Vanessa sucked her teeth. “I've been shooting damn near every day.”
“Baby, Pepsi don't shoot back. There’s a big difference between them bottles and hearing bullets whiz by your head. Or when you're shooting at somebody who don't run, because they got a gun too. Better yet, when you can't tell which way the bullets are coming from, but you know they got your name on 'em. These the type of details that mysteriously get left out of the war stories dudes brag about in the 'hood.” Rich chuckled. “Everybody wanna be a gangster. Beef ain't just physical; it's a mental game. Some real psychological shit.”
Vanessa was silent.
“Come here, baby,” Rich said.
She took two steps. “I'm wallowing in my own guilt, devastated about Candy. I'm scared for you and frustrated about everything else.”
“It's okay, baby. Real situations cause real emotions to flare.”
“Tell me something I don't know,” Vanessa said.
Rich sat on the bed with Vanessa. “You gotta have faith in me, baby. You and Candy. If I tell y'all this gon' get done right, you can believe I ain't just talking 'cause I got lips.”
“I believe in you, Rich. I always have. That's why I fell in love with you.”
“That's the type of talk I need to hear, baby.”
Vanessa kissed Rich and smiled. She went back into the living room with Candy. She sat down, allowing Candy to rest her head on her lap. Vanessa told Candy what Rich had just explained to her.
“And you ate all that bullshit up, huh?” Candy shook her head.
“We both know his mind is made up.”
“Yeah, you right.”
“He's been through a lot in the streets,” Vanessa said. “Maybe this is light work for him.”
“I hope so.”
Rich stepped in the living room and kicked back on the recliner, facing the women as they became silent. “You can't hide nothing from me.” He grinned. “Go 'head and tell me what y'all was saying 'bout me.”
“That we understand your stubborn ass,” Candy said.
Rich nodded. “I'm glad to see you smile again.”
Candy blushed.
“So what happens when this is all over?” Vanessa asked.
“We take a break for a minute. Then maybe it's time for us to spread out. Don't y'all think so?” Rich said that the shop was falling apart and Candy would need time to manage her new business. He also mentioned that Vanessa's career was soaring and each of them needed to promote the book. “It would be good to start focusing on a fresh place outside of New York.”
“I don't know,” Vanessa said.
“You don't know what? Whether to fly the coop, or where we should land?” Rich asked.
“How 'bout the A?” Candy added.
“Atlanta.” Rich nodded. “I like that.”
“They have the Bronner Brothers hair show down there. That's perfect for my hair care products.”
“Maybe open a new Candy's Shop, too.” Vanessa smiled.
The more they talked, the more Vanessa felt things would turn out right. It was the first time in a while that life seemed close to normal. Most of the time they had spent in the cabin had been filled with debates, guilt trips and pessimism. But now, as they sat together in unity, Vanessa felt like they were back in the penthouse.
Although she liked the idea of moving, Vanessa missed living in New York City already. Seeing Mimi and the women from the shop at the hospital made her realize that in spite of all the drama, they shared a concern for each other. It pained her not to call Mimi. But Rich had insisted that Vanessa and Candy not contact anyone from the city. Leah had been leaving messages on Candy's phone, informing her that she was running the shop while she was gone. Rich did not want to risk anyone finding out where they were located. He knew that in the midst of a conversation, Vanessa or Candy could unintentionally mention something about where they were. Vanessa argued that Rich had been to the city countless times since they left the hospital. But she knew Rich had not been out socializing in Harlem. He was discreetly riding through the neighborhood in an unfamiliar car, peeping through tinted windows for any sign of Chase.
“It's about that time,” said Rich, as he headed to take a nap.
“Who would've ever thought we would end up here?” Candy said. “I never thought I would deal with another man.”
“Falling in love with a man of the streets was definitely not on my agenda.”
“That's life. Unpredictable,” Candy said. “Even with all the bullshit we've been though, I wouldn't trade this relationship for anything.”
“This is real love.”
“Everybody is looking for it, but only a chosen few find it.”
Candy smiled. “I watched women come in and out of the shop for years, always complaining about men trouble.”
Vanessa thought of all the scorned women she had seen come in the shop in just months. They had told story after story about sour relationships and hopeless futures with men. Even Meisha and Chanel were crying out to be loved, though masking their craving by slandering men. Their vocal demeanors were smoke screens and Vanessa knew it. Leah was the only person in the shop who was in love and it showed through her levelheaded approach to life. Being in love could humble a person. For Vanessa, love was life. She could not exist without either one. She knew that, thanks to Rich and Candy.
RICH
Rich was sunk low in the seat of a Toyota Corolla. It was an old model he had kept parked outside his cabin for years. It was also the same vehicle he had used to creep in and out of New York City on the prowl for Chase. For two months, he had been unsuccessfully searching. He assumed Chase had vanished somewhere out of town like he had done after Pana had shot at him. It was a waiting game. But the game would be worth the wait.
Rich looked through the tinted windows of the Corolla, as he steered down Chase's block. He slowed down and pulled over at the sight of Chase's Mercedes. It was parked directly in front of Chase's brownstone. Rich was parked five cars down and across the street.
It was the first time he had seen the Mercedes during his hunt for Chase. This was the opportunity Rich had carefully waited for while he watched Candy suffer. It had been two months since she had been kidnapped and tortured. Although she had fully recovered physically, there were psychological scars Rich, Candy and Vanessa had that would never heal. The images of Candy lying helplessly in the hospital would be forever engrained in Rich's mind. For this, he was determined to give Chase a slow death. The usual penalty of a few bullets to the head was too kind for Chase.
Rich switched the safety off on his Desert Eagle. He pulled his hood over his head. He stalked down the street and stabbed one of the back tires on Chase's Mercedes, then doubled back to his Corolla. He pulled off and parked two cars down, across the street from the Mercedes. Rich watched the back tire deflate. It was almost midnight and no lights could be seen through Chase's windows. Rich knew it would be a long night.
With some luck, Chase might hit the street early like the mornings he had dropped by Rich's penthouse before 9:00 a.m., focused on having the edge on their competition. But no matter what time he left, Rich would be waiting. The stay was a small cost for the taste of revenge that was teasing his tongue.
* * *
The sun was up and Rich's eyes had not closed since he parked across the street from Chase's home. He had spent the night talking to Vanessa and Candy by speaker phone, before they dozed off around after 3:00 a.m. He listened to music on Hot 97 from the car radio until the morning. He had watched what seemed like all of Chase's neighbors head out of their homes. They held book bags, briefcases and other things that marked them as law abiding citizens starting a new day of normal lives. It was a normalcy Rich yearned. Chase might be the only street dude on this block.
Just after 10:00 a.m. Rich saw Chase finally surface on the deserted block. Rich's heartbeat raced as he pulled out his Desert Eagle. Instinctively, he wanted to fill Chase's head with every hollow point slug in his gun. Bu
t he had a plan to follow. He rocked back and forth, impatiently watching Chase get inside the Benz and start it.
Rich’s cell rang and it was Candy. “She’s gone, Rich! She’s not here!”
“Calm down. What happened?”
“I just woke up and Vanessa is nowhere in sight. She didn’t leave a note or anything, like usual. She’s gone, Rich. I’m up in here by myself scared.”
“Look under the bed.” Rich said, watching Chase. He had barely pulled into the street, when he backed up the car and got out. “There’s a Timberland box under the bed with two ten millimeters in it,” Rich continued. He was trying to comprehend what was going on with Candy and Vanessa, while he focused on Chase.
“Rich, I’m—”
“I gotta move.” Rich cut Candy short and eased the car door open. He darted forward as Chase checked his tire.
As Rich closed in, Chase looked up, pulled his gun and fired in one swift motion, seconds before Rich squeezed off two rounds. Both men scrambled for cover, Chase behind his Benz and Rich behind a tree.
“Fuck!” Rich said frustrated and angry. He peeped around the tree and a bullet whizzed by his face. He braced himself, then sprinted to a nearby Range Rover as a trail of bullets followed him, shattering every window of the truck. “It’s now or never,” Rich mumbled his back pressed against the Range Rover. He crept around the back and began firing, stepping forward.
Chase ducked behind his Benz just as one of Rich’s bullets met his shoulder.
Rich watched Chase scramble on the ground for his gun, which he had dropped. As Chase grabbed the Beretta and raised it, Rich said, “Don’t even do it.”
“That’s you, Rich?” Chase responded to the familiar voice. He frowned in anger, then rose his gun.
Rich fired, hitting chase in the arm sending him back to the ground with his gun beside him.
“Ahh,” Chase blurted. “Fuck you, Rich!”
Rich kicked him in the face and snatched the .45-caliber Kimber Eclipse from the ground. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and dropped them on Chase. “Put ‘em on.”
“Fuck outta here.” With what little strength the wounded thug had, Chase tossed the cuffs.
Rich picked them up, cuffed Chase and hauled him off towards his Corolla like a detective with a perp.
“This how it's goin' down?” Chase asked, trying to struggle free.
Rich slammed the bulky Desert Eagle into Chase's face. He pushed him forward and aimed the gun at the back of his head and forced him inside of the trunk. Just as he slammed the trunk shut, two of Chase's soldier stormed from his home, guns blazing. “Oh shit.” Rich ducked behind the Corolla, as fully automatic fire tore through its tinted windows.
“Ya ass is dead, motherfucker,” one of Chase's soldiers yelled.
Rich peeked around the back of the car and two bullets ripped through the taillights, nearly piercing Rich's head. Chards of the plastic light covers hit his face. Fuck! Rich eased to the front of the Corolla. He peaked up and fired six shots. Three hollow points hit the first soldier in the chest. His body slammed back, flipping over a fire hydrant. His finger was locked on the trigger of a Mac-11. The submachine gun continued firing, as the lifeless man lie in a rapidly growing pool of his own blood.
The other solider stepped forward, squeezing the triggers of two 9-millimeters. “Motherfucker!” he screamed like an insane lunatic.
As Rich ducked down, two bullets hit his chest. He was lifted off his feet like a bag of garbage hurled from the truck of a sanitation worker. Rich's back slammed to the sidewalk first, followed by his head. The sound of the bullets continued. Rich saw the second soldier's head emerge from behind the car. With a clear shot, Rich managed to aim and squeeze, but his gun jammed.
“Stupid motherfucker,” Chase's soldier smiled, slowly stepping toward Rich. “You gon' bite the bullet for real.” He stood directly over Rich, and reached down, trying to jam one of his 9-millimeters into Rich's mouth.
“Bong, bong, bong, bong!” Bullets flew, just as he stuck the gun in Rich's mouth.
Chase's soldier fell forward to the ground, beside Rich. Vanessa stood over the man with her smoking .380. She helped Rich to his feet, then turned and fired three more bullets into the head of the lifeless soldier. “Come on, baby,” Vanessa said, as she pulled Rich toward the Corolla. “Give me the keys.”
Rich was speechless as he handed her the keys. He got in the passenger seat and she sped off. “Where the hell you came from?” he said, pulling off his hoody and the bulletproof vest underneath it.
“A thank you would do,” Vanessa said, as she tucked the .380 back in her clutch with one hand, while steering with the other.
Rich couldn’t believe he was seeing Vanessa calmly drive away after having just murdered a person in cold blood like a professional hitman.
“I drove down here after we got off the phone. There's no way I was gonna let anything happen to you,” Vanessa said.
I created a monster. But Chase definitely gotta get it. Rich’s fingers anxiously tapped against his lap. He was hungry. The type of hunger in his blood was the same as the hunger that pushed wild animals to viciously hunt and devour their prey. Chase was destined for the pain and suffering he had caused Rich and the women he loved.
* * *
Vanessa pulled up behind the cabin and Rich hopped out of the Corolla. He stared at the red marks on the swollen skin caused by the plates in the bulletproof vest where he was shot. Vanessa gently ran her hand across Rich's wounds. “Don't worry, baby, I'm gonna take care of that for you. A nice bubble bath will make it all better.” She planted a tender kiss on Rich's lips, then eased her tongue into his mouth. When their faces parted, she stared directly into his eyes. “I love you.”
Candy came running outside. “What's wrong? I can see it in your face,” she said, stepping closer to Rich. “What happened to you? What's wrong?”
“Nothing.” Rich grinned. “This one of the best days of my life.”
“It's hard to tell from looking at you.”
“Trust me when I tell you.”
Candy turned to Vanessa. “How you gonna leave me in the middle of the night and don't say shit?”
“I had to,” Vanessa responded.
“You gotta do better than that.”
“I had to hold down Rich.”
Rich leaned against the trunk of the Corolla as Vanessa told Candy what happened. It amazed him to see how ruthless Vanessa had become. As he watched her, he thought of everything he had known about her. From the innocent woman he met who trembled when she nervously fired a single shot into Chase, to the woman he had trained until she became the warrior who saved his life by gunning down one of Chase's soldiers.
“Chase is gonna pay,” Vanessa said, popping open the trunk of the Corolla.
Rich stared into the trunk. I finally got this motherfucker. He could not describe the feeling of revenge. It was a heartless thrill that came with knowing someone who had wronged him had to face him on his terms. “Revenge is like the sweetest joy next to getting pussy,” Rich sang one of Tupac's lines.
Vanessa pulled out her .380 and stepped back.
Rich stared at her and Candy. Vanessa clutched her gun like a pro, her two large afro puffs and natural beauty evoked an awkward image of strength. Candy's long hair was wrapped in a French bun. Her hips swung, bulging from the tight pair of Moschino jeans she sported. Just five months earlier, Rich could not imagine being in a relationship with two beautiful women. Even as he ran through woman after woman, the thought of a three-way relationship never crossed his mind, just like love had never crossed his mind. Now he had it all and the man who had interfered with it was going to meet the wrath of Rich.
“What's up, baby? We gonna kill this bastard or what?” Vanessa asked.
Candy stepped forward, gazing at Chase until her eyes began tearing. She closed them tight, balling her fists. It was obvious to Rich that every thought Candy had about being kidnapped and abused was overwhelming her
.
Rich pulled Chase from the trunk and Candy slapped him.
“You bitch,” he responded.
Candy slapped him again and he smiled.
Rich noticed Vanessa crying also. The gold gun was shaking in her trembling hands. After Vanessa's recent performance, Rich was sure Vanessa's tears and trembling were rooted not in fear, but anger and other emotions that she could not control. She raised her gun to Chase's face.
“Not yet,” Rich said. He grabbed a knapsack out of the trunk and made Chase walk, while he and the women trailed behind him.
“It ain't gotta go down like this,” Chase said, trying to run. He fell after two painful steps.
“Shut the fuck up!” Vanessa yelled, as she held her arm around Candy's shoulders. She stomped Chase.
Rich picked Chase up. He pulled a rope from his knapsack and tied Chase to a tree. Looking into his eyes, for the first time it really set in Rich's mind that he planned to kill the man who had saved his life, the man who had stood side-by-side with Rich as they gunned down people, the man who Rich had made hundreds of thousands of dollars with, the man he had sexed women with and once vowed to go to the grave with. But as Rich turned to Vanessa and Candy, the more distant his past seemed, the more meaningless. What mattered was what Chase had done to Candy and the effects it had on the people she loved.
Just as Rich pulled out a scalpel, Chase's cell phone rang and Vanessa snatched it from his waist.
“Fuck you, Rich,” Chase barked
Rich cut through Chase's shirt and severed his flesh from his shoulder to his waist. Chase screamed in pain. Rich continued, digging deeper, ripping through his arms. He tore Chase's shirt off completely. “That should hold you, since you like cutting people.”
“I ain't cut nobody, faggot!” Chase screamed.
“Rich.” Vanessa held up Chase's cell phone. “Look at this.”
There was a nude photo of Chanel on the screen and a text message: BCNU 2MORO LUV
Rich stared at the picture and read the message. “This fucking broad ain't shit!”
“And she had the nerve to be at the hospital with us, acting all lovey dovey,” Vanessa said. “I knew she was poison.”
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