by KR Bankston
“Seems so,” Tariq replied, still angry about the man’s deception.
“He always was a stupid ass,” Jaron added as everyone agreed.
“Guess they gotta find a new snitch now,” Shells said in passing.
“Shit, they probably got stupid muthafucka’s lined up from city to city,” Ramell replied as they all nodded their agreement.
“KiKi texted me earlier,” Tariq said causally.
“What,” Mook asked. “She okay, where is she,” he asked all at once.
Sighing deeply Tariq told them he didn’t know that yet.
“She said Ice left her alone for a few moments, and she texted me, but she had no idea where she was,” Tariq told them, trying not to get angry or filled with despair again. “Shit,” Shells threw out.
“Well okay, at least we know she’s all right,” Mook said again, wondering what Tariq was really thinking.
The other men all headed into the kitchen to devour the leftovers in the fridge, leaving the two men alone.
“What’s up Top,” Mook asked, giving him a look.
“I know he’s touched her, Mook, and that shit is eating me up,” Tariq readily admitted.
“You don’t think he would hurt her do you,” Mook asked, referring to Ian forcing Kaitlyn to have sex.
“No, but he’d dope her and take advantage of her,” Tariq replied bitterly.
“Top, you gotta get past that,” Mook told him. “For KiKi’s sake,” he added giving him yet another look.
Tariq sighed deeply again. “I know,” he replied tiredly. “I’m just so tired of this roach hurting my wife and disrupting our lives,” he told Mook bitterly.
“Well this time, we’re not taking any chances,” Mook told him as Tariq nodded slightly, following Mook’s line of sight, seeing the machete leaning against the wall.
“Hmph, not a bad idea,” Tariq replied as Mook chuckled, telling him that was the spirit, as they too headed into the kitchen to find something to eat.
27
Jalen awoke with a pounding headache. Frowning deeply he took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes again, trying to focus. What the hell, he thought glancing around the room and seeing no sign of Shanise. Did she leave, Jalen thought again, rising finally and making his way to the bathroom, nature called. Finishing up and washing his hands, he looked into the mirror, studying the bleary eyed reflection staring back. Shit, what time did she leave, Jalen continued to ponder returning finally to the bedroom and seeing the note on the small nightstand next to the phone. Picking it up he began to read. ‘Thanks for a great evening,’ the note began. ‘Sorry I had to leave but I had an early morning meeting,’ it continued. ‘Call me later once you’re up and about,’ it ended as Jalen smiled slightly.
Guess I didn’t make a total ass of myself, he thought still a bit concerned he couldn’t recall any of it. Thinking hard he remembered them leaving the club and returning to his room. He thought he vaguely remembered kissing Shanise, but after that everything was a blur. Man, what if we had sex, he panicked. Telling a woman you didn’t remember making love to her was definitely not a way to score brownie points. Deciding he would just play it by ear, Jalen entered the number she’d left into his phone, walking back into the bathroom and turning on the shower. As the water ran, his cell rang and he answered.
“Wassup,” he greeted Pirate.
“You up,” he threw back, as Jalen enlightened him he’d just gotten up.
“Hmph, okay,” Pirate returned. “We’ll be there in 45 minutes,” he told him. “Make sure you’re ready.”
Jalen continued to brood as he showered. The lessons with Creeper and Pirate weren’t nearly as deadly as the ones he’d experienced with Ian, well not yet anyway, he thought. Still, the entire lifestyle was disconcerting to him. How do they do this shit day in, and day out, he thought as the hot water cascaded down his body. Last night had been the first time in a long time that he’d been able to just relax and be normal. So how do you get out, his mind questioned as he finished the shower and climbed out, drying off.
“That’s the 74 million dollar question,” Jalen murmured aloud as he dressed and readied himself to go with Creeper and Pirate.
Today was their last day in Florida. It was back to Atlanta and Ian’s constant scrutiny tomorrow. I sure hope we had sex last night, Jalen thought, knowing it would make things far easier when he met her tonight. If he had to leave her tomorrow, Jalen at least wanted to remember making love to Shanise. His cell vibrated again. Looking at the display he sighed deeply, grabbing his room key and heading downstairs, where Pirate informed him via the message, he and Creeper were waiting.
*****
Shells was watching the news as Tae showered. She’d come home yesterday and he hadn’t let her out of his sight. He’d hired a home health aide to come by and assist her for a few hours each day. Tae at first balked, but when Shells didn’t budge, she simply shrugged and gave in. The next story caught his attention and Shells reeled his thoughts in. “The dead men have been identified,” the news anchor was saying. “Theodore Hemp, also known by his street name, Gram, was identified as one of three men witnesses say kicked in the door at a North Atlanta townhome community,” they went on, identifying the other dead man as an Atlanta police officer.
“Fuck,” Shells swore, picking up his cell.
He called Mook first, getting him on the third ring.
“Wassup Shells,” Mook greeted him.
“I’m watchin’ de news,” he told Mook, who grunted slightly. “Only one dead, and him not de one we wanted,” he informed the man hearing him swear under his breath.
“We need to find this muthafucka and kill his ass for real this time,” Mook threw out acidly.
Shells immediately agreed telling him he wanted to get his okay before he put the word on the street.
“Yeah, do it, make the streets turn their asses up,” Mook told him.
They both knew the outsiders would stick out in the hoods where they did their business. It was only if they ended up in the suburbs would it take a little longer to find them. Mook knew Jaron would be pissed. He was too. Seth was obviously unbalanced to think Gabrielle wouldn’t be repulsed by the idea of them hooking up romantically, related or not, she saw him as her brother, period.
“They probably pretty disoriented after yesterday,” Shells spoke again, breaking Mook’s train of thought. “That might make them sloppier than usual, easier to find, and to eliminate,” he added as Mook told him he agreed completely.
Disconnecting, Shells went to check on Tae, finding her in bed, already asleep. He smiled slightly and kissed her cheek. Picking up the prescription bottle he smiled again. The nice thing about the painkillers the doctor prescribed was their sedative like effect. Now he didn’t have to worry about her being out and about, away from his watchful eyes and his protection. Grabbing three guns from his arsenal, Shells put them in the duffle, opening the door for the health aide as he gave her final instructions and left the apartment. It was time to find their prey.
*****
Victor awoke in the seedy motel and sighed deeply. He heard the shower and knew Seth was inside. That shit went totally wrong didn’t it, his mind pondered as he rose and pulled out his cell. Texting quickly he sent the message and waited for the reply. It came moments later as he again sighed deeply and deleted both. This is so far out of hand, I don’t think we’ll ever get on track again, Victor brooded. He thought about the men they’d encountered yesterday. They were vicious and deadly; even more deadly than he ever imagined they could be. Knowing that the woman who killed C-Rod belonged to one of them answered a lot of questions for Victor. How deep is Gabrielle in all this shit, he thought sighing lightly. Victor wanted her to stay innocent, hands devoid of blood. He couldn’t make himself believe she could ever be capable of killing anyone. Everything he’d been told about her went decidedly against the grain of her doing anything illegal. Victor’s head was messed up over a woman he’d never actually
met and he hated it. Still his heart wouldn’t let her go and it was that attraction as well as his desire to unseat Seth that kept him going.
The bathroom door opened and Seth came back into the room, pants on, searching for a shirt.
“Wassup,” he greeted Victor, seeing him awake finally.
“Wassup man,” Victor returned.
Seth grunted, finding his shirt and putting it on. “I called Gram’s mama last night,” he told Victor.
He frowned slightly thinking of the man dying yesterday.
“So what you wanna do now,” he asked, wanting to know where Seth’s head was.
Yesterday was total chaos. The police had hit the townhouse hard and fast. The other men had somehow managed to escape without harm obviously, but for Victor and Seth it’d been a nightmare. He’d grabbed Seth’s arm pulling him toward the upstairs as Gram exchanged fire downstairs. “Why are we up here,” Seth asked once they arrived. “Cause they are all down there,” Victor replied, quickly looking outside and noticing all the officers were obviously inside. “Come on,” he told Seth opening the window. “Man, they’re gonna be down there waiting for us,” Seth replied. Victor assured him all the cops were inside and they had a great chance to escape. “See that building right there,” he told him pointing. Seth looked seeing the new unoccupied units across from the one they were occupying and nodded. “That’s where we’re going,” Victor told him, going through the window.
Frankly Victor hadn’t given a damn whether Seth followed or not. A part of him had hoped the police caught him or he injured himself from the jump and couldn’t escape. That hadn’t happened though. Seth had landed, cat like, on the ground right next to him after he jumped. They quickly glanced around and made their dash to temporary safety. Casually making their way to the front of the complex, they walked right out of the gate without being accosted. They walked the half mile to the gas station, going inside the small restroom and cleaning themselves up from the white foam of the fire extinguisher. Their luck continued to hold as they found a cab parked at one of the pumps and hired him to take them away from the scene. Questioning the driver, he gave them information on cheap extended stay hotels, dropping them off at one of the seedier ones in, what they found out, was the SouthWest portion of the city. We’ll blend in over here just fine, Victor thought, recalling some of the characters he’d seen since they checked in yesterday.
“After you shower and dress, we’re going out,” Seth told him breaking his thought once more. “We need to see what we can find out about those guys, and where the hell Gabrielle is now,” he growled, still angry as hell.
Here we go again, Victor thought tiredly, rising and heading into the bathroom, closing the door and shutting out the craziness of Seth’s world, at least temporarily.
*****
The sharp rap on the door pissed her off and Tyashia jumped from bed, .9mm in hand, headed to her front door.
“Who the fuck is it,” she asked angrily.
“Girl, open the door, mean ass,” Jacoury replied as she smiled slightly, putting the gun on the counter before she did.
He walked in smiling, hugging her tightly. “Why you so grouchy,” he asked, kissing her softly as she pushed him away.
“Cause its early, and you’re not supposed to be here,” Tyashia replied, walking away, headed to her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Jacoury continued to chuckle as she did, seeing the gun and picking it up. Checking it, he saw that it was indeed loaded. I need to find out what’s up with this girl for real, he thought as she returned to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home,” she asked, giving him a real kiss this time.
“It was spur of the moment,” Jacoury answered honestly.
He and Ramell had chatted about it last night and he’d caught an early morning flight. He was leaving later today and returning to Atlanta.
“I heard I missed the main event the other day,” he told her, giving her a smirk. Tyashia sucked her teeth, rolling her eyes playfully.
“What happened,” Jacoury asked, becoming serious.
She recounted the incident, apologizing for losing her temper.
“Its cool baby,” he replied, kissing her again. “They’re gonna hafta learn to respect you and who you are to me,” he told her as those alarms began to ring for Tyashia again.
“I found some stuff in the books you should look at too,” she told him, changing the subject and calming her nerves.
“Like what,” Jacoury asked.
She went on to enlighten him of the discrepancies and that by her count he and Ramell were well short almost 100K.
“Are you shittin’ me,” he asked angrily.
“That’s what I’ve found so far,” Tyashia replied calmly.
“His ass is dead,” Jacoury growled, referring to David, their former manager.
“I just wanted you to know,” she replied quietly as Jacoury pulled her to him, kissing her again.
“Thanks baby,” he told her as his hands began to roam her body. “I missed you,” he told her huskily, placing her on the counter, removing the tank and taking her nipple into his mouth.
“Mmm,” Tyashia moaned, loving his touch and his tongue on her skin.
Jacoury continued, kissing her slowly down her stomach, removing the boyshorts and burying his face in her warmth.
“Jacoury, damn,” Tyashia breathed, coming hard and fast.
She didn’t realize how very much she’d missed him as well. Jacoury freed his erection, kissing his way back to her lips, he stepped between her legs, going deeply inside her as Tyashia gasped, holding him tightly.
“Girl, damn,” Jacoury moaned as her walls closed in on him, keeping him firmly encased inside her. “You tryna whip a fool huh,” he murmured as she gripped his butt, pulling him even deeper inside.
“How about this, hmm,” he teased, pushing himself completely inside her, fingering her clit as she came hard once more.
“Jacoury, oh my god,” Tyashia breathed.
“You ready,” he asked breathing hard.
She knew he was almost there, remembering she hadn’t gotten her IUD yet.
“No, pull out baby,” she tried as Jacoury went deep again.
“Fuck that,” he groaned, releasing his seed, still holding her tightly.
Tyashia closed her eyes, begging God not to punish her anymore by letting her get pregnant.
“Relax baby,” Jacoury told her looking into her face seeing the distress. “I got you,” he reassured her kissing her deeply and removing himself from her. “Get dressed, lets go eat,” he told her as he zipped his pants. “We can get some boxes while we’re out so you can pack, and I’ll get your key made,” he added nonchalantly, turning his back and opening the fridge.
He never saw the terror in her eyes as she gathered her clothes and wordlessly left the kitchen.
28
Kim opened her eyes after allowing Mook to lead her up to the hotel suite, and caught her breath. The room was absolutely beautiful. He’d had fresh red, yellow, and pink roses brought in and the room smelled of their aromatic fragrance. The champagne was chilling in the silver plated ice bucket, water beads falling softly into the surrounding bed of frozen water that encompassed the delicately flavored elixir. Turning her eyes to the kingsize bed that adorned the room, Kim smiled at the soft layer of pink that covered every square inch.
“You like,” Mook asked softly, standing behind her.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed trying hard not to cry.
After all the turmoil of the last week, she desperately needed this time with him, alone. No business calls, no emergencies, no product to supply, just the two of them, enjoying each other.
Mook had surprised her earlier today, he and Jaron flying in and arriving at the hotel where she and Gabrielle were staying.
“That’s not all,” Mook told Kim, taking her hand and leading her to the expansive bathroom the suite hosted.
&
nbsp; She was again overwhelmed by all the time and care he’d put into making the evening special for her. The mini-olympic tub was filled to capacity with huge mounds of white bubbles and the entire outer rim was encompassed with softly glowing candles. There was a decadently stocked tray of fresh fruit, and yet another bottle of champagne sitting next to the steps leading into the tub.
“Baby, thank you,” Kim told Mook turning to face him, looking into his eyes and seeing his love looking back at her.
“Anything for you Miss Kim, you know that,” he told her gently, leaning in and kissing her deeply.
Mook slowly began undressing Kim, taking his time to tease, touch, and taste each disclosure of the beautiful chocolate skin he loved so much. Kim was breathing hard, wanting very much to make love to her man at the moment.
“Let’s get in,” Mook told her instead, pulling away and taking her hand again.
Kim frowned slightly. Willing herself to relax, she followed his lead and stepped in the bubbly water, the temperature perfect. She was surprised at how deep it actually was, finding herself waist deep in the tub as Mook pulled her close and began kissing her again. Kim loved the feel of the water as he scooped handfuls and let it slowly cascade down her body. Her nipples were hard and even in the water Kim felt her desire as Mook kissed her neck, his other hand sliding down her butt.
“Fine ass,” he murmured as she smiled, knowing he was as turned on as she was.
Mook pulled her over to the side of tub, sitting down in the inner ledge. She still stood as he began sucking her nipples, his tongue and that stud of his, teasing each individual sensory surface on them. Kim thought she was going to cum right there on the spot it felt so good.
Mook told her to come closer. Kim immediately complied, praying he was going to put out the fire raging between her legs at the moment. Mook surprised her with his next move. Leaning forward he pulled her onto his shoulders, her clit right in his mouth as she sat on his strong broadness and he used his tongue to dig deep inside her. Kim was breathing hard again, moaning loudly, flowing freely as Mook brought the first orgasm and she screamed her pleasure. Taking her still hard clit in his mouth, Mook sucked it gently, intermittently twirling the tongue stud around it starting her flow all over again. Kim was in heavenly bliss, her second orgasm looming closely on the horizon. Without a word, Mook dipped a shoulder and Kim slid almost effortlessly from his shoulders as he licked her stomach, chest and began sucking her breasts again, her body open for his swollen member as it slid deeply, readily, inside her.
