What Da Lick Read? The Triple Cross (10 page)

“You don’t need to be drawing any heat to yourself or your organization. Just let me handle it. We need you to stay calm. You got too many people depending on you.
Ain’t
that right boys?” Khalil glance around the room at the men who all loved Gigi. He knew all of them would put their life on the line to protect hers.

Nard pulled his phone out of his pocket “Hey Coach let me get your number because I see now that some alliances need to be formed. We need to link up that Westside with the West End. I mean, shit we all are eating off of the same plate so to speak. I know our boys stay trained to go. All of us together would truly be a force to be reckoned with.”

“See I like the way you are thinking. I’m not in the streets anymore like you boys, but shit my kids are. I still got power and people listen when I talk so just get with me, because I got eyes and ears all over this town.” Khalil wrote down his number and handed it to Nard before standing.

“Uncle K, I sure do appreciate you looking out for me. That means a lot.” Gigi got up and gave him a goodbye hug.

 
“I will call you later. You boys be easy and don’t hesitate to use that number.” He walked toward the door and then paused. “Hey, what do y’all know about that nigga with the dreads from Hollywood Court, D.J.” He asked

“We grew up with that nigga, he smart as hell. He stayed to himself though. A lot of folks can’t stomach the way that nigga face look with all that burnt shit, but he cool folks. He got that Lean game on lock. He got a fool plug with it. He is supplying the entire Westside.” Toe-Toe said to Coach K.

“Yeah, he got a fool plug alright. Me” said Gigi.

Everybody looked at Gigi as she burst out laughing.

“Uncle K, don’t worry about D.J. It doesn’t get any more stand up than that. I think he in love with Real. But you need to keep an eye on her though. Yeah, I got units in the city. I learned this from
Sillk
. You
gotta
keep as many irons in the fire as possible.” Gigi said as she kicked her red bottom Louboutins up on the desk.

Reality sat on the sofa in the den. She had been lounging around ever since Pop-Pop dropped her off at the house hours ago. She hadn’t been home for a visit in quite a while, because she was always on the go. As she looked around the sunken den, all she could think about was how blessed she and her sisters were. Pop-Pop had rescued them. If he hadn’t come along that night there is no telling where they would have ended up. They probably would have gotten separated in foster care. Even though she had her place, this would always be home for all of them.

She shook her head in disbelief because she was fortunate enough to be able to call this mansion her home. Reality loved all of it, with its vaulted ceilings and marble floors, formal living room and regular living room, formal dining room and regular dining room, game room, theater, long hallways, 6 1/2 bathrooms and 8 bedrooms, 4 car garage, swimming pool, tennis court and basketball court.

In the early days they struggled just like everyone else, but Pop-Pop was a true hustler. His “get it by any means necessary attitude” had made him a millionaire over and over again. He always said that as soon as he got his hands on a bunch of money he was going to buy him a house big enough to put all of the places he had ever lived in on the inside of it, and that is exactly what he did. He found him some land and had it built from the ground up. Now Pop-Pop owned buildings all over the city that held anything that you could think of; dry cleaners, laundry mats, liquor stores, daycare centers, beauty salons, office buildings, restaurants, apartment buildings, townhomes, and houses. He had spent his money wisely over the years and now none of them wanted for anything. All he required was for them to stay in a child’s place and to go to school; they could have whatever their hearts desired if they met those two expectations. To say she was anything but blessed would be an understatement.

 
Since both of her computers were missing, she chose to chill out for a minute and process everything that was going on. So much was happening all at once. She grabbed the remote off of the ottoman and turned the television perched on the wall off because she wasn’t paying attention to it anyway. She reached over and grabbed the decorative throw off the end of the sofa and balled up and covered herself. She might as well take a nap. She had not been to sleep in two days. Maybe her body was finally catching up with her. She closed her eyes and snuggled deep into the cushions of the sofa.

“Bitch wake your ass up! You have been holding out on us. I
seen
dat
nigga dropped you off this morning in a fucking Maserati. Ok den, I see you do be paying attention to your big sister.” Loyalty said loudly as she sat on the other end of the sofa with her little sister.

“Girl, calm your loud ass down. You the one had the hot date last night with the Pro Bowler. So tell me about that.” Reality said shifting her weight and sitting up.

“Honey, I’m gonna marry that nigga. We went to Two Urban Licks for dinner. The chef is one of his best friends. We sat down and got to know each other and he is just so sweet and genuine. He didn’t want me to go home and I didn’t want to go either so I spent the night with him. He has a condo in the Twelve. We stayed up talking and playing Uno. He didn’t try to touch me or nothing. I fell asleep before he did; he just covered me up and went into the other bedroom. When I woke up this morning, he had gone to Starbucks and got me a cappuccino and an egg and cheese bagel. K.J. is a real gentleman.” Loyalty said excitedly.

Honesty walked into the den and plopped down in Pop-Pop’s favorite recliner and kicked her feet up. “Did I hear you say K.J.? Are you talking about K.J. Aziz who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Is that who you went on a date with last night? Man, he is one of the best receivers in the league right now. But you wouldn’t know that because you are not into sports.”

“Yeah, that’s him. I just don’t know what to say about him other than the fact that he is sweet, kind, funny, generous, and so affectionate. He makes me feel as if I’m the only girl in the world.” Loyalty swooned as she talked to her sisters.

“Damn bitch, you in love already?” Honesty said. She was happy that the atmosphere was light in the house because she needed something to brighten her mood. She had been obsessing since this morning about who all knew about her and Gorgeous. She hadn’t even been to the stash house. She knew she needed to get the dope to all the workers and sell what she was gonna sell. Her thoughts were just all over the place. She couldn’t focus and she hadn’t talked to Gorgeous since this morning when she left her house. Her family was her everything and they had never kept any secrets between them before; especially between her and her sisters. It was weighing heavily on her brain. She wasn’t even thinking about the fact that someone was after them. Hopefully spending time with her sisters today would help her get back focused.

“I see you are trying to get off the subject at hand. Who is the nigga in the Maserati?’ Loyalty asked Reality as she took her shoes off and tucked her feet under her.

“That’s
Jaimes
. He is from the Westside. He’s my people.” Reality answered her nonchalantly.

“Uh, Bitch we can see that. When did all of this happen? You been holding out on us real bad. You know we do not have any secrets.” The moment those words left Honesty’s mouth she felt bad.

“We hang out all the time. I have liked him for a while, but I thought he looked at me like a little sister. That is who I get the Lean from. He stays in a lot because of his face, so we talk and chill. I feel like I have known him forever though. I can tell him everything, even though I don’t. So many people are shocked when they are face to face with him. They are taken aback because of the severity of his burns. But I don’t see the burns, I never have. That is why I can’t call him by his nickname.” Reality said to her sisters.

“What’s his nickname?” Loyalty asked. She was so nosey.

“Damn
Jaimes
or D.J.” Reality responded.

“Oh I heard about him, those Gigi’s people. I have never seen him but she don’t have nothing but good things to say about him. They are real close” Honesty chimed in.

Reality was quiet. She thought about what her sister had said. That seemed odd because
Jaimes
never mentioned knowing Gigi. He knew that her family was close, maybe they were fucking. She picked up her iPhone and started to text him when it started ringing. It was him. She picked up the phone and held it.

“Hello, hey Bae, are you feeling better? Hello?” D.J. didn’t hear anyone on the line.

“What’s up?” Reality responded nonchalantly.

“I got some good news! Your computers were in your truck. Shawn just hit my line and told me that, so I’m on my way to pick them up. What are you doing? He said excitedly.

“Just at Pop-Pop’s house chilling with my sisters.”

“Is something wrong, why are you sounding so dry? I know you are happy about your computers, although I would have bought you two more.”
Jaimes
said into the phone. He was sensing that something was wrong with Reality.

“Man, come on now? You know my sack rite. I don’t need you to buy me no computers
shawty
. But what I do need from you is a bottle of
Actavis
, pronto. You have had me on punishment long enough.”

“Okay, I know you have had a rough twenty-four plus hours and you haven’t had any sleep, so that may be the reason why you are switching up on me. Because I know you
ain’t
trying to handle me cause your sisters are there with you. We don’t even rock like that
lil
’ ma. You do not have to put on a show for real. I’m feeling you. The real you, so whoever the fuck this is can listen to the dial-tone. Please do tell Reality to give me a call when she has a chance.”
Jaimes
ended the call.

Reality pulled the phone away from her ear and just looked at it. She shook her head. She couldn’t believe that he had hung up on her. How was he gonna catch an attitude? He was the one that was on the sneaky shit. She had something for him. Reality wasn’t about to get her feelings any more wrapped up in him if he was fucking Gigi. That was the only reason that he would keep the fact that he knew her a secret.

“Who was that? Your Boo? Loyalty asked.

“
Dat
was D.J., but that nigga
ain’t
my boo. I don’t do secrets and it’s something in my gut telling me that this nigga is full of them.” Reality angrily threw her phone down on the ottoman.

It seemed like every time the word secret was mentioned, it made Honesty’s flesh crawl. “Don’t be so mean. Your mean ass gonna drive that man away.”

“Man, if it is that easy to get rid of the nigga, then he
ain’t
for me no way. I
ain’t
hard up for a nigga. Shit, he is just the one that has caught my attention emotionally. We connect on a spiritual level. It is not even about the worldly things when it comes to me and dude. That’s the feeling that I want the most out of a relationship. I don’t want no nigga that is chasing after me cause I’m Coach K’s baby girl, or a nigga chasing after me cause I’m light skin with long hair and light eyes. I don’t want a nigga that is chasing after me because I do what I do with the computers and shit. I want a nigga that want me for me, what is on the inside and that is how I feel about dude, but something in the milk
ain’t
clean. I just got to find out what it is.” Reality was filled with so much passion when she spoke about
Jaimes
.

The three of them sat quietly in the den. Loyalty picked up the remote and turned on the television. She started flipping channels trying to find something for them to watch.

“I’m hungry. Let’s order some take out from that Chinese restaurant that delivers. They use to have some good Egg Foo Yung,” Honesty said as she got up and went into the kitchen to look for the menu. She knew since Pop-Pop lived alone, a lot of days when he was working from home, he would order from them.

“What are you looking for Truth?” Reality asked her sister as she reached over and got her iPhone off of the ottoman. She looked the restaurant up on her phone, found the number and had them on the line. She ordered herself Shrimp Lo Mein, Crab Rangoon and two vegetable spring rolls. Loyalty ordered Shrimp Egg Foo Yung and two seafood egg rolls.

Honesty walked back in looking down at the menu in her hands. “Give me my phone; just looking at this menu, has my stomach growling. I’m going to order me an Egg Drop soup with extra Wontons, a large Shrimp Fried Rice, braised wings with lemon pepper on them and two seafood egg rolls.”

“I would like to add an Egg Drop soup with extra Wontons, a large Shrimp Fried Rice, braised wings with lemon pepper on them and two seafood egg rolls” Reality repeated into her phone.