Pitbulls in a Skirt

by Mikal Malone

  Thick didn’t share with him his own selfish motives for wanting them to end their relationships. All he ever wanted was control, and control over everything. He wanted control over Yvette, and when he couldn’t get it, he ran to Zakayla. He wanted control over Zakayla, but when he felt she betrayed him, he left her stranded and tried to run back to Yvette. But when Yvette saw right through him, he plotted against her.

  But Thick’s evil plot started long ago when he wanted control over Emerald City so he placed the order to have Dex and his wife Stacia killed.

  At this point, all he wanted to do was run Emerald City and reap its benefits.

  No matter who he had to hurt in the process.

  Three

  Hard Long

  Weeks

  Later

  Chapter 21

  Still True

  February, Saturday, 9:15 a.m.

  Doctanian

  Doctanian was inside his girlfriend’s wet pussy.

  He was trying desperately not to reach an orgasm so quickly, but ever since she became pregnant, the walls of her pussy became tighter and hotter. Prior to now, he always thought it was just a rumor that pregnant pussy felt so good.

  He was stroking Jordan’s pussy repeatedly when he felt himself sliding into a euphoric orgasm.

  He let out a moan. “I’m cumming, baby.”

  “Cum on, daddy. Cum inside this wet pussy,” she urged. “I want to feel you inside me.”

  Without saying another word, Doctanian let himself go, as he oozed all of his cum inside of her heated pussy. When he pulled out, Jordan lifted her body and placed his warm dick inside her mouth.

  “Ummmmm. I love to taste you after you’ve been inside of me.”

  It was this type of thing that made him obsess over Jordan. While she had him still inside of her mouth, sucking him as if she was licking a piece of candy, her cell phone rang like it had several times earlier in the day. He started to ignore it but on instinct, he reached on the nightstand to give it to her to prevent Jordan from straining her pregnant body to grab it herself. She jumped up, and snatched it out of his hand.

  “I got it!” she said as she ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

  “Okay. If it’s one of your little friends, tell ‘em thanks for fucking shit up!” He laughed, as he lay on the bed naked and satisfied.

  He was in love with her in every sense of the word. Now after five months of her being pregnant, he was preparing to propose to her and move her out of Emerald City before the baby was born.

  Doctanian jumped up and knocked on the door after realizing Jordan was still on the phone twenty minutes later. He wasn’t trying to be jealous, but he thought lately her behavior was sort of weird. When she came out, he asked her was everything okay. She brushed him off and said it was a friend who had something going on with her family. After taking one look at her beautiful naked body, and the belly that was carrying his baby, he melted instantly.

  “I’m sorry, shawty. Let me get out here and make some cash so I can get you out this hood.”

  “No problem, daddy,” Jordan said as she kissed him, sucking gently on this bottom lip. “I got a little treat for you when you come back over.”

  Doctanian got dressed and left Jordan’s apartment in Emerald City, which she shared with her mother who was also his customer.

  Doctanian wasn’t sure at first, but after awhile he was positive he saw Lil C serving somebody. This bothered him because although he put in work for his father, he always hoped Lil C would stand clear of the game. When the customer left, Doctanian hurried over to him before he got a chance to serve anybody else.

  “Ay, man! What you doing out here!”

  “Same thing you doing!” L’il C said as he pulled down his cap and added his money in his pile.

  “But why you doing it? Your family already paid.”

  “‘Cause I want my own dough! You live off your folks?”

  “Naw! But if they were living it up like yours and I was still a youngin’, I damn sure would be.”

  “Well everything ain’t what it look like,” Lil C said in a low voice. “My folks ain’t together no more. They don’t think I know but I do. Anyway….I’m old enough to make my own way now.”

  Doctanian didn’t like hearing Lil C talking like he was but figured it would happen sooner or later if his parents didn’t get a better grip on him.

  “Listen, lil nigga, whatever happened to you being that video director we talked ‘bout?” Doctanian asked.

  “Naw. I changed my mind. My friends think that’s whack.”

  “That’s ‘cause they some pussies. Only pussies would think being a video director is whack. Do you realize how many women you’d be around any given day?” Doctanian asked as he play punched him in the face. “This life ain’t for you, man.”

  “Why not? You do it,” Lil C asked.

  Doctanian didn’t know what to say because at that point in his life, he was living fucked up. He hated serving dope and seeing the effects it took on customers’ bodies. His mother’s words haunted him every day when she said what he was doing was wrong. And although she didn’t think he was listening, he was. But he was saving his money to eventually move his girlfriend, baby and mother out of the hood. To him it was just a matter of time.

  “You right. I ain’t neva lied to you and I ain’t gonna start now. So let’s do this. You become a big time video director and I’ll produce you. We’ll be like them punk ass niggas Jay Z and Dame Dash was.”

  Lil C looked up in the air as if he was seriously thinking about his offer. And then the same smile came across his face that Doctanian had seen before when he was sure he’d won him over. And in a way, he wished it was as easy for him to believe in dreams as it was for Lil C to. No matter what, he made up his mind to keep any promise to him he made, just as long as he took the offer, and stayed out the game.

  “Okay! We got a deal!” Lil C said as he gave him five.

  “Alright! But I don’t wanna see you out here no more unless you coming to see me.”

  “I know, man! Stop sweating me.”

  “Ahn ahn, man. Before you go, I want to know something.”

  “What, man?!” L’il C asked.

  “Who put you on anyway?”

  Lil C turned around and said, “Uncle Thick.”

  Doctanian couldn’t believe his ears.

  Chapter 22

  The Meeting

  January, Saturday, 6:00 p.m.

  Yvette

  After three weeks, I was finally able to convince my girls to go out with me for a night on the town.

  After they said no to dancing, we settled for drinks instead. And when we stepped out, we looked like we were getting ready to shoot a music video. We were dressed in fatigues, and different color wife beaters and we all were wearing make-up. Every dude in there was trying to holla the moment we walked through the bar.

  “So what’s this ‘bout, Yvette?” Mercedes asked. “You been asking us out for a while now and now we’re here and you ain’t saying nothing.”

  “I’m just happy to see ya’ll that’s all. Plus I wanted you to get some liquor up in you before I get down to business.”

  “Well if you don’t mind, I’d like to get down to business now,” Carissa said.

  “Me too,” Mercedes added.

  “May I take your orders now? Or would you like refills on your drinks?” the waitress asked.

  We were posted up at the Dave & Buster’s in White Flint. I was able to reserve the private room for us at the last minute because I felt what needed to be said, needed to be done in private.

  “Yes please. Bring everybody a double of everything. And come back for our orders later.”

  “No problem,” she said as she walked off, eyeing the five crisp $100 bills already lying on the table.

  “So what’s up, girl?” Mercedes asked.

  “Okay. Has anybody noticed a difference in the guys?” I asked in a low voice, as I sipped on
my Vodka martini.

  They looked around at one another, and then back at me. Carissa decided to speak first.

  “Have we noticed a change in the guys? Is that some kind of fucking trick question or something?”

  “No it’s not, Rissa. I’m very serious.”

  “If you consider Lavelle not coming home, and telling me he don’t know about the relationship anymore even though he’s all I’ve known different, hell yes! Or him coming by checking on me like he’s my fucking manager instead of my boyfriend, then yes! I consider that different too. Or if you call being different, him coming by kissing the girls and ignoring the hell out of me, then I guess we got something too! So you tell me, Yvette, what do you fucking think?” she screamed as Kenyetta rubbed her gently on the back trying to hold back her own tears.

  “Yvette, you’re our girl and we love you. But we have business to run at Emerald City, so we need to know what’s up. Asking stuff like this is only making matters worse. If you got something to say, just say it. Be real with us. Whatever it is, we can handle it,” Kenyetta said as she handed Carissa a napkin for her tears.

  “I think they planned this,” I finally said, looking at all of them. I wanted to see if they felt anything remotely similar to what I felt.

  Mercedes asked, “Planned what?”

  “I think they planned to dump us. Now I don’t know ‘bout Thick. I believe in my heart that nigga was doing what the fuck he was doing anyway. But you not going to tell me that Lavelle is gonna up and leave you, Carissa, and that all of a sudden Cameron, who loves your dirty draws, girl, will all of a sudden leave you too, at the same time!”

  “But what sense does that make?” Mercedes insisted.

  “Exactly. It makes no fucking sense! All of this is some bullshit! We laid our lives on the line. No, scratch that! We LAY our lives on the line EVERY FUCKIN’ DAY FOR THEM NIGGAS! And them mothafuckas swore that this shit would never be permanent, and that they’d come back for us when it was all said and done. And what did they do? Dump us at the first sign of trouble.”

  When I looked around at my sisters’ faces, I could tell I was getting to them, and I decided to hit the hammer on the nail.

  “I believe what happened between me and Thick triggered everything. I believe by me abandoning Emerald City that gave them the impression that we couldn’t handle a relationship and business at the same time.”

  “This ain’t your fault, girl,” Kenyetta said.

  “I didn’t say that,” I said. “I don’t believe this is any of our faults. I believe we’re victims of giving our love to niggas who didn’t deserve it. And I believe we played the fool for men who promised to protect us and didn’t.”

  When the waitress returned with our drinks, I advised her that she was very helpful, but unless we called her back, we wouldn’t be needing her anymore for the rest of the night. I didn’t want any other witnesses around for what was about to be said.

  “So what’s up, girl? We’ve been knowing you far too long. Something’s gotta be up. What’s your plan?” Kenyetta asked.

  “I say we overthrow them and take over Emerald City.”

  It was so silent now the only sound that could be heard was the crowd in the game room. I was surprised because although I would’ve never thought about betraying my man, in my mind, I still knew we could run Emerald City alone if we needed to. We were doing it anyway. But their silence only proved to me that they didn’t feel the same.

  “Do you know what you’re saying?” Carissa asked.

  “You damn right I do!”

  “We can’t do that,” Carissa laughed as she threw back both of her drinks. “Can we?”

  “Why not?” Mercedes asked, looking around the table. “Why can’t we?”

  That’s what I’m talking about! My girls are finally waking up! I thought to myself.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Kenyetta added. “We’ve been running Emerald City all along anyway. And since them mothafuckas want to carry it like that, let ‘em get carried!”

  “There go my mothafucking girls!” I smiled.

  “What ‘bout Dreyfus? He got a relationship with them,” Carissa pointed out.

  “Dreyfus has a relationship with his money. The only thing he worried ‘bout is gettingg paid. He don’t care ‘bout nothing else. Anyway you think he don’t know we’re the gatekeepers? You think if something happened to Emerald City’s stash, he wouldn’t come to us first?” I asked.

  “She right ‘bout that shit! He’d walk over our bodies to get to theirs,” Mercedes laughed.

  “But he’s the connect. How can we use the connect—”

  I cut Carissa off and answered all her questions at once. I had already quarterbacked the entire thing before I even came to them. There’s one thing I didn’t like to do and that was come to a meeting with a bunch of bullshit. I always came prepared and with a plan in mind. Thick taught me that.

  “This is how it’s going down,” I said as they all moved in to listen. “The first thing we do is move out of Emerald City.”

  “But they’ll know something’s up,” Carissa said.

  “No they won’t. Just like Yvette moved all her shit without moving shit out the building, that’s the same way we can move,” Kenyetta said. “I don’t need shit in that apartment.”

  “Speak for yourself bitch.” Mercedes laughed. “I need my fur coats.”

  I told them, “Well this is what we do. We take as much stuff by hand as we can. No boxes and no trash bags. Then we keep the apartments. They’ll come in handy later. Trust me. We change the locks too because them niggas got keys. We want them cut the fuck off.”

  “I’m liking this shit more and more already,” Kenyetta said in a devious tone.

  “Once we’re moved out, we give away testers for the entire week the guys go away to Vegas. This will force us to have to contact Dreyfus to get more supply. At that point, Mercedes and I will meet with Dreyfus and build a rapport. It’ll be us because Mercedes is familiar with the weight since she collects the money from the lieutenants, and I’m in charge of security.

  “Once we make him comfortable, we’ll get in good with the lieutenants and the soldiers. We’ll feel out who’s who. Now I already predict there’ll be a problem with two of the lieus and their soldiers. They’re too loyal to the niggas. If we have to, we’ll kill ‘em. Does anybody got a problem with that?”

  “Wit’ what?” Carissa asked.

  “Murder.”

  “I’ll die for ya’ll,” Carissa said.

  “I’ll die for ya’ll too,” Kenyetta said.

  “I already killed a mothafucka so it ain’t nothing but a thang.” Mercedes bragged.

  Everyone laughed.

  “I ain’t gotta say shit because ya’ll know I’ll lay a mothafucka on their back twice quick for my girls. So if we ain’t got no problem with that, it’s all good. When the niggas come back from Vegas, there will be some drama, believe that. But they got other shops, so if they’re smart they can gracefully bow down. Plus we’ll have our soldiers already rearranged and ready for war.”

  “This wild ass shit just might work!” Carissa said smiling.

  “This wild ass shit will work,” I said. “‘Cause they broke their promise and did us grimy and payback is a bitch.”

  “You know we gonna have to kill Thick, right?” Mercedes asked seriously. “He ain’t gonna just roll over and give up EC.”

  “No….I’m gonna have to kill Thick. And I’m just the bitch to do it.”

  Chapter 23

  Greed

  February, Friday, 7:34 p.m.

  Jordan

  “Come on, Jordan! What the fuck you waiting on?” Erick yelled.

  “I ain’t never done nothing like this before, Erick. You gotta give me some more time,” she cried on the cell phone in her room, hoping no one could hear the dirt she was planning against the one man who loved her more than himself.

  “You ain’t gotta do nothing but have his ass come
to your house. Me and my boys doing the rest. If anything, you looking out for your man, so we won’t put this lead in him!”

  “My boy and your lieutenant,” she reminded him while sitting on her bed.

  “Fuck that shit! Ain’t nobody bossing me around. Shit gonna start changing for real. I just need you to do what we agreed on.”

  “But….but then he’ll lose his position as lieutenant. They’ll know he let somebody get into the building and that he wasn’t on watch.” Jordan sniffed as she began to gather the covers in a bunch between her legs, wiping her tears with them.

  “Listen, Jordan…Emerald City is getting ready to fold anyway. You ain’t notice Thick and ‘em, ain’t been around here lately?”

  “Yeah but—”

  “But what?” he shot back getting upset that she was wasting too much time. “I got connects set up at Tyland Towers, where if this goes through, I’m gonna be lieutenant and maybe even captain. And if you do this, you’ll be securing Doc’s future so he won’t have to mop no floors at Wal-Mart. Think about your baby!”

  “I am!” she yelled. “That’s why I’m scared!”

  Erick was in Jordan’s ear hard. He had been trying to convince her for over two weeks to help him get Doctanian to leave his shift early, which was something he never did. Erick knew that it was just a matter of time before the stash houses changed again, and because he didn’t have his connect who told him where the new houses moved, once this one changed again, he wouldn’t know about anymore. And if that happened, he couldn’t plot to rob another house.

  He needed Jordan’s help in the worst way if this was gonna to work right. Erick knew that the lieutenants operated the front of the Units with the soldiers; therefore, only one soldier manned a stash house inside the building during shop hours. This was because extra security was already outside the building and was deemed unnecessary. So his plan was to send two unsuspecting dummies ahead of him first to break inside the stash house.