by Nene Capri
Kiam pretended to think the offer over, but inside the deal was already sealed. He had been willing to pay up to seventeen a block so fifteen-five was gravy. Now he pushed for Riz to have the work delivered to him at a location that would be halfway between their two states.
Riz wrestled with him over it for a while before partially giving in to Kiam’s proposition. “Ok, I’ll have the product brought to Williamsport, PA. But you have to purchase thirty—for that amount I’ll make it happen.”
Kiam conceded the battle because he had won the war. He reached out and shook Riz’s hand. “We can continue doing business,” he said. “I’ll have someone get at you in a few days.”
“I look forward to it,” replied Riz. “You need to smoke some of this heat wit’ me.” He held the blunt out to Kiam.
“Nah, I don’t indulge,” Kiam declined.
Riz could respect that. He nodded his head and sat the blunt back in the ashtray.
Kiam took a seat on the couch across from him. They talked over a few other particulars, then Kiam bid Riz goodbye. As he walked Kiam to the door, Riz threw an arm around his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Kiam’s expression revealed nothing and he said even less.
Lissha eased her hand out of her jacket and relaxed when Kiam came out looking like everything was good with him and Riz.
“You okay?” she asked as they strolled back to the car.
“You didn’t hear any gunshots did you?”
“Is that a yes or a no, Kiam?” she sighed. This muthafucka gets on my nerves. Just like a pair of panties that keeps crawling up my ass.
“Do I frustrate you?” he asked, waiting for her to pop the locks.
“Yes, you do.” Lissha slid behind the wheel. She pulled off and left him standing there looking stupid.
Kiam gritted his teeth and tapped his foot, counting the seconds in his head.
Lissha circled the block then pulled up to where he stood. The passenger window eased down and she leaned over in the seat. “You need a ride?” she asked playfully.
He slid into the passenger seat and turned up the music to tune her out.
“Eww! Why you always so uptight? Don’t you know how to relax and have a little fun?” She wrinkled her nose. “What, that bitch you were booed up with at the hotel the other day didn’t fuck you good enough? I can always find you one of these BK hos to break you off.”
“Why your mind always on my dick?”
She stuck her middle finger up at him and pulled off, determined not to say anything else to him unless it was absolutely necessary.
Through his peripheral, Kiam noticed Lissha’s expression but he didn’t have time to assuage her aggravation. His thoughts were occupied by what Riz had put in his ear.
Chapter 14
Hidden Alliances
Back in Ohio, Gator literally had his tongue in shorty’s ear. She moaned and wrapped her legs tighter around his back as he thrust deeper inside her honey pot.
“Umm, baby, you know that’s my weak spot. Please, I’m not ready to come yet.”
“Nah, don’t hold back. Come all over this black ass dick. It’s yours, get it all,” urged Gator, carrying her throughout the house, fucking her well.
“Is it mine?” she asked, feeling him all up in her stomach. His length and girth filled a bitch up.
“Hell yeah,” he said, pressing her back against the wall. He gripped her ass with both hands and long stroked in and out.
Her nails dug deep into his back and she bit into his shoulder to keep from screaming. “Ooh, shit!” she cried as her love began to come down.
Gator felt her body tense as her walls re-gripped his thick wand. He slammed in and out of her with powerful gyrations, pulling all the way out to the tip, then ramming in balls deep. She yelled out his name. He grunted out hers, and they both exploded simultaneously.
A short while later they were back in bed. Gator was smoking a blunt; she was stroking his dick lovingly. “It gets better every time,” she told him. “I want it to be mine for real.”
“It can be, if you do what you gotta do,” he said. He didn’t have to expound, they had talked about it before. Now that Kiam was on the scene and had replaced him as boss, it was time to really press her to slump Lissha.
“I told you, we don’t have to do it like that. We can just strike out on our own,” she said, releasing his meat and sitting up.
He passed her the blunt. “You know it’s blood in and blood out with that bitch. And now that she has that nigga Kiam rolling with her, she would really be on some vengeance shit,” Gator predicted.
“We could talk to Big Zo.”
“What the fuck for? You think he’s gonna go against his own flesh and blood?”
She thought about that for a minute. “You’re right,” she had to agree. “But getting rid of LiLi now won’t set us free. We would have to do Kiam too because from what I’m hearing he ain’t nothing nice.”
“Don’t you hop on that nigga’s dick too,” he chastised.
“No, baby. You don’t have to worry about that. I’m your bitch even though we have to keep it hid. I believe in you.” She looked down into his eyes convincingly.
Gator pulled her head down and covered her mouth with his. He kissed her deep then stared up into her eyes. “That’s why I’ma wife you, boo. Because you ride hard for a nigga. I know you and Lissha and ‘em go back further than you and I do, but it’s time for us to make our own moves.”
“I agree,” she said, contemplating his insistence that she kill one of her Blood Money Crew members for the sake of being with him.
“I’ma have that nigga Kiam smashed,” he vowed before blowing her a gun.
Shit was about to get hectic.
Chapter 15
A City Under Siege
Now that Kiam had the connect firmly in his corner it was time to turn up. He had Lissha and Gator to take him around to each one of their dope houses and introduce him personally to the people that ran them. If a spot wasn’t pumping hard enough, he replaced the person running it with a younger, hungrier trap boy under their employ. A couple niggas protested their demotion and got something real hot put in their domes.
“Niggas get a little rank and grow content. The problem is that y’all have them on salary. So they get paid the same whether the trap makes five bands or fifty. What incentive do they have to trap harder? Muthafuckas probably been laying up in some pussy when they were supposed to be serving,” he said as he sat in Lissha’s study looking over the numbers that each spot produced.
The cryptic figures were stored in a program on Lissha’s laptop. She stood over Kiam’s shoulder decoding the numbers for him.
Gator scowled from across the room where he sat in an overstuffed lounge chair with his feet resting on a mauve and grey ottoman that matched the chair. This nigga has something to say about everything, he said to himself.
Kiam pushed away from the desk. He steepled his hands under his chin, closed his eyes, and thought everything over. The numbers were pitiful for an operation the size of theirs. When he opened his eyes he had a clear plan.
“From now on the workers were going to get paid off of commission. The more A.C. they sold, the more they’d make.” A.C. is what they called crack in Cleveland. “We’re gonna give them 60/40 packs.”
“What the fuck is that?” questioned Gator.
Kiam explained that 60/40 packs meant that they would give the trap boys bundles of pre-packaged rocks and they would split the proceeds 60/40.
“We’ll get the bigger slice of the pie, and it’ll still be gravy because we get sixty percent from all of the houses. On the flip side, this allows the workers to make much more than they had been making on salary.”
“That sounds good,” Lissha co-signed, processing the math in her head.
“I don’t like it. They’ll be eating as good as we are,” voiced Gator.
“I didn’t ask you if you liked it or not. Some niggas didn’t like being demo
ted,” Kiam reminded him. He didn’t have to elaborate, it was still fresh in Gator’s mind what happened to those that bucked the changes that Kiam was initiating.
Gator fought hard to keep his feelings from showing on his face. He got up and went to the kitchen to get a Heineken out of the refrigerator.
“I don’t see how y’all made it this far following that clown nigga’s lead,” Kiam said to Lissha.
“He wasn’t always like this. When he first came aboard he was on point. But now I think the money and the bitches has made him soft. He’s not trying to elevate higher because he saw what happened to Daddy and others when they reached the top in their game.”
“Did he work for Pop before he fell?” asked Kiam, wondering how Gator had wagged an indictment.
“No, Gator saved my life, that’s how we met him. As appreciation Daddy plugged him in and he rose from there. Like I said, he was hungry back then, now he’s not. Daddy must’ve recognized that,” Lissha shared.
Kiam didn’t press her for details on how Gator saved her life, he knew the story would come out sooner than later. It didn’t matter though, that was then. He had the nigga figured out.
“Niggas like Gator are afraid to reach for the top because they believe that once you get to the pinnacle, there’s nowhere to go but down,” he said.
“Is he wrong?”
“If we’re talking about the average nigga, he’s not. For a nigga like myself, it don’t apply. Once I reach the top, I’ma just ascend to another stratosphere,” Kiam said.
“You’re so fucking humble,” Lissha remarked sarcastically.
Kiam looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. His arrogance made her secret treasure throb.
Gator returned with a beer and a sandwich in hand. The three of them talked business strategy for the next hour. After hearing Gator’s input, Kiam was better able to comprehend how he had at least helped rebuild Big Zo’s operation to its present status.
Gator received a text and announced that he had to leave and handle a personal matter. As soon as he left, Kiam stared at Lissha silently.
“What?” she asked, gathering up the empty Heineken bottle and the plate that Gator had left on the floor. Kiam continued to stare. “What?” she asked again with more emphasis.
“You’re fuckin’ that lame,” He said, coming from left field. “I can tell because that muthafucka is very comfortable in your house. That nigga ‘round here moving like he paying the mortgage on this bitch. All up in your refrigerator and shit.”
“I didn’t snatch your dick outta Mrs. Corporate America’s mouth. So don’t be all in my shit,” Lissha said, never breaking eye contact until she sashayed past him and into the kitchen.
A minute later Kiam came and sat on the padded stool at the kitchen’s island.
Lissha had already made up her mind that she was not having it out with him about something that wasn’t his concern. His directions from Big Zo was to take over the organization and elevate it to a new height, not sniff her fucking thongs.
She busied herself at the sink apprehensively waiting for Kiam to try to go there.
“So what’s up, LiLi? You in your feelings now?” he asked.
“Not hardly.”
“Good. Because we have a whole lot of work to do. You’re slipping, shorty.”
“And how is that?”
“Storing numbers in your computer is straight reckless. It don’t matter that they are coded, the feds got big head geniuses that can decode that shit in the blink of an eye.”
“I’ll uninstall the whole program and delete that from my hard drive,” said Lissha, turning off the faucet and drying her hands on a towel.
“No. Get rid of the whole computer,” ordered Kiam.
Lissha didn’t argue about it, she agreed to burn the computer ASAP.
“In the meantime, go strap up. I think I know why our trap on Avon is pumping small numbers.”
“Strap up? Wait a minute. I’m not defying you, but I put my life on those boys that run that house. They’re on the square, Kiam. We don’t have to kill them,” said Lissha in the defense of three of their most loyal trap boys.
Kiam smiled at her incorrect conclusion. He had already collected his Intel. “Nah, I’m not gonna crush JuJu and ‘em, we’re gonna crush the niggas that are in their way,” he revealed.
“Greg and Fat?” She had done her homework too. Long before Kiam came home.
Kiam nodded.
“You don’t even have to get your hands dirty with their blood. I have some killahs on it already,” she revealed.
“Oh yeah? Who are you talking about, ya boy?” Cynicism rang loudly.
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response,” she tossed back.
“Who are these so-called killahs you’re talking about?” he probed with an eyebrow raised.
Lissha came and sat on a stool next to Kiam. She smiled at him reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry about these killahs, I put my life on them. They’re tested and proven, and it’s about time you meet them.”
“I bet they’re as soft as ya boy,” he wise-cracked.
“Softer.” She smiled. “But much more deadly.”
It was time for her to introduce him to three gangsters in high heels and Maybelline.
Chapter 16
Distracted
Lissha pulled into her driveway blasting her radio, feeling like a beautiful black goddess. She had just gotten her hair, nails, and feet done, everything waxed, and did a little shopping. She popped her trunk, jumped out and grabbed her bags and headed inside.
Placing the bags in her bedroom she ran a tub of water and hit her satellite radio to set the mood. She had been running hard all day but the girls were set to come over later. Damn. She still had to cook and get the house ready. But she still needed to grab a few hours for herself.
She put all of her clothes away, then stripped down to her birthday suit and stepped into her bubble filled hot tub. Laying her head back against the cushion, she settled in and dozed off.
She awoke an hour later still feeling tired. She stood up in the tub, turned the shower on and quickly washed and rinsed off. The water put some pep in her step. She oiled and scented her skin and slipped into a pair of tight white boy shorts and a tank top.
Walking into her living room she picked up the remote and turned the radio all the way up. Frank Ocean’s Thinkin’ Bout You blared from the system. Singing along Lissha poured herself a tall glass of white wine, rolled a blunt and plopped down on her soft loveseat and went into chill mode.
After a few sips of wine and a half of a blunt, Lissha was feeling relaxed. In between songs she heard her cell phone ringing in the other room. “Dang, can’t a bitch chill,” she sighed, jumping up and hurrying to reach her phone.
By the time she reached the bedroom they had hung up. She checked the Caller ID and saw three missed calls from Kiam. They hadn’t spoken in a couple days so she called him right back to find out what was up. Strolling back into the living room she held the phone to her ear with her shoulder and waited for him to pick up. “Hello?” he answered.
“What’s up?” she plopped back down on the loveseat.
“Come outside,”
“For what?” she asked, reaching for her glass of wine.
“I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Well, come in,” she said, throwing her hand to the side.
“Shorty, just come outside real quick.”
Lissha sat the phone down next to her then put her head back. This negro must think I’m his puppet. She sat forward, looked at the window, and blew her breath out real hard. Kiam could really work a nerve when he wanted to and it seemed like he took pleasure in doing so.
Rising to her feet she walked over to the door, slipped into her flip flops and headed outside. As she walked down the walkway Kiam’s eye’s settled on her 2 carat diamond belly ring that sparkled in the sunlight. She walked up to the car and got in with her attitude on max.
“Why you outside naked?”
“I’m not naked, Kiam. Anyway what’s up, man?”
“Why you giving me all this attitude? You missed me?” he asked, locking eyes with her
“Yeah, I missed you like a thorn in my ass,” she turned her head to the side.
He started to say something else slick but decided to get back to business. “I need to have a sit down with your girls tonight.”
“Why tonight? What if I have something else planned?”
“Cancel it. I rearranged everybody else, now I need to get with the girls to see where their heads are at before I put them on this mission.”
“I told you, I got them.” She huffed.
“So, you trust them bitches with your life?”
“I certainly do.”
“Well, you may know them like that, but I don’t. And I’m not taking a fucking gamble on my shit. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that you sent one of them ‘trust them with my life’ bitches to suck my dick.”
“Fuck you,” Lissha spat then turned and grabbed the handle to get out the car. Kiam clutched her thigh and gripped it tightly, preventing her from exiting the vehicle. Lissha turned toward him with her whole face bald up, her eyes low, and her breathing quick.
“Get your hand off my leg,” she said through clenched teeth, as if each word was a warning all by itself.
Seeing his smug expression made her want to punch him in the face. She balled up her fist, but his words were quicker than her hands.
“No disrespect, ma. I know those are your girls. My bad,” he apologized.
Lissha just looked at him. The apology was half ass but it was a start. More than he had given before.
“Look, on the real, I need to feel them out,” he explained. “Don’t take it personal, Lissha, I’m just the type of man that don’t like to leave anything to chance. I gotta make sure that every aspect, and everybody, is on point.”
“I’m not new to this Kiam. If you’re such a boss nigga, recognize that I’m that chick who’ll be the eyes in the back of your head,” she spat as she opened the door.
