Payback Ain't Enough (25 page)

“See how easy that was?” I kicked him and he swung back and forth. “You could have saved us all some time.” I took another pull and blew the smoke in his face. He was shaking and crying as the acid ate away at his skin. I yelled out, “All a man got is his word.” Then I walked to my seat, sat back, and lowered the rest of him into the barrel. He screamed and twitched as the acid bubbled up. Blood was coming from his eyes and ears. He jerked, gurgled and gagged on spit. Right before the acid ate its way to his chest his head fell back and he was dead. I watched as his body was slowly lowered until there was nothing left but handcuffs and chains. Once his head went under, I released the cuffs, let them fall in the barrel and put the lid on.

“Two down, one to go.” I walked off in anticipation of counting my riches.

“Goddammit!” I yelled as I threw my bags, purse and dry cleaning on the couch. I had hit my toe on my way through the door. I limped back to the door, closed and locked it. I
then bent over to examine my toe to see if I had fucked up my nail polish.

As I stood to walk back over to the couch, my cell phone started ringing. I searched through the pile and found it.

“Hello,” I said into the phone.

“Tiny?” It was Nick.

“Hey, what’s up loverman?”

“I’ll be running a little late. So instead of 8:00 I’ll be there by 9.”

“Okay. I’ll be ready. Looking forward to it.”

“Me too.” He hung up.

I tossed the phone onto the couch. Walking to my bedroom I went straight to the closet and hung up the two dresses, and then went to retrieve the three pairs of shoes and accessories. I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to wear. After I laid everything out, I wrapped my hair and jumped in the shower. As I went over in my head my mission at hand, I had to keep reminding myself that this shit was multipurpose. Not only was I after Nick, I was also after Briggen. There was one thing for sure and two things for certain: my promise to make Briggen pay for Forever was true, and that nigga was getting ready to pay with his life.

I parked on the corner of the very spot where I got my start. I shot a man here, and I met Cisco here. Now it was burning down to the ground. The blaze appeared to be spreading to nearby businesses. I watched the firefighters, ambulances and
police cars around the smoke-filled building. The firefighters fought the blaze as the flames roared out of control, destroying everything they touched. Shit, it reminded me of myself and the situations at hand. Shit was about to get real out of hand, and I was gonna destroy everyone and everything that tried to touch me.

I had got word that it was the local feens who torched our spot, because they were mad that we upped our prices. But I knew better. This had Briggen’s name all over it. This was payback. But this was good ’cause I had special plans for Forever’s big brother.

“Yo, you called Cisco? I think he needs to know about this,” Mook was standing at the driver’s side of my car. He was the one who would probably end up being my right-hand man. He was down with whatever moves I made and proved his loyalty repeatedly.

“Yeah, I told him.” I rolled my car window up, and then rolled it back down. “If you need something let me know. I gotta check on something.”

“You want me to go with you?” he asked me.

“Nah, I’m good.”

I cranked up my ride and pressed play on my iPod. “Hustlin’” by Rick Ross blasted through my speakers as I sped off. I lit up a blunt and tried to decide which trap I would stop by first. My cell rang. I looked down and didn’t recognize the 757 number. I was curious and didn’t remember a chick from the 757 area that I fucked with, and then thought that maybe it was some business so I answered it. All I heard was crying.

“Hello. Yo! Hello?” I asked. Some chick on the other end
was crying loud as shit, fucking my swag straight up. “Who da fuck is this?”

“Joy,” the crying chick answered.

“Joy? Who is Joy?” I wanted to know.

“I apologize, is this Dark?” I heard the ho blow her nose.

Okay. Now she had me going. First off, I didn’t know a Joy, and how did she get my number? “What can I do for you?”

“Charles,” she sobbed. “He gave me your number… to call… if someth
ing happen
ed to him.” She cried harder.

“Hold up. Who is Charles?”

“I think you guys called him Cisco!” she sobbed.

You guys? “And who are you?” Cisco never told me about no one named Joy.

“This is Joy. I’m Charles’s wife, and he gave me your number as the number to call if I didn’t hear from him. Have you talked to him in the last week?”

“No. He told me he was going on vacation,” I lied. I was still trying to digest the fact that he had a wife and he gave her my number.

“My husband didn’t go on a vacation, damn it!” she screamed.

“What do you mean he didn’t go on a vacation? That’s what
he to
ld me.”

“My husband would never take a vacat
ion
without taking me and our two baby girls. That’s how I know.”

Whoa. She just dropped another bomb on me. A wife and kids?

“So let me get this straight,” she challenged. “You haven’t heard from my husband, and you don’t know where he is? Is that what you are telling me?” She was frantic.

I had to get off the phone with this bitch. And fast.

“Yes, ma’am. That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” I found myself saying. This Joy person didn’t sound like your average hood rat. And she sounded like someone who demanded respect. “However, he never told me he had a wife.”

“That’s because that was none of your business.”

“Well, I don’t believe you are who you’re saying you are.”

“Your name is Mills and you’re at the top of the list. They call you Dark. And you just got released from federal custody in April. Since my husband gave me your number to call and you haven’t heard from him, I’m going to the police. You can mark my words.”

Now I was convinced.

Yeah, that nigga Cisco was getting ready to feel my wrath. I don’t know how the fuck he imagined himself muscling me in my own damn city. And then shoot up the spot where I rested my head? He got the game twisted.

To let him know I ain’t the one to be fucked with, I had one of his hot spots burned down to the ground, and I was getting ready to have another one of their spots turned to ashes. I knew this nigga didn’t live in the area, and he’s lucky he didn’t because just like he sprayed my house, I would have sprayed his. The only difference was I would be sure that him and his family would be home.

As far as Nick was concerned, that nigga was dead to me. I just hadn’t decided on how I was going to handle him. For one, I wasn’t too twisted over the fact that he went to my
crib while I was gone to help out. Because when a nigga is in your corner and you get knocked, it’s his duty to check on your family. But he lied. She lied. Here these two sneaky muthafuckas knew each other all along, used to fuck and lied about it. I still haven’t figured out what’s the deal with them two. Because I am sure there is more to their story.

Now for Shan’s dick-eating ass. I’m cutting her ass clean off. She’ll see. When I showed up on her doorstep with Li’l Peanut, the surprised look on her face said she was about to faint.

I had just sat down at my computer when my doorbell rang. I shoved away from the desk to see who was at my door. I almost died when I saw Briggen standing there with my baby. When my baby saw that it was his mommy under all this dyed red hair, he started bouncing up and down, squirming to get out of his daddy’s arms.

“Anthony! Look at you!” I cooed as I took him out of his arms and started raining kisses all over his face. “Mommy’s booga bear is getting so big. I miss you.” I turned my back to Briggen as he came in and shut the door. Then it dawned on me that I didn’t tell this nigga where I lived. I turned and asked him, “How did you find me?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he snapped, as his eyes darted all around my new condo. I didn’t have much furniture, but it was still nice. “What did you do to your hair?” he had the nerve to ask me.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Her hair was bright red as if she was on some Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Kim shit. She had on red stilettos, a black miniskirt and a black top hugging her big belly. I couldn’t believe what I was staring at. Anthony started crying.

“Is he hungry?” She began examining all over our son’s body as if he she was looking for signs of abuse or some shit.

“No. It’s his nap time. We’ve been out all morning.”

“Let me take him to his room and lay him down.”

I followed her upstairs into Anthony’s bedroom where she laid him down onto his bed. It wasn’t decorated yet, but it had all of his things from the last house. As she tended to our son I took the opportunity to do a walk-through of her hideaway. The first stop was, naturally, the bedroom. I swore that if I saw any signs of any nigga’s shit other than mine in there I was going to put my foot all up in her ass. But there was no sign of any man’s gear… not even mine. The bitch obviously left my shit at the other house.

I then went to the other bedroom which had nothing but new clothes spread all around. I inspected the hall bathroom and went downstairs into the kitchen. I opened the door to the backyard, looked out and stepped out onto her patio. I stayed there until she finally came downstairs.

“He was sleepy. Thanks for bringing him by. But seriously, how did you find me? I told no one where I was, not even Keeta.”

I remained standing on the patio with my back to her.

“Briggen, I asked you a question!”

“I’ma ask you some questions. Where’s my shit? You left all of my shit at the other house?” I turned around and faced her, “Why are you so worried about how I found you? You
got more shit to hide?” I waited for a response. “And how are you going to just up and move and not tell me? Look at your hair. And why are you walking around the house dressed in stilettos and shit like you on TV? When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“I am not your child, Briggen, or any of them other bitches you got cast under your spell. Remember, it was your secret lifestyle that caused our home to get shot up. You should be glad I left when I did. And how are you going to leave my child with Mia? She said you were gone for days and you didn’t even check on him.”

“Where was his mother? Where were you, Shan? Let me answer that. My son’s mama was out running the streets, shopping, throwing parties and robbing dope dealers. You like your new lifestyle, don’t you? You done turned into Miss Real Housewife of the Streets all of a sudden. You need to come back down to earth. You have a baby, you’re pregnant and you’re not street-smart. Those streets are going to kill you, Shan.”

“Don’t be leaving my son with strangers, Briggen.”

“Then you keep him. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with that head of yours. I’m out of here.”

“I have a show tomorrow night. You have to take Anthony with you.” She was following me to the front door.

“No, you got so much mouth. You keep him, since you are so worried about who I’m leaving him with.” She grabbed my arm, and I pushed her back. She came at me swinging.

“I hate you!” she screamed.

I was ducking her blows until I grabbed both of her arms and held them behind her back.

“What in the hell has gotten into you?” my husband screamed in my face. “What did
I
do to you? Not a damn thing,” he ranted, and he was right, for the most part. He held my arms behind my back. I was trying to break loose. I had to go get Anthony. He was not leaving this house without taking him. I had a show to promote.

“I’m not turning you loose until you tell me what your problem is. I will admit you into the mental hospital if you don’t tell me something that makes sense.”

By the tone in his voice I could tell he was worried about me. And right then I broke down and started crying. “I’m not crazy, Briggen. Is that what you think? I have to be crazy to get your attention? That’s why I hate you.”

“Why do you hate me, Shan? You are not making any damn sense.”

“Because.”

“Because what? You got my full attention, talk to me.”

“I don’t want to talk. Let me go.”

“Not until you tell me why you hate me. Because I damn sure don’t hate you. I love you more than anything.”

“No, you don’t, Briggen, and you know it. Don’t insult me like that.”

“Yes, I do. And you know it. Why do you think I tried my best to give up everything for you? The hustle, the bitches…”

“Don’t even try it!” I screamed. I didn’t want to hear that.

“That’s why you acting like I have to take some of the responsibility because you know it’s true.” He kissed me on the neck.

“Don’t kiss me like that.”

“Like what?” He tried kissing me again. “Like this?” He kissed and sucked on my neck and just like that, my dumb ass was beginning to melt.

“Stop it.” He let my arms go, and I used the opportunity to push him away. He grabbed me, walking me to the couch. “Get off of me! Stop it! You lied to me!”