Shyt List 3 (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Reign (T. Styles)

“Nothin’. Just that they got my baby.”

  “You were gonna set my lil brother up?” he asked as he maintained the chokehold he had on her neck.

  “No…I don’t know what you talkin’ about,” she said as she clawed at his glove-covered hands.

  “Then why that bitch Yvonna call and tell him that?”

  “I don’t know,” she sobbed. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  “If you don’t tell me what you told them, I’ma blow your face off. Now what the fuck is up?”

  “That he was comin’.” She hesitated. “I was supposed to call Swoopes when he got here. That’s it. I just wanted Kendal back. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

  He pulled her phone out of his pocket and said, “What’s his number?”

  “It’s in the phone. It was the last number I called.”

  Melvin quickly dialed the number and when Swoopes answered he said, “What’s up dude?” He wasn’t concerned that Bricks could be in danger because there were six carloads of his family members parked out front, protecting him. “I’m here with your peoples and she wanna tell you something.”

  Then he made sure the receiver was directly next to the barrel before he pulled the trigger.

  “It’s your move.” Afterwards he ended the call and left the house with the baby.

  Last Stop

  “We need gas,” Yvonna said looking at the gauge. “We ain’t gonna make it without it.”

  “I don’t know why ya didn’t get it back there,” Darcus said. “We’re running late and we have ta move now.”

  “Look, we need gas. So I gotta pull over.” She said with an attitude before pulling into a truck stop.

  Darcus shook his head in irritation and it was the first time he lost his cool. When she pulled up to the gas station, she said, “Can you get me something to drink?” Grabbing her cell phone, she held it tightly in her hand.

  “Ya like ta be difficult don’t ya?” he paused. “Well I must tell ya, you’re wearing on me. And I don’t like ta be worn on.”

  “Please. I’m thirsty and I’ve been driving all day.” Darcus eyed the bag with the weight in it. “It’s the least you can do.”

  “Sure,” he said as he scooped the bag up to take it with him. She knew he would. “What ya want to drink?”

  “You can leave the bag here.”

  “What do ya want ta drink?” he said letting it be known he had no intentions of putting it down.

  “Are you serious? You’re really going to go into the truck stop with a bag full of coke?”

  “Ya want something ta drink or not?

  “Yeah…buy me a coke.” She schemed.

  “How convenient,” he laughed walking off.

  When he left the car, she snapped a picture of him holding the bag, sent it to its destination and quickly cut the phone back off. It took him twenty minutes to return and they were on the road again. About thirty minutes from their destination, she stopped at McDonalds.

  “What are ya doing now?” His glare told her she was pushing his buttons.

  “I’m going to the bathroom.” She said grabbing her purse. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave the bag. So you can relax.”

  “I’m not worried. But ya better be. You’re messing wit’ time that we don’t have. Now hurry back,” He demanded.

  Yvonna paid him no attention as she sashayed toward the bathroom with her purse. When she was done, she walked back to the car, sat on the backseat and threw her jacket over the bag.

  “I forgot my tampon. Can you hand me one?”

  “What?” He asked looking behind him at her.

  “A tampon. It’s in my glove compartment.”

  “What are ya up ta Yvonna? I don’t trust ya.”

  “You know what,” she said as she closed the door, pulled down her pants, moved her panties to the side and pulled a bloody tampon from her body, “Here!”

  She threw it in his lap and he jumped out of the car and screamed.

  “Fuck is wrong wit’ ya girl?! Why would ya do someting so tasteless?”

  He stomped away from the car in a rage. It was all she needed to replace the bricks in the bag with a concoction she made at Jeff’s house. If he came back to the car and tasted it, his tongue would go numb just like the real thing.

  She also knew that when he made the drop, he would have a serious problem on his hands when they discovered that the package was fake. And if the New Yorkers didn’t kill him, she was sure Ming’s uncle Yao would.

  “Jamaicans and period blood,” she laughed looking at him giving distance from the car as if it were the plague. “So fuckin’ stupid.”

  For that one weakness she spotted when they were at Ming’s’, he was going to pay with his life.

  For The Love Of Drama

  Yvonna sat anxiously in a different parking space from where she dropped Darcus off in New York. He was in the building a few blocks ahead, making the drop, while she sat in the car with the real bags of coke safely in her purse.

  After waiting for a few more minutes, she realized she wouldn’t be able to hear how things ended up from where she sat. And because curiosity was killing her, she got out of her car, and crept carefully up to the building. Knowing the address, she walked up the stairs and into the hallway. But the moment her foot hit the floor he was on, she heard an angry male’s voice.

  “Are you tryin’ to be funny?”

  There was a long pause before she heard Darcus say, “What you talkin’ ‘bout?”

  That was the last she heard before gunfire blasted throughout the tiny apartment and resonated into the hallway. With a smile on her face, she jetted down the stairs and into her waiting car. It had worked! There was no way on earth she could see Darcus walking out of that battle alive. And once she spoke with Ming, she would explain how she found out that Darcus was trying to pass the fake coke off to the connect as real just so he could sell the real bricks himself.

  She knew she could convince her of the truth, especially after she presented her with the real bricks. The most important thing was she was rid of a man who she was sure was out to kill her for whatever reason, and that Ming would be safe. At least she hoped so.

  A Bad Move

  “Jesse, I’m sorry I’m late.” She said still nervous about what occurred with Darcus. The entire ride from New York to D.C. she thought someone was following her.

  “Hey, sis. Is everything okay?”

  Jesse backed up into the house she once shared with Jhane, who was believed to have died as a result of the breast cancer she developed, instead of Yvonna’s own hands.

  “I came for Delilah,” Yvonna said looking around the neat home. “Where is she?” She was expecting her to crawl out any minute.

  “What…do you mean?” She smiled thinking her sister was joking.

  “Stop playing, Jesse. I had a long day. Where’s the baby?”

  “Penny has her,” she said softly realizing something was wrong.

  “Jesse…why would you give my baby to Penny?” Her eyes widened and her voice deepened. “What the fuck were you thinking?!” It was the first time she’d yelled at her sister since they were kids.

  “Yvonna, slow down,” she said with her prosthetic arm extended out in front of her. The thought of all the people Yvonna killed ran through her mind. “You picked Delilah up yesterday. Remember?”

  “No I didn’t.” she said trying to maintain her composure. “I dropped her off and I didn’t come back until now.”

  “Yes you did. You said you needed more time away and that Delilah was slowing you down. You said you wanted Penny to have her and you came with an older black man and a white kid about my age.”

  “I know you not gonna let this bitch play you are you?” Gabriella appeared. “She gave your kid to that bitch and she tryin’ to pass it off on you.”

  As Yvonna listened to Gabriella’s voice, she grew angrier. Suddenly she felt like Jesse was trying to make her think that she was crazy. All the thoughts of how she betrayed her b
y testifying in court against her reentered her mind.

  Yvonna walked carefully up to her and said, “You in on it ain’t you? You don’t want me to have my baby and you trying to make me think I’m crazy.”

  “What?” Jesse asked backing up into a wall. “I would never do anything like that to you. I love you, Yvonna. But you did pick the baby up. Honest.”

  “Stop lyin’. You don’t think I’m good enough do you?” Yvonna’s throat felt like it was closing and her forehead started to sweat. The longer she’d gone without her medication, the harder it was to control her delusions.

  “Yvonna, I would never do anything to harm you,” she said frightened. “Please don’t hurt me again.”

  Yvonna had stepped so close to her sister that there was no place else for Jesse to move. And then Yvonna looked into Jesse’s eyes. This was her family. This was her baby sister, and she couldn’t hurt her anymore.

  “I gotta go,” Yvonna said running toward the door.

  “Yvonna, please. Stay and talk to me.” She cried. “I love you.”

  “I know you do,” Yvonna said turning around to look at her. “And that’s why I’m gonna leave. So I can protect you…from me.”

  Heart Lock

  Quietly, Melvin drove Bricks and Chomps to the house. Bricks sat in the passenger seat and looked through the side view mirror. It seemed as if the whole block was trailing behind him. He was thankful he had a family so deep but at the time, all he could think about was Yvonna and he wondered if she was okay.

  “What’s on your mind, bro?” Melvin asked as he maneuvered on the road ahead of him.

  “What?” Bricks asked looking over at him.

  “Your ass ain’t even listenin’ to me,” he shook his head. “I said what’s on your mind?”

  Bricks looked behind him at Chomps who was fast asleep in a car seat. “Nothin’. Just wondering how long Tina gonna help me take care of this kid. I’ma need her help, at least until I find out what I’ma do wit’ him.”

  “You sure you should be taking care of the kid? I mean, I did kill its mother. What if the police start snoopin’ ‘round?”

  “It won’t be too bad because Bet made me a guardian after Kendal signed over her parental rights to her. Bet stayed out of town and Kendal couldn’t watch him all the time. So when Chomps got sick one day when Bet was out of town, I told her she had to give me guardianship if she was goin’ to leave him with me ‘cause them fuckin’ doctors wouldn’t let me authorize his treatment at the hospital. So technically I’m legally his caregiver. Kendal wasn’t tryin’ to be bothered with this kid.”

  “When are you going to tell me what’s up with Kendal?” Melvin probed.

  “It’s nothin’, man,” Bricks frowned. “It’s too involved. Let’s just say nothing happened between me and that bitch but I’ll take her secret to my grave.”

  “Whatever,” Melvin said irritated that his own brother didn’t trust him enough to tell him about the controversy that surrounded Kendal. “You shoulda let me fuck her.”

  “Trust me, I did you a favor,” Bricks laughed. “But back to Chomps. I just can’t see the kid goin’ into the system. Think about how our Moms did us by fuckin’ wit’ that crack. That foster care system is some shit man and I don’t wanna see that shit happen to him.”

  “I agree,” he said remembering the hard times they experienced trying to stay together in the system.

  “Yeah. They should just let kids get emancipated.”

  Melvin looked over at him and said, “You don’t think it’s weird? For you to be so close to him?”

  “What you tryin’ say, man?” Bricks snapped.

  “I’m sayin, maybe you should get a girlfriend before you get a baby.” Melvin paused when he took into account his own words. “Or maybe you already got one.”

  Bricks looked over at him and smiled. “Naw, I’m single.”

  “You fightin’ wars on account of this chick. You not hardly single.”

  He laughed and said, “I don’t know why I can’t shake her. It fucks me up.”

  “Maybe you like drama.”

  “Naw…but she gets me, and my lifestyle,” he smiled. “Man you should’ve seen shawty buckin’ at them niggas who was firin’ at us the day we first hooked up. That’s my kinda bitch.” He got quiet. “But then there’s some other shit she just hit me wit’ that I don’t know how to handle. It threw me for a loop.”

  “Like what?”

  Bricks didn’t want to add more reasons for Melvin not to like Yvonna so he posed a hypothetical question instead of saying she had schizophrenia.

  “If you knew someone, who had an illness, would you stick by them?”

  “She got that monkey on her back do she?” He asked with wide eyes referring to her having AIDS.

  “Fuck no!” he said looking at him crazy. “It’s some other shit, not sexually related.”

  Melvin pulled up in front of Bricks house and parked. His cousins parked one by one and he waved at them as they walked into their houses. “I’ma be real,” Melvin started, “you know I don’t like the chick.”

  “Yea, you made that clear.”

  “No listen,” he said extending his hand out in front of him before dropping it down. “I don’t like her but I know for a fact you do. So if I fucked wit’ somebody as much as you fuck wit’ her, and found out she had an illness not sexually related,” he smiled, “yea…I’d stick by her.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “No problem. But have you been able to get in contact with her since she called you about the set up? ‘Cause I know for a fact this dude not gonna let her get away easy. He kickin’ over a lota stones to find her. You gotta be careful. And I don’t want you goin’ out at all without the family.”

  “I know. And I can’t reach her. Every time I call that phone, it goes straight to voicemail. We got into somethin’ yesterday so I figure she may be mad at me. I hope she’s okay though.”

  “She fine, nigga.” He said mushing his head. “Now get your sucka for love ass out my car. I’m hungry and I know you got somethin’ in there to eat.”

  “What I look like your bitch? You betta cook somethin’ yourself.”

  “Fuck it,” Melvin said getting out, while Bricks grabbed the baby. “Tell Forty and them the pizza man gonna be comin’ on the block so they can let him pass. And you ain’t gettin’ shit either!”

  “Shiiiiit. I bet I get one of them slices too,” Bricks laughed.

  “We’ll see about that.”

  To Love A Snake

  Yvonna banged heavily on Penny’s door as her feet beat the concrete. In her purse sat the knife she had all intentions of using if things got out of hand.

  “Yvonna, I’m glad yous finally home, chile.” She said hugging her. Yvonna pushed her away. “Is everything okay?”

  “Penny,” she paused looking up at her with hateful eyes, “Give me my baby back. You’ve got five minutes.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that, you see, yous were only released because yous were stayin’ here with me. If yous leave, the baby has to stay where it will be safe and I’m gonna have to let them peoples know the truth. Anyway, you brought her here yesterday saying you didn’t want her anymore. So what’s the problem?”

  “Penny, I’m tryin’,” Yvonna said as a warm tear melted against her skin, “not to hurt you. Now you’ve been good to me in the past, and I appreciate it. But if you don’t bring my baby down them steps, I might murder you right here and right now.”

  “Is that what you think, chile?” Penny said stepping onto the porch. Her large burly body pushed against Yvonna’s knocking her back a few steps. “Do you really think yous could hurt any parts of me and that I’d let you? Why don’t you try it?” She said with her fist nestled into her hips. “Try puttin’ your hands on me.”

  Yvonna’s mind told her not to harm her because she could lose her baby. But, she also knew she could carve 100 pounds of fat off of her before she even knew what happened. Right whe
n she decided to stab and ask questions later, she heard Terrell’s voice behind her.

  “Penny, I need you to bring the baby downstairs,” he said walking up the steps. He had been sitting in the car waiting on Yvonna to show up to pick up the baby.

  Her face frowned as she pushed Yvonna aside to meet him at the bottom of the steps. “What do you gots to do with this? I told you about meddlin’ didn’t I?”

  “I got everything to do with it,” he said stepping back. Nobody wanted Penny to close up on them. “Yvonna is in my custody and therefore I will be in charge of her and Delilah,” he lied holding tightly to a blank piece of paper in his hand. “So bring the baby out of the house now, or I’ll have to call the authorities.”

  “You’re going to wish yous never fucked with me,” Penny said disappearing into the house.

  Yvonna had never seen Penny so angry and she realized there was more to her than met the eye.

  I’ll explain everything later,” Terrell said looking at Yvonna. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through too. I really am.”

  Yvonna’s mind raced, and she was confused at everything happening around her. She wondered why Penny was changing for the worse and why Terrell was there to save her. Fifteen minutes later, Penny came out with Delilah.

  She gave the baby a kiss and said, “I’ll be back for you.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Yvonna asked. But it was too late, Penny had slammed the door in her face.

  “Come with me,” Terrell said, “I have a lot to tell you. And it’s not safe around here.”

  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  “I don’t remember, Terrell. I don’t remember a lot about my childhood.”