by BlaQue
“I think you know a lot. Or at least, that’s what the cops said. They said you know a lot about your friend YaSheema Nicole. They said you were running your mouth like a fucking bitch! That’s what they said. Now we’re gonna play a game. I’m gonna ask you a question and you’re gonna answer me truthfully. If you don’t, I’ll shoot you in the fuckin’ head. Now how does that sound, Cassandra? Does that sound like a game you wanna play?” I laughed.
The girl shook nervously in the back seat of her car. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Just don’t hurt me,” she pleaded.
“Good girl,” I smiled. “Now, how did the police know YaSheema Nicole made a threat to that bouncer?” I asked, stroking my gun in my lap as it were a kitten.
“They came to my house talking about they had us on the club’s surveillance cameras having a few words with him. They told me the bouncer was dead and that if I didn’t tell them everything that happened I was going to jail with whoever killed him. I swear I just told them the truth. They asked me where I was night before last and I told them how me, YaSheema Nicole, and Vernita hit another club and after I dropped them off, I came straight home. My parents vouched for me. They were up when I got home and that’s what they told the cops. I was home when that dude got shot. I ain’t have anything to do with any of that. Then the cops starting asking me about YaSheema Nicole; I told them I dropped her off at home and that was that.
“That’s all you told them, Cassandra?” I knew she had to tell them more than that for them to be accusing Neko’s niece of murder. If I was gonna get the truth out of her, I was gonna have to really scare her. She was scared now, but I wanted that bitch to have nightmares about this moment for the rest of her life. However long that was going to be.
“I think you told them more than that. As a matter of fact, I know you told them more than that. Now I’m going to give you just one more chance to play by the rules before I blow your god damn head off. Now what else did you tell them?” I asked, picking up the gun and pointing it right between her eyes. The young girl pissed her pants and all over her seat she was so petrified. I found the whole ordeal to be funny and burst out laughing at the sight of the telltale peeing in her pants.
“Aight. Aight! I told them that YaSheema Nicole started wildin’ out on the bouncer. I told them she threatened him. They asked me if I thought she would really follow through on her threats. I told them I ain’t know about that. That was all. I swear that’s all I said to them.”
Something about her demeanor was off. I knew she was lying and that wasn’t all she’d told the cops. My finger caressed the trigger of the gun and I felt a feeling that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was a mixture of adrenaline and ecstasy. It was the power of holding another human’s life in my hands like it was putty. It was what I was really missing. It wasn’t just Neko. It was the kill that I missed. It was the fear from my victim that I loved. That’s what always made me an effective hit woman.
Cassandra began to cry and I couldn’t help but smile at her misery and fear.
“Please lady. I told you everything. Now, please let me go,” she pleaded.
“The good thing for you, Cassandra, is that I believe you; but the bad thing is that I don’t believe you won’t tell on me. And since I don’t believe you won’t tell on me I have to end this lil’ game,” I laughed.
Before she could beg for her life, I pulled the trigger, slumping her in the back seat of her car. I sat there admiring how clean I had blown her head off with no regard. I wasn’t as rusty as I thought. The only thing that brought me back from my murderous induced high was the sound of tires screeching up next to where the car was parked. Neko was yelling for me to come on. I exited Cassandra’s car and got in the car with Neko and he peeled away.
“What the fuck did you do, Pinky? I asked you to talk to her, not shoot her!” Neko yelled as he did his best to maneuver out of the upscale neighborhood without detection.
I pulled the mirror down on the visor on the passenger side of the car and smiled at my reflection. I smiled through the blood spatter on my face from me blowing Cassandra’s head clean off her shoulders at close range.
“I did what was needed,” I said calmly as I examined my reflection in the mirror. “I got rid of a potential problem for you. She told the police too much and now she can’t tell them anything else. If I were you I would start driving I-85 north. I think you’d better find your niece before the police do,” I said, never taking my eyes off of my own devious reflection.
Chapter Eighteen
Me and My Bitch
Dread
It is finally Friday and I think I’m starting to get the hang of this working shit. I haven’t seen who I thought was my daughter since my first day on the job, but I’ve been keeping my eye out for her. I have been getting real cozy with Ms. Grey too. In fact, we have plans to go out after work tonight with some of the staff. It was nothing fancy. Just drinks for happy hour. I have to admit, I am looking forward to spending time with Ms. Grey off the clock. She has definitely piqued my curiosity.
We made it through the day and I followed behind Ms. Grey’s car to a bar further up Georgia Avenue. When we got inside a few familiar faces from the university were already inside.
“Where do you want to sit? Should we join the others?” I asked Ms. Grey. She shook her head and led me to a private booth.
“I thought it would be better if it were only you and I,” Ms. Grey flirted. Her bold flirting had become more intense as the week had progressed and now it was bubbling over. I could tell Ms. Grey had more interest in me than a work relationship. But I wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move. I hadn’t been this excited about a woman since YaSheema. Ms. Grey had definitely put me under her spell.
“What are you drinking? This round is on me,” she smiled seductively.
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
I watched as she signaled for the waitress to come over to our booth. Ms. Grey ordered two Remy 1738s on the rocks and I knew what kind of night it was going to be.
“Ms. Grey…”
“Please call me Tisha. We aren’t in the school…you don’t have to be so formal. I thought we came here to have fun. Do you know how to have fun, Mr. Evans, or are you always so uptight?”
“I don’t think I have had any real fun in a long time, Ms. Gr… I mean…Tisha.”
“Well, why don’t we have some fun?”
Our conversation, which I’m sure was headed in the wrong direction, was broken up by the waitress bringing our drinks.
“Here’s to having fun, Mr. Evans. I think we all need a little every now and again,” Tisha said, taking her drink to the head in three long gulps and quickly signaling the waitress to bring us another round.
I knew I should have stopped right there, but I followed along with Tisha Grey’s plan and downed my drink too and every drink we ordered thereafter. I don’t remember whose idea it was to get on the floor and dance, but I was about ten drinks in the wind now and I didn’t remember much. I tried to conceal how turned on Tisha was making me as she bumped and grinded her ass on me song after song. I only stopped her when I had to use the bathroom. It was a good thing too. If she would have jiggled her phat ass on me one more time, I would have bent her over the bar and fucked her like I knew she wanted me to. I would have definitely given our co-workers something to talk about around the water cooler on Monday. I went to the bathroom and handled my business. I washed and dried my hands and right before I grabbed the handle to walk out; in walked Tisha Grey.
“Damn. I was getting lonely out there all by myself,” she said in a husky voice.
“I was coming Ms. Grey. Isn’t the rest of the staff still out there? You do know you’re in the men’s room; right?”
“Umm hmm. I know. I am very aware of where we are,” she said licking her lips.
“Well, shouldn’t we get back out there to the others before they start wondering where we
went? I asked, feigning ignorance. I knew what Ms. Grey wanted and I knew why she was there.
“I don’t think they’re gonna miss us,” Tisha said, locking the door so that no one could come in the men’s room and knock what she had planned.
I know the smile that traced along the corners of my mouth probably looked sinister. I was hungry for what Ms. Grey was offering; but if she wanted to keep playing this game, then I would indulge her.
“Well, isn’t the party out there?” I asked, playing along with her little game. She moved so close to me that her heaving bosom was pressed against me.
“I think you and I know the real party hasn’t even started yet,” Ms. Grey moved in and there was no stopping her. Not like I wanted to, but I would prefer not to be engaging in these kinds of acts in a very public restroom.
She didn’t respond. She simply smiled and proceeded to rip open my shirt like a mad woman and tugging at my slacks. I know I should have stopped her, but the dog in me wanted her to do whatever she wished; but somehow, her being so aggressive was turning me off. I pushed her off of me and backed her into the sink. I turned her around and bent her over the filthy sink. Lifting her dress up over her thighs, I did what Ms. Grey wanted me to do to her. I fucked her on the sink of the bathroom in the bar like she was a cheap slut and she enjoyed every minute of it. The only thing that stopped our animalistic frenzy was the pounding on the door. There were some angry bar hoppers on the other side of the door who wanted in, when all I finish rocking Tisha’s sexy ass to sleep. The pounding of the person on the other side of the door threw me off and all the lust that was there a second ago was gone. Tisha noticed something was wrong and looked back at me. She stood up and turned around and frantically pulled her dress down. Shame danced across her face.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Mr. Evans. I didn’t mean to…” she started to say, but I cut her off.
“Look…I am just as much the blame as you. We both had too many drinks and if we don’t get out of here, they’re gonna call the cops on us,” I said, buttoning my slacks and walking over to the door. Ms. Grey straightened out her clothes and stood behind me. I unlocked the door and let the overweight drunk man that was pounding on the door into the bathroom.
“Sorry man. My wife had too much to drink. She wasn’t feeling well and we ran straight in here. We ain’t bother to see which bathroom we ran in,” I lied.
The drunk staggered past us and wobbled over to a urinal. Ms. Grey walked out with me following close behind. I know all eyes were going to be on us. We had both been gone for over twenty minutes and I am sure someone from the university had noticed we were both missing by now.
We both took a seat and avoided the accusing stares coming from the faculty. After about ten minutes of awkward silence, I decided I had had enough. I told my colleagues that I was going to call it a night. I don’t know what made me feel comfy enough to go out with them anyway. I made my way out to my car and it had started to drizzle. I figured that if I hurried, I would be able to catch a liquor store before they all closed and go home with a bottle which was better than any woman in my personal opinion. If nothing else, I could nurse my blue balls with a bottle of liquor.
Just as I slid into the car I heard someone calling my name. “Mr. Evans. Wait up,” I heard Ms. Grey calling after me with her heels clicking the ground with every step she took. I took one look at her and decided I was done fucking up my life. I wasn’t going to let some woman ruin the little piece of a job I had even if she was the reason I had it in the first place. Me and Ms. Grey fucking around couldn’t be anything but trouble and I wanted to stay far away. In fact, I had better things to focus my energy on and it wasn’t going to be between this woman’s thighs. I had to find out if the young woman I saw a few days ago was my daughter.
“Look…Ms. Grey I think you should get one of your lil’ friends in there to drive you home. That’s what I’m gonna do. Go home and I am going home alone. I think we have done enough damage for one evening. We don’t need our working relationship to get weird because we couldn’t control our hormones.”
“Ronald I know I am a lil’ tipsy, but what happened back there was going to happen if I was sober or drunk. I am attracted to you and I think you are attracted to me too. Why can’t we be two adults about this and stop dancing around how we feel? I like you, Mr. Evans and I think somewhere deep down you like me too.”
I looked at Ms. Grey as the rain started to come down harder. Her mascara started to run down her cheeks as the rain went from drizzle to a downpour. She had no idea that I was exactly what she didn’t need. My history and track record with women wasn’t good at all. That’s probably why I had taken to doing the one night stand thing so I would never have to deal with the women afterwards. All these years of screwing up relationship after relationship or running into the wrong women was going to be the death of me.
I had fucked up with YaSheema. Then I screwed up fucking with NiQue, and having sex with that stripper bitch, Pinky, almost cost me my life. Then to top it all off, I left my daughter. Now here I was having a soft side for a woman that was responsible for the job I now have. I owed Ms. Grey much more that I could offer her and I knew I would end up nothing but a disappointment to her later.
“Ms. Grey, I don’t think you need or want a nigga like me in your life. It might be best for us to keep things on a business level between us. I don’t want things to get out of control. Maybe you should go on home because that’s what I’m going to do. It ain’t what I want to do, but it’s what I need to do for the both of us. Have a good night and weekend, Ms. Grey,” I said and pulled my door closed before my interior got too wet from the rain.
I pulled my seatbelt on and noticed Ms. Grey hadn’t budged. She was still standing there in the rain looking through my car window like she couldn’t believe I had turned her down. If she only knew that I was doing what I thought was best for the both of us. I wasn’t what she deserved and I didn’t want to treat her like the women I had done wrong in the past. She was better than a wham bam thank you ma’am.
Finally Ms. Grey walked away and got in her own car and I pulled off. The only bitch I needed in my life was a bottle. She was the best kind of bitch too. I didn’t catch feelings and she always fucked me right. Yeah, the bottle was the only thing I needed. I ain’t have nothing else.
Chapter Nineteen
Neko Reynolds
Old Friends and the Usual Suspects
I’ve been locked in my room for days worried sick about my wife and niece. Neither of them are answering their phones. I only calmed down when I called Howard University and was able to confirm that YaSheema Nicole had checked in. That eased my mind some. At least she had made it to school. I know me and my niece parted on bad terms, but she’s never pulled anything like this. Not to mention, Rhina still hasn’t surfaced. She still hasn’t called to tell me she made it to D.C. and after Pinky killed Cassandra, I don’t want anything to do with the police. Even if I called the police to file a missing person’s report, they probably wouldn’t bother to help me find her. They were too busy looking for YaSheema Nicole themselves. The only offer of help I had was Pinky and she pissed me off for killing Cassandra in cold blood. I sent her packing back to D.C. I know she meant well, but I wasn’t used to that kind of shit anymore. I left that life behind when I buried my sisters. Besides, that girl didn’t deserve to die, even if she was a snitch.
Now I was sitting in my house alone and wondering what to do next. I figured I would drive to D.C. since YaSheema Nicole had checked in at school. My cell phone rang and I jumped up to find it on the bed. The familiar name flash across the screen made me hopeful about my situation.
“Shadow…my nigga! Wassup with you?”
“What’s good you ole cat-eyed nigga. I ain’t heard from your ole pretty ass in about six months. I thought you forgot about ya boy,” Shadow chuckled. “I got your text and I’m hitting you back. What cha need?” he asked.
“Sorry about not hittin
g you up sooner. Shit has been kinda’ crazy. My niece graduated from high school and got accepted at Howard. Rhina and I have been busy getting her ready for her move up north. Look…that’s what I want to talk to you about. I need to come up there and crash for a minute. Rhina is missing, but YaSheema Nicole checked in at school; I ain’t heard anything from either of them since the night they left for D.C.” I paused and waited to make sure Shadow was listening. I needed him to understand what I was saying to him.
“Damn, my nigga. They probably just got to Drama City and started partying. Ain’t your wife from up here anyway? She’s probably at her people’s spot and just forgot to call you,” Shadow tried to reassure me.
“Naw. I think something else may have happened, but I ain’t sure. Not hearing from them for a week got me uptight and I can’t take it no mo’. I’m gonna get some rest then drive up and check on my niece. She checked in to school, so I guess I will start with her and then I will check with Rhina’s family. My nigga that ain’t the craziest shit that’s happened either. You will never guess who came all the way to Atlanta to find me.”
“Who?”
“Pinky,” I said. Then I paused because Shadow knew just like I thought I knew, Pinky was supposed to be dead and buried. He was one of my oldest friends. He was there when the police told me she died. I could tell by his gasp followed by silence that he was as shocked as I was.
“You don’t mean shawty from way back with the pink hair; do you? How the fuck could that be? Didn’t shawty die in a motorcycle accident? How the fuck did she find you?” Shadow asked.
“Shadow, she showed up on my front porch in Georgia a few days back. As a matter of fact, she showed up the same day my niece and wife went missing. I don’t know if the shit is connected, but I need to find out. You know Pink was always on some different shit back then, and from what she showed me while she was here, she ain’t changed,” I explained, careful to choose my words wisely. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing or accuse Pinky of something and all of this was just coincidental.