by B. Love
“I took the hit for Ransom, but I’m here to see if there’s something we can work out.”
Money chuckled as he shook his head. “I don’t negotiate. I tell motherfuckers what it is, and they either get with it or get got.”
“What if I can convince him to leave town? He’s mentioned wanting to retire soon. Can you give me a timeframe to work with?”
Sitting up in his seat, Money massaged his chin. “I don’t trust that. He can always come back.”
“Not if he retires, and I know him well enough to know that’s his goal. I started with you, Money; I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“You would if your loyalty was to him.”
“I told you we aren’t on that anymore.”
“And? You been fucking him for years, that has to mean something.”
Leigh released a sigh as she stood. “Give me a month to convince him to retire and leave Memphis. If I can do that, will you honor that as you would the hit? I’ll even return the money to you.”
Money massaged his chin as he considered her request.
“I will agree to this, but I want you to understand what’s at stake.” He turned to the side and began to peck on his computer. Leigh watched anxiously, unsure of what he was doing. A smile covered Money’s face as he slowly turned the monitor in her direction.
Leigh’s hand trembled as she covered her nostrils with her pointer finger. She didn’t want her eyes to water, but they did at the sight of Money’s draft bid on the Head Hunters site. The picture of Christian smiling as she held a box of her weed laced cupcakes made Leigh’s stomach churn.
Gritting her teeth, she dropped her hand and immediately dried her eyes as they stared into Money’s.
“You have one month to convince Ransom to leave Memphis, and your sister to stop taking my clientele with her edibles, otherwise I’m canceling your bid on him and uploading this one on her. Get the fuck out of my face, Leigh.”
Her head tilted and nostrils flared as her fists closed. She looked back at the door, wondering if she had enough time to grab his gun off his desk and shoot him before his men came back in. Even if she did, she would be dead soon after. But at least her sister would be safe.
Or would she?
Leigh had no idea who Money had told his plan to. Not wanting to risk it, she left as quickly as she could before the urge to off him became too much to bear.
As soon as she got into her car, she pulled her phone out of her purse. There were a few missed calls from both Christian and Ransom. Calling Ransom first, she headed down the street as she tried to figure out what to say to make the love of her life leave.
“Did you take the hit because I told you we were over?”
Leigh’s face twisted up at his question. “What?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Money put a price on my head and you’re the one that steps up to collect?”
Her head shook as she gripped the steering wheel and accelerated her speed. “It’s not what you think, Ransom. Listen to me…”
“Ain’t no talking. I swear to God, I’ll kill you before I let you hurt me again in any way, Leigh. And that’s on my mama.”
Ransom disconnected the call, causing Leigh to yell, “Fuck,” as she began to drive even faster. She scrolled her call log on the dash of her car so she could call him back, but before she could, she received an incoming call from Christian.
“Chris…” she answered. “I gotta call you back.”
“Man, say!” Leigh looked down immediately, shook by the venom in her sister’s voice.
“What’s going on, Gucci?”
“I’m ’bout to body this bitch!”
Vincent was cheesing so hard, it made Maria chuckle and roll her eyes. He was happy that after their fifth date, she finally agreed to letting him trail her home. While she still had her guards up, she felt a bit more comfortable. And she was also tired of having to rip all over town for his elaborate ass dates. Tonight, he wanted to have appetizers, dinner, dessert, and drinks at four different places. Even though she had money, Maria hated wasting her gas.
The idea was cute, though, and she had a really good time.
He was doing everything he could to show her that he was worthy of her trust. And even if he wasn’t, Maria knew that people kept things from you as long as they really wanted to. If there was anything about himself that he felt was worth hiding, Vincent wouldn’t show her until he was ready to do so. Whether that was six months or a year into their relationship, after they had sex, or when they were divorced. It was a hell of a lot easier for people to show their good than it was their bad.
“You act like I’m about to give you a tour of the white house,” she teased as she fished for her keys in her purse.
“Shit, that’s what it feel like. We’ve been at this for a month now, and I feel like we’re finally making progress.”
“Umhm,” she mumbled, opening the door and stepping inside.
Maria gave him a tour of her loft before fixing them both a drink. She made herself a Long Island Iced Tea and him a Jack and Coke. When she was done, she popped some popcorn and gave him the remote so he could find a game to watch on TV. Maria went to her room to change into something more comfortable.
She sat on the toilet, even though she didn’t have to pee, just to take some time to herself. As she went through her notifications on Facebook, she noticed that Jax was currently online. Things with Vincent were good, but she still found herself thinking about Jax a lot. Maybe it was one of those ‘you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone’ kind of things, but the less time she spent with him, the more she wanted him in her presence.
Biting the bullet, Maria worked up the courage to call him. If he didn’t answer, she would know it was because he had released the possibility of having something with her since he was on social media.
“Maria Gucci. You finally miss a nigga?”
Giggling softly, she twinkled her toes. “Maybe I’ve been waiting on you to miss me.”
“I’ve been missing you since the moment I let you go.”
Her smile softened as the sincerity of his words made her heart skip a beat. “Can we get together and talk?”
“We won’t have shit to talk about unless you’re ready for everything I have to offer.”
Maria scratched the side of her nose as she sighed. “I told you I would need time…”
“And I told you I was cool with that as long as you met me halfway. But no games, Maria.”
Thinking over his stipulation briefly, Maria agreed with, “Okay. Let’s talk.”
“Aight. Where you at now?”
“Home, but Vincent is here.”
“Then that nigga better be gone by the time I get there.”
Chuckling nervously, Maria stood. The last thing she wanted was for some shit to go down where she laid her head. Vincent was possessive, and Jax was a loose cannon. The two of them together would be no good.
“Jax… can we just talk in the morning?”
“The fuck for? If you want me, you should have nothing else to discuss with that nigga. Period. I’m on my way.”
“Ja—”
Jax disconnected the call and she groaned as she put her phone on top of the sink. Pulling her pants back up, she thought over what excuse, if any, she would give Vincent. After washing her hands, she slipped into a pair of basketball shorts and a baby tee. Deciding on coming completely clean, Maria inhaled a deep breath as she headed for the staircase. As she went down it, she prayed Vincent would leave with no problems… before he had a real problem with Jax.
“Hey, Vincent?” she called, rounding the stairs.
When she made it into the living room area, she found Vincent… holding a gun that was now aimed at her. With his head tilted, Vincent sat back in his seat.
“Do you know how fucking hard it’s been getting your ass here alone?”
Chuckling softly, Maria shifted her weight from her left side to her right.
�
��What are you doing?”
Vincent pulled a picture out of his pocket and tossed it at her feet. Slowly, she bent down to pick it up. Her eyes closed instantly when she recognized the man on the picture. It was the man she’d killed. The hit that had gone bad.
“Who is this?” she asked before swallowing hard.
Her heart immediately began to race. Palms started to sweat. Stomach began to tighten.
“That’s Vernon. My father. And the man Rico claims you killed.”
It all made sense now. That’s how Rico got the tip on the hit. He didn’t go after a total and complete stranger; he went after someone he knew. But that still didn’t explain how Vernon ended up being at home when Rico said he wouldn’t be. It did, however, explain why Maria thought she knew Vincent. It wasn’t his face that she found familiar… it was his father’s.
“I don’t know what you’re…”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Maria! I know it was you. Me and Rico had a conversation about my father winning a settlement and getting half a million. I told him that my father deserved it because of the malpractice suit he filed against the doctor that failed to save his wife, my stepmother. A week after I told him that shit, my father is robbed and murdered, and witnesses say they saw a tall, skinny man and short, petite woman leaving out.
Now, Rico is a known thief, but he ain’t got shit on you and Nash. So, at first, I thought it couldn’t have been him… but I saw y’all on his neighbor’s security camera. Because I wanted to handle this myself, I told them not to tell the police about the footage.”
Vincent pressed play on his phone and Maria watched as she and Rico jogged to the car with Nash following closely behind.
“You gon’ tell me that ain’t you?”
Locking eyes with Vincent, Maria smirked. She’d done a lot of dirt in her life to more notorious men, and she’d be damned if Vincent was the one to put her in her grave. Her best option was the pistol she kept under her couch, but there was also a chance that Vincent would shoot if she made a move for it. Considering her options, Maria remembered the fact that Jax was on his way.
Depending on where he shot her… she could at least have a chance to be saved.
She didn’t want to confess to anything because she didn’t know if he had another phone or camera recording her. But she also knew denying it would probably irritate him further. Inhaling a deep breath, Maria decided to try and reason with him once more.
“You don’t want to do this, Vincent. Jax is on his way here, and he knows I’m with you. If you kill me, there will be a whole lot of folks coming after you.”
“In that case, I guess I need to off you now and leave quickly then, huh?”
Lowering her eyes to the couch again, Maria said a quick prayer before charging towards the table and lifting it in his direction. The first shot went straight through it and dodged her, but by the time she ran around the table and lunged towards the couch, Vincent had the gun aimed at her back… at her spine…
To be continued…
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