Playing With Fire: Loyalty Demolished

by Charlee Renea

  “He didn’t want us to say anything, but Bella was playing on his phone and she was being lowdown.”

  “What? What did she do?”

  “Sent some text messages, but don’t trip off it. My brother’s here for you and we are, too.”

  “I want to read them!”

  “I deleted them. Don’t trip off her and focus on y’all’s daughter! She’s just jealous at the moment.”

  Chyna took her advice, but in the back of her mind, she was still curious about the messages. They walked a little longer then headed back to the house.

  Everyone was sleep when they walked in. They headed to their rooms. Chyna climbed into bed with Junior. She wanted to call Ray, hear his voice, make sure he was okay, and tell him how much she loved him. She was beyond ready to deliver their princess so she could get back to hustling.

  Or whupping Bella’s ass if she was trying to play with her family! It was time she taught her lesson. Yeah, Chyna was guilty for building a relationship with Ray while Bella was in prison and she was working for Bella. She may have betrayed her, but Chyna saw it as Ray was a single man. She wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be together or not. Either way, he’d hustled and risked his life so she could get out of prison early. In her opinion, Bella should be thankful and move on.

  She kissed Junior then rubbed her belly. She couldn’t sleep. She wondered what was in the safe. She was tempted to open it, but she was going listen to her man. She tried to fall asleep, but couldn’t; her mind wouldn’t stop wondering. She played some old Mary J. Blige songs on her phone and thought about her future. She didn’t want to think the worst, but she also didn’t want to be disappointed.

  . . . 12

  The next day . . .

  Bella lay in Ray’s arms sleep, while he was wide awake. He heard his phone ringing on the floor. He got out the bed slowly, trying not to wake Bella. It was Pebbles calling. He hadn’t heard from her in a while and she was probably wondering. He picked his phone up and went in the bathroom, closing the door slowly so Bella wouldn’t hear. Pebbles called right back and he hit ignore. He went back into the room to search for his clothes and put them on. He needed some fresh air. Three knocks sounded at the door which woke Bella.

  “Who’s that?” she asked, sitting up in the bed.

  “I don’t know; let me see.” He walked over to the door and looked out the peephole. It was Boss. “It’s your father.”

  She jumped out the bed, grabbing her clothes off the floor and going in the bathroom.

  Ray opened the door, inviting Boss in.

  “Wassup, Ray? Where is she?" Boss asked, giving him dap.

  “Wassup? She just went in the bathroom.”

  Shortly after, Bella came walking out. “Hey, Father! What brings you?”

  “How’d the date go last night?”

  It had totally slipped her mind to ask Jacob if she could ride with him Friday, the day of the robbery. She didn’t want to let her father know she’d messed up, or what was going on between her and Ray. She’d have to meet up with Jacob today so they could be ready for tomorrow.

  “It went well. I’ll be ready for tonight’s meeting!”

  “Okay, Bella! Tomorrow is the big day!”

  Bella realized she’d really messed up. Today, her and Ray were supposed to fly out to Vegas to get married, but now she had to meet up with Jacob. ‘Fuck!’

  “All right, Father. We’ll see you tonight.”

  Bella had a different plan. Her father walked out, leaving them alone. Bella closed the door behind him. “Looks like we won’t be going to Vegas!” she said disappointedly.

  Ray was relieved. Bella looked for her phone and called Jacob. He answered on the first ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey! I’m feeling better.”

  “I’m glad you are. What’re you doing?”

  “Just waking up, about to get ready for the day.”

  “Today is light if you want to have lunch.”

  “That’ll be fine. Let me get ready.”

  “Okay; call me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

  “Will do.”

  They ended the call and she went to her bag to find something to wear.

  “What was that all about?” Ray asked her.

  “We’re meeting up for lunch. I need to get the times for tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Be safe, baby.”

  She dressed quickly and left. She was so worried about meeting up with Jacob, she forgot about Ray’s phone. She took a cab to the hotel where he thought she was staying and called him to come pick her up.

  ~ ~

  Ray decided to call Pebbles back to see what was so urgent she’d called more than once. He had a feeling it was about the money she’d fronted him and to see if he had re-upped yet. He’d never met a woman who was so into a man selling drugs. She answered on the second ring.

  “Damn, nigga! You that busy?” she answered with an attitude.

  “Chill, girl, and yes, I’ve been busy! Why are you blowing up my phone and shit?”

  He was ready to end things with her. The money she was throwing him, she could easily be replaced, but she kept throwing him money regardless of whether he gave her a cut.

  “I’m sorry. Let’s start over, baby. I’m just missing you, that’s all. Are you still out of town? Did you get it?”

  Ray decided to play with her head. “Yes, I’m still out of town, and no, I didn’t get it. Actually, I went to Vegas and fucked the money off.”

  “You’re playing, right? That wasn’t the plan!”

  “Dead serious. I can’t follow through with your plans! That isn’t in my blood. All this time you’ve been giving me money, I just saved ten percent of it to give back to you and fucked the rest off. I’m no d-boy!”

  “So, why have you been playing me all this time? Had me thinking we were about to come up?”

  “You thought that shit! We never agreed to coming up in the dope game. You were just so eager for me to.”

  “But we talked about it. You know, me giving you money to get back on your feet.”

  Pebbles was getting frustrated sitting in her recliner chair at work. Her boss was sitting across from her, getting an earful of the conversation. She really needed this promotion.

  Ray took in what she said and wanted to show her she’d failed. It was always at the back of his mind, how did Bella get out of prison so quick? He’d asked himself that question every day; then Pebbles had just popped up in his life, talking about she was a ride-or-die. She barely knew him!

  “Yeah and I took that money to support me! Now I’m about to start working here in L.A., so I don’t need any of your money. You can stay the fuck out my life! Find another sucka to sell drugs for your ass!”

  He ended the call, not giving her a chance to respond. She called right back, but he hit ‘ignore’.

  He sat at the table and rolled another blunt. ‘I’d rather be home with my family! Fuck this money!’ He was ready to let everything go for the sake of seeing his child being born, watching his son play in the sand, and waking up to Chyna, giving her all of him, especially his chocolate pipe that was missing her like crazy. He had plenty of money put up; the only thing holding him back was Vin. Now he wished he’d never gotten him involved.

  ~ ~

  ‘Fuck!’ Pebbles said in her head. She sat at her desk looking at the phone. Her boss stood up, looking at her like she hadn’t heard the conversation. What more could Pebbles do? Ray wasn’t giving her what she need to prove he was selling. She knew he was and she didn’t think he was that smart.

  “Did you lead him on?” her boss asked her.

  Her boss thought maybe she’d fallen for him and didn’t want him to go to prison. Some detectives switched up and fell for the criminal. Pebbles couldn’t believe the words coming out her mouth. After what she’d been through with Chris, falling for a criminal wasn’t what she wanted. She was loyal to her job, and that was why things hadn’t worked be
tween her and Chris.

  “What? I did my job and that’s what y’all asked me to do. I never mentioned I was a detective. You know how bad I want this, so why questioning if I led him on?”

  “Look, my bad. I apologize, but we have to crack this case! Push harder, even if it means reaching out to Isabella again. In the meantime, fly Montae here tonight and we’ll make the arrest in the morning.”

  “Okay, I’m on it, and I’ll do what I can do as far as Ray goes.”

  “Take the rest of the day off to relax. I’m going to think of a new plan.” She walked out of Pebbles’ office.

  Pebbles twirled the pen in her hand as she thought back to when she’d first started talking to Ray. She’d thought his weakness was women giving him money.

  ~ ~

  “Damn, baby, I’m here by your side, anything you want and need.”

  Ray and Pebbles were sitting in her car at Loose Park. Ray had just rolled a blunt to cope with his stress. He needed more money to take care of the bills in St. Thomas. He wanted to show Tara he was capable of taking care of his responsibilities. Only thing was, his number-one moneymaker was no longer around—Ashley!

  “We’re going make it through this. I’ma help you get in the game strong!” she told him. She grabbed his hand and kissed it.

  “How’s that?”

  “I don’t have a problem with giving you re-up money, you know. I got it like that.”

  He hit the blunt, taking in her words. She’d never exposed him to her employment or personal life. “Where do you work?”

  That question caught her off-guard. “Um . . . I’m ashamed, but my father is very wealthy and I sell jewelry for his wife. He pays my bills and gives me whatever I want. Don’t take it as I’m a spoiled brat. I’m learning to be independent.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. At least you have someone to depend on. A lot of people don’t have that support.”

  “Thank you for seeing it that way. So I’m here if you need me, okay?” She leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his cheek and hit the blunt.

  “Okay, Pebbles. Here, hit this.”

  She backed away quickly. She wasn’t working, so why be afraid?

  “Naw, I don’t smoke.”

  “Why? You don’t have anything to worry about, right?”

  He held it up so she could grab it. She looked at it like she wanted to, eyes following the smoke.

  “It’s some good stuff, baby.”

  “I’ve never smoked and I’m not planning to.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing, baby. I’ma leave it in your ashtray; maybe you’ll come back to it later.” He sat the remaining half of the blunt in the ashtray.

  “Okay; maybe I’ll finish it later tonight!”

  “I hope so, and when you do, call me so I can see how freaky you are”

  Ray exited her car and got in his truck.

  When he first met Pebbles, she was giving him money and he knew something wasn’t right with that picture, plus her not wanting to smoke weed. He gladly accepted it, but he didn’t trust her. He told her he was broke and struggling with his bills. He had even convinced her to move to New Jersey and she did. RED FLAG right there he told himself. He kept his distance and never did anything illegal in her presence. Every month, she pressed the issue of him distributing drugs by giving him money.

  ~ ~

  Pebbles came back to reality and thought maybe she’d pushed the issue too much and that’s what had probably pushed him away. Either way, she wasn’t giving up and would try a different plan. She planned to visit Bella real soon. She packed her briefcase and left for the day. She wasn’t giving up on building her case and Ray would be taken down.

  ~ ~

  The next morning . . .

  The sun rose at six in the morning as birds sang and another hot steamy August day approached Kansas City. Pebbles couldn’t sleep all night after Tae’s flight came in at ten that night. She had left Tae at the Motel Six by the airport to meet up with her team and get ready for the big showdown today that Tae had no idea about.

  She put her bulletproof vest on and made sure her guns were loaded and ready. She kissed a picture of her mother she kept in her shirt pocket. Every time she went into battle, she kissed the picture and prayed for a safe return. She leaned down on the bed, getting on her knees, and closed her eyes.

  “Dear heavenly Father, thank You for waking us up today and breathing life into us. Without You, we’re not capable of anything. Thank You for strength, and I ask You to forgive me of my sins. Please watch over my family and bless me to make it home safely. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen!” She got up, fixed her uniform, and headed out the room she was staying in.

  The black van approached the Motel Six and there wasn’t a soul outside. A team of eight men grabbed their armor and jumped out the van. They headed up the stairs to the second level of the hotel. They gathered around the door, listening in to see if they heard any voices inside the room. None was heard and they assumed Tae was still sleep. Pebbles inserted the key card and the men ran inside the room yelling, “THIS IS THE POLICE!”

  Tae almost jumped out of his skin after having been awakened out of his sleep. He didn’t understand what was going on at first as men dressed in all black with helmets on their heads busted in his room pointing guns at him. He wiped the slobber from around his mouth and it hit him what was going on. He looked around for his gun, not caring about being outnumbered. If he was going down, it wasn’t going to be without a fight.

  Realizing he’d given Pebbles his gun for protection when she left last night, he said, “Fuck!”

  “PUT YOUR HANDS UP NOW!” the police ordered.

  Seeing he was outnumbered and unarmed, he did what they asked. They arrested Tae and read him his rights. When they put him in the patrol car, he saw Pebbles in her uniform and badge. He’d never once suspected her of being with the Feds! Now that he thought back, that explained why she was giving him money and flying him out of town. He was so desperate to get back in the game after Chyna had sat him up, he hadn’t been thinking straight. Had he been, he would have easily picked up on Pebbles’ plan. He put his head down as they drove him away. He felt very stupid for falling for her tactics. He knew he was going down for a long time.

  Once Tae was booked, Pebbles decided to pay him a visit. She was waiting in a closed-off room when the correctional officer brought him back. He rolled his eyes and really didn’t have much to say to her. She’d gamed him and set him up, so what more could she want.

  “Hey, I don’t have anything to say to this bitch!” he told the correctional officer. “I’m ready to go to my cell!”

  “You don’t want to hear what I have to say?” she asked, trying to be funny, already knowing the response. He turned around to look at her.

  “What the fuck you got to say? You should have been running your mouth about being a cop when we first met! So, naw, I’m not trying to hear you!” He turned back to the correctional officer. “Can I please leave now?” The officer looked at Pebbles and she gave him the okay to take him back.

  When Tae got to his cell, he was in disbelief about what had happened. All this bad luck had hit him at once. He was just that nigga making money, living good, with a lot of women. He supposed that lifestyle was what had led him here. If he’d stayed loyal to the one woman who had been by his side when he didn’t have a pot to piss in, he wouldn’t have met Chyna, got robbed, and ended up fucking a cop. He felt stupid. All he could do now was hope for better days. He was so ashamed he couldn’t think of anybody to call who wouldn’t judge him. He told himself he had to ride this out by himself.

  ~ ~

  Sean was waiting in a long line to use the phone. Once again, he’d believed in her and yet she’d deceived him again! He was curious as to why he hadn’t heard from Nicole. ‘Shaking my head! I believed in her hoe ass!’ he thought. He would have respected her if she had been honest and said she couldn’t be by his si
de any more instead of lying and acting like she felt sorry about what happened. When it was his turn to use the phone, he dialed out and the caller accepted his call.

  “Wassup, bro?” Ray answered.

  “Shit, man, living another day.” He wanted to tell Ray what was going on, but he knew what he was going say: “I told you about that hoe! She ain’t loyal!”

  “Man, who you telling! I’m going through it with Bella about Chyna, and it isn’t looking good.” Ray explained everything Bella had done and what she was demanding.

  “Nigga, what? If it’s like that, just leave her alone and focus on your family. If you get locked up, who we going have? Yeah, Ma and Pops are here, but they can’t get out and do it like we can! Leave that alone!”

  “I’m working on it. I just have to get away.”

  Coming from experience, Sean wish Ray wouldn’t be stubborn and would listen. He was playing with fire dealing with Bella.

  “Olivia’s supposed to be on her way up here,” Sean announced. Olivia had told Sean what happened when she came to visit.

  “I was shocked seeing her short ass walking through the parking lot. Why you didn’t tell me y’all were back on terms?”

  “We’re working on us, man, and it slipped my mind. Plus, I wanted to make sure she was all about me this time before claiming her again.”