by Shan
After a few seconds, I sighed and brought my gaze back to the mirror. Quickly, I threw my head over my shoulder and noticed that, just like that, the guy was gone. Shaking it off, I stepped off the little stage and made my way to the dressing room. I carefully climbed out of the dress, hung it back on the hanger, and then dressed back into my clothes.
“Did you decide?” the bridal shop employee asked me. I nodded and handed her my selection. “Great choice. Her line is one of our bestsellers.”
“Cool. I love it,” I told her, as I followed behind her while looking around the shop. I didn’t see that damn guy anywhere, and it had me feeling like I had never seen him to begin with. I shook my head thinking something was wrong with me before going inside of my purse and pulling out the credit card that Khi had got for me that had my name on it.
“You okay?” Tangie asked, and I looked back at her and Amber and nodded my head. “Okay, you seemed out of it for a minute.”
“Yea, I’m good. Just have a lil’ ‘bout of morning sickness. That’s all.”
“Oh wow, look,” Amber said, as she pointed to the flat screen TV that was located behind the cash register. I looked up and read the caption to see that someone had found a girl’s body along the Trinity River. That shit was sad, but they was always finding somebody out there. Only a dumb ass would dump a body out there and expect to get away with it; they seemed to always wash up, or either get caught up with all the trash and shit that was out there. Either way, it was pretty fucked up for anyone to be out there to begin with.
“Damn, I swear people are crazy. I bet she’s probably another runaway or a prostitute. That seems to be the drop off spot now,” Tangie said, and I handed the bridal shop employee my card to pay for my things. People were crazy, the streets was crazy, and it was sad to say that was life. Unfortunately, this day and age, you had to thank God for every day you were able to open your eyes. Niggas these days didn’t respect life. It was one day you were here and the next day you were gone. I was just happy it wasn’t me out there.
***
Tangie and I dropped Amber off at home and then headed to She Is Beauty. Ever since the incident with Briana, I hadn’t come into work, and now that I had my interior decorating firm, I had pretty much quit altogether. Today, I had promised Tangie though that I would come through and help her clean up and get some of her paperwork together so that she wouldn’t be behind. She had lost two people at pretty much the same time and hadn’t had time to find somebody else. I felt a little bad, cause I didn’t really give her any notice, and then, the shit with Tameeka just put her in bad position. So for now, I would offer my hand as much as possible.
“Girl, the fuck?” I said, the moment we rounded the corner to the shop. “Speaking of this dog hoe.”
“Wow, I know this hoe didn’t come through here like shit was cool,” Tangie said, and I could see the anger in her eyes just before she stormed towards Tameeka. I quickly followed behind her to see Anastasia, Tangie’s best friend, in a heated argument with Tameeka.
“Look bitch, you can hear it from the horse’s mouth. Tangie get this damn girl before I go upside her head,” Anastasia said before she looked at me, rolled her eyes, and turned around and walked back inside the shop. Her ass was still mad at me about Rue being killed. I guess she knew like everybody else knew that one of them Prince niggas had got to his ass. Fuck was she mad at me for though, hell. She should’ve kept that nigga at home and told him to leave me alone. I waved her off and brought attention back to Tameeka.
“What are you doing here?” Tangie asked Tameeka.
“I came to see if I can have my job back. This was my only income, and I wasn’t able to collect unemployment because you told them that I was terminated for being unruly and harassing you,” Tameeka said, and I cocked my head to the side. I don’t know why because this wasn’t my drama, but seeing this hoe reminded me of Briana’s disrespectful ass. It was like damn what the hell was wrong with these bitches. None of these hoes had any damn respect and thought that just because they was fucking with or have fucked a nigga that they could talk to you any kind of way. Don’t let them have a baby by that nigga, because then, they felt like they had ownership and controlled how they lived their lives.
Briana was the perfect example. That hoe had been real quiet, since that bullshit she did, besides her sending the police our way, but I guess that only meant that Khi had really gave her ass the business.
“You want your job back? Really hoe…you want me to give you your job back?”
“Either give me my job back or I will sue your ass for wrongful termination. You gonna have to prove that I was unruly and harassing you. Fucking your nigga and getting pregnant by him, don’t count.”
That was it. I just snapped. All I saw was red before I popped Tameeka in the side of her face and caused her to stumble. She was Briana to me, and what I failed to do to Briana, I took it out on Tameeka. These hoes was gonna learn one day that a woman could only take so much before she snapped.
“Stupid ass bitch! Have some fucking respect,” I screamed, as I slapped her hard across the face. I didn’t even realize the crowd that had formed around me until I was being lifted off of the ground and into the air.
“Put me down!” I yelled, as I scrambled to get away.
“You gonna make me fuck you up. The fuck you out here fighting and shit for and you carrying my damn seed! Get your ass in the car!” Khi said, and I shook my head as my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes tightly and opened them just in time to see Tangie kick Tameeka in the face. Shit, even though I had been busted, I was glad as hell to see that at least Tangie got her a lick in.
Chapter 13
Khi
The only reason I was even in the area of She is Beauty was because, ever since Cassidy found that flag on his truck, we’d all been taking turns rolling through to make sure everything was good. Today was my day, and being that I knew Cuba was chilling with Tangie today, I parked outside to sit on the building for a while. I couldn’t believe Cuba’s ass was out here acting like a fuckin’ rat like she wasn’t pregnant with our damn child. That shit had me heated, because if something would’ve happened, she would’ve been moping around and crying like she had lost her best damn friend.
“You don’t have to be acting like that; I’m fine,” Cuba said, as we pulled into the gate of our home.
“I’m not acting like nothing, and you better be fine. What the fuck are you fighting with that bird for like she did something to you?” I asked her, and she sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.
“Because that hoe was being disrespectful, and that bitch reminded me of somebody else’s disrespectful ass baby mama so I just snapped,” Cuba said and hopped out of the car the moment I came to a stop. I placed the car in park and got out just in time to see Dae’s car pull up to the gate. Just that quickly, I had forgotten that he was coming through with some info that he had gotten on these fuck ass niggas that wanted to play. I reached inside of the car and pressed the button to open the gate and then headed inside of the house.
I walked over to the bar to pour myself and Dae a drink and then walked away to look for little Bry. I had pushed Dae off for a while longer since Cuba had been so upset about the two of them meeting, but now that he was finally stopping by the house, it was just inevitable.
“BJ…BJ!” I yelled, and he and Skylarr came running to the top of the stairs. Having the nanny around was the business. I didn’t give a fuck what Cuba said. She hated the shit and felt like I was stopping her from doing her job, but I loved it. I saw that it freed up a lot of her time; plus, she didn’t have to worry about getting out of bed on the days she was suffering from morning sickness. She didn’t have to be superwoman for me; I already knew what she was capable of, and for that reason, I didn’t see the problem with the help.
“Come down,” I told BJ, and he came down the stairs with Skylarr slowly following behind him. I swear those two had been adjoined to t
he damn hip ever since BJ came to live with us.
“What up, Uncle Khi,” BJ said, and I rubbed the top of his head and headed back to the bar area.
“What y’all little badasses up in here doing?” I asked, and Skylarr batted her eyelashes.
“I playing with my dolls, and BJ draw on the wall,” Skylarr said, and my eyes shot to BJ. His eyes grew big, and he shook his head repeatedly knowing that he was in trouble.
“You writing on my damn walls?” I asked just as his damn daddy walked through the door.
“What up bruh?” Dae asked, as he walked over to me and slapped hands with me. We hugged briefly, and he stepped back and stood next to me. I watched how he looked at his young one, and I couldn’t help but smile, because Bry was Dae all day long. Shit was crazy, cause every time I looked at him, it was like I was seeing my little brother as a kid all over again. The same little nigga that used to follow me around the house getting on my damn nerves. His voice even sounded like him. Shit was just wild man, and I was low-key jealous. I wanted a damn boy so bad, but it seemed that I wasn’t planting nothing but little girls.
My little girl, Kenya, that I had with Selena, I had only seen once in person when I snuck off to go see them in California where the now lived. My daughter was beautiful and looked almost like Skylarr did when she was a baby. It was sad that I couldn’t see her more often, but Selena was the kinda chick that used her child against their father just because she couldn’t get her way. I sent her money every month on top of paying all her bills, but if I wasn’t talking about a relationship, she was making it hard for me to see Kenya. Soon, and very soon, I was going to be filing for custody, and she better hope that I wasn’t awarded sole custody since she wanted to play.
“You know who I am?” Dae asked his son, and I grabbed my drink from the bar as I watched their interaction.
Yea…my daddy,” BJ said with a smile on his face. Dae walked over to him and kneeled down in front of him. He kissed his son on the forehead before he pulled him into a hug. Seeing this shit made me feel real good inside. I didn’t give a fuck what nobody said about my brother or what he did to anyone. I knew when it came to his kids, it was all love, and he would never do anything to hurt them.
Whatever went on with him and DJ was all out of confusion and hurt from Dae’s end, and although it wasn’t an excuse for the way he treated DJ, I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t have reacted the same way. No man wants to be told that a child that they had assumed for years was theirs actually wasn’t.
“I’m glad to finally meet you,” Dae told BJ, and he smiled up at him.
“I got a big room with some toys. Can you come see?” BJ said, and Dae nodded his head and stood up.
“Yea, give me a second to talk to your Uncle real quick,” Dae said. He walked over to the bar and downed the glass of Henny that I made for him. He shook off the strong liquor and then stepped in front of me and as close as possible.
“I know them niggas’ name now. Chaison Clarke and Rahaim Clarke, they had a little brother by the name of Amrin Clarke, and he was killed the same night that Emon got locked up. Guess who’s bragging about killing him?”
“Emon?” I said and shook my head. I sighed and poured myself another drink. I swear, I had some dumb ass brothers.
“Emon had you up in some shit. The weed that Emon got caught with belonged to Amrin. Their father tried to sell it off to pay off a debt after he stole it from his son. He tried to sell it to the kid, but instead of Emon paying for it, he ganked ol’ ass Clarke for it and took his pistol. Amrin came looking for his shit, and Emon and his niggas clipped his ass and left him in an alley. They were speeding away from the scene when they got pulled over for joyriding. All I’m hearing is that these are not the niggas to fuck with fam.”
“Ain’t this a bitch. Ahhh fuck! You niggas is gonna send me to an early grave man. What the fuck?” I yelled out and took a sip of my drink before I said fuck it and tossed it all the way back. “And why the fuck is this nigga talking about anything? Telling anybody shit! What the fuck is wrong with this nigga man? He bragging and putting my name in that shit like it’s cute! Fuck that! Let’s go! I’m about to put my foot in Emon’s ass! Pussy ass bitch!”
“I already told Cass that we needed to go see that nigga. He said he would stay back and keep an eye on y’all bitches,” Dae said, and I shook my head.
“Fuck with the kid, and we gonna be there first thing in the morning,” I told Dae, and he walked off to grab an impatiently waiting BJ’s hand. They headed up the stairs with Skylarr following right behind them. At the top, I spotted Cuba looking down with a mug on her face. I didn’t have time to deal with her ass right now. Emon was about to get his little ass killed. I don’t know what the fuck made him think shit was cool. Nobody did shit like that. I never spoke on nobody I bodied ever. If you knew, you knew, but bragging about the shit just wasn’t the business. Loose lips would get you killed any muthafuckin’ day or either caught up in that chain gang, whatever fate may have.
I didn’t regret what I did to ol’ ass Clarke, because I did what the fuck I had to do for my fam. Emon just should’ve been straight up about the situation so I could’ve been prepared for what was to come.
I sat my drink down on the table and pulled out my cell phone to hit up Cassidy when I heard someone trying to be buzzed into the gate. I walked over to the front door to open it just as Cuba came running down the stairs.
“The police are back,” she said, and I looked back at her.
“Go over there and ask them what they want,” I told Cuba, feeling antsy and nervous at the same time. “Aye, Dae!”
“We’re looking for Mr. Prince,” I heard a male voice say over the intercom system. I walked over to where Cuba stood and looked through the cameras that gave a clear view of the outside of the gate. They had twice as many police cars this time, and they were all lined up one after the other in a single file line. I shook my head and sighed.
“Ask them what they want,” I said to Cuba and nodded for Dae to come over and look once he made it down the stairs.
“What can I help you with?” Cuba asked them, and I gritted down on my teeth as I anticipated the answer.
“We have a warrant for the arrest of Khian Prince for the murder of Briana Parsons. Is he home? Open the gate please,” that same male said, and I sucked my teeth.
“Khi?” Cuba questioned, and I refused to look at her.
“Call KaeDee for me, Dae. Tell him to come home now,” I said to Dae and he nodded.
“Khi?” Cuba said again, and I pressed the button to open the gate and began to empty out my pockets. The only way they would’ve been coming for me for the murder of Briana was if somebody told them or if that hoe’s body was found…or both.
Chapter 14
Dae
“Bruh, what the fuck is wrong with you? I’m telling you they just locked this nigga up and you talking about you’ll be home in two months,” I said to KaeDee, as I stared at him all suspect and shit through our FaceTime call.
“Why didn’t you contact Gerald? I left him there in case some shit had came up. Y’all don’t understand that I got a lot of shit going on right now, and I just need this time,” KaeDee said and I frowned.
“You need this time? KaeDee get your ass down here and come handle this situation before I come find you and drag you here.”
KaeDee chuckled. “Funny nigga. I said call Gerald. If it’s something that he can’t fix, then I’ll come.”
The phone beeped and suddenly my screen was locked indicating that KaeDee’s punk ass had hung up. It had been about twelve hours since Khi had been arrested in front of his home and I had been calling KaeDee ever since. He had finally answered only to chump a nigga off like he just didn’t give a fuck. I swear he was a straight up bitch for this, and once Khi found it, I knew it would be no forgiving on his end. I grabbed my cell phone to shoot Cass a quick text.
Me: Aye, call KaeDee patna and send him after Khi. Cuba said tha
t they’re holding him until his arraignment in a couple of days.
Send.
Cass: smh…bet. Where are you?
Me: Headed to see Emon bout that situation. Be back later.
Send.
“Emon better be glad that nigga Khi got jammed up when he did, or I know for sure he would’ve tried to kill him,” I told Tramell and he chuckled.
I looked over at him and ran my eyes over the way he sat slumped in his seat and like he had checked out of the muthafuckin’ world or something. Ever since I walked in on Khi and Cass talking about murking my homey, I had been looking at that nigga real suspect like. I hated that shit, too, because Tramell was the goonie; my best friend, the nigga I grew up and went through tons of shit with. We bodied niggas and slaughtered some of the same bitches together. I knew Tramell was A-1, but I ain’t gonna lie and say I didn’t wonder. He had been different since Cocoa was killed, but I had been too caught up in my own shit, to help him figure his life out.
“You good?” I asked Tramell, and he nodded before he glanced at me and then out the window.
“Yea, I’m straight. What up? Something wrong?”
“Nah, but should I be concerned?” I asked him, and he shrugged and leaned his head against the window.
I nodded and focused my attention back on the road. They had Emon housed at Coffield out in Tennessee Colony, Texas, which was about an hour-and-a-half away from Dallas. For some reason, when Cassidy got locked up, they wouldn’t allow him to be locked up in the same prison as our pops, and then Emon was forced to be in a different unit. Due to the nature of the crimes, they felt like them being altogether would only give them a chance to run an organized crime ring behind them walls. Shit, it was more than likely, cause anytime you put more than one of the Princes’ in the same room, it was bound to be trouble. I hadn’t seen Emon in quite some time though, so it would be good to see the young one after I got in his ass.