YaYa was so upset that she didn’t even feel guilty about kissing Ethic. What normally would have made her feel like the worst person in the world now felt well deserved. The only thing that bothered her about the kiss was that she couldn’t keep her mind off of it. Her lips still tingled where his had touched. She had been with Indie for a long time . . . so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to be wanted by anyone else. Ethic was a boss of a man. The things that he had been through had matured him to the point where he played no games when it came to life or matters of the heart. As badly as she wanted to explore the feelings that she felt, the last thing she wanted to do was use him as a rebound just to make herself feel better. She had reached for her phone to call him many times throughout the night, but she always stopped herself. The things that she felt for that man when he looked in her eyes scared her. She didn’t even know him, but she was almost certain that if ever given the chance he would steal her heart away from Indie. She wasn’t ready for that and she knew it.
The familiar sound of Indie’s car could be heard as he pulled into the driveway. She stood as her heart skipped a beat. Placing Skylar gently in her bed she walked to the stairs and stood at the top of them, waiting for Indie to enter the front door.
Now that he was home her anger had diminished into sadness because she knew the revelation that was about to be revealed. Indie had never been a liar and she knew that once she asked him the inevitable question he would provide the inevitable truth. A man didn’t stay out all night doing nothing at all. He hadn’t feared the consequences of not coming home because Parker had made it worth it for him to stay. YaYa’s heart ached as it thundered in her chest and as soon as she saw Indie’s face tears filled her eyes.
She didn’t even need an admission of guilt. Women were territorial and she could practically smell Parker’s scent on her man. It didn’t matter that he had washed away the evidence. Indie had given what belonged to her, away. The sting of his betrayal immediately turned love to hate. She hated him for being so weak. Fidelity wasn’t easy. It was a choice and he had made his that night. This was the pivotal point where most women got it wrong. In this moment she had to decide to stay or leave him. If she stayed, Indie would never respect her and his transgressions would be repetitive because her staying was the same as her accepting that this is how their life was going to be. Nope. Not happening. YaYa wasn’t that bitch. She would take her green-eyed, five foot seven inch, magnificently sculpted, pretty ass to a man who could keep his dick where it belonged.
Just to see if he would lie to her she asked, “You fucked her right?”
Indie hadn’t seen this type of hurt in YaYa’s eyes since he had left her years ago to move to Houston. There was no sparkle in her beautiful gaze, no light in her face. He had murdered her spirit. Disappointment and devastation filled him as he realized the error of his ways. His anger toward her had led him right into Parker’s bed. He had wronged her but he was so lost that he didn’t know how to get it right. He truly loved both women. What was a man to do? He stepped toward her, wrapping his hand around her waist. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
YaYa pushed him away, but he pulled her closer again as his own tears came to him. He could feel them breaking up. He could feel the crack that would split their lives in half, making her withdraw from him forever. It hurt. “I’m sorry, ma,” he said as he tried to hug her. She couldn’t withhold the emotion that fell from her eyes. She pushed him. “I’m sorry, ma. I’m so sorry. I need you.”
She writhed at his touch and fought against him as he held her tightly in a bear hug, refusing to her go.
“Let go of me,” she cried.
“Please don’t leave me, YaYa. I love you. I’m sorry,” he pleaded as his tears fell and she pulled away from him.
Smack!
Her hand flew across his face full force. “Don’t fucking touch me. Fuck you and your ‘I’m sorry.’ You fucked her, Indie!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. She went upstairs and grabbed Skylar out of her bed, making sure to wrap the covers around her sleeping toddler. Indie was hot on her heels.
“Don’t say shit to me,” YaYa growled. “You made your choice. Now I’m making mine.”
Her bags were already packed and tucked away in the trunk of her car. Indie pulled at her. “Wait a minute! You’re not leaving me. YaYa, baby, wait a minute,” Indie said, desperate for her to hear him out, despite the fact that he had no defense. There was no excusing his actions yet he still pleaded. He didn’t care how weak he sounded because he knew that once she walked out of the door that it would be next to impossible to repair what had been broken.
“What about all the times I forgave you?” he asked as he put his hands on his head in distress, while watching her place his daughter safely in the back seat.
“You shouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have. You only get one time to show me who you really are. Now that I see, I believe you.” She shut the door and opened the garage as she pulled away. The sight of Indie dropping to his knees in dismay almost made her change her mind, but when she thought of him doing the things to Parker that he did to her, she pressed her feet harder on the gas pedal. Bitch-ass nigga, she thought in disgust as she skirted away from what was once her home. The farther away she drove the more tears blurred her vision. She couldn’t believe that less than a few weeks ago she was planning her wedding to the man that she loved; now she was plotting her escape from the man that she hated. It was a shame that they were one and the same.
Chapter 18
“Tell me again why you still fuck with YaYa after she sent you upstate on a dummy mission? You could have gotten fucked up while being locked down. The shit happens every day. A bitch will go to jail over some petty shit like shoplifting and fuck around and catch a murder charge while they’re there. You don’t watch the news? You ain’t hear about that Red Bottom Bandits bitch that got caught up! On her release day, one of them hating-ass bitches up in there tried to kill her but the chick Raegan ended up fighting her up off her. The fight was so bad she ended up throwing the girl over some railing to her death. Now chick is facing life on a murder rap. Tell me that couldn’t have been you?” Trina yapped as they waited for their business associates to arrive.
“I never said it couldn’t have been me. It just wasn’t me. Now shut up with all that. Here they come,” Miesha said as she hopped out of the tinted Tahoe and hit the button to lift the gate in the back to show an empty trunk. Guns had never been their game, but Chase wanted more firepower if he was going to expand. With Indie handing over the reins to a lucrative cocaine empire there would be much opposition to the throne. He wanted to be prepared. He didn’t trust outsiders and wouldn’t be eager to add numbers to the team, so instead he needed to add numbers to his arsenal. He needed to let the opposition that was threatening to rise know that he would pull out the choppers if their silent protests got too loud. He sent Miesha and Trina to make the exchange. $50,000 worth of guns on the street was enough to fight any pending war.
The pretty faces that he sent on his behalf were easily underestimated, but they held their own. They had been thugging it since they were teenagers. Starving at the bottom, they were more than eager to prove themselves when Indie had first given them the opportunity to earn their keep. From cook-up queens, to highway runs, and recently enforcers, they had always gotten the job done. The older Trina got she realized that there was a price to pay, however. They were the sacrificial lambs, the pawns to the game. She was feeling it, but Miesha on the other hand was sitting back pretty. For the work she had put in for YaYa she had a nest egg put up that would guarantee her and her family’s future. She didn’t even have to live the life anymore. She was in it out of loyalty and for the feeling of being a part of something powerful. The money at this point was an extra.
The girls stood attentively as they watched three Puerto Rican men exit the Chevy van.
Trina and Miesha met the men halfway between the vehicles.
“You must be
Eduardo,” Trina said.
“You’re definitely not Chase, mami,” the man replied. He wore a jean jacket, bare chest underneath with leather pants. His arms, neck, and face were covered in tattoos. The average chick may have been intimidated, but Trina showed nothing of the sort.
“Chase sits on a new throne. The streets won’t see him as much. You’ll see my pretty ass a lot though so let’s get the bullshit out the way right now. Don’t let my skirt fool you. We’ll make this quick and painless every time. Strictly business. You get your money, we get our guns. You got me?” she asked.
“Sí, mamacita, I got you,” he answered. “You got the money?” he asked.
“You got my fucking guns? I’m not buying anything blind,” she countered.
“They’re in the van,” he said.
He turned and walked them to the back of his vehicle. Miesha stepped back while Trina leaned down to peek into the oversized black duffels. As she bent her eyes met the eyes of the driver who was watching her nervously through the rearview mirror. Beads of sweat were dripping into his dancing eyes and a cold shiver ran straight through Trina. Something was off and she felt it. She closed her eyes as everything seemed to play out in slow motion. She had let these niggas she didn’t know walk her to the edge of her grave. Fuck! she thought. These niggas are about to rob me. In this business robbing was always followed by murder. There was no way he would leave her alive. “I forgot to tell you I don’t have all the money,” she said, trying to distract Eduardo as she reached into one of the bags and quickly loaded the clip of one of the pistols. If she didn’t have the money maybe it wouldn’t be worth it to go through with his plans to double cross her. Or perhaps he would kill her anyway for wasting his time.
Miesha frowned because the money was tucked in her waistline securely. She didn’t have time to ponder and she was a shoot first ask questions kind of girl. She drew on Eduardo instantly.
Boom!
His brains splattered all over Trina but she didn’t hesitate as she pulled the gun out of the duffel and popped one in the driver’s head, while Miesha quickly put two in the chest of the third man.
Rattled, Trina grabbed one of the duffels and tossed it to Miesha. She could feel Eduardo’s brains and blood as it dried on the back of her neck and she cringed.
“What the fuck?” Miesha asked as they ran back to their own vehicle.
“Thank God you’re my bitch! If you hadn’t popped off that would be us over there,” Trina said, as tears of relief built in her eyes.
“How do you know?” Miesha asked.
“I just know,” Trina answered.
As she sped away from the scene Trina knew that she wasn’t going to continue to risk her life. She was tired of being a shooter and definitely tired of New York. It wasn’t her territory and she set it in her mind that day she was headed back to Houston, sooner rather than later.
“How did it go, bad?” Indie asked as he stood over Trina and Miesha as they sat at the table.
“Your people were not there to make a fucking deal,” Trina said. “If we didn’t do what we did, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Your people were dirty.”
“I’ve been dealing with them for years,” Indie stated. “Do you know whose son that was? It’ll be problems.”
“Then let it be problems,” Chase said. “No offense, fam, but you’re out of this game. You let me take the reins and that makes me accountable. It’s my mess, let me clean it up.”
Indie nodded. It was instinctive for him to take control, but he would have to be hands-off in order to keep his business with Vartex intact. He would have to trust Chase to take care of the street side of things. “Just make sure that you don’t get cleaned up in the process. The Dominicans don’t take disrespect lightly. Don’t underestimate anyone.”
“I never do,” Chase replied.
Ethic pulled his G-Class Mercedes truck up to the warehouse and flashed his lights to let Indie know that it was him. His eighteen-wheeler had already arrived and the driver was helping to load the “inventory” onto the back of his truck. He shut off his engine and exited the vehicle as Indie approached him.
“I wasn’t expecting you, fam,” Indie said as they slapped hands.
“It’s the first run. I needed to make sure everything went smoothly on my end. No hiccups,” he stated.
Indie nodded as he gave Ethic a firm pat on the back. “My man,” he said. “Come on in, I’ll show you how I’m sending the crates.” They entered the warehouse that was illuminated in yellow lights that hung from the fifty-foot ceilings.
“Being on the board of Vartex has its perks. I have access to any drug we manufacture,” Indie stated. He picked up a crow bar that lay on the ground and pried open one of the wooden crates. Bottles and bottles of prescription pills were stacked neatly inside. “I bust open the bottles and transfer them into bean bags. It will take the dogs to sniff out this and on a routine police stop that will never happen. If any of your drivers get pulled over and searched, all the police will find is bean bags that are being shipped to toy stores all over the US. They’ll never know that the pills are really what’s stuffed inside.”
“Looks like we’re good money,” Ethic replied. Their operation was damn near flawless and he could already see the paper stacking in his safe. As he looked at Indie his thoughts drifted to YaYa. He hadn’t spoken to her since the disastrous dinner party but she had crossed his mind like she was his favorite song, playing on repeat. “How did that other thing work out?” he asked.
“What’s that?” Indie asked.
“Things with wifey got kind of heated at your little gathering. We need your head clear if we’re going to do square business,” Ethic probed. He could care less about Indie; he really wanted to find out what was up with YaYa. She was interesting and certainly beautiful to say the least.
“Shit’s messy, but that’s neither here nor there. Nothing is going to get in the way of this money. We’re good,” Indie replied.
“Hey, boss, this load is ready to go!”
The voice of the truck driver echoed through the warehouse, interrupting their conversation and Indie headed his way.
“Yo, can I use your cell? My shit’s dead. No car charger,” he stated in frustration.
Indie tossed Ethic his phone without a second thought. “I’m going to make sure the truck is straight before he pulls out. Come out when you’re done with your call.”
Ethic nodded and watched Indie disappear. As soon as he was alone, Ethic rifled through Indie’s contacts until he saw her name. He hit the call button slyly as his eyes watched the door. He had to hear from her while he was in town. She was the whole reason why he had come back . . . business was just the excuse he told himself to make it all make sense.
The fact that YaYa hadn’t heard from Indie since she had stormed out only added to her fury. Silence felt like indifference and that was worse than the cheating itself. How could he really not care that she had walked out of his life? Wouldn’t a man who claimed to love her come after her? She was used to this breathing period. She knew that it was his way of letting her cool down, but it always had the exact opposite effect. While Indie thought she was cooling it, she was really heating up. His absence only gave her room to think. Was he with Parker? Was that bitch now living what was supposed to be her picture-perfect life? Had Indie simply moved her out to move Parker in? Did he love Parker more? All of these questions burned in her mind, making it hard to sleep. It had been two days and nothing. He hadn’t rung her line once and after the ultimate act of betrayal he had committed she would have thought he would be beating down her door by now. Indie hadn’t even called to check on Skylar, which was completely out of character. Parker’s reemergence in his life made YaYa feel like a replacement. All of the time that she had known Indie she had thought she was his once-in-a-lifetime love. That their souls had been assigned to one another long before they had ever met. She had been wrong. Apparently Indie made every woman feel that way,
because along came Parker singing the same love song that YaYa had thought originated with her. The reality that Indie had been in love before was crushing. It was a pain that she didn’t know existed. It was one thing to have an enemy turn on you. That was to be expected. When the love of your life suddenly showed you shade, however, it was a blow that could be heard around the world. She had shown him vulnerability and he had ultimately betrayed her. She had no respect for a nigga who switched up on her. The way she looked at it, if a nigga could turn on the woman he lay next to every night, there was no limit to the amount of damage he would do to others. Indie had taught her loyalty but when it came down to him showing it to her, he failed. For that, she hated him. She had put her faith in him during times when God should have been her anchor and just like a fake nigga Indie had given up on her when she needed him most. No one, not even her own mother had ever made her feel so small. Love was a motherfucker that’s for sure. The tricks it played with the heart were cruel and unusual punishment. As much crying, screaming, brewing she had gone through the past few days she hated that she had ever given up her common sense to love in the first place. How Indie could love her enemy she didn’t understand. She did not care what the circumstances were; she would have never chosen anyone over him. Guess we aren’t built the same, she thought. That’s the problem nowadays. Women know too much about loyalty whereas men know absolutely nothing about it, she thought. YaYa wanted nothing to do with Indie today, but yesterday she wanted him near. She was sure that tomorrow would bring about a completely different set of confusing emotions. Thus was the life of the broken-hearted. Through her difficulties she was so grateful for her child. Having her was her blessing. She was the most reliable piece of Indie there was and it seemed that Skylar knew that YaYa needed her. She was overly affectionate toward YaYa and her tiny kisses were like little bandages to all of YaYa’s emotional wounds. Skylar had no idea the type of strength she was giving to her mom, but YaYa was well aware.
Love & War Page 15