"Gordo."

  Gordo followed Q and Fresh out to Q's car and said, "I heard about what happened. I'll do whatever I got to do to make sure your friend is safe."

  "I really do appreciate it, man. I'm going to Mexico to see him tomorrow."

  "I'll go with you if you want me too," Gordo said. He knew Q wasn't too fond of Diego and he knew that Q would be at ease as long as he was there.

  "I would appreciate it if you did."

  "You know, my cousin have…what you call…" Gordo was looking in the air trying to find the right word in English. "…Complejo."

  "Yeah, he has a complex."

  "He wants everybody to know he is boss."

  "I don't give a fuck about him."

  "I will tell him that you will travel with me."

  "This will piss him off."

  Gordo laughed and said, "I don't care about he."

  Gordo's English was pretty good but every now and then, he said the wrong word.

  "Thanks, Gordo."

  "Take my number. When this blow over, I want to work with you."

  "Look, Gordo, I don't want to work."

  "You work when you want to work with Gordo. I don't force you do nothin', my friend."

  "I'm not staying in this business."

  "Take number anyway. Call me. I will meet you tomorrow and we head to Juarez."

  Q punched Gordo's number in his phone. "Thanks, Gordo." Q fired up the Ford Fusion rental and they bolted away.

  * - *

  The next day, Gordo, Q and Fresh crossed the Mexican border. There was a driver waiting for them in a black SUV. Gordo ordered the man to drive them straight to his Uncle Ramon's compound. Q had been there a few times but this was Fresh's first time in this part of Mexico. The streets were littered with trash and poor people and children were standing outside begging for money. Fresh thought that even though it was rough in certain parts of Houston, this was ridiculous. A man jumped in front of the SUV. The driver barely missed the man.

  The driver lowered the window and said, "Get the fuck out the way!" He said in Spanish.

  The man said, "Please, please. My wife and children have not eaten in days."

  Q and Fresh observed the family of four standing on the side of the road. The little boy was barefoot and wrapped in a blanket. The little girl had matted hair and clung to a doll that had to be at least three years old. The man's frail wife certainly looked like she hadn't eaten in days.

  The driver was about to speed off when Gordo said, "Stop."

  The driver halted and Gordo threw three gold coins out the window.

  The man said, "Gracias, senor."

  He then scooped the coins up quickly before anybody could see him. He knew the worth of those coins. If anyone saw the coins, they would surely get him and his whole family assassinated. The driver sped off.

  Gordo and Diego's Uncle Ramon hadn't been to the compound for the past two weeks. He was on a business trip in the southern part of Mexico. The compound included brick walls and was gated like a prison. There were three stucco buildings with the main building in the center. Two armed men carrying assault rifles stood at the guard station. The driver stopped them at the entrance, but when the men at the station spotted Gordo, they opened the gate. When the SUVdrove up to the main building, Q and Fresh spotted Diego and a group of men playing soccer. The men were dressed in Chinos and wife-beaters. Tats covered their arms and faces. The game stopped when the door opened. Q and Fresh approached Diego.

  Q said, "I want to see Rico."

  "Carlos, take them to the prisoner," Diego said.

  "Carlos was a smallish, compact man with a crew cut, an oval face and a very scraggly Mexican handlebar mustache. He led Q, Gordo and Fresh into a wing of the main building. Rico's room was at the end of the hall. Carlos inserted the metal key in the keyhole and opened the huge steel door. The sunlight burst into the room. Rico was curled up on the floor, butt naked, wearing only a single gold chain with a locket which held a baby picture of his daughter Ivy, who was eighteen now. He screamed when the light smacked him in the face.

  "Please don't beat me!. Please don't beat me!," Rico cried.

  Fresh said, "What the fuck? What the fuck? Man, this room is smaller than my goddamned closet"

  Gordo conversed with Carlos in Spanish. "Get him some goddamned clothes."

  Carlos said, "Diego will be upset."

  "Fuck Diego."

  Q kneeled down to Rico, who was clearly a broken man. "Rico? Rico? It's me, Q."

  Rico opened his eyes, trying to focus on Q. They made eye contact before Rico said, "Get away from me. Get away from me. Please, get away from me." He scooted to the corner of a room with his hands shielding his face.

  Q kneeled beside his friend who hadn't showered in weeks. His body odor was overpowering. Q took hold of Rico's arms and Rico took a swipe at Q barely missing his chin. "Don't bother me, motherfucker." Saliva was rolling down the side of his mouth.

  "Rico, it's me. It's me, Q. I came to take you with me."

  Rico and Q locked eyes. Q ran his fingers through Rico's afro and said, "It's me, Q."

  Rico grinned. He recognized Q but he was a broken man. His hair hadn't been cut in weeks and there was a patch of grey hair in the center of his afro.

  Q said, "I've come to get you. Don't worry. You're going to go with me."

  Rico shook his head without responding. Carlos came running back with a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. He passed them to Q and then he and Fresh stood Rico up.

  They clothed Rico and when they were done, Q whispered, "I love you, champ."

  There was no response from Rico. The man was on the verge of losing his mind. Rico sat down on the floor Indian style. Carlos was about to close the door of the room when Rico looked at Fresh and Q.

  "Don't leave me," Rico said.

  The door slammed shut and Rico's face disappeared. The men headed out to the yard where the men had resumed their soccer game. Q approached Diego and snatched him up by the collar.

  "Motherfucker, I will kill you if anything happens to him."

  The soccer game stopped and suddenly Q had seventeen assault rifles pointing at him.

  Diego said, "Let me go or you won't make it out of here."

  Gordo wedged himself between Q and Diego and ordered the men to lower their weapons. They all did because they knew that if Gordo were ever harmed, his uncle would have all of them murdered.

  Gordo said to Q, "You trying to get killed? I need you and Fresh to walk in front of me."

  They walked to the front of the compound where the driver awaited them and drove them back to the border.

  Chapter 9

  Jada was dressed very casually in ripped, faded skinny jeans, a turtleneck and a pair of Uggs. Her hair was up in a bun. She stepped into the elevator, pressed P, and was on her way to Big Papa's penthouse. She had a cup of coffee from Starbucks in her hand and as soon as she exited the elevator, she saw grinning-ass Big Papa standing there, looking at her like she was ice cream and cake.

  She hugged him and said, "Hey, Boo."

  She was so phony to him but he was so dumb that he would never pick up that she didn't give a damn about his fat ass.

  "Damn, baby. You're smelling good. What are you wearing?"

  "I can't tell you that. You think I'm going to tell you so you can go buy it for some of your other hoes?"

  He chuckled as if his big ass really had a lot of hoes.

  "Come on, you gotta tell me what that is. You're driving me crazy."

  "That's my job."

  She trailed him into the living room, watching his underwear struggle to cover his ass crack. Yuck. He sat on a sectional, and she sat on a yellow armchair across from him. He still had a stupid-ass grin on his face. Nappy whiskers covered his pudgy face.

  "Why are you smiling so hard?"

  "Glad to see you, that's all."

  "Would you quit it? It's freaking me out."

  "Damn, a brother can't be happy to see you?"

  "Yes, but you just saw me a week ago."

  "I like you, Jada."

  "I know you do."

  "You don't like me?"

  "I do like you Big—I mean Ty."

  "You can call me Big Papa, since I know now that's what you were calling me behind my back." He laughed.

  She laughed too and sipped her coffee.

  "So what brings you here, Jada?"

  "Wanted to talk."

  "About?"

  "Shakur."

  "Shakur? What about him?"

  "Look, Shakur was after Black and I was just wondering since Lani was murdered, has he let that go?"

  "As far as I know. I mean I don't talk to him every day."

  "Call him."

  Papa stood and wobbled his way into the bedroom before returning with his iPhone. He dialed Shakur's number. He activated his speaker.

  "Yo, what's up, big guy?"

  "What's up, bruh? I'm over here with Jada."

  "Tell her I said hey."

  "She heard you. You're on speaker."

  "Oh, I'm on speaker?"

  "Yeah, you want me to take you off?"

  "No, it's all right."

  "Hey, Shakur," Jada said.

  "She wants to ask you something," Big Papa said.

  He passed her the phone. There was saliva on the phone and it smelled like shit. She held it away from her mouth. "Shakur, can you come over? I want to talk to you."

  "Give me thirty minutes."

  "Cool." She ended the call. Big Papa sat beside her on the sofa. She felt uncomfortable with him beside her and all she could think about was that his breath usually smelled like hot shit.

  He glanced at her handbag and said, "Is that the bag that I bought you?"

  "Yes, Daddy, it's one of the bags that you bought me. You've been so good to me, I've lost track of the bags that you've gotten me."

  "I try my best."

  "You're very good to me," Jada said. She knew where he was going. Over the last month or so, he'd been trying to get in her panties and she had denied him. She was sure that it was just a matter of time before he cut her off. She would be fine with that because there was no way in hell she was going to fuck his fat ass.

  Big Papa extended his arms and tried to hug her. She shoved him away and he made a sad face. "What's wrong, baby?"

  "Shakur is on the way and I don't want to get all horny with him on the way," she lied.

  "I just think you don't like me touching you."

  She wanted to say, hell, no I don't want your fat, disgusting ass touching me but instead she smiled and said, "That's not it, Daddy."

  "What is it then?"

  "I'm not in the mood."

  "Cycle again?"

  "No." She knew she couldn't use that excuse. She'd used that excuse a few times and one time he'd even gone down on her anyway.

  "What is it?"

  "Look, I didn't come over here for this. I came over here to make sure this beef was squashed between Shakur and Black."

  "Why do you care?"

  "I don't want anybody to get hurt."

  He placed his hand on her leg, which was partially exposed through the ripped jeans. "I've always thought ripped jeans were sexy as hell."

  "Really?" She wanted to move his hand but she thought maybe if she left it there, he wouldn't press her for sex.

  "Can I get a kiss?"

  "No."

  "Why not?"

  "Why are you asking for a kiss? Most men just take it. You have to be bold. A planned kiss is never sexy. Remember that."

  "So if I kissed you out of the blue, you wouldn't be mad?"

  "If the mood was right, and you stole a kiss, that would be so fucking hot."

  She couldn't imagine him slobbering on her, trying to kiss her. All she could think about was that stinking-ass phone and the germs that had accumulated on it. Jada didn't want to continue with Big Papa. He was a nice guy, and he didn't deserve to keep getting used by her.

  Big Papa's cell phone rang. It was the front desk. Shakur was in the lobby. Papa ordered security to send him up, and a few moments later, Shakur was standing in the living room. He was wearing a skintight, black nylon Under Armor shirt and his six pack was imprinted though the tight shirt. His locks were pulled back and bound with a rubber band. The man's body was like a superhero or something out of a movie. Jada would have fucked him right then and there if she didn't feel it would dishonor Lani. Besides, she was there for conversation only. Shakur hugged Jada and then took a seat on the sectional opposite Big Papa.

  Jada said, "How you been?"

  "Doing good. Just working out, trying to keep my mind off Lani."

  "Yeah, it's tough for all of us."

  Shakur's eyes became misty and said, "I don't think you understand. This is the first woman that I actually gave a damn about. I can't help but think about what could have been."

  Jada felt very bad for Shakur. She could tell he was very sincere.

  Big Papa laughed and said, "Got my dawg getting all soft and shit."

  "I loved her," he said then he stood and made his way to the bathroom. Jada stared at his ass as he made his way to the bathroom. For a brief moment, she wondered what it would be like to fuck Shakur and Fresh at the same damn time. She could deep throat Fresh while Shakur fucked her in the ass.

  Shakur reappeared and took his position back on the sofa.

  Jada said, "I just want to know if the beef is over between you and Black."

  "Did Black send you over here?"

  "No, he didn't."

  "Why are you asking that?"

  "Lani is dead, Shakur. There is no reason to beef, right?"

  "Except the fact that I just don't like that punk motherfucker."

  "So let me get this straight," Jada said. "You don't like that punk motherfucker, so that's a reason to beef with him?"

  "Look, I don't give a fuck what anybody say. He had something to do with Lani's murder."

  Jada didn't want to tell Shakur what she knew about Kyrie killing Lani because that would only reaffirm what Shakur already thought—-that Black had something to do with the murder.

  "So this is worth somebody possibly getting killed? You can't bring Lani back, Shakur. She's gone."

  "I know she's gone and I can't bring her back, but I can take the motherfucker out that killed her."

  "Please, Shakur, let it go. I've seen too much bad shit happen. I don't know you, but I know you're a close friend of Ty's and I don't want nothing to happen—-"

  "Happen to who? Not me. You need to go talk to Black and say a prayer over his ass."

  Jada could see this was going nowhere, and there was no use in trying to persuade him to let the beef go. Jada stood and hugged Big Papa and then shook Shakur's hand. She let herself out of the penthouse.

  Chapter 10

  Eli had come by to get his things and even though TeTe had chopped his finger off, he still wanted to be with her. He didn't want to give up his life of luxury. But despite his pleas, she'd told him to get the fuck out. She liked Eli, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would kill him if he ever fucked around on her again. So to avoid all that, she sent him on his way, and it was a win-win for everybody. Eli got to keep his life, and she was single to do whatever the fuck she wanted and right now, she was trying to see what this Black character was all about.

  She was lying on her bed finishing up an episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta when she texted Black: I wanna see you. Can I take you to dinner?

  Black: What time.

  TeTe: 8:30. Where do you wanna go?

  Black: Spoondivits? I don't know. You tell me.

  TeTe: Definitely not Spoondivits. What about Oceanaire?

  Black: Never been there but since you're paying. :-)

  TeTe: So you wanna come pick me up?

  Black: Where did you say you lived again?

  TeTe: I never said, but I live in Cobb.

  Black: So do I.

  TeTe: Perfect, see you soon.

  Black: :-)

  * - *

  Black drove up to TeTe's huge cobblestone home with the wrap around driveway. He spotted the white Jaguar. He said to himself. "This bitch got it going the fuck on."

  He dialed her up and she answered. "I think I'm outside," Black said.

  She peeked outside. "I'm still getting ready, come inside."

  Black made sure his gun was tucked under the armrest and he had a couple of ounces of Kush in a small jar that he put away as well. He sprayed the car with Febreze just to make sure the scent didn't linger.

  Seconds later, she stood at the door wearing a black dress that clung to her body. Her tiny-ass waist made Black want to wrap his arms around her and that's exactly what he did as soon as he approached her. He gripped a handful of her ass and held it for a long time.

  He noticed she was wearing vanilla and said, "You smell so goddamned delicious. Smelling like a nana pudding in this motherfucker. Making me wanna eat yo ass up."

  "Don't say something you ain't prepared to do."

  "Don't call me out."

  She laughed and said, "I'm calling you out."

  "No, we gotta go. I have something I gotta do later on."

  "More important than getting some pussy?"

  "We're going to get to that."

  "We are?"

  She turned so her back was facing him. "Zip me up."

  Black's big-ape ass hands struggled with the delicate-ass zipper. He was careful not to break the zipper. Finally, he got it up.

  "Mommy, Mommy," a voice yelled. Black glanced up the spiral staircase and there was a pretty, little girl with pigtails.

  TeTe said, "That's my daughter, Butterfly." Then she waved her downstairs and said. "Come downstairs and say hey to Mr. Black."

  Butterfly made her way down the spiral staircase playing with her iPhone.

  Black said, "Hey, Butterfly." He kneeled then dug into his pocket and handed her a hundred dollar bill.