Thug Matrimony

by Wahida Clark

  “Man, shut up,” Bullet snapped as the DJ continued.

  “The industry scoop is, for those of you who have been living under a rock, Lil’E was beaten, shot three times, and her unborn child is dead. The latest news is that Phillip Johnson, CEO of Tyrant Music, is a suspect and that the baby was his. Deep, ain’t it? Anyways, get well soon, Lil’E, we all pullin’ for ya. And shout out to Game Over Records. And to you, Phillip Johnson, run, negro, run. But … I don’t think you can hide! As a matter of fact, you might as well come on back. Prove your innocence, bruh, you lookin’ guilty. Come on in.”

  “I wish I could have hit that. Man, that bitch must have nine lives. I may still have a chance to get up in that. You think she’ll go out with me?”

  “Fool, didn’t you just hear what he said? She hotter than fuck. Plus, she can ID yo’ dumb ass.”

  “I’m only playin’, man.”

  “No, you wasn’t.”

  Lil’E was now conscious and in stable condition in intensive care. She told Kaylin and the police that Phillip Johnson was the responsible party. She said nothing about the white dude, the big black guy, and the third man whose voice she heard but whom she didn’t see.

  The Santos household had been on pins and needles, Angel being unusually withdrawn and secretive. Kaylin was thinking it was because he had been focused on making sure Lil’E was safe, Phillip was being hunted, and he finally had a definite lead on Snake. He could reach out and touch him whenever he wanted. But tonight was Mickey Reye’s night. All of this was in Kaylin’s mind as they were tailing behind his car.

  “Mama Santos, how is she?” Angel had just landed in Miami on a private jet.

  “Stop worrying. She’s my grandbaby and she’s fine.”

  “I can’t help it. This is my first time leaving her. I had planned on nursing for at least three months, but things are beginning to get crazy.” She tried to tell herself that, more than Mrs. Santos.

  “You could have squeezed some milk into a bottle,” she scolded. “I nursed her father for ten months. I wish you would have nursed longer. She is only five weeks old.”

  “I know, let me go because you’re making me feel guilty. Kiss her for me. I’ll call you later. Bye-bye.”

  Angel flagged down a taxi and handed the driver a slip of paper with the address on it. He got out of the front seat, took her bags, and threw them in the trunk. She slipped into the backseat, popped on her shades, and focused on the task at hand.

  “Good,” Kaylin said. He was glad that Mickey went to Papi’s house tonight instead of a hotel. He didn’t want to prolong this mission any longer. They were hoping to get into Papi’s house, handle Mickey, and get out quickly. They parked in the cut and let the engine run. Kaylin’s cell vibrated and he started to ignore it but changed his mind when he saw the Miami area code. “Pras, I’m tied up, what’s good?”

  “Man, I don’t even know how to tell you this.”

  “What, nigga? Spit it out. I’m in the middle of sumthin.” He kept his eye glued to Papi’s house.

  “Wifey just pulled up in front of your boy’s spot.”

  Kaylin got a nasty taste in his mouth and his head began to spin. “Come again?”

  “Wifey just pulled up in front of this pimp nigga’s house.”

  “Man … what is you talking about? My wife is home.”

  “I know what I see. And this is wifey. But hey, I just figured I’d let you know. What you want me to do?”

  “You know what I want you to do but it’s sumthin that I need to handle. Damn! Just stay posted. I’ll get back at you.” He ended that call and frantically dialed his house phone.

  Omar, Kajuan, and Bo all looked at one another and shrugged.

  After Kaylin accepted that he wasn’t going to get an answer, his heart rate sped up. He dialed her cell phone.

  “Hello.”

  Kaylin breathed a sigh of relief. “Hey.”

  “Hey back. I love you.”

  “I love you more, what’s up? I called the house, no answer. Where you at? The baby with you? Why you ain’t call and tell me you had to run out?”

  “Sumthin came up. The baby is at your mother’s.”

  “What? What is so important that you felt the need to leave our child?”

  “I got sumthin to take care of, Kaylin. Just like you always got sumthin to take care of.”

  “Oh, it’s like that now?”

  “Oh, believe me, it’s been like this for a while.”

  “It has? Well, when were you planning on filling me in?”

  “I shouldn’t have to if you’d pay more attention to me and our newborn baby. But c’mon, Kaylin, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

  “Then what’s the real deal, Red? ‘Cause you and I both know you spittin’ bullshit right now.”

  “Please, trust me like I trust you, and this is not a good time.”

  Kaylin started laughing his pissed-off laugh. “Yo, I’ll see you lat—”

  She cut him off. “I gotta go.” And she ended the call by turning her phone off. He was still laughing, crazy, as he dialed her back. When it went to voice mail he hung up and called Bobbi.

  “Hello.”

  “Bobbi, it’s me. Have a private flight ready for me within the hour.”

  “Oookay … uh … where to?”

  “Miami.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thanks.” He hung up and had this crazy look in his eyes. “The Grim Reaper is definitely earning his stripes tonight. Y’all ready to do this?”

  Everyone nodded, put on gloves, and gripped their heat.

  “You gonna fill us in or what?” Kajuan asked what was on everyone else’s mind.

  “Let’s do this first.” He opened his car door and everyone followed. Kajuan remained focused on the house with the car running.

  Angel still could hear the hurt in Kaylin’s voice but she tossed him out of her mind and plastered on her game face.

  Earlier the taxi had eased into the driveway of a stucco-covered condo, surrounded by palm trees. The driver beeped the horn. After several minutes, Snake came out of the house and looked at Angel with a smirk on his face. The cabbie popped the trunk and grabbed Angel’s garment bag.

  Now, two hours later, they were finishing up their dinner. He had cooked a meal of steamed lobster, baked potatoes, spinach salad, and grilled vegetable shish kebabs.

  “You hardly touched your dinner. I’m a little hurt.”

  “Don’t be. I told you I wasn’t hungry.”

  “You used to love my cooking. I taught you a few tricks around the kitchen, remember?”

  “Of course I do. That was when I used to love you.” She sipped a little of the wine that he served.

  “Used to, huh?” He smirked. “You like that wine? I had that shit imported.”

  “It’s all right, a little too sour for my taste.”

  “Damn, I just can’t get it right with you, can I?”

  “That should tell you sumthin, don’t you think?”

  He let go of a huge sigh. “Why, Angel? How could you so easily walk away from what we had? How the fuck am I supposed to understand that?”

  “What we had! What I had was a lot of muthafuckin’ ass whippings and a whole bunch of excuses for why you did it. Sorry this and sorry that. And understand? Understand what? Understand why I loved you for who you were and unconditionally. But you never respected me, loved me, or cared about me. Is that what you don’t understand? But what I do and what you need to understand is that you never knew what love was. I had to eventually come to terms with that. And you know what? You did me a favor by leaving me and I thank you.

  “After I accepted that you were dead, I began to move on. Then I met Kaylin and I fell in love with him, Keenan. I love him. And you can’t change that. He took your place in my heart. Do you understand?”

  Snake poured himself another glass of wine and gulped it down. Despite how sure of himself he sounded, he still had a hard time letting go and it pissed him
off for being so gone over her. She leaned back into her chair and they indulged in a stare-down.

  “You are so fine. And if, in the morning, you can look me in the eye and tell me that bullshit you just spoke, I’ma let you go.”

  “Whatever, negro. So, what? Is this the part of the evening where we are supposed to fuck?”

  He smirked. “Yeah, we’ll see if that nasty attitude will be with you in the morning.”

  “We will, won’t we?” She got up from the table. “I’m going to take a nice, long, hot, bath.”

  “Can I—”

  “Alone, Keenan,” she said as she sauntered off to the master bedroom.

  He pumped his fist and mouthed, “Yesss!” as he excitedly began to clear the dinner table.

  “Who is it?” Mickey Reyes answered as he unlocked the door. “Mijo, you expecting company? Or did you order another one of those doughy Greek pizzas?” He cracked the door, and Kaylin pushed it open and rushed him, pressing his .357 to his head. The other two men with ski masks on came in quickly and quietly behind him and closed the door.

  “Shh!” Kaylin put his fingers to his lips. The other two men began to search the house, with guns drawn.

  “What is it? You want money? Do you know who I am?” Mickey asked, showing no signs of fear.

  “No one else is here, except for Dude,” Omar whispered. “And he’s in the bathroom.”

  “Good.” Kaylin quickly screwed on the silencer. “This is from Don Alexjandro and Don Carlos.”

  “Wait, just don’t kill my s—”

  Plat, plat, plat.

  The first bullet pierced his forehead, the second one entered his chest, and the last one tore through his stomach.

  “Let’s dip,” Bo said.

  As they turned to open the front door, Papi stuck his head out of the bathroom. “Hey, Papi, put on some music. I brought you a couple of CDs, a classic Chick Corea, Santana, and Celia Cruz. Plus, you gotta hear my first single. Dad! You hear me? What are you doing?”

  The three of them exited quickly toward the awaiting vehicle.

  Angel sat in the tub crying and trying to gas herself up to be so close to a nigga that she hated. He made her sick. She jumped when she heard a tap on the door.

  “Yo, you still alive in there?”

  “Of course. I know you’re going to let me enjoy my bath.”

  “You on my time now. Come on out, I got sumthin nice for you.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “Yeah, you can bet on that.” He smirked.

  She rolled her eyes and hit the lever to let the water out. Snatching a towel off the rack, she stepped onto the marble floor and began to dry off. She slowly began to moisturize her skin with some Victoria Secret’s Strawberry Delight. After she fixed her hair and applied some lip gloss she went into her purse and pulled out a glass vial. She slowly poured the oil onto her fingertips and carefully massaged it onto her neck, nipples, navel, and all over her toes. She carefully closed the vial and dropped it back into the secret compartment in her purse, then washed her hands thoroughly. She slipped on her stilettos and stepped into her matching bra, thong, and robe. Glad to be placing all of her belongings together, she looked at herself once more in the mirror, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

  Kaylin, Kajuan, Omar, and Bo were on their way to Miami. The hour-and-a-half plane ride wasn’t moving fast enough for Kaylin. They all had to stash their heat, instead of taking a chance bringing it with them. Pras said he had all that they needed.

  “I’m still in shock, yo,” Kaylin confessed.

  “I know. He called Mickey Reyes daddy.” Kajuan laughed.

  “Not that, man. My wife!” Kaylin was pacing back and forth like a caged animal, making everybody antsy.

  Finally Kajuan couldn’t take any more and yelled out, “Chigado carnal, porque no te sientas tu puta, madre.”

  “Don’t tell me to sit my fuckin’ ass down. Fuck this marriage shit! I had a baby with this bitch! Why? Why she gonna make me take her out? I hope I catch them lying on top of each other. I want one bullet to go through both of them and explode in both of their guts.” He was looking crazy and no one said a word.

  “Damn.” Snake lusted. “My, my, my, you are still so … beautiful. Turn around, let me look at you some more.” She turned around slowly. “Look at them long, sexy legs. I miss them sumthin terrible.”

  She sauntered over to the bar and poured herself a glass of white zinfandel. “You want a drink?”

  “Nah, baby girl. The last bitch that fixed me sumthin tried to poison and kill my ass. You ain’t gonna get me twice.”

  “Are you sure about that?” She winked at him.

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  Angel looked him over. His feet were bare … still nice. He had on a pair of silk pajama pants and his chest was bare. Rock-hard abs, muscular arms and shoulders. A little gray was beginning to dot his curly hair. That damn ugly-ass eye patch. It gave her the creeps. She drank that glass and turned to pour another one.

  He stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and clamped a diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist. “I got this for you.” He held her tight.

  “You shouldn’t have,” she said dryly.

  “Strawberries. You remembered.” He inhaled his favorite scent on her skin.

  Oh, God, please help me get through this, she prayed. Her hands were trembling, causing the drink to splash over her fingers. She felt his dick harden and knew that, at this moment, there was no turning back.

  “You don’t miss me a little bit?” He was getting more aggressive, his hands sliding over her like an octopus.

  “Don’t make me answer that.”

  “Why? Go ahead and say it. That nigga ain’t here.” He took her hand and led her over to the couch. He leaned over to kiss her.

  “No, Keenan, I’m not ready to kiss you yet. We’re fucking on the couch?”

  “Baby, we’re gonna fuck all over this house. But yeah, this is where it’s gonna start.”

  “Take off my shoes, then.” He was still kissing her neck and squeezing her ass. “Keenan.” She pushed him away, smiling. “Why are you in such a hurry?” She sat down on the couch. “Take them off.”

  He knelt down on the floor and slowly unstrapped her stilletos. “I wanted to fuck you in these,” he told her.

  “Only Kaylin gets to fuck me in these. You lost that privilege when you left me. I want you to suck my toes, Keenan. Suck them how you used to. Do you remember?”

  He grinned. “Of course I do. And don’t say that punk’s name again in my house.” He took off the other shoe, looked at her feet, and smiled. She leaned back onto the couch, placing one foot on his shoulder, and with the other one she ran her toes across his lips. He gently took her heel and began to slowly suck her toes. She closed her eyes and imagined that it was Kaylin. Her pussy was actually getting hot. “Mmm, that feels nice,” she moaned. Snake was stroking his dick while sucking her toes. When she finally had enough, she said, “C’mon, Daddy, suck my nipples.” He wasted no time in obeying her wish and began kissing his way up her legs, stopping at her panties. “No, Daddy, we got all night for that. Isn’t that what you told me? I need you to suck my nipples.” She slipped out of the robe and gently peeled off the see-through bra, giving him a little show. She grabbed his head and pulled him up toward her nipples. “This is my night, isn’t it?”

  He moaned, “Yes.”

  “Then suck them real good. This is what you’ve been waiting for, Daddy. Make my pussy dripping wet. Suck them. Mmmmm … yes, just like that,” she purred. “Shit, yes!” She was imagining that he was Kaylin. “Suck them, Daddy, real good.”

  He sucked until her breathing told him that she was ready for more. He reached down and yanked off her panties.

  “Awww, shit. You know how … long … I’ve … been … dreaming … about … this?” he said in between kisses trailing down her stomach and stopping to lick her navel. She giggled as she held his head there, forc
ing him to lick and suck some more. He ran his nose all around her pussy and then began to lay his head game down. Once he got with Angel, her pussy was the only pussy he would eat. He felt her grab on to his head and arch her back.

  “Ohhhhhh,” she squealed, exciting him more as he lapped at her clit. “Oh, shit … this … oh, baby … oh, eat this … pussy … Kaylin—”

  His head bobbed up. “What the fuck did you call me?” Plop. Not giving her a chance to respond he punched her in the face and then raised his fist to punch her again. She kneed him in the nuts, but couldn’t get them good enough.

  “You bitch!”

  That brought her enough time to roll onto the floor. He grabbed her foot as she tried to crawl away. “Keenan, stop!” she screamed. Her jaw was starting to feel numb from his punch. He pulled her to him and punched her again … and again. “Keenan, stop it, please! I hate … you!”

  “Fuck, you gonna call me some other nigga’s name! I’ll kill yo’ ass, bitch!”

  “What is the matter with you, Keenan? Why … are you shocked? I told you … I don’t want you,” she screamed as she tried to protect herself from his blows. She broke loose and could feel her eye swelling shut. She crawled as fast as she could but ran smack into a cabinet. “Owww!” Her head felt as if someone hit her with a pipe.

  Snake reached her and they began trading blows. He was running out of fuel and she was fucking him up. He sensed that he was getting weaker and he was beginning to see doubles.

  “What did you do to me, bitch?”

  “I poisoned your stupid ass.” She smiled a bloody smile.

  He lunged at her and she backed up against the cabinet and it came tumbling down. Glass went everywhere and trophies slid across the floor.

  “I’ma kill you, bitch.” He was still coming after her.

  “Not if I kill you first, punk faggot. Oh, shit,” she groaned as a piece of glass pricked her hand. “God, that shit is supposed to have him going into convulsions by now,” she mumbled. She crawled over shards of glass, cutting her knees and hands even more. She grabbed a trophy and swung it backward, slapping him across the head with it.