Still Hood

by K'wan

  ROXY PRESSED THE PALMS OF her hands against her ears as tight as she could, but she still couldn’t seem to block out Larry’s screams. After a bout of so-so sex she had gone into the bathroom to take a shower and shortly after heard a loud crashing. She was about to come out and check on Larry, thinking maybe he had fallen, but then she heard the voices. From what it sounded like, Mr. Larry Love had written a check his ass couldn’t cash.

  She paced the tiny bathroom trying to figure out her next move, but kept coming up blank. She thought about trying the window, but it was barred. “Shit,” she mumbled. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, ass-naked. The only way out was through the front door.

  FIFTEEN MINUTES AFTER JAH AND Tech had run up on Larry Love in his crib, he looked like a totally different person. His eyes were almost both nearly sealed from the beating by Jah and Tech, while his body sported well over a hundred paper-thin cuts. At several points they thought he was going to pass out from the blood he’d lost, but tough-ass Larry Love was still breathing, though it was very ragged.

  “This nigga look like a muthafucking pack of chopped meat,” Tech half laughed, half wheezed. He had attacked Larry with more vigor than Jah, and with almost as much brutality. Though he hadn’t done anything to Tech physically, psychologically he fucked him up. In Tech’s young eyes, Jah was like a ghetto Superman. He was the closest Tech had ever been to a legend in the streets, and the young boy wanted to mold himself in Jah’s image. When the events spawning his brother’s death came to pass, something in Jah changed. Tech wouldn’t have gone as far as to call it depression, but it was something akin to that. What Jah was going through dispelled his idea of there being such a thing as the hardest nigga out. Everyone was vulnerable to something, which fucked with his head about his own morality. All this he blamed on Larry Love.

  Blood soaked into the cheap carpet and stained the walls of the studio apartment. Larry Love was stretched out in the middle of the living room, shaking and speaking in tongues. It must have been a muthafucka to be laying there helpless, knowing you were about to check out, but it was his karma that had brought him to that point.

  “P … please,” Larry begged, coughing blood as he spoke.

  Jah leaned in so that his lips were brushing against Larry’s ear and whispered, “I don’t bargain with the dead.” In a sudden thrust, he plunged the piece of window glass through Larry’s nuts. Tech turned away as Jah shoved the glass deeper into Larry’s groin. With a grunt he dragged the glass from Larry’s groin to his chest. When the glass hit Larry’s breastbone, the piece of glass snapped off inside him. Only when the con artist known as Larry Love sighed his last breath did Jah step back to admire his handiwork.

  Suddenly the bathroom door burst open and someone came darting out, catching Jah and Tech by surprise. Before Jah could even clear his gun from the holster, Tech had taken aim. Two loud shots rang off and what appeared to be a woman dropped in the hallway.

  “I thought you said he was alone?” Jah barked, kneeling beside Roxy. She was breathing shallowly, but Tech had hit her with a .40 cal, and there wasn’t no coming back from that. “Damn, you stupid!” Jah yelled, feeling the woman’s pulse slowly stop.

  Tech shrugged as if he had just broken a glass instead of killing an innocent woman. “I didn’t know he was still here with the bitch from the club.”

  Jah rolled Roxy over onto her back. Roxy’s face was peaceful, as if she had just dozed off, but the exit holes in her chest said that she wouldn’t be waking up from that nap. He glared at Tech, ready to bark, but he couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He had brought a teenage boy to do man’s work, and the price was the life of the girl.

  The two bandits manage to escape without incident, but Jah stopped at a pay phone two blocks further up to call 911. Though they wouldn’t make it in time to save her life, she wouldn’t have to lie around rotting until someone found her.

  Chapter 45

  THE SWEET-TASTING DRINK THAT HAD BEEN INTRODUCED to her as a Blue Diamond tasted like a cross between blueberry Kool Aid and Tums, but it had succeeded in getting her completely twisted. The combination of alcohol and heroin had her feeling like her nerve receptors were in overdrive. Every time Black Ice touched her, even casually, she thought she was going to cream her panties.

  “You okay, baby?” Ice stroked her cheek, almost causing her to faint from sheer pleasure.

  “Yeah, I’m just a lil twisted.” She ran her hands along the sides of her face. “That Blue Diamond was strong as hell.”

  “Its Ice’s very own recipe,” Shorty snickered. He had mixed the drink for her, so he knew what it had in it. A Blue Diamond was a mixture of Hpnotiq, club soda, sugar, and ecstasy pills. One of these could make a woman feel more promiscuous than normal, and Dena had already downed three. She would’ve downed a forth, but Ice cut her off, fearing she would overdose.

  Dena giggled like a schoolgirl at what she’d taken to be a joke. Slipping her hand under the table, she began to massage Ice’s dick. “Daddy, when we get out of here I want you to fuck me in every hole,” she whispered in his ear.

  Black Ice smiled at knowing the drug had completely kicked in. “Why wait?” He stroked her crotch under the table. He could feel that Dena had completely soaked through her panties. Black Ice took Dena by the arm and helped her to the feet. Had it not been for his strong hands holding her up, she’d have fallen back down.

  “Dena, are you okay?” Wendy asked, not knowing what Ice was up to.

  “Yeah, girl, I’m good,” Dena slurred. Her lids were so heavy it was a wonder she could see anything.

  “Damn, Ice, that girl is fried!” Lisa exclaimed.

  “Yes, our lil fresh fish is finally coming out of her shell,” he said slyly. Ice leaned down to whisper into Shorty’s ear. “Go find that bitch Lexi and send her in the back. Then go see Stacks and tell that fat muthafucka to have my money right when I get back.” After giving Shorty his instructions, Black Ice led Dena towards the bedrooms.

  Black Ice had barely closed the bedroom door before Dena was on him. She was kissing his face and touching him everywhere she could get her hands at one time. Ice had to restrain her to keep the girl from ripping his silk shirt.

  “Take it easy, baby,” he said, tossing her on the bed. The room was only illuminated by the street light shining through the window, but he could see her squirming, with her eyes rolling back in her head.

  Dena rolled around on the bed like she couldn’t sit still if she wanted to. “Oh, I need you inside me, Ice.” She hiked her skirt and began playing with herself.

  Black Ice stood at the foot of the bed and pulled his dick out. Glaring down at Dena, he began stroking himself. “You want some dick, do ya?” he teased. “Then beg for it. Beg Daddy for this love bone!”

  “Please,” she pawed at him, “Daddy, come put this fire out.”

  “Suck it, like a good bitch!” he ordered, and Dena all too happily complied.

  She took Ice in her mouth and began to suck him like a Rocket Pop on a summer day. Dena dug her nails into Ice’s ass cheeks through his slacks, forcing him further down her throat. He was thoroughly surprised when she took all of him without gagging. Suddenly there was a third set of hands added to the mix.

  With one hand, Lexi juggled Ice’s balls, while stroking Dena’s cheek with the other. With some effort, Lexi was able to pry Dena’s mouth off Ice’s wood and began kissing her. Dena resisted at first, but it felt so natural that she eventually just went with the flow. Lexi forced Dena back onto the bed and mounted her. In slow deliberate motions, she began grinding her naked pussy against Dena’s panties. Dena could feel the beautiful heat, but the fabric seemed to be denying her some of the sensation, so she ripped them off and tossed them behind her.

  Ice watched from the doorway as the two girls kissed passionately and grinded against each other. The scene was so hot that he had to stop himself from joining in. But Ice believed in business before pleasure. Smiling like a proud father,
he slipped from the bedroom and rejoined the party.

  “WHAT’S GOOD, HOMEY?” STACKS ASKED eagerly as Ice walked back over to their table.

  “Everything is right as rain,” Ice said proudly. “The bitch is all primed and ready for you in the back, man.” Stacks almost knocked his chair over trying to get to the bedroom, but Ice stopped him short. “Now, there’s the little matter of my bread.”

  “How much?” Stacks asked hungrily. Paying for pussy wasn’t a problem for him, because that was the only way he got laid before he started getting money. Besides, he had been smitten with Dena ever since he had seen her at the video shoot.

  “A grand for Dena and five hundred for Lexi.” Ice said flatly.

  “Shit, you want a thousand dollars for that pussy?” Cooter spoke up as though it was his money on the table.

  Black Ice turned a cold stare to him. “Man, all my bitches pull top dollar, and that lil freak back there ain’t never been touched.”

  “Sweet pussy!” Don B raised his bottle. He and everyone else at the table was drunk as hell. “Stacks, go ahead and break that bitch in so I can get a taste.”

  Stacks hurriedly pulled out his bankroll and peeled off fifteen one-hundred-dollar bills, which he slapped in Ice’s palm. “We good?”

  Ice had watched him count the money out, but took a minute to do it again to build on Stacks’s already mounting lust. “Do ya thing, player.” Ice patted Stacks on the back.

  “You niggaz hold down the fort and I’ll be back in a minute,” Stacks told his crew as he waddled towards the bedroom. His hands shook nervously as he fumbled with the door to the bedroom. When he pushed the door open and saw the freak show that was going on, a lone tear rolled down his cheek. This was going to be his most memorable trip to New York yet.

  LEXI PICKED HER HEAD UP from between Dena’s thighs when she heard the door creak open. When she saw Stacks Green’s bulky frame slide into the room a broad smile spread across her face. She had been jealous of Dena since Ice had copped her and was glad the high-maintenance chick was finally about to get busted out. She stopped eating Dena’s pussy and positioned her to return the favor. Dena was so gone that she didn’t even complain, she just did as she was told.

  Dena had never been with a woman before, but under the sway of the drug she took to it like a fish to water. With her ass cocked in the air she proceeded to lap at Lexi’s pussy. When Lexi came in her mouth it was like a sweet cream that Dena wanted more of, so she plunged her tongue deeper. Dena felt a large pair of hands grip her waist, but when she tried to lift her head to see what was going on, Lexi pulled it back down into her pussy. She could feel fingers being inserted into her and it sent shockwaves of pleasure through her body. She pushed back against the fingers, shoving them deeper into her box.

  Stacks’s dick got hard as a rock when he saw how wet his fingers were. Dena’s ass looked like a sweet apple, hiked in the air. Him being the freak nigga he was, he couldn’t avoid burying his face in her pussy. Dena came so hard that it dripped down Stacks’s chin and onto the bedsheet below. Her cum tasted bitter, yet sweet at the same time, as he lapped at her pussy, and worked his tongue up to her asshole. Dena hissed like a cat, and if she could’ve she would’ve shoved his whole head inside her pussy. He was glad that his boys weren’t inside, because they would’ve surely clowned him for it.

  When Stacks finally raised up to slip inside Dena, the head of his dick was already swollen and dripping. He went through the motions of fumbling with the condom, but seeing Dena’s beautiful dripping pussy he knew he had to taste it raw for the first time. Aiming it with his thumb, he slipped his short, fat cock inside Dena. With a squishing sound he plunged as deep inside Dena’s box as his belly would allow, and sure enough it felt like a summer day. Stacks had intended to only get a stroke or two off before putting the condom on, but before he knew it he had already cum. If Dena knew that he had come inside her she showed no signs of it, as she continued to eat Lexi’s pussy.

  After all the money he had spent, Stacks would be damned if all he got was one nut. Pulling his wet dick out of Dena, he moved around the side of the bed to stand over Lexi. Being a seasoned ho, Lexi already knew what he wanted and proceeded to suck Stacks’s dick. Looking behind Dena, she could see the door creak open again she could see Don B slip into the room for his chance at glory. Had Lexi not had Stacks’s dick in her throat, she would’ve laughed at what she knew was about to go down.

  BLACK ICE SAT AT HIS table with his man Shorty and his ladies, sipping champagne like it was all good. He carefully watched the line starting to form at the bedroom door and did the math in his head about how much money he would make off Dena by the end of the night. Yes, he had indeed picked a winner.

  “Damn, Lexi’s ass is getting it in back there,” Wendy said, watching the crowd.

  “Shit, Lexi might get the best supporting actress, but lil Dena is the star,” Lisa informed her.

  “Dena? Ice, you left that poor girl back there?” Wendy asked heatedly.

  “Poor my ass, she was begging for a cock the last time I saw her,” Ice said.

  “Nah, don’t break her in like that,” Wendy stood up to go rescue Dena, but Ice’s steel grip clamped on her wrist.

  “Bitch, where do you think you’re going?” he asked in a chilly tone.

  “Ice, you and I both know that girl ain’t in her right frame of mind. Now, I’m all for the game of pimping and hoing, but not like that. It ain’t right!” Wendy told him.

  “Bitch, who is you to tell me what the fuck is right? I’m the Ice Man!” He snatched her back down into the seat. “Now, that lil ho is earning me twice as much paper as yo old, emotional ass brought in tonight, so I say she can take dick till she passes the fuck out. If you don’t like the way I do thangs, then you can hit the high road like that bitch Cinnamon.”

  Wendy looked at him with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t crying because of what he said, she was crying because of what he’d done. Once upon a time, she had been Dena, and the end result was her not being able to have children anymore. The men who Ice had let run up in her had damaged her physically and psychologically.

  “You’re a real fucking asshole, Ice!” She jerked away from him and stormed off.

  “You want me to go get her?” Shorty asked.

  “Nah,” Ice said over the rim of his champagne flute. “Let the bitch roll. If she wanna bounce I got a replacement for her,” he said, watching a girl who didn’t look to be more than sixteen or seventeen, shyly giving a man a lap dance in the corner. “You’ve got more pressing business to attend to.” Ice motioned towards Raheem, who was leaving the spot alone.

  Shorty nodded his head. He gave Raheem about a thirty-second head start before getting up to follow him.

  Chapter 46

  JAH WAS GONE LONGER THAN HE HAD INTENDED to. After sending Larry Love to the after-life, he had to change his shirt because the one he had on was bloody. He couldn’t go home to Yoshi like that, so they had stopped by Tech’s crib to get a replacement. The shirt was a little snugger against the vest than Jah would’ve liked, but it would do. After leaving Tech’s house Jah went back to the brownstone.

  When he got back there seemed to be twice as many girls there than when he left, if that was possible. Picking his way through the crowd, he literally bumped into the short cat that he always saw with the pimp, Ice. Shorty bounced off Jah without giving a second look. His eyes were fixed on someone or something near the exit. It wasn’t Jah’s business, so he kept it moving.

  It took him almost ten minutes to make it to the third floor and another ten to get back to his table. Soda and True were getting lap dances from two young ladies, while Don B and Stacks were sitting in the corner wearing sleepy grins, but there was no sign of Cooter.

  “That must’ve been one hell of a nut,” True said as Jah sat back down.

  “I had a little situation I had to take care of right quick,” Jah told him.

  “A situation that needed you to chan
ge clothes?” Don B asked suspiciously. “You know what, fam, I don’t even wanna know. As long as you don’t bring no heat on our heads, I’m good.”

  “Damn, that was a good shot,” Cooter said, flopping back into his seat. “Stacks, you wasn’t lying about that pussy. Shorty sho nuff got that good!”

  “My nigga, I think she was so high she couldn’t tell my dick from yours,” Stacks said.

  “Man, high or not, a bitch can tell the difference between a snake and a worm,” Cooter teased him.

  Don B and Stacks kicked jokes back and forth about how good the young whore’s pussy was, and how, though she was high, she loved every minute of it. Jah’s mind whirled back to how his own woman had been taken advantage of in a similar, yet more brutal, manner. He wondered if her attackers had told roundtable stories about Yoshi before they died, and it made him furious. Before he even realized he was moving, his hand was on the butt of his gun. Thankfully, he was able to get himself under control before he did something stupid. At that moment he made up his mind that when he caught True’s stalker it would be the last job he took from a rapper.

  RAHEEM WAS ROARING DRUNK WHEN he left the locked-door, but that didn’t stop him from staggering down the block to his car in an attempt to drive himself home. Shooter and Marcus had left a few hours beforehand, but Raheem decided to stay so he could run up the tab Ice opened for them. He made sure to order the best of everything on the man’s dime.

  As he stumbled east on 128th he cursed the parking situation in New York City. He had to leave his car all the way on Park Avenue. As he crossed Madison, an eerie feeling crept over him, like he was being watched. Raheem looked around but didn’t see anybody but a crackhead shambling down the other side of the street. Shrugging it off, he continued to his car. Thankfully, he found the Camry just as he’d left it, sitting under a broken streetlight. When he opened the passenger side door to put his jacket in, something looped over his head and tightened about his neck. Raheem struggled, but there was too much weight on his back.