“Oh yeah, one more thing,” Indie said. He turned to look at Norris. “I heard you had a run-in with one of my lil’ mamas at the airport.
Norris’s face turned beet red and he laughed uncomfortably. “No, I . . .” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Light came spilling into the darkened warehouse as Trina came walking into one of the rear doors. Her high heels clicked as she made her entrance.
“Maybe she’ll refresh your memory?” Indie responded.
“Take off your clothes,” she said.
Norris scoffed as that same nervous laugh escaped him. “You can’t be serious. Indie, come on, I thought we just made nice.”
“We did,” he said. “But you two haven’t. Now, if you want it, you take off your fucking clothes.”
Rage flashed in Norris’s eyes, but he was too thirsty for dough to say no. He snatched his jacket off and tossed it to the ground angrily. “This is bullshit, Perkins!” he barked, calling Indie by his last name.
“How do you think I felt when you tried to fuck me?” Trina said harshly. “Now shut the fuck up and run them clothes, you perverted, little-dick mu’fucka.”
Agent Norris removed his clothing down to his tight white drawers, and Trina walked up to him. She spit directly in his face then brought her knee up hard into his groin. He doubled over instantly.
“Asshole,” she barked before walking away. Indie followed behind her and gave Norris a pat on the back as he left.
“You disrespect her again and I’ll cut off your dick and make you swallow it,” he said calmly. He pulled out $10,000 and tossed it on the ground near Norris’s feet. “That’s a bonus. Welcome to the team.”
Norris waited until he heard the clang of the doors signal that they had exited before he wailed in pain, “Son of a bitch!”
Chapter 16
YaYa took to the drug game like a fish to water. She was too good at it, actually. She had chicks that were so loyal to her that even if she hadn’t lied to them about what they were doing, they still would have done anything she asked. YaYa was moving weight without ever ruffling one feather. She didn’t need the streets; the streets needed her because she supplied every major hustler in Houston. She started out slow and tried to only deal in territories that she was familiar with. Texas was eating her product up, so she saw no need to expand, but when Indie approached her about upping the ante, she knew it was time for her organization to grow.
“We need to move bricks into Georgia, Florida. We’re missing a lot of money by just sticking to one place. You’ve got a goldmine, ma. Let’s tap into it,” Indie said as he lay between her legs and she rubbed her hands gently over the top of his head.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Are you sure we can handle that? I mean, it’s just Chase and Trina. The other chicks aren’t involved like that. We’ve got a good thing going. It just seems like if we expand too fast we’ll crash and burn.”
YaYa was timid in the way that she moved to avoid conflict. She would rather play it safe than to move sloppy and be sorry, but she also trusted Indie. She was bringing bricks into the country faster than she could get rid of them. The Texas buyers she had on deck couldn’t keep up.
“So you cut some of the chicks in. Build the team,” he said. “It’s also time to let Chase do what he does best. We’re missing money by not breaking the product down. Put him on the streets. Have half of the chicks running weight up and down the highways, and have the other half whipping up the product in the factory.”
“I’ll call a meeting,” YaYa said.
YaYa popped three pills to calm her nerves as she prepared to approach the roomful of women. YaYa had been watching all of her mules closely since the very first run and had weeded through the pack, separating the weak from the strong. It was time to cut off those who could be potential liabilities and then elevate her game to the next level.
She remembered her elite days when she had been lured into a money scheme. She had done the dirty work, while niggas on top had gotten most of her pay. She wouldn’t do that to these girls. The ones who joined her circle would be well taken care of. She would be loyal to them so that they would feel the same loyalty to her. It was a two-way street and she understood that.
She stepped out and noticed Chase, Indie, and Trina standing in the rear of the room. Marco and a few of his Italian goons were also present. Courtesy of Zya, Marco had been sent to aid YaYa in whatever she needed done. If YaYa was going to expand, then Zya would see to it that her investment was protected. Marco would be at YaYa’s disposal. It never hurt to have soldiers on deck. In the game she was playing, she never knew when she would need to be ready to war.
“I’ve called you all here to thank you for the work that you’ve put in with my company, but I feel like it’s time to present a new opportunity to you and to be honest about the real reason that you are here,” she stated. YaYa grabbed one of the platform high-heel shoes that sat on a table beside her. “You’ve been going overseas doing business, and each time you came back with a package for me. This is what you’ve been bringing back.” YaYa popped the bottom out of the shoe and pulled out a tightly wrapped package of cocaine. Chatter erupted in the crowd as the girls gossiped among each other, some intrigued, some in shock, some slightly afraid because of the risks that they had unknowingly taken.
“At first you didn’t know what you were doing; now I need you to know because I have a proposition for all of you. It’s time that our business grew, and it’s time to fill new positions. For those of you who are still willing to make the trips overseas, you will be paid triple. Fifteen thousand dollars for every successful trip. You have to know that this is your risk to take. If you are caught, you won’t speak to anybody about me or this organization. It will be your burden to carry. I will take care of your legal expenses, and your family will receive assistance for their inconvenience. If you speak one word about me or my business, then it would put everyone you love in danger,” YaYa said seriously. The crowd grew silent.
“I’m telling you both the good and the bad so that you can make an informed decision. I’ll also place some of you in the factories. Some of you will hit the roads running the product to different cities and states. I’ve already said too much, so before I continue, I need to know who is in and who is out,” YaYa said.
YaYa had only chosen twenty-five girls to come to the meeting, and out of the ones chosen, three stood up to make their exit. YaYa nodded at Marco, and he and his goons quickly gathered the women and escorted them out, undoubtedly escorting them to their deaths. YaYa hated this part of the game, but it was necessary and she understood that. One loose set of lips could sink their money ship, and YaYa couldn’t have that. Anyone who posed a threat to her budding empire would be handled accordingly. She couldn’t afford to have liabilities. The new throne that she sat on suited her well.
“For those of you who are still sitting here, let’s get money. We move smart, we move silently.” She looked around the room at the women who had committed to stay. She had been them once upon a time—hungry, ambitious, but also lost. She had been down to make a dollar any way that she could, until she met Indie and he revealed her own worth. Now she was the boss, and as she remembered how it felt to be at the bottom, she promised to take care of these girls. She would help them clean up their money and take away some of their risk of being caught. It was the least that she could do.
She introduced them to Chase, who would take a third of the girls and use them in the cook-up factory. Trina took a third of them, and together they would continue to cop overseas. Indie would handle the remaining women by putting them on the road to make connections to other hustlers in other states, expanding their buyers.
Indie watched YaYa command the room, and an odd feeling swept over him. He was proud to hold her down and proud of the hustler’s spirit that she had, but he also worried about her wellbeing. She hadn’t chosen the game; the game had chosen her. Indie wasn’t sure that she
knew exactly what she was getting herself into, and he would protect her as much as possible to make sure that she remained untouchable. To everyone around her she seemed as if she had everything together, but he knew her well, and could see the internal struggle that she was going through. He knew that there were weaknesses that she was trying to hide. He didn’t know if was from her new reign of power or if she was simply having trouble adjusting to life after the fire. She wouldn’t open up to him; no matter how much he tried to reassure her that everything was okay, she was like a locked box and Indie didn’t have the key.
He didn’t expect her to be a machine. She went from being victim to Leah’s tyranny to fighting for her life after the fire to queen pin almost overnight. Her world had to be spinning. He just wanted his old thing back, the woman that he had fallen in love with. She just wasn’t the same, as if the doctors hadn’t put her back together quite right.
It wasn’t the life that he would have chosen for his lady, and it certainly wasn’t something that he wanted for the long term. Part of the reason that he had pushed YaYa to expand was so that they could make the money and make their exit sooner rather than later. Indie had plans to take them legit that would keep them rich for generations.
Indie knew how addictive getting money could be. He only hoped that when it was time for YaYa to give it all up, she understood the bigger picture and let it go without a fight.
“Leah Richards was placed in protective custody after an attempt on her life was made at Harris County Jail. Allegedly, rat pesticide was put into her food. Doctors say she would have died if one of the guards hadn’t found her and rushed her to the infirmary. Richards is on trial for the kidnapping of Skylar Perkins and has a pending murder charge waiting in the state of New York. She is no longer among general population at Harris County, but has been transferred to a local mental institution, where she is being held until her trial begins. There is a good chance that Leah Richards’s counsel will change their plea to not guilty by reason of insanity or mental defect, as it has been determined that she qualifies for this disability. . . .”
YaYa couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she watched the news story play out before her very eyes. How Leah had survived she didn’t know, but the way the news spun the story made Leah seem more like a victim than an actual criminal.
“Aghh!” YaYa screamed as she knocked the television off of the TV stand, causing it to shatter on the floor. “This bitch has nine lives!”
She was like a tornado as she picked up everything in sight, tossing it in frustration around the room. Leah had survived. Leah always survived, and her existence was taking a toll on YaYa. How long could they play this cat and mouse game? The back and forth was more torture than if she had just given up herself.
She grabbed a bottle of vodka from the mini bar and retrieved her bottle of pills. She popped three as if they were candy then washed them down with the liquor. She took a deep breath and shook her head as she waited for her mind to go to a happy place.
She didn’t even know how she had gotten to this point. This certainly wasn’t supposed to be her life. She had an obsession for payback. She was addicted to Leah in the same way that Leah was addicted to her, and she couldn’t let it go. The world was too small for them to coexist.
She heard Indie open the door, and she turned to him with a tearstained face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he rushed to her. She broke down in his arms.
“She lived! The bitch is alive!” YaYa informed. “They saved her and now she’s in some fucking mental hospital. The bitch is going to get off. I know it. She’s going to play crazy and get away with everything she’s done. She lived.” YaYa said the last two words in disgust as she put her hands over her face in distress.
They spoke about Leah so frequently that he didn’t even have to ask who or what YaYa was talking about. He gripped her face gently. “So let her live, ma. Fuck her. She is not a part of our lives anymore. Do you really think she will ever be happy after what she’s done? Her face is like a Halloween mask now. She will get hers. Life has a way of making sure that things even out. You’re trying to force it, ma. You’re trying to make something happen that isn’t in the universe. Let this shit go. It’s consuming you. You’re obsessed, YaYa. You think about Leah so much that you hardly have room to think about Sky. You haven’t even asked to see her. Do you know that? All of this is about our daughter, but you haven’t seen her. Haven’t asked how she’s doing. Focus, YaYa!”
“I know . . . I know,” she cried. “I just want revenge for my baby. For me. For—”
“Ma, I need you to promise me that you’ll let this go. Just let go. It’s changing you, YaYa. I want my old thing back. You can’t even go through a day without the negativity bringing you down. You’re drinking, taking more pills than I think you should. I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to believe that what I’m seeing is true, but I need you to get a grip on shit, ma. Come back to me. We have everything at the tip of our fingers. How you gon’ lead a pack of bitches when you letting one make you weak? Huh? That makes no sense. You’re stronger than this. We’re building an empire together and you want to risk it all . . . let it all slip away trying to live in the past. Walk forward with me, YaYa. Trust me,” Indie said. He was practically pleading with her to move into the future, and as she stared into his eyes, she saw that she was causing him pain.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll let it go . . . I trust you.”
Indie pulled her into him and held onto her as she cried on his shoulder. “Let it out. Get it all out of your system and that way we won’t have to revisit it again. Let the pain go,” he whispered in her ear.
He held her in his arms until she cried herself to sleep, and then he made the decision in his head that they were leaving Houston. Indie was taking YaYa home to their daughter where she could have balance restored to her life.
Miesha sat with tears in her eyes as she watched her mother and son enter the visiting room. She wanted to hug them, to run to them, but she couldn’t even touch them, so she sat still and waited as they made their way to her.
“Mi-Mi!” her son yelled. She wished that she could hear him say the word “Mama,” but that was a special title that he reserved for her own mother, his true grandmother.
“Hey, big man! How you been?” she asked.
“Good! When are you coming home?” he asked.
“Soon,” she promised. She hadn’t heard from anyone on the outside. She had tried to reach YaYa but could never get through. News had spread through the prison like wildfire that Leah was still alive, and Miesha knew that she had failed to deliver. She had risked it all and come up short, so she was sure that YaYa had cut her off as a result of her fuck up.
As she sat in front of her mother, she couldn’t read her expression. Marilyn Patrick had always overextended herself for her daughter, had tried to provide the best under the most dismal of circumstances. Miesha knew that she had disappointed her greatly. Instead of relieving the pressure from her shoulders, she had added more.
“Mommy, I’m so sorry, I thought I had a plan. I thought that I would come out of here and be able to take care of the two of you, but I messed up. I was wrong,” she stated.
“No, baby, I understand. I understand everything. I got a visit from your friend YaYa,” she whispered as she looked around and lowered her voice. “She delivered a package. She said that you earned it.”
Miesha looked up in surprise.
“It was half a million dollars, Mi-Mi,” her mother revealed. “She told me to tell you that when you get out, there is more where that came from and that she appreciates you for trying. She’s moving us to New York, baby. Says there is a little house waiting for us in Brooklyn . . . safe neighborhoods, nice schools. I tried to thank her, but she told me to thank you instead.”
Miesha was floored at the loyalty that YaYa had displayed. She was generous and compassionate. Miesha was more than grateful and couldn’
t stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks. There weren’t many people like YaYa in the world. Most would have forgotten about Miesha and written her off, but YaYa embraced her. Miesha was a part of the team, and for that she was taken care of.
“Now, I don’t know what you had to do to get that money, Miesha, but know that Mommy loves you and I thank you, my daughter,” her mother said.
“You’re welcome, Mama,” she replied. Sacrificing the next few months of her life was worth the relief and thankfulness she saw in her mother. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and it was in that moment that all regret left from Miesha’s body. She would do what she had to in order to make sure that those she loved were taken care of, and now that list included YaYa. Leah had hurt her, so she deserved whatever she got. Miesha only wished that Leah had not been spared by the guards. Maybe next time she wouldn’t be as lucky.
Chapter 17
YaYa didn’t know how much she missed New York until she smelled the stench of the city as she exited the airport. The cold winter wind bit at her jacket as she held her head low to avoid the winter hawk. Everything came alive inside of her as the blares of the car horns rang in her ears. It was like her senses were awakened from a long slumber as she was led from the lobby of LaGuardia into the private car that was waiting for her curbside.
Trina and Chase followed behind her and entered the car with her, while Miesha’s mother and son trailed in a car behind them. Indie had business to attend to and would join them later. Everything had already been arranged for YaYa’s return. Indie wanted to make the transition as seamless as possible for her. Her business in Houston was put on hold, leaving the streets dry as she relocated to New York. She had no idea that Indie was shutting her down for good. She assumed that she would pick up where she had left off, but Indie had other plans.
She picked up her cell and dialed his number. Even if he didn’t answer, she just wanted to hear his voice. YaYa felt as if she was disappointing Indie. She knew that as much as they had endured, she should be stronger by now. She was in too big of a position to be so weak, and even though the outside world couldn’t see her falling apart, she was, and Indie knew her too well to hide it from him. As she suspected, he didn’t answer, and a hollow pit filled her stomach.
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