Shyt List 3 (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Reign (T. Styles)

  “Wow!” he said shaking his head. The love for the sour milk made so much sense to him now. “And what about Yvonna? Do you know what happened to her during the time she was in there?”

  “No, but I do remember she was very clingy to Gabriella. She was the one person out of the group who looked up to her. But it wouldn’t take them long to forget her. Most of them were drugged up half the time. They would give ‘em the drugs in tea. Hot tea. I remember going back to ‘The Place’, a few days after Gabriella left to give them some food, and all of a sudden, the girl name Yvonna didn’t recognize me anymore. And when I asked her about Gabriella, she didn’t remember her name either. A few days later I went back again, and the crawl space was boarded up.” Terrell looked at Dmitry and smiled.

  “You know, your father told me you weren’t approachable.”

  “I needed to get this off my chest. It’s been weighing on me.” He smiled. “Now I can move on with my life. Anyway all my father cared about was Gabriella at one point. I think he loved her more than he did his own kids. He could’ve protected Baker from Penny, but he didn’t.”

  “Well thank you, man. This helped me out a lot.”

  Later on that day, Dmitry was run off of the side of the road and killed. No one saw a thing.

  Bodily Sacrifice

  Swoopes was in bed with Newbie when Crystal walked quietly into the room. She stayed the night out hoping Swoopes would beg her to come home, but he never did. She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to bring another female in the house that was in her name. She had met Swoopes on a prison pen pal site and fell head over heels in love with him. But Swoopes never loved her and barely liked her. He only used her to put the house and the car in her name, but beyond that, she wasn’t worth shit.

  A tear fell down her pretty brown round face when she saw the girl, who looked ten years younger, lying in her man’s arms. Thirty-two year old Crystal could work hard to be pretty, but young, she would never be again. Newbie draped her leg across Swoopes and nestled her head comfortably in the center of his chest. They both were naked and fast asleep.

  “Swoopes!” Crystal yelled dropping her purse to the floor. “What the fuck is goin’ on in here?”

  Newbie woke up and draped the white sheet over her naked body but Swoopes yanked them away. “What the fuck it look like? We sleepin’.”

  Crystal lunged after Newbie and at first Swoopes didn’t stop her. He was tired of Crystal complaining about his crew members being over all the time and he was tired of her not keeping house.

  “Get off of me!” Newbie yelled swinging wild arms at her. “Get away!”

  Crystal was beating the naked girl so badly it wasn’t funny. So Swoopes, with one hand, hoisted her off of Newbie. When she swung and hit him by mistake, he backhanded her and she fell to the floor.

  Crystal looked up at him with pity on her face. “I don’t understand. Why are you doin’ this to me?”

  Swoopes slid on his boxers and white t-shirt and slipped on his flip flops and Newbie got dressed too. When he was done he grabbed his gun and tucked it in his boxers under his shirt. Newbie was right behind him like a shadow. He swaggered into the living room and almost forgot he had Chavis clean the house because it was so neat.

  The moment he sat in his recliner, Chavis handed him a breakfast sandwich and coffee and Swoopes shook his head. He split it and two and gave the other half to Newbie. Swoopes lost all respect for Chavis when he saw he was still there.

  Growl and Cane slid through the front door, with an update on their connect when they looked up and saw Crystal coming out of the room holding her face. Seeing Newbie still there, they already knew if something hadn’t kicked off, it was about to.

  “We talked to the white boy,” Cane said looking at Growl, “And he ain’t gonna budge on that three week timeframe. He said he has some other clients and can’t fuck with it any earlier than that.”

  “Bet…I guess we gonna start lookin’ for somebody else.”

  “You want us to cancel?” Growl asked.

  “Naw…we’ll let the clock tick until we can find somebody else.”

  “Can you fuckin’ talk to me please?” Crystal asked interrupting their meeting.

  “Want me to get her outta here?” Growl asked looking at Crystal.

  “What? You gonna treat me like this ain’t even my house, too?” Crystal cried. “Is that what you gonna do? Afta all the meals I made for you?” Growl ignored her and waited for Swoopes’ response. He wasn’t into sympathy.

  “Naw. She cool. But if she wanna stay here, she gonna have to get with the new program.” Newbie sat at Swoopes foot like a dog. She didn’t say much and that’s one of the reasons he liked her.

  “Well I’m not gonna go for it!” Crystal cried. “This my house and all ya’ll mothafuckas gotta leave!”

  “Bitch, I pay the bills here! You don’t do shit but lay around and keep a fucked up house. That’s why I got this young thing right here. Maybe your old ass ain’t worth what you use to be. Matta fact,” he said standing up, “I want you outta here.” He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her toward the door. She dropped to the floor to make it harder for him to move her.

  “Stop!” she pleaded. “I don’t wanna leave! Don’t make me go.”

  “Well it’s too late, bitch!” He continued as the veins in his muscular arms bulged as he pulled.

  “Please!” She screamed. “I’ll do anything. Don’t put me out.”

  He released her and watched her thump onto the floor. “Get up!” he told her. Swoopes seemed to be enjoying the scene.

  Crystal rose and said, “Yes?”

  “If you said you’d do anything, I want you to fuck one of my men.”

  “What? I…I don’t understand.”

  “Newbie!” He screamed with his eye still remaining on Crystal.

  “Yes, God.”

  “I want you to fuck one of my men.” His eyes never left Crystal’s.

  “Which one, God?”

  “You see?” Swoopes said to Crystal. “No questions asked. If you can’t have that same spirit, then I don’t need you.”

  Crystal had never been more humiliated in all her life. She gave up everything for him, including custody of her two little girls. All because Swoopes seemed to have a hatred toward kids.

  “Crystal,” he said in her face. “I want you to fuck one of my men.”

  “Which one?” Crystal said softly.

  “I can’t hear you.” Swoopes said turning his head as he normally did so that his ear was close to her mouth.

  “Which one, God?”

  Swoopes looked around the room. Cane, Growl and Chavis were all present. “Which one of ya’ll gonna fuck my girl?”

  “Come on, man, this is gettin’ stupid,” Cane said. “Ain’t nobody in this room gonna fuck your girl.”

  “What…ya’ll scared?” he asked looking between Growl and Cane.

  “I can’t do it either,” Growl told him.

  Thinking this was his moment to win Swoopes’ favor and get out of the kitchen; Chavis took off the apron and said, “I’ll do it.”

  Swoopes looked at him and then at Crystal and said, “There you go. Chavis will fuck you.”

  “Pleeeassssse, Swoopes. I don’t wanna do this. My body is only for you.”

  “Either you do it, or you dropped. It’s as simple as that.”

  With her head hung low, she and Chavis went into the room and closed the door. Cane leaned against the wall in frustration and Growl sat on the sofa and started playing one of the video games. They knew it did no good in saying anything to Swoopes. He was beyond reproach. Swoopes flopped down on his recliner and eyed the closed door as if he could see straight through the wood.

  Five minutes later, Crystal came out of the bedroom sobbing before she ran into the bathroom. The sounds of her throwing up could be heard in the living room. Chavis entered the living room, adjusting his belt through the final hole.

  But the moment his feet passed
the bedroom’s threshold, Swoopes lifted his gun and shot him in the head. No one saw it coming so Growl jumped off of the sofa, and grabbed his heat while Cane watched Chavis’ body hit the floor.

  “I ain’t neva like his ass anyway,” he said softly putting his gun down beside him.

  “What’s goin’ on, cuzo?” Cane asked pacing the floor. He had one hand on his head and the other on his waist. “Why you so reckless all of a sudden? What happened to you in prison, man?”

  “I need to find this bitch, like yesterday, and shit ain’t movin’ fast enough for me. Until I do, to be honest, Cane,” he said looking at him, “I can’t be liable for what I might do.” The silent threat was geared at all of them.

  “Man, if findin’ her will get you back to normal, on my life, I’ma help you wit’ this bitch.”

  “Good. For now, get rid of that dead nigga.”

  Hateful Husbands

  Yvonna was tied up to a wooden chair looking at Avante. She couldn’t get over how bad he let the house go. Trash was everywhere and the smell of rotten food lingered throughout the hallways. Yvonna had a way of making the sanest take a walk on the insane side.

  “Avante, what are you doing?” she asked calmly. “You’re not gonna get away with kidnapping me. This is crazy.”

  “You talk about crazy?” he laughed. “Yeah right.” Avante who once was clean-shaven sported a long weird grungy beard. The jeans he was wearing were too big, and he looked as if he’d been rolling around in dirt for three days.

  Ever since his wife Treyana was murdered, he fell hard. And although the police officers told him that it was Cream, his ex lover, who murdered her, Avante believed Yvonna was responsible. Despite them finding Cream’s fingerprints on the electrical panel Treyana was stuffed in. Things got worse when Cream’s hand was found, without her body.

  “What are you gonna do, Avante? Can you at least talk to me?”

  Avante worked diligently on setting up a video camera, directly across from her. He seemed preoccupied by his own mind. Eventually he turned around, shot her an evil glare and walked over to her. “You have taken everything from me! You even had everything to do with why Cream and I didn’t get married, then you killed Treyana and now my kids are in Maryland’s foster care system. I have nothing left, but the testimony that you will give today. And if you don’t tell them everything you’ve done, I’m gonna kill you.” He said going back to the video camera set up. “It will be my pleasure.”

  “This is why you don’t leave witnesses and you finish what you start,” Gabriella said sitting on the floor beside Yvonna. “Even if you do admit to murdering Treyana, he’s not gonna let you go. I hope you know that shit.”

  “So what am I gonna do?” She whispered, not wanting to alert Avante that all the stories about her being crazy were true. “He has me tied up to this chair with my arms behind my back. I can’t fuckin’ move.”

  “Oh…so now you need my help.”

  “I need to get out of this,” Yvonna said.

  “Do you now know the importance of finishing what you started? Is it clear to you now that some people would rather see you covered in dirt, than happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what do we do when we get out of here?”

  “We finish.” She said looking at Avante’s back.

  “Finish what?” Gabriella persisted.

  “Avante.”

  Yvonna looked at Avante and suddenly became angry. Sure she was the one who murdered Treyana, and framed Cream. But in her mind she did him a favor. After all, she fucked her dead boyfriend Bilal, had twin boys by him, and passed them off as Avante’s kids.

  “Good…so this is what we’re going to do, we’re going to play on his weakness.”

  “What is his weakness and how is that going to get me outta here?”

  “Look at him, Yvonna. He’s lonely. He thinks he’s doing all of this to avenge his wife’s death. But what he’s really doing this for is to hide his shame. He’s afraid to be alone. Just like most men, he’s weak. But make him think he needs you.”

  “He’s not gonna buy it.”

  “Make him buy it,” Gabriella said, standing behind the chair and whispering into her ear, “Make him see that you can be everything to him that he needs. Look around, you can tell he barely leaves this roach infested house. I bet the most adventure he had in two years was snatching you out the back door of CVS and bringing you here. Make him see he needs you as much as you need him. That’s always been your power…to seduce. Use it!”

  Gabriella disappeared and Yvonna got into character.

  “Avante,” she said his name softly and slowly. He ignored her. “Avante, please, can we talk?”

  Avante looked in her direction but over her. She was irritating him and that made him mad. “What?” he said turning around, fiddling with the TV again.

  “I’m sorry.” She said, but it wasn’t good enough and she knew it. If she wanted his attention she had to hit harder. “I’m sorry for murdering your wife.”

  Now those words had Avante’s full attention. He stopped what he was doing and walked slowly toward her. It was the first confirmation he had that he’d been right all along. Only if the world was there to witness it.

  “I know you did it, bitch! But why? Why would you do something like that? You destroyed a family. Who does that kind of shit?”

  “A sick person. I’m sick, Avante. And I’m sorry.”

  In order to do a good job at seduction, she had to imagine him as he was before. Prior to falling off, Avante’s smooth chocolate skin, and chiseled features reminded everyone of the singer/actor Tyrese. She needed that mental picture instead of the hunk of shit that stood before her.

  “But she didn’t deserve you, Avante. She never did.” Her voice was seductive.

  “My wife loved me!” he yelled pointing to himself. “What are you talkin’ about?” Spit escaped his mouth and he resembled a wild animal off a leash. “We had a life! We had a home…and you took that away from us! I knew the moment I laid eyes on you at me and Cream’s engagement party that you were trouble. I just couldn’t convince the people around me that it was true.” Tears flowed from his eyes and Yvonna was disgusted. What country do they breed these weak ass niggas in?

  “Avante, look at you.”

  “Fuck you mean?” he said quickly wiping the tears from his face. He had so much hair around his mouth, it resembled a dry pussy.

  “Just what I said. Take a good look at yourself.” He briefly looked himself over but he couldn’t understand what she meant. “You’re crying over a woman who passed off another man’s kids as yours.” Avante slapped her so hard, her lips cracked but she smiled. Pain was nothing to her. Mentally she could escape her body while others would fold under pressure. “The twin boys are not yours,” Yvonna said again. And again he slapped her and her face turned right. But she looked at him again and said, “They weren’t your sons. They never will be.”

  This time he punched her in the stomach and her head dropped forward. Air violently exited her body and she had to admit, she felt that shit. Slaps and punches she could take, but punches to the gut were another story. It was her weakness.

  Raising her head she said, “The kids were not yours.” She wanted him to take the anger out on her because she knew that’s what he really wanted. To make the person responsible for killing his wife feel the pain he did. Avante, still angry, stood over her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She knew he enjoyed inflicting pain while having sex, so choking Yvonna brought her closer to freedom.

  But something went wrong, he was tightening his grip and he had appeared to black out. If he continued with the pressure he was placing on her, she wouldn’t make it. She tried to talk to him but words weren’t coming from her mouth. What was she going to do? She’d tested the limits and now there was hell to pay.

  As a last resort, she used her strength to mouth the words, “She didn’t deserve you.”

  At first Avante was unrespon
sive and more interested in bringing her closer to death. Sweat fell off of his face and entered her eyes, momentarily blinding her.

  But again she mouthed, “She didn’t deserve you,” although she was feeling lighter.

  This time he lessened his grip and this allowed her to get some air, “She didn’t deserve you.” She said a little more audible. “She never did.”

  Now he was crying so hard, it was difficult to watch. He unfettered his hold and collapsed to the floor. Yvonna would’ve given anything to be able to rub her neck but she was still tied up.

  Coughing a few times to clear her passageway she said, “She wasn’t right for you, Avante.” She would repeat it as many times as necessary, because the statement worked. And…saying anything else could result in her getting choked out again. “You deserve a woman who can handle you. One who can be there for you like you need her to be.”

  Avante stopped sobbing like a three year old for a fleeting moment and said, “You don’t even know me.”

  “Avante I know everything about you. How do you think I was able to get Treyana back in your good graces? I knew what dress to tell her to wear the night of you and Cream’s engagement party to get your attention. I knew what you wanted from her mentally, so I convinced her to go back to night school. I imagined how soft you’d like her skin to feel while making love, and I taught her what scented lotions to use, and how to respond to your touch.”

  His eyes widened and she had him mesmerized. “How did you know all of them things?”

  “I knew what you wanted because that woman you wanted was me.”

  Now the tables were turned and she was in control. He was caught in her web, and like a fly trying to get out, it was a wrap. He could do nothing but submit.

  “I use to fantasize about you all the time, Avante. That’s why the moment you took me from CVS, initially I wasn’t scared. I was just happy to be in your presence. Happy that you had your hands on me and happy to have your attention, no matter what the reason.”

  Avante’s eyes widened and he hung on to her every word like a grown bitch listening attentively to Santa Claus. “Release me, Avante. Let me make love to you.”