Finally Jason broke the silence. “Yo, that nigga is dead. I swear on my fucking kids, his days are numbered. He gonna try to assassinate me with my wife?”
Cartier knew that now wasn’t the time to be a girl, but the lump in her throat almost forced her to cry. She remained quiet until she could get a handle on her emotions. Finally, she got up enough gumption to speak.
“Somebody running their mouth.” Cartier didn’t have any qualms about cutting her eyes at Bam.
Fear made Cartier think irrationally. To her, Ryan hadn’t surfaced in months, yet tonight he and his goons seemed too prepared.
Bam piped up instantly. “Well, it ain’t me. I collect information, I don’t give it.”
“Well, if not you, then who? Ryan ain’t built like that. He and his goons came there to assassinate all our asses. First off, how the fuck did he know we were gonna be there? And, second, how the fuck he know that we think he had something to do with Shanine and Monya?”
Bam’s pressure instantly rose. “Cartier, you think you got everything all figured out, so you tell me how the fuck he knew. All you keep talking about is, you know Ryan, like you some psychic. Did you know his ass was gonna leave you when you did your bid? So please stop talking about you know how Ryan’s built and what he would or won’t do. For all we know, this could all have been a coincidence. It is New Year’s Eve. Even murderers like to celebrate.”
“You know what?” Jason began. “Bam, right now, I’m feeling you. You got a muthafuckin’ point. I keep telling Cartier that dude ain’t how she got him pegged. That nigga ain’t no white knight. He grimy just like the rest of us Brooklyn dudes. I don’t give a fuck what borough he rep. If you ask me, he didn’t give a fuck about Cartier, and he damn sure didn’t give a fuck about The Cartel. He deaded both your friends and straight took their keys on some gangsta shit. And if he had his way, he would have sent your dumb ass to the clouds and left your daughter motherless.”
Cartier wanted to lean over from the backseat and punch Bam in her blockhead. And while she was at it, spitting in Jason’s face would’ve surely curbed her anger. How did she become the bad guy? Ryan and his hit squad had just tried to murder them, so why were they screaming on her?
Before she could dig into them, Wonderful spoke up.
“I ain’t really tryin’ to hear all of that right now. Niggas just tried to dead me. We need to stay focused. Jay, man, you gotta handle your business.”
“Oh, no doubt.” Jason was too busy thinking about how to get at those niggas. And quickly. For a man who had put off this beef, he was suddenly sucked in. If he wanted to keep his life, he had to get at Ryan.
Cartier noticed that Jason was in deep thought. The whole car ride back to Brooklyn was quiet.
After Bam dropped off Wonderful and Blake, she headed toward their block to drop herself off.
“Yo, Bam, make sure you circle the block a few times, to make sure niggas ain’t laying low on us.”
Bam nodded in agreement.
After they thought it was safe for Bam to retreat to her apartment, Jason spoke up. “Bam, Big Mike gotta get it,” he said. “Not now, but right now.”
Bam’s mouth fell open in shock.
“He gotta go, Bam. At this point, we don’t know who to trust. Honestly, Bam, if you got a problem with this, then you gotta go too.” Jason had his Glock pointed directly at Bam’s side.
When she looked down, tears began to slide down her face. “Jay, how you gonna do me like this? I thought we were fam. I would never go against you or The Cartel. Don’t you know we’re like sisters?”
It was at that point that Cartier peeped that Jason had his gun steadied on Bam. Instantly, she was furious. Then, she tried to understand why he was treating Bam that way, and she understood. Each one of them could have had a tag on their toe at the morgue, had those bullets hit their intended targets. Cartier thought about Christian and Jason Jr. and understood perfectly. Bam would get over her feeling hurt about Jason pulling a gun on her. But if any one of them had been murdered tonight, how would their kids or family members have ever gotten over that? Bam fucked up by getting involved with Big Mike before the beef was settled. That was the bottom line.
“Bam, as Jason said, he gotta go. All that ‘we’re sisters’ bullshit ain’t music to anybody’s ears right now, not when we just got chased out of a club with niggas gunning for us. So, as your sister, I’m waiting for you to give up the locale on Big Mike.”
“Don’t y’all think if I thought Big Mike had anything to do with Shanine and Monya, I’d kill him myself? You know I’m thorough, Cartier. I get down for my crew, but I’ve looked in his eyes. I’ve shared my bed with that nigga, and he ain’t do it. He don’t get down like that.”
Cartier erupted. “How the fuck you vouching for this dude when you just barked on me for doing that with Ryan? As Jay said, he gotta go. And if you plead his case one more muthafuckin’ time, then you gotta go too.”
Bam felt trapped. She had no idea what they wanted her to do, but she was certain that if she refused, Jason would make good on his threat. And although she knew Cartier loved her, the fact that Cartier and Monya were the closest, and that Monya was in a coma, Cartier wasn’t going to let anyone live who had a hand in that.
Bam wanted to tell them she didn’t mean to fall in love with Big Mike; it just happened. It all started with him calling to give what information he knew about Shanine and Monya, and from there it blossomed into a real relationship. Big Mike promised to move Bam with him to his huge house in South Carolina. They even discussed having kids. Bam wanted to let them know Big Mike was a gentle giant. She knew in her heart that he would never have done to their friends what he was now being accused of.
Bam looked into Jason’s and Cartier’s wild eyes and knew they were meant to be with each other. They maneuvered and thought alike.
“What do I gotta do?” Bam asked hesitantly.
“You know where that nigga live. That’s valuable information. Spill it, so me and Wonderful can go and handle my business.”
Cartier said, “I’m not feeling that.”
Frustrated, Jason exhaled. “What? What, Cartier? You’re not feeling what?”
“I’m not fuckin’ feeling you taking Wonderful. If there’s one thing I know is that the strongest muthafucka will crack under pressure, and I’m not losing you to no snitch.”
“Snitch? My man ain’t no snitch.”
“Not today he ain’t, but let him have five homicide detectives breathing down his throat, telling him they don’t really want him, they only want you, and you tell me how the story will play out.”
“OK, Bam, just give me the address, and I’ll do this solo.”
“Would you just shut the fuck up for one second and check the plan?” Cartier rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Ain’t nobody getting any sleep tonight. Bam will call Big Mike and tell him she’s coming over for that after-the-club fuck—y’all know how that go—and when he opens the door, Jason, do you. Do it fast and quick. I don’t want him to suffer. And I’ll be the getaway driver.”
“Cartier, no!” Bam cried. “I can’t. And you want me to be there? I just can’t. Why can’t Jason take Wonderful? You’re being cruel. You know I got love for him.”
Cartier didn’t have any sympathy for Bam. Deep down inside, she knew she had to do something, and no matter how much everyone tried to tell her that what happened to Shanine and Monya wasn’t her fault, she didn’t feel the same. She’d started The Cartel and introduced the boosting and drug-dealing to them. She was always the enforcer. The one who protected everyone. Had she still been at the helm of The Cartel, she was almost sure she wouldn’t have walked into the same trap her friends had walked into. And since there was no changing the past, she could write the future with her own actions.
Al Capone had said, “You take one of my men and I’ll take five of yours!” That’s the same gangsta shit Cartier was on at the moment. Bam needed to suck up her tears. Everything Cartier did
had a reason behind it.
“Bam, I wish shit didn’t have to go down like this, but you did this to yourself. It’s your bed, so you’ll have to lie in it. As we said earlier, somebody running their fuckin’ mouth, and if the heat get on us, all of us will have a life sentence hanging over our heads. And Jason knows he can trust me not to crack, and I know I can trust him. With you taking part in this, we can rest peacefully that you’ll have something to lose as well. It gotta be like this, baby girl, so get over it and get to dialing.”
****
“What time is it?” a groggy Big Mike asked.
“It’s a little after five in the morning, and I wanted to give you your after-Christmas present.”
“Bam Bam, I’m tired, ma. Can’t this wait until tomorrow? I got a special day planned for you.”
A lump formed in Bam’s throat. Choking back tears, she said, “I hope you don’t got a bitch there.”
Big Mike chuckled. He loved his feisty Bam Bam, as he called her.
Twenty minutes after Mike told Bam she could come over, he heard the faint knock at the door. Eagerly he envisioned opening the door to see Bam wearing a long, sweeping mink coat with nothing but naughty lingerie on. Instead, he got the remix.
“You already know what it is, nigga. Don’t say a word!” Jason’s eyes were menacing, his voice hoarse.
Big Mike’s eyes darted toward Bam. He didn’t know if Jason had followed her there and had ambushed them both.
“Bam Bam, you ain’t down with this, right? This ain’t you, right?”
“Nigga, shut the fuck up!”
The butt of Jason’s gun pounded on the back of Big Mike’s head. He took the pain like a man and allowed himself to be duct-taped to a chair, arms and hands. Had he known there wasn’t a cavalry waiting outside for Jason, that the real intention wasn’t to rob him but to kill him, Big Mike would have fought for his life.
“Jay, you ain’t got to do me like this, man. Not over no paper. Whatever you need, I got you, kid. I’m not a tough guy. I’m just a businessman.”
Hmm, Jason thought. Why not? Ain’t this what Cartier said Brooklyn niggas do? “Where ya stash at?”
Big Mike was disgusted. If he made it out of there alive, he would personally put a bullet in Bam’s head. What else could he do? Forgive her? His heart was broken.
“Bam Bam knows where the stash at. Ain’t that right, Bam?” Big Mike stated.
Jason couldn’t believe his ears. Big Mike was one stupid muthafucka. You don’t let no chick, unless she wifey, know where you keep your stash. He must really be feeling Bam.
“Is that so?” Jason said with a slight twang to his tone that annoyed Bam. She knew he was being facetious at her expense. “Well, Bam Bam”—Jason broke out into laughter—“could you do the honors?”
Reluctantly, Bam walked over to a huge chest and pushed it back from the wall, exposing a handmade hideaway. As she dropped to her knees to retrieve the money, Big Mike couldn’t help but taunt her.
“Damn, Bam Bam, you set a nigga up over some paper? I thought I gave you all you needed. I guess you wanted it all,” Big Mike said dryly. “And to think I was gonna wife you for real. Not no hood-title shit either, but the real deal. Make that shit official. But I guess a thug bitch like yourself couldn’t see the bigger picture.”
Now it was Bam’s time to bark orders. “Didn’t he tell you to shut the fuck up?” Her conscience was killing her. She didn’t want to hear about their future together, especially when she knew he only had moments left to live. She just wished Jason would hurry up and do what he came to do.
Bam reached in and grabbed out a large black duffle bag filled with cash and cocaine. She felt dirty. I mean, what was this about—Shanine and Monya, or doing a straight jux?
“OK, so y’all got what you came for . . .” Big Mike’s voice trailed off. At that moment he realized he might not see another day. Were they really just gonna take his shit and bounce? Sure, he’d heard of home invasions, but normally you didn’t know who set you up. These two were brazen. No masks. No remorse. No worries.
“Jay, I know you ain’t gonna do me ugly over no bread, man. It’s only money. I can make that shit right back. It ain’t that serious.”
“Nah, man. This ain’t over no bread. This is for Monya and Shanine.”
Before Big Mike could plead for his life, Jason raised the barrel of his gun and put one shot in his temple, stopping his heart instantly.
The take from Big Mike was more than Cartier expected. When Bam and Jason came downstairs with two huge duffle bags and climbed in the backseat, she already knew what it was. Immediately she put the car in motion as Jason rummaged through the bags.
“Yo, we got at least four hundred large and nine keys,” Jason said.
“Say word?” Cartier replied.
“Word,” Bam said. “So how’re we gonna break this down?”
As Jason and Cartier remained silent, Bam tried her hardest not to concentrate on the events that just happened. The hurt she heard in Big Mike’s voice. The sad expression in his eyes. The sound the gun made as the bullet squeezed through the chamber. The smell of gunpowder permeating the room. The body slumped over in the chair as his head lolled to one side. The last time they made love.
Yeah, as Cartier and Jason tried to wrap their minds around Bam wanting a cut from their new retirement plan, Bam was desperately trying to clear her conscience.
Finally Cartier spoke up, “Jay, toss Bam a stack, and once we get off all the bricks, there’ll be more for you. Is that cool, Bam?”
No, bitch, that ain’t cool. “A’ight. Whatever.”
Chapter 10
Old Habits Die Hard
“Don’t you look sexy?” Jason took in the beauty that stood before him in all-black silk La Perla lace panties and bra set.
“All for you, papi,” she replied in a thick Hispanic accent. “You like?”
Nodding his head vigorously, Jason inched toward his mistress and grabbed her tiny waist. His hands slowly glided down her wide, shapely hips. Everything about her was perfect in his eyes. She had white-girl dainty features and complexion, with a black girl’s voluptuous body, all wrapped up in a Puerto Rican package. He couldn’t ask for more.
He cupped both his hands around her juicy ass and pulled her in close, making her giggle. “Dance for me.” He sat back on her bed and began to loosen his pants.
Jalissa stood back and began to gyrate her hips in a slow, seductive manner, just the way he liked it. She could see him growing hard beneath his jeans as she dipped her ass low and then came back up.
Neither one of them said a word, their eyes doing the talking. When Jalissa knew Jason was ready for her, she climbed over and sat on his lap and began to grind her hips into his rock-hard dick.
Jason’s tongue slid into Jalissa’s mouth as his hands groped her firm, perky breasts. Then he began to suckle on her breast like a newborn. As Jalissa moaned with pleasure, he laid her back on her bed and slid off her panties to expose a manicured landing strip. A soft bush of hair was in front of his face as he bent down to eat her ripe pussy.
He slid his index finger in, and warm juices seeped out. He then began to flick his tongue rapidly against her clit and then slowed down to suck it, sending her over the top.
“Ahhh! Papi, you so good. Don’t stop! Ahhh!”
As Jalissa sang her praises for Jason’s tongue game, he was getting more and more aroused. He stood up quickly and ripped off his clothes. “Sit on my face.”
Jalissa then straddled Jason and opened her pussy wide. His long tongue slid from her sweet box to her anus. She then leaned over and engulfed his bulging dick and began to suck him off until he came in her mouth. Slinking around, she crawled on top of him, because they both still wanted more, and mounted him.
Jason eased his slim penis into Jalissa’s moist pussy, and they began to fuck in sync. Jason loved the way she moved her hips and dug her fingernails into his skin.
“Papi, you make m
e feel sooo good,” she crooned.
“You love this dick, don’t you?” Jason pushed deeper and deeper into her love box.
“Umm-hmm.”
They both reached their climax, sweat pouring from their glistening bodies. Jalissa collapsed on top of Jason’s broad, masculine chest. As she lay nestled in his strong arms, he ran his fingers through her soft hair.
“You didn’t find out where Ryan live at yet from your sister?”
“She not tell. She say she not know, but I keep try, no?”
“Hell, yeah, keep trying. You see what the fuck went down last week at the club. That nigga was gunning for my head.”
“I cry the whole night. No sleep. I not know if you hurt. You not call me, papi,” Jalissa whined in a baby-like voice.
“Yo, I’m sorry about that shit, but something gots to give. I can’t be out here hustling and looking over my shoulder for that nigga. You feel me?”
“I keep questions. You my man, but if he know, he will kill me. Bang! Bang!”
Jason’s pressure rose at the thought of Ryan doing something to hurt Jalissa. Especially over his beef. He knew he was asking her a lot and putting her life in danger, but the circumstances were extreme.
“I will kill his whole family, including your sister, if he puts one finger on you, and that’s word to my mother!”
Jalissa shook her head. “My sister not like me. She like you and Ryan. She don’t play.”
Jason understood what Jalissa was trying to say. Jalissa was a good girl. All she cared about was catering to her man. She wasn’t a gangsta chick like Cartier, and from what she was describing, or like her sister either.
He pressed again. “That’s why you gotta find out where Ryan live, so I can take care of it all.”
“I will try hard, but what if something . . . uh . . . uh . . . how you say, oh, happens and I got to go bye. Run, run. I have no money. I have nothing.”
With her limited English, Jason understood where she was coming from. He did give her money to buy clothes, get her hair and nails done, and pay her bills, but that was punk money. If something happened to him, if he got jammed up, and if Ryan knew she set him up, she was right; she wouldn’t have any money to flee.
Return of the Cartier Cartel (Part 2) Page 6