Her Sweetest Revenge 2

by Saundra

  Chapter 22

  Trina had been out of the hospital for three weeks and she was staying with Rochelle. Rochelle had decided it best she stay with her since she had a flat condo and I had stairs. Because of her badly bruised ribs, Trina couldn’t do a lot of climbing. Teddy ended up in ICU after he was severely beaten courtesy of Hood. Last we heard he was still fighting for his life because he had bled internally. This beating had traumatized Trina. She would shake if his name was so much as mentioned in her presence. She had pressed full charges on him with no encouragement from us. According to her, she had had enough and she vowed to get her a gun permit as soon as she was well enough. She said that would gladly bust a cap in him if he came anywhere near her. I seriously doubted he would cross her path after his ICU visit. If he lived.

  At the house, Hood was walking around preparing for his deal. It was going down that night. I watched him like a hawk. Instead of eating out, I prepared some fried catfish with coleslaw, hush puppies, and fries. We watched a movie and enjoyed it. Afterwards he started preparing for his mission. Everything had to be intact. I could see the rush on his face. He was ready to get that dough.

  “Come here.” Hood called me over to him. He had just finished loading his heat. He had two 9mm Glocks and a .35, all three shined like a baby’s behind. Watching him suit up with them always turned me on for some reason. My baby was a certified gangster. I walked over to him wondering what was up, because the look on his face was serious. When I was close enough, he reached out and pulled me to him. He looked me in the eyes.

  “I know these last couple of months been crazy for us, but I want you to know your words ain’t been fallin’ on deaf ears. I have been hearing you loud and clear. After tonight I’m really gonna walk away from the game.” I didn’t know whether to smile or not. Was he serious? Would he really give it up just like that?

  “Just like that. You gone walk away?” I searched his eyes. I wanted truth.

  “Yeah, I mean I got to tie up some loose ends. Make sure everything straight ’cause if it ain’t right, it could start a war on the street. But I kinda already started that a couple of weeks ago, small stuff. My plan is to pass the rock to Pablo. Li’l nigga been working hard for a long time alongside me and Pig. He put in mad work. He earned it. I just gotta clear him for all the contacts and a few other things. But that’s it for me. I’ma settle down and be here for you. Just like you been askin’. Maybe we can travel the world or some before we start our family.” He grinned.

  “Oh, Hood.” I jumped in his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist with so much force he stumbled back. “I love you, babe,” I whispered in his ear, then gently bit the tip of his earlobe.

  “I love you, too,” he cried out in pure ecstasy.

  At that moment he couldn’t have been sexier to me. Hood gripped my ass so tight I felt myself burning with desire. I threw my tongue down his throat. His mouth was so warm I moaned with each stroke. Unable to control himself any longer, Hood walked me over to the kitchen counter and sat me down. He ripped my shirt off and exposed my ample breasts and feasted for dear life. I needed him right then, so I forcefully undid his belt buckle and pushed his pants down. I arched my back and he entered his safe place and burst into flames within minutes. Damn, we were made for each other. For the next two hours we went round for round until sleep claimed us.

  I woke up to the ringtone that belonged to Rochelle and an empty spot in the bed that belonged to Hood. He had left for his deal and instead of waking me up, he let me sleep. I thanked him for that because I was still exhausted.

  “Hello,” I breathed into the phone.

  “Dang, chick, what took you so long to answer? I done called you twice.”

  I pushed myself up in the bed. “I musta been out like a light then. I was asleep. What’s up, though? You done woke me up now.”

  “Girl, this nigga Dontae’s ass is crazy. I done popped off on his ass up in here.”

  “Oh, snap, what he do?” I knew this was going to be good. Rochelle was a firecracker: It didn’t take much to piss her off. Sometimes she tries to hold her tongue when it comes to her man, but that ain’t easy for her, either.

  “This dude got the fucking nerve to tell me to put Trina out. Now, Mya, who this nigga think he talkin’ to? I went ham up in here.”

  “You mean he just walked up to you and said put her out.”

  “Hell, yeah, like he runnin’ shit up in my crib. I ask that nigga did he pay any bills up in this motherfucker? And I made it clear that this my house and Trina will stay until I say go. Then I got his shit that he been storing at my crib and told that nigga to hit the bricks. That’s it. It’s over, not that we had nothing that real.” Rochelle could be cold like that sometimes. She did not play.

  “What he say? He didn’t act up, did he?” I was laughing on my end. I knew that sometimes dudes got crazy when you dissed them and threw them out.

  “At first he was tryna say he was sorry but I didn’t wanna hear it. I told you I was gettin’ tired and suspicious of his ass anyway. Some ’bout him ain’t right. He be making sneaky-ass moves and shit. That nigga Silk ain’t right neither. He be callin’ Dontae at strange times havin’ him make moves. I don’t know. I just get bad vibes. For instance, this morning he was in the bathroom on the phone with somebody. He was whispering, but I know I heard him say Hood’s name at least twice.” Rochelle was popping her mouth and talking a mile a minute.

  “Hood?” After I heard his name, she had my undivided attention. I was all ears.

  “Mya, I’m sure that is what I heard him say. I just couldn’t make out anything else he was saying. Like I said that nigga be makin’ them sneaky-ass moves. How well does Hood know them niggas anyway? You know they just popped up in Detroit out the clear blue? They asses ain’t from here.” My mind was going wild. I didn’t trust them, either. And who would Dontae be on the phone talking with that he had to whisper Hood’s name? Hood was with them right now. I wondered if I should worry.

  “He met them through Rob and some other connections. That is all I know. But you know Hood screen niggas off top. You know how he can be when it comes to trust. Besides, he is meeting with them niggas right now. They got a big deal going down tonight.” I was a little nervous but Hood could take care of himself; that I was sure of. If them niggas were rotten, they would deal with me.

  “I know ’cause Dontae was talkin’ about finishing up then coming back to work things out with me. After I done called him every motherfucker and son of a bitch in the book. Ain’t that crazy? But I told that nigga he better not bring his butt back over here. I got my pistol waiting for his psycho ass if he do,” Rochelle mouthed.

  “They ass betta be legit anyway. I’ma talk with Hood tonight when he come home. What are you and Trina doing?”

  “Nothin’. Trina just hooked us up some stir-fry and butter rolls. Mya, it’s off the hook! I’m about to go in. Why don’t you come over? We got plenty. I just gave Tiny her bath and put her down for the night.”

  “Nah I’ma chill. I ain’t hungry anyway. I fried some fish earlier. I’ma take me a shower and turn in early.”

  “A’ight then, I’ll see you in the morning at the salon.”

  “No doubt.” I hung up and threw the covers off me. Rochelle had really got me to wondering about Dontae and Silk. I already knew they were not to be trusted. Rico had proved that to me. But he had paid dearly for it with his life. Hood had been planning this deal for months, though. Other than Rico’s sudden betrayal, I’m sure he had no reason to doubt them. Besides, they had already had several successful deals since connecting. Maybe I was being paranoid. A shower and a shot of Hennessey would ease my mind. This damn drug life. Stressful.

  Chapter 23

  My sleep had been miserable because I tossed and turned most of the night. I couldn’t remember dreaming, but I was definitely asleep. When I finally opened my eyes in the morning, I was exhausted from fighting for comfort during my restless night. As soon as my eyeli
ds opened, I realized I was turned facing Hood’s side of the bed. His spot was as empty as it had been before I dozed off the night before. I knew immediately that he had not been home because his pillows were still intact. Something was odd. Turning over on my right side, I reached out and grabbed my cell off the nightstand. The screen showed ten a.m. and I had no missed calls.

  Either something was wrong or Hood had lost his damn mind. He knew he had better call me. Especially with it being another day. Unlocking my phone, I pressed Hood’s name on the screen. It didn’t ring once; his phone went straight to voice mail. My mind told me to remain calm, but my heart skipped at least one beat. The conversation that I had with Rochelle the night before quickly replayed in my mind. Then my house phone rang and that brought me back to reality. No one ever called me on that damn thing. I had already decided not to answer. But what if it was Hood? I mean, he never called that phone, but I was not taking any chances. I yanked the covers back and sprinted to the cordless phone that was only there for show.

  “Hello.” I was out of breath from my sudden fast-paced movement. To my dismay it was a telemarketer. I must have called that lady a thousand bitches before ending the call and throwing the phone to the floor. Out of all the days they could call this house, they picked this one. My nerves were getting the best of me.

  Then it hit me to call Rochelle to see if Dontae had made good on his promise to come back and fix their relationship. Rochelle’s cell rang at least eight times before she finally picked up.

  “Dang, Ro, what took you so long.” I was agitated.

  “Oh, I was just in the back getting some shampoo. What’s up?” she asked, sounding like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Ummm, did Dontae come back through last?”

  “Hell, naw. He ain’t stupid. Why? What’s wrong? You sound stressed.”

  Hearing that Dontae had not showed back up did little to ease my mind. I needed her to find out where he was. “Look, I need you to call him and see if he will tell you where they at.”

  “Mya, now you know I ain’t tryin’ do all that. You know the situation. Did you hear anything I said last night? I am through with his ass.”

  “Rochelle, do this for me, a’ight. Hood didn’t come home last night. So just do it!” I sort of yelled. I did not mean to get upset at her.

  “Oh snap, why you ain’t tell me?” Rochelle sounded apologetic. “A’ight, look, I’ma call Dontae and hit you right back.” She hung up. I felt bad for yelling at her. I should have told her from the start.

  In literally less than a minute my phone was ringing back. That’s when I knew something was wrong. If she had gotten Dontae on the phone, it would take longer for her to get back to me.

  “Hello,” I answered the phone.

  “He didn’t answer,” she replied in a soft tone. She knew that was not the answer I was waiting for.

  “Damn!” I screamed. “Something ain’t right, Rochelle.” My voice turned shaky and tears slid down each side of my cheeks. Chills were shooting up and down my spine.

  “Well, we gone find out. I’m ’bout to have Pam cancel all my appointments and leave her in charge. I’m on my way.” Before I could protest, she had hung up. Not knowing what else to do, I forced my weak legs to take me back to my bed, where I stayed in silence until Rochelle arrived.

  Three days had gone by and I had not heard one word from Hood. I was completely sick with grief. I was not eating and had lost like five pounds. The first two days Rochelle and I went hard on the streets trying to find out something. I visited all of his trap houses and spoke with his workers one by one. All of them claimed to know nothing or had heard nothing from Hood or Pablo. According to them they were still waiting on orders of what to do about reup. I almost told them to shut down. But realistically, I knew that would not be a good idea because the streets would just get crazier. And I knew that Hood would not want me to do that, so I stepped up. Hood never really shared his business with me when it came to trapping. Luckily for him, some things I knew from just watching. Fortunately, knowing how to reup was one of them, so I did it.

  I also made it clear that even though Hood was not back yet, shit needed to stay tight. I spread the word to them that Hood had a lookout guy that would murk they asses on sight if there was any problems, especially shortages. That lookout guy was me. And rest assured, with my man missing I was on edge, so it wouldn’t take much for me to bust the nine-millimeter.

  Handling that situation had drained me. I was depressed. Mom, Monica, and Imani came out to the house and stayed a couple of days. They tried to get me to eat, but I just couldn’t. The knot in my throat would not allow food to go down. But I was drinking fluids so that was keeping me alive. I was at a loss for words. I needed a plan and I didn’t know where to start. Hood had kept me in the dark about this huge deal. Not that I blamed him. I had been on his back so much about getting out of the game. There was no way he could have discussed it with me even if he wanted to. The only thing I was interested in hearing was that he was done with that life. I did not regret encouraging him to walk away. Now I wished more than ever that he had listened to me. I wondered what had gone wrong and why he had not come back. We learned he was not the only one missing. No one had heard from Dontae, Pablo, or Silk. The three of them had all but vanished from the city of Detroit. But I knew somebody knew something. In the hood no one ever just disappears. That was considered impossible.

  Mom and Monica were preparing to go home since Rochelle had come by and would be staying with me for a while. I had tried to get all of them to go home because I wanted my space. Not giving me a choice, they vowed someone would have to stay with me until I started eating again. So I had made up my mind to eat something just to get Rochelle out, too. She was in the kitchen whipping up some chicken noodle soup. She figured I could at least get that down since I complained of this huge knot I had in my throat, even though I was aware it was only stress.

  I headed to the den to lie down on the sofa. It was six o’clock so I decided to watch the news. I hardly ever got a chance to watch the news because normally I was still at the salon. But occasionally when I made it home in time I would watch. Plopping my weak, foodless body down on the sofa facing the flat screen on the wall, I grabbed the remote and scanned through the channels until I found it. Maybe this could take my mind off Hood for at least a few minutes, but I doubted it. As soon as I stopped on the station, “Breaking News” flashed across the screen.

  Two dead bodies had been found shot up behind an abandoned building. Apparently the bodies had been there for at least three days. The owner of the building had showed up to check for squatters. She had been having trouble with them trespassing in her building. When she opened the door, she got sick from the stench escaping the building. She followed the smell and found the bodies. The news said that it looked to be a drug-related issue that went bad. I screamed out. I didn’t even hear the sound as it left my mouth. I tried to get up to find Rochelle. I felt off balance and started to sway. Rochelle almost bumped into me as she entered the den.

  “What is wrong, Mya? What happened?” Her eyes searched mine for answers.

  For a couple of seconds I could not speak. I pointed at the television. “They found them. Look. He is dead.” As I said those unthinkable words, I collapsed into Rochelle’s arms. I could not believe this was happening again. Li’l Bo murdered and now Hood, my own husband.

  Rochelle fixed her gaze on the television while trying to hold me up. “No, Mya, it ain’t him.” I heard her words, but they did not register with me. I was too devastated. Rochelle tried to lift me up on my feet. “It ain’t him,” she repeated again. This time I heard her.

  “Rochelle, they just announced it. I heard them say it,” I managed through my clouded vision of tears.

  “No, it’s Dontae and Pablo, they just said their names.” I slowly turned back toward the television, but I was having a hard time seeing the screen. Somehow I took one of my hands and wiped my tear
s away as best I could. My vision was still a bit blurry but I was able to see Dontae and Pablo’s pictures as they flashed across the screen.

  I sucked in a sigh of relief. She was right, it was not Hood, but that still did not change the fact that he was missing. Where in the hell was he? I wanted to know. And then a light came on. Where was Silk at? He was a major part of the deal. If there was no Hood or Silk, had they both been kidnapped or something?

  Rochelle got me settled back on the couch and eventually I ate some of her homemade chicken noodle soup. To my surprise I ate the whole bowl and it was so good, I even asked for seconds. I did not realize how hungry I was until I started eating. The food also gave me back my thought process. For the first time since Hood had disappeared I could see things for what they were. The fact of the matter was I was all Hood had and I needed to be strong for him, which meant I had to be in good health in order to help him. Starving myself and crying all day was not the way to handle this type of situation. I understood that better than most. I had conquered the trenches before. I had to be a solider, be the bad bitch that I was capable of being. I had to put a plan into action to find my man. And I knew just who I needed to speak with to help me with a major question. It was Lester, my dad. He may have been behind bars, but he knew everything about the streets. I needed to know what could cause a dealer as major as Hood was in Detroit to just turn up missing.

  I mean I was not stupid. I knew that Hood was not King Kong, but he was heavy in the streets. There were only two major suppliers in the Detroit area: Hood and this other dealer who went by Tonic. Tonic and Hood had no beef. They kept the streets peaceful because the last time things got out of hand, the city was almost shut down. So Hood kept his side supplied and Tonic did the same. Together they kept the streets jumping. I had personally contacted Tonic the first day and he assured me that he had nothing to do with this. The streets seemed to have the same question I had. Where was Hood? It was time I got some answers.