by Lala Wilder
Some shit just ain’t fair, man. Here I am scheming on survival, plotting my next move and watching my back, and this bitch is driving around a new Mercedes and playing family with my man and my baby.
Why? Only because she’s so-called wifey.
**
I can’t help myself. I have to see what the inside of Darnell’s house looks like. I have to see what’s so special that he completely forgot about me and Kayla for two whole years. When that bitch walks Kayla back in the house, I follow them.
When they walk through the front door, creep around back, easing the wooden gate open so I can peek through the rest of the windows.
I stand in the grass in the backyard, looking up into each window until I find the bedroom I’m pretty sure belongs to Kayla.
The bedroom windows lining the top floor of the house look pretty bland. Typical boy shit. But the one on the end has long white shelves lining the walls. Sitting on the shelves are rows and rows of stuffed animals, tigers and purple monkeys and parakeets sit on top of each other, so many they’re squished together.
Under one of the shelves is a pink bed with a canopy and a long white veil falling down over the edges.
A princess bed. For a fucking princess.
The white door with a glittery pink letter K opens quickly and that bitch and walks in holding Kayla on her hip. She walks over the dresser, picks out a pair of pajamas, then pushes the drawer closed with her hip. When she turns toward the bed, she glances out the window. Our eyes connect for a split second and my heart freezes in my chest.
But when she keeps walking over to the bed and begins the process of changing Kayla into her pajamas, I breathe a sigh of relief and get the fuck out of there.
**
“We got to rob PlayBar,” I tell Queen one night, as we lay side by side on these cheap ass shelter cots. “We need enough of it so I can take my daughter, get the fuck out of the DC area so I can raise her by myself in peace.”
“That club you used to dance at?” Queen asks, turning over on her cot.
“Bitch, I’ve never been no stripper. You sound just like those ignorant dudes that come into our section expecting ass.”
Queen shrugs, “Y’all wear the same skimpy shit. Same difference to me.”
Since I don’t feel like getting into it with her, or taking the time to explain the shit out, I just let her believe what she wants to believe.
“PlayBar is the only place I know that has enough cash money to take that could really put us in a better position.”
Queen rubs her hands together. “I’m down with that. You know the ins and outs of that place?”
I stand up and start making my bed up, real nice, neat and tight. Like I’ve never laid my head down here a day in my life. “It’s endless amounts being spent on bottles and food, and the dudes are tipping the girls in cash.” I get up from my bed and begin pacing the floor. “Vex keeps his cut in a safe under his desk. He doesn’t empty it until Sundays. It’s supposed to be a huge secret, but everybody knows that shit.”
Queen doesn’t hesitate. “What are we waiting on? Let’s do this shit.”
Chapter Eleven
NATALEE
“I walk into Vex’s office, come around his desk and sit on his lap. It’s the only way I can get his attention since he’s busy going over the books and checking his phone every two seconds.
“Not now, Nat,” he says, dragging his finger down the lines of the old school ass ledger, where he balances his books by hand. “My sales have been down in—other departments—and I know motherfuckers haven’t all of a sudden stopped getting high. It’s some bullshit going on around here.” He frowns up again and flips through the pages of his book.
“But, baby, I need you now,” I lean over until my lips are on his throat. And I kiss him, starting at his throat, all the way down to his chest. When he drops his pen on his deck and pulls me closer, I slip down to my knees. I’m about to unbuckle his belt and pull out his dick when he stiffens up, checks his phone again and brushes my hand away. “Not now, babe,” he says. “It’s almost time to hit the floor.”
By hitting the floor, Vex means heading upstairs to the bar area to yell at all the bottle girls and hostesses before security starts letting customers in. “Baby, you don’t have to get in people’s asses every night. We know what to do,” I tell him, unzipping his Roberto Cavalli slacks. I reach down in his pants, slip my hand into his silk Versace boxer briefs and I pull out his thick juicy cock.
In one swallow, I have him down my throat. I move up and down his shaft, licking him like a lollipop and flicking my tongue under the head.
While he throws his head back and moans, he grabs my hair and pushes himself further into my mouth. It doesn’t take long before he’s exploding on my tongue and I’m swallowing everything.
One way or the other, my lips will convince him to see things my way.
I clean myself up with the Kleenex Vex keeps on his deck and head out to get changed in the locker room. I assume I’m going to be the only one in there, since it’s almost time for Vex to start yelling at everybody, but when I get in there, Tomi’s still sitting at the makeup station, messing with her eyebrow pencil.
I expect things to be awkward between us. But when I notice her hunched over the table, wiping her nose and sniffling, I immediately forget about the bullshit from the other night.
“Hold up now,” I shut my locker and walk over there. “I know Spyce don’t have you—”
Tomi drops her eyebrow pencil on the counter and bursts into tears. “My—my man hasn’t called me in two weeks,” she sobs. “We have never gone this long without speaking.”
I wrap my arms around my friend. “Did you guys get into it or something.”
Tomi shakes her head. “Nah. We were fine. I’ve been putting on—his books—and—I—I don’t know what happened.” She starts crying again. The only thing I can think of is to hold her tighter and let her get it out.
I help Tomi get herself together and then we head out on the floor. Tomi doesn’t have time to dwell on her man. We’re both busy passing out drinks and pills. Business has been booming and everything’s going sweet, except for the fact that Spyce has been following me around, watching me and just generally being all up in my shit, being nosey and what-not.
But I don’t pay her any attention. She’s always looking and watching, with them beady little coke whore eyes.
Then the strap on my Xanny pack breaks and my shit hits the floor.
In two seconds, Spyce is in my section with her funky combat boot on my bag. “Why you got that crazy look on your face?” she asks. “You hiding something?”
I try to look nonchalant. “Girl, go worry about your own shit.” I reach for the bag, but Spyce yanks her hand away, holding it just outside of my reach.
Smirking, she slowly unzips my bag. Her eyes crinkle up when she peeps my stash. “Oh, bish—you already know your ass is done.” She tosses the bag to me and smooth’s her hair back behind her ear. “Where is Vex? He needs to know what’s been going on around—"
I yank her shoulder back. That gets the smirk off her face quick. “Bitch, are you crazy?” She frowns her face up over the sight of my finger being on her shoulder. “Get your hands off me.”
When I drop my hands down by my side, she smiles again. “You know what? You’ve never been much of a fighter. That was your cousin’s thing,” she pauses to smile at me. “How is my boo, Raven, anyway?”
While I stand there shaking in anger, Spyce goes, “Off the strength of my friendship with your cousin, I’m not going to snitch.” She starts walking off. “As long as I get my 50% off top,” she goes.
“Umm, sure,” I say as she walks off. I don’t have a problem agreeing to some bogus shit. As soon as I get to Vex, I’m going to air this bitch out. When I’m done trapping Spyce in my web of lies, the bitch won’t live to see her first payout.
Chapter Twelve
RAVEN
We use the small a
mount of money, we’ve managed to accumulate robbing and selling hot shit, to buy two pistols, ski masks, sunglasses and all black outfits to get Vex’s money and dip out alive.
We are just on our way back to the shelter to get the last of our things before we head out to rob PlayBar when a moving truck pulls up in front of Darnell and his wife’s spot.
“Hold up, Queen,” I hide out behind a broke down car sitting on the curb to watch movers hop out to start collecting boxes from the house. “They’re about to take my baby,” I tell Queen. Tears spill down my cheeks as I try to collect myself enough to think of a plan.
“Ah, shit.” Queen stuffs her shopping bag full of shit to rob PlayBar into her hoodie. “Come on, Raven. We have to go.”
She reaches out to pull me from behind the busted-up car, but I push her arm away. “I’m not letting them take my daughter away from me again,” I tell her. “What if they planning to take her out of state or something? How the fuck am I going to find her then?”
“Nah bitch, we can’t take no little ass girl for what we’re about to do.” Queen rocks back on her heels and folds her arms across her chest.
I think about me and Darnell’s wife locking eyes through Kayla’s bedroom window. She saw me and didn’t say shit. Sneaky bitch. “I don’t have a choice. If these motherfuckers leave with my daughter, I might never see her again.”
Two brown-skin boys toss a football to each other on the front lawn, while another older boy leans on the fence, bobbing his head to the beat blasting from his headphones.
The little girl—Kayla—is standing on the sidewalk, right outside the gate, holding a teddy bear in her hands and watching the movers carry heavy boxes back and forth.
Once in a while, Darnell’s wife sticks her head out the door and directs the movers to be extra careful with a certain box. But for the most part, the adults stay inside doing whatever it is people do when it’s moving day.
The three boys don’t look like they’re paying their sister any attention, so I get up the nerve to step out from behind the car. I creep over to the house as far as I can without the movers, or the boys noticing me standing there.
“Kayla,” I whisper.
When she doesn’t turn to look in my direction, I take a chance by clapping my hands once and then twice. Just enough to catch her attention.
Kayla follows the clapping sound with her eyes. We lock eyes and when my daughter flashes the sweetest smile my way, I know I’m doing the right thing.
“Come to Mommy, baby.” I beckon her closer with my hands. “Come on Kayla, baby. Come to Mommy.”
Kayla takes a hesitant step toward me. Then another. Then another.
While the movers are busy lifting boxes, and the boys are minding their business in the front yard, Kayla calmly walks over to me. When she gets close enough for me to reach out and grab her, I scoop her up in my arms, turn around, beckon for Queen to follow me, and flee the scene.
Chapter Thirteen
NATALEE
Some conscious rapper named Rootz reserved the entire club for his album release party, which is cool, because it means niggas are happy and celebrating—and spending.
And it’s a rapper’s event, which means at 8pm, we have at least another four hours before these industry niggas even think about showing up.
That gave everyone a chance to relax a little and have fun. The bartenders flirted with the bottle girls. The hostesses had jokes. Even the busboys joined in on the fun.
Everyone’s in chill mode, except me.
I have shit to do.
While the PlayBar staff is upstairs, decorating for the event and sneaking sips of this and that, I go down the back hall.
I bust up into Vex’s office. “Baby, I have some heavy shit to tell you,” I come across the desk and sit in his lap.
“Baby, one of your girl’s has been doing you dirty.”
He sits up. “Who?”
“Spyce.”
Vex shakes his head but doesn’t seem all that concerned now. “What’s she done now?” he asks. He leans back in his chair and starts rubbing my nipples through my dress.
“She’s been selling Xanax in the club.”
Vex stiffens up again. He stops rubbing on me and locks his fingers up together. “How long has that shit been going on?” he asks quietly.
I bow my head. “Like, three-four months now.”
I fully expect Vex to push me off his lap and storm out his office and into the locker room to get the bitch. But his face turns strange. His eyes harden.
“So, you mean to tell me, your ass knew some bitch was undercutting and double crossing me for months and you didn’t say shit?”
“But Vex, I didn’t know for sure if—”
“So, you watched a bitch double cross me and let the shit ride?”
“Vex—”
He rubs his beard and dips his eyebrows down, just thinking for a good while.
When he looks back up at me, his eyes are full of venom.
“You must have been in on the shit with the bitch.”
I sit up. “Vex I would never—Vex!”
Before I can say anything else, Vex grabs me by the throat, slams me down on top of his desk so hard, the back of my head cracks the thick glass protecting his cherry stained desk.
His thick fingers squeeze around my throat and dig in. I desperately try to claw his fingers from my neck, but the harder I struggle, the tighter he squeezes.
My ears begin ringing and my head gets woozy. In a few moments, everything around me gets blurry and my limbs begin to go limp.
Right when I think, this shit is it, I’m about to go meet Troy, wherever he is, the door slams open and footsteps click across the floor.
“Get off of her!” screams the voice. More clicking heels, papers shuffling, and then Tomi comes into view. She tries to push Vex away, but he’s pretty solid and doesn’t budge. So, Tomi runs to the corner, picks up a blue and white vase, raises it up and smashes it in Vex’s face. Shards of Porcelain spray everywhere, and blood instantly shoots from Vex’s nose.
Yelling so loud, I think the room might be shaking, Vex cocks back and slams his fist into Tomi’s mouth. Then he collapses to the floor.
Blood trickles from Tomi’s bottom lip, but she grips my arm and drags me out of Vex’s office and toward the locker room.
Chapter Fourteen
RAVEN
When I slam the butt of the gun into the window, glass shatters everywhere and Kayla’s eyes pop wide open. “I’m scared,” she whines, burying her face into Queen’s leg. She starts to cry, but Queen covers her mouth as we all climb into the basement of PlayBar through the window. We wait in the basement, until I hear the other girls, above my head leave out of the locker room, one by one to hit the floor. I slip the gun into the back of my pants and I put my finger over my lips.
“Wait here until I get back,” I tell Queen.
She jiggles Kayla around on her lap. “How are you going to pull this shit off without me?”
I shake my head. “Before we even get into all that, I have someone to see first.”
I run up the stairs and crack the basement door open. The hallway is clear, so I step out, flatten myself against the wall and ease over to the locker room. I hear two voices in there.
Tomi and—Nat!
I take a chair from one of the supply closets and barricade the door so they can’t get out. I can’t put my cousin through another tragedy.
That’s when I see her.
Head down, a clear vial in her hands, Spyce is doing what she always does. Sniffing. And snorting.
She leans down and snorts a line off the back of her hand. While she’s not looking, I punch her as hard as I can to knock her off balance. Then I drag the bitch by the throat down the hallway.
Spyce puts up a fight, kicking her feet up on the wall to try to slow me down from dragging her ass. But I’m stronger than her. I yank her toward the door, and I throw her ass down the wooden basement steps.
<
br /> Her head bangs against the cement floor and immediately begins leaking blood.
Kayla’s eyes squeeze shut. Tears spill from her eyes and I pray she forgets all this shit one day. But for now? I have to settle some shit with a treacherous bitch.
I pull my gun from the waistband and point it at her head.
Spyce slides her eyes toward Kayla. “You going to kill me in front of your daughter?” she asks.
I cock the gun. “Bitch, she should watch you die slow for leaving her mother in jail to rot.”
Queen picks Kayla up, shushes her and pleads with me, “Come on, Raven. Not here. Not in front of your daughter.” Queens eyes plead with me, and she’s the only reason why I relax my arms to my side. I turn to Spyce.
“You want to live, bitch?” I ask her.
She nods.
I nod toward my daughter. “Take Kayla,” I tell her.
As Spyce gently takes Kayla from Queen’s arms, I warn her. “You hurt a hair on my daughters head while we are taking care of this shit upstairs and I will send you to hell the same way I did Troy’s ass.”
Sweat dots Spyce’s forehead. But she nods quick and moves over to the bottom step and sits Kayla on her lap.
Queen and I step over her to make our way up the stairs, when Queen taps me on the back. She nods toward the open window. “You want to leave her down here with an open window?” she asks.
Fuck,
I jog back down the stairs and tell Spyce, “Come on. We have to take the back way up to the roof.”
Quietly, Spyce carries Kayla behind Queen and me up to the roof of PlayBar.
“Keep her safe, Spyce,” I warn her as Queen and I head back down the stairwell. “Or you’re done.”
**
Queen and I run down the stairwell and burst through the club doors. “Everybody down on the fucking ground, now!” Queen yells. She points her gun toward the ceiling and fires off a few rounds.
Chaos breaks out. Girls scream. Niggas squeal. And everyone drops to their knees. Then buries their stomachs into the floor.