Thicker Than Water (19 page)

“So, what you think kid? Me and you, forever. How bout it?” She was crying so hard that she was shaking, she never, never, ever had felt this way.

“Yes,” she whispered. She repeated again, more audibly. “Yes. Chauncey, yes.”

He cheesed a big grin and playfully punched the air as if he had achieved the greatest conquest in history. He thanked Allah for her and for giving him another chance with Sash. He begged for forgiveness for the hundredth and last time about what he had done to her and vowed that he would do anything to keep their relationship solid and do right by her. And then he spoke again.

“Alright, now come open the door.”

After they made love for the second time, Tatum’s phone vibrated on Ree’s plush carpet in his bedroom.

“Don’t get it,” he instructed, kissing her lightly on her neck then making his way down to her breasts.

She moaned lightly and licked her lips in anticipation of round three. So far Ree was the only man who had ever left Tatum dry mouthed, body shaking, head in the clouds satisfied while still craving more. He continued talking to her in his oh so sexy voice while making his way down her midriff. Tatum began trembling wondering if she could take his tongue down there again.

“You don’t know how good it feels to have you here,” he said slowly, pausing between words with light moist kisses. “In my house.” Kiss. “In my bed.” More kisses. “You know, not talking to you those days really had me.” He paused. Tatum sat up a little.

“Had you what?” She asked, anxious to hear his feelings about her. She wanted to hear that not talking to her those days had him sick, the way she was sick. He looked up at her and laughed smoothly before answering.

They kissed some more, ready to get back into their rhythm and feast of each other’s bodies, when Tatum’s phone rung for the third time.

She reached down onto the floor against Ree’s protest and wondered why Sasha was calling so much.

“Hello,” she drawled.

“I’m engaged! I’m engaged Tay! Chauncey proposed to me!” Tatum smiled happily, oh so ecstatic for her girl and mouthed the news to Ree who smiled lightly, but he was really thinking of what Chauncey’s plans were.

“Well tell me how it happened! I’m so happy for you Sash!” After the whole rundown, and the oohs and aahs, a quick overview of wedding colors, dates, times, halls, and guest lists, the girls hung up and Sasha went to call Kim and Neli and tell them the good news.

When Neli heard the news of Sasha and Chauncey’s engagement, she threw up. She literally threw up. She felt so defeated, so useless, and she felt like she had been used. Chauncey never cared about me.
He used me for what he wanted and then still got to go back to live his perfect life, with his perfect girl. Well not if I can help it. I have to sit up here and look at them together all the time, let alone go to a dreadful wedding and see the man I love marry my friend, oh hell no! What about me? I’m left alone while they are off living this happy life with all their money…

She thought for a minute, long and hard, as a sneaky grin came across her face.
Their money…yes money! Huh, I got something for his ass.
She picked up her phone and made a long distance call to Los Angeles with a plan in mind that was sure to make Chauncey pay for what he did.

“Listen Bennie, I got a big, huge proposition for you. It’s a lot of money involved and it’s dumb easy. I just need you and some of ya homies to take a plane out to Newark Airport and I’ll pick you up and go over the details.” Neli’s heart raced hoping that Bennie would be fair game. He always was down for whatever grimey, sneaky shit could get them paid, and plus Bennie owed her. Neli had helped him set up some niggas in Cali a little before she left.

“Cool, Penelope. Just tell me when and me and the crew will be on the next flight out. You know I’m down if its money involved. It just better be official, not like the last one. When you want us out there?”

Chapter 13 - Betrayal

Kim was on stage on a dead Sunday evening grinding on the pole to an old R. Kelly track when she noticed Tatum’s brother Chris alone, drinking himself into oblivion.

She strutted over to him in her 6 inch white platforms and white fishnet jumpsuit, to try to cheer him up and find out what the deal was. He never came into her spot. She squatted so that she was face to face with him and was about to make a joke about giving him a dance until she noticed that he seemed upset.

“Hey, what’s up? What you doing in here?”

He looked up and noticed that it was Kim; he stood up a little to lean into her but toppled over and fell onto the ground. He was drunk out of his head. The huge bouncer went to pick him up to throw him out but Kim stopped him.

“Wait Shorty, I know him, gimme a minute.”

He backed off as Kim came off the stage and helped Chris up off the ground.

“You got 20 more minutes Kim!” the club owner screamed. She ignored him and led Chris outside to get some air. On her way out the few men that frequented the joint, tugged at Kim and grabbed her, wondering how much Chris was giving for a personal.

Once outside, Chris doubled over and hurled all over the sidewalk while Kim looked on with her face twisted in disgust. People walking by looked at the scantily clad stripper and drunk patron on a Sunday evening as if it were a show.

“Mind ya fucking business!” Kim screamed, at everyone, and no one. She turned back to Chris.

“What’s going on with you? Did something happen with you and Neli?”

He just looked at her and then dropped down, sitting in his own vomit.
Ewww
. Kim thought to herself.

He finally began to speak.

“Yo, that was my man Kim. Chaunc was my man. I fucked up, I fucked up. I fucked up, but it aint no more love. No more love.”

Kim was confused but she gathered that whatever happened, it had something to do with Chauncey. Lately everything had something to do with Chauncey, and Kim was starting to think there was some real foul shit going on that she needed to get to the bottom of.

“No more love,” he repeated, closing his eyes.

“Okay, okay, let’s go,” she urged, picking him up. It was evident that he was in no shape to drive home. She informed the manager that she was leaving and to dock her pay and then she dressed quickly and asked Shorty to help her get him into her car. After that, she drove towards Tatum’s house.

Chris woke up in Kim’s backseat wondering where she was taking him, he was still drunk as hell but he knew that he had something to do, he just couldn’t remember what it was. Then it hit him.

“I gotta, I gotta get the shit and bring it to the other place,” he slurred. Kim just looked at him through her rearview.

“You aint going nowhere nigga, except home and to bed.”

He tried to get the words out that his life was on the line, that it was beyond important for him to get to that safe house and transfer the money, but the words wouldn’t come. So he mumbled some more and slurred and after 5 minutes of protest, he passed out again, falling into a deep, deep sleep.

When Chris woke up the next morning he felt like shit. He looked at his cell phone and saw that he had a missed call from Chauncey and suddenly remembered his final task that he was to carry out. He listened to his voicemail that was short and to the point.

“Bring me the keys.”

Chris jumped up, barely getting both legs into his pants before he was on his way to the safe house. If he could just transfer the money real quick and bring Chauncey the keys, he could manage to not fuck up again. He might also prove to Chauncey that he was capable of being a good soldier and not to give up on him yet.

When he reached the safe house, he practically ran up the broken steps and hurriedly got the keys out to open the door, however he didn’t need them. The door was drilled up off the hinges and hanging by a single nail. Chris nervously walked in and immediately felt sick to his stomach. All of the floorboards were flipped over, the mattress was ripped open, and the money and dope was gone. He immediately broke out into a cold sweat contemplating his next move.

No, no fuck! What the fuck do I do? I can’t tell Chaunc, he’ll probably think I had something to do with it. He’ll probably hurt Neli too just cause I brought her here, crazy mothafucka. I damn sure cant tell Ree, he’ll just fucking kill me. What the fuck am I gonna do?

He then realized that whatever he did, it couldn’t be at that house. He headed back downstairs and jumped in his BMW, not knowing where to go, or what to do.

Chauncey dialed Chris’ number for the tenth time that morning, wondering what the fuck was going on. An unsettling feeling in his stomach was telling him that something was wrong, but he knew a way to get rid of that. He picked up his phone and dialed Ree’s little man Deets.

“How much in the bank?” Chauncey asked, anxious to hear that it was over a half of a million in there and everything was fine. Maybe Chris just didn’t wanna give up his keys.

“A hundred thousand?” Chauncey asked, not believing this. Once Deets confirmed, Chauncey raced to the Forest Hill location, only to be greeted by the same scene that Chris had previously been. He balled up his fists and punched holes repeatedly in the walls and then after more calls to Chris that went unanswered, and a call to E, he made that dreadful call to Ree.

Ree dropped Tatum off as usual, showing no signs of his anger, even kissing her goodbye and promising to call, all the while examining her block for her brother’s car.

After that he drove straight to a small apartment in Newark that he rented to tenants but was vacant at the moment. He had asked all of the squad to meet him there. He walked up the stairs where everyone was waiting in the hallway and opened the door without a word. When everyone was situated, some seated and others standing, he began.

“I want my fucking money, and I want my drugs. Talk.” Everyone remained quiet, so E figured he would begin.

“I saw the young boy Chris there Saturday night. He was leaving when I was coming in. He had a chick wit em.” Chauncey looked down at the floor, knowing that this was his fault. He was prepared to handle the situation in whatever way required. Ree thought of Tatum for a second and felt a sharp pain in his chest as he spoke his next sentence.

“If that nigga has my money, I want him dead.”

Chauncey ran his hand over his mouth, knowing that Ree meant it; he also knew that like himself, Ree would be facing some personal challenges if it turned out to be Chris.

Not only did Chauncey not want his man that he grew up with dead, Ree did not want to put Tatum through that pain, losing her parents, and then the only family she had left, her brother.

Ree and Chauncey locked eyes as if sharing the same thoughts, both genuinely hoping that it didn’t have to come to that. But right now the odds were not looking good in Chris’ favor.

The fact that he had disappeared and was not answering his phone made him the prime suspect. However Chauncey had to consider all options. He spoke at last.

“Why would Chris drill out the door if he had the keys?”

Deets jumped on it.

“So he could blame another muhfucka, so it can look like he aint do it! Nigga aint even nowhere to be found, fuck kinda shit is that?”

Chauncey proceeded.

“But why would he want it to look like somebody else did it and still hide, wouldn’t he know that makes him look guilty?” Everyone remained quiet, while Ree just looked back and forth between Chaunc and Deets.

“So what you saying?” Ree asked. Chauncey looked at everybody and then spoke to Ree.

“I think we need to look at the chick.”

She looked at him as if he was growing a second head, and her response was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. When Ray opened the door he noticed two men, one very dangerous looking with dreads pulled back and unfriendly eyes, the other big, resembling Suge Knight.

“Is Neli here?” the big guy spoke.

“May I ask who you are?” Ray asked, trying to still prove his manhood but hoping that these thugs didn’t want any trouble. Neli came behind Ray and before she could say anything, Ree pushed by Ray and walked into the house grabbing Neli by the arm and pushing her onto the couch. Ray tried to protest but E just pushed him in the house and closed the door, pulling out his .45 and forcing Ray to sit on the steps.