One thing Chad learned from being in the streets is that things are rarely what they seem. So, before he allowed himself to confront Niya while he was upset, he would just let it be for now. One thing was for sure, and two things for certain; this wasn’t going to be the end of it.
__________
“Yo, what’s wrong wit you?” Mayo asked Prada, who was lying in bed with her back to him.
He felt that something wasn’t right ever since he killed Dro in front of her, and he was really unsure how he was going to deal with the situation.
“I’m good, May,” she responded. “I’m just a little tired.
“Yeah, what you pregnant or something?” he asked, sliding up behind her and placing his arm around her waist.
That comment was enough to get her attention. She turned around and gave him a curious look. I hope this nigga ain’t tryna get me pregnant, she thought to herself.
She had to admit that the sex was good, and there were a couple of instances where she felt him cum inside of her. But, there was no way she should or would be feeling symptoms of pregnancy. They had only known each other for about a month, and started having sex three weeks ago. After a week of safe sex, she let him go inside of her raw. All of this information played back in her head for a split second.
“Boy, don’t be tryna jinx me. I’m not tryna have no babies right now,” Prada joked. “Don’t make me have to put a rubber on you,” she said smiling.
“Ah shawty, dis daddy pussy now,” he shot back, climbing on top of her. “You got my nose wide open,” he chuckled leaning in to kiss her soft lips.
He hadn’t lied when he said that he was open. Prada had done some things to him that women only do with their husbands, not to mention the fact that she was probably the toughest red-bone in Charlotte. She was pretty as all outdoors. Her natural eye color was a goldish-brown and she really didn’t have to smile in order to see her dimples. Her hair reached to the center of her back, and her 5’7”, 170lb frame was stacked in all the right places. 38D breasts, thick thighs, fat ass, and a smile that can make heaven open up the gates.
It wasn’t hard for Mayo to fall for someone like Prada, and if Prada wasn’t focused the way that she was, she probably would have fallen for him as well. He was everything she liked physically. Tall, dark, and handsome. He even had the nerve to have a full head of naturally curly hair. It wasn’t too many niggas in Charlotte with curly hair. Prada just had the ability to control her emotions and not get attached. Prada’s only mission in life right now was to gain the last two digits to Mayo’s safe, take everything in it, then move on to the next nigga. That was what she did. She was an “MHB” girl and would be that until the death of her.
Chapter 4
Prada pulled into the strip mall where she was supposed to meet up with Niya for their Tuesday ritual at a small eatery. The white Range Rover sitting in front of the store confirmed that Prada was late again. But with what she had to tell Niya, being late would be the last thing they talked about.
“Girl dis nigga is crazy as shit,” Prada began as she pushed the plate of food Niya had ordered to the side like it wasn’t even there. “He killed that boy right in front of me,” she whispered with her hands cupped around her mouth.
“What? Bitch you better get the hell out of there,” Niya told her with a concerned look on her face. “Dat nigga might kill you next.”
“Shit, I’m one digit away from having the combo to his safe. And when I say safe, it look like a walk-in closet,” Prada said, snapping her neck back and forth.
Niya had to chuckle at Prada and the way she was trying to look so ghetto. Through everything she had seen Mayo do, she was still in it to win it. Niya admired that part about her.
“You MHB,” Niya said, smiling and shaking her head.
“Oh shit that reminds me, the nigga we robbed told him he saw a “MHB” tattoo on ya wrist. Mayo was making all kinds of threats about how he was goin to get to the bottom of it,” Prada added.
The Money Hungry Bitches consisted of Diamond, Tiffany, Tiki, Lisa, who had died in a car accident, and lastly, Niya’s best friend turned archenemy, Gwen. Prada was a new MHB, but she hadn’t gotten her tattoo yet. She was waiting for the right time to get it, and now definitely wasn’t the time.
Niya was in deep thought, thinking about the first day that she had met Prada, and how far she had come from being that timid, helpless, little girl. They were both sitting in the lobby of the abortion clinic. Niya had gotten pregnant by her high school sweetheart when she was 15 years old. She knew it was no way she was going to be able to tell her saved and sanctified grandmother, whom she lived with, that she was having sex, and was pregnant. She knew that her grandmother would ship her off quickly, before she let Niya embarrass her to the whole neighborhood and church congregation. So, Niya did the only thing she could think of, and that was to steal the $400.00 from the money her grandmother kept in her sock drawer and handle her business.
She convinced her boyfriend at the time to give her a ride to the appointment, since he was seventeen and old enough to drive. While in the waiting room, she could hear Prada on the phone, crying and arguing with someone about coming to pick her up, especially since they hadn’t given her any money to help. Niya stepped in, and ever since that day, Prada had been at her side.
“So now what?” Prada asked, looking over at the stress in her best friend’s eyes. Whatever Niya wanted to do, Prada was down with it. That’s just the kind of love and loyalty she had for MHB. She also knew the love Niya had for her, and that whatever she decided was in the best interest of all.
“Hurry up and get that last digit to that safe,” Niya instructed before digging her fork into her lunch. Niya hated the fact she had to put her girl back in harm’s way. However, she also knew that if she didn’t make this club dream a reality soon, they would never be able to stop with this lifestyle. Therefore, it was better to take this chance now, for a safer future.
__________
Gwen was sitting at the kitchen table weighing and bagging up ounces and half ounces of crack, when JR came through the door. Although JR was pretty much the supplier, Gwen was the engine of the car. Gwen moved most of the coke JR bought. She knew pretty much every drug dealer in Charlotte, along with all the hot spots for heavy crackhead traffic. That was all courtesy of Chad, who had her in the passenger seat the whole time he flooded the streets, back in his day.
“Yo, I need to talk to you about something,” JR said sincerely as he came into the kitchen and took a seat at the table with her.
From the way he sounded, Gwen thought someone had died. He was only like this when it was something serious. “What’s up, babe?” she said, turning the scale off.
“I need you to tell me everything you know about MHB,” he said with a serious look in his eyes.
That caught Gwen by surprise. She couldn’t understand why he would suddenly be asking about MHB, considering the fact that Gwen hardly ever talked about the tattoo on her ankle.
“Why, what’s going on JR?” Gwen asked with a curious look on her face.
JR began to explain the whole situation with Mayo and the money. He told her about Dro and his story of being robbed. JR explained that Dro had told Mayo about the tattoo he had seen on the female who robbed him, and how Mayo really just wanted to get his money back. JR wasn’t speaking in a harsh manner, but rather in a concerned tone, something Gwen picked up on the moment he sat down.
“So what do you wanna know, JR?” Gwen probed, trying to see where he was going with his line of questions.
“I wanna know everything. I wanna know everybody that’s a part of MHB. Where they from, where they live, how many of ya’ll there is, and most importantly, which chick got MHB tattooed on her right wrist,” he said, scooting his chair closer to Gwen.
Even though Gwen didn’t mess with the people in MHB, that didn’t take away the fact that she was still an MHB herself. The rules and regulation
s still applied in Gwen’s life, and it didn’t matter what the situation was, she could never cross her MHB family. It was more about who she was, and less about what had transpired. So she responded as if she was at the last meeting.
“Look, I don’t know what you plan on doing, but I haven’t been a part of MHB for years, boo. Even if I did have info on them, I couldn’t possibly get involved.”
Gwen wasn’t dumb at all. She knew that Mayo was going to kill whoever took his money, just as fast as he killed the person they took the money from. She couldn’t have an MHB member’s blood on her hands. No matter how much she hated Niya, she wasn’t about to tell JR that she was the only member who had MHB tattooed on her right wrist.
JR could see that Gwen wasn’t gonna budge, and was going to stand firm in her loyalty to her crew by any means necessary. The look she had was the same kind of look he would have if someone were to inquire about Mayo. JR was genuinely concerned about her, because he knew how far Mayo was willing to go about his money. Anybody from MHB was liable to get shot, and that included Gwen, if she wasn’t careful.
__________
Prada walked into the house to find Mayo already in his safe, putting the money in and taking cocaine out. Damn, she thought to herself. She was mad because she wasn’t there to catch the last two numbers. All she could do was wait until he went back in it again, and when he did, she was going to be ready.
__________
Chad had decided to spend some time with his son, instead of waiting for the weekend. He had been feeling guilty about the lack of time he’d been giving him, due to the rift he had with Gwen. It wasn’t a question whether or not he loved his son, because he did. Zion was his first born, and a planned pregnancy with the woman he was in love with at the time. Zion wasn’t an accident, or someone Chad had to learn how to love. His feelings for his boy came natural.
When Gwen pulled up to the house, Chad was already sitting outside waiting for them. It was rare that Gwen actually came to the house, and that was due to the constant tension between her and Niya. They couldn’t stand each other, and Chad was the core of the problem.
“Daddy! Daddy!” Zion yelled, getting out of the car and running up to him.
The love he displayed for his father was so emotional, even Gwen had to smile. No amount of time away from each other could break their bond, and in some ways, Gwen respected that.
“Get out the car, I wanna holla at you for a minute,” Chad told Gwen, catching her off guard.
“I don’t have time, I got somewhere to go—” she tried to plead, only to pair of deaf ears.
“Get out the car G,” he said again, cutting her off.
He hadn’t called her by the name G since they were together, and that by itself compelled Gwen to get out of the car. Even though she had on something as simple as a pair of thigh-high shorts, a tank-top and some Alexander McQueen sandals, she still looked good. Chad’s dick got hard at the thought of sliding between her thick thighs. He could just picture himself biting each thigh right before planting his face into her pussy.
“Yo, listen. This beef between me and you gotta stop. Let me be the first to apologize for everything that got us to this point,” Chad began.
“Chad you don’t have to —”
“Chill out shawty, let me talk,” he said stopping her. “I’m not the same person I used to be. I changed a lot over the past couple of years, and I’ve come to realize what’s important in life,” he continued.
Just listening to him, Gwen could see the change in his attitude. He sounded like someone who was responsible and knew what he wanted out of life. He sounded like a person who had a heart and a conscience, and not like the thugged-out nigga she fell in love with. He sounded like a man, a real man.
“I just want you to know that I’m gonna do better. I’ma do all I can to be a better father,” he said with all the humility in the world.
Gwen was stuck for a moment as she listened to him. She couldn’t help but to think about how things would have been if they had never parted ways. In some odd way, she wished that she could have grown with him into being the kind of person he was today, but four years ago, Gwen wasn’t ready to leave the life of a hustler’s wife. Before Gwen could even get a chance to respond, the white Range Rover pulled into the driveway right behind her car, blocking her in.
Niya jumped out the truck, and it was obvious that she had an attitude because she didn’t even speak to Gwen. Chad gave her a stern look as if to say, “don’t start,” as she walked and kissed him. Gwen just smiled, finding it funny that Niya thought the kiss made her jealous.
“Well look, I’m tryin’ to leave. Can you move ya truck so I can go?” Gwen asked, breaking the awkward silence. “You know what… I do need to have a word or two with you,” Gwen said, looking at Niya.
They both looked at Chad as if to dismiss him, so the women could talk. He was reluctant, knowing how ugly this conversation could get, but he chose to leave them alone anyway. He wasn’t going far, though.
“I’ll be over here,” he said pointing to Zion who was sitting on the front steps.
The ladies were silent until Chad was out of hearing range. Niya didn’t know what to expect, but she was ready for any physical confrontation Gwen was plotting.
“So when did MHB start robbing people?” Gwen asked with both an attitude and disappointment.
The question caught Niya off guard.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Niya shot back.
“Cut da shit, Ni, I know about the trap house that got robbed last week,” Gwen said leaning against her car. “They say she had a MHB tat on her right wrist,” she continued, grabbing Niya’s right arm.
“You should mind ya fuckin’ business,” Niya shot back, snatching her arm away.
Niya was a little ashamed about what she was doing. MHB was never about violence when Tiki, an OG wife started it and passed it on to Niya and Gwen. It started as an empowerment movement for young women to take control of their lives and be more independent. It was over the course of time, that both Gwen and Niya changed the movement. MHB was transformed into a handful of young women who competed to see who could bag the most infamous drug dealers in North Carolina. Money hungry was just a better phrase to use than gold-diggers, because that’s all they became, just at a higher level.
“You know, robbery is a new low for you, Ni,” Gwen rubbed in, as she reached for her door. “If I was you …”
“Well you’re not me,” Niya snapped back. “You do you, and let me do me,” she said as she headed for the truck so that she could let Gwen out.
When Niya got into her car, a tap at her window got her attention. It was Gwen.
“What?” Niya said as she rolled the window down.
“You might want to cover that tattoo up before you end up having a hundred niggas runnin’ up in ya house,” Gwen warned.
That was going to be only warning Gwen would give her, and that was only due to her being a MHB. After waving to Zion and Chad, who were still sitting on the steps, Gwen jumped in her car and left.
__________
Det. Butler walked into the wooded area just off the highway, where he was greeted by another detective, a female named Rose. Butler was led to the makeshift gravesite where Dro’s body was being photographed by the forensic unit.
“A single shot to the back of his head. He didn’t feel a thing,” Det. Rose said, kneeling down next to the corpse.
Det. Butler reached into Dro’s pockets, looking for identification. It was there along with some money and car keys. “I guess we can rule out robbery,” Butler said, looking at the contents. “Jeffrey Davis,” he announced holding the ID to his eyes.
It was simple murders like this that made Det. Butler want to be a cop. He grew up in Charlotte, and knew firsthand how violent the city was. He would do everything in his power to solve this case.
Chapter 5
Club Caviar was jam-packed
, and it seemed that everyone from Charlotte was in the building. For MHB, it was ladies’ night out, a well needed break from a long week of work. Diamond, Tiffany, and Niya sat in the VIP booth surrounded by bottles of Patron and Grey Goose. The oldest member of the crew, Tiki, was making her rounds in the club.
Tiki was the original founder of MHB, back in the day when the He-men crew ran the city. Tiki was married to the leader, and figured she would form a crew for the women of the male members. After her husband, Andre, was violently murdered, she decided to turn the group into a positive support group. After years of being in the midst of things, she decided to pass the torch to Gwen and Niya, when most of the He-men crew hung up their jerseys. Now, Tiki was more of an adviser than an actual member, but the people in the city still loved her.
“What you thinking about?” Niya yelled over the music to Diamond, who was lost in her thoughts.
She hadn’t stopped thinking about Mike the realtor, and what happened in his office a few days ago. Most women would have felt bad and degraded for doing what she did, but Diamond liked the crazy wild office sex. Visions of Mike slamming her over on his desk and pounding her from the back raced through her mind.
“I got the extension,” Diamond said, with a big smile on her face. “90 days!” she yelled.
Niya was ecstatic. All she was hoping for was 60 days, but Diamond managed to get 90. Niya saw the devious grin Diamond had on her face before she took a sip of her drink and was suspicious.
“How da hell did you get 90 days, girl?” Niya asked, already having a feeling what Diamond was going to say.
It was silent at the table for a second. Tiffany even stopped what she was doing to hear the answer. “I gave him a shot of pussy,” Diamond laughed. Everybody at the table laughed at the surprising twist.
“You whore,” Tiffany joked.
“Yo ass sittin’ up there wit a big ole smile on ya face. Let me find out that white boy got ya ass sprung,” Niya chimed in.
Country Girls Trilogy (Parts 1-2-3 Boxed Set): MHB Love Page 3