“So, when is the party, Rose?” Butler asked with a grin.
“I’m not supposed to tell you. It’s a secret,” she chuckled. “Oh and don’t call me Rose anymore. I am Millie from Miami.” Rose laughed.
__________
Gwen couldn’t believe that she was so close to her baby. They had let them take him again. She had nothing left to barter with; she knew that Spice took Zion because he wanted more money. She was down 250k, and had maybe 15,000 left. For a moment, she actually thought about contacting the police. She felt helpless and useless.
“Do you think we might have killed our son?” Gwen asked, sitting up in the bed. “Did we do that?” she said, as she began to cry.
Chad couldn’t comfort her. He was trying to deal with his own pain. He had no idea why they didn’t let Zion go, had he tipped his hand when he gave them the money? He thought back to how frail Zion looked, and his heart felt as if it were in pieces. Shit this is why he got out of the drug game, shit like this. Was this Karma for his past deeds?
“Yo, one thing I am not gonna let you do is start blaming yourself,” Chad said, sitting up behind her. “These niggas took our son, and I swear to God that …
“That what, Chad?” Gwen snapped. “You shouldn’t have let them take our son in the first place,” she yelled, getting up from the bed and heading to the bathroom. “You was right in the other room when they came and took him.
Chad stared at the bathroom door. The conversation with Mayo sang in his head. He swung the bathroom door open. Gwen jumped back.
“So you blaming me for this shit?” Chad yelled.
“You weak, Chad. You supposed to be a fuckin man,” she said pointing her finger at him. “What kind of man lets somebody come take his child right from under his nose, huh? You tell me, Chad.”
Chad took a deep breath. His head was spinning, and the room seemed to be moving. He looked at Gwen. He had to fight the urge to wrap his hands around her throat, and squeeze until she turned purple. Her words stung him, but she was crazy to try to put this all on him. Due to her fragile mind state, he had not really asked too many questions as to why these people would take their son. Fuck it; he felt for sure that Zion’s life was more than likely gone. He didn’t give a fuck how Gwen felt now.
“You know, I went to see your homeboy, Mayo, the other day,” Chad sneered. Gwen’s eyes widened at the mention of Mayo’s name. “Yeah, he told me that he gave you his connect, and how you were supposed to look out for his legal fees. He also said you left him to fucking rot in jail. Played the grimy bitch role. Mayo took Zion because of you and your fucking greed, Gwen! You da reason our boy could be dead. You did this shit! You put our boy in the ground, and for what?” He shook his head and walked out the bathroom.
Gwen began to shake. She could no longer think, she wanted to make Chad regret saying that to her. She ran out the bathroom, and laid a blow to the side of his face. Chad stumbled, but before he could regain his balance, she laid another blow to his nose. Chad caught her fist as she came in for another hit. Before he realized it, he had knocked her across the room. She hit the wall, and slid down to the floor. Her body hitting the wall caused Chad to immediately panic at his reaction.
He ran to her, and tried to help her up. Gwen kicked him, and slid back up the wall.
“Gwen, I’m sorry.” Chad said, damn he had punched her like she was Mayo.
She spit at him, wobbled to the bathroom, and shut the door. She fell to the floor and began sobbing. She knew that this was not Chad’s fault; it was all hers. Zion’s blood was on her hands. She had fought so hard to bring him in this world, only to lose him due to her stupidity. Hearing Chad say the words just made it all the real, that she had possibly killed their baby. She stood and looked at her eye in the mirror.
She heard Chad’s footsteps, and then a door slam. She fell back to the floor, and curled up in a fetal position.
“Oh God what did I do… What did I do?” Gwen cried out, hoping her heart would just stop, and the pain would go away.
Chapter 7
Niya licked her lips as she pulled up. Damn, Eagle is standing there looking like he needs something other than a belt around his waist, Niya thought as she gazed at him. Eagle flashed his crooked smile at her and began walking towards her car. As he walked over, Niya felt the heat between her legs intensify. She had gone to the lingerie shop and bought a little toy that had an eagle as a button tickler. She had burned the batteries out using it and thinking of how the real Eagle would probably put it down on her.
“What up, Ni,” he said, leaning against the car.
He smelled like he had just stepped out of the shower. Niya rested her hand between her legs and smiled at him. “What up E, Where’s Mandy?”
“I don’t know. I think she went to get some baggies,” he answered. “Yo, why don’t you step out of the car for a minute,” he said, stepping back from the door.
“What I gotta step out of the car for?” Niya asked.
She studied his face, and scanned his body.
“I need you to step out of the car so you can make my day,” he said, giving her a view of his white teeth.
“What? Boy, you better stop playin,” Niya chuckled.
“I’m serious. I wanna get a view of you. It will keep me motivated. You know it ain’t gone be long before you and me become an us. I just want to see what my future is working with. I will settle fo seeing that sexy ass body in dem clothes right now. Come on,” he said opening the door.
Niya felt her face heat up. Dude had some swagger, and it was natural. She found it sexy, and this was not the first time they had flirted. She rolled her eyes and got out the car. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the door.
“Happy?” Niya teased.
“Nah, nah, now that I see you I need to see how you feel,” he said as he stepped closer.
Niya put her hand on his chest in a weak protest. “Boy, I know you done lost your mind.” Niya jokingly responded.
Eagle continued to move closer. “Come on girl, I just want a hug. We fam, right?” he said, flashing that damn smile again.
She kept her arms folded as he embraced her body. Damn he smelled good, and she could feel how hard his pecs and stomach were as he held her close to him.
As he held her, he looked down into her eyes. “Yeah, damn, see that ain’t gone be enough. You got a nigga hungry now. I need to know how ya feel without dem clothes on, and your arms around me instead of folded across that beautiful chest.” Eagle said as he stood back and rubbed his hands together.
Niya tried to keep her face straight, but feeling him on her like that had caused things to tremble.
__________
“Shit, man. Lil man ain’t looking so good. You know how to give him that shit?” Made asked Spice, nodding at Zion who was lying on the couch. His color was an ash gray, and he was barely breathing.
“I don’t know. I gotta think, shit,” Spice said as he walked over to Zion to feel his face. The child felt cold to his touch, but Spice thought he was still breathing. “Shit dey gon hafta give us so more bread. I mean me and cuzzo cool and all, but we got to get ours too.” Spice loved Mayo like a brother, and Mayo had always done right by him, but he was tired of living on handouts. It was time for him to come up on his own. Kidnapping in North Carolina can get you some serious time. He had never snatched a kid, and it was just his luck to snatch one that was fucking sick.
“So what about Mayo?” Made asked.
“Mayo is gonna be good. Da bitch is just gonna have to come up with another 250k to get her son back.
“Shit dude, where is his back pack? We need to give him his medicine. Where the fuck is 4Pound?” Made said as he looked at Zion.
”I don’t know, Ima try him again. You right, lil man ain’t lookin’ right.” Spice stood away from Zion. If this kid was dead, it would put a kink in his plans.
__________
Gwen let the Patro
n linger on her tongue before swallowing. The effects of the shots were starting to numb her for the moment. The apartment seemed to close in around her as she thought about Chad’s words before he left. She looked at the pictures of Zion on her cell phone, his smile touched her in a way that made her smile, and caused a stabbing pain in her stomach. As she scrolled through the pictures, she downed another shot. She looked at Zion in his soccer uniform and touched the screen. She looked at the mustard stain that was on his number. She laughed as she remembered him saying the stain was worth it because he got to eat his corn dog.
As she stared at the number four, she put the shot glass down. Something sparked in her brain. Shit the name 4Pound. That was the name on the caller id when she talked to Zion. She had memorized the number and put it in her phone when she got back in the car after meeting Spice and Made the first time. She scrolled through her address book. Her hands were shaking. She stopped when she saw the number four listed as the name. She sat there for a moment. Damn, should she call him?
“Think Gwen, think.” She held the phone in her hand and stared at the number. Shit, she didn’t know if it was a track phone or what. She ran to her bedroom and grabbed her laptop. She keyed in reverse look up in Google. The yellow pages reverse look up site popped up. She keyed the number in. Pam Jamison came up. The address wasn’t listed, the site asked for a credit card. Gwen looked around for her purse. She took out the pre-paid visa and completed the form.
Pam Jamison, 28 Providence Road. Gwen grabbed her gun, her clips, and sprinted towards the door.
__________
Tiffany could hardly stand. Her thighs burned, and her stomach was cramping from the pound that Toast had just laid on her ass. Nigga had hit bottom; the way that thick ten inch dick punished her pussy made her dizzy! Toast had been schooling her about the game, which is why her spot in East Falls was moving 30k of dope like an assembly line. Toast grabbed her hair from behind, pulled her back on the bed, and kissed her. She giggled and lay beside him.
“Yo, you holla at Niya fo me about what we discussed?” Toast said as he puffed on the electronic cigarette. He was on probation, and had to stay clean. Cigarettes seemed to make him want weed more. One of the white boys he worked with told him to try these vapor things. They calmed his nerves, and curbed his need to have something in his mouth.
Not yet, I told you I would,” she said, kissing his chest.
Toast had been trying to get Tiffany to holla at Niya about investing in the real estate game. He had pulled a bid in prison a couple of years ago, and while there, he studied up on the real estate game with plans of getting into it upon his release. But he had never made the type of money that was needed to get started. Toast knew that MHB was making serious money. The best way to keep the feds off ya ass was to show some legitimate streams of income. The real estate bubble had burst while he was locked up, but there was a lot of land and houses up for bid, due to the fall out. Real estate would be a way to get a stream of income in, and a legal way to stack some cash. In the Carolinas, property and land were the only things of value for black folks. He had seen so many niggas murdered or locked up because of the drug game, with nothing to show for their efforts. He wanted to make sure he could do what the white boys do. Raise money and invest in something legit, all he needed was start up.
“Yo, you need to start thinking about ya future, Tiff. This way of life don’t last forever. And I know you probably don’t wanna hear this from me right now, but I am only telling you this because I care about you.” he said, rubbing his fingers through her hair.
“You really care about me?” Tiffany asked, looking up at Toast.
“Yeah, I care about you. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” he answered, kissing her on the forehead. “Just get the loan from her and I will help you do the rest.”
__________
Gwen looked up and down the street a few times before proceeding to the house. Shit this is Mayo’s place, why didn’t I think to look here before? She thought. She looked up and down the street again, before pulling the hoody over her head. It was noon. Although that southern sun was beaming down, there were a few people outside. She waited until the woman adjusted her sprinkler, and went inside. Gwen reached in her pocket and took out the key she had to the house. God was smiling on her right now. She was lucky she still had the key Mayo had given her.
Once inside the door, she held the knob as she closed it. She looked around, and took out her glock. She took a deep breath as she stepped into the foyer. She could hear the television playing in the living room, and voices coming from upstairs. She checked the living room, and other rooms before going towards the kitchen. She had her finger on the trigger, ready to blow any motherfucker away that came at her.
“Babe, you want something to drink?” a female voice yelled out from the kitchen.
She had no idea how many people were in the house. She didn’t know who the bitch was in the kitchen, but decided she would deal with her ass first. She looked at the staircase, when she heard the male voice yell down for a soda. Gwen heard the refrigerator door open and close. The woman walked into the dining room, and Gwen put the gun to the back of her head and covered her mouth.
“Say a word, and I will pull the trigger,” Gwen whispered in her ear. The woman almost dropped the soda, but gripped it tightly. “Walk bitch, and try to scream. I will fucking splatter your brains. You understand?” The woman nodded, and headed towards the stairs.
__________
“Yo, tell dat nigga to call me as soon as you hear from him,” 4Pound said into the phone.
He was talking to Made, trying to figure out where Spice was. 4Pound stood by the bedroom window looking out at the landscape. He nodded to Pam as she entered the room.
He turned back to look out the window, and then slowly turned back to Pam. Pam fell to the floor. 4Pound was staring down the barrel of a gun that a female was holding. He was caught. He couldn’t even get to his shit, or maybe he could, but he wasn’t sure how quickly this chick could fire one off in him or Pam.
“Is your name 4Pound?” Gwen asked, stepping a little closer to him.
4Pound looked at Pam as she lay on the floor, then back to the woman. He closed his eyes and nodded his head, yes, hoping his answer didn’t cost him his life.
“Where’s my son?” she asked through clenched teeth, gripping the gun even tighter.
“Shawty, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he shot back with a straight face.
Gwen reached into her back pocket, grabbed her phone, and pressed the number on the screen. The room was quiet for a moment and then the phone in 4Pound’s hand began to sing Gucci Mane’s “Trap God.”
“You don’t know anything? Your boy handed me his phone, and this number was on it when I spoke to my son after he was kidnapped. Now for the last fucking time, where is my son?” Gwen gripped the gun with both hands.
4Pound swallowed. He knew this shit was going to go wrong as soon as he saw that little boy.
“Shawty, I don’t know where he at,” 4Pound lied.
“Get on ya stomach and put ya hands on ya head,” Gwen said, squeezing the gun tighter.
“Shawty, I am not getting on the ground. If you’re gonna shoot me, then shoot,” 4Pound shot back, hoping this chick didn’t have the heart to take him out.
Gwen reached in her hoody. She held the gun in front of her as she put the silencer on the end of the barrel.
4Pound felt his stomach drop. Shit, this bitch was serious.
“Last chance,” Gwen told him, looking him in his eyes.
“Just get down, Boo,” Pam said from the floor.
He thought about it. He wondered if he could reach his shit. Gwen’s eyes were focused on him. He fell to his knees and then laid on his stomach. Gwen told Pam to get up. She directed her to yank the cord to the satellite box out and tie his hands behind his back. Once she tied his hands, she directed Pam to sit on the bed.
Pam sat down, never taking her eyes off Gwen. She wasn’t a street chick at all. Gwen knew she didn’t have to worry about her, by the way her hands were shaking, and how quickly she moved when Gwen told her to get the cord.
“Now, one way or the other, you’re gonna tell me where my son is at,” Gwen said, walking over and grabbing his phone off the floor. “And if you don’t tell me, I’ma kill you and her,” she threatened, as she waved the gun from 4Pound to Gwen.
Pam was terrified. She had no idea what was going on, but she could tell this woman would kill them both if 4Pound didn’t give her what she wanted. Shit, she knew this nigga would be the end of her, but love made her stay with him. Now she may be with him forever.
__________
Niya pulled up to Washington Ave., where Diamond and Dollaz were sitting on the steps. Diamond sat a step below Dollaz, her head resting against his stomach. The girl was in love with dude. Niya smiled at them, they made a cute couple, and the fact that Dollaz was holding the block down for MHB was an added bonus.
“Awwwwwweee,” Niya teased out the window.
“What you want?” Diamond joked, throwing up her middle finger.
“Dollaz, can I steal her for about two hours?” Niya yelled out.
Dollaz smiled. “Two hours is a long time,” he shouted back, wrapping his arms around Diamond.
The two exchanged a few more kisses. Niya pretended to gag, and Diamond got up. Dollaz smacked her on the ass and she giggled.
“Dis better be good,” Diamond said, getting into the car.
“Naw, this is gonna be great,” Niya replied with a sinister grin on her face. “But before we do anything, we got to get Tiffany.”
“What are you up to Ni?” Diamond asked, looking at her.
“We got a party tomorrow, so I want us to do it big. That’s all that I am going to say about that right now.” Niya said, putting her shades on and pulling off.
Country Girls Trilogy (Parts 1-2-3 Boxed Set): MHB Love Page 21
