Briggen got out of his voice mail and looked at the phone in disbelief. He then replayed the message.
“Fuck!” He immediately called Markeeta back but it jumped to her voice mail. He then dialed Nyla’s.
“Hello.”
“Nyla, it’s me.”
“Hey, Brig, what’s up?”
“You got something to tell me?” he snapped.
“Am I supposed to?” she snapped right back.
“What’s up with my brother? When did he get out?”
“What! He’s out? Briggen, if this is your idea of a joke, it’s cruel. I know you are mad at me and I fucked up—”
“Nyla. Forever got out today. He was by Markeeta’s earlier.”
“Why didn’t he call me? Markeeta’s? Why is he all the way in Detroit? He just had to go see that bitch, didn’t he?” Her voice was trembling. “That bitch got transferred out there and so did he.” She had no idea that Shan was shacked up with Briggen.
“Shit!” It dawned on him that Forever could be trying to get to Shan. “I gotta run.”
“Wait. Are you going to find him?”
“Yeah, Nyla. I gotta run.”
“Let me go. Please. Come by and pick me up. Please, Briggen. Do me this one favor. I gotta see my husband and apologize. Please, Briggen, let me go with you.”
“I’ll call you back.”
“Briggen, please, let me ride. I’ve never asked you for anything.”
“Okay, Nyla, damn.” He hung up.
She dialed her sister Lisha’s. “Lisha?”
“Girl, why is your drama-queen ass crying now?” she answered.
“I fucked up, Lisha. I really, really fucked up. Do you think there’s a chance that I could get him back? I gotta get him back.” She was crying like a two-year-old baby.
“Nyla, what the hell are you talking about?”
“If only I could have hung in there a little while longer. My man. My husband, he would have been here with me, with us. Now he’s home and he hates me. I turned him against me!”
“Forever’s home? Nyla! Forever’s home?” Lisha squealed into the phone.
“He . . . he got out today. Oh God, I messed up,” she sobbed.
“Oh, shit! Where the fuck is he?”
“I need you to come and get Tameerah. I’m riding with Briggen. He’s in Detroit.”
“Forever, why are you here?” Shan was trying her best to act as if she were cool, especially when he pulled out a gun and stuffed it under the sofa cushion. He then made himself comfortable on the sofa and pulled out a pouch. She watched as he dumped some coke onto her table and did a couple of lines as if she weren’t there in the room.
“You want some?”
“Forever, I think you should be leaving now.” She got up and went toward the door.
“Get over here, Shan,” he yelled at her. When she started to protest, he pulled out his brand-new burner and pointed it at her. “Bitch, sit the fuck down.” He was giving her a look that told her, If you don’t I’ma blow your fuckin’ head off. As she slowly took a seat across from him, his eyes roamed all over her body. “Stand up and turn around slowly. Let me look at you. Take off that robe.” He tucked the gun back under the sofa cushion.
Shit, Shan said to herself. Now she was getting scared beyond shitless. I know this nigga ain’t gettin’ ready to rape me. Trying to think of something, she asked, “Since when did you start getting high?”
“Bitch, you don’t know me like that. But since you want to go there, since when did you start fuckin’ my brother?” He set the burner on the coffee table. The powder he had just tooted, along with her round luscious ass, was beginning to make his dick hard. He stared at her and licked his lips. “Pull one of them straps down over your nipple.”
“Why, Forever? Why are you doing this?” She slowly and methodically did as she was told.
Why am I doing this? he asked his own damn self. I’m fuckin’ mad, that’s why. Here I am home and my wife done moved on with the next nigga. Me and my brother ain’t even speaking. Me and my cousin Zeke fell out and got into a fight. And this bitch here is carrying my seed but is with my brother. What part of the game is this? How did my shit come tumbling down so fuckin’ quick?
“Can I sit down now?” Shan asked, breaking him out of his self-pity party. The phone rang and Shan ran for it, tripping over the ottoman. She crawled quickly on her knees and picked up the receiver. “Come help me somebody!” she screamed. “Please help me.”
“Kill the theatrics and hang up that mutherfuckin’ phone! Now, Shan!” he barked.
Peanut turned down his radio. “What the fuck is that nigga doin’ to my sister? Shan!” He heard yelling and then he got a dial tone. He called Briggen.
“What?” Briggen snatched up the phone. He was on the highway, pissed that Forever was out and possibly on his way to his crib. He had called Shan as well but hadn’t gotten an answer. To make matters worse, Markeeta wasn’t answering either.
“This is Peanut and I’m obviously feelin’ how you’re feelin’. Put my sister on the phone, maine.”
“I’m in my car on my way to see her now.”
“The fuck you is, nigga! I just got off the phone with her and she was crying. I heard you in the background. If she got one scratch on her . . . nigga, I put that on my momma, I’ma kill yo’ ass.”
Briggen beeped his horn. “You hear that. I’m in my fuckin’ car. You just said you spoke to her at the house. That’s my—”
“You had to have just left. I heard your mouth. I’m on my way to see my sister, and like I said, I better not see one scratch on her,” Peanut threatened. He hung up the phone, eager to put his foot in Briggen’s ass. Now he had a legitimate excuse. He almost smiled as he dialed Karin.
She must have been looking at the caller ID. “Peanut, to what do I owe this rare phone call?” she asked seductively. She was hoping that it was a booty call.
“Listen. I just called my sister and I think her and Briggen was fighting. I just spoke to him and he was in his car. I’m on my way down there but I need you to go over there and check up on her. Can you do that for me?”
“You ain’t said nothing but a word. I’ll head over there right now and with my pistol,” she teased.
“Tell my sister I’m on my way. Only use the pistol if necessary. ’Preciate it. I owe you one.”
“I got you. Let me get out of here.” She hung up, threw on some clothes and was out the door within minutes.
Forever had Shan standing in front of him butterball naked. Tears were threatening to fall but she was fighting back hard, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
“How many months are we?” He leaned forward and kissed her stomach lightly. She wouldn’t answer so he slapped her ass . . . hard.
“I’m not sure, Forever.”
He slapped her ass once again. “Stop lying. You know how far along you are.”
“Forever, this is not right. Just leave and I’ll act like this never happened. Go home to your wife and daughter.”
He slapped her thigh this time. “Don’t insult me like that. You already know she left me to be with your punk-ass brother. So you know one of these bullets got his name on it, right?”
“Why, Forever? He didn’t do shit to you. Your wife made her own decision to fuck with him. Just like she made the decision to try and set me up.”
He grinned. “This ain’t about that. My boy Skye is dead and I know he did it.” He looked up at her and saw the surprised look on her face. “You didn’t know that, did you? Plus, he took my package that you gave him; your brother owes me money. He knew that was my shit. And he’s fuckin’ my wife, in my muthafuckin’ house! That nigga’s in total violation.”
She watched as he did two more lines. Then he pushed the table over and pulled her close to him as he slid up to the edge of the sofa.
Oh God, please, she silently prayed. He began caressing her ass. “Why you do me like that, Shan?” He slid a finger up inside her
dry pussy.
“Forever, don’t,” she pleaded while trying to figure out a way to get the gun he had tucked under the sofa cushion.
“Why, Shan?” He was workin’ her pussy and it was getting wet.
“Why do you care, Forever? All you did was use me, play with my mind and my feelings.” He found her clit and gave it lazy strokes with his finger. “N-no, Forever.” She tried to move his hand but all he did was pummel inside her coochie with two fingers, exploring and teasing. She then felt his mouth on her nipples sucking and teasing wickedly, going faster and harder in her pussy. “Oh God, no.” She was trying her best to fight the feeling that was threatening to overwhelm her. She exhaled when his fingers came to an abrupt stop and his mouth left her aching nipples alone. But then he spread her legs and her pussy and began eating her out. She clenched her teeth, but that didn’t stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. Her stomach did a wild somersault, her knees buckled and she began cumming all over his face and mouth.
Forever had a devilish smirk on his face that she wanted to smack off. “I knew you missed Daddy.” He unzipped his jeans and out sprang a dick so hard that she began shaking her head no.
“Briggen don’t eat you out that good and make you cum like that, do he?” he boasted. “Come here. You know you got that good pussy.”
“No, Forever,” she pleaded as she began backing up. She snatched up her robe and put it on. He snatched up the burner from under the sofa cushion. “I . . . said . . . come here.”
“Kill me, nigga. Kill me and your seed. That’s the only way I’ll let you violate me any further,” she spat.
He cocked the gun. She froze into place, held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt his body heat. He was up on her, the gun kissing her temple and his mouth kissing her neck.
“Oh yeah? Try me. You think I give a fuck about killing you and my baby? I ain’t got shit no way.”
“You have a wife and a beautiful daughter, Forever,” she sobbed, refusing to open her eyes.
“Shut up!” he snapped as he took his dick and began rubbing it up against her pussy. “Tell Daddy you want this,” he taunted as he massaged her ass with the gun in his hand. “Go ahead, bitch. Tell Daddy you want this.” He put the gun to her temple. “Put it in.” He was definitely ready to fuck.
Ding. Dong. Ding.
She gasped.
He froze.
He slipped his dick back in his pants and grabbed Shan by the back of her neck. “Who is that?”
“I d-don’t know,” she stammered.
He squeezed her neck as he tossed her down onto the couch. “You better not make a fuckin’ sound.”
Karin kept ringing the doorbell and trying her best not to panic. Realizing that Shan wasn’t going to answer she headed to her car to call Peanut.
Peanut was doing a hundred on the highway. He fumbled with the phone and dialed Karin. As she searched her bag for her phone it started ringing. She answered it immediately and began rambling, “Hey, Peanut. I—”
“What the fuck is going on?” Peanut hissed.
“I’m over here now and shit ain’t right. The lights are on, her car and Markeeta’s is parked. She ain’t answering the door. Markeeta is out of town until tomorrow, so shit ain’t right. What do you want me to do?”
“Fuck! I’m getting there as fast as I can.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The notorious Jack Brunswick, attorney to drug kingpins, sat patiently waiting for the U.S. Marshals to bring his two clients from the bullpen.
Mr. Brunswick had been Big Choppa’s lawyer for almost twelve years. It was because of him that Big Choppa had remained indictment-free all this time. Over the years they had become good friends. Jack kept Big Choppa two steps ahead of the game. He watched as Big Choppa groomed Janay to fill his shoes. He had seen it all in his twenty-one years as a criminal defense attorney, but grooming your daughter to become a kingpin? He was unable to come to grips with that. And now he was facing one of the toughest challenges in all of his career: Janay’s indictment on kingpin and murder charges. Even though he had seen it coming, this would be difficult for him because Janay and her sister were like family to him.
Janay entered the room first, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. She wore a grim look on her face that displayed all the stress she was under and the knowledge of how serious this was. Crystal, surprisingly, looked calm. He wasn’t sure if she understood the extent of what they were up against. Her orange jumpsuit was two sizes too big.
“So what do they have?” Janay wanted to know as soon as she sat down.
Jack popped open his Valentino briefcase. “The government is coming hard at your family. Since you guys have been untouchable for years, they now feel that they got you by the balls. I’ma be straight up with you, it’s not looking good,” he said while pulling out a file folder two inches thick. “And you, Janay, won’t be going anywhere no time soon. They are trying to put two bodies on you. Crys should be straight. We’ll see this coming Wednesday; that’s when your bond hearing is scheduled.”
“Wednesday?” Crystal shrieked, her calm demeanor flying out the window.
“Hold on, Crys. Let me finish with Janay. For right now, you have a four-count indictment: conspiracy, CCE (continuing criminal enterprise), money laundering, possession with intent to distribute five kilos of cocaine. And . . . they are most likely going to hand down a superceding indictment to add murder and weapons charges.”
“What! Where did they get the five kilos?” Janay needed to know.
“Nay, that’s the least of your concerns. I will be getting that dismissed.”
“This is bullshit, Jack, and you know it!” Janay spat.
“It sure the fuck is,” Crystal agreed.
“Ladies, you know how they play. Believe me, they are not going to play fair. I’ve never known them to in all my years as a criminal defense attorney. They are going to come at you with everything they can. You are going to get everything that they couldn’t get Big Choppa for. And your father has just up and disappeared.”
Crystal popped up out of her seat and began pacing the small space that they called the attorney/client room. “Look at us. We are fucked.”
Janay frowned at her spoiled sister. “Crystal, I told you time and time again that no good comes out of the dope game. It’s a setup from the start. You either end up where we are now, or dead. But it’s a choice that we made.”
“I ain’t tryna hear that shit, Ms. Gangsta. You got a lot of nerve to be talkin’. I can’t even think right now. All I know is that I got a body,” Crystal snapped.
“Duh, bitch. I know that. I was there. Right now ain’t no time for no dumb shit. We need to put our heads together so that we can figure out the best way to fight this shit,” Janay calmly explained.
“Please, girls. Sit down, Crystal. We do have to work together. In order to come out on top, we must work and stick together.”
Crystal started to say something but changed her mind, choosing instead to sit back down.
“Okay,” Jack continued. “Let’s start with your father. Any idea where he could be?”
“You got us fucked up if you think you’re going to get away with this!” Shan spat.
He leapt across the room and backhanded her. “Shut the fuck up!” Blood trickled down her chin where her lip was split from the force of the slap.
She watched as he ripped open the camouflage-patterned bag and snatched out a rope and tape. Shan, seeing what it was, went off. She grabbed the nearest lamp and tossed it at him. He moved out of the way and it crashed into the wall. “You think you’re going to tie me up? You must be outta your fucking mind!” She ran off into the kitchen with him carrying the rope and dead on her heels. She yanked a kitchen drawer open and hastily grabbed a carving knife. Forever grabbed her by the top of her head and she swung her arm around, slashing him across his rib cage.
“You bitch!” He slammed her head repeatedly against the kitchen counters, drawing bl
ood. He then slammed her into one of the kitchen chairs and proceeded to tie the rope all around her. Then he found a clean dishtowel, wet it and began pressing it against his bleeding wound.
“Forever . . . untie me . . . please. I feel sick,” Shan gasped as a gash on her forehead leaked blood down the center of her face. Her head was throbbing so bad that she was nauseous.
He kept his back to her as he tried to stop the bleeding. “This was not supposed to go like this, Shan. You know that, right?”
“What the fuck is the matter with you? Untie me, Forever! You haven’t been out of prison twenty-four hours and look at you. Why are you trying to go back?”
“Oh, I ain’t going back. No sir. Forever will hold court in the streets first. Believe that.”
“You’re holding me hostage, Forever. I’m fuckin’ tied up, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Chill out. When my brother gets here, we’ll take care of everything.” He had wet another towel and wiped her face.
“Just leave, Forever,” she begged him. “When my brother gets here it’s going to be ugly. Leave now while you got the chance.”
“Not until I do what I came here to do.”
“And what’s that?” She watched as he nonchalantly walked out of her kitchen. “Forever!” she yelled after him. “Come here, dammit! Forever!”
Forever went to the bathroom and found some gauze, alcohol and Band-Aids to bandage himself up. He then went to the living room, took off the bloody shirt and put on another one. He decided to turn on the CD player and got comfortable enough to snort a few more lines. Shan was screaming his name, so to drown her out he turned the music up louder.
Thinking about the time it takes to drive from Memphis to Detroit, Forever looked at his watch. “Six more hours till showtime.” He grabbed the cell phone and called Karmel and found out that they were still all hanging out. Mason jumped on the phone and tried to convince Forever to come out and play, which Forever politely declined to do. After he hung up he took a tour of the house, covering every square inch of it. He couldn’t believe that it looked as if Shan had all of her shit there as well as Briggen and they were actually living together as a couple. And to make matters worse they were getting ready to play house . . . with his baby. This shit made absolutely no sense to him.
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