Duffle Bag Bitches (5 page)

“So you don’t have time for your woman…” She huffed.

“You’re not my woman! I shouldn’t have to keep telling you this man.” He hated to even say that but he always kept it real with women so they couldn’t say shit like “you using me for sex or why you cheating on me.”

“It’s like that with us now?” She was starting to wonder because he hadn’t touched her in two months.

“It’s not like shit! I do me, so do you love.” He had always told her that because he knew that he wasn’t on it like that.

“What? Am I not fine enough for you?” She always tried to make this the reason, even though it wasn’t the truth. She was fine. Five-foot-five and a hundred-thirty-five pounds, with deep chocolate skin and natural hazel eyes. If he was on it she would most def fit the bill but she didn’t move him.

“Baby that’s not it, you fine than a muthafucka for sho’.” He assured her.

“Aww thanks daddy, I miss you.” She ate that shit up even though he was telling the truth. This is what turned him off about her. He had to validate her, instead of her knowing it and living her life no matter what he did.

“Aye let me call you back. I’m heading on a business trip and I got another call coming in.” he told her.

“Let me find out you taking some bitch on a trip!” She was fussing again.

“Get off my phone, you about to piss me off.” He just wanted to get rid of her.

“Sorry-” She didn’t get to finish her statement before he was gone.

“Hello!” He yelled as he pulled into the airport.

“Hey Zane this…” he cut her off.

“What’s good Shannon?” She was shocked that he knew her voice.

“Oh nothing. Just wondering what time we’re supposed to be at the airport.”

 
“Damn I meant to call and tell you that I’m heading out now and ya’ll will be flying out about ten in the morning.” It had slipped his mind.

“Oh my bad for bothering you. I thought you said today.” She felt like she wasn’t paying attention when he was giving her the order.

“No it’s cool. I changed it cause you need to spend more time with your baby. That was too fast for you so I told D I would go get the rooms and shit in order and ya’ll could move in the morning.

“Aww thanks so much, you didn’t have to do that, I know this is business.” She wanted him know she was about that life.

“You’re right this is business and what you have with your daughter is love. Cherish it cause some of us don’t have that.” He always let his mouth get away from him when he talked to this woman. She was about to say something but he couldn’t bear to talk to her anymore. “Look boo I got a plane to catch.” Just like that he was gone.

Shannon was looking at the phone speechless when it began to ring “Hello.”

“Bitch what’s wrong with you?” Jasmine asked.

“Nothing… there’s been a change in the plans. We’re not leaving until tomorrow so we all need to link up for lunch and talk this shit over.” She was still tripping off Zane.

“Cool let’s go to 54th St. cause that’s Jay shit.” Jasmine loved her friend.

“I’m always down to eat.” They ended the call.

Jasmine always wanted to know where her baby sister’s head was. She wanted the best for her, she just didn’t know how to express that without being nosey or bossy and both caused Shannon to become angry even though it was done out of love. She almost lost Shannon when she had her baby. Shannon was in a coma with tubes everywhere, and her lungs even collapsed. That scared the shit out of Jasmine so she always wanted to know that Shannon was okay, that’s what big sisters were for. They all met at the restaurant at two o’clock. Shannon, Nisha, and Jay sipped Strawberry Long Islands and Jasmine had the Berry Sangria. That damn girl was crazy about Sangrias.
 
Nisha was always the first to start talking shit when she was drinking, and that’s why muthafuckas didn’t fuck with her the long way.

“I been shining on these hoes so hard they all ready to get down with the team.” She smiled like muthafuckas was feeling the shit that just fell out her fucking face.

Jay just looked at the bitch some kind of way because she hated stupidity.
 
Shannon looked at her funny as well, thinking that this hoe is the reason she leaves town so damn soon.

“Bitch shut the fuck up with your dumb ass. We was Gucci with the money we made, not thinking we would have to move for at least six months; but your thirsty ass fucked up all your money. If you wasn’t family, yo ass would be dead out here for real.” Jasmine was pissed thinking about the risk she now had to take. She had a husband and kids to think about.

“Well damn ya’ll holding on to that little bit of money like you can take it with you!” Nisha tried to make her decision sound good.

“We can’t take it with us but we can enjoy it while we here if we don’t play Russian roulette with our lives as much as you want us to. This shit can be a death sentence at any time for any of us.
 
We try to hit major players so we can do this less often.” Shannon schooled her ass real fast.

“Hell if it wasn’t for me ya’ll wouldn’t have shit to hold on to, am I correct?” Nisha was feeling herself.

“You’re partially correct, you fucked the nigga and I killed him.
 
Let’s not get shit twisted around here, every hoe got a John you dig, so don’t flatter yourself man.” Jasmine bit her head off and a piece of her ego.

“I was the bitch D and the DBB kidnapped to get money out of West.” Nisha said like she was hurt.

“You are also the same bitch that had him killed even after he proved his love to you so what you want a cookie? Bitch please.” Jay said

“And you also that bitch that’s causing us to have to go back in a war zone so soon. I am just glad it’s out of town cause shit still hot around here with West’s investigation going strong. His brother Nick Beam won’t let that shit rest.

“Fuck Nick Beam, he ain’t no damn body! He just wanted to be West and most of all he wanted to fuck me!” Nisha was getting scared because she knew how Beam loved his brother.

“I have to beg to differ on the whole fucking you thang cause all his women are thick or fluffy and you crack head skinny, he don’t want you.” Jay told her flat out.

Nisha was about to speak when Shannon’s phone began to ring. She didn’t know the number and that made her not want to pick up but something said she should. “Who dis?” she barked into the phone.

He laughed and she knew the tone, “Zane. I was just calling to let you know that ya’ll plane leave tomorrow at noon.” He was trying to keep from stuttering.

“Two questions.” Shannon said wondering who she was talking to.

“Shoot baby, anything for you!” He was kicking himself cause he was doing it again. He didn’t know what it was about this woman that caused him to care.

He caused Shannon to smile “Why is the flight leaving at noon instead of in the A.M. as you said earlier?” She wondered if everything was all good.

“Shit, just to allow you more time with your baby. I told D your situation and he told me to do whatever I wanted to handle that for you, so I made the flight leave at noon.” He didn’t understand why the way she loved her baby moved him.
 
Maybe cause no one had ever loved him like that.

She played it cool even though this man was melting her heart. “Good looking out, I dig that. Why you calling me from a strange number instead of the one I have saved?” She thought he was trying to be sneaky.

“Babe that’s my personal number, nobody really calls that line but D and a few of my niggas cause I don’t have much family and I-I-I-I,”
 
he stuttered, “just thought it would be cool for you to have it since we working together, that’s all love.” Dammit, the more he talked to her the more and more he hated this woman.

“Aye look let me get you off my phone. I got shit to do.” He was trying to be mean on purpose, acting as if she was getting on his nerves but she was driving him insane in a great way.

“Oh cool it’s like that huh?” Shannon was confused by his change of tone, but she didn’t take it to heart though.

“Yeah it is.” It killed him to tell that lie.

“Well Bye.” Shannon fussed.

“Bye.” He looked at the phone and had to smile.

Shannon hung up the phone feeling some kind of way and the expression registered all over her face.

“So who the hell was that?” Jasmine aka Ms. Nosy had to ask.

“If you must know that was Zane calling about business.” She barked.

“Business my ass!” Jay chimed in. Nisha and Jasmine busted out laughing.

“No for real, he did, he was telling me our flight leaves at noon.” Shannon tried to redeem herself.

“Girl that boy had you open like a vodka bottle in a room full of drunks.” Jasmine said.
 
She had to admit happiness looked good on her sister.

“He didn’t!” Shannon was becoming angry and everyone saw it so they let it go but they planned to watch this shit unfold.

“So when we leaving?” Nisha’s hot ass was ready to roll.

“You ain’t going no damn where just yet! This job requires me and Shannon’s expertise at the present time so fall your ass back.” Jay told her.

“Yeah ya’ll will arrive the day before we make the move with the rest of the crew.” Shannon assured her.

“I hope this little money I got last until this shit goes through.” She stated like someone cared.

“If it don’t that’s all on you!” The trio burst out laughing exiting the restaurant.

***

They were headed to Lambert Airport getting ready to fly out to Columbia, South Carolina. Jay was planning to pick up Shannon, but she was fumbling around trying to get ready. She truly wasn’t a morning person but she knew that today she had to get up early to make this flight on time. She didn’t even bother to pack her bags, she would shop when she got there as a past time. Plus, since she was the type of lady this man loved, she had to make it do what it do now that her time to shine had finally come.

She was going out the door when her phone began to ring. Shannon was calling. She thought her friend was calling to press her for running a few minutes late. “What you want hooker?” She chimed when she answer the phone.

“Aye did you get picked up by car service?” she asked.

“No I am in my car.” She was confused now.

“Well just headed to the airport. I don’t know what’s going on so I will just see you when I get there.” She hung up still confused.

Shannon sat inside the 2012 Lincoln.
 
She was loving the ride even though she didn’t know why she was in it. She didn’t know D that well so why would he send a car for her and not one for Jay? That wasn’t his swag by far. It was more to this but she was just going to enjoy the ride for now.

Jay was waiting on the C concourse for Shannon so they could board the plane together. Shannon was running down the concourse to make sure she wouldn’t miss the flight. She was so comfortable in the luxury ride that she had dosed off. She wasn’t sure why she had gotten the all-star treatment but she needed it and could definitely get used to it. She wanted to think about why and how but she didn’t have time, right now it was time to put her game face on. When you go in the zone you have to always be ready for war. She would think about luxuries when she got back home.

Jay saw Shannon running her way. She yelled, “Over here!” Shannon followed her voice, she had her ticket in her hand. When she got close to Jay she said “Wait!” she was scared.

“What’s up sis?”

 
“I am scared! I never been on a plane before.” She had a fear in her eyes that Jay had never seen before.

“Me either, but look at it this way. We’re flying first class and if we die we’ll be together and go out in style.” She smiled.

“You ready to die?” Shannon asked her.

“Yeah let’s ride.” She grabbed her hand and boarded the plane.

The flight was smooth and it took only a few hours to get there. The girls enjoyed their first plane ride. Delta Airlines first class was the shit. It made you feel as if you were riding in a spaceship. Complimentary food and drink was awesome as well, hell by the time the plane landed, the girls were in la-la land. They touched down at Columbia Owens downtown airport.

 
They weren’t really sure what the next move was until they saw a man dressed in chauffeur’s attire waving a DBB sign, which was their cue.

“Are you our driver?” Shannon asked

“Are you ladies the Duffle Bag Bitches?” He asked as if he had been dying to meet them all day.

“Yes we are.” Jay smiled.

“Follow me please.” The two women followed behind the driver; they were blown away, and suddenly they realized that they were no longer small time, they were in the big leagues now.

They had signed up for some real shit, and they had to be ready for it. The limousine pulled up to 700 Woodrow St., The Whitney Hotel. Shannon and Jay headed to the desk where the receptionist looked to be engaged in a more personal than professional telephone call. She acted as if she didn’t see them. Jay cleared her throat which caused the lady to end her call.