Playing With Fire: Loyalty Demolished

by Charlee Renea

  “Ma, I’m not about to go there with you. You’re tripping, which isn’t cool. I guess because Ray’s back in the picture, you’re feeling salty! I don’t have time for it; I’m trying to be at peace. I wish the best for you.”

  Chyna walked off, leaving her with her mouth hanging open. Tara hadn’t expected her to speak to her that way. She felt like she wasn’t in the wrong and was just speaking her mind. She didn’t know why Chyna was tripping anyway, just because she’d told her she had a ride. Tara’s oldest daughter walked up, and Tara was happy and relieved.

  “Thank you! I’m glad to see you, Nikki!”

  They hugged and Nikki was happy to be reunited with her mother. She loved her job, but she also missed spending time with her family.

  “Wassup, Ma.”

  “Girl, come on. Let’s get out of here!”

  Tara grabbed her luggage, attempting to leave, but Nikki saw Chyna. Her mother hadn’t told her Chyna was coming, too.

  “Ma, wait. Isn’t that Chyna?”

  She knew she hadn’t seen her sister in a while, but she hadn’t forgotten her face. Tara had told her she was arguing with Chyna and flying out to Texas alone. Nikki had wondered why she wasn’t flying home to Kansas City instead.

  “Yeah, girl, but come on!” her mother said, rushing, but Nikki knew something wasn’t right.

  “Hold up! I’ll be back.”

  Tara was furious as Nikki headed over to them.

  “Wassup, Chyna?”

  Chyna looked back to see who was calling her name and was surprised to see her sister. She finished fastening the car seat in and turned around to hug her.

  “Oh, so you’re supposed to be picking Mama up?”

  “Yes! She didn’t tell me you were coming!”

  “Just like she didn’t tell me you were picking her. She just started tripping for no reason.”

  “Hmmm, I wonder what that’s about.”

  “Long story, girl, but here’re your niece and nephew.”

  Nikki poked her head inside the car to see. She spoke to Ray’s family and Chyna introduced them. After Ray was finished loading the luggage, he came around front to see who this new woman was.

  Nikki immediately recognized Ray from the pictures Pebbles had shared with her about her case. She’d had no idea he was involved with Chyna and Nikki also hadn’t been aware Ray was the father of her children. Chyna introduced them and Nikki decided to follow them to the house where they were staying. She wanted to spend time with the children despite what her mother was talking about. Plus, she needed to talk with Chyna. Vin and his family were waiting at the house when they arrived.

  “Wassup, y’all?” Vin said, standing on the porch. He hugged everyone. “Welcome back!”

  Ray’Sha was happy to see him. They walked into the house where his baby’s mother was now sitting on the couch with the twins. He helped everyone get settled in.

  Once everyone was settled in, Nikki pulled Chyna and the children aside. They headed outside to the back porch.

  “Wassup, Mama?” Nikki started the conversation.

  “Trying to make it and take care of the children. I’m taking online classes for nursing, but after I had the baby, I had to put it on hold.”

  “How are you paying for them?”

  “I received a grant, but it wasn’t enough. I took out a loan. I have to work to pay it back.”

  “I’m proud of you, little sis. I know you didn’t work towards a career straight out of high school, but I’m not judging you for that! As I can see, you’re taking damn-good care of your children. And Ray—I haven’t heard anything positive, but from what I see, he’s in y’all’s lives. Just be careful!”

  She decided not to tell Chyna about Pebbles trying to set him up. She knew Pebbles didn’t have any solid proof on him, plus he needed to be there for his children. She had a job as a detective, but loyalty to her family came first.

  She went into her Burberry purse and pulled out one hundred thousand dollars. She felt Chyna could benefit from it more than her.

  “What’s this for?” Chyna asked, shocked.

  “Finish school and have your family sitting comfortable. This is just the beginning. I'm going to pay to have y’all a home built from the ground up, too!”

  “Thank you so much, sis! I truly appreciate it. Thank you!”

  Chyna was feeling great about the blessing her family had just received. The money and house took some worries off her mind. She promised herself she would do right by it and saw it as a fresh start.

  ~ ~

  Later that night . . .

  Lena was lying on Ray’s chest as he lay in the bed. The sight was priceless as Chyna watched them sleep peacefully. She’d put Junior down to sleep and was ready to have a conversation with her man. She tapped him on the shoulder and he woke up.

  “Wassup, baby? I didn’t even know I’d fallen asleep,” he said, sitting up, trying not to wake Lena.

  “Yeah, and she fell asleep right on your chest.” Chyna picked her up and placed her on the bed. “Let’s go have some fun! Nikki is going keep an eye on them.”

  They headed outside to the truck and got in. Chyna had missed the old days when she and Ray would go with the wind. She’d dressed extra sexy for him, wearing white, high-waisted shorts and a flower-print crop-top. She’d straightened her natural hair and it went to the middle of her back. He loved when she wore her own hair. She carried her baby weight well, making her thicker. Ray loved it, but Chyna was ready to be back to the size she was before she’d gotten pregnant.

  She reached into her bra and pulled out a baggie with weed and a chocolate Dutch. She hadn’t smoked since before she got pregnant. Vin had given her the weed. He knew both of them were stressing and needed something to calm their nerves. She missed going to the park with him late at night, rolling up, and listening to music.

  “Damn, like that?” Ray asked her.

  He’d slowed down on his smoking because, truthfully, he only enjoyed smoking with her. He watched her break the weed down like old times and roll it up. She lit it and took a puff. One hit of the Kush already had her on cloud nine! She passed it to Ray as he reclined back in the seat. Her man was looking fine and she could see why any woman would want him. He was that nigga you could overlook the small, petty stuff for and appreciate the bigger things, like the fact he’d risked his life to take care of his family. No man was perfect and it took time to build a strong foundation.

  He passed it back to her and she took another hit. Ray had liked her style since the first day he saw her in the store buying blunt wraps. He’d told himself he wanted her, and if she stuck around, he would fall for her. Ten years later, he couldn’t imagine another day without her. She was solid, loyal, and with the type of business he was in, he needed that.

  “Tell me what happened. How did you get away?” Chyna asked.

  “Okay; this is what happened . . .”

  ~ ~

  After having drinks with Boss, Vin and Ray went to the restroom so Ray could change into all-black. While in the restroom, Ray told Vin what had happened with Bella in the room, how she was tripping about Chyna and him not paying all her lawyer fees.

  “So you think she snitched?” Vin asked.

  “Yeah, that’s the only way she could have been released from prison early. I knew she wasn’t as solid as she claimed to be! That’s why Pebbles has been on a nigga’s heels hard to sell coke, but I told that bitch I blew that money in Vegas! Not about to catch me slipping!”

  “Yeah; if it’s like that, nigga, you’re right—we don’t need to do this job! There’s no telling what that bitch has planned!”

  After Ray finished changing into his clothes, they peeked out the door to see if Boss was still sitting at the bar. They saw Boss look down at his watch, realizing it was almost that time for Bella to call to let him know where the robbery was going to take place. He swallowed the last of his Patron straight and looked around to see if he spotted Ray and Vin. Th
ey were nowhere in sight. He figured they must have left, but he hadn’t seen them come out of the restroom. He decided to leave, thinking they were headed to the mission.

  Once Ray saw Boss leave the hotel to get a cab, they waited for another cab to pull up, rushed out, and got in. They instructed the driver to head to LAX. Vin had the pistol ready he’d purchased the other day inside his black hoodie pocket. He didn’t know what to expect from Boss and always wanted to be prepared. The driver pulled up to the Southwest terminal. Ray and Vin got out, grabbed their bags, and headed to their entrance.

  Boss saw them and headed in their direction. He had been hiding out in front of the hotel, waiting to see if they would show. Bella had told him to keep an eye on them because Ray had been acting funny earlier that morning.

  “Wassup, boy?” Boss said, smiling. He didn’t give them a chance to make it inside.

  Vin held his piece tightly. He was glad he’d taken the safety off in the cab.

  “Shit, wassup?”

  Ray didn’t care about the fact Boss was a mob figure. He wasn’t scared. He looked around for his crew but Boss stood alone. He didn’t know if he had men hiding out with their pieces pointing straight at them, that was the only thing.

  “Y’all going somewhere?" Boss asked, walking closer with his hands in the pockets of his loose-fitting white pants.

  Vin pulled his nine out and pointed it at him. Everyone started running for cover. He wasn’t taking any chances.

  “As a matter of fact, we are,” Vin said.

  He shot in the air three times, and Boss ducked, thinking he was aiming at him. Everybody else ducked or ran, too. Ray and Vin ran away from the airport, searching for cover. Vin looked back over his shoulder to see if Boss was running after them. Boss wasn’t anywhere in sight.

  Boss got up, realizing he wasn’t shot. He was pissed he didn’t have his team on standby. He hadn’t been expecting for them to start shooting. He looked around to see what direction they’d run and came up empty-handed. He knew they weren’t dumb enough to run inside the airport, so he started running away from the airport.

  Having no luck finding them, Boss flagged down a cab. He didn’t have time to waste looking for them, but he told himself if he ever ran into them, there would be hell to pay! He caught the cab back to the hotel and waited on Bella’s call.

  The police came to the area where the shooting had taken place but were too late. People pointed in the direction they’d run, but nobody could give a good description of what they looked like. The shooting had happened so fast that people were worried about their own safety rather than who was shooting.

  After they got away from the airport, Ray and Vin ran down an alley where some homeless people were. A woman stopped them and told them to come into her apartment.

  “I’m not going to snitch! I see y’all in trouble,” she muttered. They took her up on her offer and followed behind her.

  “We have to change out of these clothes,” Vin said, breathing heavy.

  “There’s a back room you guys can change in,” the woman said, leading them toward it.

  After they changed into different clothes, they went back into the living room. The small apartment had a funny smell to it, making them not want to sit on the old sofa.

  “Can I get you guys anything to drink or eat?” the woman asked them and they declined. They were thinking about how they were going to get out of town. They knew catching a flight wasn’t possible. They were sure a witness or video camera had seen what happened.

  “Now what, man?” Vin asked.

  He felt responsible, but he’d rather shoot first than be laid out on the ground. What other reason would Boss come to the airport? He didn’t believe he’d come to talk.

  “Shit, man, I’m not understanding why that nigga showed up,” Ray said in a low tone, rubbing his head. He didn’t need ol’ girl all in their business. He didn’t know who she was or what she was capable of. He knew they were going to have to leave their getaway spot soon.

  “Right! There goes our flight!”

  “Fuck it! Let’s drive. Hit up one of these rental car places in the morning. We need to get a room tonight."

  “Okay, bet!”

  The woman tried to listen in on their conversation but had no luck. They were talking too low. She wanted to know what they were running from and why. She just hoped they didn’t bring any drama to her door.

  After a couple of hours, they left and caught a cab to a motel. The next morning, they went to a rental car place that wasn’t by the airport and rented a car to drive to Houston.

  ~ ~

  After Ray finished telling the story, he thought about how blessed he was to make it out alive. He didn’t know what Boss was capable of. He had also read on the internet how Bella and Chris had been arrested. ‘God was looking after me!’

  “Baby, I’m happy you made it back safely! You being here is worth more than the money.” Chyna leaned over and kissed him.

  “I’m glad, too, and come to find out, Bella didn’t make it out with the money! Something told me that job wasn’t right.”

  “She didn’t?” Chyna hadn’t been keeping up on the news.

  “Naw,” he said and told her the little bit of information he had read on the internet. “They didn’t give any more information on it.”

  ~ ~

  Nikki walked up to the car and invited herself in. She’d left Ray’Sha on babysitting duty. She had some heavy stuff on her mind, plus she wanted to see how much information Ray knew about the job and to let them know she was a detective.

  “Wassup, y’all?” she spoke.

  “Wassup?” they said in unison.

  “I see y’all are having some fun!”

  “Yeah, like old times!” Chyna replied.

  Nikki wasn’t there to judge. Tara hadn’t kept Chyna’s life a secret either.

  “Yeah, but y’all better be careful! You never know who knows what!”

  “True! That’s why our circle is small,” Ray said, wondering what she was getting at.

  “Let me formally introduce myself, in case y’all didn’t know! I’m the lead detective in Kansas City now. They offered me the position after Detective Chris was arrested, so I’ll be moving back home shortly.”

  “Damn, sis, that’s wassup! I’m proud of you,” Chyna congratulated her.

  Ray was surprised and wanted to know what she knew. He was thinking he should be in the clear because he’d never done anything illegal in L.A.

  “So, what’s going on? I mean, how did—”

  “Don’t worry. I know how Pebbles is trying to build a case against you, but she doesn’t have any solid proof. That’s why I was given the position. I was able to solve my case and get an arrest. She’s only made one arrest. That’s still my girl and she may be my partner.”

  “Damn, I knew something wasn’t right with her. Something kept telling me! But why me?”

  “Well, your girl gave her the lead so she could get released from prison early. Bella said you were working for some big-time drug dealer in Nebraska named Tae. She ended up taking Tae down, but couldn’t get any evidence on you.”

  “Damn! I had a feeling Bella had put me in that mess. I guess she had to find a way to get out.”

  Ray had thought Bella was solid! Then there was Pebbles. There was no telling what Bella was saying now that she was locked up. Plus, he didn’t trust Nikki either. They still could be trying to build their case. Like she said, they didn’t have any solid proof! Then he thought about Tae still being alive. From his understanding, Vin had killed him, so he wasn’t sure if they were talking about the same Tae. He dropped the issue and looked at the bright side of things. He was home with his family like he wanted and needed to be.

  After they were finished in the car, Ray and Chyna cuddled in bed together. She lay in his arms, listening to his heartbeat and smelling his cologne. She thought about how much she loved him and everything they’d gone through together. She would
n’t take anything back and would always be by his side. The love she had for him was deep and she’d learned to accept his flaws.

  . . . 24

  One year later . . .

  Bella’s family sat in the front row of the courtroom. It had been a year since her arrest. The trial was finally over and the jury had reached a verdict that would determine Bella’s future. She had been charged with second-degree robbery. Nikki had been able to get her charge reduced from first to second degree. She knew Bella had helped plan the robbery, but she was most satisfied with taking Chris down.

  Boss had hired a good lawyer and Bella was claiming self-defense. She said she’d felt scared and wanted to protect herself, so that was why she’d jumped out the truck with her gun pointed. Jacob had asked her to go to lunch and she’d accepted the invite. She still didn’t know Jacob was undercover.

  Everyone stood when the judge walked in and sat down after the judge sat down. The clerk read the verdict.

  “The court will please listen to the verdict as I read it and it shall be recorded. In the case of California vs. Isabella Rossellini, the defendant was found not guilty of second-degree robbery.”

  Bella’s family was happy and pleased with the verdict. Bella thanked the Man upstairs for another chance, and this time, she planned to go through with her plan to start her own legal business. As far as Ray went, she’d see him in traffic if they ever crossed paths. She wasn’t planning to search for him. Her days of being stupid had come to an end. She wanted to enjoy the rest of life with her son Robert. She didn’t want to miss out on any more of his life. As far as a man went, she wasn’t looking for love either. She’d let it come to her.