Love's Grip

by Nika Michelle

  “You’re free to go, Mr. Hardy. Get that taillight fixed.”

  “Will do,” I said as he passed me the registration and license.

  A female voice came from his walkie-talkie. “One-eight-seven on Wesley Chapel Road …”

  He pressed a button to respond. “En route.”

  Without saying another word, he rushed off to his patrol car, and I got my ass on.

  Shit. I had just been on Wesley Chapel. There had just been a murder there? Shit. I wondered what the fuck had happened. That was where Mike and Dank served, but when I’d checked the trap spot earlier, they weren’t there. I was heading to their crib when the slow-ass truck held me up and then the damn cop. It was a good thing I had got out of that shit with the cop. Maybe my luck wasn’t so bad, after all.

  Less than fifteen minutes later, I pulled up to Mike and Dank’s crib in Decatur. There weren’t any cars parked in the driveway, so I wondered if they were home. There was a chance that they’d parked in the garage: maybe they wanted it to look like they weren’t there. I turned the car off and got out. Dank was walking outside just as I was going up the steps.

  “Cuz.” He stopped in his tracks.

  As mad as I was, I decided to play it cool. “’Sup? Where Mike at?”

  “He ain’t here. I’m on my way out. Gotta go to the trap and—”

  “You shouldn’t do that, man. I just got stopped for a busted taillight and heard over the cop’s walkie-talkie that there’s been a murder over there. It’s hot as fuck by now.”

  “Damn.” Dank shook his head and pulled out his cell phone. I was sure that he was about to call Mike. While he dialed the phone, all I could do was stand there and pretend like everything was copacetic. It was best if I had both of those niggas there together, so I could get it out of the way all at once.

  Dank frowned. “That nigga ain’t answerin’.”

  Well, he wasn’t at the spot a few minutes ago, so I was sure he was good. The thing was, I needed his bitch ass to show up soon, so I could get that shit over with.

  The sound of a car stereo’s vibrating bass in the distance let me know that somebody was about to either pass by or pull up. It was Mike. His tired skidded as he pulled up fast in the driveway, like he was running from something. He was going too damn fast so close to home. Something had rattled his lying ass. Once he hit the brakes and put the car in park, he jumped out like his ass was on fire. When he saw me, he looked surprised.

  Dank spoke up first. “Why the fuck you didn’t answer yo’ phone, man? What’s goin’ on, on Wesley Chapel?”

  Looking daze, Mike ignored the questions, headed up the driveway, used his key to open the front door, and walked inside. Dank and I followed him.

  “I had to pop Mario,” Mike said, finally filling us in.

  What the fuck? That nigga had killed Mario? His so-called right-hand man? Not to mention the fact that I’d just got some very shocking information from Mario.

  “Why?” Dank asked, with a frown on his face.

  I wanted to know that shit too.

  “I went to the trap to pick up the cash, and he popped up. We got into it and shit. That nigga pulled his strap out on me first. I had to shoot him.”

  His explanation was vague, and I wasn’t buying it. “So, that shit just happened? What y’all get into it for?” I quizzed him, testing how quick he was on his toes. He must’ve got to the trap right after I left. It was going to be Mike’s story against Mario’s, but I wanted to see how far Mike would take his.

  “He was runnin’ his mouth ’bout shit he ain’t know about. He told me you was askin’ ’bout Rae and shit.”

  “Oh really? Did he tell you that he told me everything? Is that why you killed that nigga? Did he tell me too much? Huh?” I questioned.

  Before he could even blink or take a breath, I had the barrel of my strap pointed at his temple. “Tell me why you lied to me, nigga!”

  Dank was freaking out behind me. “What’s goin’ on, cuz? Put the gun down, yo! What the fuck is this shit all about?”

  My hand was around Mike’s neck now, and I was choking him. I turned the gun on Dank.

  “Shut the fuck up, nigga! Now that mu’fucka’s on you! What you gon’ do while I choke your brother out? Huh? You gon’ do something?” My eyes challenged Dank, and he backed down, with his hands up.

  “What the fuck is this all about, man?” Dank’s eyes were full of fear, because he knew that when I pulled a gun out on a nigga, I intended to use it.

  “I know about everything, and that’s why you killed Mario, ain’t it?” My attention was back on Mike now.

  Something told me that Dank really had no idea what was going on, but on second thought, I wasn’t so sure. From my experience with snake-ass niggas, I just didn’t know. From what I could tell, blood didn’t mean shit.

  Mike’s eyes were bloodshot red as he shook his head. “No … I … I … killed him ’cause he’s a lyin’ mu’fucka. Let me go, man, so … so … I can explain.” His voice was strained as I squeezed his windpipe.

  Against my better judgment, I released that nigga’s neck. He started coughing and tried his best to breathe.

  “Get beside this mu’fucka, Dank,” I ordered. “I don’t want you out of my sight. I don’t trust y’all mu’fuckas as far as I can throw you!” My eyebrows formed a straight line as I scowled at them.

  “Look …” Dank held his hands out. “Calm down, cuz, and—”

  “Don’t fuckin’ ‘cuz’ me! That’s some fuckin’ bullshit! Mario told me y’all niggas planned to kill G wit’ that nigga Rae. I know that y’all told Mario y’all killed him and Rae paid you to do it. Not only that, but you did that shit so Rae could take over the Bankhead Mob. You want some of their territory. That nigga didn’t do shit to Mikayla. You made that bullshit up to get me to do your dirty work, ’cause you didn’t want them Bankhead Mob niggas to come after your punk asses.”

  I went on. “What? You didn’t wanna cut me in on that shit? That’s how you do your own fuckin’ blood? You already know what the fuck I’m facin’. Talkin’ ’bout blood is thicker than water! I see that’s some bullshit! The fact that we blood ain’t stop y’all niggas from bein’ disloyal than a mu’fucka! I guess you rather them niggas come after me! What the fuck did I get out of the deal, huh? I thought I was protectin’ my li’l cousin, but I was just helpin’ y’all fuck niggas expand your damn territory! I should shoot both you lyin’-ass motherfuckas right now!”

  “Hold up!” Dank yelled and looked at his brother. “I’m usually the one who be doin’ shady-ass shit, but you ain’t even let me in on this one, bro. You told me that nigga touched Kayla. What the fuck, man? You and Rae were in on that shit together? He paid you? I ain’t know shit ’bout that shit, Pistol. Straight the fuck up, cuz.” He shook his head as he looked me in the eye.

  I believed that Dank was in the dark about everything. It was obvious by the way he’d reacted, and his facial expression told it all. He was pissed off, just like I was. Clearly, that nigga Mike had left us both out of his plan.

  “Fuck! If y’all would just shut the fuck up and listen,” Mike pleaded. “Can you get that gun out my face, man?”

  Shaking my head defiantly, I said, “Hell nah. If you wanna talk, now’s the time, but I ain’t puttin’ my fuckin’ strap down.”

  “That nigga Mario made all that shit up, man. He was fishin’ for information to see what you knew. He’d been tryin’a get shit out of me since G got killed. It’s like he’d been all paranoid for a long time. Mario was not the real-ass nigga you may think he was. Shit. I found that shit out a long time ago. I just didn’t think he’d take that shit so fuckin’ far. Everything he told you is a fuckin’ lie. That nigga was all paranoid and kept comin’ up wit’ all types of conspiracy theories to explain G’s murder. He kept sayin’ I was gon’ take over Bankhead and I was in cahoots wit’ that nigga Rae. A year ago I bought some coke from Rae, and then my baby mama started fuckin’ G. It was a one-time thing.
I don’t fuck wit’ Rae, and we ain’t plan to kill that nigga to take over shit. If Rae wanted to take over the Bankhead Mob, I damn sure wasn’t in on that shit.”

  Mike continued. “That nigga Mario had all that shit in his head. He thought that I was on some next-level shit and that my plan was to leave him behind. He was talkin’ all crazy. I told y’all the fuckin’ truth from the jump. Shit! Y’all been knowin’ me all my life. It ain’t like me to come up wit’ some crazy-ass scheme and leave y’all out of it. Mario was on a power trip, and that nigga had a damn head injury from a bullet he got hit wit’ a few years back. Can’t believe a mu’fuckin’ thing that came out of his mouth. He had to go, and I don’t even see how you could believe that nigga over me in the first fuckin’ place.”

  What he was saying made sense in a way, but Mario was dead. There was no way to get his side of the story. I couldn’t get those two niggas in one spot and interrogate them both to figure out the truth. All I had to go on was my gut, and my gut told me that I couldn’t trust my own damn cousin. The only thing about that was, my instincts hadn’t been that reliable lately. What if I killed my cousin for nothing? What if I left him alive, he crossed me, and I ended up losing my life or my freedom?

  “You been on some fuck shit since I got here, Mike. I don’t know what to think,” I said. “You got me and your brother standin’ here like, ‘What the fuck, man?’ Why would Mario sit back and make all that shit up? Huh? What he told me actually makes a hell of a lot more sense than what the fuck you sayin’ right now. Make me believe you, nigga, or get merked, fam.” I smirked at him, and he shook his head.

  “Hear me out, cuz. I can prove it.” His eyes were on mine, but his were empty.

  “Yeah, nigga. Prove it.” Because I damn sure didn’t know what the fuck to believe.

  After what I’d been through, giving out trust was like handing over a rare jewel. Once upon a time, I thought I could trust everyone in my family, but now it was clear that I couldn’t. I was still on the fence about Dank, but the look in his eyes let me know that he was just as confused as me.

  Chapter 18

  Daisha

  The smoke from the blunt I’d just fired up settled in my lungs, and I felt an immediate rush. Damn, Pistol had some good-ass weed. There I was, sitting on the sofa with his laptop in my lap, searching for a job. I’d vowed that this would be the last time I smoked weed. I was going to clean my system out and do what I’d set my mind to do. Nothing was going to stop me from pursuing my goals this time, not even Rae.

  My phone rang, and I looked down at the screen. It was Megan, the chick who had done my makeup, so I answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Daisha, hey. It’s Megan.”

  “What’s up, Megan? How’re you?”

  “I’m good. Off work today. I was just callin’ to ask you about your date the other night.”

  If only she knew that there was so much more going on in my life. She knew about my abusive ex, but not about all the drama that was going on with me and Pistol in our effort to get rid of his ass for good.

  “It was great. We had a good time.” All that good, nasty sex we’d had came to mind.

  “Good. I’ve been so busy, but I also wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out to get a couple of drinks with me. There’s a nice spot in Buckhead I want to hit up tonight. You said you don’t fuck with chicks like that, and neither do I. I figured, why not go together?” she said, sounding all convincing.

  “Okay. What time? You want me to meet you there?”

  Since I was so used to being with a controlling man, my instincts told me to call Pistol to let him know I would be going out for drinks. Then I thought about it. I was a grown-ass woman, and I could do what the hell I wanted to do.

  “Uh, yeah, but it’s still early. I gotta make a few runs, but I’ll hit you up in about an hour with the address. I’m thinking you can meet me there at about ten. Is that cool?”

  I checked the time, and it was only a little after seven. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Gives me enough time to get ready.”

  “Okay. Great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Okay.”

  We hung up, and I went back to smoking and looking for employment. Something still told me to call Pistol, despite the fact that I didn’t need his permission to go out. The shit that was going on with Rae and Kevia was what made me decide to tell Pistol my plans. Atlanta wasn’t that damn big, as evidenced by the fact that Pistol had killed G and hadn’t known that he was connected to me or Rae. What if I ran into that fool? I had no clue if the police had released him.

  After pressing the button on my phone to call Pistol, I waited as his phone rang. My call went to voice mail, and I hung up. Something just didn’t feel right, but I didn’t want to panic. Maybe he was just busy at the moment. It wasn’t like I could keep tabs on a grown-ass man. He’d had his life before I met him, so I decided to relax.

  “Office manager at a premier upscale salon and spa located in Buckhead, Atlanta. Looking for a professional who is well spoken and has the ability to organize and help expand clientele. If you have office experience and are computer savvy and outgoing, please call … ,” I read out loud, I stopped when I saw the phone number.

  It was a hair salon, so I figured that they were still open. I dialed the number.

  “Beauty Land of Oz. How can I help you?” a pleasant male voice answered.

  “Good evening. My name is Daisha Bailey, and I’m calling in reference to the office manager position.”

  “Hmm. Well, don’t you think it’s kind of late in the day to be inquiring about a job?”

  I was taken aback by his question. “Honestly, no. I don’t think it’s ever too late to go after what you want,” I replied. “I figured you were still open, so why not take my chances? What’s the worst that could happen?”

  He chuckled. “I like you already. My name is Ozzy, and I’m the owner. How soon can you come in for an interview?”

  “Anytime is fine with me,” I said anxiously.

  “Okay. Will eleven o’ clock on Tuesday work for you?”

  “Yes, that’s perfect.”

  It was Friday, so that gave me enough time to get prepared.

  “Great. See you then.”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “No problem, Daisha.”

  I hung up with a huge smile on my face. It was like shit was finally falling into place as far as my job prospects were concerned. When I thought about my potential love life with Pistol, it was bittersweet. Then I thought about everything else in the atmosphere that was going wrong, and my smile faded.

  Shit. I needed a damn drink and some positive, drama-free company.

  *

  It was a little after 2:00 a.m. when I got back to the house after having drinks with Megan at the Suite Lounge in Buckhead. I had had a good time with Megan and was now tipsy as hell. Pistol had attempted to call me when I was at the Suite Lounge, but it was so loud that I’d had to send him a text. I had let him know that I was just getting a couple of drinks with Megan and I’d be there soon. He hadn’t responded, so I figured that something was wrong.

  I found him in the living room when I walked through the door. “Hey. How was your day, babe?” I asked him after I kissed his cheek and sat down on the sofa beside him. “Why’re you sittin’ in the dark? What’s going on?”

  He looked over at me as I leaned over to turn on the lamp. The look in his hazel eyes let me know for a fact that something was up. His aura also seemed off to me, and I could tell that his cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor was out the door. There was some shit that was really bothering him.

  “Ma, we need to talk.” His voice was calm, but he sounded funny to me. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but there was definitely a red flag waving. “We ’bout to take a li’l road trip, Ma. We’ll be gone only for a few days, though. I need to regroup. I don’t know if I can trust my own damn family.”

  My eyes widened. Was he talking about his cousins? I l
istened as he continued to let me in on what some dude named Mario, who was cool with Mike, had told him. Then he explained how he had gone to confront his cousins about that shit and had found out that Mike had killed Mario. That was after a cop had stopped him for a busted taillight. He said that, just like him, Dank hadn’t seemed to not know what was going on, and that Mike had claimed to have proof that Mario was full of shit. Then he stopped there, leaving me in suspense about the situation.

  “Okay, so what proof does Mike have?” I needed to know that shit. Adrenaline was rushing through my veins, and I wanted some clarity.

  Shit, if his own cousin had betrayed him, that was fucked up. It really wasn’t surprising to me, though. Rae had always been jealous of G, and his greed had made me think he’d do anything to be on top. I didn’t know Pistol’s cousins, though. It was hard to believe that his own blood would lie and use him in that way. Then I thought about how my mother had done me, and suddenly, anything seemed possible. Just because you shared the same bloodline as another person didn’t mean that they were loyal. That had been evident in my life. However, I also knew that anything could happen.

  “Here’re the screenshots Mike sent to me.” He tilted his phone so I could read the text messages that Mike had forwarded.

  Mario: I heard ’bout what happened to G. You was in on that shit, wasn’t you?

  Mike: Hell no, nigga. Where you get that shit from?

  Mario: I know y’all niggas beefin’ over old girl, and I know that you wanna take over the BHM.

  Mike: I don’t even know what the fuck you talkin’ ’bout.

  Mario: Yeah, right. I know what the fuck you up to. I heard ’bout how Rae wanna be on top. I know you do business with that nigga.

  Mike: That was so damn long ago. You know I don’t fuck with him like that. We’ll talk face-to-face. This ain’t the time.

  Mario: I’ll find out the truth, nigga. Shit don’t ever stay a secret for long. Your cousin’s here, and now you wanna replace me.