That was in two days.
“We know he’ll normally be leavin’ the pool hall on Gresham Rd. that he always go to round two am. It’s easier to catch him out instead of runnin’ up in his crib. He might change his plans, so we gon’ have to do something to keep tabs on that nigga. The thing is, I don’t want you involved. I want you to stay far away from Trell…”
“I have to see him before that happens Keys. If I don’t he’s going to know that something is up. Not only that, but maybe I can find out who else has access to the video.”
He shook his head. “Hell nah yo’. You won’t be seein’…”
“He needs to think I’m not gonna change my mind and stay in Miami. That nigga threatened to kill my best friend. I can’t chance that. If I don’t see him he’s gonna go to Miami because he thinks I’m there. I know he’ll find her if he wants.”
Keys sighed deeply. I could see the torment on his face. “If he touches you I’m gonna murk that nigga myself. Then that’s gonna blow everything, because we don’t really know if that video of what Mendosa did will make it to the police anyway. The only point of me not blastin’ him right now is ‘cause we gotta get that shit.”
“Right. I can’t chance my pops gettin’ locked up or killed because of me. It’s a possibility that nobody else knows and Trell’s just using that to rattle me. Still, I don’t want to take that chance.” I didn’t even mention the fact that Trell threatened to kill my mom. Honestly, I’d lost all respect for her and really didn’t give a shit if she lived or not.
It was just that I didn’t have the heart to put that bitch out of her misery myself. She had given me life whether she was a good mother or not. There was no way I could kill her. Still, I wouldn’t give a damn if somebody else did.
“We could do that shit sooner, but the two of us haven’t been on a date yet. For some reason I need us to do some normal shit before… I actually wanna take you out tomorrow. It won’t be anywhere around here though. We gon’ go to Charleston, SC and stay overnight. Is that cool?” He asked and then kissed my cheek.
“Yes, I’d love that.”
“Once we get Trell outta the way we gon’ have to find out who’s after you ma. They might not send somebody else right away, but I’m sure they will eventually. I can’t chance that shit.” He pulled me close to him and held me tight.
“I’m scared Keys…”
“I know.” His voice was a whisper. “If you feel that it’s a must for you to see Trell I’ll let you, but under one condition.”
“What?” I was almost afraid to know.
“I’m gonna be there.”
“What? No Keys. He’ll kill you and we don’t want him to know about us. He’s crazy Keys.”
“He won’t know. I’m just gonna follow you and park not far from where ya’ll will be. I want you to call me and put the phone on speaker. Just make sure you keep the phone where I can hear what’s goin’ on. After you let him see that you’re still here and workin’ on findin’ out where yo’ pop’s reserve is make up a reason to leave and shit. That’s the only way I’m lettin’ you see that nigga. You right, he’s crazy, but he ain’t as crazy as I am about you. I ain’t lettin’ shit happen to you Sen. Fuck that.”
When I turned to look at him I could see the passion that he felt for me etched on his tired face. I nodded in agreement.
“Okay, that’ll work baby, but you look tired. Let’s go to sleep.”
A sly smile made his eyes light up. “We ain’t ‘bout to be sleepin’ ma.”
I laughed. “No, we’re going to sleep tonight. We have tomorrow for everything else.”
He smiled as he stretched. “You’re right ma. I am tired as hell.”
“So, did you talk to your father about what happened?”
He nodded. “He claims he don’t know what the fuck happened and Kelly too. I’on know shawty. I’ll handle that later though. We got more pressin’ shit goin’ on. I went to see your pops today to reup and handled that transaction for Dame. That shit actually didn’t go left like I thought it would. Still, I suffered a loss wit’ 15 bricks gone.”
“C’mon baby.” After grabbing his hand I led him to the bedroom and undressed him. Once he was down to his boxers we climbed under the covers. Without saying a word about anything we just held each other close knowing that we couldn’t predict what was going to happen. All I knew was I was feeling the shit out of Keys and I wished I could turn back the hands of time and change things. Being happy with him was all that I wanted, but our future seemed so uncertain.
Chapter 12
Keys
“Pops, man, who else could’ve done it then? It’s mighty funny that my shit’s gone right after you told me you wanted to get back in the game. If you needed some money you could’ve just asked.” My eyes were glued to his face because I wanted to see his reaction.
The night before we had only talked on the phone, but I thought it was important for us to talk face to face. I’d be going with Sen to throw Trell off and then we’d be on our way to South Carolina. After that it would be on to getting rid of that fuck nigga. I had no idea how things would turn out, so I felt the need to confront my pops before it all went down.
“I didn’t take that shit Keys.” His eyes were sincere.
“Well Kelly did then.”
He shook his head in disagreement. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“Which takes me back to the question of who the fuck did it then.”
He sighed and gathered his thoughts. I could tell because that’s how he was. My pops used to be an angry, disrespectful ass dude, but he changed after he got shot. Nowadays he’d think about things before he said them, so I waited.
“I don’t know who did it Keys. I wish I did. When I got up I should’ve checked, but nothing like that has happened before. I went to my doctor’s appointment and Kelly was at her mother’s for a while. She got back here a few minutes before you did and I’m sure she didn’t know that the shed had been broken into.”
All I could do was shake my head. “Why the fuck do you trust that money hungry bitch? She ain’t right for you, but you can’t see past that hoe’s pussy. What the hell makes you think she won’t rob me? Huh? She ain’t loyal to you, so why would I expect that hoe to be loyal to me.”
“What you sayin’ son?” His eyes were hard and I could tell that he was pissed. “You ain’t gotta call her bitches and hoes. Why you gotta disrespect her like that?”
“I ain’t gon’ sugar coat shit for you pops. You already know that bitch ain’t shit.” I’d already said too much, so I decided to shut my mouth about that hoe.
“Ain’t nobody perfect Keys. Shit, you ain’t got no proof she did shit…”
I stood up and cut him off. “And you ain’t got proof that she didn’t. I’m out pops. I see that I ain’t gon’ find out what happened like this.”
My father pleaded with me. “Son, I swear, I would never do you like that and Kelly won’t either. Somebody else did it. Think about who knows that you leave your shit here. Who have you told?”
“I’ll holla at you,” I said as I walked out of the house.
When I got in my car I thought about what he had said. Something told me that Kelly had something to do with that shit and was trying to throw me off by offering me the pussy. Then I thought about who actually did know that I kept my work there. Who had I told? I was a private nigga and I didn’t let others in on my business. Then suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. Hmmm…
* * *
About two hours later I was sitting in my car listening to Trell and Jasenia’s conversation. At that point it sounded pretty civil for him.
“Look, you see that I’m here now. I have to go,” she said suddenly.
She’d already explained that she was still working on getting the information that she needed to get him off her back.
“Go the fuck where?” He asked angrily. “I didn’t tell you you could leave bitch?”
That got my attenti
on. I knew that he was going to start snapping. That mufucka was going to make me go inside and get that shit over and done with. That was all I wanted anyway, but Sen was worried about what he had on her father. She didn’t want her actions and decisions to destroy anybody else. That was some stand up shit, but what had to be done had to be done.
My hand was on my tool and I was ready to go in that bitch.
“If you keep talking to me like that you’ll never get what you want. Eventually I’m going to get tired of that shit and say fuck it. I’ve never been interested in my father’s lifestyle before now Trell. It’s going to take time for me to find out where his reserve is without him being suspicious. Let me do this the right way so we can both walk away from this shit.”
There was nothing but silence for a moment. “Yeah, whatever. Just take yo’ ass to Mendosa and get to diggin’. A’ight.”
“Okay, damn. I just wish you had kept this between us. Your boys didn’t have to know about what my dad did. I know that he took someone that you love away from you, but that has nothing to do with me. Why the fuck are you punishing me?”
“Because you’re part of him bitch. All those years of not knowin’ what happened to my pops changed everything for me. I was determined to find out what happened to him. Before I even knew that Mendosa killed him I wanted you. Now I got both of the things I wanted the most. I guess it’s the way I got ‘em that’s fucked up. After I get what I want from yo’ pops I still want you. You ain’t goin’ nowhere bitch. I mean that shit. You stuck wit’ me. If you ever leave me I’m gon’ make sure you pay for that shit.”
Suddenly the call was disconnected and I knew that it was a possibility that her life was in danger. I was getting out of the car with my gun in my hand when I saw Sen walking out of the house. She was wiping her eyes and I could tell that she was feeling defeated about everything. I wanted to go over to her and hold her in my arms, but I couldn’t. When she got in her car and drove off I waited a few minutes to pull off behind her.
* * *
Sen broke down in my arms time we got back to my place. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened over the phone. Only two minutes had gone by during the time that I couldn’t hear what she and Trell were saying. I wanted to know what that nigga had said.
“What the fuck he say?” I asked with an attitude. Shit, the desire to kill that nigga was too damn strong and if she said the word I was going to do it.
“His boy JJ got a copy of the video…”
“JJ?” I asked automatically thinking about that fuck nigga. With his begging ass. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was hanging on to Trell’s coattails, but that would be the ultimate betrayal. According to him, he didn’t fuck with Trell like that.
“Yup, he said JJ,” she confirmed.
I sighed without elaborating about why I needed her confirmation. I’d just have to find out later if that nigga JJ really fucked with Trell. Maybe he’d said another name. Me and that nigga JJ had had a misunderstanding, but we’d had them before. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was disloyal, but damn. “Did you put the bug somewhere?”
She nodded. “Yes, I managed to put it under the coffee table in the living room when he wasn’t looking.”
The listening device was our way of finding out where the original video was, who else had a copy and where he’d be the night we planned to do the hit. Hopefully he’d talk about that shit within the next twenty four hours. In the meantime I was going to try to push the bullshit out of my mind and enjoy my woman. Thoughts of Elena, Trell, JJ and whoever was after my girl were on the back burner…for now.
“You got yo’ shit packed right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but are you sure we should…”
“Hell yeah. I’on know ‘bout you ma, but I need this. If I don’t get away I’m gon’ kill that son of a bitch tonight.”
She wrapped her arms around me as I wiped the tears from her eyes.
* * *
We left the house with her in somewhat of a disguise. She’d taken her sew in out and her natural hair texture was curly spirals that stopped at her shoulder blades. I loved her hair like that. There was no makeup on her face and she had on a pair of dark, oversized shades. It was funny how I wanted her more than ever at that moment.
It took a little over four hours to get to Charleston because we only made one stop for gas. Gas was so much cheaper in South Carolina, so I was sure to fill up. The next stop was the beautiful log cabin that my father owned. It was in the booneys, but it was safe. There were no neighbors for miles, so we didn’t have to worry about Sen being found by her enemies or some crazy redneck attacking us.
“Wow, I’m impressed Keys. This place is…so beautiful. I can imagine how it would look if it snowed. I’ve never been a country girl, but I needed this baby. Thank you,” she said once we were inside.
I held her close to me and inhaled the scent of her shampoo as we walked around the place. It was two stories with three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a breakfast nook, huge modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, dining room, den, living room and a finished basement.
“I would’ve got us a nice suite by the water, but I didn’t want to chance it.”
My eyes were on her with a smile as she ventured off to the door that led to the back yard. The view was amazing because there was a lake that was only a few feet away from the patio.
“Oh my God. This is amazing Keys. Simple, but amazing.” She sounded breathless as she spoke. “Ducks and everything. We could go ice skating in the winter. I’m in love with this place.”
I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. Her soft hands gently caressed mine.
“Well, I figured that you’ve seen pretty much everything, so why not just show you something so natural and like you said, simple.”
“Yeah, because when I came here before we stayed in a suite at a resort. Once we got a log cabin in Aspen on a skiing trip, but that was nothing like this.”
I hated to leave her, but it wasn’t shit in the house. I had to make a trip to the store, which would take a while. “I need to go get some things. After that we’ll go out to eat. I want to take you on a real date, but I didn’t want to do it in Atlanta. I think we could sneak out for a little bit and go somewhere. I know the perfect place. It’s a seafood restaurant on the pier. Most times it’s pretty busy, so we can just blend in. Would you like that?”
I kissed her shoulder as she nodded. “Yes. I love seafood.”
“Okay. I won’t be gone long baby. There’s not even any water in the fridge. I don’t want you wanting for shit.”
She turned to face me and then planted a sweet kiss on my lips. “I’ll be fine baby. Nobody knows we’re here. Relax. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
I left her reluctantly and climbed behind the wheel of the car. There was an alarm system in the house and I set it before leaving. It was a little bit after six pm and the restaurant didn’t close until one am. I had plenty of time for us to get dressed after we messed around a little bit.
* * *
On the way back from the grocery store I made a call to Dame. He was the one who had got the bug for me to put in Trell’s spot. That nigga had all types of connections and could get his hands on anything. He fucked with this Federal Agent named Sammy, or some code shit. That nigga got the bug and set it up so that Dame could listen to what was going on from his computer. I was amazed at how easy it was.
Before Sen planted it we made sure that it was on. It had been tested by us talking even a few feet away from the device. Dame could hear us loud and clear, so I knew that it would work. Once we’d left Trell’s Dame called to confirm that he could hear everything.
“Sup nigga. I know what you callin’ for, but that nigga ain’t said shit we can use yet.”
“You talked to that nigga JJ?”
“Nah, that mufucka’s avoidin’ me, but we got a plan for that. When you get back tomorrow we gon’ go see his ass. You
know play it cool and shit. Then we gon’ find that damn video and pop his ass.”
I nodded like he could see me. “A’ight nigga. Holla at me if you get something.”
“Will do my nigga.”
I hung up and gunned it so that I could get back to Sen. We had just talked and she said that she was about to run a bubble bath. Shit, I told her she better wait for me. A nigga was ready to see all of that fineness all nice and wet.
* * *
Sen was just lowering her body into the water when I walked in the bathroom. She didn’t even bother to pin her hair up. I figured if it got wet, she’d just let it air dry, which was fine with me. Like I said before, I liked her natural state. Her glamorous look had lured me in, but I think I liked her better minus the weave, expensive clothes and make up. When we met we were just kids, so I loved her no matter what.
“There was some bubble bath, so I figured why not.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“And I told you to wait for me.”
She let out a laugh. “I did. You see that I just got in.”
I quickly stripped out of my clothes and got in with her.
“I didn’t even put the stuff I got in the fridge.” My pops and Kelly must’ve visited recently because there was soap and bubble bath in the bathroom.
“It’s okay baby. We won’t be in here long. It won’t spoil.”
I smiled not wanting anything about what was going on in Atlanta to come up. It was a good thing that it didn’t.
“This is the life ma.” My voice was low and deep, which was meant to entice her.
She leaned back into my chest. “Yes it is.”
I just wished it could always be that peaceful and serene. That part, I kept to myself. Like I said before, I didn’t want to spoil the moment.
“So, out of all the places you’ve been, which is your favorite?” I kissed her shoulder and felt her body shiver.
“Anywhere you are.”
I was taken aback. She’d been to so many places, but her favorite place was anywhere with me. That shit really made me feel some type of way.
“Damn ma,” I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
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