by Meesha
I looked down at my dad’s chest and it was no longer moving. He had stopped breathing and all of his bodily fluids were making a path on the sidewalk. I continued holding him as my tears fell upon his face.
“Ricio! Ricio! Wake up baby.” I heard Nija yelling while trying to shake me awake.
I opened my eyes and I was sitting straight up with a pillow cradled in my hands the same way I was holding my dad that night. My tears had dropped on top of it the same exact way it happened in my dream. Staring at Nija, I pulled her in my arms and cried like a baby. She didn’t ask any questions, she just held me in her arms tightly.
Chapter 15
Sosa
I had been sitting on pens and needles trying to figure out when Max left the house yesterday morning. I stayed up damn near the whole night after we laid them niggas down at the warehouse because I was worried about Max. He wouldn’t tell me what the fuck was going on with him so I badgered his ass like a witness on the stand. Which now I feel was too much for him because when I woke up, he was gone.
I’ve been out looking for him as well as calling his phone without him answering or calling back. All I wanted was to hear his voice so I would know he was alright. Mauricio was mad because he shot a text to Floyd asking if he’d seen Max, and his bitch ass only laughed as a reply. Deep down in my heart I knew he was alive but I wanted to hear for myself.
We had three hours before Mauricio’s party was set to start and it was too late to cancel. There was no way we would be able to have a good time with our little brother missing. I grabbed my phone and dialed Max’s number for the hundredth time and was surprised when it was answered.
“What up, brah?” he said nonchalantly.
“Where are you, Max? I’ve been calling you over and over again since yesterday morning!” I said angrily into the phone.
“My bad. I’m with Madysen, I needed to get away. Tell Ricio I’m still meeting y’all tonight for his birthday.” He said too calmly.
“With the shit that’s going on, I thought they killed yo’ ass, Max. You scared the fuck outta us! What happened to laying low?”
“And I said, my fault. I didn’t think I needed permission to make love to my girl. I am laying low, with Madysen. Look, I’ll see y’all at the club.” He said hanging up.
I sat on the bed for a few minutes and the conversation ran through my mind several times. Something was off with Max. He didn’t sound like himself. Getting up off the bed, I went to the closet and took my outfit out for the night. The pair of white jeans I picked out, along with a white button down shirt was my outfit for the tonight. I was going for a debonair look before everything hit the fan. So, I had to settle for comfortable just in case Floyd decided to show up on some revenge type shit.
Walking to the bathroom with my phone in hand, I dialed up Nija. I listened as it rang numerous times before she answered. “Hey, brother. Have you heard from Max?”
“Yes, he said that he would see us at the club. He’s at Madysen’s house. He claims he needed to get away but he didn’t sound like himself. Whatever is weighing on his mind, is eating him up. I will see for myself when he gets to the club. Is Mauricio getting ready?”
“He’s in the shower. Sosa, he refused to wear white though. It’s like he is anticipating something to happen tonight. Ricio will be dressed in all black from head to toe. Please tell me nothing will happen tonight.” I was quiet for a moment because I didn’t want to lie to her. “Sosa, promise me nothing will go down,” she said in a whiny voice.
“Nija, I can’t make that promise. I really don’t know what’s bound to happen to be honest. We will go out, celebrate bro’s birthday, and have a good time. That’s all we can do.”
“Who is that on the phone, Ni?” Ricio said in the background.
“It’s Sosa. He heard from Max and he will meet us at the club.”
“That’s good, bro. We will see you in a minute. Until then, let my girl get herself together, nigga!” he said laughing.
“Your girl? When the hell did that happen?” Nija asked.
“Act like you don’t know, Ni.”
“Okay, I’ll let y’all work that out. I’ll holla at y’all later.” I said hanging up.
Turning the water on in the shower, I placed my phone on the counter and undressed. The steam filled the bathroom pretty fast and it was like a sauna within minutes. I reached in and turned the cold water on a little bit to add warmth. Stepping into the shower the water cascaded down my body and the beat of the water relaxed my mind.
Retaliation was on my mind heavily. For some reason I knew that night was going to be when they would attack. I held my head down and I heard the voice of my father say, “get ready to fight back. Focus on Max. Keep him in your eyesight at all times.” To me, that sounded like a warning coming from heaven and it touched every nerve in my body.
I washed quickly and got out of the shower. An hour and a half had passed before I knew it. I dressed quickly and pulled my Timbs from the box in the closet and slipped my feet into them. Walking to my gun closet, I stood back examining each tool to decide which ones were hanging out with me. I decided to take my silver and black Nina’s with the extended clips for the ride. I grabbed four extra clips, each holding thirty-two bullets each. If anything happened, I would be ready.
Placing my guns in the holster along with the clips, I look up at the clock and it was nine o’clock. I had already talked to security that would be at the door and they knew my entire team would be packing heat. The money I dished out to get inside strapped, wasn’t shit to me. I had to make sure we were all safe.
I decided to drive my BMW to the club because I wanted to have a fast car under my ass. Walking to the garage, I inserted the key and backed out once the door went up fully. I hit the team with a text letting them know I was on my way to the club. Beast responded back letting me know he was already there.
Knowing Beast was there eased my mind a little bit. It took me thirty minutes to get downtown. Parking in valet was something I didn’t want to do just in case I needed to get away quickly. Instead, I parked around the corner from the club and walked. Watching my surroundings was a must and so far, nothing looked suspicious.
As I walked up to the entrance of the club, Sam, who was head of security was checking the partygoers that came to have a good time. The crowd wasn’t thick, but there was a nice amount of people there. I stood waiting to get in when Sam looked up and waved me over. I hurried over and he stepped to the side to inform me of the setup.
“What up, man.” He said shaking up with me. The VIP section is set for you and your guests on the first floor. There’s Hennessy, Remy, Belvie, 1800, Dusse, and Crown behind the bar. I want y’all to have a good time tonight. You know we go way back and I’ve got yo’ back. If I see them nigga’s, I will hit yo’ line so make sure you have the phone on vibrate.”
“Thanks man. I appreciate all that you’ve done to make this night happen for Ricio. Also, for having our back through this beef we got going on. I’m hoping nothing pops off because I don’t want nothing to fuck up this night.”
“Go on in and enjoy the night, fam. Enjoy your brother’s birthday.” He said walking to the door to let me in.
When I entered the club, the music was bumping through the speakers. There were nigga’s surrounding the stage watching a dark-skinned beauty take her clothes off seductively to Tanks “When We.” Gyrating her hips to the beat, she turned her back to the crowd and bent over. Her pussy looked like a wolf knuckle from the back. She dropped down into a split and popped her ass cheeks one at a time to the beat of the song. My ass was mesmerized and I didn’t hear anyone come up behind me.
“Oh yeah, nephew, I see right now all this pussy is gonna have y’all off ya game.” Sin laughed in my ear while draping her arm over my shoulder. “I want you to enjoy the show, but at the same time, pay attention.”
I glanced at her and laughed, “Man this is gon’ be hard, but it’s doable. I don’t think those
nigga’s coming through here. Where’s Beast?”
“He’s in the cut and can see everything from his position. I came over to let you know that Max just came in. He’s sitting in VIP with Madysen. He doesn’t look too happy to be here, Sosa.”
“I’ll go over to see if he’s okay. This muthafucka filled up quick! Let me hit Nija up to see where they are. I need the DJ to be ready when he walks in. Thanks for looking out for us, Sin. I appreciate both you and Beast.”
“Get outta here with that soft shit, y’all about to own this city! Act like it, nigga! Nah, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We family and that’s what family does. Go check on your brother, I’m gonna go mingle a little bit.”
Watching Sin walk away in her white Vera Wang pants suit with a silver bustier underneath. Her pants were hugging her ass right and I got lost in the sight before me. I took my eyes off her when I felt my phone vibrate on my hip. Taking it out, I had a text from Beast.
Beast: Yo’ ass lookin’ at the wrong bitch! There’s plenty of hoes around this muthafucka, that one is mine, nigga.
I didn’t know where his ass was, but I got caught red handed lusting over his woman. I threw my thumb up in acknowledgement, wherever he was he saw that shit. Heading to the VIP lounge, my phone went off again and it was Nija.
Nija: We are ten minutes away, get ready.
Turning back around I went to the DJ booth to let him know Ricio would be there shortly. He spoke into his headpiece and informed Sam to let him know when he got to the door. I thanked him and went to talk to Max quickly. When I got to the area, Madysen was sitting next to him glancing around the club while he sipped Hennessy.
“What up, brah? How ya doing?”
“I’m good. You did the damn thing for bro. He is gon’ be pissed because you know he hates surprises.” He said as he stood and gave me a brotherly hug.
“He will be okay once these hoes start shaking all that ass in his face. How you doing Madysen?” I asked hugging her.
At that moment Psycho and the rest of the team waltzed into our section ready to turn up. “Man, look at all these fine ass bitches up in here!” Felon said two stepping to the beat.
Butta grabbed one of the dancers and whispered in her ear and she smiled as she nodded her head and left. Everybody filled their glasses and the party was in full effect. Two minutes later a group of naked bad bitches strolled in and the entertainment was in place.
I watched everyone having a good time, except Max. He was still sitting in the same spot downing drinks. Sitting next to him, I whispered in his ear, “brah, what’s going on?” he shook his but I wasn’t believing that for a moment. “Something is going on because you downing those drinks fast as fuck. Talk to me.”
“Sosa, I’m just trying to have a good time for my brother’s birthday. I’m cool.” he said tossing back the cognac that was in his glass.
“Slow down for me, okay? I need everybody on their shit in case something pops off.”
His eyes shifted away from me and he nodded. I didn’t know what the fuck he was going through but I would be keeping an eye on him. The DJ changed the music and Jay Z’s “Takeover” blared through the speakers. That was the cue that Ricio was entering the building. We all rushed to the front entrance and he walked in just as Nija said, sporting all black. The only thing that glistened was the diamond RB charm that hung from his neck.
“Happy muthafuckin’ birthday Ricio! We ‘bout to turn up in this bitch!” the DJ yelled into the mic.
Ricio looked down at Nija and mushed her in the head before he grabbed her in a big hug. Sis was representing like a supermodel in a short white off the shoulder dress with six-inch green stilettos that made her legs appear long and sexy.
“Nigga how the fuck didn’t I see this shit? I knew something was up because Ni don’t do strip clubs,” he said speaking in my ear as we hugged.
“I had this planned before everything happened. I was going to cancel everything but decided not to. We are about to enjoy ourselves before we wreck shit out here.”
“No doubt, let’s turn up!” he said letting me go.
Max walked up and shook up with Ricio and went right back to VIP. I grabbed Psycho by the arm, pulling him to the side. “I’m going to need you to help me keep an eye on Max. I don’t know what’s going on with him but something ain’t right.”
“I got you, fam. He will be alright. We got big booty bitches waiting for us in the lounge, it’s time to check out the eye candy.”
Ricio looked down at Nija and she smiled at him grabbing his hand. We walked back to our section and the party was lit. I walked to the food table because I hadn’t eaten anything all day. Ricio and Nija walked to the couch and sat down. Piling my plate, I sat at the table with Max and Madysen. The fish I chose was seasoned really well.
“Brah, I think you should grab something to eat before you drink anything else.”
“I’m not hungry,” he said throwing another shot back.
I looked up and saw Nija showing out. She was grinding on Ricio’s lap like she was one of the strippers in the building. The smile that graced his lips were bigger than Mt. Everest. He had his arms outstretched and he was having the time of his life. I couldn’t do anything but laugh at the two of them.
The whole crew had a bitch in their lap except me and Max. I finished my food and poured me a drink and sat back observing shit. A Haitian beauty walked toward me. Her hips swayed with every step she took in my direction. Her dark complexion was smooth and her hair framed her face showcasing her beauty. The only thing she wore was pasties on her nipples and a thong.
Mocha was her name in my head and shawty was bad! She turned her back to me and her ass cheeks swallowed the fuck out of the string that held her thong together. As she made her ass clap together like it was giving me a standing ovation, I was stuck. Mocha grabbed my hands and placed them on her waist. That gave me the okay to palm her ass.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the money that I brought to splurge. Putting a couple hundred in her waistband, she started gyrating on my pipe. He woke up instantly and I had to adjust him before he bust through my pants. My phone vibrated and I snatched it off my hip and checked the message.
Beast: We got company. Stay alert!
Staring at the text I was about to respond when another came through from Sin.
Sin: Floyd, Red, and Shake are in the building. I got them in my line of vision. Heads up.
A third text came through and it was from Sam.
Sam: Bitch niggas snuck in when I got off the door. My bad, fam. I’m watching them watch y’all. Keep ya eyes open.
This was what I hoped and prayed wouldn’t happen. This was supposed to be the night to celebrate but now it was about to turn into something else. I turned to Max and leaned in so he could hear what I was saying.
“Floyd and his crew’s here. I need you to stop drinking because shit is about to get real, brah. You strapped right?”
“Nah, I didn’t bring it inside with me. It’s in my ride.” He responded.
He knew what the fuck was going on and he out here naked as fuck without his tool. I was pissed off at him but he’s lucky I decided to bring a third pistol with me. I took the .25 out of my ankle strap and handed it to him. “Here, take this.”
“Sosa, I’m not worried about shit, I’m here to have fun. There’s too many muthafuckas in here for them to start a gunfight in this club. We cool, calm down.”
My phone went off again, it was Beast. When I read the message, I knew shit was about to go amiss.
Beast: We are outnumbered. About fifteen more members of his crew just showed up.
I jumped up and moved Mocha off me. “I’m sorry miss lady, I have to handle something.” I rushed over to Ricio and he saw the panic in my eyes. He stood meeting me halfway along with Psycho and the rest of the team.
“Sosa what’s going on?” Ricio asked.
“Floyd and his crew’s in the building. There’s about twenty of the
m, brah. We are outnumbered, we gotta go!”
“We ain’t about to run from these niggas! We are leaving out of here because I don’t want innocent people getting hurt over this shit. But we won’t run from no mufuckin’ body! Butta get Nija and Madysen and lead them out the nearest emergency exit. Psycho, I want you to hold on to Max, don’t let him out yo’ sight! The rest of y’all let’s go.” Ricio said walking out of the lounge.
Before he could leave, Nija grabbed his arm. “Ricio what’s going on?”
“Nija, don’t ask no questions. Go with Butta and get in the car and leave!” he said handing her the keys to his car.
“Ricio, no—” she cried out.
“This is not a debate, Ni. I want you to leave because I don’t need anything happening to you. Come on now, you are wasting valuable time. Go home and I will be there as soon as I’m done.”
She was crying hard as Butta grabbed her arm and guided her and Madysen to the emergency exit. The look on Ricio’s face was a mixture of sadness and anger. It went to straight rage after Nija left out of the exit door.
He stormed to the main floor and we were right behind him. My phone started ringing and I answered it. Holding my finger to me ear so I could hear, Beast’s voice boomed through the phone.
“What the fuck are y’all doing? Don’t be stupid, Sosa!”
“Ricio ain’t backing down! I’m not letting him go into this alone, bring yo’ ass out of hiding nigga.” I said hanging up.
I saw Sin easing her way to the bar where Floyd and his guys were. They saw us coming and headed for the main entrance. Something was in motion and I hated I didn’t know what. Ricio picked up his pace to get to the exit when a stream of gunshots could be heard coming from outside. My heart dropped because Butta and the girls were out there.
All of us rushed to the door at the same time. Max pushed his way through and bolted out the door first before Ricio could snatch him back. When he emerged, gunshots followed forcing Ricio to dive out of the way. Snatching his banga from his hip, he returned fire across the street but was no match for Floyd and his crew. He hurried to find cover but his bitch never stopped clapping.