It's Like Candy (37 page)

“Niggah, is you serious?! You're ready to pay for this bitch after what she done did to you?” Russell questioned.

“I love her,” Eric said.

“Love? Eric, is her pussy that good? Is her pussy worth losing your life over? “

“You will never understand the meaning of forgiveness and you will never know love, Russell. I got eighty thousand in cash in a small duffel bag. The money's yours, in exchange for River.”

“You were always the fool in the family, Eric. You disgrace me and your father,” Russell stated. “Fuck it, ayyite . . . we can do business, no problem. You wanna pay for the bitch, then it's all good. You come correct, though, Eric, or I swear, I'll take my time killing this bitch and then I'm gonna do you.”

“We cool. I got the money, just let me know where to meet.” “You remember where Uncle Black and his crew used to hang out at?” Russell asked.

“Yeah, that old warehouse in Five Towns,” Eric said.

“I'm there. Come alone.”

“I'll be there around midnight,” Eric said.

“You better come alone, E. And don't fuckin' cross me. We family and all, but I won't hesitate to kill you.”

Eric hung up.

 

Eric stopped at a local chicken spot
on Liberty Avenue when he spotted Hershey from a distance. He knew Hershey had the information he was searching for. Hershey was a girl who had been into everything from drug trafficking to prostitution. She even did a few of Eric's parties and blessed Rah with some ass at his bachelor party.

Hershey was standing outside the chicken spot talking to a male friend when she noticed Eric rushing out of his car coming toward her.

“Eric, what's goin' on? It's been a minute,” Hershey said, greeting him with a smile, looking enticing in some tight jeans and a fitted basketball jersey.

“Hershey, we need to talk,” Eric said.

“You got another party for me to do?”

“Nah, I need to talk to you in private,” Eric stated, glancing at her male friend.

“Ayyite, no problem. . . . Mike, I'll be right back,” Hershey said, and strutted off with Eric to his car.

Hershey got in and Eric drove off.

“So, Eric, what's good? What you need from me?”

“Do you know a girl from around here named Starr? I know she works the tracks on occasions. If I can recall she's about five-five and beautiful, with long black hair, beautiful brown eyes, and she's about sixteen.”

“Starr . . . Starr . . . oh, I know who you're talkin' about. She works for Rome. The little bitch got some attitude on her,” Hershey stated. “What do you want wit' her?”

“You know where I can find her?”

“Rome has a few apartments in the Forty projects, moves girls in and out of there all the time,” Hershey informed him.

“I know. It's been a while since we talked. I need to get wit' him,” Eric said.

“You sure?” ies.

“Ayyite, I'll see what I can do for you,” Hershey said, pulling out her cell phone and making a call.

An hour later, Eric nervously walked past three armed men on his way to see Rome in his fourth-floor apartment. Rome and Eric were very familiar with each other, since they both were in the business of profiting from the sex trade. They had done business with each other a few years ago, but for Eric business with Rome had gotten too risky, so he backed off and they'd gradually gone their separate ways.

Eric came to the apartment door where two soldiers stood guard outside. They both were expecting Eric to show, but were totally against his arrival. Eric's cousin had Sleepy killed, and they resented Eric just walking up on them and not being able to do any-thing about it.

“Niggah, put your arms up,” one man said sternly, about to frisk Eric for any weapons. He glared at Eric as he patted him down.

“I'm clean,” Eric stated.

“I don't give a fuck! You lucky Rome won't let me put a bullet in your fuckin' head,” he countered.

Eric ignored his threat and allowed him to continue with the search. After Eric came up clean, the soldier opened the door to the apartment, allowing Eric entry.

Eric slowly walked in, not knowing what to expect. Rome was at war with his cousin, and it could be a setup for Eric. But he took the risk and continued without any weapons. It was a large three-bedroom apartment, but Rome had renovated it a few years ago, knocking down the walls to the adjacent apartment and combining both rooms.

A few soldiers stood guard in the room when Eric walked in. They all glared at him, and they were all strapped. Some ladies stayed in the background, staring at Eric as the enemy. Word got out that Eric was Yung Slim's cousin, and the tension in the room could be sliced by a butter knife. They were just waiting for Rome to give the word so they could tear him apart.

“Where's Rome?” Eric asked, being short and simple with his words.

“Niggah, shut the fuck up and wait! You don't say shit!” a man loudly stated as he motioned to Eric with a pistol in his hand.

Eric returned his hard gaze, not backing down or looking weak. Then Eric's eyes danced around the room looking for a girl who resembled Starr. He'd met her once for a moment, and knew if he saw her again, he would recognize her.

Rome entered the room, shirtless, in a pair of baggy jeans and Timberlands, gripping a black-and-silver 9-mm in his hand. He glared at Eric as he approached, and then shouted, “Niggah, tell my why I shouldn't blow your fuckin' head off in this apartment right now!” Rome raised the gun to Eric's head, inches from his skull.

“Because right now we need each other,” Eric replied.

“Fuck you talkin' about, niggah? Because of your cousin, my little brother is dead,” Rome said.

“On my father's grave, I swear to you, Rome, I had nuthin' to do wit' that.”

“Explain yourself for coming here to see me, then.” Rome said. “I got something you want, and you have something that I want,” Eric stated.

“Like what?” Rome then lowered the gun from Eric's head and was now listening.

“I'll give you the location of my cousin right now. Fuck him! We ain't family anymore. As of tonight, I have nuthin' to do wit' him,” Eric said.

“And?”

“For the information I give to you . . . I'm lookin' for one of your girls.”

“What?” Rome said.

“Her name is Starr,” Eric told him.

“Fuck you want wit' Starr?” Rome questioned, giving Eric a perplexed gaze.

“It's personal between me and her,” Eric said.

“So you ready to give up family for some pussy?” Rome asked. “It's much more than that. . . . I can't get into details.”

“Niggah, you must be buggin', Starr is one of my best earners. What makes you think I'm supposed to pass her over to you for in-formation? How I know I can trust you?”

Starr was deep in the background when she heard her name being mentioned. Wide-eyed, she tried to get a peek at the man who was asking for her. When she saw him, his face suddenly began to register in her memory as she tried to place where she'd seen him before.

“Yung Slim killed my uncle in his own home, and he kidnapped my girl,” Eric informed him.

“That niggah is goin' crazy,” Rome said.

“I'm not lying to you, Rome. I know where he is hiding, and he's waiting for my arrival around midnight. You can have him—I'm giving him to you on a stick.”

Rome stared at Eric. “We used to do good business together, E. I always respected your family, but your cousin got a fuckin' problem. The niggah just came home and wanna tax me and my hoes like he the muthafuckin' government. How do I know this ain't a setup, you telling me this, but walking me into a trap?”

“It's not. I swear to you, on my soul, my family, my father . . . Idon't want nuthin' to do with that niggah anymore. To me he's better off dead than alive,” Eric loudly proclaimed. “I came here alone, on the strength of us being cool wit' each other at one point. All I want in return is Starr.”

“How that bitch get so important in all of this?” Rome asked. Starr moved her way to Rome's side as she stared at Eric with resentment.

“I'm not leaving. I don't know him,” Starr said.

“Bitch, shut the fuck up!” Rome scolded. “You have no fuckin' say in this.”

Eric stared at Starr. She was beautiful and so young.

Rome was quiet, contemplating the proposal. His brother's death was in his thoughts, and nothing would satisfy his thirst for revenge more than torturing and killing Yung Slim himself. Rome knew Eric was good people but had bad blood in his family.

“I have twenty thousand cash in a brown bag in my Scion down-stairs. That's all the cash I have left, Rome. It's yours, for Starr,” Eric stated as he tossed Rome the keys.

Rome looked at his man, tossed him the keys, and said, “Yo, go get that.”

Rome then looked at Starr, who stood clad in tight Daisy Duke shorts, a tank top, and black-and-white Nikes. Twenty thousand in cash and a chance to get his revenge for his brother's death: Rome knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

“You must be crazy like your cousin to give up that much cash for a bitch.” Rome said.

“We have a deal?” Eric asked.

Rome hesitated to give his answer right away. He looked at Eric and then diverted his eyes back to Starr, and knew she was hard to give up. But she was sixteen, and he knew young girls could become a headache sometimes, especially if they got locked up.

“Fuck it, we have a deal,” Rome said.

Starr looked at Rome in shock. “But Daddy—”

“Bitch, shut the fuck up!” Rome shouted. “You belong to him now.”

Starr looked at Eric with contempt. She tried to register his face, knowing she had seen him previously. Moments later, Rome's man
came through the door gripping the brown bag Eric had told them about.

“Bingo,” he shouted, passing Rome the bag.

Rome nodded. He quickly opened the bag and his hands went through the bills.

“Starr, even at the end, you still pay off big for me,” Rome said, smiling.

Eric then went on to inform Rome and his men about Yung Slim's location. He laid out the blueprint of his father's old warehouse. He even informed Rome who Yung Slim had probably hired for the in-formation needed to carry out the hits.

“A woman named Karen, who became a parole officer,” Eric told him. He had never liked Karen; he always thought she was a money-hungry two-faced bitch.

After their meeting, Reality came bursting into the apartment, gunning straight for Eric. Word got out to Reality that Yung Slim's cousin was meeting with Rome, and Reality wanted to blow his head off. His son's mother, Nicole, was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital, and doctors didn't know if she would survive another night.

“Muthafucka, I'm gonna murder this niggah where he stand!” Reality cried out, aiming his gun at Eric.

A few soldiers moved out of his way, hoping he would shoot first and ask questions later. Eric stared at Reality wide-eyed as panic overwhelmed him.

“You come at me and my girl!” Reality continued to shout. It was the first time anyone had ever seen Reality in tears, and his men were shocked.

“Reality, chill, niggah!” Rome shouted, trying to calm his boy. “Nah, fuck that, Rome!” Reality shouted, viciously grabbing Eric by his neck and pressing the gun to his head. “Why you bring this niggah here, and have him still breathing?”

“Because this is business!” Rome explained.

“Reality, I had nuthin' to do wit' what happened to you, believe me,” Eric told him, trying to save his ass.

“Shut the fuck up! I'm gonna murder this niggah Rome.” “Reality, he just gave up his cousin's location. You can have your revenge . . . but E . . . let him be,” Rome instructed. “He had nuthin' to do wit' it.”

“And you believe this niggah, Rome?”

“Me and him go way back. Let him be, Reality. We got the information and the bitch that set us up,” Rome stated. “Remember your old parole officer?”

Reality continued to glare at Eric but lowered the gun and backed off. “Yeah.”

“That bitch is in Yung Slim's pocket. How you think that niggah got the information needed to hit us so hard?” Rome said.

Reality was furious. He wanted to see blood spilled, even if it meant losing his own life.

“Yo, we cool?” Eric asked.

Rome nodded. Eric then looked at Reality, and said, “I'm sorry, but that blood is not on my hands. I'm out the game.”

Eric then glanced at Starr, who looked reluctant to leave, and called out, “Starr, come on.”

Starr turned around and stared at Rome. “I'm not leaving,” she exclaimed.

Rome became furious. He raised his gun at her, and said, “You either leave wit' him or in a fuckin' body bag. Your fuckin' choice.”

Of course she chose the first option.

“Eric, I swear, if you're lying to me . . . I'll find you, and believe me, when I do . . . a bullet in your head is gonna feel like heaven when I'm finish wit' you,” Rome warned.

Eric took Starr by her hand and went out the door.

When they left, Rome stared at Reality and his soldiers, and said, “Y'all niggahs get ready, we gonna finish this war tonight.”

Eric quickly moved down the stairs
Stairs with Starr cursing and raving at him.

“Niggah, you don't fuckin' own me! Who the fuck you think you are?!” Starr shouted as Eric pulled her by her arm down the stairs.

“Listen, stop being a bitch for a moment and let me explain,” Eric said.

Starr stared at Eric and finally recognized where she had seen him before. “Ohmygod. I do know you. You're Critter's friend. Why are you doin' this?”

“I'm here to help, not hurt you,” he explained. Before they left the building, Eric said, “I know your sister, River.”