by Chris Green
“You say that’s the man that murdered my son. Turns out he feels a different way, homes. Seems like a personal matter to me, my friend,” Torez said, leaving him in the middle of the lot as he climbed back in his vehicle and pulled away.
Standing less than five feet away from Laylah, Stone and Reeses, Shakur was stuck with a disoriented facial expression. Walking over to him, Reeses spat directly into his face.
“There’s no point in me wasting too many words, so I’ll be brief. Enjoy hell,” she smiled evilly, before making her way back to the car.
Seeing Laylah and Stone step forward, he held his breath.
“You won’t make it into paradise if you kill me, Stone. I’m still Muslim,” he barked, knowing his time was near.
“Alhamdulilah,” Stone replied before he and Laylah released an excessive amount of bullets into his body.
Making their way quickly back to the car, Laylah smiled after getting in.
“Being around you two will bring a very bad side out of me.”
Chapter 14
10:00pm
Days Inn Hotel
Smiling with a devilish grin, Justin slammed down the ten of diamonds.
“That’s a fucking casino, girl. You ain’t got not one motherfucking point,” he laughed, looking at her small bundle of cards.
“It’s because you’re cheating, nigga. I know for a fact I had the deuce of spade,” she lied, flipping through her hand.
“Courtney, you thinking about the deuce of clubs. That’s four games, one more before I glove that ass.”
Standing up she tossed the cards in his face. “That’s definitely not about to happen!”
The small black shorts she wore hugged her apple with a perfect snug showing off her smooth juicy legs. Her curly hair hung freely making her freckles even more attractive. Justin couldn’t help but stare at the amazing beauty that stood before him.
“What? Why are you staring at me?” she asked, standing back on her legs like a stallion.
“You’re even more beautiful now then you were when we was younger.”
Mmmhmm, sometimes I think back and wish I would’ve never fell for those little lines from you. I’d probably still have my virginity.”
Standing up he stood face to face with her. He was so close, her Paris Hilton perfume started to crawl up his nose.
“Are you okay?” Courtney questioned, staring him up and down as if he were violating.
Instead of replying with words, Justin wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and slid his tongue into her mouth for a passionate kiss. Feeling her kitty tingle, she closed her eyes and pushed lightly away from his grasp.
“Please don’t do that, Justin. I still have a job to do,” she uttered while trying to stop her heart from beating furiously.
“Says who? I can’t deny the fact that I still hold the same love for you from when I was seventeen. You were the last woman I was with, Courtney. It’s hard not to want you,” he said, caressing the side of her face.
“A lot of things have changed, Justin. You can’t just expect everything to still be the same.”
Controlling the strong urge to pull her into the bedroom, he nodded his head understanding her reasoning.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just gonna go downstairs and grab me a soda from the vending machine. You want anything?”
Giving him a stern look, he laughed.
“What I do now?”
“You know you can’t be leaving out of the room, Justin. If you get in trouble or leave, it’ll be on me.”
“Girl, I’m not about to go nowhere. I’m going down here to get something to drink and coming right back.”
“I’m not playing with you, Justin. By the time I finish using the restroom you better be back in here,” she said, with a serious tone before walking off.
Opening the room door he stepped out, shaking his head. It was so difficult to be in the same room with a woman you shared so much chemistry with and couldn’t do anything. Even though he knew Courtney still possessed the same love, he respected her position.
Getting down to the bottom of the breezeway, he stepped in front of the Coca-Cola machine and zipped his jacket from the wind that hung in the air.
“As-salamu-laikum.”
Jumping slightly, he turned his head. Staring at Stone, who stood a few feet away from him, gun in hand.
“Wa-laikum-as-salam,” he replied knowing that he was caught down bad.
“Looks like you feeling better, Ahkie. Any reason why you just left from the hospital without letting us know anything?” Stone asked taking a few steps forward.
“I got a lot of shit going on that I need to handle on my own, bro. It’s nothing personal.”
“I think it is personal when you thinking about testifying against Reeses. That’s clearly something that should be mentioned to the brothers. Don’t you think? Not just that. You were planning on taking all of us down with you. Everyone came together to assist you with a problem and we were being played the entire time.”
“I was never gonna go through with it, bro”
“Bullshit. We seen the paperwork, Ahk. Salim is dead right now because of you, nigga.”
“What?” Justin mumbled, feeling his heart drop from the statement.
“Don’t look surprised now. What the fuck would make you turn state on the same ones who love your dumb ass?”
“You don’t know the shit I had to go through just to make it back home to my sister. If I wouldn’t have agreed with what they asked me, she would probably be dead right now. They came to me with a new indictment and the plea was a life sentence. When they asked me to help them build a case on Reeses, I told them to kiss my ass. Word got back to me from the streets that she was kidnapped. Working with them was the only chance I had to see daylight on saving her life, bro. I had no choice,” Justin stated truthfully.
“You could’ve called on me. You could’ve warned us before any of this went down, Justin. But you didn’t,” Stone replied pulling the hammer back on his gun.
Stepping around the corner smoothly, Courtney leveled her pistol with two hands.
“Put it down, Stone and I’m not going to ask you twice,” she said with authority in her tone.
Cutting his eyes at her, he looked back at Justin and aimed for his head.
Boom!
Her Glock 40 erupted viciously in the small hallway sending a slug through his arm. Watching his weapon fall, she quickly picked it up.
“Justin, go and grab everything from the room and get the car, now,” she yelled, keeping her aim on Stone.
Leaning on the wall, he held his arm as Justin moved quickly past him. The crimson blood that began to soak his sleeve caused him to breathe harder.
“You’ve mixed yourself into something that you’re not gonna be able to step away from,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Or you’re gonna end up getting yourself killed trying to do something that I refuse to let happen. I understand that Rinesha is mad, but you can’t change something that’s already been done.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. He’s not going to make it through that trial. Neither one of you will. You might as well put a bullet in between my eyes now, because the job will be finished,” Stone threatened with a smirk that sent chills through her body.
“Courtney, let’s go!” Justin said now fully dressed. “Just leave him, please.”
Backing out of the breezeway, they made their way to the unmarked Impala and skated quickly out of the parking lot.
***
Downtown Atlanta
1:15am
“Even if his story is true, that bitch shot me,” Stone said as Laylah finished patching up his arm.
“And that’s something you should’ve expected from an Agent. She could’ve killed you,” Laylah said with a sarcastic smirk.
Reeses sat quietly on the bed pondering on the information Stone delivered to her. the new cold-hearted side of her said wash eve
ry sob excuse out of her head and have him executed on the spot for his betrayal. But the family side of her pleaded that he was actually telling the truth. Within the past year all of their siblings and close friends had been dropping like flies. Justin was literally the last piece of blood she had left besides the cousins she recently discovered.
“Don’t dwell on it too long, Rinesha. It’s kind of obvious he was scared to tell you exactly what was going on. I would be nervous too if it had anything to do with building a Federal case on my sister,” Laylah said.
“So, does that make it right? Excuses are only for people who accept them. It’s just certain things that you can never take back,” Stone said sliding a shirt over his head.
“No one ever said it was right, but if you want to be technical, he hasn’t snitched or testified on her. The statements only showed that he agreed to do it. To be honest the only way you would know what’s he gonna do is if we wait for the trial.”
“And that could easily be too late for us all,” he replied walking out to the balcony.
“At the end of the day I stand behind you, no matter what decision you make. That’s what family is for,” Laylah smiled.
Nodding and blowing her a small kiss, Reeses already had her mind made up.
Chapter 16
Kennesaw, Ga.
7:30am
Stepping out of the house, Knox made his way to the parked BMW M760 and got inside. Pulling the red Kush from his pocket, he grabbed a Backwood rolled up and quickly filled it with marijuana. The sun had just begun to rise high and his morning wake up was past due. Lighting the large spliff, his eyes roamed around the enormous driveway. It wasn’t like the guards to leave any part of the home unsecured. It aroused a slight suspicion, but the good aura of the weed instantly dismissed it.
Cranking the car, he finished off the last piece of his joint and glanced down at the small sticky note attached to the radio. The white clouds caused him to squint his eyes to read the words.
“Time will turn family into enemies and enemies will take their time to see family fail.”
“Superstition,” he mumbled in his thick island voice.
Before he could place the blunt back into his mouth, the car exploded, killing him instantly.
***
Laying sound asleep in her large bed, Mariah squirmed under the covers from the cool breeze that was flowing through her room.
Boommm!
The ground shaking explosion caused her to jump up from the bed and grab her pistol out of the nearby nightstand. Mariah tried to stop her heart from racing, as she took tiny steps to her bedroom door. Another explosive erupted right under her feet. Her mind went into overdrive wondering where Knox was. Hearing gunshots explode, sent Mariah from fear to full blown panic mode. Now she knew that whatever was taking place at that time was nothing to be relaxed about.
As Mariah cracked her bedroom door, a billow of smoke lingered throughout the hallway. Aiming her 9mm handgun she stepped out of the room. Using her forearm, she covered half of her face as she walked towards the staircase that led downstairs. Her cold feet were now shivering and it felt as if she was walking on eggshells. The nervousness was starting to kick in and the silence was making it more uncomfortable.
Coughing from the thick black smoke, Mariah walked slowly down to the bottom floor.
“Hi, big sister,” Frost whispered, startling her.
Turning around, Mariah aimed the gun, but received a fist directly to her nose. Grabbing her wrist, Frost twisted with a hard grip, breaking it instantly.
“Agghhh!” Mariah cried out in pain as her gun fell to the floor.
Sliding back with her feet, Mariah stared into her sister’s eyes.
“You’re not related to me! You were a mistake and that’s the reason you’re angry, Frost!” She spat.
Looking at the three armed men who stood behind her she knew the fate of her guards wouldn’t end well. Since she knew about the vicious and wicked morals of Frost’s character, it was a guarantee that she was next.
“That’s where you’re wrong, love. I’m not angry, I’m just frustrated. Chasing you stupid cunts around has literally drained me dry. I’ve spent years waiting for the day I could meet my flesh and blood. Now it seems that you’re not happy to see me,” she smiled, bending down.
“If you think you’ve gone unnoticed, you’re in for a surprise. Everyone knows you’re sliding around and it’s only a matter of time before you’re buried and mailed in a box back to where you came from,” Mariah panted, catching her breath.
Laughing, Frost looked around at her stale faced guards as if she’d just heard the best joke of her life.
“You’re so silly. I’ve never tried to hide from you or your pathetic little family. To be honest I thought that you all would have taken the warning signs and stayed under the radar. I guess we all make a small mistake here and there, huh?” she asked, rolling her eyes and smirking. The sarcasm was obvious.
“Just go ahead and kill me! You still won’t win!” Mariah smirked with blood dripping from her nose.
“Oh no, sister, it’s not that easy. See I came for three but I only have one. Where are the other two?”
“You’ll never get me to tell you anything about my family.”
Sucking her teeth, Frost shook her head in a disappointed manner. “They’ll actually come looking for you and when they do, I’ll be waiting and torture them the same way.”
On cue, one of her deadly henchmen slammed a hard foot across Mariah’s face, knocking her unconscious. Picking up her limp body, they headed through the destroyed front door.
“Call Eva and tell her to let my mother know that we are on the way,” she said looking back at one of the men.
“Yes ma’am.”
***
“So, that solves the problem with Justin, even though I don’t agree. That still leaves the problem with the cop. I guess she’s not going to testify either?” Stone asked with sarcasm pouring through his tone.
His mind still couldn’t process how Reeses decided to let Justin be and wait until the trial to see what move he would make. It was like playing Russian Roulette with the joker himself. A gambling game was meant to play only if you were winning and Stone felt that she was walking into a trap where she was bound to lose.
“That’s where I come in, leave her to me. All I need is Mariah’s approval and she’ll be dead within the next four hours,” Laylah stated with confidence.
Staring with a blank face, Reeses tapped them both and pointed towards their large home that was engulfed with black smoke.
“What the hell?” Stone mumbled, pulling in the parking lot past the smoking BMW.
“Oh my god, Mariah!” Laylah screamed in a panic, before jumping out the car with her gun in hand.
Seeing her cousin run into the home, Reeses and Stone stepped out directly behind her. The catastrophe their eyes were witnessing was like something they’d never seen before. The bodies of her guards were scattered on the side of the home. The vehicle in front of them was roasting as if it were sitting over an open grill and the front door of the house was replaced with a hole big enough to drive a medium sized U-Haul through.
Making their way inside slowly, Laylah was moving back down the steps.
“She’s not here,” she said on the verge of tears.
“What the fuck is going on? What do you mean she’s not here? Where else can she be?” Reeses asked with her hands running through her hair.
“I don’t know! Here phone was in the room, this is not good,” she replied, dialing a set of numbers into her cell.
Listening to her mother answer, she spoke very quickly. “Mom, something is very wrong. I came home to the house destroyed and I can’t find Mariah.”
“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Tiffany asked in an extremely serious tone,
“She’s gone, Mommy, I don’t know what to do,” she replied spilling a load of tears down her cheeks.
“Laylah! L
isten to me. Go and find her, I don’t care if you have to kill the entire city. Get her back. Now!”
“But, Mom, Dad told me”
“Laylah, stop it! Your father is dead. I’m giving you permission. Go and get your sister.”
“Yes ma’am,” she said before hanging up.
“Laylah, what are we going to do?” Reeses asked watching her walk off towards the car garage.
Following her steps in silence, they watched her remove a false wall exposing an arsenal of weapons. Pulling down a double shoulder holster, she snapped it around her body. Grabbing the two black Rutger 9mm handguns, she placed them inside the cuffs of her arm and began to load the rest in a small bag.
“Hey! What are you thinking about doing?” Stone asked, sensing her energy.
Looking him in the eyes, her face told it all. “What I always do. Fix the problem,” she replied with a staid expression.
“Then we are coming with you!” he stated, grabbing Reeses hand while he clutched on his pistol tighter.
Nodding, she made her way back to the car with both of them standing firmly behind her with whatever action she took. Only a few knew of Laylah’s excessive and extreme degree for harming others when the order was given. Getting the permission from Tiffany was a green light to eliminate whatever stepped in her path of finding Mariah.
Chapter 17
Six Flags Drive
After stepping out of the hot, steamy shower, Courtney threw on her large sleeping tee shirt and wrapped her hair into a bun. After applying lotion to her legs and arms, she made her way out of the bathroom. Heading back to the guest room she was sleeping in, she paused in front of Justin’s door. His back was turned to her as he stared out of the window, while sitting down in a desk chair. His head hung low and judging from his posture she could tell something was wrong.
Knocking lightly on the door frame, she took a few steps inside. “Are you okay?”