“You need some help getting that mouth to work?” The gun is in my hand before anyone has a chance to blink, and I make sure it is in her mouth like the dicks she likes to slobber on.
Fear finally leaps into Octavia’s face as she starts stuttering. “I-I’m sorry,” she muffles around the gun.
“And?” I prod, my trigger finger itching like a muthafucka.
Confused, Octavia glances around again.
“I’m waiting.” I tap my foot.
Octavia swallows hard and tries talking around the gun again. “I’m sorry for ruining your morning.”
I think about making the bitch lick the bottom of my shoes or something, but I’m already tired of her and want her out of my face. “Now, I think you were just leaving,” I tell her, pulling the gun out of her mouth.
Octavia is so angry and humiliated that her face looks like a gigantic cranberry. Left with no choice, Octavia removes the smock from around her neck and stands her skinny ass up and walks out of the salon, wet hair and all.
The women in the salon crack the fuck up.
Bold as fuck, Yo-Yo kicks up another smile as she shakes her head.
My gaze zeroes back onto this bitch. My real enemy. My clit starts thumping and my trigger finger starts itching. I walk over to the empty chair next to Yo-Yo, sit down, and with one finger poke her on the arm. “I can touch you, bitch.”
The bitch cuts her gaze away like I’m a bothersome child she doesn’t have time to deal with.
“Yolanda,” I say with my attitude barely in check. “Your ass needs to roll up out of here, too. For real, girl. I’m trying very hard not to waste your ass on Ms. Anna’s floor.”
Yo-Yo rocks her neck just as hard as I am. “I ain’t gonna go no damn where. Our man broke me off some change to get my wig straight, and that’s exactly what the fuck I’m doing.”
Everyone gasps and then cracks the hell up. I’m stunned.
To prove that she means what she said, Yo-Yo crosses her legs and folds her arms.
“Bitch, what did you just say?”
Yo-Yo holds her own. “Girl, you heard me. I—”
I flip the gun in my hand and make a perfect golf swing with the butt of my Glock, crashing it against that smiling ho’s face with a hard CRACK! Blood spews out of Yo-Yo’s busted lip, and before the disrespecting heifer has the chance to clear her mind, I send the gun flying across the other side of her face.
Bitches scream and jump out of the way.
“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO, BITCH?”
Whap!
“You think my man’s dick is pumping you full of kryptonite? You think I won’t kill your monkey ass up in here?”
Whap!
“CHILL OUT!”
Out of nowhere, I’m tackled from my right side. I lose my balance and hit the floor with a thud. However, I still have a good grip on my weapon, but by the time I flip it to grab the butt, Baby Thug has her piece leveled at my head.
“I SAID, CHILL THE FUCK OUT!”
I can’t believe my fuckin’ eyes. “Have you lost your muthafuckin’ mind?”
“Nah, but you have. Everybody up in here knows that this girl is pregnant.”
Baby’s words are like a swift punch to the gut. “Pregnant?”
“Yeah.” Baby bobs her head. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think Python will take it too lightly you tryna kill his seed.”
Everyone in the salon starts whispering again, and the floor starts spinning beneath me. After a couple of deep breaths, I glare at Baby while Yo-Yo whimpers and bleeds by the shampoo bowl. “Get her the fuck out of my sight,” I hiss.
Baby’s chin goes up.
“NOW!”
Baby steps back and finally lowers her gun. “C’mon, Yo-Yo. Let’s get out of here.”
One of the girls working the shampoo bowl hands Yo-Yo a clean hair towel so she can take care of the blood gushing out of her mouth. Baby helps the girl up and escorts her to the front door, never once turning her back on me.
“By the way, Baby,” I say, climbing back to my feet. “Watch your back. You just landed on my shit list, too.”
Baby glares, pulls open the front door, and leads Yo-Yo’s stupid ass out of the salon.
I dust myself off and walk back over to the dryer and sit down as if pistol-whipping a pregnant girl is something I do every weekend. “What y’all looking at?”
Everyone scrambles to look busy and the radio comes back on. Despite looking calm, cool, and collected, my thoughts are in a state of chaos.
After my hair is done, I fake a couple of hours of happy shopping with my girls Pit Bull and Kookie. I’m shoveling Benjamins at a good clip at every register. But today retail therapy ain’t doing shit for me. After I ditch my girls, I make a rare trip out to Goodson Construction near Winchester and march my ass up to the back door. I bang on it like it was Python’s big-ass head. When no one opens the door, I try again and add a few kicks for good measure.
Killa Kyle busts open the door and then glances around to make sure I’m alone. “What the hell, girl?”
I shove my way past him. “Where’s Python?”
Killa Kyle races behind me and grabs my wrist. “My man is a little busy at the moment, LeShelle. You’re going to have to come back.”
I snatch my arm out of his grip. “I don’t think so. I have been laughed at and humiliated one too many fuckin’ times. WHERE. IS. HE?”
“He’s in a business meeting,” he whispers. “Come back in about an hour.”
“AHHHHHHH!”
I jump. “What in the hell?” I sidestep Killa Kyle and move farther into the warehouse.
“YOU BROUGHT A MUTHAFUCKIN’ DEA AGENT INTO THIS MUTHAFUCKA?” Python kicks a body that’s wrapped in plastic. “Y’ALL MUTHAFUCKAS THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA BRING ME DOWN?” He kicks the body again and then turns his attention to Tyga and Datwon, who are tied down in two metal chairs. Behind Python, a ring of Gangster Disciples have their forks up, looking as though they’re just waiting for the word to start blasting.
“Python,” Tyga sputters. “You gotta believe me. I didn’t know this fool was a pig. I…I swear.”
Python shakes his head and twists his lips. “Nah. Nah, man. I distinctly remember you vouching for this muthafucka Dmitry. Don’t you remember? Your dick was tonsil-boxing my girl up in the VIP.” He stopped in front of Tyga. “You said I could put your name on this deal. You said that you worked with the nigga before. Remember?”
Tyga’s eyes look like they’re trying to squeeze out of his head. He knows what time it is. He recognizes that crazy, manic look in Python’s eyes just like the rest of the niggas in the room.
“Okay. All right.” Tyga throws some bass in his voice so at least he won’t sound too much like a bitch if his nigga snubs him out. “I know…I know I said that, but hear me out. Datwon came to me saying that the nigga was cool. He swore the nigga was legit. I was just tryna help the little nigga get back into your good graces, man. That’s all it was. I didn’t know your own cousin turned fed, man. I swear. I just felt sorry for the dude.”
Python’s narrowed gaze swings over to his cousin Datwon. He’s sitting in the middle chair, trembling so bad he looks like a self-contained earthquake. “Were you tryna set me up, cuz?”
Datwon shakes his head. He looks too paralyzed to actually speak.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Python says, scratching his temple with the barrel of his Glock, “but didn’t I tell you this wasn’t the business for you?”
Datwon swallows, his extra-large Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
“Help me understand this,” Python continues. “You steal, you lie, and now here you are tryna send me, your own cuz, to the federal pen. Did you really think you were gonna get away with this shit?”
“I…I—”
Python stops pacing and leans close to his cousin. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
Datwon licks his lips. “I’m s-sorry.”
“Oooooh. You�
��re sorry.” Python bobs his head and then turns toward his blue-flagged army. “Niggas, y’all hear that? This nigga says that he’s sorry.” He tosses up his hands. “Well, fuck. I guess that settles everything. You’re sorry.” Then, quick as lightning, Python squares off and punches Datwon dead in the throat.
The loud smack sounds more like a crunch. When Python pulls back, there’s this weird wheezing, as if air is trying to find an alternative way in and out Datwon’s body, but isn’t having too much success.
“Bring Damien on out here,” Python instructs.
My brows jump at the order. Damien is Python’s favorite pet…and his most dangerous. The twenty-six-foot python reticulatus has always given me the heebie-jeebies, and thank God Python keeps the menacing-looking monster in a big aquarium here at the warehouse office. It takes about fifteen niggas to carry the aquarium out to the middle of the warehouse.
“OH, FUCK!” Tyga starts bouncing in his chair. “OH, FUCK! NIGGA, NAH!”
Datwon looks like he’s shitting a cement block in his pants.
Python just smiles. “Y’all know how I do. I like a little entertainment with my dirt.”
“NAH, NAH! Y’ALL JUST SHOOT MY ASS!” Tyga shakes his head while still trying to sound all hard, but in truth a little bitchassness is creeping in strong. “Man, I can’t go out like this.”
“You lost that vote when you lied to me, nigga.” Python turns to some more soldiers. “Y’all get this pig out of here. Chop that nigga up and make me a nice cement block to remember him by.”
Niggas jump to it, grabbing the body wrapped in bloody plastic and running toward the back door. Killa Kyle and I move out of the way.
“Y’all niggas got any last words?” Python asks, looking over into the aquarium and making cooing noises at his beloved snake.
“D-don’t do this,” Datwon chokes, still trying to breathe through his collapsed windpipe. “I swear you’ll never see me again. I-I’ll leave town. I-I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
Python shakes his head. “Daddy brought you something good to eat today,” he says in a loving voice. “Just consider it an early birthday gift.” He chuckles.
“FUCK NAW! FUCK NAW!” Tyga starts jumping like he’s going to hop all the way out of the warehouse tied to that chair.
Python laughs. “All right, man. Chill the fuck out.” He snaps his fingers and points to a few boxes. The brothers rush over and pull out thick sheets of plastic. “Seeing as how you’ve been a true soldier for me up until this unfortunate incident, I’m going to do you a solid and let you go out like a soldier.”
Tyga glances back as his brothers cut the ropes from his chair and then force him to stand on the plastic. Amazingly, Tyga looks a little calmer about the situation. He faces Python, lifts his chin and chest, and throws up his pitchfork signs. “ALL IS ONE!”
Raising his Glock, Python and the rest of the set shout back, “UNTIL THE WORLD BLOWS!”
Python squeezes off two rounds into the center of Tyga’s forehead, sweeping him off his feet. The thick plastic does very little to soften the sound of Tyga’s body hitting the concrete floor.
“Oh shit. Oh shit,” Datwon moans, tears splashing down his face.
“You know, I’m actually going to miss that nigga,” Python says remorsefully, and then turns to face his cousin. “You know, Aunt Peaches was right. It just takes one bad apple to spoil a whole bunch. I should’ve gotten rid of your ass a while ago.”
Datwon keeps shaking his head. “P-please.”
“All right. Pick this nigga up.”
The crew rush Datwon, untying him and pulling him from the chair.
“LET ME GO! PYTHON, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!”
“Nigga, stop all that hollering.” Python grabs the chair Tyga was sitting in and pops a squat to enjoy the show.
“C’mon, Python. We’re family, man!”
“Somebody tape that muthafucka’s mouth.”
Killa Kyle reaches over me and grabs a roll of duct tape. “I got it!” He rushes over eagerly.
Python finally sees me and smiles. “Yo, baby. C’mon over here.”
He waves me over. I hesitate only because of Damien uncoiling in the aquarium behind him. I can deal with most of Python’s pets, but that muthafucka scares me.
“Don’t worry. Damien is going to stay where he is.” He laughs.
I force my legs to move, stopping only briefly to hop over Tyga’s body. “What’s going on, baby?” I ask, even though I heard enough to figure out all the missing pieces.
Python brushes a kiss against my right temple. “I’m just tying up some loose ends.” He smiles. “I like what you did to your hair.” He touches my soft wavy curls and then returns his attention back to the business at hand.
“PYTHON, NO! PLEASE!” Datwon screams.
Killa Kyle slaps a wide strip of tape across Datwon’s mouth while the other guys tie his legs and hands together.
Python sits back down and pulls me into his lap. “This should be a good show.”
I feel Python’s dick harden as he watches the unfolding drama. The top of the aquarium is removed, and Damien’s head lifts as if he senses the possibility of freedom. Next, two men grab Datwon’s feet and two grab his arms and lift him like a stuffed pig ready for slow roasting.
“Hmumpt mummmph,” Datwon muffles through his taped mouth.
“Drop his ass in there,” Python says.
The brothers lower Datwon halfway, release him, and then scramble to put the top back on the aquarium before standing back to watch the show.
Damien wastes no time uncoiling from the corner and slithering over Datwon’s squirming body. In less than a minute, he wraps his muscular body around Datwon and starts to squeeze.
I sit transfixed. I’m both horrified and fascinated at the same time. Watching Damien work, I can see his muscles move like a wave beneath his scaly skin.
Python locks gazes with his cousin as he screams behind his duct tape. Datwon kicks and bucks while his dark complexion turns a rich burgundy, then cranberry, and finally an ugly eggplant. A few seconds later, his body goes still.
The entire warehouse falls silent. A lot of the brothers just shake and hang their heads.
“All species feed off one another in order to survive,” Python whispers.
I glance over at him, curious.
“This is what happens when muthafuckas try to cross me,” he says as if reading my mind. “Family or no.” He smiles and glances back at me. “Remember that. You don’t let nobody punk you out.”
Our eyes lock.
“Now what brings you down here?”
Suddenly it doesn’t seem to be the best time to bother him about my issues with him fuckin’ Yolanda’s retarded ass. There’s no telling what he’ll say or do right now. “Nothing. I…just wanted to see you. You’ve been so busy lately.”
He nods. “I’m always about my paper. You know that.” His black gaze rakes over me while his hard-on still presses against the curve of my ass. “I’ve been meaning to ask you: How’s your sister doing?”
The question is like a steel fist to my gut. “F-fine. Why do you ask?”
He shrugs, but his gaze never loses its intensity. “Just curious.” He reaches up and brushes my hair back from my shoulders. “You got to be careful with these young kids today. Sometimes they fall in with the wrong crowd, you know?”
My heart races. “Not Ta’Shara. She’s a good girl.”
Python nods, licking his lips as he brushes a finger across my breasts. “Well, you can never be too sure. Good girls turn bad all the time.” He pinches my nipple. “You should know that.”
Oh, God. He knows.
31
Yolanda
I take another look at my busted mouth in the bathroom mirror. “Aaaargh! I can’t fuckin’ stand that bitch!” I throw the curling iron, and it hits a weak spot in the glass. The damn thing explodes as if I just unloaded an AK-47 into it. I gasp and jump back.
Baby Thug
leans against the door frame, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “What the fuck did you think was going to happen? LeShelle ain’t no punk. Did you think she was just going to let you play her in front of the other Queen Gs?”
“I ain’t no punk either. And she ain’t gonna be the head bitch for long.” I storm out of the bathroom and brush past Baby.
“And just how do you know that?” Baby asks snidely. “Just because you’re about to have that ugly nigga’s kid?”
“Baby!”
“What?”
“Watch your mouth. That’s our leader you’re talking about.”
“So? His ass is still ugly as fuck. He knows it, his momma knows it, and any damn body else who takes one look at him knows it,” Baby says, marching behind me toward the bedroom. “And just because you’re going to drop his seed don’t mean that he’s getting ready to kick LeShelle to the curb and make you wifey. Open your eyes. You’re just his fuckin’ jump-off—and you ain’t the only one. That nigga got bitches all over the goddamn city, and all of them know how to fall back and give LeShelle her proper respect.”
I whirl around. “Well, thanks a lot, buddy. With friends like you, I sure as hell don’t need any enemies.”
“If you didn’t have a friend like me, then that bitch would’ve pistol-whipped you into the middle of next week.” Baby shakes her head. “You’re in over your head, and you don’t even know it. Now you got me on that bitch’s radar, and frankly I don’t fuckin’ appreciate it.”
My eyes mist. “So…what? You want to run out on me again? Is that it?” I shrug my shoulders and sweep my arm toward the door. “Go! See if I give a fuck. I don’t need you. I’ve been doing fine all by myself.” It would’ve been more convincing if my busted bottom lip hadn’t started quivering.
Baby cocks her head and stares at me.
“Y-you knew I’ve been trying to land someone high up in the set—and now I got the head muthafucka in charge and you wanna throw salt in my game like all those other haters?” I sniff. “You’re just like the other bitches just wanting to throw shade.”
“You also used to want to get your kids back, but I don’t hear you talking about that shit anymore. Instead, you’re about to pop out another lil crumb-snatcher you can’t afford to feed.”
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