My eyes bucked wide open. I went from being high from a Kush blunt to wired with even more fear and stress. You couldn’t tell me the fire at the titty bar wasn’t the aftermath of Voodo and Moni. Those two were relentless at killing, robbing, and covering their tracks. I swore they were like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde made from Detroit blood. Struck with regret that I’d danced in their section that night, I knew without a doubt I was on their radar. My greed helped them set Felix up, and I’d seen the beginning of what was the end of all three of the victims’ lives. If they’d set the bar on fire as a statement, I couldn’t imagine what they’d do to me. Damn!
Chapter Six
Voodo
The morning had started off good with Moni cooking breakfast for all three of us. We sat around smashing while watching cartoons. Everything seemed so simple, in place and ordinary. One day I’d have to retire from living a life of crime so each day could be this calm. That peace was short-lived, though. Once my baby’s mom showed up, all hell broke loose.
“Look, Yolanda, I’m not about to battle you over Alexis. When she’s with me, she’s with me. I don’t come at you sideways about how you and her spend mother/daughter time.” I tried keeping my voice down. She’d seen the news and figured it was the handiwork of me, Jerell, and Moni, and she was trying to chastise me in addition to bank a few dollars to buy her silence.
“That’s because your ass knows better, Voodo. Besides, I keep her at home where a child is supposed to be. Not running the streets at night, blowing shit up.” Yolanda jumped up in my face. “You and that bitch Moni ain’t no good, and I don’t want her around my child.”
“First and foremost, Yolanda, you better jump back from my face before I knock you back. But most importantly, you’re not about to be telling me who I can have my daughter around when you keep a different nigga in her face whenever your hot-ass pussy purrs for attention. Get the hell on with all of that.” By now I didn’t care how amped my voice got. Our conversation was no longer mild or easily tamable. We’d both struck hard and were drawing bad blood, again. Yolanda and I rarely saw eye to eye, and she’d never accepted that I’d moved on with Moni.
“Don’t bring up my pussy, Voodo. You’re the one who left me high and dry for that wannabe gangster ho,” she yelled with animosity in her voice.
She’d caught me off guard spitting that bullshit. She knew good and well our relationship had ended long before Moni came into the picture. Matter of fact, she was the whole reason why I turned to a life of crime. Had I not been trying to appease her money-hungry ass, I would’ve never met Moni at the diner two years ago. Before I could respond, Moni broke out from the back in rare form.
“I’m not gonna be another ho, bitch, or wannabe, Yolanda,” Moni said, barging into the living room. “I’m tired of trying to be the bigger woman and letting you and Voodo handle parenthood when the only person you’re really concerned about is me.”
Yolanda looked back and forth between me and Moni like I was supposed to intervene, but I wasn’t. Throwing my hands up like “fuck it,” I wasn’t about to put Moni back on a leash. Although I didn’t like them bumping heads, since it always caused turmoil for me and potentially Alexis, maybe Moni needed to put Yolanda in her place once and for all.
“So you’re gonna let her come for me, Voodo? I’m the mother of your only child last time I checked. I’m owed a certain level of respect.” Yolanda turned her back to Moni.
Tapping Yolanda on her shoulder, Moni wasn’t about to be ignored any further. At this point she wanted all the attention focused on her. “Ummm, I think you’re the one who keeps coming for me. So now that I’m here, don’t turn your back on me. Say what you’ve gotta say to my face so from this point forward you can keep my name out of your mouth. ’Cause trust, you don’t want none of this.”
“Miss Thang, please. I’m not worried about you. And for the record, I can say whatever I want, when I want, to my baby daddy. You ain’t nothing but the girlfriend, boo. You’ll be gone once the next rider introduces herself. That’s how it goes. You betta buy a clue!”
“If you were as worried about Alexis as you are about my relationship with Voodo, you’d be a better mother,” Moni said, going for the jugular.
“Oh, no, the hell you didn’t.” Yolanda was shrieking. “I ought to lay hands on you.” It was easy to tell Moni had gotten underneath her skin.
“That’ll be the last time you raise either of those weak-ass hands.” Moni folded hers, not seeming the least bit concerned over Yolanda’s threat. It might’ve been time for me to intervene.
“Okay! Okay! That’s enough. It’s clear you two don’t like one another, but I ain’t trying to have y’all scrap it out. Yolanda, you need to respect Moni as my girl. And, Moni, you need to respect Yolanda as Alexis’s mom. All this hormonal bullshit ain’t necessary.”
“Yeah, whatever, Voodo. I ain’t trying to hear you on that tip.” Yolanda waved me off. “Alexis, come on so we can get home. Daddy time is over.” Calling after our daughter, she was about to use her against me. Her next words proved me right. “Until you get this chick under control, Voodo, Alexis won’t be over here. If you want to spend time with her, you’ll have to do it on my terms at my house.”
“You can’t keep using my daughter as a pawn against me.” I was disgusted with Yolanda.
“Watch me,” she vindictively spat, then stormed out of the house with Alexis’s tiny arm and body dragging behind. “And if you think that’s all I’m capable of doing, you’re underestimating the bitch in me. I know things that’ll get you got,” she threatened before pulling off.
Not only did my heart sink because I didn’t know when I’d see my little girl again, but because I truly didn’t underestimate Yolanda’s spiteful ways.
Moni
Yolanda made my skin crawl. Her mangy weave, basic attire, and rat-like attitude always made me side-eye Voodo for giving her the time of day. Sure, I might’ve been a thief, but I was ten times a better quality of woman than she’d ever be. Just like Voodo, I hated sending Alexis home with her.
“Damn, Voodo. I don’t know what else to say but I dropped the ball, and I’m sorry about not being able to stay in the back or hold my tongue while you and Yolanda conversed. But that trick wasn’t gonna keep disrespecting and coming for me.”
“Yeah, it’s all good, baby.” He threw up his hand. “I could’ve deaded the argument before any words were exchanged, but I was tired of her threats and constant disrespect too.”
“Do you really think she won’t let you see Alexis but on her terms?” I was hoping that really wouldn’t be the circumstance. Granted, I didn’t think he’d go back to her or get caught up sticking his dick in her while on a visitation, but I didn’t want him on her territory at all. Any chick who used her child as a pawn and was as trifling as Yolanda couldn’t be trusted any day of the week. She was bitter, cruel, and spiteful, the wickedest type of bitch to cross. Hell, I knew firsthand since I was bred from those emotions.
“Knowing Yolanda, she’s dead serious. I’m not even sure if a few dollars will be able to calm her down, either,” he spoke, sounding defeated. “I hate playing by her rules!”
“I know, boo. It’s fucked up you’ve gotta jump through hoops just to be around your daughter and be a good father to her. Women like her make me sick. Regardless, though, I’ll step back so I won’t be the reason you can’t be there for Alexis. It’s clear that she’s got a beef with me that’s causing more confusion between you and her.” I was willing to bid out like a woman for the sake of my love for Voodo.
“I respect that, babe. Instead of jumping the gun, we’ll just play it by ear and see what trick Yolanda pulls out of her sleeve. Just do me a solid by grabbing me a beer and rolling me a fat Cigarillo so I can calm my nerves and think. I’m about to jump into a game of Black Ops so I can relieve a little stress.” Men loved their video games like kids loved toys. As long as he wasn’t trying to run up out of here to another woman, I wasn’t a
bout to clown about his pastime.
“I got you, babe. No matter what you need, I got you.” I was speaking from the heart to Voodo. “But um, just for a heads-up, is there anything she has over your head that I need to know about? It doesn’t sound like her threats were just in regard to you visiting with Alexis.” I trusted Voodo to handle her like a man would, but I was a woman. That meant I was well aware of how emotions played into our revenge. I admitted it was hard, but Yolanda’s words sounded vicious.
“I won’t lie and say I didn’t feel the weight of her words, babe. You already know she stays giving me the option of doing things her way or going to jail. But don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’m gonna handle my baby mama drama before it blows up either of our faces.” If only I could believe his words.
Sitting down to break the buds of weed down so I could roll him a fat one, my mind began cranking on how I would stop Yolanda from getting beside herself by stirring up unnecessary drama. If things were bad for Voodo, they were bad for me. “Whatever happens, you won’t have to deal with the consequences alone. I’m with you when times are good, and I’ll be there when they’re rocky as well.”
From the tight hug he gave me before heading back toward the bedroom, I knew he truly believed in my words. Our hood love was one of a kind. I was gonna do whatever I could to preserve it, and keep his baby mama from ruining it.
Once I got Voodo squared away, I took a long, hot shower and got dressed in a comfortable peach maxi dress with a matching pair of BeDazzled sandals. Pulling my weave into a tight ponytail and accessorizing with gold bangles and big hoop earrings to set off my natural makeup, I couldn’t help but smile at my pretty reflection in the mirror. There was no need to get flashy or fly since I was only going to kick it with Unique. Nevertheless, I had to keep it cute. She didn’t do the club scene, so I knew we weren’t going any farther than her front porch. Overdoing it would’ve been a waste. Making sure I had enough blunts to last me a few hours, I was set to roll out.
* * *
“Damn, I can’t believe you’re not up under Voodo. The world must be about to end,” Unique joked, pouring me a glass of wine. We were having girl time, which we hadn’t had in a few months, and I’d missed it. She was right. I stayed up under my man day in and day out.
“It just might,” I laughed. “That nigga slangs good dick and keeps me thrilled. There’s no reason for me to run the streets if he’s not.”
“I feel that, and I don’t blame you. Y’all two are made for one another. I couldn’t believe you turned into his shooter at the diner that day, but obviously it was meant to be.”
“Hell yeah, it was.” My grin stretched from ear to ear. It was easy to tell I was in love.
“So um, let a sister know what happened that night at the Ace of Spades and after that. At first, we were texting about jokes on Instagram, then you dropped off. Put me up on what the news doesn’t know to report.” She sipped her wine like it was tea, eager for the gossip.
“You’re always trying to live vicariously through the rush of my and Voodo’s life. Why don’t you find you a gangster to ride out with too? Then we can go on double dates.”
“Girl, bye, you know that I’m not cut out for running from the police and shooting shit up. Not to mention dealing with ratchet-ass baby mommas. Besides, I’ve gotta keep it clean so you can have someone to fall back on. Who else is gonna let you use their name or keep money on your books if you go to jail?” She giggled at my expense.
“Bitch, bye! Don’t burn bread on me. Besides, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I get locked down. Me and Voodo keep our tracks covered at all times.”
“Aww, don’t go getting soft on me now, Moni. You already know you’re my bestie, so I’d never burn bread on you. I’m just keeping it real.” She was getting tipsy.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I love you too, just slow down on that glass of wine so you can drive me past his baby mom’s house. I wanna see if there’s any action over there and with whom, so I can report back to Voodo. She came over with a mouthful of threats, and if she’s planning to get a nigga on my dude, I want us to either be prepared or moving first.”
“You know I’m down, but um, why can’t he play the private eye? That chick was his problem before he met you.” Trying to rationalize my motives, Unique wouldn’t understand since she didn’t have a man.
“The answer is simple. Voodo has a connection with her through Alexis, so even though he knows she’s trifling, he still wants to give her the benefit of the doubt. I, however, couldn’t care less about Yolanda. Besides, Unique, you can’t draw a line when you’re in a relationship about what problems you’ll take ownership of. When I tell him it’s us against the world, I mean it. You’ll understand once you finally meet a man who’ll knock the dust off your ol’, cooped-up pussy,” I said jokingly, but I was dead serious.
“If I’ve gotta do all that to prove my loyalty, I’ll be on team single forever.” She rolled her eyes then guzzled down her glass of wine. “Come on so we can take that ride. I swear we can never have a girl’s day without Voodo interrupting.”
“Aww, look who’s getting in their emotions now,” I mocked her then gave her a friendly hug. “Get your keys so we can ride past Yolanda’s. Then we’ll grab another bottle of wine to guzzle while you catch me up on your lame life.”
“Forget you, Moni,” she said playfully.
“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”
Chapter Seven
Voodo
As soon as Moni walked out the door to go have girl time with Unique, I hopped on the phone to invite Jerell over. We needed to kick it face-to-face about everything he’d heard surrounding us murking Felix and his crew. Plus, I wanted to know if there were any developments pertaining to Tone, the guy Felix was supplying.
“Ain’t nothing different from earlier, my dude. That punk is only running through the hood, whining about getting caught up and got for stacks. We got him sick to his stomach,” Jerell said, relaying what he’d heard. “You wanna sell him some of the weight we swiped that he already paid for to shut him up?” Jerell never chose the calm route. I was slightly caught off guard.
“Naw, we shouldn’t go that route, because he might put two and two together that it’s from the same supplier. Then we’ll be putting ourselves out there as the ones who killed Felix.”
“True that. Then how should we handle it? You still wanna make a move to body his ass before a problem potentially presents itself?”
“I think that’ll be the best plan. I know we ain’t never stacked this many bodies in a week, but I ain’t trying to have random cats on my head,” I honestly stated, taking a swig of my beer.
“It’s better us than them any day of the week. You know I’m game to take a nigga down.” Jerell sounded like his normal self. “Now throw me the other controller so I can start blasting these fags on this game.”
Moni
I knew I’d promised Unique we’d continue our girl time once we finished riding past Yolanda’s crib, but I couldn’t chill when I’d seen so much going down. Doing damn near eighty miles per hour, I was feverishly trying to get home so I could put Voodo up on game. His baby’s mom had about five niggas posted on her porch, and they didn’t look like they were there to trick. My street sense and women’s intuition told me they were part of her earlier threat.
“Voodo baby,” I yelled, running through our front door, out of breath.
“What’s wrong, Moni?” he panicked, reaching for his pistol. Jerell was there too and was also going for his weapon.
“Oh, damn, I didn’t know you had company. Hey, dawg,” I greeted him, still gasping for air.
“Enough of the small talk, sis. Is everything good or is there a problem outside?”
“No, it’s more like a problem with Yolanda,” I said, looking Voodo directly in the eyes. “Me and Unique did a drive-by about fifteen minutes ago, and she was posted with about five dudes on the porch, running her mouth recklessly. I
f you couple that with what she said running out of here, I sense trouble.”
My eyes stayed locked with Voodo’s while Jerell sat back, putting his pistol back underneath his shirt. I could tell Voodo’s mind was racing to see how he should digest the news I’d just blurted out. And I knew he could tell I was ready to make a move because I didn’t trust her.
“Can you run down how they look or what they were driving? Maybe I know them cats and it’s not what you’re thinking.” He made me sick giving her more credit than she deserved.
I was glad I’d thought on my toes and could present him with more than just my word. “Here’s a few pictures I snapped. I even took a video, even though the sound didn’t pick up that well with so much commotion going on over there.” Handing him my phone, I knew that was all the evidence he’d need to feel just as I felt.
“Oh, shit, sis, yo’ ass must love this nigga’s stale-ass balls for real,” Jerell clowned me. “You better hold on to her for real, Voodo. She ain’t letting Yolanda breathe or make a move without her being on top of it. Y’all two take that thuggin’ and lovin’ shit serious.”
“Hell, motherfuckin’ yeah.” I playfully punched Jerell.
“A’ight, enough playing, y’all two.” Voodo gritted his teeth while still staring at the phone. “As bad as I don’t want to admit it, I think ol’ girl has gotten even grittier than I’d expected.”
As he handed the phone over to Jerell, I was happy that he was no longer giving Yolanda the benefit of the doubt, but I was pissed that she was such a thorn in both our sides. What I wasn’t expecting was for Jerell to get so amped up.
“Yo, nigga, why in the fuck is your baby’s mom posted up with Tone?”
Damn near throwing my phone onto the ground, Jerell’s eyes turned bloodshot. Who the hell was Tone? Why were both of them getting so pissed at the video and pictures? I understood why Voodo might’ve been ticked, but I was clueless as to why Jerell was taking it so personally.
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