by Shan
"Yeah. What she did was fucked up, but that don't mean I'm gonna leave her out there like that. Just like I didn't leave you to fend for yourself after I checked you into rehab. Or, this time, when you called for help, and I ended up with a bullet in my fucking stomach!"
"I had a problem, Imran! It's nothing wrong with her but dumbness and the fact that she's an evil conniving bitch!" Rain huffed. "Why the fuck can't you see that?"
"I know what's going on Rain, and it still doesn't stop me from wanting to help her!"
"Why?"
"Because I still fucking love her! You of all people should understand that," I bellowed.
I took a few breaths and gripped the arm of Kira's couch as she jerked what felt like a huge lump of my insides out of me. Blood began to pour out of the wound and onto the couch like a running faucet. I suddenly felt nauseous and flushed with heat waves that ran through my body.
"I'm hot as a muthafucka right now!" I yelled out and felt myself getting weaker and weaker by the minute.
"Imran, this is not good. This bullet is in pieces, and it’s possible that there’s something going on internally that I can't see. This is too much for me to fix. You need to get to a hospital before you die. I can't believe you're not dead already," Kira said and held up a piece of a bullet for me to see.
"I can't go to no hospital right now, Kira. You know how this shit goes."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Imran! You had niggas shooting at you."
"I need to see what's going on over here with Jah and her people, and, then, maybe, I will go."
Rain sighed very loudly before slapping her hands against her legs in frustration. I shrugged my shoulders and laid my head back against the couch and tried my best not to close my eyes.
"Rain, I'ma give you some bread and put you on a bus up out of here. You need to find somewhere—"
"Nah, you not finna get rid of me. I know everything is bad for me right now, but I'm not leaving you," Rain protested as she walked closer to me. "I'll find a way to fix it, but please don't make me leave you right now. If you go to help Jah, I want to go with you. I don't trust her. I don't care how much you love her. Something is not right, and you know it."
"Maybe, but I don't want anything to happen to you. You need to be getting somewhere where these niggas can't find you at."
"They're gonna find me anyway, so it don't even matter. I just know that I'm not leaving you… not at this moment."
I nodded my head, seeing there was no arguing with Rain. Her determination and want to protect me sort of turned me on in a way and, immediately, had me thinking about Jah. Why was it that she never wanted to protect me? She had never had my back through anything. She didn't even trust me enough to keep our unborn child, and, after I tried to make things work with us, she couldn't even trust me to marry me. Why could she trust me to help her out of a bind but not enough to allow me to love her? Shit had my mind twisted and wondering why these were the types of women I fell for. After this relationship with Jah, I was closing my heart off to everyone. Let building my life for me be the focus. Fuck making a woman a part of that and making her happy.
I took a few pain pills that Kira had and rested a couple of hours before waking up to Jahzara blowing up my phone. The moment I looked up, I spotted Rain's eyes watching over me like a hawk.
"Damn," I chuckled, unable to hold my laughter in. "Damn! You scared the fuck out of me. Why you sitting here looking at me like that?"
"I've been watching to make sure you don't miss a beat of breath. You don't sound good, and I think you really need to get to the hospital," Rain said solemnly.
"After I check on Jah, I promise I'll go. Thanks for looking out for me," I said, flashing Rain a slight smile.
"A'ight, but I don't think this should wait."
"Yeah," I answered the phone in a light, steady tone.
"Damn it, Imran. I've been sitting here for hours, waiting on you to call me. Are you going to help me or not?" Jahzara got straight to the point the moment I answered the phone.
"Where you at, Jah?" I asked, ignoring the attitude in her voice.
I listened carefully as Jahzara gave me the address to the hotel she was staying at. The address had me a little confused because I could have sworn that she had been at a hotel a few miles from me, but, then again, it could've been the meds that had me tripping.
Slowly, I sat up on the couch and stood to my feet. I felt like my legs were about to give out on me. Rain grabbed my arm to help me stay steady on my feet. We walked out of the door and headed to the hotel to get up with Jah.
28 Quin
Finally Jahzara had convinced that muthafucka Imran to get his love struck ass over to the hotel. That nigga was more enamored by my ex-wife than I had previously assumed. I didn't know one nigga that would come save a hoe after she betrayed him in the way she did. Good pussy, I surmised. I guess the shit was true. Jahzara did have a way of popping her pussy unlike any other broad I’d been with, and it explained why she was so hot at the damn club from what I'd heard.
I puffed on my cigarette and stared at Jahzara, wondering if she understood why things were the way they were. I hated for her to look at me and think that I was some lowlife that she had wasted her time on. Honestly, my life was just fucked up, and it just took me to go to gruesome measures to get it back right. This wasn't what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life; it was only temporary until I got back up on my feet.
"Stop crying. I have no plans on hurting you," I spoke in a hushed tone.
It was the truth. I had no plan to hurt her at all. It was her boyfriend and his money that I wanted. Honey was the one that wanted to cause her harm.
"I would rather you hurt me than to hurt Imran," she cried out as she looked at me pitifully.
Hearing her speak about giving her life for another man caused my cheeks to get hot and turn red. The animosity I felt made me want to recant my previous statement and slap the shit out of her for saying such dumb shit.
"Well, sorry, baby girl, I can't grant your wish on that one. I'm gonna do more than just hurt him."
Just as I said that, a knock at the door caused both Honey and I to jump up. I quickly untied Jahzara, pointed for Honey to enter the bathroom again, and both Jahzara and I walked over to the door. I hid behind the door as she slowly pulled it open.
"Imran....and Rain," Jahzara said in a jittery tone.
It took a few seconds before I realized that Rain was Imran's little friend that I had almost killed in the fire. Through the crack of the door, I saw the fresh burns on her arm. Sadly, the burns were so superficial that in a few years or less they would be damn near unnoticeable.
"You gonna let us in or what?" Imran asked irritably.
Jahzara stepped to the side and the two of them entered. As soon as they passed the entrance, I hurriedly slammed the door shut and raised my pistol. I brought it down against Imran's head and watched as he collapsed to the floor.
"Fucking dummy, trusting this no good bitch," I said once Rain turned in my direction with fire flaming from her eyes. "Bitch, make one wrong move, and I'll blow your fucking brains out. I don't need you, so I have no problem doing so."
She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Jahzara smugly. Jahzara kept her stare on Imran as if she didn't know what was going to happen to him. She knew that I wouldn't have any mercy on him so I don't see what the fuck her problem was.
The bathroom door popped open and out came Honey puffing on another cigarette. A smile lit up her face as she spotted Imran laid out across the floor. I nodded my head in Jahzara and Rain's direction, handed Honey the gun, and proceeded to lift Imran from the floor. We all headed out of the door and down the hall to the elevator, hoping to get out of there without alerting the security.
Minutes later, we were downstairs and racing towards my car that was parked in the back lot. I shoved Imran inside first. Then, Rain and Jahzara quickly followed behind them. Honey ran to the passenger side, got in, and I
got in the driver’s side taking no time cranking up and driving off.
"So, where are we taking them?" Honey asked, firing up another cigarette.
I shook my head at her chain-smoking ass and turned the volume up a tad bit on the radio. Her motives were starting to make me hate that I had even considered doing this lick with her. All of it, I could have handled on my own… well, maybe, a little help from Pee Wee would have been to successfully complete it.
I could feel Honey's eyes burning the side of my face but chose to keep my attention straight and on the road. She should have been paying attention to the muthafuckas in the backseat versus worried about what I planned.
I took a look through the rearview mirror and noticed the two girls were worried more about that nigga Imran than they were about what was going to happen to them. Although I had no intentions on hurting either of them, I didn't know what Honey planned to do once I got the money, killed Imran, and dipped.
"Aye, keep your eye on him, man, and stop looking at me. That fool is starting to wake up," I said, noticing that Imran was moving around in the backseat.
Honey turned slightly in her seat and focused the aim of the pistol on everyone behind us. I needed to get to the location we had set up quickly. Everything should go quick, fast, and in a hurry as long as Imran cooperated with me. That safe house location was what I needed from him, and, if he didn't give it to me, then fuck it. He was a dead man. He didn't want to give me what I wanted then there was no need wasting any more time on him than needed. He'd made my life miserable, starting by fucking my wife and lastly by taking my money, everything I had love for.
I started for the ramp for 30 West when the car in front of me violently slammed onto their breaks and turned their car sideways, almost causing a fucking accident. I smashed the breaks of my ride just in time before my bumper ran into the side of their car. I leaned on the horn with one hand and held the other hand out for the gun that Honey had on the fucks in the back.
"What the hell are they doing?" Honey asked. "Son estupidos!"
"I'll be right back. Keep an eye on them," I said to Honey.
I opened the car door up and got out, heading towards the black Crown Victoria in front of me. It didn't take long before a huge commotion behind me took my attention away from the Crown Vic and back to my car. I turned around and ran back once I saw the back door come open and Jahzara hopping out.
"Jah! Honey!" I yelled confused as to what was going on. Suddenly, Jahzara sprints around to the passenger side and pulled Honey out of the car. She dragged her to the ground and began punching the hell out of her. Then, Rain jumped out to help. I jogged in their direction but was quickly halted when a spray of fire burned the back of my leg. Everything happened so fast that I didn't even recognize the gunshots until it was too late.
I went diving for the ground, crawling as best as I could towards my car to take cover. By the time I made it behind the door, Imran was being pulled out of the car by Jahzara and Rain and there was nothing I can do to stop them. I had bullets flying at me from one direction and my money ticket running away in the other.
Tat-ta-ta-tat-tat-tat!
I practically climbed underneath the car to try to get away from the fire that was being tossed our way. Whatever they were shooting was not some shit you would find in your local neighborhood. It was high powered and tore bullets the size of softballs into my ride. I was able to look under the vehicle and see Honey trying to cover herself as much as possible as well. Briefly, we made eye contact and I nodded for her to run. With the little piece I had, I fired it over and over again, hoping it would cause them to back away.
A loud grunting noise came from the other side and not long after the gun curse ceased. Skeptically, I slowly slid up to my knees and climbed inside of the car. Luckily for me, the car was still running and I was able to back out and get the fuck out of there.
I saw Honey sprinting down the street and pulled over to let her in. Her lip was bloody and swollen, and she had a huge dark ring forming around her right eye.
"What the fuck was that, Quin? Fucking dread head muthafuckas! What you do to them?" Honey yelled the moment she got in. She pulled down the mirror above get head and scowled at her own reflection.
"I don't know them fools! Niggas came out of nowhere man!" I slammed my hands against the steering wheel and let out a huge growl.
The back of my leg ached, and my money ticket was missing. Finally had Imran in my possession and now he was gone. Well, at least, I thought he was gone. I tapped Honey on the shoulder and pointed at Jahzara and Rain helping Imran onto a Dart bus.
I looked around to make sure the niggas in the Crown Vic weren’t tailing us before jumping in the lane behind the bus and trailing them until they got off.
29 Jahzara
Things were going hella bad right now, but, luckily, we got away from Quin and Honey's crazy asses without being killed. I was more than convinced that those two needed to be living in a crazy home together. Quin was doing all this dumb shit over a few bricks that I took but later returned, and Honey's ass… I still didn't understand her motives. One minute, I thought she was coming after money, and the next I see her fixation to make me suffer for the problems she had.
I looked out the big window of the Dart bus and couldn't tell if anyone was following us or not. I just hoped that we were able to get away from Quin and whoever the fuck that was shooting at us. I grabbed hold of the poles on the bus and made my way to the back where Rain and Imran were sitting. He looked bad. He could barely sit up straight or keep his eyes open. I took a seat next to the two of them and grabbed Imran's hand. I brought his hand up to my mouth, kissed it, and then leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. He turned his head in my direction and flashed a weak smile. I could see Rain getting agitated by the affection that I was showing to him, but I didn't care.
"Please don't be mad at me Imran. They really do have my parents, and I'm scared to death for them," I said, hoping for his sympathy and understanding.
"It's cool, Jah. I kinda knew something wasn't right when you called. It's all good," Imran said and leaned his head back against the seat.
Rain and I made eye contact, but neither of us said a word. The hate we had for each was evident just by the way we stared at each other with fire filled eyes. It was obvious as well that we both loved this man that sat between us and, in some way, had both fucked over. I had no idea what their story was and why they were no longer together, but I knew that she'd done something wrong.
"I think this is a good place to get off at. This is a few blocks from the hotel. I can grab my car," I said looking out if the bus window. I pressed the strip to signal to driver to let us off at the next stop. I grabbed Imran's arm and placed it around my back and Rain did the same. Together, we got him off of the bus and began to walk in the direction of the hotel where my rental car was parked at.
"I can walk, y'all. I'm good," Imran said, pushing me away first.
I looked on at him skeptically, not wanting to let him go, but he straightened up and walked along with me and Rain.
"Soon as we get to your car, we’re going straight to Greyhound. I'm putting the two of you on a bus until I can get shit situated down here."
"Imran, I told you. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you," Rain protested. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You don't have a choice, Rain! Them was the same niggas that shot at us back at the hotel. You won't be able to escape death too many times. And how the fuck do they keep finding us?" Imran yelled as he clutched his stomach. Rain looked down at the ground and then back up at Imran.
"I made a few calls to my cousin, and, when I tried to call her at the hotel, my aunt said that she hasn't seen her. I think they may have gotten to her."
"Did you tell your cousin where you were, Rain?"
"Yes, but… Damn! I wasn't thinking. I don't…"
"We gotta go, we gotta go!" I yelled. "It's Quin!
"
I spotted Quin's car stopped a few blocks from where were standing. The lights were off, but I knew that car from anywhere. It had sat in my driveway for years after he was gone, so I knew the make of it like the back of my hand. Not only that, the bullet holes in the frame were evidence from the shootout he'd just gone through.
Imran, Rain, and I took off running down a dark road and the tires of Quin's car could be heard screeching against the pavement. Behind us, bright lights shined on our backs as the car came closer and closer to us. It wasn't long before Quin drove past us, pulled in front of us, and blocked us from going anywhere. Imran pulled both Rain and I behind us once Quin and Honey got out of the car.
"Get yo’ asses back in this car!" Quin yelled, pointing his gun at Imran's chest.
"Fuck you! Put that shit up and square up! Sending a female to handle your beef!" Imran bellowed.
"Didn't you send a female to handle yours faggot-ass nigga! You got my wife to help you come up!"
"Nah, your bitch came up when she got with me," Imran said with a chuckle.
I grabbed his arm and tried to prevent him from going any closer to Quin, but he jerked away and proceeded to him anyway. Rain and I both looked at one another before we followed behind him. Although we hated each other, we knew more than anything that we wanted the man that we loved to be okay.