“Look, my ass is the one who has to build this case against Manolo for him to do jail time. There’s twenty thousand in there for you. You can also keep the rest of the dope. I can’t do anything with that.”
Tasha’s eyes lit up when he said that. She knew that the eight bricks were as good as gold, so she shut up and accepted the deal. “Nice doing business with you, Troy,” she stated with a wink.
“Very nice.” Troy licked his lips and eyed her up and down. “Let me know if you’d like to do it again.”
Tasha smirked. The sex was good, but it wasn’t that damn good. She still hated cops, and she knew that she wouldn’t make it a habit of dealing with him. She hopped back into her vehicle and pulled away.
When she arrived back at the club, Mimi and Halleigh were waiting patiently for her. She was surprised that they had gotten rid of everyone so quickly.
“You get the money?” Mimi asked, the dollar signs practically forming in her eyes.
“Yeah, I got it. There are twenty stacks here and eight bricks,” Tasha replied.
“What are we gon’ do with some dope?” Halleigh asked.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m gon’ holla at my brother. He lives in New York. We’re going to visit him there. We’ll let things cool down before we come back . . . if we come back.”
Tasha divided the cash by giving herself $8,000 and then giving Halleigh and Mimi $6,000 apiece. She figured she should get a little more for putting the plan together and fucking with Troy to carry it out. Mimi and Halleigh had no objections.
“Look, y’all, no one can know that we set up Manolo’s arrest, so we just have to keep our mouths shut and let things die down. Then I promise you that everything will be fine,” Tasha said.
Halleigh smiled and hugged Tasha tightly. “Thank you, Tash. Thank you so much.”
Mimi was busy flicking through her money when she burst out laughing.
Halleigh frowned. “What’s so funny?”
Mimi shook her head and giggled some more. “Did y’all see Manolo’s face when the police blew up his spot?”
Halleigh and Tasha joined in on the laughter.
Mimi shook her head. “His ass was getting ready to cry when they put those handcuffs on him.”
“What goes around comes around,” Halleigh stated. “I hope he rots in the mu’fucka.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Tasha rose from her seat. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.” Tasha had changed her plans to fly to New York, when she decided that she would take Mimi and Tasha with her. Leaving them in Flint was too risky. If they were with her, they couldn’t talk.
The girls exited the club with a burden lifted from their hearts. Manolo had taken advantage of each of them in their own way. As they pulled away from the club, they felt safe and secure, knowing that their betrayal would be a secret that would never leave those four walls.
Just as Tasha, Halleigh, and Mimi drove away, Keesha came walking out of the club with envy in her eyes. She’d just overheard the conversation and knew it had to be worth something. She just had to figure out how she would use it to her advantage.
Chapter Six
“Oh my God, can we stop and grab something to eat?” Mimi attempted to shift to a more comfortable position in the small car. “We’ve been driving for eight hours straight.”
“We’re almost there.” Tasha looked at her watch. It was three in the afternoon. “We got like two hours to go. We’ve got all this shit in the trunk, so we got to keep it pushing until we unload the bricks. My brother will know what to do.” Tasha had told the girls before they headed out that they were doing the thing in one straight shot, so if anybody had to eat or piss, they best do it before they hit the highway.
“I just want to get out of these clothes and take a shower,” Halleigh added. “Does your brother even know we’re coming?”
“No, I didn’t tell him,” Tasha confessed, “but it’s not gon’ be a problem. I haven’t failed you girls yet, so just trust me.”
The girls drove for three more hours before they finally arrived in Brooklyn, New York. They pulled up to a modest two-story home, and Tasha smiled when she thought of the familiarity she felt just being there.
“Let’s go, bitches!” Tasha yelled excitedly at the thought of seeing her brother.
Halleigh and Mimi got out of the car and followed her up the walkway that led to the house. Tasha knocked lightly on the door and stood impatiently as they waited for an answer.
“I don’t think he’s here,” Halleigh stated with a sigh as she leaned against the porch ledge.
“It doesn’t matter. This dumb boy always keeps a key underneath his doormat.” Tasha knelt down and lifted the mat. Just as she had predicted, her brother hadn’t changed.
Leaving the key under the mat was a habit Tasha’s grandmother had always had. That way if any of her children ever needed to come, they would always have a way in. That tradition had passed down to their mother as well. Even though Tasha’s brother didn’t have any children, he had picked up the habit too. Now Tasha could see why it was such a good habit after all as she scooped up the key and let herself into his home.
They entered the home and were greeted by a ten-foot foyer with a shiny hardwood floor.
“Damn, he’s living nice,” Mimi stated as she nosily walked around the house. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was definitely better than what she had grown accustomed to. He was hood rich, with flat-screen televisions and nice leather furniture. A huge fish tank with exotic fish took up an entire wall. Surprisingly, the house was clean, but you could tell that it was a bachelor’s spot.
Halleigh, too, was impressed with the sense of style as she looked around the four-bedroom home decorated in brown earth tones.
“Make yourselves at home.” Tasha walked down the hallway and into one of the rooms. “I’m crashing in here. Y’all can pick whatever room you want,” she said as she went inside and closed the door.
“How this bitch gon’ tell us to make ourselves at home and this ain’t even her shit?” Mimi stated with a laugh.
Halleigh ignored Mimi’s comment. “I’m going to lie down before I pass out,” Halleigh stated wearily. “That shower can wait. I can’t even stand up long enough to wash up anyway.”
Halleigh looked inside the remaining three rooms and chose the one that didn’t look occupied, assuming that it wasn’t Tasha’s brother’s. She pulled her shirt over her head, took off her jeans, and released her hair from the tight ponytail, allowing it to fall freely to her shoulders. She was tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep. She needed to wrap her mind around the fact that she no longer belonged to Manolo. She was free, the owner of her body again. Although she could never take back the fact that she’d lain down with more men than she could count in the name of money and security, she could take back what was hers, and that was peace of mind.
Her body had been abused and misused for so long that she no longer viewed herself as a lady. She felt like a ho, and it would take a while for her learn to love herself again. But this was a start. The last two years of her life had been hell. She’d done things she never thought she would do, and had been through tribulations she thought would be the death of her. Now all she wanted to do was move forward.
Serenity took over her body, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she drifted off into the deepest sleep ever.
Halleigh awoke and hopped out of bed. Her head was still cloudy, but she was grateful for the couple hours of peace that she had experienced while she slept. A note rested on the pillow beside her. She picked it up and read it.
Hal,
Mimi and I are going out to grab something to eat. We’ll be back in a few. If you need anything, just call my cell. Your lazy ass probably won’t even get up before we get back, but just in case, you know how to reach me. Oh yeah, make sure you get dressed. We’re going out tonight to celebrate our new freedom.
Tash
“Damn! They could’ve woke m
e up. I’m starving,” Halleigh crumpled the letter and tossed it aside. “And how am I supposed to get dressed when my bags are in her car?” She walked into the attached bathroom, quickly shed herself of her bra and panties then stepped into the freestanding shower. She turned the handles and closed her eyes as the hot water streamed down on her. It felt so good against her skin, like she was washing all of her sins away.
All of a sudden the shower curtain was snatched back. Halleigh screamed in alarm as she tried to cover her naked body.
“Fuck is you?” a dude asked her.
“Do you fuckin’ mind?” Halleigh screamed as she stepped out of the shower and searched for something to cover herself. “Get out!”
“This is my crib!” the dude responded. His eyes looked her up and down as a sexy smile crossed his lips. He reached over to his linen closet and grabbed a towel. “Here, cover yourself up, shorty.”
She snatched the towel from his hands and wrapped it tightly around her body. Her hands were shaking, and he noticed how uncomfortable his presence made her.
“Now do you want to tell me who the hell you are and what you’re doing in my house?” He made sure to calm down his tone because he could see that he’d frightened her. He followed her out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He noticed that his bedsheets were wrinkled and looked back at her as he awaited an answer.
“I’m your sister’s friend,” Halleigh explained. “Tasha went out to get something to eat. I was sleeping, so she left without me.”
The dude frowned his face and nodded his head. “Okay, let’s call her,” he said, not believing a word she’d said. He pulled a BlackBerry off his waist and flipped through it until he found his sister’s number.
“Yo, Tasha, what’s good, baby girl?” he asked when Tasha answered the phone. “Where you at?”
Dripping wet, Halleigh stood with her arms folded across her chest, the cold draft making her nipples stand at attention.
“I’m around your way, big bro,” Tasha replied. “Me and my girls came into town earlier. You weren’t home, so we let ourselves in.”
“Yeah, I see,” he replied. His eyes scanned Halleigh’s physique, and she rolled her eyes. “You could’ve at least called me to let me know y’all were in my spot. You know how I get down. What if I had something up in here I didn’t want y’all to see?”
“Boy, please . . . you leave a damn key under your mat. Anybody in the city can see what you got. Besides, it ain’t too much we haven’t seen already. I’m shopping down on Canal Street. I’ll be back in a couple hours,” she replied.
Halleigh sighed loudly. “Can you please tell Tasha that my clothes and stuff are in her trunk?”
Tasha’s brother ignored Halleigh’s request and said, “All right, sis, I’ll holla at you when you get here.” He disconnected the call and then said, “What’s your name, ma?”
“Halleigh.”
“I’m Maury,” he said, walking over to his dresser. He opened a drawer and pulled out a white Prada button-up. He tossed it on the bed. “You can put that on until Tasha gets back with your gear. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Thanks.” Halleigh followed him to the bedroom door and closed it as he walked out. “I’m-a kick Tasha’s ass for leaving me up in here by myself,” she mumbled, putting on the shirt and buttoning it up. The material swallowed her tiny frame, and she rolled the sleeves up before she walked out of the room. She found Maury sitting in the living room, waiting for her. She stood in the doorway.
He looked up when he felt her presence behind him. “Make yourself comfortable. I ain’t gon’ bite you, ma.” He patted the seat beside him. “Then again, looks like you didn’t need me to tell you to make yourself comfortable at all, now did you?”
Halleigh rolled her eyes and took the seat next to him.
He smirked at how timid she seemed to be. “I don’t know why you acting all shy now. You already slept in a nigga’s bed and everything,” he joked.
A smile graced her lips. “I didn’t know that was your room. I wasn’t trying to be all up in your space.”
“I’m not complaining. A beautiful woman waiting at home for me ain’t exactly what I would call a bad thing,” he stated, admiring her lovely features.
Halleigh felt his imposing stare and pulled her legs in, tucking them underneath the oversized shirt. “Now here you go,” she stated in exasperation. She could smell Maury’s game from a mile away. His compliments came out as if they had been used a million times before.
“What? I’m not lying, ma,” he stated, a mischievous grin on his face.
“Whatever.” Halleigh stood because she didn’t want to be so close to Maury. Men made her wary, and being alone in the house with someone she barely knew didn’t sit too well with her. She didn’t know what it was like to be at ease around a man. The only person she’d ever trusted was Malek, and he left her high and dry at a time when she needed him most.
“Did Tasha say when she’d be back? I’m not trying to put you out or nothing,” she said.
Maury smiled. He could see that he made Halleigh nervous. “Why are you nervous?” he asked.
Halleigh frowned. “I’m not. I just don’t like the fact that Tasha left me up in here knowing that I don’t know you. I don’t trust everybody, so this is kind of awkward for me.”
“You can trust me, ma. I ain’t gon’ kidnap you or nothing.” Maury stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the kitchen. “You ate?”
She shook her head and allowed him to lead her to a barstool that sat in front of the kitchen island. She sat down and watched him walk over to the refrigerator. She had to admit that Maury was fine. His baggy jeans and thuggish swagger made him sexy. He wore a red fitted hat, baggy jeans, and a black Sean John hoodie. Halleigh’s eyes followed his every move as he stood with one hand on his belt buckle.
He looked back at her and turned his mouth up in a half smile when he caught her staring. “What you want to eat, ma?” he asked.
“Whatever you have is fine.” Halleigh tried to hide the fact that she was blushing.
Maury frowned as he stared into the refrigerator. “Let’s see, I got old lettuce.” He pulled out a brown head of lettuce and set it on the counter. “I got some Gatorade, some eggs, but I don’t know how long these been in here.”
“That’s okay. I’m not that hungry after all,” she stated, laughter in her voice.
“You want to go out and grab something?” he asked.
“I don’t have any clothes to put on, thanks to your sister.”
“Okay then, let’s see.” He rubbed his hands together and thought for a moment. “You eat Chinese?”
Halleigh nodded.
“We can have them deliver it, and I’ll put in a movie,” he offered.
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Maury retrieved a Chinese restaurant menu he had hanging on his refrigerator. After asking Halleigh what she liked, he placed an order for their food.
When the food arrived, Maury grabbed a blanket and two pillows from the closet, and they sat on the floor watching movies and stuffing their faces. He noticed that Halleigh didn’t say much, but she seemed to loosen up a little bit as they sat in each other’s presence. They laughed at Martin Lawrence’s Runteldat, and they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.
Before Maury knew it, it was almost midnight and Halleigh was asleep next to him. He picked her up, and as if she belonged in his arms, she rested her head on his chest as he carried her to his room. He didn’t know why he didn’t put her in one of the guest rooms. She just looked right in his bed, and since that was the room she’d chosen to sleep in earlier, he figured it was where she was most comfortable. After laying her down, he went back to the living room, plopped down on his couch, and finished watching the movies until he too went to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Malek walked into his small apartment in Grand Blanc, a suburb just outside of Flint. He went straight to the back bedroom, where his s
afe was located. He emptied the contents of a brown paper bag into the safe. He’d just made a pick-up from the money spot. He placed the two stacks neatly on top of the others and stared at the stacks of money he’d accumulated working under Jamaica Joe. He would hit Joe off with his take at the end of the week, but nevertheless, he was still getting money. His life had changed so quickly over the past couple of years. He once was a role model in the community, but now he was a certified D-boy and running blocks.
Malek began to think about Halleigh and how much he missed her voice, her presence, her touch. He couldn’t believe that she fell into the lifestyle she had chosen. I miss that girl so much. I can’t believe she’s out there trickin’, though. That’s not Halleigh. It’s not her. He walked into the living room and flopped down on his sectional sofa.
The last time he’d seen Halleigh, in the restaurant moments before they had the shootout with Sweets’ crew, she had nothing but hate for him. Seeing him with Tariq, the man who had raped her, she wasn’t trying to hear anything Malek had to say. Halleigh should have known him better than to think that he would knowingly team up with someone who had hurt her.
He thought about her constantly, but knew that the streets had a tight hold on her. Before Malek could even finish his thought, he heard a knock at his door. From the pattern of the knock, he instantly knew who it was. Also, he’d only let one person know where he lived, so he had a pretty good idea who was knocking. He got up to answer it, and when he opened the door, Joe was standing on the other side.
“What’s good?” Malek slapped hands with Joe and walked into the back room to get Joe’s cut. He’d planned to wait until the end of the week to break him off, but since he was there, might as well handle it now.
“What’s going on, fam?” Joe asked as he walked in, closing the door behind him. He walked over to Malek’s couch and took a seat. He looked around and chuckled. “Yo, you need to move into a bigger place. You getting money now. You gotta start enjoying it.”
Back to the Streets Page 6
