Gutta Mamis (18 page)

“I'm sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away, and I can't help myself
. Maybe if you let me play with yours sometimes, Bobbi, we wouldn't have this problem.”

Bobbi ripped off her scrubs and gloves.

Bobbi snapped. “Deliver that shit with a bow and don't let it happen again.” She raced into the bathroom, disregarding that the nurse was still in there throwing up. She grabbed her sunglasses from out of her purse and slapped them on her face. She was happy she'd worn clothing under her scrubs like Harvey had taught her so that she could race out of the room. The memories were suffocating, and she chose to run away from them. Her eyes watered under the shades. She wanted to get home and didn't want to communicate
with anyone until she got the news that Ruben received her sister's face, the symbol of war.

Opening the door, Bobbi was confident that when she stepped foot out of the hospital, the doctors and nurses under her payroll would never admit to seeing her. She shut the door behind her and made a sharp right, bumping straight into Levi.

“What do you want to know first?” Levi asked.

“Tabitha runs the streets of Compton and oversees Ruben's corner boys
. She's a loose cannon and wants nothing more than to take your place. Being on the frontline isn't doing it for her anymore and she's ready for a promotion. Ready to stand beside, Ruben.”

“So she knows about me.”

“Everyone knows about you; that's why she hates you. She's known in Compton, but you're known all over.”

“Is she sleeping with him?”

“Yes”

“Other than the disrespect, is taking her out worth the hassle? I want to hurt his pockets, fuck his heart. I broke that shit when I kidnapped that little bastard and sold her to that couple.”

“Killing off his Compton team won't break him, but it will hurt. If you'r
e going to step foot there, you better take Tabitha out. If not, she will come for you. She's his muscle.”

“His muscle? A female?”

“You run the East Coast
, so why are you so surprised?”

Silence.

“Fine, bring her here to me. But don't let Ruben find out.”

“Bring her here? How am I supposed to do that?”

“Sell her on her dream of knocking me off my pedestal, and when she's here, you'll be in L.A., knocking off her men, one by one.”

That conversation felt like it took place years ago, but the truth of the matter was it only happened two weeks ago. Bobbi stood in her observation room with her hands behind her back, staring into the empty room. It was odd not seeing any work being done, but in this case, she needed privacy. Bobbi was expecting a visitor and she intended on giving Tabitha her full attention. She looked at the clock and the words
five more minutes
ran through her mind. Exactly five minutes later the bell rang, and Bobbi turned on the lobby's camera and saw Tabitha with three men by her side.

“That's not how you do business,” Bobbi uttered to herself. She pushed the intercom and welcomed her. “You come up, but your men must stay.”

“My men come with me,” Tabitha responded.

“Then you all leave together. Thank you for coming.”

Bobbi took her finger off the intercom button and waited for Tabitha's reaction. It was a game of divide and conquer, so she watched them divide.

For a moment Tabitha didn't move, she stood there thinking over the tight spot she was placed in. Although she knew five different ways to kill a human being with her bare hands, she didn't feel comfortable meeting Bobbi without her men. But greed got in the way, and the thought of taking her spot, overruled her gut feeling. Tabitha nodded toward the men and Bobbi watched them exit the building and stand outside. The bell rang again.

“I'm ready.”

Bobbi buzzed Tabitha in and took one more look inside the neatly organized operating room. The two surgeons Harvey and Smith had trained, had earned their keep, and now worked as well as them. Bobbi looked up at the cameras over her head in time to see Tabitha exiting the elevator and heading her way. The main door had been left open so within ten seconds, Bobbi expected to
see her at the waiting room. One by one, she turned off the five cameras, the last one showing Bobbi's men wean Tabitha's goons away from her building and ultimately out of their lives. Bobbi smiled.
Divide and conquer.

Bobbi shut the screen off and turned away to see Tabitha standing at the door, looking at her through the plastic window. With her hand she signaled for her to turn the knob. With every step she took, Tabitha was falling deeper into Bobbi's trap.

Bobbi closed the curtains before Tabitha got a chance to look inside the surgery room that wasn't for her eyes to see yet.

“Tabitha, it's nice to finally meet you.” Bobbi gave her a fake smile. Her huge, dark sunglasses concealed her real intentions.

“I was beginning to think you didn't know anything about me.”

Bobbi walked over to her couch and took a seat. Before she responded, she looked her enemy over. The sides of Tabitha's head were shaven clean and the middle was slicked back into a high bun. She wore large gold-hoop earrings. Bobbi's eyes zeroed in on the tattoo printed on her collarbone: Ruben's name in plain sight.

“You're part of my business, therefore I know about you.”

“Correction, I'm a part of
Ruben's
business.”

“If that's what you want to believe.”

“That's what I know.”

Tabitha took it upon herself to sit directly across from Bobbi. Her legs opened and her folded hands dropped between them.

“I like you.” Bobbi poured herself a small amount of vodka from the decanter in the middle of the table, and pretended to drink some, the liquid never going past her lips. “You remind me of myself.”

Tabitha cringed at the statement.

“But like I said, I know everyone who works for me and that is why I want to offer you a promotion.”

Tabitha noticed Bobbi didn't offer her a drink so she helped
herself. She snatched the vodka and glass from off the table and poured a drink, emptying the decanter. She didn't care if there was nothing to mix the liquor with; she wanted to take the rest and leave Bobbi with nothing. Tabitha made Bobbi wait on her response while she drank her beverage, ignoring the salty taste.

Bobbi observed her consume the liquid without a care in the world.

“Good?” Bobbi asked.

Tabitha placed the glass down. “Terrific.” A wide smile covered her face.

“Like I was saying,” Bobbi's eyes looked at the clock, then back at Tabitha, “I want you to relocate to the East Coast and take over. It's lonely being a married woman in the big city while your husband is so far from you. I am ready to be in his presence and leave the Big Apple alone.”

Bobbi gauged Tabitha's reaction. She watched as her breathing increased with every second that passed, while she replayed Bobbi's words. Tabitha's gut told her she should have told Ruben about her meeting. When Levi texted her that he put in a good word for her because Bobbi needed someone to take over the East Coast, she knew her dreams were coming true. But the second she was about to ask Ruben why he didn't bring this up to her himself, another text came in telling her not to mention it to Ruben. If he found out Bobbi was retiring, he'd try to talk her out of it. Tabitha was left weighing her options and wondering what meant more: telling Ruben what she was about to do even though he was against it, or keeping quiet and doing what she always wanted to do, gain more power and ultimately be his wife. Being his muscle was no longer what she wanted; her goals had changed and after being in the business for so many years, she now saw the bigger picture.

When Tabitha was first introduced to Levi, she smelled something fishy, but off the strength of Ruben, she let it go and wrote it off as her being overprotective about who entered their circle. But after getting that text, she was happy she stood down. He did nothing to ring any alarms the time he spent learning about Ruben's associates and business and 'til this day, there was still nothing shown for her to think that he couldn't be trusted.

“I have no disputes about taking your place.” Tabitha smiled, ecstatic with the imagery. “But I don't think Ruben would be okay with this; what are his thoughts?” she asked, playing dumb.

“He does not like the idea of having both his women changing their positions.”

Tabitha double blinked, the words
both his women
, catching her off-guard. Now it was Bobbi's turn to smile.

“But I will take care of my husband; all I need to hear from you is a yes or no, so what will it be?”

Bobbi waited for an answer that seemed to have a delayed response. Tabitha sat still on her couch, her eyes lowering, then flying back open. When it registered that she couldn't keep her eyes open, she slammed them shut, then opened them wide. She looked at Bobbi sitting in front of her, her figure sprinting into one big blur. Sweat formed on the sides of her head and with everything she had, she fought to reach for Bobbi's untouched drink. The room was spinning and a heat wave took over her. She devoured the drink, her mouth remaining open but no words stumbling out. She wrestled to breathe, but the uncomfortable feeling didn't last for long before calmness washed over her just in time for her body to collapse on the arm of the chair. When her body hit the chair, she slid off its leather and pounded against the floor, blacking out the second she came face to face with the floor tile.

“Watching you kill yourself makes me thirsty.”

Bobbi recovered a bottle of water from the room's mini refrigerator, and after four gulps, finished the entire bottle. Hydrated and energized, she grabbed Tabitha by both hands and dragged her into the operating room.

•  •  •

“A war's going to break out. His baby mama's face was sent to him wrapped in plastic. I don't know if he lost his mind because that shit was disgusting, or because she was his girl.”

Levi nodded, taking in everything he already knew from one of Ruben's workers who was having a drink. The men sat in the far back of a warehouse surrounded by each one of Ruben's employees who resided on the west side. The news of Robbi's death had spread like flames and left Ruben a destroyed man. He called a meeting in order to instruct everyone on their next move and called Levi back to L.A. Levi couldn't have been any more happier. Flying him back made his job ten times easier, and caused him to no longer wrack his brain as to how he would take care of Tabitha's men. Sitting in the warehouse, Levi was not only surrounded by Tabitha's crew, but Ruben's whole organization. This was the perfect opportunity to put a cap on his cousin's entire business.

Ruben walked in the room and when he stood in front of the crowd of people, his eyes found Levi and he signaled for him to come to the front. Levi finished his drink, put it on a table and headed toward his destination. The closer he got to Ruben, the more he witnessed the effects Robbi's death had on him. Ruben's eyes were red, skin clammy and clothing disheveled. He couldn't figure out for the life of him who was behind this crime and it was eating him alive.

“Did you hear anything over on the East Coast?” Ruben's back was turned toward the crowd and his voice low.

“No, you can hear a pen drop over there. What about here?”

“Nothing, but for some reason, I believe there's no one here that knows anything.”

Levi's face scrunched up.

“Something tells me the answer is in New York.” Ruben repeatedly nodded his head, stressing his belief.

“Why do you think that?”

“It's the only thing that makes sense; my weakest location is where I am not.”

“Then why Robbi and not Bobbi?”

“I don't know, I don't know,” Ruben constantly repeated. “But I know someone over there is responsible.”

For a few days, Ruben held on to hope. He hoped that Robbi was still alive after receiving her face, but that wish was shattered when the search party he sent out to her couldn't locate her. The hospital had no records of her or his daughter, and the world was trying to make him believe they didn't exist. The stress of it all was driving him mad.

“You're reaching Ruben.”

Ruben ignored his cousin and filled him in on what would happen next. “They're all going back to New York with you, and you're going to ensure they find her killer.”

Before Levi could respond, Ruben turned toward the group of men and proceeded to speak. Standing behind his cousin, all Levi could do was smile. Ruben was determined to get revenge, but Levi was the only person in the room who knew that would never happen.

“My woman's killer is not close by; they're in New York. And if they're in New York, then that's where we need to be.”

No one spoke, instead they all allowed their thoughts to race through their mind, waiting until one guess was crowned correct.

“You all are going there and you're not coming back until you find out who is responsible. I don't care if you have to fuckin' rip the worm out of the Big Apple. Find her killer. And the first person who does will become my partner.” Business was no longer a priority for Ruben. He didn't care if he left the West Coast empty without activity, he wanted Robbi's murderer found.

A sea of smiles invaded the room. Ruben was a greedy, cheap man who controlled with fear and made everyone scared to go against him, but if they became his partner, they no longer had to worry about light pockets. Ruben spoke a little more and when he finished, whispered for Levi to take the floor; he would be in charge while in New York.