by Meesha
“Shit, Ni! This pussy good, baby,” I murmured against her ear. “You love me?”
“Yes, I love you, Ricio.” She purred back.
That’s all I needed to hear before I let my load go into her womb. “Aaaaaaah, yeah!” I groaned loudly.
“Yessssss, mmmmmmm.” She sighed closing her eyes.
I rolled over and she nestled against me and fell back into a deep sleep. I looked at the time on the clock on the nightstand and I had an hour to dress and make it to the warehouse. Kissing her on the temple, I got out of bed to start my day.
Chapter 5
Beast
Seeing Max lying in that hospital bed motionless did something to me. The mixed emotions that I was experiencing had me heated one minute and emotional the next. I’m a hard muthafucka to break but this shit right here, had a nigga almost crumbling. Only for a millisecond though. My mind has been on death since I walked out of that hospital and saw Sosa falling apart and blaming himself for what the fuck happened.
I knew first hand how it felt to blame yourself for something that was out of your control. Not being there for Reese on that dreadful night took over my soul for years and almost destroyed me. Max getting killed and I was right there, should’ve hit me harder but it didn’t. Why? Because that nigga did that shit purposely.
The way he was throwing back those shots told me everything I needed to know. I had just got up to go holla at him when I saw that nigga Floyd step in the club. Puling my phone out I gave Ricio and Sosa a heads up and made my way to Max. Before I could get through the crowd, everyone was going for the door. All I remember was hearing gunshots coming from outside and Max bolting for the door.
“Erique, come eat!”
Breaking me from my thoughts, Sin was screaming through my shit like she was the boss of me. “Why are you screaming, Sincere?’ I asked walking slowly down the stairs.
“We have shit to do today, that’s why.”
As I entered the kitchen, Sin had a plate of bacon, grits, eggs, and toast waiting for me on the table along with a cup of java. She was standing by the microwave with a big ass cake bowl but I knew damn well she wasn’t making no cake. I sat down and stared at her because curiosity was getting the best of me.
“Sin, what the fuck is in that bowl and where is your plate?”
“I’m not eating that shit, Erique! This is my breakfast right here,” she sassed.
“That’s not telling me what’s in the bowl though.”
“It’s oatmeal, nosey.”
The fork that was halfway to my mouth dropped to the plate. I knew damned well she didn’t have a big ass cake bowl full of oatmeal when she could’ve just eaten what she cooked for me. Scooting the chair back, I walked over to where she was standing and peeked in the bowl.
“Sin, please explain to me why you have a pack of instant oatmeal in this big ass bowl.”
“For your information, Beast, there’s two packs of oatmeal in this bowl,” she stated rolling her eyes.
“It still doesn’t make sense for you to have that big ass bowl though. Why couldn’t you make the shit in this bowl?” I asked taking a smaller bowl from the cabinet.
“I wanted to use this muthafucka right here! Now, sit down and eat your food so we can get out of here. Today is not the day for you to be trying to piss me off. Regardless of the fact, we are going to the warehouse, you can stop trying to get under my skin because it won’t work.”
Sin stomped over to the table and plopped down in the chair eating her strawberry and cream oatmeal out of that big ass bowl. I followed suit and dug into my grits and eggs. After a moment of silence, I looked across the table and took in her beauty. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five and she was all of forty-six. My bitch was bad and none of these young hoes had shit on her.
“Tell me this, why do you want to go to the warehouse so badly?”
“Really, Beast?” She asked leaning her head to the side. “Do you not remember what the fuck transpired last night? I refuse to sit back and let my nephews tackle this shit alone.”
“They not tackling nothing alone! They got me!” I yelled cutting her off. “I don’t want you back in the game, Sin. Let us handle this shit, please.”
“I respect you on so many levels and usually I would bow down when you speak, but there isn’t a damned thing you can say to stop me from getting in on this. You want to get mad at me for my decision, do that. But I will be right by your side to handle these pussy muthafuckas. Max didn’t deserve whatever the fuck made him run into the line of fire last night. I’ve tried my best to figure out what’s been eating that child up for years. He always said he was alright. Max started getting deep into the streets right after Reese died. It didn’t have shit to do with him chasing a dollar, Beast. He has been hurting from something else and I’m determined to find out what it is.”
“I tried talking to him too but he wasn’t talking! I’m not talking about Max right now, I’m worried about you trying to get back into the streets! I don’t want you to get hurt behind this shit, Sin. Shit is different than back in the day. I love you and I would die if something happened to you.”
“I love you too, Beast. You don’t have to worry about me because you know first hand that I can hold my own. Being out of the game and walking around this muthafucka cooking, cleaning, and fucking yo’ ass got you thinking I’m this domesticated ass bitch. I’m all that and more, but these bitches killed my baby, Beast!” she cried out as she threw the bowl across the room. “I’m willing to die behind this one and I’m taking as many muthafuckas with me that I can. I’m not sitting this shit out. I owe that much to Reese and Maritza,” she said getting up walking out of the kitchen.
Trying to finish my breakfast, I thought about what Sin said. Talking her out of going with me would only make her go out on her own to do what she wanted to do. I didn’t want that at all. The best thing for me to do was to let her roll with the crew. Sin never cried so I knew she was hurting. With this level of hurt from her, death wasn’t too far behind.
The food on my plate was cold as hell and I had lost my appetite. Taking a sip of my coffee, it was nice and hot so I settled on that being breakfast. I finished up, threw the food away, and rinsed my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. After cleaning up the mess Sin made, I said a silent prayer before heading upstairs to get dressed.
I handled my hygiene and threw on a pair of jeans with my Notre Dame jersey and a pair of wheat colored Tims. As I placed my Notre Dame fitted on my head, Sin walked in. The all white pantsuit she wore hugged her body just right. The open toed stilettos that graced her feet showed off her pretty toes. Her makeup was flawless and she didn’t look like she was going to a meeting to discuss a get back strategy.
“Sin, you are not dressed for the warehouse, babe. This place hasn’t been used in years. It’s gon’ be dirty as fuck in there.”
“Erique I don’t go anywhere looking like an average bitch. This is something you already know about me. I will slit a nigga’s throat in a mini dress and it wouldn’t change the fact that his ass was dead. That goes for these muthafuckas too,” she said revealing her twin silver and chrome Nina’s that were hiding under her jacket.
Sin City was out for blood full blown and I didn’t like it. I'd stopped all of my dealings in the streets to put this side of her to rest. Life has brought her back out and there was no turning back from it. Grabbing my keys, I looked at her and shook my head. “We don’t have too much time to waste, let’s get out of here,” was all I could say before I walked out the door.
In the car I turned the radio up and smooth jazz filled the car. We were cruising on the highway when my phone started ringing. I glanced down seeing Chuck’s name displayed on the screen and hit the button on the steering wheel to answer the call.
“Chuck, what’s up?”
“Aye, I just saw on the news that Max was killed last night. My condolences, Big Dawg.”
“Thanks, man. The shit is wild but it’s
all good. I want you to keep an eye on that nigga Big Jim behind them walls. His crew did that shit and his days are numbered,” I said merging into the next lane.
“I got him. You think he had something to do with this?” Chuck asked.
“I know the muthafucka had everything to do with it. How has he been acting?”
“That I don’t know because I didn’t learn about the shit until this morning on the news. I’m working the mid shift today, though. I’ll see where his mind is when I get there. He is always trying to talk to me about the outside but I told his ass I’m not with that shit no mo’.”
“Yeah, keep that shit on the low. Get that nigga to trust you because you are back on the payroll. We out to bring down his entire operation and he will lose his life in the process. I need you to get into his files and get me his lawyer's information and a copy of his case. I have to make sure I know what’s going on just in case his ass gets off somehow.”
“I got you, Dawg. I’m ready for whatever. You know how it used to be when Reese was still around, murder on deck.”
“That’s what the fuck I’m talking about! Keep me posted on everything you find out. I have a meeting to attend so I’ll holla at ya later.” I said disconnecting the call.
I drove down 127th street with a lot of shit on my mind. I was so zoned out that I didn’t realize I had run a red light. Car horns blared and I had to swerve to miss a car that I almost ran into.
“Beast! What the fuck!” Sin screamed at me. “You have to clear your head, I want to live to see another fucking day. Do you want me to drive?”
“No, I got this, I’m sorry baby. I’m focused.”
“You better be, shit.”
Making a right onto Halsted Street, I cruised the speed limit thinking about how we were about to handle this beef. The text message tone on my phone chimed indicating I had a text message. “See who that is, baby.” Sin picked up my phone and read the message.
“It’s Mauricio and he wants to know where you at. I responded that we would be there in less than ten minutes.”
“Thanks. We will be there in less time than that, we’re only up the street.”
When I pulled up to the warehouse, Ricio, Sosa, Psycho, Felon, Face, and AK were shooting the shit in the parking lot. I parked my whip and stepped out and made my way over to them. There was an U-Haul truck parked next to Ricio’s car and I knew he came ready to get shit going.
“What’s up, muthafuckas? Y’all ready to put everything on the table or what?” I asked dapping up everybody.
“Hell yeah—” Ricio started to say then stopped. “Damn Sin! What I tell you about shittin’ on these bitches out here! Yo ass is finer than wine, ma.” He said walking toward her with a little too much swag.
I pulled his ass back by his shirt with force, “what the fuck I tell you about coming on to my woman, nigga?”
“Damn, Beast, it ain’t even like that. You shouldn’t have the baddest bitch in the Chi on yo’ team. I’m gon’ forever give credit where it’s due when I see Sin. Witcho hatin’ ass,” Ricio said snatching away with his arms outstretched. “Come here, girl and gimme a hug.”
“Hey, Ricio. You better stop playing with that man’s emotions before he shoots yo’ ass,” she laughed. “How are you holding up?” Sin asked stepping out of his embrace and walked over hugging my waist.
“I’m chillin’. I can’t say the last twenty something hours have been great, you know under different circumstances maybe.” He said hunching his shoulders.
“Sosa, you good, baby?” She asked. He didn’t answer, in fact he kept looking down at his phone. Everybody was looking at him because he acted like Sin hadn’t said his name at all. “Sosa, are you alright?”
Ricio was looking at him through squinted eyes and I stalked toward Sosa because the disrespect was not about to happen with my woman. Ricio held up his hand for me to stop and shook his head. I stopped in my tracks and waited to see what would happen next.
“Rodrigo, Sin asked are you good, brah,” Ricio said softly.
His head snapped up and his eyes were dark and emotionless. He paused and looked at Sin, “nah, I’m not gon’ front and say I am when I’m not. But enough of this shit, I’m ready to get rolling so we can get at these niggas. Beast, open the door so we can get shit in motion,” he said walking toward the door to the warehouse.
“Who the fuck is Rodrigo?” Beast asked.
“I’ll explain that shit later, Unc. Let’s handle this business,” Ricio said as he joined Sosa or Rodrigo—whoever the fuck he was.
Chapter 6
Mauricio
Sosa’s mind was in another place. The very first time Rodrigo showed up was when he was about ten years old. Sosa fell off the jungle gym in the park trying to do a back flip off it. He hit his head pretty hard. Mom took him to the hospital and the doctor’s told her he had a really bad concussion and some of his brain activity wasn’t normal.
After running a lot of tests, the waves miraculously went back to normal. They couldn’t figure out what was going on and sent him home. He was fine a few days later and back to normal when the knot went down. One day a kid at school was bullying him and he snapped. Sosa beat the kid’s ass and put him in the hospital with a broken leg. He snapped his leg in two with his bare hands. The principle was trying to get him locked up in juvenile detention, but he’d never been in trouble before.
I saw a difference in his eyes and his mannerisms weren’t the same. It was like he was a different person but it went away within a few hours and he was back to his old self. But when papí and ma died, he changed up again. One of Big Jim’s workers was always short when he brought in his take. He pulled a gun on Sosa and before anyone could react, the dude’s head was rolling across the floor.
Sosa wiped the machete off on his dark pants and put it back in the holster on his leg. Rodrigo was around for a few months before Sosa emerged again. Now he was back and nobody on the opposing team was safe. Beast was sitting at the head of the table and the meeting began when we were all seated.
“First things first, thank ya’ll for showing up today. Everybody in this building has agreed to be here by being in attendance. Shit is about to be a bloody mess and I want to make sure ya’ll know that your lives are at stake.” There were nods all around the table including Sin’s. “Okay, word on the street is that Floyd and his two haven’t been seen since last night. We have to make them niggas come out of hiding.” Beast said folding his hands in front of him.
“I already kicked that off, they should be back real soon.” Rodrigo said sinisterly.
Heads turned in his direction but he looked straight ahead at nothing in particular. “What do you mean by that, Sosa?” Beast asked.
“Hey Beast, no disrespect, fam but my name is Rodrigo. I would really appreciate if you address me as such. To answer your question, I took care of six of them niggas last night on 16th street. Clout was one of them. I called that nigga Floyd and let him know that his crew was on my radar.” He said nonchalantly.
“I thought you said you were going straight to the crib last night, bro.” Sosa had never lied to me about his whereabouts. With the shit we had going on, this was not the time to waver on that shit.
Chuckling, he stared at me, “Sosa told you that bullshit, I had other plans. I may not come out often, but Max was my brother too. I’m not about to make this shit easy for these muthafuckas. Their families are about to cry like Sosa did last night. I was glad when his tear ducts dried up, it gave me the opportunity to push my way to the front. You of all people know how I get down. If I’m out, that means I brought hell with me. Enough about me, Beast, I was told to ask you about the pigs that my father had on his payroll. I need them muthafuckas asap. I can’t kill until I get that shit set up and my trigga finger is itchin’.”
Rodrigo was calm and I knew murder was the only thing on his mind. Beast had a look of confusion on his face but it disappeared quickly. “I’ll get on that pronto, is there anything e
lse you need before I get back to business?
“Yeah, I want to be in on the meeting with the pigs. I was told not to take no for an answer, so I want to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he smirked.
“So, who is giving you all of these demands?” Psycho asked.
“Who the fuck else other than Reese, nigga.” Rodrigo sneered back.
“Now I know yo’ ass done lost yo’ muthafuckin’ mind.” Psycho laughed.
Rodrigo jumped up and snatched Psycho by the collar before he could get the entire ha ha out his mouth. His quick action cut that shit short. “Don’t ever in your muthafuckin’ life call me crazy! Ain’t shit crazy about me! I’ll snatch yo’ muthafuckin’ head off. You lucky yo’ ass is needed and you mean a lot to my brother. Check ya’self from this point, don’t let that shit happen again.”
“Let him go, brah. He didn’t know. Sit down, Rodrigo.”
Releasing Psycho’s shirt, he sat down and pulled out a blunt. “Ya’ll mind if I blow something other than this nigga’s brains out?” Rodrigo asked without waiting for a reply.
After we watched my brother smoke half of his spiff, Beast started speaking again. “I have someone on the inside watching Big Jim. I will have his case file in my possession soon. I will get the information on his lawyer and spook the fuck out of whoever is representing that nigga. The warden is also on my list of people to holla at. I have a few kinks to work out with that plan, as soon as I have everything ironed out, I’ll let y’all know what’s up.”
“Okay, that sounds like a plan. Who is the muthafucka that you got on the inside, Beast? Whoever it is needs to befriend that nigga and get close to him. I met a lil cutie in there when I went for my visit. I’m gon’ see what she can find out,” I shared with them.