by Tiece
She wiped her tears, still laughing. “That shit is funny as hell.”
“Girl, can you believe I actually felt sorry for him for a second. He looked scared, and still caught off guard. I’m so glad the kids were sleep, especially Marc, because he would’ve been so shame to see his sorry ass daddy get knocked the fuck out like that by Stephen.”
Scarlett kept laughing. “Nina please, you got me over here ʼbout to fall out laughing at your crazy ass.”
“Girl, I’m for real.” She chuckled. “But this why I really cut his ass loose this morning, and told that bitch that I wouldn’t care if he didn’t ever come back around.”
“Well, what else happened?” Scarlett asked between laughs.
“Stephen sent me a text after the fact and said that he’d made up his mind who he wanted to be with just because of the incident that happened this morning.”
Scarlett frowned with a wrinkle in her nose. “Huh?”
“He said something pertaining to him having to knock Rick ass out showed him what he don’t want in his life, and that he’s basically choosing the other woman.”
“Talking about the one he brought to your house?” Scarlett questioned.
“Yes, apparently he’s been seeing her for the past six months. That’s probably why he hadn’t wanted to have sex with me. She’s been ridin’ his dick. They just hadn’t made it official yet, but I guess now they will.” she said, drowning her sorrows with Gin and Tonic.
“Girl please.”
Nina was a very cute girl, with the perfect brown complexion, and hips that men loved. She had holsters and thick thighs that held them up. She was indeed a bad mama jama, and she knew it.
“Hold up,” Scarlett said as her phone rang. “It’s Luke,” she said, not at all concerned about the video at that point, since it had been destroyed by the garbage people.
“Hey babe,” she answered.
“What you doing, pretty girl?”
Scarlett blushed. “Just sittin’ in the Surrey Tavern with Nina getting our drink on,” she responded.
“Why don’t you and Nina come over here?” Luke suggested. “Tell Nina that my cousin Darius wanna holla at her.” Scarlett glanced over at Nina, looking like she was two sheets in the wind.
“Aye chick, Luke’s cousin Darius wants to holla at you,” Nina looked at Scarlett and smiled.
“Does he look good?” she whispered.
“Well, I think that him and Luke favor.” she whispered back.
“Does he have money like Luke?” Nina grinned.
Luke laughed aloud. “Tell your girl I heard that.” Scarlett put her index finger up to her mouth to shush Nina. “She shouldn’t be worried about cuz’s pockets. Just tell her that I only hang around real niggas.”
“My baby says that he only hangs around real niggas.” Scarlett repeated.
“So what does that mean?” Nina asked.
“Figure it out, crazy lady,” Scarlett sarcastically commented.
“Where is this Darius at then?” She asked.
“See if she wants to come over here?” Luke prodded.
“Luke wants to know if we wanna come over to his house. You know my answer. What’s yours? Don’t forget that Darius is over there and wants to meet you.”
“Hell, I’ll go anyway. I love your man’s crib,” she giggled.
“You heard her drunk ass?” Scarlett asked.
“Yeah, I heard her,” Luke said. “Are you good to drive over here?”
“Yeah, I’m good, babe. We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, and y’all be safe. See you shortly.” He ended their call.
Scarlett looked over at Nina. “Do you think I need to tell him tonight? You know, while I’m over there?”
“Honestly Red, I do. I think it’s bad enough, but if he has to see that video without you telling him first, then it could be worse. These bitches are trying to come between y’all, and I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.”
“You’re right,” Scarlett agreed. “I’m gonna go ahead and tell him about Gwen too, because she has to come live with us, and I don’t plan on hiding that part of my life anymore either. If he loves me, then he’ll understand and stay, but if he doesn’t then good riddance.”
“There you go, Red!” Nina said. “Now, let’s go. I wanna see who this Darius is. There might be hope out there yet for your girl.”
Chapter 16
Anton and Tommy sat inside of Tommy’s car waiting for the word to head over to Troy’s house. The lyrics to What Ya Heart Beatin’ For by B.G. had them fired up as they nodded their heads to the beat.
“Man, I’m amped and ready for this shit to go down!” Tommy stated.
“Calm your crazy ass down, man. We’re just lucky that he decided to take Ash out tonight, or no telling how long we would’ve been waiting for this moment.”
“True,” Tommy responded.
“We’re gettin’ in and out. We already know where his stash and dope is, so it won’t be a need to lag around. Nobody should even see us. This lick ought to be sweet, and easy as hell,” Anton felt the need to state.
Tommy held up his gun. “I feel you, but I’m bringing this along, just in case we have some issues.”
Anton smugly grinned. “I ain’t got no problem with that, as long as you don’t point that thing my way. As long as I got these hands, I’ll knock a nigga out before his ass can blink twice.”
They laughed.
“Yeah, like you knocked out Travis last year. People were calling you a one hitter quitter.” They continued laughing.
Breanne walked outside and tapped on the passenger window. Tommy let it down. “Okay guys, Ash just messaged me and said they were inside the movies. She also sent a happy face behind the message which meant that the place is clear and nobody is there.”
“Hell yeah,” Tommy commented at the same time as Anton started the car.
He looked over at Breanne and smiled. “We’ll be back holding the money bags. I’ll call you when it’s over.”
“Okay babe and y’all please be careful,” Breanne pleaded.
Tommy rolled up his window and they pulled off.
Anton felt the butterflies turning in his stomach, but he knew there was no backing out once they’d parked around the corner from Troy’s house. The area was quiet, and the good thing was that Troy lived in the cut. No other houses were around his.
They parked on a back dirt road located right behind Troy’s house. The small patch of woods would hide the car if anyone passed by, but it wasn’t likely that someone would be out that way.
Anton stepped out of the car. He pulled his black Atlanta logo cap down low and leaned down to look over at Tommy.
“What the fuck you waiting on, man?” he snapped.
Tommy looked over at him. “Nigga, I’m puttin’ on my gloves. I don’t need nobody dusting my shit!” He snapped back.
“Fool, hush! What drug dealer gon’ call the cops? What they gon’ say? Hey somebody broke in my shit and stole my dope and my money.”
Tommy laughed at Anton’s comment and got out of the car. “Nigga, you a fool with it,” Tommy chuckled. “Come on, I’m ready.”
They walked through the shallow woods to Troy’s back yard. Their feet scurried across the basketball court, while scatters of rain fell gently from above. Anton promptly slipped out of his shoes and so did Tommy. They didn’t want to leave any muddy shoe prints behind.
Anton unlocked the door with the key Breanne had made, then they tip-toed inside the house like they were sneaking up on somebody. A lamp turned on in the living room gave them a little light as Tommy darted down the hall and straight into the kitchen. Anton headed upstairs in search of Troy’s bedroom. They had the house all mapped out, just from what Ash had told them.
Anton turned the corner to the right and walked into the first bedroom on the left. When he opened the door, he walked straight over to the big king size rice bed that was against the wall. The sparkl
ing blue light from the fifty-gallon fish tank really helped him move about. He quickly looked under the bed and saw the black suitcase. His heart pounded from the adrenaline rush he got from pulling the case from under the bed. He picked it up and paused for a minute as he looked around.
Damn, this is a nice ass room. The aquarium had him zoned out. The bright colored fish swam around, clueless as to what he was doing. The rocks looked like diamonds glistening in the bottom of the tank. Anton was amazed at something so simple, yet beautiful. He was convinced that someday soon, he’d live like this.
“Aye man, what the fuck you doing up there?” Tommy yelled from down the stairs. Anton snapped back to reality.
“Damn, what am I doing up here?” He whispered aloud then quickly walked out of the room. The suitcase didn’t feel as heavy as he thought it would as he ran down the stairs and looked at Tommy.
“Well damn, nigga, you must’ve been jacking off or something. You got that case, I see.”
“Hell yeah, and I see you got that other shit too.” Anton observed. “Now let’s get the fuck outta here.” Tommy headed for the back door and Anton followed him. He stopped in his tracks to take one more look around Troy’s nice crib.
Tommy opened the back door and the pouring rain greeted him. He leaned down and quickly slipped his shoes on. Anton came out about a minute later.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Tommy asked. “We shoulda been gone.”
“My bad, man. That nigga crib is tight as hell though,” Anton responded, slipping his shoes on, while the unexpected downpour quickly wet him from head to toe. The rain beat him in the face, but he wasn’t worried about the money because the suitcase was made of leather and the dope was in a trash bag. He got his shoes on pretty quickly, but before he could stand back to his feet good, he heard a man’s voice which wasn’t Tommy’s.
“What the hell is going on here?” Slim barked.
Troy’s cousin had just showed up out the blue, and before Anton could respond, he heard the crack of Tommy’s pistol. The sound from the black 9mm firearm roared with a loud explosion.
Slim fell on the basketball court and Tommy took off running in the direction of the car. Anton’s heart sped up. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He didn’t waste any time running as fast as he could, to get away from what he’d witnessed. The only thoughts in his head were the sound of Tommy’s gun going off and Slim falling to the ground.
The blood formed instantly on the basketball court as it drained from Slim’s body.
By the time Anton had gotten to the car, Tommy was just getting in. He quickly opened the driver door and jumped behind the wheel of the car, breathing hard. He was damn near out of breath, and so was Tommy.
“Man, what the hell happened back there?” Anton shouted while starting the car.
“I don’t know, man.” Tommy answered, nerves rattled. “He just came out of nowhere and my first instinct was to pull the trigger. It happened so fast!” He was nervous as hell. His hands were shaking badly and he couldn’t stop talking. “Damn, Ant man… Drive! Get me the hell outta here!”
“I am! Just calm the hell down!” Anton yelled. Their emotions were so high strung that neither of them knew what to do.
“Do you think I killed him?” Tommy asked as the reality of what he’d just done started to sink in.
“I don’t know, man. I just know that I saw a lot of blood. He started bleeding fast as hell. It’s like as soon as he hit the ground, the blood started pouring.”
“Damn, man! I didn’t wanna shoot the nigga! If it didn’t happen so fast, I woulda just beat his ass,” Tommy stated.
“Just calm down man,” Anton responded. “It’s done now, and if he’s dead, then maybe that won’t be a bad thing. Who knows, he could possibly finger us as the culprits.”
Tommy calmed down a little. “You’re right, because he looked right in my face. Damn, we were outta there too.”
“I know and it’s my fault. I was lagging behind, admiring the nigga’s shit instead of just getting the fuck on,” Anton admitted. “We can go to my crib. My sister probably shut up in her room or she’s gone.”
“Good, because I need to get myself together.”
Anton drove as quickly as he could to get to his house, with much more on his mind now than before.
I hope this shit don’t come back to bite us in the ass, he thought.
Chapter 17
Scarlett and Nina pulled up to Luke’s house and parked beside the curbstone. Nina was giggling at Scarlett’s jokes as they got out of the car.
“Nina, I mean it… Don’t get over here acting like a fool.”
“I told you I ain’t, girl,” she said as they walked up on Luke and Darius standing outside in the front yard.
“Yeah right.”
“What’s up, ladies,” Luke spoke. “Hey babe,” he kissed Scarlett on the lips.
“Damn, must be nice,” Nina cut in.
“So this must be Nina,” Darius spoke up.
“Yes, this is Nina.” She spoke about herself in third person.
Darius smiled. “Damn, you look good.”
Nina blushed. “Why thanks,” she said with a shy grin.
“I know this thang ain’t acting shy now,” Scarlett chimed in, making Nina laugh.
“You didn’t say that he looked this good, Red.”
“I said he favored Luke.” Scarlett stated.
“You did, you did,” Nina admitted. She couldn’t take her eyes off Darius as he stood there with a confident smile on his face.
Scarlett looked over at Luke. He was smiling from ear to ear, as if he’d hooked them up.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high,” she whispered. “Nina’s not your average chick.”
Luke grinned. “I ain’t worried about that. If they date, fuck, or whatever they do, then that’s on them. I’m more concerned about us.” he said, hugging her around the waist.
“Speaking of us, I’d like to speak with you in private about a few things.” Scarlett said nerves about to jump out of her skin.
Luke nodded his head. “Sure, we can go out on the back balcony and enjoy this breeze. It looks like they need some alone time to get to know each other a little better.”
“Yeah cuz, I believe you’re right.” Darius said, admiring Nina’s sexy curves. She had a fat ass and a small waist, with a cute face. Just the way he liked it.”
Scarlett and Luke walked inside the house. Luke’s Mother was standing in the kitchen fixing his father a sandwich, and as soon as she saw him come in, she called him over.
“Hey, what are you doing?” She asked then noticed that Scarlett was with him. “Well, hey Red.” She spoke with a smile on her face. She definitely liked Scarlett, much better than April.
“Hey Mrs. Jones,” Scarlett spoke back.
“Hey Ma,” Luke walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “What are you doing?”
“Fixing your daddy a sandwich,” she responded. “He just got off of work, and now wants to put me to work.” She grinned. “What are y’all about to do?”
“Me and Red are about to go out on the patio and talk a little bit. Her home girl and Darius are out front.”
“I thought I heard a girl laughing.” Evelyn stated.
“Yes, that would be my bestie.” Scarlett laughed.
Luke kissed Scarlett on the cheek. “I’ll be right back, babe. Need to run up to my room right quick. Do want a jacket to put on your arms? It’s getting nippy outside.”
Scarlett smiled. “Yes, that’ll be fine.”
“Same thing I was just telling your father. The seasons are so mixed up now, till we think its fall in the summer time and winter in the fall time.” Evelyn chimed in as Adonis Sr. stepped into the kitchen to see if Evelyn had finished making his sandwich.
“Hey Red,” he spoke with a smile. They’d gotten quite used to seeing her around the house in the two months that she and Luke had been dating. He also liked her better than April.
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br /> “Hi Mr. Jones,” Scarlett spoke back. “Your sandwich looks good.”
Evelyn smiled. “I can make you one if you want.”
Scarlett smiled back. “Oh, no thank you, I’m good. We just ate.”
Evelyn looked over at Adonis Sr. “Your son came in looking for his mail when he got home, and I had to tell him that you threw it away. You know his credit card statements were in that pile too, and we need him to make sure he keeps his bills paid before time.”
“I know my bad.” Adonis Sr. stated. “I just picked up a bunch of coupons that we let pile up around here. It just makes the counter look so messy. So I wanted to throw it all away, and unfortunately his mail was in that pile.” Scarlett smiled because all she wanted to hear was that the CD was gone and she would have the opportunity to come clean about it on her own.
Adonis Sr. grabbed his sandwich and headed out of the kitchen. “Alright Red, I’m taking it to bed.” Scarlett smiled, just wishing for a family like Luke’s, because they were so kind to her.
“Okay Mr. Jones. Have a good night.”
Adonis Sr. stopped as he thought about something. “Oh sweetheart, I did put an envelope on Junior’s dresser beside his TV. It had his name on it and URGENT written in the sender’s space. Since it fell from the pile of mail I was holding, well I figured it must’ve been important.” He stated then headed down the long hallway, which led to their master bedroom.
“Well at least he didn’t throw that one away. I’m curious to know what that was about in that strangely marked envelope.” She smiled looking over at Scarlett. “I had called Adonis to tell him about that one piece of mail, because it definitely stood out to me with that Urgent shit written on it.” Evelyn grinned putting the Mayo back in the refrigerator.
Scarlett’s heart sank down in the bottom of her feet. She wanted to dash upstairs and stop Luke, just in case he was about to put the CD in. She looked over at Evelyn with a nervous smile.