Jada smiled. She’d been known to fuck a girl under the right circumstance but never a girl posing as a guy. Why settle when she could get penetrated by a guy, and this girl looked a hot-assed mess.

  Starr introduced the two and Micky sat beside Jada and stared at her erect nipples.

  “Who is the lucky man?”

  “Fresh.”

  “From College Park?”

  “He’s from Texas.”

  “Damn. Fresh is one lucky-ass dude. I’m sure Fresh can’t give you what I can give you.”

  “Fresh got a tongue too.”

  Micky laughed and said, “No, you better ask Starr. My brother runs Atlanta.”

  “Who is your brother?”

  “Stunna.”

  “I know him. Saw him at Black’s funeral.”

  “You knew Black?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t see you at the funeral.”

  “I was there, but there was thousands of people there. I suppose you couldn’t see everybody.”

  “I would have noticed your sexy ass.”Micky licked her lips. “Ma, I can give you the good life.”

  “I have the good life.”

  “Don’t fuck with girls, huh?”

  “Pretty bitches only.”

  Micky frowned.

  “I’m not saying that you aren’t pretty but I’m saying girly-girls.”

  Starr interrupted and said, “She was the prettiest girl in my third-grade glass. She had her hair down to her ass.”

  Micky laughed and said, “In the sixth grade, I realized I liked girls. But Starr is like a sister to me.”

  Micky turned to Jada and said, “I just like to play around. I hope this Fresh dude makes you happy.”

  “He does.”

  Micky turned to Starr and said, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the other night.”

  “I told you that you didn’t have to tell me that. We’re good.”

  “I know, but my brother seems happy with you and if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

  Starr smiled and said, “See that’s the thing. Your brother and I ain’t together. We went out a couple of times but I just got out of a relationship and that’s what I was trying to say. What your brother is doing don’t have shit to do with me.”

  Micky said, “I can dig it. I was just saying I know he likes you.”

  “And I like him, but we are taking it slow.”

  “Kind of like me and Jada.”Micky winked and Jada almost choked on her water.

  “You and I are taking it very, very slow, Micky. Like AARP-type slow.”

  They all laughed.

  CHAPTER 13

  Jada’s face rested on Fresh’s chest. They’d just finished watching a Keeping Up with the Kardashians marathon when he turned to her and kissed her and said, “I think it’s time.”

  “Time for what?”

  “Time for me to turn myself in.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah.”He sat up on the edge of the bed and she sat up with him and caressed his shoulders.

  She pressed her head against his back. “I don’t want you to turn yourself in.”

  “I can’t keep running.”He faced her. “There will be no us. There will be no future. No wedding. No kids and I want to see my son.”

  “So after you turn yourself in?”

  “I make bond.”

  “Then you’ll come back to Atlanta?”

  “I might get house arrest and I’ll have to stay at my mom’s house until this is over.”

  “So you can’t come to Atlanta?”

  “If I get house arrest, I gotta stay in Texas.”

  “Then I’m coming to Houston.”

  “You would do that for me?”

  “I would.”

  He pecked her on the forehead.

  “I’m going to beat it.”

  “I know you’re going to beat it if it happened the way you said it happened.”

  “It happened exactly how I said it happened and both of those dudes had been charged with robberies before.”

  “So when are you going to turn yourself in?”

  “One more run to make.”

  “Then we’re getting married?”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “You’ve been talking all this marriage shit. I guess I was right; it was all talk.”

  He sighed and put his hands on his head. “No, baby, it’s not all talk.”

  “I want you to meet my mama.”

  “I will, but meeting your mom don’t mean shit.”

  Jada grimaced. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that meeting your mom will not make me marry you. I have decided that we are going to get married.”

  “That’s what you said.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “You’re blowing smoke up my ass.”

  “I will if you want me too. I’ll do anything you want me to do to that big beautiful ass.”He grinned.

  “Will you shut the fuck up and get serious for a moment.”

  “Look, you got my word.”

  “You know what? You’re a Fuck boy.”

  “A Fuck boy? I’m confused. You were just saying that you would move to Texas with me and now I’m a Fuck boy?”

  Jada knew that she was being contradictory and her emotions were all over the place. She wanted this man, but she didn’t quite believe that he wanted her in the same capacity.

  She said to Fresh, “Look, baby, I’m sorry. I’m just getting older and I don’t have time for the bullshit. That’s all.”

  “And I don’t either.”

  ***

  Ava’s loft had twelve foot ceilings and exposed brick. The cherry-colored hardwood floors sparkled and Shamari guessed that it must have ran her a few thousand dollars a month. He wondered how she afforded such a nice place but then he remembered that she had run off with the D-boy’s money.

  “Water or Pepsi?”Ava asked.

  “Pepsi.”

  She grabbed him a Pepsi from the fridge and they sat at the bar.

  He accepted the soda and they sat at the bar on two barstools side by side. She said, “You know, I thought Jada was cool, but now I don’t know if I like her.”

  He looked confused as he took a swig of his soda and said, “Where is this coming from?”

  “She wants you.”

  “She made it clear who she wants.”

  “You don’t know. You’re not a female.”

  “She made it clear that she is with Fresh. That’s who she wants to be with and that’s who she is with.”

  “I’ve never met Fresh, but as a woman, I can tell you that she is probably insecure in some part of that relationship.”

  “What happened?”

  “She come asking me if I had fucked you.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I denied it because it’s none of her business.”

  Shamari grinned. He was happy that it was obvious that she was jealous of his and Ava’s relationship. She had hurt him and she deserved to be hurt.

  Ava stood and tiptoed over the hardwood floors to the other side of the room to turn on the thermostat. She said, “There is something that you need to know about me.”

  “What?”

  “I might look like a sweet innocent girl, but I can fight, Shamari, and I’ll fuck your girl up.”

  “She can fight too, but I’m not going to let it get that far. I’ll have a talk with her.”

  “You need to.”

  “I thought you guys were friends?”

  “I just met her. I thought she was cool. She said it was okay if I dated you. I would have never dated you unless she said it was cool. But now that we are dating, she has a problem with it.”

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  ***

  Jada had tried to reach Shantelle for Fresh. He needed her to make the final run before he turned himself in. Jada had called her three times but her phone had gone to voicemail, so they decided to just stop by her home. Jada was about to knock on the door when she heard a man’s voice say, “Bitch, I’ll kill you.”And then she heard Shantelle screaming and hollering.

  She turned to Fresh and said, “We have got to do something.”

  “Do what?”

  “Some dude is beating her ass. Can’t you hear it?”

  “I’m minding my own business. I already got problems.”

  The door flew open and there stood a coal-colored, buffed guy with biceps bulging from a tiny-ass Superman T-shirt. The man had hoop earrings in both ears and was wearing some kind of ugly-ass silver mood ring. He was a weird motherfucker for sure.

  The big, black super hero said, “What the fuck do y’all want?”Shantelle stood behind the man crying.

  “Shantelle, what’s wrong?”

  Shantelle said, “Please, Jada, just go.”

  The black super hero said, “You heard what she said.”

  Fresh stepped in between Jada and the super hero and said, “Look, you’re going to learn how to talk to my lady. I don’t give a fuck what you do in that house, but you are going to respect my woman.”

  The super hero laughed and said, “Or what? What the fuck are you going to do to me, nigga? I’ll toss your skinny ass across the street.”

  Fresh pulled out a black Glock 19, cocked it, and aimed it at the super hero’s motherfuckin’ dome. The super hero panicked and kneeled while waving his hands in a surrender motion.

  “Please, bruh, don’t kill me. I got kids, man. Don’t kill me. Please.”

  Fresh said, “Get your bitch ass up and get the fuck away from here.”

  “But I got clothes in her apartment.”

  “Buy you some new ones.”

  Shantelle said, “Don’t come back.”Then she invited Jada and Fresh inside. Shantelle was wearing some really skimpy green gym shorts that were gripping her ass and revealing her well-defined legs. “Let me go cover up some more.”

  “Yes, please do that,” Jada said then she looked at Fresh to see if he was looking at Shantelle but he wasn’t—he had already stolen a look.

  Shantelle returned wearing some tight jeans and Jada wanted to tell the ho to go change again but she didn’t.

  “What was that all about?”

  “He’s such a lame.”

  “That’s obvious,” Fresh said.

  “Yeah, I started working at Live Fitness as a personal trainer and I guess you could say we started fucking around. I let him spend a few nights. He would get jealous if he saw me laughing with male clients or co-workers. But anyways. What brings you over here?”

  Fresh said, “I know you used to make runs for Trey, and I was wondering if you could make a quick run for me.”

  “I can do that. God knows I need the money.”

  “Well, it will be this weekend sometime.”

  “Let me know. I’m down.”

  Fresh thanked her and Jada hugged her and said, “If you have any more problems out of big dude, call us.”

  Fresh said, “No, call the police because I will kill that nigga. I don’t need the trouble.”

  “I don’t think I’ll have any problems from him again. I’m going to take his clothes to work and then take out a restraining order.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Shamari was jerking off to an Instagram model’s video when Hunch barged into Shamari’s room unannounced and startled Shamari. “What the fuck?”

  “Look, bruh, some dude out here on the porch, said his name was Big Ced. Says he knew your boy Black and he wants to talk to you.”

  Shamari’s forehead wrinkled. He didn’t know anybody named Big Ced. He knew a couple of guys named Ced but none of them were big. He tucked his penis in his underwear, sprang from the bed, slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a tee. He then stepped out on the porch. A huge man stood on the porch and two more men were waiting in the car. Shamari introduced himself.

  “Yo. I know I don’t know you. Why are you showing up at my sister’s house?”

  Ced laughed and said, “Whoa, I’m a friend of Black’s. I got shot hanging out with the nigga a few weeks before he was murdered. I’ve known him since we were kids.”

  “And tell me what the fuck does that have to do with me?”

  “I think I know who did it.”

  “Detroit dudes?”

  “No, I think it was some dudes from L.A. Bruh, Black had a beef with some dudes from L.A. He went to the county jail and he got into a fight with a few of them, and I’m telling you, bruh, I think they killed Black.”

  “What?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, what do you want me to do about it? I’m out on bond waiting on a re-trial for a fed case.”

  “Black spoke highly of you and he said that you were one of the realist dudes he ever been around.”

  Shamari crossed his arms. “So wassup, Big Ced?”

  “Black was feeding the hood and ever since he got murdered, I ain’t been eating, you feel me?”

  “You think I’m a plug?”Shamari laughed. “I’m a grown man living at my sister’s house.”

  “I’m just looking for anything. It don’t have to be what Black gave me. You can just throw a dog anything.”

  Shamari looked over Ced’s shoulder at the two clowns in the cherry-colored Impala blowing trees playing Future’s Trap Niggas blasting through the speakers.

  “So this how you get down, Ced? You show up at my sister’s house with strange niggas and I don’t know none of y’all and you ask me for work?”

  “It’s not like that at all. They think I’m here to get the screen on my iPhone fixed. I told them that you fix cracked screens and shit.”

  “Why did you bring them in the first place? Why ain’t you driving?”

  “I had to sell my car, bruh. I’m telling you, I ain’t eating.”

  “Damn! You couldn’t have been eating that much if Black been gone a few months and now you tapped out.”

  “I just dropped twenty stacks down on a house for my baby mama and I got other kids. Eight in all. You feel me? Black had some money that belonged to me. He never told me where he got the work from, but I assumed it was Cali or Texas somewhere. So I asked could I send my money with him. I’d given him twenty thousand and you know the rest.”

  One of the clowns got out of the car. He was a tall, ebony-colored, skinny man with dirty-looking braids and black-assed lips. “Ced, ask the homie if he can fix a cracked iPad screen.”

  “See what I mean? They don’t know shit.”

  Ced yelled, “No, the screen is too big.”

  The man ducked back into the car.

  Ced said, “Look, Shamari, I know you don’t know me, but me and Black were good friends bruh!”

  “It’s funny he never mentioned you.”

  “Do your research. I know his whole family. His pops Bankhead Bo, his sister Rashida, his grandma Nana, and his kids. All of his kids.”

  Clearly, the man knew Black, Shamari figured and shook his hand.

  Ced passed him an old iPhone and said, “My number is in here. If you run down on anything, hit me up. I’m starving out here and if you need me to do anything, man, I’m down. Black said you were like a brother. A brother of Black’s is a brother of mine.”

  ***

  Gordo sent Shantelle back to Atlanta with one hundred kilos. She drove to Fresh’s house as soon as she got back to Atlanta to meet Fresh and Jada. Fresh unloaded all the work and then invited Shantelle inside. He then paid her ten grand.

  “Look, Fresh, I really appreciate this.” “No problem. Hey, I wanted to ask you a question.”

  “Anything.”

  “It’s about Q.”

  Shantelle huffed. “I don’t like him.”

  “I know. I just want to ask you a question.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you think that Q influenced the crazy white bitch to kill Trey?”

  “That I don’t know. But do I think it’s possible? Yes. I don’t think Q is a good person. He tried to kill me.”

  Jada interrupted, “And you want me to get this motherfucker out of jail?”

  “What?”Shantelle said. “Look, Fresh, I really wanted to make some extra money but anything involving Q, I don’t want to be a part of it.”

  “I understand,” Fresh said then he turned to Jada and looked at her. His eyes said, “Why in the fuck did you want to bring that shit up for?”

  “Shantelle, I appreciate what you did. I really do and it’s your choice if you don’t want to help. But understand, I didn’t know Trey.”

  “I loved Trey.”

  “So did Starr.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Trey was no angel.”

  “I understand that, but your man wanted to kill me for telling the truth.”

  “I’ve been knowing Q all of my life, so while he wanted to murder Trey and it might be fucked up, he is my man.”

  “I get that. And I’m just letting you know that I don’t want to have shit to do with him.”

  “I can respect that.”

  ***

  TeTe had whipped her Range Rover into a gas station and hopped out of the car. She sprinted inside to get some strawberry Trident gum before pumping gas. She had just placed the gas pump inside the gas tank when a man on the other side of the pump said, “TeTe, that’s a nice Range Rover you have. Is the engine turbo?”

  TeTe lowered her sunglasses and realized that she didn’t recognize the stranger. The attractive black man stood in front of a blue Ford Focus.

  She raised her eyebrow. “You know me?”

  He flashed his FBI badge and said, “I’m Barry Daniels with the FBI. A good friend of Black’s. I’m sure he told you about me. Or maybe not.”

  “What the hell do you want?”

  He inched toward TeTe. The gas pump was still in the gas tank. He lit a cigarette and she stepped back. Who the fuck lights cigarettes near gas pumps?

  When he saw her fear, he dropped the cigarette then stamped it out. “Did I scare you?”

  “What the fuck do you want?”

  “I wanna talk.”

  “About?”

  “I need help.”

  “I’m not a trapper.”

  “I know.”

  “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Here’s what I want.”He paused, “You seem like a very enterprising woman so I want you to introduce me to some people and we can take over the streets together. And I’ll cut you in on the profits.”