. The thing is, I just got a call that I have to go out of town for a job. I wanted to give you your belongings before I left. Can you meet up now?”

  “Umm, I’m kinda in the middle of something. Can you give me an hour?” Skylar looked up at Nico, who nodded his head yes.

  “Sure. Where?” There was a brief moment of silence, as if Tori were thinking of a place to meet.

  “What about that gas station around the corner from my brother’s house? You know, the one he used to always go to.”

  “Yeah, I know exactly where you’re talking about.” I could tell from their somber tone, both women were sharing a moment of sadness over Tori’s brother.

  “So, I’ll see you there in an hour, but I’ll send you a text confirming I’m on the way.”

  “Cool, see you then.” After Skylar ended her call, she looked up at Genesis. “I did my part, can I go now?”

  “What are you, stupid….hell no!”

  “Nico, it’s not necessary to call her names, but no, Skylar, you can’t leave.”

  “Sure the fuck not. Yo’ ass going to the gas station to meet her.”

  “It’s obvious you all are going to do something really bad to Tori. Although we’re not close, I don’t want to see it go down.”

  “I understand, but that’s not your decision to make. Until we no longer need you, you’ll do as we say,” Genesis made clear.

  I was starting to get the feeling that maybe I did make Skylar a promise I would be unable to keep. I knew Nico didn’t care if the woman had to die, but I was getting the sense that Genesis didn’t care either. If that was the case, nobody could save Skylar, including me.

  Aaliyah

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  “Why do you ask me that?”

  “You might’ve lost your
memory, but your gestures, the facial expressions you make when you’re reacting to something, are the same.”

  “I’m that transparent?”

  “Not to everybody, but to me, yes. You’re my mother and I know you. I can tell when something is bothering you.”

  “I think your father and Genesis are going to kill that woman,” my mom said, glancing over at Skylar. She was sitting up on the couch in the fetal position, with the most distraught look on her face. It was as if Skylar also knew she was going to be killed.

  “I think you’re right and honestly, I don’t think she should die either, but what choice do we have? She can identify us. After we get Tori, what if she goes to the police?”

  “I don’t think she will. She has a little boy. She doesn’t want those types of problems for her family. If we kill Tori, she knows we’ll come back and kill her, too.”

  “I hear you, but convincing dad and Genesis of that is a different story. If I had to pick one for you to reason with, I would say talk to Genesis.”

  “I agree. That hour mark is quickly approaching, so if I’m gonna make some headway with Genesis, I better start now. I’ll be back. Wish me luck.”

  “You and your mother seemed to be having a heavy conversation,” Amir said, coming up to me after my mom had walked off. “Were you telling her what happened to you right before we came to L.A.?”

  “Are you crazy? If my parents knew what went down, they would have me under twenty-four hour surveillance.”

  “Maybe you need to be. At least, until we find out who’s behind it.”

  “I’m sure it’s the same person or people behind this bullshit with our family, but obviously they wanted to kidnap me and not kill me, the reason for the chloroform. I wondered if they planned on holding me for some sort of ransom. All this shit is bizarre.”

  “That’s why we need to tell our parents, so we can figure this out.”

  “Amir, I’ll let you know when it’s the right time to tell our parents. If you’re so concerned about my well-being, just watch over me until we do,” I remarked.

  “The text just came,” Genesis said, holding up Skylar’s phone. “Tori will be at the gas station in fifteen minutes. I’ll ride with Skylar. You all stay close behind, but far enough that Tori can’t see you.”

  “Are we going to snatch Tori up at the gas station, or follow her to her next destination, before making a move?” I asked.

  “At the gas station. We can’t take any chances that she might get away. Once Skylar and Tori make the exchange, Nico, that’s when you grab her and put Tori in the car, with you and Precious. Then, we’ll all meet up at the spot in Culver City. Are we clear?”

  “Yep, we all said in unison.”

  “Then, let’s go.”

  “What’s gonna happen to me?” we all turned towards Skylar. Her eyes were filled with tears and fear.

  “We’ll figure that out later,” Genesis said, before we all headed out.

  “How did your talk go with Genesis?” I questioned my mother on the low, while we were going to our cars.

  “Not sure. He seemed resistant to the idea of letting her live. There is still time for Genesis to change his mind, but I doubt he will,” my mother said, before getting in the car with Nico.

  I knew death was part of the game we were in, but it never got easy watching blameless people become casualties of drug wars. Seeing Skylar get in that car with Genesis, knowing her life was coming to an end because of Tori’s reckless decisions, was even difficult for me to accept. Skylar’s son would grow up without a mother, because of somebody else’s sin. Life truly could be fucked up.

  * * *

  “Park over there,” I told Amir, when we pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot right next to the gas station. We were out of sight, but had a great view of everything. Soon after, Nico drove up and parked beside us. From the short distance, we watched and waited for Tori to come.

  “Tori should’ve been here twenty minutes ago. You think she found out something was up with Skylar and bailed?”

  “I hope not. Skylar must be sittin’ in that car ‘bout to lose her mind. When she agreed to do Tori a favor, never did she think it would turn into this fiasco.”

  “I sent my dad a text asking him what was up, but got nothing. Look at the tinted Camry pulling into the gas station. Do you think that could be Tori?”

  “Nope, not unless Tori morphed into a Hispanic man. Don’t fret, we hit the jackpot. Peep the Cherokee. The woman behind the wheel looks like Tori to me. My dad must think so, too,” I said, watching him driving away from McDonald’s, headed towards the gas station.

  A few seconds later, Skylar got out of the car with a bag of Tori’s stuff. The women seemed to be exchanging words and gave each other a quick hug, before going back to their cars. That’s when Nico went into motion. He stormed towards Tori, while my mother waited in the front seat, ready to drive off, once she was snatched up.

  What happened next was like watching a horror scene play out in a movie. Another car came out of nowhere and the Hispanic man that was in the Camry reappeared, armed and firing shots. Before I could say ‘what the fuck’, bullets were flying everywhere. In the midst of Skylar running towards her car, she tripped and fell. Genesis jumped out and began busting shots to cover Skylar, so she wouldn’t get shot, but Tori wasn’t so lucky. It was evident the men came specifically for her, because they lit her ass up. Her body was riddled with bullets. As quickly as the goons appeared, they vanished, leaving a bloodied and very dead Tori. Luckily, nobody else was hurt in the mayhem.

  Precious

  “Somebody wanted to shut Tori up and they succeeded. Now, we’re right back where we started,” I said, observing the defeated expression on Nico’s face.

  “I still can’t believe I saw Tori die right in front of my face. It would’ve been me, too, if it wasn’t for you, Genesis. I know I said it before, but thank you. You saved my life,” Skylar cried, hugging Genesis. To my surprise he hugged her back.

  “So, what do we do next?” Aaliyah asked, as we all sat around at the stash house in Culver City, trying to figure out how to fix this shit.

  “We need to go back home. There is nothing left in L.A. for us,” Nico said, breaking his silence.

  “I agree with Nico. Tori was our link. Now that she’s dead, we need to get the hell out of here. These streets of L.A. are hot. There’s no telling if they plotting on us right now. I say we get back to our turf. We can call in some help here, but we got much stronger backup in New York.” After Genesis made his stance clear, I noticed Skylar saying some things to him in a low voice.

  “Genesis, can I speak to you for a minute?”

  “What’s up?” he said, following me in the kitchen.

  “I couldn’t help but notice the interaction between you and Skylar. A couple hours ago, you planned on killing her, now you’re exchanging hugs. What brought about the one-eighty?”

  “You were right. She didn’t deserve to die.”

  “That’s true, but that doesn’t mean I expected the two of you to bond.”

  “Saving somebody’s life can have that affect.”

  “Why did you save her life?”

  “When we were in the car waiting for Tori, she showed me pictures of her son and her mother. She talked to me about her life and struggles. She’s a good girl.”

  “You like her, don’t you?”

  “Would I be wrong if I said yes?”

  “Not at all. There was something I liked about her, too. She has a sweetness about her, but there lies the problem, she’s too sweet. A woman like Skylar doesn’t fit into our lifestyle.”

  “She understands the struggle.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Her struggle is not our type of struggle. I can tell by the look in her eyes. She’s not ‘bout this life. Do you really want to be responsible
for turning a good girl bad?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I didn’t think so. That’s why we need to get on this jet and you leave Skylar right where you found her, in L.A.”

  Genesis left out the kitchen with displeasure written on his face. I felt bad for him. I didn’t understand how a man as fine as Genesis and with all his money was single. Plus, he had such an endearing spirit. I would think he’d have women lined up. Because I had no memory of him, I asked Nico to fill me in.He explained that Genesis was a complete workaholic. For years, he focused on raising his son and making money. Now that Amir was grown, he must’ve desired the company of a good woman, but in our line of business you didn’t come across many of those. Skylar was probably like a breath of fresh air for him. She represented everything that seemed out of reach: a beautiful regular chick, with regular problems, living a regular life. The problem was there was nothing regular about us. Skylar would never fit in and Genesis knew it.

  * * *

  “You didn’t say a word the entire flight or on the ride home. Are you gonna tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “You know what the fuck is bothering me. Somebody is out to destroy us and the one person who could tell us who it is, is dead.”

  “True, but I think it’s more to it than that.”

  “More like what?”

  “Maybe you’re mourning Tori’s death. You all were engaged.”

  “Are you fuckin’ serious? She was a snake.”

  “True, but a snake that loved you. It had to be hard watching her die.”

  “Did you not forget I planned on killing her myself, once we got the information we needed.”

  “Nico, you don’t have to pretend to be so cold. It’s okay to admit that you loved her and you were hurt.”

  “I explained to you what I felt for Tori wasn’t love. She was a bootleg version of you. I hated that ho after I found out what she did. Tori was a fraud and I wanted her dead.” Nico walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink, before continuing. “Precious, you need to understand something about me: I am cold. With your memory loss, you only remember the good things about us, but there was a lot of bad.”