Blood, Sweat & Payback (Payback Series)

by Wahida Clark

  Once again, this one goes out to my readers!!! As always, I aim to please!! Let’s goooooo!

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  BLOOD, SWEAT & PAYBACK

  Reading Group Discussion Questions

  1. Did you enjoy the fourth book in the Payback Series? Why or why not? Which characters did you like or dislike?

  2. Janay’s character seemed to have made a sudden spiritual transformation, but the moment her faith was truly tested and she lost the one thing she loved more than life itself, she turned right back to the life of crime. Seeing how her grief caused her to turn away, can anyone truly be saved as long as they are in the flesh?

  3. Nyla, as well as the rest of the characters were set on vengeance against one another. How important is forgiveness to you? Or do you consider payback more fulfilling for the heart and soul? Please explain.

  4. The Twins gave their lives for their family. How much does your family mean to you? Would you offer yourself as a sacrifice? Why or why not?

  5. Tareek told Born The Consortium members didn’t respect unity and solidarity. Is this also true of this present generation? Should members of any group engaged in illegal activity expect its members to have rules and regulations? Explain.

  6. Nyla blamed Shan for the destruction of her marriage to Forever. Why do you think women often blame the “other woman” for their man’s or husband’s infidelity? What would you do if you discovered your husband or man was cheating?

  7. Lisha discussed Dark’s absence in their son Damien’s life because of the danger his lifestyle posed to her and their son. Lisha stated how men argue about their rights, but avoid their duties. What is the difference between a father’s rights and a father’s duties?

  8. What is your opinion of Shan allowing her children’s father and her husband, Briggen, to be killed? Do you agree with her decision? Why or why not?

  9. Do you agree or disagree with the following line from the story? Explain. “. . . but sometimes you can give a person everything, and still, they will never change.”

  10. What are your thoughts on Baby Boy and Quita’s relationship?

  11. “Everybody’s got haters. If you don’t, you ain’t doing something right.” How true to life is this statement for you?

  12. Shan and Briggen argued about who should be out getting the money. In a marriage does it matter which party is the bread winner? Explain.

  13. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Why or why not?

  “Where has it gotten us? In my country of Sudan, the European give us Bibles, the Arab gives us Koran, but they get our resources as we get famine, war, and genocide. So, if we are to judge a tree by its fruit, what kind of seed are we planting?”

  14. Do you think it’s greed or a will to survive when hustlers decide they need to make just “one more run.” What are your thoughts on this ideology as it applies to the character Briggen?

  15. After reading the following statement, do you think society places very little value on black life in America? Do you think previous cases such as Emmett Till, Rodney King, James Byrd Jr., and Trevon Martin, prove this theory.

  They couldn’t identify him, so they weren’t a threat. Besides, they were white. One dead nigga was one thing, but two dead white people changed the game.

  TWO SNEAK PEEKS OF

  THUGS PART 7

  WHY TWO?

  I need you to vote on which way I should take the story.

  If you like Version One

  Text me at 973-671-1609 and type #VersionOne

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  Thugs Part 7

  Chapter One

  Of Version One

  “To family.”

  “To family!”

  Trae toasted, and they all toasted back, clicking their champagne flutes. They were all there together again, the whole family back where it all started . . . New York, New York.

  Trae and Tasha had to relocate because of the situation with the Li Organization. Although Mr. Li had gotten Trae out of all of his charges, he had given Trae an ultimatum: get out of California or face massive retaliation. Trae chose to leave, but he knew it wouldn’t be the last he heard of Mr. Li or his daughter Charli. Therefore, he found himself obsessed with putting together a master plan to end his problem once and for all and to get paid doing it. So if he succeeded, the rewards would be great.

  Faheem and Jaz moved back to Jersey because of the hit Jaz had done on Oni. The situation had gotten too hot, especially with Oni’s brother, Ronnie, a police officer who promised to get at Faheem. Not to mention the fact that Steele and the East Atlanta Gresham Boys were beefing causing the body count to reach an all-time high. Steele was accusing Faheem of Oni’s death. The ATL was no longer the place for him and Jaz to be.

  The tension between Kaylin and Angel was at an all-time high because Kaylin was the main co-conspirator in Trae’s master plan of taking the game to the next level.

  The Ritz Carlton ballroom was packed for Lil’ E’s album release party, and everyone was all smiles as the diamonds glistened and the champagne flowed.

  “Yo, I can’t believe I’m back at the same spot where I proposed to my baby.” Trae leaned over and kissed Tasha on the cheek. She turned away with an attitude. “This is also the same spot where I threw this nigga’s birthday party.” Trae was referring to Kaylin as he looked around, obviously getting nostalgic. “How you pull this off?” He turned to Kaylin.

  “I almost didn’t. This youngin’ named B-Murder got his people running it. They on that King shit big time. The only way I pulled it off was to share my credentials with him. The nigga had the nerve to do a due diligence check on me. Can you believe that shit?” Kaylin replied.

  “You bullshittin’,” Trae snapped. “How a Blood gonna be running the muthafuckin’ Ritz Carlton? I ain’t never heard of no shit like that.”

  Faheem shook his head. “Shit, he ain’t lying. Them muthafuckas taking over from here all the way to Trenton. Wait until you see how they got that little ass city sewed up. I thought Atlanta was bad.”

  “Yeah well, now that we back in town. King or no King, you either get down or lay

  down,” Trae spat, giving Faheem a pound.

  Tasha looked at Trae out of the corner of her eyes. She hated to see him jumping back in the game with both feet. She sensed he was doing it to spite her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

  “I gotta go to the bathroom,” Tasha said, putting her glass down and standing up.

  Sensing her vibe, Jaz, Kyra, and Angel got up to go with her.

  “Make sure you find your way right back,” Trae told her, with just a slice of menace in his tone.

  Tasha ignored him as she and the ladies walked away. Trae eyed her until she disappeared into the crowd.

  “Yo, fam’, what up with you and Tasha? Y’all ain’t said next to nothing to each other all night,” Kaylin questioned.

  “I’m good,” Trae responded, sipping his champagne.

  “Man, no you ain’t,” Kaylin told him. “What’s up?”

  Trae smiled. “Why you all up in mines, dawg?”

  “Nigga, spill it!” Kaylin ordered. “You know we gotta keep the home front intact.”

  “You know I know that shit. But I’m picking up some vibes from her about this pregnancy. I think she wants to tell me something.”

  Kaylin became quiet as if lost in thought. A few people came over to their table to congratulate him, show him love, and just show some respect. Some of them also showed Trae love as well. As soon as they were gone he said, “Man, I know you ain’t saying what I think you’re saying. Go ahead with that bullshit.”

  “I’m serious, yo. I feel it. I tried to ignore it, but it ain’t going nowhere.”

  “Feel what?” Faheem asked, feeling out of the lo
op.

  “That the baby she carrying ain’t his,” Kaylin schooled him.

  “Then whose is it?” Faheem regretted the words as soon as they came out. “Oh, fuck! My bad, son.”

  “Ain’t no thing. It is what it is. I just gotta deal with it, that’s all. I’m good.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?”

  “I said I’m good,” Trae told Kaylin sharply.

  Kaylin shrugged it off. “Okay, you good. As long as you good, fam’, I’m good.”

  Wanting to change the subject, Faheem poured himself more champagne and said, “Trae, I’m definitely feelin’ the plan, but the Dons . . . if shit get crazy, they’d be risking an all-out war with Li. You sure it’s worth being the cause of that shit?”

  “ ‘No doubt,” Trae answered. “I’ve been on the inside, so I know Li’s weakness. Believe me, we do this right, the Dons will see multimillions real fast.”

  “And if we don’t pull it off, it’s our asses,” Faheem added.

  “Ain’t no plan B. So you either with it or you ain’t,” Trae reminded him, with a look in his eyes that said he would do whatever it took to win.

  Kaylin watched Trae as he spoke. He knew Trae and he had to admit, Trae hadn’t been the same since he came home. Really, since he started fucking with the Oriental bitch. It was like he had something to prove, and Lord have mercy on whoever got in the way.

  • • •

  They walked into the elaborate ladies room only to find two girls leaned against the wall, tonguing each other down. One girl had her leg cocked up around the other girl’s waist while the other chick played in her pussy. Even when Tasha, Angel, and Jaz walked in, they didn’t let up.

  Tasha cleared her throat hard. “Goddamn!” Tasha huffed. “I mean really? We in a hotel. Go upstairs and check into your fuckin’ room.”

  The two girls got the message, untangled themselves and walked out. The more aggressive one eyed Angel lustfully as they left.

  “Why you hatin’? You and Trae used to get y’all freak on anywhere and everywhere,” Jaz reminded her as she turned to the mirror, fixing her hair.

  “Please! That shit is taking over the world, and when it’s done like that, it is not cute. I’m just sayin’,” Tasha commented.

  “What’s up with you and Trae, Tasha? Y’all are like frigid tonight. We are supposed to be celebrating,” Angel asked.

  Tasha kept up her sassy façade for as long as she could, but alone with her girls she was able to let her guard down.

  “Girl, I know, and it got me fucked up. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

  “Hell, me either. We all going through the same shit. And I’m not feeling it. We were supposed to be done with this street shit a long time ago,” Angel said.

  “Yeah, but it’s like . . . I don’t know . . . I try to talk to him to get at least an inkling of what’s going on, but it’s like I’m not getting through, you know,” Tasha answered, fighting back tears.

  “Believe me, ma, I feel your pain. Faheem been on his hot and cold shit ever since that shit went down in Georgia,” Jaz added.

  “No. For me, it’s deeper than that,” Tasha said hesitantly.

  “Deeper? What do you mean?” Angel asked.

  Tasha hugged herself and took a deep breath. “Remember I told you I took the DNA test?”

  Angel gasped and covered her mouth because she knew what Tasha was about to

  say.

  A tear fell from Tasha’s eye as she nodded. Kyra caught on, and she grabbed her chest saying, “Oh my God! Tasha, please don’t tell me that you are carrying Kyron’s baby?”

  Hearing her problem out loud made it too much for Tasha. She burst into tears. Angel rushed to embrace her. Once the tears stopped, Angel had to ask, “But I thought you told Trae it was his?”

  “I did. I had to. I felt as if he wouldn’t forgive me this time. I don’t want to lose him, Angel. I swear I don’t know what to do. If I have this baby, and it comes out looking like Kyron, Trae will leave me. But if I have an abortion, he’ll know that I lied to him,” Tasha cried.

  Kyra gasped. “Abortion? You damn near ready to deliver, Tasha.”

  This time when she cried, both Angel and Jaz embraced her in a three-way hug. They knew Trae and Tasha had been through a lot, but they all had their doubts that the marriage could survive her having another man’s child.

  End of Version One

  Text me at 973-671-1609 and type #VersionOne

  If this is your favorite!

  Thugs Part 7

  Chapter One

  Version Two

  Trae

  I thought that a change of venue would fix everything, but I was wrong. The problems we ran from ran to us, and then fucked up all our commitments. Family, trust and love were damn near destroyed by the temptations that we both surrendered to. We wanted out of the game but the game was not done with us. I guess the old saying, there is no getting out must be true because no matter how hard we tried we just can’t get out.

  I woke up and looked at Tasha lying peacefully in our bed. Unable to sleep I walked around the house trying to put together a plan to get our lives and love back on track. Peeking in on the twins and Caliph brought good feelings but the reality that I was back where I started from, back in my New York apartment, back in the city that brought me so much wealth and so much pain tugged relentlessly at my heart. Being in that cell brought out the animal in me. The beast I tried to rid myself of had taken over and mercy was not an option. Here I am back in the game with an enemy looking over my shoulder that I need to terminate.

  I sat on the couch, lit a blunt and with each pull I embodied the old Trae. The Trae that needed the kill more than air itself. My fate was decided the day I was born. I was born a true leader and anything that dared to threaten my throne would be destroyed.

  Tasha

  I had barely picked my head off the pillow and the feelings of regret filled my stomach. I looked over at Trae’s empty spot and the memory of the things that are missing in our life flooded my mind. I wanted to cry but I was so sick and tired of the tears. The only thing left for me to do was to start over. I questioned myself about why I fell in love with Trae. What was it about him that rendered me incapable of being in control of my life? And why was I still married to him?

  At this point, it seemed as if the only thing that was real between us was our children. He is so happy that I am giving him a daughter that he can hardly contain himself. I gave him a copy of the DNA results just to put his mind at ease so that we can put all that bullshit behind us. However nothing seems to be working. I don’t know if it is being in New York, the pregnancy or what, but we both fucked up everything that we cherished and now we are just surviving together. Is it worth it or should we just let go?

  As I walked to the bathroom I reflected on last night. My husband’s touch and the look in his eyes when he’s holding me, warms me and is irreplaceable. But the cold stare that peers out from his soul chills me to the bone. This is not the Trae that I know and love, this is the Trae I almost lost to death and prison and by each waking hour he is turning into a beast. The blood on his hands was changing him and to be true to myself it was changing me.

  Angel

  It’s only been a few months since Kaylin and I were looking death in the face. So much has changed in all our lives. Tasha and Trae are back in the city and it brings me both joy and pain. And having Trae back home puts Kaylin in a whole different mindset. I know one thing; I have invested too much in my family and our business to let shit slip from my grasp because of his loyalty to his family.

  When I walked into the studio this morning I was overcome by the feeling of emptiness. Not only was Kaylin not in our bed when I went to sleep, he was not in it when I woke up. Then to walk into the place that he calls his second home and not see a trace of his presence let me know one thing. He was back in.

  I walked into my office, took a seat and contemplated my next move. At this stage in
our lives I thought that we were done with this petty street shit. Me and Kaylin were definitely going to have a long talk. I said it before and I thought everyone understood that regardless of how much I loved having my girls around me what I wasn’t going to let happen was letting their bullshit fuck up what me and Kaylin have built.

  The longer I sat and thought about it the angrier I became. I picked up the phone and dialed Kaylin. This was a conversation I needed to have sooner than later.

  Kaylin

  I rolled over in the bed and grabbed the phone that had been ringing back to back for the last five minutes. I knew it was Red but shit I had just laid down and was in no mood to listen to her spazz out. I knew if I didn’t answer now I would have to deal with her rants later.

  “Hey baby what’s up?”

  “I see you found your way home,” she stated.