by Tamara Black
I pressed play, and we relived the moment.
“Five hundred thousand views?” He laughed. “How the hell did that happen?”
“You know the internet,” I said, laughing along with him.
We watched the video twice, unable to believe how popular it had gotten so quickly.
“I’m going to go take a bath before they get back,” I said. “You want to come with?”
“I do, but I’d like to go through your brother’s phone and see if I can find out anything about what’s happening back in Colorado.”
“Your loss, but a good idea.”
I kissed him on the forehead before going into the bathroom. As I sat in the tub of warm water and bubbles, I thought about my life back home, especially my children. There was no way I would ever go back to Kendrick, especially after I’d found the love of my life in Tony. I soaked and dreamed of us starting a family for real.
TWENTY-FIVE
Tony
While Tanesha took a bath, I dug through Andre’s phone, looking for any kind of information good or bad. All of his text messages for the last week were saves on the phone. He fucked around with a lot of women, but one of the threads caught my attention because it was with Bullet.
Andre: He’ll be gone soon
Bullet: Better be! We R rdy to grow
Andre: Calm down. The network is good.
Bullet: Kill that mother-fucker so we can get back to work making money.
I kept reading, my mouth hanging open in shock.
Andre is a crooked cop? I fucking knew it.
Before rushing into the bathroom and throwing it in Tanesha’s face, I stood up and paced back and forth across the living room, trying to calm myself down and think it through. No other messages I saw mentioned anything about me or anything illegal, but the photos on his phone told another story.
One album called Vegas 0808 for some reason, contained a number of compromising photos of him with various hookers, pimps and large piles of guns, cash, and drugs. The movie Training Day flashed through my mind as I thought of her brother fucking people like me over to make money for himself.
I took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom to tell Tanesha. My love for her made me nervous and excited at the same time. She looked up from the tub, her mocha breasts barely covered by suds. The smell of lavender hit my nose. When I didn’t smile back at her, she sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s your brother.”
“What about him?”
“I was going through his phone, and I found some…” I paused. “Photos and texts. He’s a dirty cop. I don’t think we’re really in a witness protection program.”
She stood up, water dripping off of her. “Hand me a towel, please.”
I gave her a clean towel, which she wrapped around her before stepping out of the water quickly draining from the tub.
“You know this for sure?”
“You can check his phone too, but the photos are pretty graphic.”
“I don’t need to see them. What are we going to do?”
“Get out of here first. I’m not sure about after that yet.”
“Let me get dressed.”
“Hurry.”
She went into the bedroom to dress. I headed outside to see if I could start Jerome and Tom’s car since they had left with Andre. They’re going to kill me, I thought, glancing around as I walked from the front door to their four-door Chevy Caprice.
The driver’s side door was unlocked, so I got in and closed it behind me. Both Jerome and Tom were idiots, so I reached up to the sun visor. Sure enough, I felt the keys to the car. Cocky bastards, I thought, putting the key in the ignition. Hurry up, Tanesha.
As if on cue, she appeared in the doorway and ran to the car. I leaned over and opened the door for her. She got in.
“Give me his phone.”
“What? No. We need it for the photos and proof.”
“I’ll mail them to myself, but we can’t have his phone in this car. They could track it.”
“Damn, spy girl. You go.”
I smiled, trying to put her at ease.
“You drive and I’ll take care of the photos,” she said.
After handing her the cell phone, I started the car up and put it into gear. We rolled away from the curb and down the narrow street with trees lining both sides.
“I’m heading downtown,” I said, making the first left turn I could.
“We should get a cheap motel room so we can lay low and figure out what to do. If they’re dirty cops, they might not report the car stolen, but they could just kill us for what we know now.”
“Good thinking, babe. Can you find one on the phone?”
“Yeah, keep driving.”
“Cheap motels in Cleveland,” she said to the phone.
“You have two-thousand results,” Siri answered.
We both laughed nervously, not knowing what fate awaited us. Even so, any time with her was worth it in my mind. Tanesha turned me on mind, body and soul. She was the complete package, the perfect woman for me in so many ways. I glanced over at her as she swiped the screen of the phone, looking for a place for us to hide and gather our senses.
TWENTY-SIX
Tony
I pulled into the parking which had more vehicles up on blocks than in running condition.
“Maybe we should go up to two stars?” she asked.
“We don’t have enough money. Maybe we could sell the car for some quick cash.”
“No, we need it to drive back to Colorado.”
With a sigh, I parked the car next to the manager’s office sign. A neon Vacancy sign flashed on and off.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
“Good idea.”
We got out of the car. I walked around to her quickly as we both heard a blood curdling scream nearby in one of the rooms. A naked woman ran through the parking lot, hands in the air, yelling and carrying on like it was the end of the world.
“What the fuck?” Tanesha asked when I reached her.
I shrugged. “Let’s go inside and get a room for the night.”
The receptionist’s desk was covered with stacks of Hustler and People magazines. One narrow opening revealed a frail man in jeans and a creepy Bill Cosby sweater.
“What can I do you for?” he asked with a smile missing a few teeth.
“Who the hell just ran through the parking lot naked?” I asked. “Is this place safe?”
He cackled with laughter for a good ten seconds before regaining his exposure.
“Flakka,” he said simply. “Fucking Flakka addicts.”
“What is Flakka?” I asked.
“A fucked up synthetic drug.”
“And it makes people do shit like that?” Tanesha asked.
He nodded. “And worse. You two want a room for an hour?”
“Fuck you, man,” I said. “We want a room for the night. This is my wife, and you’ll treat her with fucking respect.”
“Whatever you say, bub.” He turned and took a brass key off a peg on the wall next to his chair. “It’s twenty a night. We’re not responsible for anything. You understand?”
“Sure,” I said, handing him one of our last two twenty dollar bills. “Cash okay?”
“Cash is preferred.”
A man opened the door from the outside and stuck his head in, shouting, “Crapper warning in fifteen, boss. Bye.”
Tanesha moved closer to me as the odd man closed the door and left.
“Here’s your key,” the man behind all the piles of magazines said. “Checkout is at noon-o-clock.”
“I fucking hate that phrase,” Tanesha whispered as we walked back outside.
I parked the car at the very edge of the parking lot in front of our room on the first floor. The security situation looked horrible anyway I looked at it, but we had very few options. I had thought about going to the local cops, but I had no idea of knowing who was working with Bullet and the Col
orado Weed Mafia.
“This place is disgusting,” she said when we walked in our room.
“I can’t disagree with you.”
After closing the door, I walked over to the bed that looked like it had been used non-stop since the 1970s.
“We could go sleep in the car somewhere,” she said.
I shook my head. “No, too risky. We need to lay low. I should go park the car somewhere else.”
“Don’t leave me here alone,” she said.
“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I said, walking over to her.
She hugged me as I thought about our next move. Outside, the flakka addict returned, running past our door while screaming bloody murder. Her arms tightened around me.
“It’s okay,” I said. “We’ll get through this.”
“I’m not sleeping on that bed,” she said.
“Me either. Let’s check the trunk of the car.”
We walked outside. I found an emergency kit, including a silver space blanket. Two gunshots sounded in the distance. Tanesha flinched as I shut the trunk. Before we could get back to our room, three shady looking white boys with baggy jeans strode up.
“Nice car,” one with a Starter jacket said.
“You want it? Five hundred,” I countered without hesitation.
He laughed. “You a cop?”
“Nope. I yank cars, and I don’t need this one anymore. You want it or not?”
I stepped forward, putting myself between them and Tanesha.
“Yo, I like your woman,” one of his homeboys said.
“Get the fuck out of my face,” I said, stepping toward the door to our room.
“Hold on,” Starter jacket said. “I’ll give you two hundred for it.”
“Fuck that. I got the keys. Five hundred or step the fuck off.”
I puffed my chest out in a menacing manner, hoping to bluff our way through the confrontation.
“Aight, you drive a hard bargain, but five bills ain’t no thing to us, homie.”
“Show me the money.”
He pulled a stack of bills out of his jacket pocket. After counting out five hundred, he passed it to me. I tossed him the keys.
“Have fun, boys.”
“Hold up,” he said before we could walk away. “I want that blanket too.”
“No,” Tanesha hissed quietly to me.
“Find,” I said. “I don’t give a fuck.” I tossed it to him. “Now step off before you piss me off.”
The three wannabe gangsters climbed into the car, starting it up as we went into our room.
“How did you pull that off?” she asked as soon as we were inside and I’d closed the door.
“A man of many talents, I tell you.”
She kissed me.
“Let’s call a cab and get a better room so we can figure out what to do next. We need a good night’s sleep.”
An hour later, a beat down yellow car showed up outside and honked. We rushed out and got in. I gave the driver the address for our new motel further out of the city. The ride was a short one. I tipped the man an extra ten dollars, asking him to forget us completely.
When he looked at me like I was crazy, I handed him another crumpled bill, this time a twenty.
He nodded. “I don’t know nothing.”
Tanesha and I walked to the manager’s office of the new place. While not a five-star hotel by any means, it looked considerably better than the last place we’d been. After paying for the room in cash under fake names, we went to our room. I had to give the guy another twenty to not ask for our credit cards, but money talked.
In the room, we collapsed onto the bed together. She curled up against me, her arm draped over my stomach and her head on my chest. I stroked her hair, wishing I could comfort her more. We were at least safe for the moment, in a better spot than we had been a few days earlier. It was my fault she was in trouble, and I had to fix it.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Tony
When I first opened my eyes, I freaked out at the strange surroundings, but I saw and felt Tanesha next to me and relaxed. Fragments of a dream ran through my brain.
“I got it,” I said, sitting up.
“What?” Tanesha asked in an annoyed voice. “I’m sleeping.”
“We can’t go to the police with what we have and the media wouldn’t believe us, so let’s get some proof.”
“You mean bust my brother and get him thrown in jail?”
“Are you seriously happy with the way he’s been treating us?”
“He’s not a bad person,” she said, sitting up herself.
I got out of bed and began pacing back and forth.
“If we had some real equipment, we could somehow…” I stopped and sighed. “I don’t know.
A phone rang in Tanesha’s bag.
“What’s that? You didn’t get rid of the phone?” I asked.
“I forgot.”
She stood up and produced her brother’s phone. It rang again.
“Should I answer it?” she asked.
“Let me get it.”
I took the phone from her and swiped the screen to answer before tapping to put it on speakerphone.
“Yeah?” I asked.
Andre laughed. “You two aren’t very smart, are you?”
“Why are you doing this?” Tanesha asked.
“Doing what? I haven’t called the police or anything after you stole our car and sold it.”
“We did what we had to do once we saw what was on this phone.”
“You need to give me a chance to explain.”
I hit the mute button and looked at Tanesha.
“We should just leave the phone here and run.”
She shook her head. “I’m done running.”
“Are you guys there?” Andre asked.
I tapped mute again.
“Yeah, we’re here. And we’re going to run again unless you let us know what the hell is going on for real.”
“Open the door. I’m outside.”
“You found us?” I asked.
“It wasn’t too hard to track the phone. Now open up.”
I glared at Tanesha. She walked over and opened the door to our room.
Andre walked in, looking around. “What a dump.”
“You should’ve seen the first room we got,” she said.
“Oh, the one where you sold the car?” he asked, looking across the room at me.
Tanesha shut the door. I turned off the phone as they both walked over.
“Why are you doing this to us?” Tanesha asked her brother.
“How do you think I can afford to send you so much money all the time?”
“You don’t send me money.”
“You think it’s that bastard Kendrick? It’s not. Believe me.”
“You were going to kill me,” I said.
“Where did you get that idea?” he asked, looking at me.
“I saw it in your phone, man.”
“Saw what?”
“You told Bullet you were going to get rid of me.”
He shook his head and stepped forward, putting his arm on my back.
“Let’s go talk a minute. Tanesha, can you step outside?”
“No, I won’t. What you can tell him, you can tell me.”
Andre took his hand off my back.
“I was going to offer him a bunch of money to get out of your life.”
“That’s crazy,” she said.
“I would’ve never taken it.”
“Probably not, but I had to try. I’m too deep into this to get out now.”
“Are you?” I asked. “What happens to us now?”
He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s bullshit,” Tanesha said. “Mama didn’t raise us like this.”
“I can’t get out of this now.”
“What if there was a way?” I asked, remembering my dream.
“What do you mean?”
“You could help us get the bad cops on v
ideo and come out of this a hero.”
I watched as he tilted his head back slightly, thinking about my idea.
“You’re not a bad guy, Andrea,” Tanesha said, touching his arm briefly.
“I know, but that idea is just crazy.”
“Is it?” I asked. “Could you get us in when something is happening?”
“They’re having a celebration in a few days,” he said. “But they know your face. It would have to be me or Tanesha who went in and recorded them, but I’m not letting her do that.”
“You don’t control me,” she said. “If I want to do it, I’ll do it.”
“How do you put up with her?” Andre asked me.
“I love her,” I answered.
“I do too, but damn she’s difficult sometimes.”
He laughed. Tanesha playfully punched his arm.
“I need to think about this,” he said. “But first, we need to get you two out of here.”
“I’m not going back to that house with those goons,” Tanesha insisted.
“No, I’ll pay for you guys to get a hotel room downtown. They’re out looking for you too. I didn’t tell them I found you yet.”
“You’re willing to work with us, then?” I asked.
Andre stared into my eyes. “Yeah.”
He held out his hand. I shook it with a firm grip.
“I’m sorry about all this,” he said.
“Just know I’m in love with your sister, and I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Respect.”
“I love to see you two getting along, but we need to come up with a plan.”
“Let me get you two a new room first. I’ll have to play along with the others so they don’t expect anything.”
“You’re willing to double cross them and risk your life?” I asked.
“For her, yes.”
“Respect back,” I said, squeezing his shoulder with my hand.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Andre drove us downtown and put us up in a very nice hotel. He came up to the room with us before taking off.
“This is nicer,” Tanesha said. “Here’s your phone back, by the way.”
“Keep it,” he said. “I can’t let them know I found you two. Kendrick told me you called, by the way.”
