by Smooth Silk
They all looked at each other, but didn’t say one damn word.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. By the end of the day, I need five thousand dollars for my goddamn troubles. I’m not going to reschedule my trip, but y’all assess gon’ stay right here. Before I go, I need to talk to this muthafucka Reno. I don’t believe shit y’all say these days, and if he tells me that y’all started that shit at the club, somebody gon’ be packing up their shit and getting the fuck out of here. I just can’t keep doing this with y’all. This is the last straw! Now, where does his ass live? Better yet, go get in the fucking car. Take me to this fool so y’all can tell me how this shit went down face to face with that nigga.”
“Simone is the only one who knows where he lives,” Karrine said. “I don’t know, and I’m not goin’ anywhere because I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Shut the hell up. You don’t have options. When I tell you to do something, just do it! Now, go get your happy-go-lucky ass in the car, or you’ll find yourself laid out on the goddamn floor with my foot stuck far up in you.”
Karrine ol’ smart-mouth ass pouted then stormed out the door. So did Simone. Chyna told me that she had to use the bathroom and would join us in the car in a few minutes.
With thick wrinkles lining my forehead, I followed Simone to her car. Karrine got in the back seat and I got in the front. A few minutes later, Chyna locked the front door and joined us. Simone pulled out of the driveway, and we all sat in silence as she drove down the street.
Trying to calm my nerves, I lit a joint and blew much smoke in the air on purpose. Simone covered her mouth and coughed. She looked over at me.
“You know there ain’t no smokin’ in my car, right?”
I nodded. “And you know you’d better shut the fuck up talking to me and keep on driving, don’t you? Bitch, in case you forgot, I paid for this damn car. I will smoke, fuck, shit, do whatever I want to do in here, whether you like it or not.”
Simone pursed her lips while looking straight ahead. She clamped her mouth shut. Chyna, however, scooted close to the front seat and reached for my joint. “Gimmie a hit of that, Mama. Please. I need something to calm my nerves.”
I jerked my head to the side then snapped my fingers in the shape of a Z. “No. So sit yo’ tail back and stop breathing down my neck. I don’t share anything with troublemakers. All you need to be doing back there right now is praying.”
Chyna winced and sat back. “Okay then. Lord, please help my mama to stop trippin’ and bein’ upset over dumb stuff that we ain’t have no control over. Hopefully she’ll see that we ain’t lyin’ to her and then she won’t have to miss her Vegas trip. Thank you. Amen.”
Chyna stared out the window after delivering her so-called prayer. I guessed she thought this shit was funny. We’d all soon see who would have the last laugh. I looked at Simone as she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a white man on a bike.
“Daang,” she shouted out the window. “Move out the way, fool!”
He shouted, “Fuck you,” to her and she lost it.
“Fuck you too, you slimy, ugly bastard!”
“Girl, go run that slick-talkin’ muthafucka over,” Chyna said. “Run his ass over, check his pockets, and keep it movin’.”
Simone was about to do it. I grabbed the steering wheel, turning it in another direction. Simone slammed on the brakes again, but the car still hit the curb.
“Are you bitches crazy?” I shouted. “Y’all must be on some medication that my ass don’t know about. I can’t believe you about to do some dumb shit like that.”
“I sure was,” Simone said. “His ass don’t know me to talk no shit like that. I was gon’ run him clean over and rock-a-bye that bitch.”
I put my joint out then reached over to put Simone’s car in park. Maybe we needed to have a little talk about some things, because my daughters were clueless as fuck.
“Larry, Curly, and Moe, listen up. If y’all think there are no consequences for running over a white man on a bike, in broad daylight, then y’all are bigger fools than I thought. The police will hunt you down and make sure you get ten life sentences for doing some bullshit like that to a white man, so learn to think before you act. If that muthafucka was black, the result may not be the same. Either way, stop doing stupid shit that can turn yo’ life around in an instant. I’m not gon’ always be here to rescue y’all from this bullshit, so get a clue and act like I taught y’all better than this. I’m in this car because I want you to take me to this nigga Reno. I’m not here to do anything else, and if you want to play the knockout game with bikers, do it on your time, not mine.”
Nobody said a word, not even Karrine’s big-mouth self who always had something smart to say. Simone drove off and I cranked up the volume on the radio, listening to Trinidad James. I then looked at my watch, wondering if I could still make it to the airport. “How much longer do we have before we get to Reno’s place?”
“About ten minutes. He don’t stay too far from here.”
“Tell me a few things about this fool, just so I know who the fuck I’m dealing with.”
Simone shrugged her shoulders. “All I know is he’s a drug dealer, he got a lot of hoes, and he’s a punk.”
“That’s all you know about a man who you let get the cookies?”
She got real defensive and started rolling her neck around. “Excuse me, but I’ve never had sex with Reno. He’s been lyin’ to people, tellin’ them that we got up, but it ain’t true.”
“Well, Reno ain’t the only one who is lying. So are you, and if the dick wasn’t good, it just wasn’t good. Ain’t no need for you to disown it, after you done gave it up.”
Chyna and Karrine laughed. “I know, right?” Karrine said. “Simone know she done fucked that man, so stop lyin’ about it.”
Simone kept with her lie. “If I had given him the goodies, I would say so. I didn’t, so get over it.”
“Look,” I said, “get your panties out of a bunch and stop with the attitude. I’m the only one entitled to have one right now, so chill. I will say this, though. Ain’t no man gon’ be acting a fool like y’all said he was at the club if he ain’t sniffed, ate, sucked, or dipped into the pussy. Niggas don’t get down like that, so you can keep lyin’ all you want to, Simone. The only person you’re playin’ is yourself.”
“Tuh, I know that’s right,” Karrine said.
“Whatever,” Simone replied then rolled her eyes. She had nothing else to say and neither did I.
We pulled into a parking spot at Reno’s apartment complex a little after noon. A few kids were outside playing on a playground that had four swings, but three of them were broken. Trash was piled high in Dumpsters and the areas where there was supposed to be grass there was mud instead. I surely didn’t want to sink my red bottom shoes into no mud, so I was careful to stay on the concrete path that led straight to Reno’s door.
“Is this where that nigga brought you to, to have sex?” Karrine asked Simone. “I know damn well you can do better than this.”
Simone didn’t bother to reply. I was wondering the same thing myself. This nigga was a cheap-ass drug dealer to be living like this. Simone needed her ass kicked for fucking with a fool who didn’t even know how to spend his money. She knocked on the door and we waited for an answer.
“Who is it?” a man yelled.
“It’s me. Simone. I need to talk to you.”
Reno opened the door then cocked his head back when he saw all of us standing outside. He wasn’t a bad-looking nigga. Kind of reminded me of the rapper Drake, but with darker skin. At least she had good taste in men. That was all I could give her credit for.
“What’s this? A family reunion?” he said with sarcasm in his voice.
“If that’s what you want to call it,” Simone said, “fine. Can we come in?”
Reno opened the door. The first thing we saw was a skinny bitch on the couch, eating some barbecue-flavored potato chips. I knew a crackhead when I s
aw one. She damn sure fit the bill.
“Bitch, you gon’ need to make a move,” Reno said, pointing to the door. “Holla at me later, all right?”
Whoever the woman was, instead of checking his ass for calling her a bitch, she looked us over and pursed her lips. She then reached for her purse on the coffee table with cigarette burns on it.
The apartment had a funky, dirty sock smell to it. There wasn’t no telling what else I smelled. Whatever it was, it assaulted my nose and made it sting. And the more I looked around, the more I concluded that this nigga was trifling. The whole apartment was fucked up, roaches climbed the walls, dishes were piled high in the sink, and the hand-me-down furniture hadn’t enhanced the apartment one bit.
After the woman left, Reno locked the door. I could see the white bandage on the back of his head. Had a vision of what Simone and Chyna had done to him. Without a shirt on, he stood by the door with his hands in his pockets.
“So, what brings all you fine, troublemakin’ bitches in my hood today?”
Strike one. The girls folded their arms, but I stepped forward. “Let me make myself clear, before we get off on the wrong foot. There ain’t no bitches in this apartment right now, unless yo’ mama is back there in one of those nasty-ass rooms, waiting to school yo’ ass on how to be a real man and clean up after yo’ fucking self. I came here to find out what happened at the club the other night. If my daughters were in the wrong, I want to know about it.”
“Hell, yeah, they were wrong, but two wrongs will make it right. They will be dealt with. That ain’t no threat; it’s a promise.”
Strike two.
“As for the bitch thing, Miss Mama, I call it as I see fit.”
I turned to my girls who had a “we told you so” look on their faces. I wanted to give this nigga the benefit of the doubt, but I wasn’t going to waste another minute with him. Besides, I had to catch my flight to Vegas. I figured I’d be delayed at the airport or would have to take another flight.
I held out my hand and snapped my finger. “Strike three. Chyna, give it here,” I ordered.
Chyna reached behind her and pulled out the Glock 9 that she’d gotten while we were at the house. I knew my daughters well. She must have known that it would come in handy when she said she had to use the bathroom while we were back at the house. She tossed the gun to me, and catching everyone but her off guard, I turned the gun sideways and pulled the trigger three times, causing me to jerk backward. The bullets whistled in the air, before landing right into the center of Reno’s chest, busting it wide open. Blood splattered as his back slammed against the white door and his eyes bugged in shock. His trembling, bloody fingers wiggled in front of his chest, and we all watched as he slid down the door then fell on his ass. His head slumped then his body tilted over and hit the floor.
Chyna smiled, Simone covered her mouth, and Karrine appeared to be frozen in time. Somebody had to pay for the delay of my trip. This smart-mouth motherfucking nigga seemed like the perfect choice.
“Take a deep breath,” I said to my daughters. “Straighten your backs and find me five thousand dollars for my troubles before y’all get out of here.” I reached in my purse and distributed black leather gloves to each of them. “Don’t touch a damn thing. I’ll be waiting in the car. Y’all got five minutes before I pull off, and I will pull off because Vegas is awaiting me.”
I put my gloves on and kicked that lousy motherfucker away from the door with my red bottom shoes. I hated to use my shoes on this trashy nigga, but I wasn’t about to touch his ass, gloves or no gloves.
When I opened the door, the crackhead bitch was sitting on the steps. She looked at me and I looked at her. “You didn’t see me and I didn’t see you, right?” I said.
“No, ma’am, I didn’t see a thing.”
“Good.” I reached in my purse then pulled out a hundred dollar bill and gave it to her. “Make sure you keep it that way or else I’ll be back.”
She nodded and watched as I headed to the car. I used my cell phone to quickly call Honey.
“What up,” he said.
“Got ’im. This petty nigga been stealin’ from us for a long time. No more worries on this end. It’s a wrap.”
“Sounds good,” he said. “Enjoy Vegas, and I’ll see you when you get back.”
I ended the call and my thoughts turned to Reno who had been a thorn in my side for a long time. He had a bad reputation in the streets, and he’d been cheating Honey out of his money for a long time. Honey hired him to handle his business over four years ago, but Reno had been smoking up the product and he always made excuses about being robbed or the police being after him. Anybody who fucked Honey, fucked me. While Reno had never seen me a day in his life, it was unfortunate that we had to meet like this today. My girls didn’t know shit, and this little incident was about more than me having their backs. They would definitely see it that way, and I damn sure was going to let them keep on thinking it.
Less than five minutes later, they came running out of Reno’s apartment with several things in their hands. They hopped into the car and the tires screeched as I drove off.
“Let’s see what we got here,” Simone said, opening a black bag with jewelry inside.
I could certainly see the platinum, gold, and diamonds from where I was sitting, so I knew she was on to something. Karrine had a wallet that had several hundred-dollar bills inside, and Chyna had three black socks that were stuffed with cash too. She scooted forward and waved the bills near my face.
“After givin’ you yo’ five Gs, do I get to keep the rest?” she asked.
“No,” I said, snatching the money from her hand. “Drop all of that shit on the floor up here, ’cause we ain’t divvying up shit. I’m getting the hell out of here for a while. Y’all can stay at home and wait until that officer returns. Deal with it, ladies. Handle yo’ business, because Mama is going bye-bye.”
I went back to the house to get my luggage, and almost six hours later, I was happily on my way to Vegas with plenty of money in my pockets to spend.
Chapter Sixteen
Chyna
I didn’t give a damn what anybody said about my mama; she was all right with me. I loved that woman to death and I was glad that she was on vacation, doing what she loved to do best: gamble.
That left me, Karrine, and Simone at the crib doing our thing. I was gearing up for a long night in front of the computer monitor and was looking forward to it, too. Video porn relaxed me, and after what had happened today, I was a little worried that the police would come to the house and arrest us for Reno’s murder. I was glad that Mama had put that nigga out of his misery because he deserved it. And like she said, think before you act and speak. You just never know who the fuck can say the wrong shit to, and Reno’s ass had finally met his match.
If or whenever the police came back to the house, the plan was for us to keep our mouths shut. We didn’t know anything, and everybody who knew Reno, they knew he’d had hella enemies. I suspected that fingers would point to me and Simone, but finger-pointing didn’t mean shit. The only person who kind of knew how that shit went down was that crackhead chick who was at Reno’s apartment. I was going to make some calls later, just to be sure that she wasn’t running her mouth. If she wasn’t, she was good. If she was, then I’d have to deal with her myself. Mama had done her part and the rest was on us.
Another thing I intended to deal with was this situation with Honey and Karrine. Ever since what I had witnessed that day at the club, they’d been on my mind. I had to be careful about my approach because Karrine was known for saying the wrong motherfucking thing sometimes and setting me off. She needed to come clean about that situation. It was time that I knew the truth.
Before I went to work tonight, I knocked on her bedroom door then opened it. Karrine was lying across the bed while talking on her cell phone. The moment she saw me, she ended the call.
“Who was that?” I asked. “Honey?”
She frowned as if I di
dn’t know what was up. “Why would I be talkin’ to Honey?”
I walked farther into the room and sat on her bed. “Because, Karrine, I saw you kissin’ him at the club. What’s up with that? Ain’t he supposed to be like our brother? I don’t get what’s goin’ on with you lately. I’m startin’ to feel like you ain’t down with us no more.”
Karrine started to bite her nails. “I’m always down with y’all, Chyna, you know this. It’s just that me and Mama have our issues sometimes ’cause she be trippin’. As for me and Honey, I guess it really ain’t no surprise to you that Ray really wasn’t my daddy. So, technically, Honey is you and Simone’s brother, not mine. I met him years ago and we hooked up. By then, I knew the deal with Ray, and Honey and me been seein’ each other ever since.”
“I’m not surprised about Ray either, but this thing with Honey is a shock to me. So, in other words, when we went to the motel to rob him that day, you knew who he was? And not only that, but he was fuckin’ Simone. That’s nasty. I don’t understand how you’re down with that shit.”
“Simone was the one who got on top of him. If she had known he was her brother, she wouldn’t have gone there. But ain’t nobody tell her that she had to fuck him. That was on her and it has nothin’ to do with me.”
“I disagree, but you’re you and I’m me. I don’t like the idea of you fuckin’ with Honey. Somethin’ about that whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
Karrine just shrugged her shoulders. “I can understand how you feel, but what do you want me to do about it? And just in case you don’t already know, I’m not fuckin’ with him no more. Mama put closure to that bullshit. She don’t want us to see each other anymore.”
“I know what me and Mama want, but what do you want? Are you in love with him or what? Are you goin’ to continue to see him, even though we’re against it?”