He flopped down on the king-size bed in the master bedroom and gazed up at the ceiling. Before he knew it he had dozed off.
Forever began to dream . . . dream about how it was supposed to be. He dreamt that when he was released Nyla was carrying their daughter and was waiting for him at the front gate. His heart and soul filled with joy as he swooped them both up and planted sloppy kisses on both of their faces. Then they got in the car and drove off into the sunset and lived happily ever after. He kept dreaming the same dream over and over, waking up in a hot sweat almost five hours later.
“Shit!” He sat up, startled by his silhouette staring back at him through the dresser mirror. He felt as if his body had been run over by a herd of elephants. But then he froze when he heard a vehicle pull up in the driveway. “Fuck! I don’t have my piece!” He flew out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The CD player was still on blast as he turned it off.
“In here! I’m in here! Somebody please help me!” Shan was still screaming, her throat raw and hoarse. He ignored her as he pulled his piece from under the sofa cushion.
It was dark as Briggen entered the house. “Shan!” Click. Briggen looked up into the barrel of a piece.
“What’s happening, big brother? What? You came to save the day?”
“Briggen, Peanut . . . please come help me!” Shan cried.
“I’m here, baby, I got you,” Briggen yelled.
Forever started laughing. “Nigga, you ain’t Superman, how you got her and I’m here holding the gun on you? You done lost your fuckin’ mind fo’real.”
Shan couldn’t hold back anymore as the tears flowed endlessly down her cheeks.
“What the fuck did you do to her, man?” Briggen yanked his piece out a little too slow. Forever fired at his chest, knocking him and his piece backward.
“Chill the fuck out, bruh, we need to talk.”
“Briggen! Briggen! Answer me! Oh God, no. Forever . . . Forever!” Shan screamed.
“Big bruh, what the fuck ever happened to MOB, man? Money over bitches? You let that bitch in there come between us?” Forever heard a car door slam and a pair of feet running. He stepped over Briggen’s body, kicked the gun back and went to see who was coming. He opened the door.
“Forever! Forever!” Nyla looked into his face and rushed up to him, hugging him around his neck. He hadn’t been expecting to see her. He was definitely stunned and caught off guard. “Baby, I am so sorry. You gotta give me one more chance. We have a family. We have history. Please, Forever, you gotta let me make this right.” She hugged him tighter and then he moved her arms. She backed up and looked at him. That’s when she noticed the blood on his shirt from the stab wound and the gun in his hand. She put her hands over her mouth and started backing up farther. That’s when she saw Briggen’s body on the floor. “Oh God, no. Forever, what have you done? Baby, no, please say you didn’t kill your only brother. Oh Lord, no!” She fell to her knees, letting out a gut-wrenching scream.
Forever’s ears perked up when he heard a car door slam. He watched as Peanut raced up the stairs.
“I should have sent out invitations so that we could have had a fuckin’ family reunion.” He smirked, ignoring what he felt was Nyla’s charade. “So . . . you must be Peanut. We finally get to meet.” Forever stood there pointing the gun at him with a huge grin on his face. “Drop that burner, nigga.”
“Fuck!” Peanut gritted as he reluctantly allowed his piece to hit the ground. “Where’s my sister? I just came here to get my sister. I don’t want shit else.”
“Fuck your sister, nigga, you should be coming here to see me. Tell me that you came here to see me.”
“See you for what?” Bock. A shot rang out, striking Peanut. Nyla yelled out and Shan started screaming once again.
“The next one is going to hit you in the neck. Now tell me that you’re here to see me,” Forever ordered, obviously enjoying his reign of power.
“I came to see you . . . damn.”
“That’s what I thought. You came to tell me that you owe me for taking my dope and that you got my bread, with interest. You also came to tell me that you merked my boy Skye.”
“I didn’t touch that nigga. But you can believe that I was on my way to see his punk ass.”
“Forever . . . please. Put the gun down, baby. Your dau—”
“Nyla, shut the fuck up! Nigga, you did Skye. You ain’t got to lie about it.”
“Maine, believe what you want to believe. He better be glad that somebody got to his punk ass before I did. Because for that stunt that he pulled, I had planned to do him nice and slow.”
“Oh, you a cocky muthafucka, huh? Is that why you was able to pull my wife? Nyla, you like to fuck these cocky muthafuckas, don’t you? Come over here and stand with your nigga.”
“Forever, what the hell are you talking about? I did not fuck him. Tell him, Peanut. Tell him how I told you that I was saving all my love for him. Forever, you’re home, baby. Don’t fuck up, your daughter needs you, I need you. I didn’t fuck him. I swear, baby.”
“Maine, I ain’t fuck your wife! I don’t know where you got that bullshit from.”
“Nyla, you forgot you told me you was fuckin’ this nigga?”
“No, I didn’t,” Nyla screamed with conviction. “You accused me of fuckin’ him.”
“Bitch, Skye told me he spent the night in my fuckin’ house, Nyla.”
“Skye is a gotdamned liar. I would never do that to you, baby. Skye just wanted me for himself. He didn’t tell you that, did he? Of course he didn’t.” She could sense Forever’s hesitation and thought that she had him but it didn’t last long.
“Y’all muthafuckas think I’m stupid? Get over here by this nigga, Nyla. You want to be with him so bad. Watch what I do to him.”
“Forever, stop. I don’t want to be with him. I want to be with you and be a family. We have a family. You’re home now.”
“I don’t want your wife, man,” Peanut told him.
“Y’all muthafuckas want to play games, huh? Bock, bock. “Play with that.” He watched as Peanut went down, blood oozing from his mouth, and Nyla screaming her head off. “You like that, didn’t you?”
Nyla’s face was contorted, her mouth was wide open as she saw Shan looking a horrible mess coming toward them. She was tossing the rope and duct tape aside, as she had finally got loose. She saw Shan bend down next to Briggen and when she came up, she came up firing.
Forever ducked, and when he turned around he slipped and dropped his gun.
“Nigga, make my day and go after that gun!” Shan spat.
Not convinced, he smiled at her. “You ain’t gonna kill your baby’s daddy.” He stood up slowly with his hands raised. “So you might as well give me the gun.”
“Nigga, I miscarried your bastard. I’m carrying your brother’s baby.”
Forever laughed. “All y’all muthafuckas got jokes tonight. Bitch, no the fuck you ain’t carrying shit for my brother. You know I planted my seed up in there. That’s my seed.”
“Shut up, Forever! You wish it was but trust me, it ain’t. I was just fucking with your mind, just the way you fucked with mine’s. But that ain’t important no more. You are a thing of the past. Look at my brother.” She moved closer to Forever, pointing the gun at his forehead. “You killed my brother knowing that he’s all I had in this world. I’ma make you suffer in hell for that.”
Forever grinned. “Get your thong out the crack of yo’ ass. That was business mixed with a little personal shit. I had to pay that nigga back.” He smirked.
“Nah, nigga, I’ma make you Payback with Ya Life.” She fired off, he turned to run and the bullets rained all over his back.
EPILOGUE
Big Choppa and Boomer pulled a straight-up Houdini move. Rumors were floating high and low that they were eating dirt. And guess by whom? Shadee’s nephew, Born Mathematics.
However, Dave Carlisimo, the famed gung ho federal prosecutor, refused to believe the rumors. Hell, the
bodies had yet to surface so he was on a mission. He even went as far as lying before the grand jury, stating that Big Choppa had recently been seen by a worthy confidential informant.
Janay was sentenced to two hundred and forty months. That is twenty years in federal prison. She would have received a much lesser sentence if she had given up her father, Big Choppa. But that was never an option because she knew without a doubt all she had to do was to sit still. Choppa’s reach was very long. So it didn’t matter whether he was dead or alive. She knew that she would not be spending the rest of her life behind bars. To date her appeal is still pending.
Crystal was given seven and a half years for conspiracy. Jack Brunswick was able to beat the murder charge stemming from Skye, being that he was able to prove that killing Skye was self-defense.
Born Mathematics, as he now called himself, was now that nigga. After he gained props for the rumors of bodying Doc, Big Choppa and Boomer, his respect and status grew overnight. He was now running shit with an iron fist, terrorizing anyone that wasn’t getting money with him, and was bodying niggas left and right.
Zeke had the FCI on lock. He was the person to see. Be it weed, crack, cocaine, meth or heroin, whichever one you wanted he had it. His cousin and Born kept him well supplied.
Lieutenant Scott was found hanging from a rope in his office. His death has yet to be ruled a suicide. The investigation is still pending. His trusty sidekick, Lieutenant Marion, transferred immediately after the death. No one was gonna cut into Zeke’s profits, not family, friend or foe. Not on the streets and definitely not in the joint. Didn’t niggas know that?
Shan swatted at the stubborn bumblebee that refused to leave her alone as she was in deep thought about the past.
Forever was paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life while serving a life sentence at the FCI in Milan, Michigan. She was glad that his payback went exactly how she’d wanted it to and she had only one regret. That was that Nyla was sticking by him. Shan wanted him to suffer . . . alone.
She couldn’t help but shed a tear for the loved ones that she missed so much. Some days she felt as if she would cry a river. Other days she would find herself moving forward, being strong and enjoying life like any other successful person. That’s how both Peanut and Brianna would want it. She had to thank the Creator for her businesses: a beauty salon, day care center and hotel. She was grateful for all of her financial gains, especially since she didn’t have to set foot in another prison again.
However, all of this didn’t make her feel complete or as if she had closure on the people she’d lost, and deep down she knew that. Therefore, Forever being paralyzed could not remain on the same earth as her and just like that, the last laugh would be hers. But in every curse, there is a blessing. Forever had almost succeeded at killing her, mentally and physically. In his current state he may as well have been dead, physically and mentally. Maybe I should let it go. But she told herself hell no, she swore that he would payback with his life.
She shook her thoughts and broke into a grin as she watched Anthony, aka Lil’ Peanut, as he ran around in circles trying to catch a butterfly. She rubbed her big stomach and was praying that this time she would have a girl, so that she could name her Brianna. She loved her son and unborn more than anything. They were all that she had left . . . well, almost.
“Shan, I want you to meet somebody. Come here, baby,” her hubby, Briggen, yelled. “This here is Nick.”
Reading Group Guide
Reading Group Guide
l. Do you think Shan should have accepted another prison job?
2. Was Shan wrong for getting back with Briggen?
3. Was Peanut’s hatred of Brianna and the other women in his life justified?
4. How different do you think Shan’s life would have been if she had not lost Forever’s baby?
5. Should Janay have accepted Doc’s help?
6. What are your thoughts on Woo? Did he appear to be jealous of Briggen?
7. Was the crew wrong for canceling Doc’s authority?
8. Was Tami justified in having an affair with Woo?
9. Since Forever and Zeke are blood relatives, should they have overcome their differences?
10. Should Born have pulled the plug on Shadee?
11. Did Skye get his just due?
12. Did Forever submit to the pressure? Or do you think he just wanted to get some payback?
13. In the end Nick shows up. Why do you think he does?
14. Should Big Choppa have disappeared on his daughters?
15. Who do you think received the ultimate payback?
More
Wahida Clark!
A preview of her next novel,
THUG LOVIN’
Available April 2009
old beginnings
The Cali Move
Boom! Boom! Boom! Tasha peeked behind the curtain of her apartment window and saw jackets with huge lettering—FBI, ATF, DEA—and regular squad cars. She placed her hands on her pregnant belly as her knees hit the floor.
“Baby, throw something on.” Trae was rushing to put on some boxers and some sweats. “You see they are coming in. C’mon, baby, get up.” He hopped over to her, one leg in the sweats, one leg out.
“I love you, Trae.” She looked up at him, still in shock.
“I know you do, Ma, but I need you to put something on.”
“Then why are you doing this?” she screamed. “Why do you keep leaving me?”
Trae’s adrenaline pushed through his veins as the sounds of combat boots rushed up the stairs. “C’mon, baby, you gotta put something on.” Concern over Tasha’s frame of mind was evident in his voice. Seeing that she wasn’t going to move, he snatched up his T-shirt, put it on her then hurried to the dresser and grabbed a pair of panties for her. “C’mon, baby, they’re at the door. Get dressed.” He managed to get her to stand up. Just as Tasha pulled up her panties the front door flew off its hinges and they were on their way into the bedroom, screaming.
“On the floor! On the floor, now! Let me see your hands! Get down!” Trae could decipher those orders if nothing else.
“She’s pregnant, man!” he yelled as they threw a distraught Tasha to the floor and were handcuffing her. “Why the fuck are y’all handcuffing her? Y’all came here for me!”
“That’s right,” the agent in charge said. “We don’t need her. Not yet.” He smirked.
“It’ll be okay, baby,” Trae assured Tasha as they led him away with nothing on but some sweatpants.
“Okay? Trae, you promised me. You promised me you wouldn’t leave us, baby.” Tasha was trying to run toward Trae but the female DEA agent was holding on to her.
As they began tearing up the apartment the agent in charge yelled, “Oh, he’s leaving you all right. He’s leaving for a very long, long time. That baby you’re carrying will be raising a family of its own!” The entire room burst out laughing.
“Aaagh!” Tasha sat up, gasping for air as her fingers clenched the bedsheets so tight her knuckles were turning white. Her breathing was rapid; her body was pulsing from the thundering of her heart as it tried to beat through her chest. She tried hard to shake her head clear of that horrible nightmare. As she wiped the sweat from her brows, Trae sat up and turned the lamp on.
“What’s up?” he wondered as Tasha kept shaking her head no. As he reached over to comfort her he realized how badly her body was shaking and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. He pulled the sheet off her to make sure she wasn’t bleeding or anything. He sighed a sigh of relief as he looked between her legs. “Baby, what’s the matter?”
“That dream. It’s starting again.”
“Its okay, baby. It’s over, I ain’t going nowhere.” He used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “Are you listening to me?” He grabbed her face.
“It was so real though. Oh God, it was real,” she gasped.
“It’s not real, Tasha. I’m free. Me, you and the babies are far
away from New Jersey. Aren’t we?”
She hugged him. “Sorry, baby.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. It was only a dream.” He could still feel her shaking. “I need to be the one apologizing. It was my lifestyle that got you so shook. I’ma make it right, baby. I promise.”
“Just tell me you’ll never leave us.” Tasha felt she could never get enough of his reassurances as she held on tighter.
“I’m never leaving my family. I promise.” He reached down and rubbed her stomach.
Since the day that Tasha picked up Trae and Kaylin from the courthouse they had been at the bungalow in Ochos Rios. They had the same bungalow where he had promised her that after he got out of the game they would come back and chill until they got tired of it. Their first couple of nights there, Tasha began having that same nightmare, but after about a week it stopped. Now, exactly three months later, they were starting again.
Trae broke her thought pattern. “Maybe it’s time for us to raise up outta here. What you think?” He felt her nodding her head yes as she buried her face against his chest.
Two hectic and exhausting days later Trae hopped out of the limo before it had fully stopped, as it pulled up to the entrance of the Wilshire Grand Hotel, one of the best-kept secrets in LA, sitting on the corner of Wilshire and Figueroa. Being that it was downtown it was rarely crowded with tourists. Trae watched carefully as the bellman got their luggage and the driver helped a sleepy Tasha out of the limo. He decided right then and there that this spot would suit their needs perfectly as relocation central.
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