“Dis shit felt so real. She was about to kill me,” Joi said, holding back the urge to cry.
This wasn’t the first time Joi had a dream like this. Ever since she left Atlanta, she’d been having similar dreams to this one. Visions of the day she shot Ariana raced through her mind, and although she knew in her heart that Ariana was dead, it still haunted her.
“She’s gone, Joi. You don’t have to worry about Ariana anymore,” Sanaa spoke.
“Yeah, I know, Si, but damn,” Joy replied in frustration. “Did you talk to your dad? Is he still coming up here?” she asked.
“I talked to him, and he said he’ll be up this way in a couple of days. He also told me that the cops are still looking for you, and the Feds stopped by his house again, looking for me and Sleepy.”
“Damn, the Feds are fucking relentless,” Joi said.
Ariana wasn’t the only trouble they had back in Atlanta. Sanaa and Sleepy had sold more drugs than a little bit, and right around the time that Joi and Ariana were going through their situation Sanaa was selling large amounts of cocaine to a federal informant. Sleepy was doing the same, but instead of selling the informant cocaine, Sleepy was selling him heroin. Luckily, by the time the Feds kicked in their doors, Sanaa and Sleepy were on their way back to Philly. At the request of their dad, they had brought the now wanted Joi along with them.
After Joi and Balil had hooked back up, knowing how he was around women, especially young ones, Joi stayed on point whenever new girls came around. Although she was aware of Sleepy and Ariana’s new relationship, she had also found out that Balil and Ariana had shared a romance as well. Balil tried to convince her that it was a one-time sexual thing, and now that Ariana and Sleepy were in love, it was nothing to worry about. But Joi couldn’t stand having Ariana around, and it didn’t help that she had a smart mouth and a temper to go along with it.
One night, after words had been exchanged the two ladies had begun fighting. While Sanaa was attempting to break it up, Joi got to her gun and managed to get three shots off, with two hitting Ariana in the stomach. No one knew that she was pregnant, and unable to call the medics without attracting law enforcement to their spot, they decided to try to drive her. Ariana kept going in and out of consciousness. When it seemed like she was no longer breathing, the girls decided it would be best to just drop her body off in the parking lot of the hospital. Both Sanaa and Joi still believed that she was dead.
In the midst of all of the confusion, they had completely forgotten about the emergency room cameras, which had snapped a picture of the car coming and going. Although the photo was somewhat blurred, it had a full frontal view of Joi. Sanaa happened to have her back turned, while trying to attend to Ariana, who was laid out in the back seat. The photo alone was not what brought detectives to Joi initially. The parking garage camera had caught the license plate of the vehicle they were driving. The automobile was registered to Joi, and it was only going to be a matter of time before things would be put together. But, with all the murders in the ATL, it wouldn’t take long for Ariana’s case to be tossed into a cold case file cabinet. The truth was she was a black woman, and like their male counterparts, there was never too much attention dedicated to their cases. Balil had people connected to the local law enforcement office to keep him aware of the progress of the case, which was why he had decided to send Joi to Philly.
The relationship between Joi and Ariana had affected the whole family and crew, forcing people to take sides. Although Balil had told his son that Ariana had always been flighty, and whenever relationships got too close she would bail, Sleepy just couldn’t believe she would up and leave him without saying anything.
“Come on, let’s go get ya mind off of her.” Sanaa smiled, patting Joi on her lap.
“Where we goin’?” she asked, not really up for doing too much of anything.
Sanaa had a huge smile on her face. “Let’s go spend some of this money,” she said, jumping up and heading out the room.
Boo walked over and looked into his security monitors at some movement that was going on outside his house. He was especially on point around this time, due to the fact that he was printing out money. He really didn’t want anybody knowing when he was doing it, not even his right-hand man. The money plates were the most important part of his process, and he was willing to guard them with his life.
“Ay, Mi Mi,” Boo yelled into the intercom that went from the basement, straight up to the bedroom.
“Yeah, Papi,” she responded, walking over to the small black box hanging by the door.
“Tell dem niggas to come back in a couple of hours,” he said, looking at Tee Tee, Wax and Sticks walking up to the house.
Once Mi Mi dismissed the guys, she went right back into her bedroom and closed the door. She knew that when Boo was in the basement, he didn’t want to be bothered by anyone, not even her.
“A’ight, let’s get dis money,” Boo mumbled to himself as he walked over and hit the “on” switch to the printing machine.
Today, Boo was only printing out twenty-dollar bills. It wasn’t an actual printing machine like the ones the Franklin Mint used, but it was a mini replica that was capable of printing out one size bills at a time. Although small, the machine was loud, so to drown it out, Boo bumped Meek Mill through his stereo system.
To that day, nobody knew how Boo got the plates to make the money, and more than likely that secret was going to die with him. What he did have was a constant reminder for himself of what he had to go through in order to get them. As he did every time before he printed money, Boo lifted up his shirt and rubbed the large stab wound on the left side of his chest. The incident that almost took his life was well worth it to him, and as the first sheet of money rolled out of the printer, Boo looked at it and smiled.
“Come on, babe,” he said, pulling the sheet of twenties from the printing machine.
Sanaa had called everyone to the club, and everyone showed up except Royce. He was always busy in his own little world. Sleepy and Joi must have thought it was happy hour, because they were behind the bar sipping on Patrón.
“A’ight, listen, y’all. We gotta see what dis money do,” Sanaa said, pulling out one hundred grand and placing it on the bar. “Before we really start moving dis shit, I think it’s only right that we treat ourselves to some shopping,” Sanaa said, tossing stacks of money to Joi, Sleepy, Yellow, and E-Money.
Everyone nodded happily in agreement. Ironically, no one in the room was afraid to spend the funny money. It looked, felt, and even smelled like real money, so for them, it wasn’t going to be a problem.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m about to tear King of Prussia Mall down,” Joi said, counting her money.
Sanaa’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. Only two people had the number to that line, and the screen did not show a name or face on it. It only displayed the name Joe Jackson. Sanaa laughed before answering.
Joi could tell from the bright look on her face that the person on the other end of the phone had to be Balil.
“Hi, Daddy,” Sanaa answered, walking away from everyone. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
“What, I can’t call and check up on my princess?” Balil smiled, taking a puff on his cigar.
“Come on, Dad, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t call until the heat cooled down, unless it was an emergency.”
“Well, the Feds haven’t been around for a few weeks, and they stopped sitting on your and ya brotha’s house,” Balil informed her. “Your pops knows how to cover his tracks. I hoped you would find the name funny and answer. As soon as I finish talking to you the phone will be destroyed and it can’t be traced. It is cloned off some teenager or some shit is what Peanut told me. Anyway. Wassup wit’ Joi?”
“You know she’s standing right here staring down my throat,” Sanaa joked and looked over at Joi.
Sanaa walked over and gave Joi the phone, knowing she wanted to talk to him. She missed the hell out of Balil,
and the distance plus the lack of communication was killing her. At times, she regretted doing what she did to Ariana.
“Hi, handsome,” Joi said, turning away and walking to the other side of the bar.
“How are you holding up?” Balil asked, standing up and walking out to the back patio.
Hearing his voice for the first time in months felt so good tears began to fill her eyes. She wanted to go back home bad. So much so, she didn’t care what was waiting on her when she got there, just as long as Balil was there. “I miss you,” Joi whined.
“Hold on, babe,” Balil told her, distracted by the two females who had entered his backyard.
Balil couldn’t believe that he was standing there looking at Ariana, who had a large chrome automatic weapon in her hand. Olivia was strapped too, but she stood at the bottom of the balcony steps while Ariana joined Balil.
“Let me call you back,” Balil said, hanging up the phone before Ariana inquired about who he was talking to. “Long time no see,” he said, placing his phone on the patio table before taking a seat.
“You good people, Balil, and you know I got love for you. I really don’t wanna hurt you, but if you don’t tell me where Joi is, it’s going to get ugly,” Ariana said flat out.
“Damn, you don’t wanna catch up on old times?” Balil joked, trying to play it cool.
Ariana smiled at his humor. One thing she could always count on was Balil being Balil. She had to be honest with herself. Shooting Balil wasn’t going to be easy; it was almost like shooting her own dad. Although she had slept with him, their relationship to her was never about sex. Balil offered the father figure and adult guidance she never had growing up. He taught her about life, and how to survive. It was Balil who helped her get her first car and apartment. And even when they were no longer sexually active and she began liking Sleepy, he never once came between her and his son’s relationship. In fact, it was the opposite. He told Sleepy what a good woman she was, and that he should not make the same mistake he had by letting her go.
Maybe it was the last statement that made Balil’s new woman, Joi, so hateful toward Ariana. Whatever it was, Ariana didn’t have time to try to figure it out now. The lines had been drawn, and either Balil was with her or against her. There was not going to be any playing the fence.
She asked him again, “Where is Joi?”
“Ariana, you know I can’t tell you that. I don’t know what happened between you and Joi, but I’m really not tryin’ to get involved,” Balil said.
Ariana turned her head for a moment. She became frustrated hearing him talk like he wasn’t trying to choose sides. “You know, I looked up to you,” Ariana snapped. “Dis bitch tried to kill me, and that’s the best you can say is that you don’t wanna get involved in it?”
“She’s my wife,” Balil snapped back, raising his voice in anger.
“And ya wife killed ya grandbaby,” Ariana yelled, lifting up her shirt to show Balil the bullet wound in her gut. “Fuck ya wife, Balil,” she said, getting up from the table. “And you know what? Fuck you too.”
Ariana raised the gun and fired two shots into Balil’s gut, knocking him backward out of the chair. She walked over and was about to put another bullet in his head, but she just couldn’t. Looking into his eyes, she could see Sleepy, and almost immediately, she regretted pulling the trigger.
She turned and began to run.
Olivia followed, and both women disappeared just as quickly as they had arrived.
Chapter 11
Sanaa had a beautiful home in the suburbs of Philly. She lived in the Balla Kenwood area, in a house with four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. It had a large chef’s kitchen, a deck with a swimming pool in the back, and it sat on three acres of land. She got it for a good price, $250,000 to be exact, and purchased it under her dad’s name, Marvin Anderson.
She sat out on the back deck trying to get some peace of mind before it was time to get back to the club. It was going to be another busy night, and a little relaxation was needed. Joi must have been thinking the same thing, because she found her way out to the deck as well, not bothered at all by Sanaa’s presence. Even though Sanaa had convinced Joi to stay with her, it wasn’t often they got a chance to sit down and talk, and Sanaa wasn’t about to pass up the chance to unload some of what she had on her mind.
“I love you, sis. I’m glad you’re here wit’ me right now,” Sanaa started. “I swear, I hope I don’t go to jail. If they catch me, they’re gonna put me under that motherfucker,” she said, taking a sip of her lemonade.
Joi smiled, and Sanaa couldn’t help but to notice it. “What are you smiling at?” she asked with a curious look on her face.
“No matter how many times I hear you say it, I can never get tired of hearing you call me sis,” Joi confessed, smiling from ear to ear at the thought of it. “And what are you talking about jail for? Do you really think I’m living in this house with you so that I can watch you go to jail? That’s the last thing you should be thinking about. Shit, it wouldn’t be a prison bus safe in America, as long as they got you in custody,” Joi joked.
It may have been said in a joking manner, and they both actually did laugh, but every word that came out of Joi’s mouth was the truth. Sanaa felt it, although she didn’t say anything. Joi was crazy for real.
“Oh, I meant to ask you earlier, do you think you could open up tonight? I gotta go holla at the hotel manager in a couple hours about that thing,” Sanaa said.
“What thing?” Joi shot back with a curious grin. “And you know ya brotha don’t like me like that,” she added.
“The hotel party, and wait, what makes you think Sleepy doesn’t like you?”
“I think he knows I had something to do with Ariana. You know dat boy fell in love wit’ dat girl. You’re probably the only reason why he hasn’t put a bullet in my head yet,” she joked but was dead serious.
Joi was right. Sleepy had all kinds of animosity toward her, and the only reason he dealt with her was because of Sanaa and his father, and the fact that he wasn’t 100 percent sure about her involvement in Ariana’s disappearance. He would need to be sure before going against his family. Sanaa didn’t see it, but Joi did, so for that reason she stayed on point when she was around him.
“But look, I’ll open for you. You just got to call him and let him know what’s going on,” Joi said.
That was the last of the conversation between the two. For the next couple of hours, they just sat back on the deck and enjoyed each other’s company. As usual, Sanaa’s brain was moving at a fast rate, thinking about the hotel party she had planned, and how she was going to start moving the rest of the counterfeit money. It was a great idea, but Boo didn’t think she was going to be able to pull it off. He didn’t know Sanaa very well. When she was focused on a job, she saw it through, and more than likely, the job was going to get done, especially with that kind of money involved.
Chapter 12
I knew a young woman would be the death of me, Balil thought as he lay bleeding on the ground. He couldn’t believe that Ariana had actually shot him. Immediately, his survival instinct kicked in, and he knew that his only hope of survival was immediate medical attention. He lifted his head slightly and looked around. To his dismay, he didn’t see his phone anywhere on the ground.
Each breath was painful as he laid his head back and used his right hand to apply pressure to his stomach wound. In his peripheral vision, he noticed his cell phone sticking out over the side of the patio table. Now, all he needed to do was get to it. The overturned chair that he had fallen out of lay between him and the table. With his left hand, he pushed the chair out of the way, and then slowly dragged himself over to the table.
The three feet he had traveled to the table felt like 3,000 miles in his weakened state. For a moment, he could only lie still as he tried to catch his breath. His body seemed to weigh a ton, and he was beyond exhausted. The cell phone was so close; all he had to do was reach up and grab it. Just rea
ch up. But he couldn’t; his arm refused to move. Short of breath, Balil felt the fight leaving him. He had never been afraid to die; he just wasn’t ready yet.
“If I perish, I perish,” Balil whispered as his eyes slowly closed.
Instantly, Sanaa’s image emerged in his mindscape and his eyes flew open. He had to warn her about Ariana. Dying would have to wait; his baby girl was in danger. He took a deep breath, and with all his might, he willed his body to follow his mind. A loud grunt escaped as he moved his right arm from his wound, and bent it at his side to steady himself. As he raised his left arm, he leaned on his bent right arm for support, until finally his phone was in his hands.
Balil dialed 911, and immediately an operator answered.
“I’ve . . . been . . . shot. Please hurry,” Balil whispered as he lost consciousness.
Royce returned to his house after putting the $200,000 he’d made the night before in his stash. He rarely kept that kind of money in his home. When he walked through the door, he knew something was wrong. He dropped the lunch he had brought back for Krystol, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out his gun. The total silence in the house made him walk cautiously from the living room, up the stairs. Clothes were all over the place, including on the stairs. Royce had only been gone a little over two hours, and the house was definitely not in this condition when he’d left.
He crept up the stairs and headed straight for his bedroom, but when he got there, the room was empty. Even more clothes were strewn around, and every dresser drawer looked like it had been emptied out. Even Raven’s small dresser was completely empty.
“Krystol,” Royce yelled out, breaking the silence in the home.
There was no answer. Royce walked through the whole house, clearing every room, as if he was a part of the SWAT unit. Nothing and no one was there. He flipped out his cell phone to call Krystol, but when the phone started ringing on the other end, he could hear Krystol’s phone ringing in the bedroom. He walked in to see it lying on the entertainment system, next to an envelope with the word READ on the front.
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