by Glenn, Roy
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you realize the position that puts me in?”
“You? What position does it put you in?”
“You’re with me, Travis, which means you come under my protection. Chilly is old school, so he respects that, which is why he didn’t kill you for tryin’ to involve yourself in his business. But them niggas still beat the fuck outta you. I’m supposed to do something about it. I don’t do something about this, niggas start thinkin’ I’m gettin’ soft and they can come at any one of my people. Do you understand what I’m sayin’? Niggas thinking I’m soft is bad for business.”
“I wasn’t thinkin’ about all that.”
“No, you weren’t. Shit, Travis, I oughta shoot you myself.”
At that point, Me’shelle had heard enough. She came out of the room.
“Is that why you’re here? To kill me?”
They both looked up as Me’shelle came into the room.
“No. That’s not why I’m here,” Freeze said.
“I told you to stay in the room,” Travis said to Me’shelle.
“She can stay. I don’t give a fuck if she hears what I have to say. I came here to see how you were doin’. And I came to tell you again to stay out of it. Don’t you go anywhere near Chilly or his people. Let Chilly handle his business. And stay away from the cops.”
“What about my niece? They can’t just rape her and murder my brother and get away with it.”
Freeze looked at Me’shelle then turned his attention back to Travis. “Chilly is the type of man who knows that type of shit is bad for business. You let this shit go, Travis. You let Chilly handle his business and you go back to doin’ what you do. I want your word that this is no longer your problem.”
“You have my word,” Travis told Freeze.
“Wait a minute,” Me’shelle protested, but Freeze ignored her.
“I talked to Chilly, and he gave me his word that he would handle this, so you’re out of it. Now it’s my problem,” Freeze said and stood up. “Shit like this never needs to happen again, Travis. You understand me?”
“I understand.”
Freeze walked toward the door.
“That’s it?” Me’shelle asked, but Freeze continued to ignore her.
Travis got up and followed Freeze to the door.
Freeze stopped. “Oh yeah. One more thing I gotta say.”
“What’s that?”
“Whatever I do is always business. Never personal, even if it seems that way. Remember that.” Freeze continued toward the door. “And it will never have anything to do with you and me. Understand?”
“Understood,” Travis said as he let Freeze out and closed the door behind him.
“Who the fuck does he think he is?”
Travis smiled. “Freeze thinks he’s the only reason that we’re both not dead.” He put his arm around Me’shelle and led her back to the bedroom. “And you know what? He’s right.” He took off his pants and began to undress Me’shelle.
“Even so, he didn’t have to ignore me like I wasn’t even there. That was disrespectful.”
“True. But it is what it is,” Travis said as he got back in the bed.
Me’shelle followed Travis under the covers. “So, that’s it, huh?”
“That’s it.”
“I should just believe that these people are going to make everything all right?”
“No, Me’shelle. Even if they kill the guys who did it, nothing will change the fact that your brother and his wife are dead, or that your niece is traumatized by what happened to her.”
“Exactly. So it’s not over for me.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. What can I do?”
Chapter Thirty-eight
It had been a week since Rocky put the word out on the street that he wanted Warren Miller. After all that time, no one had any information that turned out to be worth anything. It was always “You just missed him” or “He was here yesterday” or the always popular “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Miller and his partners knew they were hot, so they were laying low.
Although he quickly dismissed the idea, Rocky gave some thought to calling the police tip line and telling them that Miller was responsible for the rape and murder of the Lawrence family. That would solve part of his problem, but he knew it wouldn’t satisfy Chilly. No, Rocky knew that he was the one who sent Miller out there, so he had to be the one to drag him in.
As Detective Kirkland promised, the police were making life miserable for Chilly. Needless to say, Chilly was not happy about the situation and was starting to lose patience with Rocky. So, once again Rocky found himself on the street, but this time his approach was different. Now he started to push a lot harder, leaning on the people he was sure knew something and just weren’t saying because they were scared of what Miller would do to them. But it was Rocky they really had to fear. He would be their nightmare now.
Rocky also decided to change one other aspect of his approach. He took his focus off the head and concentrated on the body. Word had gotten back to Rocky that there were three people who usually did jobs with Miller. One was found dead on the scene, one was called Blue, and the other’s name was Jordan Davis. Rocky knew Davis, knew where he hung out, and most importantly, Rocky knew his girlfriend, Jeanna Mitchell, and knew her well.
Late that night, Rocky knocked on her door. “Who is it?” Jeanna yelled though the door.
“Its Rocky, Jeanna.”
“Rocky?” She looked out the peephole. A flood of memories came rushing back to her. “What you want?”
“I wanted talk to you, Jeanna. You gonna open the door or what?”
Reluctantly, Jeanna unlocked the door and opened it. It had been three years since she’d seen Rocky, and over that time she had let herself go. She had lost a lot of weight, her face was thin, and her eyes seemed to bug out of her head. Hair that was once long and beautiful was now nappy and stuck to her head. “What you want, Rocky?”
“You gonna let me in, Jeanna, or do I gotta stand out here?”
“You can come in, but I still want to know what you want.”
“Maybe I just wanted to see you,” Rocky said as he plopped down on her couch.
“Shit,” she said, still standing by the door. “I ain’t seen your ass in years, Rocky, and you expect me to believe that you just dropped by ’cause you missed me? I don’t think so.”
“Come here, Jeanna. Let me look at you.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I wanna look at you.”
She walked over to the couch and stood in front Rocky. “Happy now?”
Rocky looked her up and down. “What happened to you, Jeanna?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You sayin’ ’cause I lost some weight and my hair ain’t done that I ain’t fine no more?”
“Yeah. You used to be fine as hell. Now look at you.”
“Fuck you, Rocky. I get my hair done and put on some clothes, I’m still the baddest bitch you ever fucked.”
Rocky looked at Jeanna and smiled. “You were, but not now. That glass dick got you now. You ain’t nothin’ but a crack ho now.”
“I ain’t nobody’s ho, nigga. My man takes care of me, so fuck you.”
“Still got them pretty-ass dick-suckin’ lips, though. Probably takin’ good care of him too.” Rocky smiled and rubbed his crotch.
“What you want, Rocky?”
“I’m lookin’ for Jordan.”
“What you want with Jordan?”
“I wanna talk to him.”
“What about?”
“I got business with him.”
“What business you got with Jordan?”
“That ain’t no concern of yours. It’s better that you don’t know anyway, Jeanna. You know that. Now, do you know how to get in touch with him?
“No. He just comes by here.”
“How often? Every day? Once a week?”
“You know, he just come
by sometimes. Like you used to just show up here when you felt like it.”
Rocky wrote down his number on a piece of paper on the table. “You call me when you see him, Jeanna. I’ll make it worth your while,” Rocky said and stood up.
“How much?”
“Five hundred.”
“You gonna kill him?”
“No, Jeanna. I just need to talk to him.”
“You promise you ain’t gonna kill him?”
“Yeah, I promise. I ain’t gonna kill him. You just need to call me when you see him.”
Rocky started for the door.
“Rocky.”
“What?”
“Let me have a couple dollars.”
“You ain’t earned it yet.”
“Come on, now. You know you got it.”
Rocky reached in his pocket, counted off five twenties and put the roll back in his pocket. “Here.”
When Jeanna tried to grab the money, Rocky held it above his head. “What you gonna do to earn it?” Without another word, Jeanna dropped to her knees and began to undo Rocky’s pants. He sat back down in the chair and Jeanna proceeded to earn the money.
It had been three days, and Rocky still hadn’t heard from Jeanna, but he wasn’t worried. After he left her, he made the same offer to the guys who hung out on the corner, so he knew Jordan still hadn’t showed up at Jeanna’s.
It certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort to get him there on Jeanna’s part. She called everyone she could think of and had been everywhere that she knew Jordan hung out, but nobody had seen him.
Since that night on her knees with Rocky, Jeanna developed a plan. She no longer cared if Rocky killed Jordan. In fact, she hoped he would. Jeanna planned to take the money, get herself cleaned up, and make a play to get back in Rocky’s good graces. The money and perks were definitely better than what Jordan had to offer.
Late one night, Jeanna heard his key hit the door. She panicked when she realized that she had left Rocky’s number lying on the coffee table. She started to reach for it, but it was too late. Jordan had come through the door.
“What’s up, Jeanna?”
“Hey, Jordan,” Jeanna said nervously.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jordan asked as he sat down on the couch.
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“What’s this?” He grabbed the paper off the table. “Who number is this?”
“It’s Rocky’s number.”
“Rocky? The one you used to fuck?”
“Yeah,” Jeanna said quietly. She was scared, very scared, but she was determined to make this work for her.
“What was he doin’ here?”
“Lookin’ for you.”
“Me! The fuck that nigga want wit’ me?”
“I don’t know. He said for you to call him. Then he said I should call him when I see you.”
“Did you call him?” Jordan asked.
“No. Did you see me run to the phone?” Jeanna said sarcastically.
“Oh.”
“So, you gonna call him?” Jeanna asked.
“What I’m gonna call that nigga for?”
“’Cause he wanna talk to you. He said he got business with you.”
“I ain’t got no business with him,” Jordan said, but in the back of his mind he knew what Rocky wanted. He knew that Rocky was the one who sent Miller to collect from Bruce Lawrence, and that Miller had kept the money they got before they killed him.
Now it was Jordan who was scared. He snatched the paper off the table, balled it up in his fist and threw it down on the floor.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jeanna asked.
“Nothing!” Jordan spit out.
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to bite my head off. You bring something for me?”
“Yeah.” Jordan reached in his pocket and threw Jeanna a bag of white powder.
“Why don’t you go in the bedroom? Relax, get undressed, make yourself comfortable while I cook this up. Okay?”
Jordan simply nodded his head and followed Jeanna into the room. At that point, her plan was simple. She would cook what he brought her, stash some for later, and smoke the rest. Then she would fuck him until he went to sleep. Once he was sleeping, she would call Rocky.
Chapter Thirty-nine
When Jordan woke up, Rocky and three of his boys were in the room with him. “That bitch,” Jordan said. “I knew she was no good. Jeanna! Jeanna! Where the fuck is she?”
“She was outta here as soon as I got here. From the looks of it, she’ll be gone for a while.” Rocky laughed.
“All that shit she broke outta here with,” one of his boys said.
“Damn,” Jordan said as he reached under the pillow.
“Lookin’ for this?” Rocky asked and held up Jordan’s gun. “She handed it to me on her way out the door.”
“That bitch!”
Everybody laughed, even Jordan. Still, he knew what a fucked up situation he was in, lying in bed, unarmed, butt naked with three killers around him.
“What you want with me, Rock?” Jordan asked.
“Warren Miller. Where is he?”
“I don’t know where Miller is,” Jordan lied. “Rock, I swear. I ain’t seen Miller in at least a week.”
“I heard that you was down with him.”
“Yeah, we do some work together.”
“You was with him when he went to collect from Bruce Lawrence.”
“I was there.”
“Where’s the fuckin’ money?”
“Miller didn’t bring you that money?” Jordan asked, knowing that he hadn’t.
“No, he didn’t. That was Chilly’s money, and I think you know that, and that’s why all of you are stayin’ on the low. But it’s cool, Jordan. All I want is Miller.”
“Don’t kill me, Rock. I didn’t know that was Chilly’s money. I swear, Rock. I didn’t know.”
“Don’t cry like a bitch now,” Rocky’s boy said, pointing a gun to Jordan’s head. “It was probably you that raped the kid, wasn’t it?”
“No, no, please. That wasn’t me. It was Blue that raped that girl!” Jordan yelled.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, Rock.”
“Shoot him,” Rocky said.
“No!”
Rocky’s boy pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. “Damn, Rock, I forgot I didn’t have one in the chamber.” He laughed and cocked it before returning it to Jordan’s head.
Rocky smiled. “Now, you were about to tell me where Blue is.”
“Come on, Rock. I’m serious. I don’t know where he is either,” he lied again. He knew exactly where both Blue and Miller were, at least where they were a few hours earlier.
“I’m gonna give you a chance to save your ass and come out of it with some money in your pocket.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I told you, Jordan. Miller, I want him. You were supposed to get four grand from Lawrence. Well, you bring Miller to me and I’ll give you five grand. And do it quick. There’s somebody else lookin’ for him.”
“Who?”
“Guy named Travis Burns. He runs a robbing crew. He’s fuckin’ Lawrence’s sister. You better get him to me before this guy kills him.” Rocky stood up and threw the balled up piece of paper at Jordan. “My number’s on the paper, but you knew that.”
Rocky and his boys left the room laughing, but they left Jordan thinking. If this Burns guy was a robber, then he could use him as bait to get Miller and Blue out in the open where Rocky could grab him. Jordan got up and got dressed.
Once he made his way to where Miller and Blue were staying, he laid it all out for them. He said that he talked to Rocky, but Rocky didn’t know that they killed Bruce Lawrence and took the money. He told them Rocky had been looking for them to give them another job to do, this time in Philly. Then he told them about Travis. “I hear this guy Burns is lookin’ for you ’cause he heard it was you that killed his brother.”
�
��Who’s his brother?”
“I don’t know. Probably some dealer you killed.”
“You know this guy?” Miller asked.
“I heard of him. I hear he runs a robbing crew,” Jordan said, knowing what Miller’s reaction would be.
“Robber, huh? Then he got money,” Miller said and Jordan smiled. “We’ll get him before he gets us. He’s just another muthafucka to rob. You know where to find him?”
“I know where his woman lives,” Jordan said.
“Is she fine?” Blue asked.
“As hell,” Jordan replied.
“Then she gettin’ fucked too.” Blue laughed.
Chapter Forty
The last few weeks had been stressful to say the least for Me’shelle. She had taken a leave from work and spent her days taking care of Brandy practically around the clock. Most of the day they sat in Brandy’s room talking or watching TV.
Having Me’shelle there with her seemed to make Brandy more comfortable, but it had begun taking its toll on Me’shelle. Feeling that Me’shelle needed a break, not to mention that she was getting on her nerves, Miranda strongly recommended the she get out of the house for the day. “I’m sure Brandy will make it through one night without you.”
Since she was out of the house for the day, Me’shelle called Travis on her cell phone to see what he was doing. He told her that he had nothing planned and would love to see her, especially since it had been a while since they had been together.
“Maybe we could have dinner, see a movie or whatever,” Me’shelle suggested.
“Maybe we could do both,” Travis replied happily.
“I need to change if we’re going out to dinner. Why don’t I come and pick you up? You can ride with me to my apartment to get changed.”
“I’ll be ready when you get here,” Travis said.
On the way to pick up Travis, Me’shelle though about how much she missed spending time with him. She knew that she wanted him to be a part of her life, which meant there was something Me’shelle had to seriously consider.
She was adamant that she wanted Brandy to stay with her, but Brandy had been through a lot. She’d seen enough crime and experienced enough violence to last a lifetime. Was Travis the kind of person that Brandy needed to be around? All Me’shelle had from Travis was a kiss and a promise that he would end his life of crime and violence. Promises get broken every day. Suppose Travis was neither interested in nor ready for the responsibility of having not only a teen-aged girl, but a teen-aged girl with issues? She wondered what he would say when she told him, and if he said he couldn’t deal with it, if it would affect their relationship. In her heart, she knew that it would.
