by Shan
“I’m Doctor Atkins; I just finished working on Ms. Davis. We pumped about fifty-two pills from Journey’s stomach. We were able to give her something to flush that alcohol out of her stomach but she still has some recovering to do. She’s very lucky she didn’t suffer any type of brain damage or damage to any of her other organs,” the doctor explained.
“Thank God,” I said and let out a sigh of relief.
“She’s gonna need a lot of support and help to get through this time. Not really sure what’s going on but in a couple of days the hospital will be sending a psychiatrist to evaluate her. She’s gonna need to talk to someone.”
“For sure, for sure. No doubt,” I agreed. “Is she awake now? Can I see her?”
“Yes, she might be a little out of it but yes you can see her,” the doctor said. He patted my shoulder and walked away.
I nodded my head and looked down at Rozalyn who was standing close by my side. Damn, I was glad to have her here with me and happy she had turned right around when I called her. Thinking if I hadn’t made a decision to call anyone, then Journey would have been dead and it would’ve been partially my fault.
I had given up on her without even ensuring it was over. I gotta get my shit together. ASAP! I thought to myself as I was about to head down the hall.
“Taron wait,” Rozalyn said as she grabbed my arm. “I’m gonna go now. Are you gonna be okay?”
“Oh yeah. I appreciate it sis. Damn, if you hadn’t come…” I shook my head in shame.
“It’s cool, you were in shock. I’ve been there before. Don’t worry. All that matters is that Journey is okay. I’m gonna get back to the boys. Please call me if you need me; and if you need me to stay here longer, then I will. I don’t mind.”
“Nah, nah. I’m good. I’ma be up here with my fiancé until it’s time for her to go home. I have to make sure I take care of her Roz. Don’t worry about us-we’re good,” I assured her.
I kissed Rozalyn’s cheek and walked her to the elevator. Once Rozalyn hopped on the elevator, I made my way to the nurse’s station and waited for someone to escort me to where Journey was being held. Upon seeing her in the hospital bed, I barely recognized who she was.
Her skin was so pale looking; it was almost ghostly. It seemed as though when they sucked the pills out of her, they sucked her skin tone away as well.
Journey’s eyes fluttered open then she looked at me and allowed a tiny tear to escape the corner of her eye. I walked over to her bed, grabbed her hand, and brought it up to my mouth to kiss it. I pulled a chair close to the bed and immediately began to apologize to her, “I’m so sorry Journey. I haven’t been here for you and that’s all gonna change. I want us to go and get married as soon as possible, I want you to get the help you need, and we’re gonna have that baby. I promise you that.”
More tears fell from her eyes. She closed them and then opened them back up to look at me, “I’m sorry Taron. I’ve just been so…” Her voice was so scratchy; she began to cough.
I quickly jumped up from my chair and grabbed the pitcher of water that sat near the bed. I poured a cup and handed it to her. After taking a few sips, she began to speak again, “I just don’t know how I got here. I let the baby and Latoya mess me up; I swear I didn’t know I was this bad off. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s like after I saw Toya earlier today, I was at the end of my rope. She just made me feel like I was nothing. She made me think not only that I didn’t deserve you, but I didn’t deserve to live for not being able to have your kids.”
“What? What are you talking about? You did this shit because of some shit Toya said to you-today?” I questioned with confusion.
“I know you told me to stop letting her get to me but she just threw all that shit in my face about me not being able to have kids and hold you down and…I just couldn’t help but think about how true it is.”
“Fuck that, fuck that Journey. I don’t give a damn if we never have kids; it’s you I want to be with. Fuck Latoya and whatever she said to you. I love you and if it’s just us for the rest of our lives, then I’m happy with that. If kids are what will make you happy, then I’ll do whatever to make it happen. But just know that if it don’t, I’m not going anywhere. I want you to understand that.”
Hearing that Toya had struck yet again caused me to become really heated on the inside. I didn’t let Journey see it but I was pissed. Latoya was doing the weakest shit possible; steadily trying to drive a boulder between me and Journey’s relationship. Her bullshit almost caused my fiancé her life and I was gonna be sure to see her about it. Ending the affair between us had become that much easier.
22 TAMAR
I walked inside the building of The Butler Brother’s Entertainment and walked up to the receptionist’s desk. This was the office of Dom, the guy that had sent his goons out to Miami to fuck with my moms behind his nephew Imran. He didn’t want me doing business with Imran, or anyone in Dallas for that matter, because he and his brothers were trying to monopolize the drug game out here.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t about to happen as long as I was around. He could do whatever it was]s he wanted as long as he didn’t try to fuck up my money and what I had going on out here. They were supposed to be some kind of Mafia family but I had other plans for them. My goal was and always have been to do what the BMF had done but even bigger and better. If they weren’t trying to get down, then they would get laid down, and it was as simple as that.
“Can I help you sir?” The receptionist asked as I approached.
“Yeah, I have a meeting with Dom,” I said looking down at my watch.
“Your name?”
“Ta…”
“Tamar!”
I looked up to see the fat muthafucka’ wobbling down the hall in my direction. He carried a fake-ass smile with him, along with a nigga I’d never seen before by his side. I touched my back to make sure my pistol was in place then walked in their direction.
“My man, what’s going on?” Dom greeted.
“Just here to see what the fuck you wanted with me,” I said.
Dom cleared his throat and led me in the direction of the elevators. I followed and waited for him and the other guy to get on first. Knowing there was obvious hate in the air, I wasn’t about to let these muthafuckas stand behind me. One wrong move from me and they might try to bury me in this building and I wasn’t trying to have that.
I closely watched them as we passed each floor until finally stopping at the fourth one. I stepped to the side and waited for the two of them to exit before following behind them. We came upon a big conference room. I shook my head knowing where this whole meeting was about to go. This nigga got refreshments and shit sitting on the table along with pens and notepads.
“Have a seat, Tamar.” Dom extended his hand and I took a seat in one of the tall chairs that was pulled up to the table. I took a cigarette from the pack of Newports in my pocket along with a blunt that I had rolled before coming here. These were the two things I needed to have in order to keep calm on these niggas.
I lit the cigarette first, leaned back in the seat, and waited for Dom to speak. “This is my brother Davion.” he said as I really gave a fuck.
“What up?” I said and inhaled the Newport.
“Before we get down to business, I have a couple of questions to ask you. Were you responsible for the attack on my family?” Dom asked and I blew out a cloud of smoke.
“No need for us to discuss that Dom, you know what I did and what I didn’t do. I didn’t feel the need to go after your family; although, you so weakly went after mine. If you had an issue with me, you should’ve brought it to me and not my people-but of course what’s done is done now.”
“Respectively,” he said and lit up a cigar. “How can I get my money back?”
“That’s my muthafuckin’ money,” I laughed. “You had to pay som
e kind a price for fuckin’ with my people. Did you think it would be cheap?”
“Respect,” Dom said and grabbed a glass from the table to pour himself a drink.
“Look, I’ma just tell you like this. Imran was doing good down here, brought me a lot of money, but I recently told him his services weren’t needed. I’m going to take over and that’s just what it’s gonna be,” I stated.
“Imran paid a percentage to us, we will need to get that same percentage. As long as we get a cut, we have no problem with whoever decides they want to move weight in our city,” Davion said.
I shook my head and sat up in my seat. “Well, I’m not Imran nor am I the rest of the muthafuckas that decide they want to so dumbly give you a cut. This my shit, my money that was put into getting it, and my fuckin’ work that will be put into moving it. I’m not giving you shit nor do I owe you shit,” I stated confidently.
“That will be a problem Tamar. This is not your city. We’ve run things here for years and that’s not going to change anytime soon. I want us to work this out in a peaceful manner but we all have to agree somewhere,” Dom said. “Why don’t you join us? Be a part of our coalition. I promise you that it will be beneficial to you. You will never have a problem here as long as you decide to do business in Dallas.”
“I have my own coalition,” I said knowing it was just me against the world now that my niggas were gone.
“You don’t have anybody,” Dom laughed.
I know how you work Tamar and even though it has seemed to work for you in all those other places, I can guarantee you it won’t work here. We have this down to a science. No one moves in this city unless we know about it; and if you are not a part of the coalition, it can be very detrimental to you and whatever team you hustle together.”
I sat back and thought about what Dom was saying. I didn’t need any problems especially being that I was just starting out with a bunch of new niggas that I didn’t trust and were leery about me as well. I knew I could sail my ship with the best of them but my boat wasn’t that full.
I only had Black here in Dallas-Jamir, I was kinda iffy about and his brother Justice was just learning the ropes. I had a lot of building to do in order to get to where I wanted here in Dallas. My whole motto in the game was just to get money and fuck the rest.
I didn’t fuck with anyone until they fucked with me. That’s how it always has been since day one. I knew Dom was pretty much telling me if I had not agreed to his terms, that I would be fucked with every day until I either got down or was put down. Can’t make no money if I’m at war every day. I pondered.
“What’s this coalition all about?” I asked then fired up my blunt as I waited for the details.
***
Later that evening, I had a call with Larry and his legal team to figure out what they were gonna do about the pending charges against me for the murder of Ray-Ray and also on Taron’s case. Being that the charges against me were based on what one person said, I wasn’t really too worried about them.
Other than the gun, they didn’t have any physical evidence. The gun didn’t contain my prints and was found in someone else’s possession. According to Larry, this case would be easier to beat than the trial I faced for the murder of Shalea, my ex-girlfriend.
It was even more evident that it was an open and shut case seeing as how the prosecution had already approached Larry six times since I left their custody, begging me to take a plea deal.
Now this shit with Taron wasn’t so fucking easy. The Feds had all kinds of evidence against him: statements, video, wiretaps, and more that was all provided to them by Donald. According to Donald, he was using Club Revolver to wash his money and Taron had been his go-to person.
Larry said the feds tried to use me in their investigation as well, but could never get me on video, wiretaps, or anything like that. Therefore, they didn’t have anything against me. Shit, I didn’t know anything about this. Donald was an enemy and should have been nowhere near my club.
For Taron to be working with the adversary really bothered me, making me feel like he was more like his twin than I wanted to admit. This fool had put a bounty on my head, had even had muthafuckas watching and intimidating my family-and Taron was working with him.
“I need to talk to Taron and find out what’s going on, to get the facts on what was or wasn’t done, and then I’ll get back to you Larry,” I said and got ready to hit the end button on the phone but Larry stopped me.
“I know you’re good for it, but you know that I need to get fifty percent of the payment for his case before we can really begin the proceedings on it,” Larry said.
“I need to find out what’s going on Larry. For right now, just put that shit on pause. I’ll get back with you as soon as possible,” I said and hung up the line.
Instantly, I dialed Taron’s number and he answered on the second ring. His voice was low, like he was somewhere he didn’t want to be heard.
“Bruh, what’s up?” Taron asked.
“Explain these charges to me. I just got off the phone with Larry who told me everything, but I need to hear it from you,” I said and got up and paced the space in the room.
“The charges are false, I was not using the club to launder money. Donald set me up,” Taron explained but I didn’t believe him. How could I believe him when the evidence was saying otherwise?
“What’s all this evidence that Larry’s saying the Feds have against you then Ron? He’s even saying you have to turn yourself in, in a couple of weeks. He pretty dead set on you having to do time,” I said and blew out hot breath.
“That evidence is not what it seems Tae. Man…I don’t wanna go into too much detail over the phone; I was talking to Donald about some shit but not this. I have no idea where these trumped-up charges came from.”
“You were talking to him about some shit, what kind of shit? This nigga wanted me dead and you talking to him about some shit?”
“Yeah, he came to me and hell…man can we just talk about this in person? I know them muthafuckas recording my calls and I’m not trying to give them any more info than they need,” Taron said.
“Nah bruh, I’m done with you. You figure out how the fuck you gonna pay for these high ass lawyer fees. I’m not helping you do shit. Sleeping with the fucking enemy and you think I’ma back you on this shit-nigga fuck you and that hoe ass nigga Donald. Hope you two muthafuckas rot in prison,” I spat then hung the phone up.
I tossed the phone on the table and continued pacing the room. The way I felt right now was hard to even put into words. I hated to be betrayed and more than anything I hated to be betrayed by my own damn family. I’ve done everything for Taron.
I bought Taron his fuckin’ house, ensured that nigga would never miss a meal, or never even want for anything. He was bringing in at least fifty thousand dollars a month from working at Club Revolver, more than enough to take care of him, his bitch, and his baby. And if he ever needed anything more, he knew all he had to do was ask and it would be given to him.
I picked up my cell phone and dialed Taron’s number back. I needed to know one more thing before I completely wrote him off. “Did you take the money from my stash?” I asked the moment he answered.
“Yeah, I…”
That was all I needed to hear. No explanation was needed. It was obvious it was done on some sneak shit because he hadn’t said two words to me about it. That stash was fucking chump change and it wasn’t like I was going to miss it-but of course it was the principle of the whole thing. Why steal some shit that you could’ve easily had?
I tossed the phone back down and went to pour me up a drink when there was a knock at the door. I checked my back to make sure my pistol was still in place and walked over to see who was there. I wasn’t expecting anyone so the visit was unwarranted. Pulling the door open, I stepped back and was completely caught off guard.
“Daddy!” All three boys yelled and ran at me at the same time. They each wrapped their bodies around my leg, almost causing me to fall onto the floor. I went to pick up the smallest of the three, which was Zavier.
“Look at my boys. Damn, y’all sure came at the right time and put a smile on Daddy’s face,” I said happily looking into my wife’s eyes.
She was dressed in a tight fitting tee that stopped at her navel, a pair of printed pants, and wedges that added a few inches to her height. “Nice surprise.”
“Yeah I know. We had a hard time tracking you down but we found you,” Rozalyn said with a smile.
“Damn, I need to do better then,” I said and leaned down and kissed her lips. She slid her tongue into my mouth and intertwined her tongue with mine. For that moment, I forgot all about the issue I had with my brother.
“We’re hungry so…” Rozalyn began but quickly stopped when her attention averted to something else in the room.
I turned my head and remembered that Passion was still here with me. She stood behind me cradling Trina in her arms and smiling at the boys. Thank God, this bitch got some clothes on. I thought as I hurriedly grabbed Rozalyn before she ran away.
“Damn, you already laid up with some bitch! How long did it take this fuckin’ time Tae?” Rozalyn yelled.
“It’s not even like that, chill the fuck out and keep your damn voice down. Passion is my partna’s girl and she been helping me with Trina,” I explained hoping that it would work. I mean it was true, Passion was Jamir’s girl and she had been helping me with Trina. All that extra shit, Rozalyn didn’t need to know.
“Well let the bitch know she can leave now,” Rozalyn jerked her arm away from me and stepped into the room. She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Passion suspiciously.
“Passion this is my wife Rozalyn, Rozalyn this is Passion.” I introduced the two of them. “Get that damn mug off your face. It’s not like that.”