Gutta Mamis (24 page)

Duke hated getting his hands dirty unless it was absolutely necessary, and now, it was that time. With as many henchmen he had working for him, it wouldn't be hard to track down Keyz's killer. At least that was his immediate thought when he got the call. Lucky for him, he wouldn't have to ride out for this one. Nah, this one would be easy, and he wouldn't even have to leave his house.

So as Tierra looked up at him smiling, her glowing face more beautiful than ever, Duke's racing thoughts made him uneasy. He contemplated pulling out the .45 automatic tucked in his waist and blowing her brains out right then and there to get it over with. He'd send that pretty little bullet crashing through her temple without an ounce of remorse. Unlike Tierra, he was no rookie.

The longer he stood there premeditating his girlfriend's murder, Duke realized this situation was slightly different than any other. In the short time he'd known Tierra, he'd caught feelings for her. Feelings that he had never had for any chick. This was the exact reason why he had vowed to never put all his trust in a female. But Tierra played him good. He thought she was different from all the other ratchet broads he'd ever fucked with. Duke couldn't believe how bad he had slipped up; it could have easily been him getting bagged. He had trusted Tierra and allowed her into his home. She knew where he laid his head. That was mistake number one.

Duke brought their now meaningless tongue kiss to a halt. He needed more information. It was time to find out exactly what all Tierra knew.

“So what home-girl want so early in the damn morning?”

Tierra stepped back and walked over to the bed with Duke following closely behind.

She pursed her lips. “Giving me hell about being here. The usual.”

Duke watched her like a hawk. “Oh yeah. So, what'd you tell her?”

“Psst. I told her that I didn't have shit to say to her.”

“After what went down last night, I'm sure she's not trying to hear that.” Duke stood directly in front of Tierra. “She might be over there flipping out. I mean…I'm sure she scared too. We might need to go check on her. Make sure she's okay and everything.” His eyes narrowed, trained on Tierra and her every move.

“Hell no! We're not going back there. Besides, she's not even at home. Right about now, she's probably out flipping that package.” Tierra buried her head into her hands, then exhaled. As thoughtful as Duke was, she was not dragging him into her and Shinette's bullshit. It was already bad enough that her hands were dirty. She could have been a wanted woman right now for all she knew. For once in their relationship, she was going to protect him.

Duke sat down beside Tierra and placed his arm around her waist. “Well, no matter what happens, I'm here for you. But I have a gut feeling that everything's going to be all right,” he said soothingly.

Tierra raised her head. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because your man got your back. I'm all the protection you need, baby.”

When Tierra smiled this time, her dimples were more pronounced. She desperately needed to hear those words, but she could only hope Duke was right. Facing him with the truth about her wasn't easy. He wasn't happy with what he had learned about her, but he didn't judge her either. That was why she loved him.

“I have something else I need to tell you.”

Duke's chest tightened as memories of his cousin began to intercept his original thoughts. He had fallen into a daydream as Tierra's lips moved in slow motion.

“I know we've been on and off for two years now…can't say that
we've
always
had our shit together. But I think we've both matured and we're ready to take things to another level.” She took a deep breath and before she could start up again, Duke's cell started ringing.

“Hold that thought, baby,” he said, rising from the bed. Duke pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it. He remained in the room but walked far enough away from Tierra so that she couldn't hear the exchange on the other end of the line.

“I'm in,” the caller reported.

Duke's true feelings were inconspicuous. He had reserved his reprisal for later. “Good work,” he rattled off. “Now take out the trash,” he added, giving his most loyal goon clearance to eradicate their enemy.

“Say no more, Boss. Time to toe tag this motherfucker!” he said before disconnecting the call.

Duke eased his phone back in his pocket and walked over to Tierra. While he was on his call, she had been thinking that maybe it really wasn't time for her to tell him about the baby. She took all the distractions and interruptions as a warning sign.

“Now what were you about to tell me?” Duke asked, taking his place back beside her on the edge of the bed.

She slowly licked her lips and crawled over his lap. She tried her best to push everything to the back of her mind. “I was going to tell you how much I love you,” she lied, kissing him with more passion than before. She lifted his shirt from over his head and tossed it behind them.

Duke picked her up and changed positions. She automatically scooted to the center of the bed, knowing what time it was. He dropped his pants, climbed on top of her, and began rubbing on her hairless pussy, causing it to gush. She moaned in delight, begging
him to put it in. He parted her legs some more and eased inside of her. Tierra let out a stricken gasp as he plunged deeper into her, hitting all the right spots. The sound of his gun being cocked was completely drowned out by the propelling of his arousal, and her cries of pleasure. Duke's large fingers snaked along her neck, applying slight pressure with every thrust. He lowered his head and sucked roughly on her breasts, biting down on her thick nipples to incite another round of moans. Their bodies made music. It felt good and bad. So good that Tierra called out his name at the brink of her climax, not realizing for one second that her life was about to end.

Duke took Tierra there, but his mind was too far gone to even come close to reaching an orgasm. He was surprised he was even able to get an erection despite all the madness in his mind. The longer Duke lay on top of her, inside of her, the harder it became for him to pull the trigger and blow the back of her brains out the way she had done his cousin.

With his left hand camped under the pillow where the gun rested, he began stroking her chin with the other hand. Her lips latched onto his and he responded with what he knew would be that fatal kiss.

Shinette constantly glanced out of her rearview mirror as she made a right onto her street. She had no reason to believe anyone was following her, but in her line of business, there was no room for error. She refused to get caught slipping. That was why her guard stayed up.

She lowered the volume on the music as she pulled into her apartment complex, circling it three times before finally parking in her designated spot. She checked the rearview again and the side mirrors before reaching for the bag in the passenger seat. As she got out of the car, Shinette couldn't help but feel like she had robbed a bank and had escaped with $75,000 cold hard cash. That's how smooth her latest transaction had gone. There was only one person in the world who could get her a fast turnaround on that many bricks in such short notice, and that happened to be her mother's ex-boyfriend, Kenneth. He was one of the dirtiest cops that ever existed. She never understood what her mother ever saw in him. On second thought, she did. Money.

Shinette had taken a major loss, because in actuality, the five keys combined were worth well over $100,000. But time was of the essence, so the quicker she unloaded them, the quicker she could get the fuck out of dodge and lay low for a minute.

She had contemplated leaving Texas for the longest time, and
with all the money she had saved, along with today's earnings, she could leave and never look back if she wanted to. She and Tierra had infiltrated so many dope dealers' trap spots that it was only a matter of time before they got caught. Leaving now was not only the best move for business, but it was a smart move if she wanted to stay alive. Besides, Texas was dried up like the Atacama Desert. It was time to explore new opportunities.

Shinette walked hastily toward her unit. She could hear those bad-ass kids that lived on the first floor, running around like they'd lost their minds. She took to the steps. She was still bothered by how Tierra had gone sour on her. Before speaking with Tierra today, Shinette had every intention on splitting the money, but after her fly-ass mouth, she wasn't getting a penny.

Shinette moved at a more eager pace than before once she made it to the top floor. Her mind was made up. She would move all her things into storage first thing tomorrow and be on the first plane gassed up for Las Vegas. She entered her apartment, placed the bag on the living room couch, and kicked off her heels. She had worn the attire especially for Kenneth who always had the hots for her since she was sixteen. Today, she used his perverted ass to her advantage. He took all the weight off her hand without charging her a handling fee, whereas that same transaction would have cost her a few grand in applicable street taxes. But Kenneth wanted the pussy so bad that he was willing to sacrifice a profit to get it.

Walking instinctively straight to Tierra's room, Shinette opened her closet. All of her clothes were still hanging there. She pulled out her drawers. Everything was still folded the same way she had left them. Shinette checked Tierra's bathroom. Her toothbrush was still in its holder; her $30 face bar was still in the box; the Guilty Gucci perfume was exactly where she'd always kept it.
Nothing of Tierra's was out of place, which could have only meant one thing.

Shinette retreated to her own bedroom. She turned on the television and stereo. She raised the volume and headed for the bathroom. Once inside, she eased the door shut and walked over to the tub. She plugged the drain and turned up the hot water for the shower. Instead of getting inside the tub, she pulled the curtain closed. Shinette took off all her clothes, leaving them strewn on the center of the floor. Soon as the wide mounted mirror exposing her nudity began to fog, she slipped behind the door.

Less than two minutes later, the bathroom door slowly crept open, as Shinette had anticipated. A bare outstretched hand graced a heavy piece of hardware. She was as quiet as a roach. The assailant silently snuck past her, unbeknownst of her position. He was unmasked and dressed in true goon fashion from his head down to his feet. His black and long wavy hair was pulled back in a single ponytail, allowing Shinette to get a close look at the bold cursive lettering tattooed on the right side of his neck. She was able to make out a woman's name, underneath it, “rest in peace.” She pressed her lips tightly together knowing that whomever the woman was, she would soon have company.

Shinette and the intruder were merely an arm's length distance from each other. She could almost hear his heart tick. His calm slow breaths, confident stance, and direct headshot aim, led her to believe that this wasn't his first time. Like her, he wasn't afraid to catch another body. He had come prepared to execute his mission, and the closer he got to the tub, the tighter Shinette's right hand folded around her Nina. She held her breath, ready to spray at any given moment and light his ass up like a Mexican Christmas tree. She didn't blink once for fear he'd hear it. The steam building
in the air had obscured her so well she could no longer see her reflection. Yet her eyes never lost sight of this dead man walking. His fate had already been sealed long before he woke this morning. However, Shinette was going to do the honors of deliverance.

The gun leveled in his right hand, he blindly aimed at what he had hoped was Shinette's head. The instant he reached to pull back the curtain with the other hand, Shinette let loose a double that reverberated off the bathroom walls. Blood splattered everything in plain sight. He caught the first slug in the middle of his spine and the other in his right shoulder—the last hit forcing him to drop his gun in the tub full of water.

He managed to turn around before slowly dropping to the floor, pulling the shower curtain and the rod down with him. He groaned in agonizing pain as he stared wide-eyed at the naked being standing over him. He placed his bloody hand on the edge of the tub and tried pulling himself up until gravity forced him right back down. He looked down drunkenly at his shirt and began to panic at the sight of his own blood.

“Agggghhh!” he groaned as he tried to scoot as far away from Shinette as he could.

Shinette watched on as his shirt became drenched with blood. She squatted next to him, reducing herself to his level. “Who the fuck sent you?” she seethed. The icy glare he gave her didn't rattle her one bit. “Who the
fuck
sent you?” Her interrogation seemed to be getting her nowhere.

He let out a loose chuckle and scathingly retorted, “Bitch, I ain't telling you a damn thing.” He unleashed a glob of spit dead in the center of her face. “Now use that to suck my dick!”

Shinette snapped, and before she could think twice, she rammed the gun to his temple and let it sing. She didn't give her finger a
break until she heard the click, indicating that there were no bullets left. What was left of his head, slumped forward. Blood was splattered everywhere and spewed from every single hole she'd put in his body. She jumped up and rushed to the sink to wash all the blood and spittle from her face and neck. When she was finished, she walked back over to his lifeless body. She rummaged through his left pocket, pulling out the very piece of evidence that had given him away—Newport cigarettes. Although he didn't light the cigarette in her house, the distinctive stench in his clothes along with his musky cologne had left a trail. Shinette reached into his other pocket and pulled out his cell phone, ID card, an unopened pack of condoms, and a single door key. She stared at the key long and hard. Unless it was a coincidence that he liked pink butterflies, there was only one other person to whom that key could have belonged. That one little key explained why Tierra was acting the way that she had that morning. Shinette didn't want to believe how this was even possible, but as she stared down at the man she had decapitated, she understood better than anybody else that when shit got dirty, somebody had to clean it up. Although she never would have guessed in a million years that her own best friend would have ordered the hit. But unlike her, Tierra was too soft to do the job herself so she had to send a punk-ass bitch to do her job.