by Sasha Ravae
“What’s up, Trina?” Reko asked walking inside.
“What’s up?” Omari said following behind him as he shut the door.
“Hey.”
“Good looking on letting me have the meeting here.”
“No problem, but I was hoping I could talk to you about something.”
“Something like what?”
“About what Franco said,” she said looking him in the eyes.
“I thought we deaded that shit in Miami?”
“Maybe you did, but I started thinking about what he said when I got back home.”
“And?”
“And I want in. Franco said that if I give him the word, he’ll only deal directly with me.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, it’s strategy. You need me, Reko. I now have the work, the money, the assets…”
“Trina, this is not an election. You don’t get head of the table just cause you were sucking my man’s dick.”
“Come on, Reko, bruh,” Omari interrupted.
“No, it’s okay, Mar. Reko, it seems like you’ve been feeling some type of way.”
“Yeah, I have, but out of respect for Jo, I kept my mouth closed.”
“Well, he’s not here now, so say what you gotta say once and for all.”
“I never saw what he saw in you. I mean I see it physically obviously,” he said standing back looking at her curvaceous body, “but up here, I don’t see it. He saved you, so basically before King Jo, you was out here shaking your ass for dollar bills, and now you think you about to cash in on my nigga’s fortune? The craziest part was I knew something was up with you, so I talked to a few people, and they said that you chose to be a hoe.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, let me rephrase that. You chose to let niggas stuff crumpled ones in your pussy. You don’t have any kids, your parents are well-off, still married, and currently living in Elk Grove where they have been for over thirty years. You’re a fraud. The fake blonde hair, the attitude, the pretend hustle, all fraud. I let Jonah know as soon as your card got pulled, but he didn’t listen.”
“Reko, you don’t know me, and whatever little investigative work you think you did was a waste of your fucking time. Why I decided to dance is none of your business. I said what I had to say. We can either do this the easy way, so we all can eat, or you can play yourself and be out here dry as fuck. The money slows down when there’s no work, baby, you should know that. Either way I win.”
“You think RG is gonna push for you? You’re crazier than I thought.”
“Who do you think they’re gonna come to, Reko? And let me fill you in on a little secret. Jonah may have convinced you that Sacramento was his only area of interest, but what sense does that make? Jonah has a whole network across the country. I could replace the thirty or so of you in a day. I’m trying to be nice, Reko.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Sac was Jonah’s home, but that’s not where the money stopped. He has hot spots in Arizona, Houston, Miami, New York, just to name a few, and from that stupid-ass look on your face, I’m convinced now that you really had no idea,” she said laughing.
“Shut up,” he said scratching his head, “Shut up,” but she kept on laughing. Reko reached down into his waist band and pulled his pistol from behind his back. Trina quickly closed her mouth as she looked down the black barrel of the gun.
“Reko, nigga, come on. Calm down. We can talk about this,” Omari said as Reko pressed the gun into her forehead.
“Fuck talking. You just saw me. I tried to talk, but as I thought, this hoe feels entitled and can’t seem to stay in her place. You were there to fuck Jonah not make boss moves, Trina, but I can see now that you may have been confused. Jo made you feel included, like an equal, but let me tell you, baby, you have never been or will ever be a part of RG let alone running it. You know why Jonah kept me around? Because I’m not afraid to kill a mothafucka right where they stand. I’d actually be doing you a favor. You and Jonah could be together forever.” Trina never took her eyes off his. “What do you say, Trina? Are you gonna be a good little girl, or am I gonna have to shoot you in that pretty little face of yours?”
Trina looked down at the ground before she spit right in Reko’s face. Before he could wipe it all away, he grabbed her by her throat cutting off any air left in her body. “I’m not Jo,” he whispered as he snatched her closer, “I do not give two fucks about you.”
“Reko,” Ron said finally coming from the back of the house after hearing all the commotion, “I can’t let you do that, bruh. Chill out and just let her go.”
“Fuck this bitch. Everybody wanna save her ass, but I’m not that one. She didn’t want to stay in a woman’s place, so now I’ma treat her like the rest of these fuck niggas,” he said jamming the barrel of his gun into the side of her head.
“Reko, please put the gun down,” Ron said stepping closer.
“Naw, bruh, not this time,” he said tightening his grip on her throat, “I’m not bout to take orders from no bitch. It’s either her or me, and it’s not gon’ be me.”
“Man, I wish you wouldn’t of said that,” Ron said putting his head down.
BOP. BOP. BOP.
Before Reko got the chance to pull the trigger, Ron put three bullets in his chest. He instantly dropped his gun and fell to the floor. Trina grabbed her swollen neck and gasped for air.
“Ron, blood, what did you do?” Omari asked rushing to check Reko’s pulse, but there was none, “He’s dead.”
“He was gonna kill her, Omari.”
“But it’s Reko. That’s our brother, nigga.”
“I promised Jonah that I was gonna watch out for her. I couldn’t just sit back and watch him kill her. What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Omari said punching a hole in the clay-colored wall.
“Trina, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” she said continuing to massage her neck, “What do we do now? Everybody is still coming over here.”
“Listen, I’ll take care of Reko. Trina, you go and clean yourself up. Omari…”
“Blood, you want me to pretend like you didn’t just murk our potnah?” he asked as anger filled his chest.
“Do what you gotta do,” Ron said handing him his gun, “I did what I swore to Jonah I would do. I fulfilled my promise, so kill me. My blood for his blood. I know my consequences.”
Omari raised the gun and pointed it straight at Ron’s face.
“Mar, listen,” Trina said walking in front of the gun, “Reko was right, okay? RG is not gonna take orders from me, but you, you’re different. You’re smart like Jonah. Reko was just muscle, and he let that go to his head, but me and you can make this work. We can work together to make more money than we know what to do with. What do you say?”
He put the gun down as he thought about Trina’s proposition. “You’re not just a side-kick, Omari. You deserve to be in the front. I know what Ron did was wrong, and I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen. Let’s not lose someone else, okay?”
“What do I have to do?”
Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.
“Fuck, they’re here,” Trina said starting to panic.
“Trina, listen, go fix yourself up. I’ll take care of this,” Ron whispered as he slowly rolled Reko’s bleeding body in the giant multicolored rug that sat in the middle of the foyer, “Omari, let everybody in and take them to the living room.”
“What the fuck do I tell them?”
“That the Rich Gang has declared a new king and queen.”
Chapter 7
Three Months Later…
“Ay, you know we got RG in the building tonight,” DeAndre said into the mic. The crowd went crazy as Omari stood up in his section with two silver bottles in both hands. Girls from the lightest of the light to the darkest of the dark surrounded him, but Trina was right by his side. She felt angelic in her all-white bodyc
on dress, but the $100,000 around her neck made her feel like royalty.
After Ron left the night he killed Reko, Omari addressed his fellow RG members. He excused Reko’s absence but assured them that together they had come to the conclusion that he was the one who would be able to take Rich Gang to the next level. Many were surprised by Reko’s sudden release of power, but nonetheless, they supported the decision. Omari was quiet, but he never hesitated when it came to business. An hour later, Trina joined him wearing a turtleneck dress hoping to hide the marks that Reko left behind. Omari was unsure about revealing her new role, but he had to be transparent. The group was hesitant, but she assured them that she didn’t intend on changing how they did business; she just wanted the business to be efficient, and with the thousand keys Franco was prepared to add each month, she needed everything to be right. For the rest of the night, Omari and Trina laid out the new pipeline to filter all the new work through, and for the next three months, they closed deal after deal after deal with new suppliers across the country. Jonah’s killer was never found, but all the money they made allowed Trina to forget her pain more and more.
“Ayyy,” she said as Nicki Minaj’s “Truffle Butter” blared though the speakers, “Just thinking out loud, I must have about a milli on me right now, and I ain’t talking about the Lil Wayne record…” She reached over and snatched the blunt Omari had in his hand. The alcohol in her system had her feeling bold. “I invited Yari,” she confessed.
“What you do that for?” he yelled over the music.
“She’s my friend, and I’m celebrating. She should be here.”
“Ask me if I care though. It’s been months, Trina. I think she gets the picture by now.”
“No, it’s cool. She’s coming with somebody.”
“Coming with somebody?” he asked rolling his eyes, “Here we go.”
“No, seriously, she’s coming up here with her boyfriend Malachi and a few of his potnahs I think.”
“How long she been fucking with him?” he asked suddenly getting jealous. He hated to admit it, but he had gotten use to Yari chasing him.
“Like three, four months. I haven’t met him yet, but I’m glad she finally found somebody. You did my girl scandalous.”
“Who?”
“You, Omari. You know she loved you.”
“She loved this money. She didn’t love me, and I’m not into entertaining an opportunist. A nigga needs love too, you know?”
“Shut your sensitive-ass up,” she laughed.
“What ya’ll laughing at?” Ron asked walking into the VIP section.
“Your boy,” she said laughing again,” Where you been? I feel like I never see you anymore.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest.
“I’ve been around. I just had some things to handle.”
“I heard they found Reko’s body in the river.”
“Not here, okay, Trina?” he said filling up a cup full of the various liquors near him. As he began to drink, hoping to get on everyone else’s level, Trina’s phone rang.
“It’s Yari,” she said to Omari, “I’ll be right back.”
Trina managed to squeeze through the crowd heading toward the patio. Before she could reach the door, Yari grabbed her by her arm.
“Ahhhhhh,” they both screamed.
“Hey, bitch,” she said giving her a hug.
“Let’s go outside,” Trina yelled in her ear, “It’s hella loud in here.”
She grabbed Yari’s hand and led her to the patio not noticing the man who followed closely behind her.
“Trina, I wanna introduce you to somebody. This is Malachi,” she said proudly pulling the hunky stranger beside her. His neatly parted dreads hung to the middle of his back, and his milk chocolate skin was flawless. He towered over Yari’s small frame, but they looked perfect together. “Malachi, this is my Bestest Trina.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said extending his hand, “Yari talks a lot about you. It’s a small world.”
“Small world?” she asked taking a drag from the doubie she held in her hand.
“You will never guess who his friend is,” Yari said unable to hide her smile.
“Who?”
“You’re literally gonna die when I tell you.”
“Yari, stop playing. Who?”
“Los.”
Trina felt as if the world had suddenly stopped. Los and she were high school sweethearts. They first started dating when they were only 13, and all the way until she graduated high school, he was the only man she had ever been with. He was her first everything, and Trina’s parents hated that because Los treated her like shit, but no matter how many times he cheated on her, she never left. She tried to convince herself that they were both young to excuse his infidelity, but when they graduated, Los’ family moved to Atlanta, and being that he didn’t have any prospects in Sacramento, he left too. Trina just knew that he was going to stay for her, but she was wrong. On his last night in Sacramento, he drove to her house despite her parents’ disapproval. They spent the night together, and Trina expressed her undying love for Los while he was finally closing the chapter on their relationship. After laying her soul and body out on the line, she watched him as he slept once they finished making love. The TV illuminated his face, and she knew deep down that would be the last time she ever saw him again. Having to catch an early flight, Los left at 4 a.m., but he called Trina from the airport before he left, and through her tears, he told her that he loved her, and he would never forget her.
Even though they weren’t together anymore, she still expected for them to always remain friends because that’s how they started, but over time, the calls and messages stopped, and they became acquaintances at best. Trina did her best to not think about him, but no matter what or who she did, he always stayed on her mind.
A couple years later, Los came back to Sacramento to visit a girl he was dating at the time, but to Trina’s surprise, she was the first person he called when he touched down. They had barely been in contact the entire time he had been Atlanta, so she had no idea why he was reaching out, but she didn’t care. Los picked her up, and they spent the day parked at a park not too far from Trina’s house blowing it down. The weed in the air became a veil of truth for them, so she used that to finally get her questions answered.
“Did you miss me?” she asked placing her head against the headrest.
“Why you ask that? I’m here, right?”
“Los, you’ve been gone for like three years. You come out here cause some bitch flew you out, so, sorry I have to ask.”
“We were having a cool day. What’s up?”
“What’s up? You left because your parents left. Okay, I get that, but what about us? Now you’re back to be with this broad. Why her?”
“Trina, don’t do this,” he said sighing.
“Why her?” She crossed her arms and waited for him to answer.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“She’s different. You’re safe, Trina. You’re a good girl, and don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing the matter with that, but I’m all about getting out of my comfort zone though. I mean you’re like a little-ass girl. You have to get your parents’ permission for everything. Do they even know you’re here?”
“Fuck you, Los, I’m grown.”
“I can’t tell. Trina, I’ll always love you, but I’m not in love with you.”
Just thinking about that day hurt her all over again. Los had outgrown her and their high school relationship, but she didn’t know how to let go of the rejection even years later. When Trina went home, she stared in the mirror at her Plain Jane appearance. From her soft brown hair, to the clothes she used to cover up, everything screamed boring. At 22, she needed a change. When Los went back to ATL, he was once again out of sight out of mind, but Trina refused to be passed up by a man ever again. One day while getting her sandy brown locks dyed platinum blonde, Trina overheard Yari talking a
bout her night working at club Wet. Trina was shy back then, but the idea of men paying her to worship and lust after her flesh was something she wanted more than anything in the world. She felt so invisible, but for once, she wanted to be seen as that bitch.
After their appointments, Trina caught Yari in the parking lot before she had a chance to get to her car. “Ummm, excuse me.”
“Yeah,” Yari said opening up the door to her bright red, Lexus Coupe.
“I overheard in the shop that you work at Wet.”
“I do, why?” she asked looking Trina up and down.
“I was wondering if they’re hiring.”
“Hiring?” she laughed, “I mean they have auditions and what not. Why you asking though? You interested?”
“Maybe.”
“Look, you’re hella cute, and under them sweatpants, I’m assuming you gotta little body on you, but I’m not tryna refer you or no shit like that, but if you’re serious, come up there tonight. I’ll introduce you to the owner,” Yari said getting into her car, “Oh, and lose the sweats.”
Trina stood in the parking lot as Yari pulled out. The sunset left the sky a grayish-orange color, so she knew that nightfall was close behind, and she had no time to waste. When she got home, she didn’t even recognize herself. Her parents didn’t like the sudden change, but Trina had to do something to break out of the box she had been raised in. After painting her face and putting on the tightest dress she owned, she left home and never looked back. She eventually started making enough money to not have to. Once onstage, Trina felt empowered. She loved the attention she received, and she fell in love with the girl she created herself to be for the world. When Jonah walked in club Wet and they locked eyes, he saw the woman and not the little girl she tried so hard to run away from. He willingly gave her the world, so she was convinced that she had changed for the better, but at the end of the day, Los was at the root of it all.