Cartier Cartel (39 page)

Authors: Nisa Santiago

BOOK: Cartier Cartel

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"Yeah, I remembered her. That was your home girl. I remember
everything," he stated. "That was some powerful shit you said up there."

"I was just speaking my truth," Cartier said and peered over her shoulder.
Jason was clocking her intensely from across the room. Cartier gave him a
warm smile and he relaxed. "You remember Lil Momma and Bam, right?"

"How y'all doing?" he asked.

They both shook their heads. Even if Cartier wasn't holding a grudge,
they still were. They didn't care for how he handled her.

Ryan continued, "Do the police have any leads on what happened to
them? I mean, I know that Monya is still alive, right? Is she talking?"

Cartier shook her head wildly. "They don't know nothing. We call down
their every day, and I don't even think they are working on the case:"

"Those hillbilly-ass police don't know how to do their job," Ryan said.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Don't you live down there now? I almost forgot."

"Nah, not no more," Ryan lied. "I got out of there. I mean, I still got
property down there, but I don't rest my head there."

"That's good. I just wish ..." Cartier couldn't finish her sentence.

Ryan wanted to continue where he left off. He needed to know Monya's
status. "Can't the other girl help?"

Cartier's tears began to flow again. "No, she can't. She's brain dead and
they don't expect her to ever wake up."

Cartier clutched her stomach and began to rock back and forth from
pain. Jason ran over to her and decided to get her out of there. He purposely
bumped into Ryan as he walked past him and purposely didn't pardon
himself.

Ryan just laughed that his presence could still intimate Jason. He didn't
give two fucks about Cartier. He'd gotten what he'd come for.

he next morning, the burial was just as sad. As Cartier and Jason walked
toward their limousine, she began to reflect on her life.

"Jason, I want a new beginning," Cartier said.

He shook his head. "Me too, baby. Me too."

"Then let's start over. Let's move away from New York."

"We could put the house on the market and buy a house in Jersey or
Philly," Jason responded.

"No ... won't nothing be different in Jersey in Philly," Cartier replied.
"We need a new lifestyle and leave the hood behind. How about we go far
away, where nobody knows us? We could go to Venice Beach in Los Angeles
and get a small apartment. The kids would love the weather."

"Are you serious?" Jason retorted.

"Jason, I'm more serious than I can express. I just need you to want to
do this."

"Well, I'm not leaving here without my son," Jason replied.

"I already spoke to Janet about it and she said she's too old to take care
of Monya's kid. She said Monya would love it if we raised Jason Junior. I told
her I needed to speak to you first, but I had already made up my mind. I got
to do this for Monya. We need to give her child a good, stable home. That's why she was out there hustling, to give her son a better life"

he captain has turned on the `fasten your seatbelt' signs. We're
preparing for landing," the flight attendant stated. Cartier looked
down at Christian and then glanced over at Jason and Jason Junior. In a
matter of minutes they'd be arriving at LAX and beginning their new lives.
Cartier was still torn up over Monya, who was still lying lifeless in a sterile
hospital room. She knew her best friend wasn't ever going to wake up. She
was as good as dead.

She hated to leave her mother and siblings behind, but Trina wasn't ready
to leave the hood. She used Janet as an excuse and Cartier had to accept her
decision. Trina was a grown woman. Cartier felt in her gut that if they didn't
leave New York and soon, she'd get that dreadful call one day that something
had happened to Jason. She couldn't take any chances.

When the plane finally landed, Jason scooped up his son, she grabbed
Christian, and they exited the plane and walked hand in hand toward their
future while leaving all the unhappy memories about the Cartier Cartel
behind them.

Once they were settled into their rent-a-car, Cartier clicked back on her
cell phone. She had thirteen messages. As she listened to each disturbing
message tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Anger began to rise up
and form a lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and tried to contain her
composure. Cartier couldn't believe what she'd just heard. The reality of
the situation seemed almost improbable, yet it all made sense. Her hands
trembled as she closed her cell phone so she clasped them together to stop
them from shaking.

Jason glanced over and noticed that she was crying.

"Yo, what happened now?" he asked in a panicked voice. He almost
didn't want to hear the news.

Cartier's voice was laced with malice and rage. "I just got several messages from Barn saying word out on the street is that Ryan's the one who rocked
Monya and Shanine to sleep. She said that Big Mike told her that Monya
and Shanine were going to meet up with his homeboy after they left Ryan.
They never made it. On everything I love he gotta get it! He don't deserve to
breathe the same air as me. Understand?"

Jason nodded. "Don't even worry about it, ma. I'ma push that nigga's wig
back. I put that on everything I love!"