Still The Baddest Bitch

by Deja King

  With my elbow I pressed the concealed button and with the arm that wasn’t in the gunman’s view I slowly retrieved the weapon. I wrapped my arm across my shoulder and blasted three shots without ever turning my head until after I heard his body slumping down in the seat. It all transpired so quickly that Skylar was shaking in her seat thinking the masked man still had his weapon aimed at us. It wasn’t until I unlatched my seatbelt to get the gun out of the man’s hand did it finally register to Skylar that he was dead.

  “You killed him?” Skylar stuttered.

  “Yes. Fuck!”

  “What’s wrong…is he still alive,” Skylar asked, sounding as if she was about to have a panic attack.

  “No, he’s dead, but I blew his face off, so I can’t identify who he is and he doesn’t have any identification on him,” I sulked, pissed off.

  “What are we going to do? We have a dead body in the car,” Skylar stated, with her hands shaking hysterically.

  I glanced over at Skylar, and then stared at her closely. Fear was holding her hostage. “I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure you’re not scared? Because I don’t think you’re ‘bout this life.” You think about it while I place a phone call.”

  Skylar was in way over her head, but I already knew this. Maybe now that she got an up close and personal view of death knocking on her door for the second time, she would admit it to herself and stop fighting the truth. Because if she wanted to be Gensesis’ woman, not only would Skylar have to carry a weapon at all times, she would have to know how to pull the trigger, too.

  Aaliyah

  “Yo, what’s the urgency? I figured you still be in the bed laid up under your man, the way you all looked so cozy at my party the other night.”

  “Dale had to catch a flight early this morning. He only came to attend your party with me. He had to get back to Miami, and handle some pending business.”

  “I see. So, what’s up? On the phone you made it sound like this was an emergency.”

  “It is. I didn’t have time to talk to you again before we left the party, but I’m telling you my instincts about Maya are dead on.”

  “You back to that shit again,” Amir huffed, sitting down on the couch.

  “Just hear me out. That mystery man she was enthralled in that conversation with.”

  “Man, they was probably talkin’ ‘bout fuckin’ and when they could hook up.”

  “No. They took their conversation outside and I followed them. They were having a heated exchange until things seemed to simmer down.”

  “Okay…where’s the big aha moment.”

  “Maya gave the guy a playful hit on his arm and he flinched like he was in pain. You know, the type of pain a bullet would cause.”

  “You think he’s the man you shot when he ran up in your crib?”

  “Yes. I’m telling you it’s him. And if Maya is all buddy-buddy with him, that means they’re working together.”

  “Are you sure you’re right about this?”

  “Positive, but there is only one way to find out. You need to put a tap on Maya’s phone. Monitor her calls and see what the fuck she’s up to.”

  “Give me all her info and I’ll put my man on it. What if you’re wrong and your paranoia is getting the best of you?”

  “After you monitor her calls for a few weeks and if you come up with nothing, you can stop. I’ll admit I was wrong, but not a moment before.”

  “I’m on it, but get ready to admit you’re wrong. Maya does love your grandfather and I think she genuinely wants a relationship with your mother. She doesn’t want to fuck it up.”

  “Maybe you, my grandfather, and mother are all right about Maya, but I can’t ignore the screaming noise coming from my gut.”

  “Maybe that noise you hear is the hatred you have for Maya consuming you.”

  “Whatever, you’re salty at me because I told you your girlfriend is crazy. I’m right about her just like I’m right about Maya.”

  “How ‘bout we agree not to discuss Latreese?”

  “Fine with me. Hate to rush you off, but I’m on my way to Jersey to see my parents,” I said taking Amir’s hand, leading him to the front door. “Keep me posted on Maya and we’ll talk later.”

  * * *

  “Good afternoon beautiful, how are you?” I smiled, giving my mother a kiss when she opened the door.

  “Better now that you’re here. Come, let’s sit outside by the pool.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea. The weather is beautiful today.”

  “Yes. It isn’t humid, nice breeze, perfect weather. Do you want Shelly to bring you out something to eat or drink?”

  “No, I’m good, for now. Is dad here?” I asked, after getting comfortable in the armless lounge chair.

  “No, he went to the city to handle some business with Genesis. So, it’s just us girls.”

  “I prefer it that way,” I joked. “Sitting out here is like being in heaven. I always forget how beautiful it is. It’s like being on a resort, the garden, pool, then the lake, such a place of serenity.”

  “You’re right. I find myself coming out here often. It’s become like therapy for me.”

  “It everything okay with you? Are you and dad good?”

  My mother let out a long, distressful sigh before answering. “Your father has been very distant with me since Amir’s birthday party.”

  “Really? You all seemed so happy when I saw you.”

  “I don’t know where you disappeared to, but Nico and Lorenzo got into a huge altercation that was this close,” my mother snapped her finger, “to turning into a full fledged fight. If it wasn’t for Genesis, Amir, and some other guys stepping in and breaking things up, it would’ve been.”

  “Wow, I did miss that. It must’ve happened when I stepped out. Mom, I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I had no idea Nico hated Lorenzo so much.”

  “I can’t lie. I went through a period of time when I hated Lorenzo, too.”

  “When I met him last night, he seemed like a decent man. Am I wrong, is he an asshole?”

  “No. I actually somewhat like Lorenzo now and he really does love you. I initially hated him because for a very long time, I blamed him for you and Supreme getting a divorce. It wasn’t his fault. It took me awhile to accept that, but once I did, I supported the relationship. Nico never did. You have to understand something, mom. In Nico’s mind, if you weren’t with Supreme he always thought you would be with him. When you ended up with Lorenzo, it was like a slap in the face to him. Nico never thought he would have another rival for you heart.”

  “That makes a lot of sense. Dear daughter, thank you for the insight.”

  “Anytime, my dear.”

  “I did call you over because I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “Very serious. The other day, I was having lunch with Skylar in the city. When we got back in the car a man wearing a ski mask was in the backseat with a gun.”

  “What!” I leaped forward in my chair. My heart began thumping hard at the idea of my mom having another brush with death.

  “Yes, but luckily I was driving your father’s car and got ahold of his gun. I killed the gunman.”

  “Good. I’m sick of these motherfuckers fuckin’ wit’ our family. They all need to die.”

  “Trust me, that’s what your father and Genesis are working on right now. Trying to figure out how to get rid of whoever is behind this.”

  “What about the gunman, did you get any information on him?”

  “No. He had no id and I blew off half his face, so he was unrecognizable. I want to put some guards on you, to be on the safe side.”

  “It’s already been done.”

  “So soon? Nico works fast.”

  “Not dad, Amir.”
>
  “Amir?” my mother asked, with her face full of confusion.

  “I didn’t want to say anything, because you had only been home from the hospital for a short period of time. You didn’t need any additional stress.”

  “Tell me what happened?”

  “A man wearing a ski mask ran up in the apartment and tried to knock me out with chloroform. I think he was trying to kidnap me. I managed to get away and he ran out before I shot him. I didn’t kill him but he was hit.”

  After telling my mother the story, I wondered if her gunman and my gunman was one in the same. It was too bad she wasn’t able to see his face, because I could’ve at least found out if his description matched the man Maya was talking to at the party. But no such luck.

  “Aaliyah, you should’ve told us.”

  “I did tell Amir, and he put a few of his men on me. I’m fine, your fine—thank goodness—but we need to figure this out soon. I don’t want anything to happen to you again,” I said, reaching my hand over to hold my mother’s.

  “We’ll get through it as a family, because I don’t want anything to happen to you, either,” my mother said, as we held hands.

  Precious

  Nico stood on the balcony in our bedroom that overlooked the swimming pool. He had been so distant since Amir’s birthday party and I had to find a way to reach him.

  “Has Genesis had any luck finding out who that man was that I shot?”

  “None. All we can do is beef up security until we figure all this shit out.”

  “When are we going to make time to figure our shit out?”

  “There is nothing to figure out…everything is good between us.”

  “Nico, you haven’t touched me since the party. We need to talk about it.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Why?”

  “Why talk about something when there is no solution.”

  “What are you talking about? There’s always a solution.”

  “You know why I don’t want to touch you, because I’m afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?”

  “That one day you’ll wake up and you’ll no longer be mine.”

  “Nico, that’s not gonna happen. I’m in love with you. I’m committed to you and our relationship. What do I have to do to prove it to you?”

  “There’s nothing you can do. I keep reminding myself that before the shooting, you weren’t in love with me, you were in love with somebody else.”

  “That life doesn’t exist for me anymore. It’s been months and I still don’t remember. At this point, I don’t even care about remembering. I’m truly happy with you and whomever I loved before, I don’t love anymore. It’s time for you to have more faith in love that we share. If you don’t, we won’t make it, and it won’t be because of Supreme or Lorenzo, it will be because of you.”

  Nico stepped off the balcony, leaving me standing there alone. I shook my head in frustration, tired of him walking away. There was nothing worse fighting for something and the other person resisting your efforts every step. I was ready to lift up one of the chairs and throw it over the balcony, ready to release my own rage.

  “I don’t know how much more of this I…” before I could finish my sentence, Nico was now standing in front of me, on bended knee.

  “This is the ring you gave me when you asked me to marry you years ago.” The sparkler was more beautiful and even bigger than I remembered.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I thought when you said you had it, you were only trying to keep me calm, while I was in the hospital.”

  “No. I was telling the truth. I always kept it. I was never able to part with it, but I would love to put it back on your finger. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes! I would marry you today. You truly are the love of my life,” I said, staring at the ring. The sparkler was more beautiful and even bigger than I remembered I thought, staring down at my hand, anxious for Nico to put it on.

  “And you are mine.” After Nico slipped the ring on my finger, we kissed for what felt like an eternity.

  “We’re getting married. It’s long overdue,” Nico said, laying me down on the bed. I had my man back and soon he would be my husband. Life couldn’t get any better than this.

  * * *

  “Congratulations on your engagement. You have made Nico a very happy man.”

  “And he has me a very happy woman.”

  “So, when is the wedding?”

  “He wants to get married as soon as possible and so do I. I’ve narrowed it down to three wedding planners. I’m hoping to make my decision by the end of the week, so we can have a summer nuptial.”

  “The summer ends in a couple months.”

  “I know, that means we have to move fast.”

  “I really am happy for you, Precious. Nico, too, but especially you.”

  “Why especially me?”

  “Because, what would amount to setbacks to most people, you keep moving forward, becoming a better woman each time.”

  “Thank you for saying that, but I’m not the only one that deserves to be happy, so do you. How are things between you and Skylar?”

  “The incident that happened a couple weeks ago really shook her up.”

  “Has she changed her mind about moving to New York?”

  “No, she wants to move forward with our relationship, but now I’m having second thoughts.”

  “You don’t think she can cope?”

  “Nope,” Genesis conceded, leaning back on his desk. “She keeps saying she can handle it, but her mouth is saying one thing and her eyes are speaking something entirely different. Then, her son, he’s only two. I don’t know if I’m ready to be responsible for their lives. I mean, I could protect them to the fullest and one of my enemies could still manage to get to them. There’s no guarantees with this shit.”

  “Genesis, there is no guarantee in life, period. The same way this street life could be Skylar’s downfall, so could a horrible car accident, or a fatal disease. The point is, as long as you’re living your life, there’s a chance it can be taken away. That’s why you have to live each day to the fullest and if you’re able to find someone that makes each day you’re living better, then it’s worth trying to make it work.”

  “Aren’t you the same woman that was scolding me about my relationship with Skylar? Now, you’re endorsing it. why the change?”

  “I do have my concerns about Skylar, but I believe she cares deeply for you and it’s obvious she makes you happy. Your life is dangerous, but she’s well aware of that. I asked Skylar point blank if she was ready for the ugliness that might come from her being in your life and she said you were worth the risk. Even after we were held up and I had to shoot that man, yes, Skylar was scared, but she wasn’t deterred. You’re aware of the saying ‘you only live once’, that applies to you, too.”

  “I do want to see where things can go between me and Skylar, but I’ma wait before I move her here.”

  “Wait for what?”

  “Wait until we figure out who the fuck is determined to take down our organization. Knowing that somebody wants to destroy us, but we can’t put a face to it is really fuckin’ wit’ me.”

  “Still no leads?”

  “Nope, and even though I didn’t want him to know what was going on, I even reached out to our Mexican connect, to see if he heard anything from one of his other buyers.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He was adamant that he hadn’t heard a thing, but would keep his ears open and keep me posted, if anything changes.”

  “Whoever it is, is hell-bent on seeing this through. They are not letting up.”

  “That’s why I can’t bring Skylar here, yet. She needs to stay in L.A. with her son, until it’s at least somewhat safe. Mentally, all my focus has to be on business
. I don’t need any distractions.”

  I respected what Genesis was saying and in a lot of ways, I agreed with it, but I seriously doubted Skylar would be so understanding. She was looking forward to starting her life over in New York with Genesis, and even having a gun pointed to her head hadn’t changed her mind. I had a feeling Skylar wouldn’t take Genesis’ change of heart, without putting up a formidable fight.”

  Aaliyah

  “Married…you’re getting married?” I repeated, as I stood in the middle of the shoe section in Henri Bendel, with my mouth wide open, after seeing the diamond engagement ring on my mother’s finger. When she suggested we have a mother/daughter day filled with shopping, the spa, and a mani/pedi, never did I think she would drop the marriage bomb.

  “I thought you would be happy for us.”

  “I am.”

  “You don’t sound like it.”

  “I guess I’m shocked. I hope this is going to be a long engagement.”

  “No, we’re getting married in a couple of months.”

  “Let me sit down. You’re throwing a lot at me right now. You only got shot a few months ago. You haven’t even given yourself time to regain your memory.”

  “What if I never regain it? Am I supposed to stop living my life, hoping that one day I’ll wake up and everything will be the way that it was? Don’t you get it? Nothing will ever be the same and I don’t want it to be. I’m happy.”

  “Mom, I love you so much and I want you to be happy, I really do, but this is so soon. I worried.”

  “Aaliyah, don’t worry about me. Getting shot might’ve put my life on a different path, but my new journey is amazing. You need to embrace it, I have.”

  I stared into my mother’s eyes. They were so full of vivacity. For the first time that I could remember, her inner beauty was equally aligned to her outer beauty. In my heart, as much as I loved Nico, I didn’t believe my mother’s final destiny ended with him, but this was her journey to take, and I would support it to the very end.