I handed him his pen and pad back. While the detectives walked in and checked out every shell and bullet hole in the place, we huddled.
“I think we’ve worn out our welcome here. We gotta go back home to make some more paper. Those thirty g’s is all we have.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if they’re gonna let us just slide off like this, though,” Nick said.
“We wait then,” I suggested.
An hour later we were still there chatting with Sid.
“I’m guessing you’re not gonna sleep here, Sid. Especially since you don’t even have a front door.”
“I’ll have my people watch the place till the door’s fixed. I can’t stay. I’m catching a flight back to Vegas.” He laughed.
“You need an escort there?”
“Thanks but no thanks. You’ve done enough tonight. I appreciate how you helped squash that robbery,” he said pulling out a cigar, snipped the end off and lit it. He held up his hand, telling us to hold up then he pulled out a fat money clip.
“Please, here’s three grand each for your troubles.”
Shaking my head, I refused to take the money.
“Aw c’mon don’t insult me.”
“Ahight Sid, ain’t nobody trying to insult you, man. Thanks.” I accepted the dough.
“You guys risk your lives to save my life. Just make sure y’all heal up good and give me a call soon. We’ll do business.”
He shook each of our hands and we headed to the Mustang.
“The dude Sid seems like an alright guy,” Nick said. “There’s whole lot a dough to be made hanging around him.”
“Yeah, if we don’t get killed before we collect.”
Smoke was still coming from the mansion when we pulled off.
CHAPTER THIRTY
BEAT-DOWN ON BRODADWAY
We were a few blocks from the hood. I called Vic for some info on the dead dude we lifted the driver’s license from.
“Jaden! Sup homie!”
“I need some background on this dude, named Robert Franco.”
“It’s gonna take a few. The number is MO nine...”
“Cool, hit me up when you’ve got it ready for me.”
Nick and Eric got into a loud argument about who was the greatest boxer alive when I got a call from Bria. “Y’all keep it down! It’s Bria!” I shouted.
They shut up and leaned in to eavesdrop. I leaned back.
“How’re you doing, sweetness?”
“How I’m doing?! Obviously you didn’t give a shit how I was doing. Why you care now?!”
She was angry and sounded afraid. By not going to her rescue, I felt I’d failed her. I didn’t have a choice. Mom’s time was running out with each passing day. The worry for both of them had my heart racing as I spoke to her.
“I had to do some serious money movements, Bria. Just calm down.”
“Calm down? He slapped me all over the place and beat up my 15-year-old brother. He calls all times of the night threatening me! If he’s not hawking my brother he’s harassing me, popping up at my mother’s house when I’m leaving and shit! You gotta do sump’n! I’m not gonna be able to wait forever!”
“I’ll be right over Bria.”
I told Nick to step on it. Half hour later, we were at my place. We divided the money. I bolted to my room and started stuffing the loot in the drawers. That’s when Julissa came knocking. I forgot to close the door.
“Damn, boy! Where’d you get all that money?”
I dragged her in the room by the elbow and locked the door.
Wagging my finger at her, I said, “You never saw this money, you understand me?”
“Yeah, all right. You’re gonna have to pay me to keep my mouth shut.”
“That should hold you off for a while.” I peeled off five twenties and shoved them in her hand. I walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders to press my point. “You gotta keep quiet about this. I’ve got enough to worry about outside of you ratting me out, ahight?”
She put on her nasty face when she said, “All right J! Get off me!” She shook out of my grip and her frown turned upside. She started counting her earned cash and smacked her chewing gum.
“I’m a get me some sneakers and a few baby tees.”
“Don’t act like one of them pigeons out there.”
I stuck my hand in my crowded closet and dug all the way in the back for two fresh clips, checking over my shoulder every other second to see if she was peeking over it. She didn’t.
“Wish me luck. I gotta go get Bria out of a jam.”
“You’re still messing with that car-hopping chick. Fine then. Good luck.”
“She’s got her own ride, Julissa!” I said as I got to leave.
I met Bria in front of Jimmy Jams on Broadway. My heart melted when I saw her face. She wore sunglasses and I knew he put a beating on her. She pushed my hand away when I tried pulling off her glasses. I could tell she was hurting. She walked two steps ahead of me as if she was doing me a favor walking with me.
“I know you’re pissed at me not coming right away but I had to get this money.”
She stopped and turned on a dime to face me. I could feel her venom getting ready to spray me.
“Excuse me? After three years, you go and choose money over me?”
“You’re kidding, right? If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one that chose money over me. Never mind that, though. He hurt you, didn’t he?”
She offered no resistance when I stroked her cheek. I carefully pulled her shades off and was shocked by the discovery. She had a swollen black eye.
“I’m a kill that piece o—”
Her cell phone rang. She looked at the called ID and said, “Looks like you’ll have your chance.” She put the phone on speaker.
“I’m fit’n to pick you up in like five minutes, girl.”
I nodded no, telling her not to leave with him. She got the message and said, “I ain’t going nowhere with you, Will. You hurt me.”
“I’m sorry, baby. You know I didn’t mean it. You just got me so mad talking to Jaden.”
I yanked the phone from her and said, “She’s with me, Will!”
“Oh shit! Jaden grew a set of balls, huh? Why don’t you stay your ass right there and we can settle this once and for all?”
“I’m waiting.”
Moments later, I barely heard him pull up because of cars blasting reggaeton. He carelessly jumped two of his wheels on the curb, parked and hopped out like he wanted trouble. I told Bria to stand back while he bumped his way though a cluster of kids. When an old lady with a shopping cart crossed his path, I swung right across her and tapped his chin. It woke him up. He did a shuffle step and smiled.
“Oh okay, no rules in street fighting, right? Show me what you got, J!”
He kept his arms high. I squatted and slammed my fist into his ribs once, twice, three times. He breathed hard but it didn’t faze him. I tucked my chin in his chest and delivered four more shots to his gut. It was useless; layers of fat protected his vital organs. He slapped his fat elbow into my neck and caught me with a sharp right to my left ear. I stumbled back and tried to rub the ring out of it. I doubled over and opened myself for a knee to the abs. I struggled to catch my breath, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“Not so tough now, huh, J?”
He held his chubby fist high and dropped it between my shoulder blades and I got hammered to the pavement. He had the drop on me but didn’t hit as hard as I did. When he cocked back, I jumped to my knees and hit him twice on the chin. Then I wrapped him up and power-lifted him off his feet.
I felt dizzy as we both hit the concrete. He got the worst of it but he was strong. I ignored his stinging rib shots and pounded his face with rapid-fire punches until he stopped hitting me. Then I grabbed his Jesus pendant and twisted it until he could barely breathe. He drooled all over himself and scraped at my shoulders to break free. Blood bubbled from the corners of his mouth.
“You better kil
l me, nigga!” he squealed as I upped the pressure on his windpipe. I tugged on it so his neck trickled blood. “You can’t even sleep in Harlem as long I’m alive, nigga! You know that!”
I banged his head into the concrete to shut him up. Bria grabbed my shirt and begged me to stop.
“You kill him and they’ll never stop chasing you, Jaden!”
I saw three of his goons a couple blocks away, charging toward us. I thought fast. We’d never get way on foot. Will’s car was still running. I gave him a hard bitch slap and yanked her with me to the ride.
We pulled off before the light turned red. His goons reached for their pistols but we’d made the corner before they could aim. All they could do was throw bottles and tend to their fallen leader. We were on the FDR, we were gone. My adrenalin was jacked. I was in a sleek coupe with my main lady. She caressed my face, and the sweet kiss she gave me worked better than any sedative.
“He’s gonna call the cops looking for his stolen ride,” Bria said.
“Nah, baby, he’s got too much pride for that. He’ll try to get it himself,” I said putting my hand on her sexy thigh.
“You know he’s gonna try to kill us both, right?” She asked between kisses she lay on my cheek.
“He can try...”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
A BREAK FROM THE MADNESS
I drove back to her house. Bria’s mom and me were pretty close. She was happy to see us together. I called her Mama Belle.
“Hey. Jaden! I’m so glad to see you again! It’s about time Bria gave up on all those losers. Let’s sit down and have a little chat, suga. How’s your mother doing, sweetie?”
“Not so well. She’s having kidney problems. She’ll need an operation soon to fix it. It’ll cost a small fortune, even with insurance helping out.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Health insurance is so damn expensive, it’s criminal. Your mother’s such a sweet, God-fearing woman. The good Lord will find a way to make it happen. I just know He will. I’ll keep her in my prayers.”
“Uh, all right, Mom. You’ll get to talk to Jaden later. I need him to help me with my computer for a while.”
“Hmm, don’t end up like your sista Sherry, now. Jaden doesn’t have an NFL contract just yet, baby.” Mama Belle and I laughed.
Bria dragged me into her room. We plopped down in her bed and gazed at each other for a while. She lay on her tummy and cupped my face and said, “I’m so glad you’re back in my life, Jaden.”
She lightly kissed my lips. I told her that I was happy to have her back as well. Lying on her tummy facing me, I reached over and started feeling on her booty.
“There’s no time for this, Jaden. We’ve got to keep moving. This is the first place Will’s gonna check.”
“C’mon, we’ve got at least twenty minutes before he comes through and bust the door down,” I said getting frustrated when she resisted my advances. I backed off. “You’re right. We need to stay sharp. This is a life and death situation we’re dealing with.”
She turned around and shoved me on my back. I knew we were about to do our thing. I wore a silly grin when she whipped her hair around and had it brush against my face. I pressed my hands to her bosom. She straddled me, grabbed my belt and whispered, “Let’s make good use of those twenty minutes.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
PAYBACK IS A BITCH
I was awakened by her phone. She answered it.
“Hi, Dana. What’s up?”
“You did it, didn’t you? I told you you’d be back with him.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re psychic.”
“Whatever, bitch. Anyway, that psycho, Will, called my house! He sounded really pissed. You need to do sump’n about that, Bria. Will’s crazy.”
“Jaden kicked his ass, left him bleeding and we took his car.”
“Look girl, just get one thing clear. I don’t wanna get my family in trouble because of your trifling ass. I don’t even know if it’s a good idea that we talk for a while.”
Bria got heated. “Wait a minute? You calling me trifling? Last time I checked, you were the one that ask me for help to pay your bills. I ain’t even mad. But how you gonna ask me for money for baby formula for your little brother when I just lent you two hundred? And you were the one that needed three hundred last month for that situation. And before that…”
I looked at Bria and signaled her to end the phone call. She nodded.
“So it’s like that, huh?” Bria said in the phone.
“Yup…”
“Fine, bye then.”
Bria hung up and went to the kitchen where she whipped something up for me. I gobbled it up with the quickness. I got a call. It was Mom and she was crying and said Julissa was in serious trouble. We left in a hurry.
We broke the speed limit hopping in and out of lanes on the way to my mother’s house. Mom was sitting on the curb when I pulled up. I tried to hug her but she pushed me away.
“Dear Lord, please have mercy on my child,” she kept repeating.
My chest felt tighter after each repetition. Her eyes were sad and red from crying. I squatted next to her and thought of something to say to comfort her but it was damn-near impossible. Her face reminded me of the time I snatched the keys to her car and broke her side mirror off.
“Mom, who told you about Julissa?” I asked with so much concern, my face strained.
“I-I don’t know. He told me he was a friend of yours. What kind of friend would do this to you? To us?”
I plopped down next to her and thought hard. Who could hate me enough to snatch my sister up? I thought of all the people I had problems with. It was a little longer than I would’ve liked. I thought abut the possibility of some criminal monster torturing her.
“I’m a get her back, mom. Trust me,” I said hugging and kissing her.
I parked a few blocks way from the precinct. I hated police contact, especially after holding the chief’s kid hostage and doing stickups, but there wasn’t a choice in the matter. My sister’s life was at stake. Bria wore a pout and rubbed my shoulders.
“Don’t worry, baby. Together we’ll find her.”
I went upstairs and checked the voicemail.
What’s up, Jaden. This is Vic. I ran that dude’s license. His name was Daniel Phillips. He used to be a cop way back. He’s got a long rap sheet. Larceny, attempted murder, drug trafficking, the works. His latest infraction was moving illegal immigrants in from Cambodia for cheap labor. He was in cahoots with some guy known as Sid. That’s all my man. What’s up with Dana! I wanna eat her chocolate ass- Beep!
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER
I thought long and hard and decided that Devlin was the only person that hated me enough to snatch my little sister right off the streets in broad daylight. I hit up Nick and put a plan together.
“Yo Eric. It had to be Devlin, man. Let’s get at this dude.”
“You know he ain’t been outside since we beat his ass a while back.”
“Don’t worry. We’re going to do him the same way. His niece goes to Julissa’s school. They’re friends. Come to think of it, that’s probably how he bagged her. That piece of shit didn’t even have to snatch her. She’d follow that chick anywhere. I know what we’ll do. School will be out in an hour. Get your uncle’s van and some duct tape. He wants to play hard ball, we’ll play hard ball.”
Punctual as always, Nick drove his uncle’s white van around the corner and made the tire’s screech.
“We’re not trying to draw attention, Nick.”
“My bad. Hop in. Time’s running out.”
“Give me a minute.”
I snatched the duct tape from him and covered up both license plates with it. Ten minutes later, we were parked across the street watching high school kids burst out the front door. We turned the music off and laid low in our seats.
“They she goes right there, J.”
“Oh shit! A damn cop pulled up. Let’s wait
until she turns the corner. Spin around the block the other way and we’ll wait at the corner.”
When she got closer, Nick reached under his seat and pulled out a wrench and tried to hand it.
“What the hell am I gonna do with that?”
“What are you gonna do? Ask her to walk into this van?”
“Look, just put that thing away.”
“Stop being a bitch and clock her! Try not to bust her head open!”
“Stay focused, Nick! Put that shit away!”
We chose the worst possible time to argue. While wrestling over the wrench, Nick forgot that the van was in gear. We shook the van. Maria made it halfway through the gap between the van and a parked car. She looked up at her would-be kidnappers. Nick let up off the brake. The van lurched forward and slapped her thick, short frame against the car’s rear windshield. The crunch of the glass against her skull was brutal. Eric and I stared while she crumbled to the blacktop. Blood was all over splinters of glass.
“Oh shit, J! What the hell are we gonna do?”
“Nick we gotta take her with us, man. We didn’t get our masks on yet. She saw us.”
“The bitch is knocked out! She ain’t gonna remember us!”
“You’re not a doctor. You don’t know that for a fact. Somebody might know the van, or they might find something on her to get back to us. The paint from the van might be on her- nigga you seen CSI! I ain’t going to jail over two hairs and shit! I’m a get her, then we peel,” I said jumping out.
I threw her over my shoulder and put her in the backseat then hopped inside. We made a beeline for the FDR. Eric turned up the radio and fished a blunt out of his pocket. He lit it.
“My dude, we are in a seriously fucked up situation. Devlin’s got your sister. We got his niece and once he found out we hit her with the van, shit’s gonna hit the fan. I just hope her ribs aren’t broken or sump’n.”
“He’s not gonna know. So long as they aren’t any witnesses and she doesn’t tell him herself, we’re good. So long as he didn’t hurt Julissa, we even.”
Hustle Hard Page 13