by Ashley Snell
“Six!” she heard Britain call out. The house was so large that his voice echoed off the walls.
She came down the steps and ran into his arms. “I missed you—where have you been all day?” she said. “You tired of me already?” she asked as she hit him playfully.
He smacked her on the behind and kissed her cheek. “Never that,” he replied. All of a sudden a beeping sound came from outside.
“What is that?” she asked as she went to the window. “What the fuck?” she yelled. “There’s a tow truck outside. This nigga is getting ready to tow my car.” She ran outside and raced down the courthouse-style steps. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, miss. The owner of this house paid me to get rid of this car,” he stated.
Six turned back to Britain and looked at him in confusion. He nodded toward the entrance, and she turned to see what he was looking at. One of his goons was driving a car onto the property: a silver 2010 E-Class Mercedes-Benz with a turquoise ribbon. He stopped right in front of her.
“My woman doesn’t ride in a car that another nigga bought for her, especially an Audi. My bitch push Benzes,” he whispered in her ear.
She jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist in excitement.
“I take it I did good?” he asked with a laugh.
“Nigga, you did great! I love it!” she exclaimed.
“This is just the beginning,” he said, kissing her cheek.
As Six checked out the features in her new car, she couldn’t help but think about what she was leaving behind. Free had done all of the same things for her in the beginning of their relationship. Trips, cars, and clothes were simply a day in the life. Time changed them, however, and distrust tore them apart. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was setting herself up again for the exact same failure. She wanted a man who she knew would never hurt her, but in matters of the heart, there are no guarantees. As she stared up at Britain, she saw him smile her way as he spoke to his worker who had delivered the car for him. Just take a chance, she thought as she smiled back. Just move on with your life and be happy. He can give you happiness, she thought.
Chapter Seventeen
Free looked over at Sparkle and couldn’t stand the sight of her. It had been two months since Six had caught them fooling around, and he hadn’t spoken to Six since her father’s funeral. Six had no kick it for Free.
Damn, he thought as he looked at Sparkle’s belly, knowing that in a month or two she would be showing. She was two months pregnant with his baby, and he had to live with the bad choice he had made. Free and Sparkle had been robbing niggas for the past two months nonstop. There were no boundaries for who they would hit. They had less than $100,000 dollars, which wasn’t nearly enough to pay back Claude.
“Okay, look, Sparkle. We have to try to hit niggas every night,” Free said coaching her and regretting the fact that he had started sleeping with her after the big incident with Six.
“Damn, Free. You act like you my pimp a’ something. I am carrying your child, and you don’t even care. You just throwing me to the wolves! We are about to start a family,” she said as she rubbed her stomach.
Free clenched his teeth and couldn’t understand how he had let this thing go so far. Six had gotten her number changed, and every time he went over to Jones’s house, she was always gone. His heart was broken, and extreme guilt burdened him. Free wasn’t going to tell Sparkle his plan, which was to force her to get an abortion just before the three-month mark of the pregnancy. He also knew that Sparkle would probably not want to help him rob hustlers once he exposed his ulterior motives to her. He was just using her for what he needed, and he would simply kick her to the curb and pursue Six after he got his money from the robbing game.
“We are going to be a family,” Free lied as he reached over and stroked her hair, giving her a big smile. Sparkle blushed as she looked into Free’s eyes, thinking that her dream had finally come true. Little did she know she was just a pawn in Free’s mental chess game. Free felt his phone vibrate and quickly reached for it, hoping it was Six. But he was disappointed when he saw BIG LOU on the caller ID.
“What’s up, fam?” Free asked as he put his phone to his ear. Big Lou began to give him the rundown on a potential victim who sold major weed on the east side of Detroit. All the while, Sparkle had leaned over and pulled Free’s dick out, sucking it while it was soft and eventually making it rock-hard within seconds.
Free listened closely to Big Lou while at the same time, enjoying Sparkle’s best talent. She moaned while licking him like a lollipop. Free was so consumed in getting head while trying to listen to Lou that he didn’t notice the tinted truck that had been following him for the past two blocks.
The tinted truck sped up and crept alongside of Free as they both approached a stoplight. The truck’s passenger-side window rolled down, exposing the masked gunman. Free never saw it coming as he threw his head back, enjoying the blow job and feeling himself about to explode in Sparkle’s jaws.
The masked man slowly pulled out an AK-47 assault rifle as he leaned half of his body out of the window. One second later, bullets flew rapidly out of the gun and into Free’s car. The thundering sounds of shattering glass and bullets thumping the car’s metal rang out. Glass flew inside of the car along with bullets as Free ducked down trying to dodge death. Sparkle rose from Free’s crotch and a single bullet struck her in her temple, killing her instantly. Her blood splattered all over the passenger-side window as she lay slumped with her eyes wide open.
Free quickly hit the gas while still ducked down. He caught two bullets to his shoulder as he wildly drove the car trying to escape the assassination attempt. He violently crashed into a telephone pole, crushing his entire front end. His air bags burst, hitting him in the face and knocking him unconscious because of its brute force. The tinted truck sped away down the street, tires screeching, leaving Free for dead.
Chapter Eighteen
“Britain! We’re going to be late!” Six yelled as she dusted a piece of lint off of her cream-colored Donna Karan pant suit.
Britain took his time as he inserted his cuff links and replied, “I can’t be late, ma—I own the place.”
It was a routine they did every Sunday. Britain, Six, and all of the people closest to him in his operation met at his restaurant to have breakfast. It kept them close and established that they were like family. Today was special for Brick, however. Two months had passed since Six had moved in with him, and life for him could not get any better. For the first time since his father was killed, Britain felt whole. Six brought a joy to his life that fulfilled, him and today in front of all of the people he held dear, he was going to ask her to be his wife.
He grabbed her coat out of the closet and held it out for her so that she could ease into it, then they took off.
When they arrived in the restaurant, they were both greeted with welcome arms and Six took her seat next to Britain at the head of the table. She suddenly felt funny. There was something in the air that made chills run up and down her spine. She shook the feeling off as they began to converse and eat their breakfast. Just looking at Six one would be able to tell that she had the best of everything. The diamond rocks in her ear, expensive threads on her body, and the spa-treated glow that graced her skin told any onlookers that she was royalty. Britain had completely remodeled her. Six had always been a ten in the looks department, but now she was the total package. She was a lady—the armpiece of a hustler, and the woman that every chick in the hood wanted to be.
As Britain watched Six interact with his crew, he realized that he was making the right decision. He had been through many women, and none of them were even comparable to Six. She had given him the best two months of his life. She wasn’t a pushover by far and would argue him down tooth and nail just to get her point across, but Britain liked her strong will. He respected it because he recognized where it came from. She was a direct reflection of her father and a perfect representation of what
he wanted his future child’s mother to be. Most people would think that he was moving way too fast, but Britain knew time was of the essence. Tomorrow was not promised in the lifestyle he was leading, so he was going after what he wanted today.
Britain tapped his fork against his glass to get everyone’s attention and just as he was about to speak, Big Lou barged into the restaurant. He stormed over to the table.
“Six!” Big Lou called out.
Britain nodded and instantly two members of his crew stood up and grabbed Big Lou’s arms, stopping him in his tracks. Big Lou snatched his arms out of their hold. “Six, I got to talk to you!” he stated urgently.
Six felt torn between her current life and her past one. She looked over at Britain who sat back in his seat calmly, but the fire in his eyes told a different story. He began to stand, but Six grabbed his hand. “No, baby, I’ve got it—just give me a minute, okay?” she asked, her perfectly arched eyebrows begging him to be cool.
Britain’s nostrils flared, but he nodded and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Tell that mu’fucka next time he comes in here to show some respect. Handle your business, ma. Nod your head if you need me, beautiful.” He kissed the side of her cheek and she stood.
Six rushed to Big Lou and quickly ushered him outside.
“What are you thinking running in here like that?” she asked, chastising her old friend. “What do you want, Lou? Did Free send you here? Because I don’t have shit to say to him—”
“He’s in the hospital, Six,” Big Lou interrupted as he put his hand on top of his head.
Her hard visage instantly faded away as worry filled her eyes. The blood drained from her face, and her heart throbbed. “What?” she stated.
“He got shot!” Big Lou said. “He don’t have no family, Six. You’re his family. I know y’all not like that no more, but I had to come tell you. If it’s his time to go, I know he would want to see your face, nah’mean?”
Six looked back inside and saw Britain staring at her. Tears came to her eyes as the sidewalk felt like it was spinning beneath her feet. She didn’t know what to do. Stay or leave? Leave or stay? It was a simple question with a complex answer.
Whatever she chose to do after that moment would undoubtedly have consequences.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“He’s at Henry Ford Hospital—come on, I’ll take you,” Big Lou stated as he ran to his car that was parked curbside.
Six took off behind him and hopped into the car. Please let him be okay, she thought as she watched the cold city of Detroit fly.
Britain lowered his head and took a deep breath as the entire table grew silent. He knew that they were waiting on him to say something. He opened the ring box and looked at the princess-cut stone he had chosen for Six. His temple throbbed because he already knew that she was going somewhere to meet Free. He recognized Big Lou as Free’s people and was disappointed that she had chosen to leave without letting him know what was what. He closed the velvet box and placed the ring in his inside jacket pocket.
“Let’s eat,” he said, not revealing his mood in his tone. Britain looked at his Rolex and noticed that it was only ten o’clock. His breakfast ritual usually didn’t end until around noon and then he chopped it up with his workers until around four in the afternoon, so he would have to wait until then to contact Six. He wasn’t going to chase behind her, but she did have some explaining to do.
Six rushed into the hospital and waited anxiously as Big Lou spoke with the nurses. Free was still in surgery, and no one would tell them anything so all they could do was wait. Six tortured herself as she thought of how much time had passed them by. She hadn’t seen or heard from Free in eight weeks. She had not even thought to pick up the phone and call him.
“I was so stupid,” she whispered. She turned to look at Big Lou. “What if he dies, Lou? What if I never get the chance to tell him I’m sorry?”
“Don’t talk like that, sis. He’ll pull through,” Lou stated aloud in an attempt to be supportive.
Six put her face in her hands and closed her eyes as she tried to calm down. Feelings that she thought she had buried for Free began to come back. At that point she didn’t give a damn about Sparkle and Free, all she wanted was to hear him say her name again. She wanted Free to live more than anything she had ever wanted in her life. As her heart beat out of her chest, she realized that she still loved him, but her emotions confused her because she was positive that she cared for Britain as well.
Finally, a doctor emerged from behind the double doors and she stood nervously. “How is he?” she asked. “Can I see him?”
“He is stable and in very good condition. He was shot in his arm, but the bullet completely severed his main artery. We repaired the artery and removed the bullet, but he lost a substantial amount of blood. He will be extremely weak for a few weeks. We’d like to keep him for observation.”
Six didn’t hear anything past the part where the doctor told her Free was alive. “Can I see him?” she asked, becoming emotional.
The doctor nodded and led Six and Big Lou to Free’s room.
As soon as Six saw Free, the floodgates opened and she couldn’t plug them no matter how hard she tried. She pulled a chair near his bedside.
“I’m here, Free—I’m so sorry,” she stated as she kissed his lips.
“I love you, Six,” he said in a groggy tone as he opened his eyes. It felt as if his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, but he fought to open them anyway. He could hear Six’s voice in his ear, now all he wanted to do was see her face.
“I love you, too,” she whispered as she held his hand and sat beside him.
The doctor left the room, and Six turned to Big Lou. “I should have never left him. This is all my fault. If I had just gotten the money so that Free could pay the Russians, none of this would have ever happened.”
“This ain’t on you,” Big Lou stated. “I got something else to tell you. I didn’t want to tell you before because I wasn’t sure if you would come if you knew.”
“What?” she asked.
“Sparkle was in the car with Free when it got lit up. She’s dead,” Big Lou stated.
Six instantly formed questions in her mind. What were they doing together? Why did Free have to get involved with my best friend? She wanted so badly to say something, but she knew that none of that really mattered. Those were her own insecurities, and Free didn’t have the strength to argue or fight. She held her tongue and simply replied, “Thanks for telling me, Lou.”
As she looked back down at Free, she knew that he was her soul mate. Many people may call her a fool, but sometimes destiny is too strong to fight. She loved Free and, no, he wasn’t perfect, but he needed her, and she would be fake to turn her back on him.
“I have to go pay the Russians,” she said. Free had fallen back to sleep, and she turned to Big Lou. “Do you know where I can find Claude?” she asked.
Big Lou nodded. “How are you going to get the money?”
She sighed as she thought of what she was about to do. She was going to hurt the man who loved her in order to save Free. Britain was so good to her, and she wished that it did not have to come to this, but she did not see any other way. Maybe if she and Britain had not reunited under such corrupt circumstances they would have had a chance, but from the beginning, she was his enemy. Their relationship would never last because eventually their rocky foundation would crumble. She cared deeply for him, but she was Free’s. They had hit many bumps in the road, but in the end, they always came back to one another. Unfortunately for Britain, he had gotten caught in the drama, and she was going to break his heart. “I’m going to stick to the plan and hit Britain’s safe,” she replied.
“You sure you can pull it off?” Big Lou asked.
“Of course, I can. I’m his wifey—I’ve had access to everything for the past two months,” she revealed.
Six looked at the clock and saw that it was only two P.M. I have to get back to the house be
fore Britain gets there. She wanted to be in and out like a robbery. She would leave everything that he had ever purchased for her, but she didn’t have a choice but to empty out his safe. If she didn’t, then she was pretty sure that the Russians would come back and this time they wouldn’t miss.
Chapter Nineteen
Six hurried as she threw the stacks of money in her two large Gucci bags. The only thing on her mind was getting the money for Free before Britain returned from the Sunday dinner. It broke her heart thinking about taking the money from Britain’s safe after he had given her his trust. Although she and Free had been through their differences over the past two months, her loyalty was with him. She still loved him and never wanted to see harm come his way. I have to pay those Russians before they come and finish Free off, she thought as water began to form in her eyes.
It took Free being shot for her to realize how much she needed and loved him. Although Britain treated her like a queen and spoiled her, Free was her man no matter what. They had a connection that was everlasting. She planned on telling Britain the truth after she paid Free’s debt with the Russians.
Six filled each bag to its capacity and zipped them both up. She didn’t know how much was in the bags, but she figured that it was more than enough; being that it was all Benjamin Franklins.
Six headed down the stairs to meet Lou, who was waiting at the hospital for her. Just as she hit the bottom step, she heard keys jingling in the door. “Fuck,” she whispered as Britain was coming in. Six froze in fear, not knowing what to say to him. She had a bag full of his money and was caught red-handed. Britain stepped in calmly and noticed Six’s nervous demeanor as she stood still, her guilty eyes resembling a deer caught in headlights.