Mafia Princess

by King, Deja

  As Semaj drove up the block the girls saw quite a crowd observing the brawl, and of course the neighbors were out being nosey. It was normal for them to fight like savages in the comfort of their home or outside even, and no one had ever bothered to intervene in their quarrels.

  Paris spotted the car coasting up and began walking toward the curb with a diaper bag draping her shoulder. The sleeping baby was inside the car seat interlocked in her inner elbow. “Girl, I got here and Zyden’s car seat was on the ground. Li’l man was screaming and hollering.” She adjusted the seat belt securely and made sure he was strapped in safely.

  “Mercedes like gettin’ her ass whooped is what I’m concluding,” Semaj said, shaking her head at the way he was stomping a mud hole into her. “Couldn’t be me, would’ve been put that nigga into a permanent sleep. Paris, you ain’t gon’ help your best friend?”

  “That’s on her dumb ass. I done told her to leave that sorry ass nigga alone and she ain’t learned yet. Every time I done helped her, she goes right back to the nigga. Ain’t no sense in it.”

  “I know that’s right. I don’t get into her problems either. Shit, in the end she gon’ be right back with his lame ass and mad at you,” Tala explained, happy that Paris had been there to inform her.

  “A’ight though, y’all I’m finna bounce. See y’all later.” She headed to the black Audi.

  Semaj and Tala watched as Paris made it back to the car where Dean-Bean was waiting for her. Tala could look in her niece’s eyes and instantly knew she was scheming on something. “What the fuck you up to now?”

  “I m-e-a-n, I was just thinking. Shit, Dean been gettin’ that money and you know where the trap at. Daddy can just run up in there and you can get some money from that.”

  “Maj, hell nah! Dean super cool peoples and you know I ain’t down with that shit. Dude low-key and don’t fuck wit’ nobody. Besides that’s D-Boy people.”

  “What that got to do wit’ gettin’ to his dough?” Semaj asked as she took one more glance before pulling away from the projects.

  “The selfish shit in you is a muthafucka. You don’t give a fuck

  ‘bout nobody,” Tala chuckled, stating true facts. “But on some real shit, I do need the money. But seriously, we gotta make sure your insane ass dad just rob the nigga with no bodies left behind. That’s the only way

  I’m agreeing, Maj.”

  “That’s not a problem at all. I’ma make sure of that,” Semaj said with her mouth. But in actuality, her mind screamed money and she didn’t care who was hurt. Hell it’s all a part of the game. Her fixation was now on putting her old man on Dean-Bean, and she was determined to collect the green by any means. Between him and Big Pat, Semaj figured they could all make a good come up.

  After dropping Tala and the baby off, Semaj headed to the restaurant Big Pat had told her to meet him at. As the sun was transforming into dusk, she new her father was following behind her discreetly, so he could start learning Big Pat’s routine.

  When Semaj pulled up in front, a valet took her car and she headed inside. When she entered the restaurant, Big Pat was already at the table putting in his order. Just like a fat fuck, Semaj thought as she walked towards him. By the way Big Pat’s jaw dropped, she knew the food he ordered wasn’t the only thing his fat ass was trying to eat tonight. But she understood why he wanted to add her to the menu. Semaj was serving everybody in the restaurant with her Gucci liquid leggings, red snug fitted leather jacket and peep-toe, red bottom ankle boots.

  After giving her a lingering stare, Big Pat finally pulled himself together to stand and greet her with a kiss on the cheek. “Damn, ma, you look even prettier than the first time I saw you.”

  Semaj smiled and replied with a “Thank you” before taking her seat and put in her order for a mouth-watering steak and garlic vegetables.

  “I thought you weren’t coming since you’ve been giving me the run-around all week.”

  She smiled, demurely. “I was just working, and honestly I didn’t wanna have our time to end early since I really don’t stay out late on work days.”

  “I’m glad you feeling that way. ‘Cause you with me for the night.”

  Semaj blushed graciously and knew that she was about to add Big Pat to the long list of fools she made a come up off of. It only took one slip-up and once that occurred, her father would step in. After Murder Mitch understood how a nigga operated that’s when plans went into motion. But there was one thing Semaj made sure of. She was never willing to encounter anyone her victim knew. It was just too much of a risk. It was best to be in and out to alleviate becoming a suspect.

  During dessert, Big Pat received a call. From the way his eyes lit up Semaj assumed it had to be either two things: money or pussy. Since he offered for her to ride with him, she concluded that it was money. She accepted and they headed to some projects in Brownsville. “Baby, I’ll be out in three minutes,” Big Pat said, as he hopped out and walked towards the trap house.

  Damn this shit might be easier than I anticipated, Semaj thought as she watched her father who was parked a few cars behind through the side mirror. This was the perfect opportunity and she knew her father was in the cut, ready for the takings. Just then, Big Pat had emerged with a black duffel bag in hand. Semaj was so caught up in thinking how stupid she thought Big Pat was, she almost missed him pulling his gun from his waist and point it in Murder Mitch direction.

  Frantically, Semaj zeroed in on her father to warn him, but it was too late. In a swift moment, Big Pat had filled him with lead before he had seen it coming. Five shots to the chest left Murder Mitch’s body jerking as if it was hitting switches on an old school Caddy. Instinctively, Semaj reached for the door handle, but wasn’t quick enough. “Bitch, you set me up!” Big Pat roared with the gun pointed in her face threateningly.

  Terror traveled up her spine as her heart suddenly plunged to her stomach. Semaj knew that this was her end. She fidgeted in her seat and her nerves were so shot she couldn’t respond. Fuck, fuck, fuck, her inner thoughts screamed as a solitary tear slipped down her face. His

  9mm gun was still meticulously trained on her as he drove off at crazy speeds. The look in her eyes confirmed his suspicions. “Bitch, I’ma kill you. You a scandalous ass bitch,” he belted as he hit her with the butt of the gun, dizzying her and causing blood to ooze from her mouth.

  Semaj couldn’t believe that he had peeped game and popped off his cannons at her father. This was the first time anything like this had transpired and she never imagined that this could be the outcome. It always was so perfect, she thought helplessly. Now her father was dead and she was about to meet him at the crossroad.

  Big Pat pulled in front of what appeared to be a dilapidated house. He rushed over to the passenger side window and pulled the latch back and forth. When he had exited the vehicle, Semaj quickly hit the locks. “Bitch, open this muthafuckin door!” he screamed as he narrowed his eyes to peer intensely through the pane. She was trapped and there was nowhere to run. He pulled out his gun and tapped the metal against the windowpane, aiming it directly at her head.

  She sobbed and knew that either she was going to die voluntarily or involuntarily. Semaj surely wasn’t about to make it easier for him. Unlocking the doors and following him inside the abandoned home definitely wouldn’t be how she met her maker. If he wanted her, he had to do it there inside his car.

  Through his peripheral vision, Big Pat noticed a silhouette and not thinking he aimed his burner in that direction. That made for his first and last mistake, because the figure was on the opposite side and fired rounds into Big Pat’s body. The dark figure emptied the entire clip, and in a rapid motion replaced the empty clip with a fully reloaded magazine. Although he was already dead, for extra measures, bullets continued to riddle his body, leaving Big Pat on the side of the curb dead as he looked up to the sky with his eyes still open.

  Pulling the black hoodie from his head, Semaj looked shocked at her father’s breathing body. She jus
t witnessed Big Pat let off cannons into him, and not even fifteen minutes later the same thing was recurring with the opposite opponent being the gunman.

  Semaj thought she was hallucinating until her father banged on the window frantically, demanding her to open the door so they could flee. Confiscating the duffle bag that lay beside the fresh corpse, they hopped into the car and Semaj skirted off dangerously as her father removed the bulletproof vest.

  “Daddy, I thought you were dead!” she cried, softly. “I thought

  I was going to die!”

  Murder Mitch knew the dangers that came with his treacherous profession so for protection he always tried to wear a bulletproof vest and luckily for him that decision turned out to be a lifesaver. “You my baby girl and I’ll always protect you, Maj. Nigga slipped up and thought he murked me. That fucked you up, huh?”

  “Yeah. Just knew it was lights out for us, Daddy,” Semaj sighed in relief as she swiftly wiped her tears away. “We got that money, though!” she laughed it off, knowing sometimes while maneuvering in the streets things went wrong, but there was no turning back. They were already addicted to the stick-up game.

  Chapter3

  Fourteen Years Earlier

  For the longest Semaj’s life was one that most every little girl would dream of. Her upbringing wasn’t the typical black girls from the inner city. Semaj’s story was different, but also similar to some. Her mother Kasey had been born into a family of drug lords and murderers. She was the daughter of one of the most powerful drug lords that had ever done it. Due to her family’s notoriety she had been sheltered. But Kasey was a rebellious child and wanted to be involved in all of her father’s dirty work. She used to sneak in the private meetings that were held in the small conference rooms. She even rode around with her father in the limo and listened intensively as he discussed drug business.

  Her father didn’t want this life for his baby girl but he knew it came natural to his daughter. It was in her blood and there was nothing he could do about it. Her stint in the family business began when she turned sixteen and started delivering packages all over New York. Then shortly after, it escalated to trafficking drugs on the highway interstates and then flying overseas to the Dominican Republic to pick up bricks from the main suppliers. By the age of eighteen, she was trained to empty her bowels once she touched baseline. Kasey was elated with her lifestyle and the dope game gave her a rush. Her father was her first love and she did any and everything for the family business, bringing them in millions upon millions.

  Kasey’s life forever changed the day she met Mitchell “Murder Mitch” Richardson. Murder Mitch was a well-paid hit man for her family. From the moment Kasey met Murder Mitch he had the “Warning, Do Not Enter” sign written all over him. But Kasey was one to always disobey the warning signs, and the two fell in love almost immediately. Although her father had broken the no interracial dating tradition when he had his son with an African American woman, he loathed that his only daughter had fallen head over heels for Murder Mitch, the daring black murder machine.

  He was the head henchman for the family on the streets, the most notorious and prosperous in body count that New York had ever seen. He eliminated everything from the highest prominent individuals to the low-level block boys and even their children. Politicians and pulpit preachers even got touched, and he was known as the killer unseen. Because though his name rang bells like an international superstar, his face was unknown. His slick murder-for-hire tactics got the job done as if he worked for the secret service, erasing any trace linking back to him.

  Kasey’s refusal to suppress her feelings towards Murder Mitch and their unwavering commitment to each other gave her father the strength to give them his blessings. He knew no other man besides Murder Mitch could protect his daughter, and he hoped that he wouldn’t regret his decision.

  Nine months into the relationship Kasey and Murder Mitch got married and six months later, Semaj Richardson was born. The first thing everyone noticed was the head full of curly locks and beautiful big bright eyes. The birth of their newborn gave the couple the motivation to grind even harder so their daughter would never have to want for anything. That prompted Kasey to dabble into many illegal activities. She stepped into the world of counterfeit money which earned her a lifestyle that transcended the paper she was making from her father’s drug empire. With her making moves in both the dope game and fake currency, Kasey needed additional support so she allowed her best friend Sabrina to enter as her right hand in both profitable business ventures.

  Business was booming for the newlyweds. Murder Mitch was knocking off niggas left and right while Kasey went from hustling for thousands of dollars each month to hundreds of thousands in a short span of time. With success came the envy, even within the tight crew she had established. That envy soon turned to jealousy which eventually turned deadly. Semaj would never forget that dreadful night when her mother was brutally murdered. They had just moved from the Brooklyn suburbs to an upscale gated community in Jersey City. The move was supposed to represent their lives getting better but instead it was taking a turn for the worse.

  “Father, I know you say it’s rough out here and you want me to stop and play housewife but you know that’s something I can’t do,” Kasey said as she was braiding her eight-year old daughter’s hair into two ponytails. Semaj was placed in between her legs watching her favorite actress Jada Pinkett Smith in the movie “Set It Off.”

  “I understand that, K. But I worry about you every day. Being that you are all the way across the states, it makes it difficult for me to protect you. I haven’t seen my granddaughter since she was a baby,” he spoke in his strong Dominican accent.

  “But, Father, it was your choice to move out West. It’s not my fault you haven’t been back to visit your grandchild.”

  “But I beg you to come out here, K. The old man misses his family.”

  “If I come to visit, you’ll try to make me stay out West. And besides, Paulie moved down South and you’re not badgering him to move out there with you. I’m not here alone. I still have my husband and your overprotective nephew. Never forget about his pestering mother that checks up on me more than necessary,” she stressed, knowing it was her father who issued the many calls daily from his sister. “So I’m fine Poppa, I promise. And we’ll see each other soon.”

  “Yes we will. But know that I love you and if you ever change your mind I have a beautiful home waiting here for you.”

  “This is my home. But thank you and I love you too. I have to go now. Someone is beeping in.” Kasey clicked over. “Hey, Sabrina what’s going on?”

  “This mutherfucka done hit me again but this time I’m leaving him fo’real K, I’m over it. I’m finished,” Sabrina, her best friend cried hysterically over the phone. “Please come and get me.”

  “You always saying that Sabrina,” Kasey sighed heavily. “I’m fo’real this time and I will never go back!” Kasey mocked her for the many times she claimed and cried the same tune, but never did anything to change the station.

  “This time is different, K. Please just come and get me!” she screamed in a frantic tone.

  “Okay relax, Brina. Where are you exactly?”

  “Behind that grocery market on Grandly Road in Brooklyn off

  Bushwick.”

  “I’m on my way, but I promise, Sabrina, this is my last time coming to rescue you from that no good, pimp ass nigga of yours. I don’t even understand why you deal with a dude like that but I’m done trying to figure it out.”

  “I know. Just hurry please. And whatever you do don’t tell Mitch. I don’t want anyone to know that I called for your help again ‘cause this shit is embarrassing,” she sniffed before hanging up.

  “C’mon on princess, put on your shoes and jacket so we can go get your Auntie Brina.”

  “Ooh and Ma can we get some ice cream while we’re out?” “Yes, you can have whatever you want.”

  After Kasey got her and Semaj dressed, she
grabbed her car keys and headed out the door. On the drive, Kasey thought about Sabrina. She couldn’t believe that her best friend was continuing to allow this nigga to abuse her mentally and physically. It irked her that after all this time, this bullshit was still going on and Kasey prayed for her best friend’s sake that she was telling the truth when she said that she was done, because she promised herself that this would be the last time getting involved with their dysfunctional relationship.

  “Semaj, if you don’t remember anything else I ever tell you, remember this. You don’t need a man that’s going to beat on you and use you up. That’s not love. Any real man would never lay a finger on his woman,” she said as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.

  “So do Daddy beat you, Ma?”

  “Never! Your father loves and respects me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Mommy, when I get bigger I wanna be as smart as you. And, very pretty like you too. And have the nice things you have.”

  Kasey knew there would come a day when she deemed it necessary to school her daughter about the essentials of surviving in a cruel and unforgiving world. But she’d never envisioned that it would be this early in her life. Semaj was smart for her age and with the lifestyle Kasey lived she felt it was imperative to forewarn her daughter about the dangers that came with love and relationships. If anything was to ever happen to her before she left this earth, Kasey wanted her daughter to understand that if she didn’t expect the best from a man he would never give it to her.

  Kasey lost her mother to cancer when she was a little girl but her stepmother filled the role and instilled the importance of family and unity. If a little girl ignored everything else in the world, she would pay close attention to what her mother had to say. Kasey looked over at her daughter. “My beautiful, Semaj, if you listen to me, you will grow up to be smarter and accomplish even more than I have.”

  “Really? But you have so much, Mommy. I can have even more?”