RedBone 2 (8 page)

She couldn’t believe she wasted so much time at his house only for him to be ungrateful. She massaged her left temple and tried to calm down.
Hours wasted and no blood.
Before she renewed her search, she had to get out of the neighborhood.

She was strutting toward her car when someone yelled, “Can I holla at you for a minute?”

Farah took one look at the drug dealer in the souped-up silver Chrysler 300, rolled her eyes, and continued on her journey. “I’m not even interested.” She waved as she wrestled for the keys in her purse. “So do me a favor and step the fuck off.”

“Well fuck you then, you high yellow bitch! Want a nigga to kiss your ass and shit!”

Farah stopped in place, rotated, and faced the caller. She could tell by how little his head was in his car that he wasn’t as big as Floyd. Despite his height, the one thing he had going was his looks. As a matter of fact, at a distance, he was inviting. So she twinkled and said, “On second thought, I
can
spare a few minutes.” She approached his window and peered inside. The car was neat and clean. “I’m sorry about how I carried shit back there. I just broke up with my boyfriend and got a lot on my mind. I don’t have a right to be taking it out on you though.”

He smirked. “You were pretty cold.” He was laying it on thicker than peanut butter. “But damn, why you let me unleash on you first? I wasn’t even trying to come at you like that.”

“It’s not even that deep. Let’s move past that shit.” She looked up at the stars. “The night is young and so are we. Anyway, what’s your name?” She leaned on his car.

“Glover, but my friends call me G.”

“So, G, you got somewhere to be in the next fifteen minutes? After the day I just had, I really don’t want to be alone.”

His words flowed coolly out of his mouth, but his smile resembled a Cheshire cat. “I’m good if you are.” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them like he was trying to warm up. “My mother gonna be gone all day. If you want, we can fuck at her crib. I don’t have to check up with my weed man until later.”

This nigga is perfect.
He was cute enough to fuck, but irritating enough to soothe her conscience. “I’ll go with you on one condition.”

“As fine as you are, I’ll give you anything but money.”

Don’t worry, nigga. I’m gonna take everything you got anyway.
“You have to answer my question, can I make you famous?”

“You can make me anything you want! Believe that.”

She grinned. “Well, lead the way.”

Farah was sitting on top of Glover’s dick, bucking her hips wildly. Sweat spilled off of her body and melted into the curly black hairs on his chest. His fingernails dug into the flesh of her yellow ass as he pushed into her wetness. She wasn’t a pro by a long shot in the bedroom, but the last time she fucked Slade, he gave her enough jewels on how to move her waist.
If only you could see me now. You’d be proud,
she thought.

While on top of him, she leaned back so that her hands were on the bed while she pushed and wound against him. Her pussy syrup dripped all over his legs, and the bed was soaking wet. She fell into him, and her breasts pressed against his lips.

“Kiss them for me, baby.” He removed his hands from her ass and gripped her left breast and sucked the nipple. “Work that tongue, G. Ummmm, just like that. That shit feels so good.” If she closed her eyes tight enough, in her dreams he could’ve passed for Slade.

Although she was there for blood, she would be lying if she didn’t say she was highly aroused by his fuck game. The nigga was brilliant, and in her opinion it was a shame that such good dick would go to waste.

Finished with her left titty, he moved to the right. When he licked them both clean, he placed his hands back on her cheeks and squeezed. “Damn, bitch, buck them hips just like that.” He moaned. “I’m about to splash into this pussy.”

Farah spun, pumped, and moved her waist as much as she could. Outside of fucking Slade, this was the best sex she ever had.

“You almost got me there, ma. Work it, work it!” As much as he pumped her up that she was handling business, he could’ve coached even the Redskins to victory. “Keep it just like that.”

“You like what I’m doing, don’t you?” This was the best reaction she ever got from a nigga outside of Slade.

“I love this shit, girl! You got me ’bout to juice up in that thing.”

“Tell me you love this pussy.” She was on the verge of an orgasm. “Talk to me nasty, or you not gonna get no more.”

Farah getting up before he busted was not an option, so if he had to talk in tongues to keep beating that thang, then so be it. “I fucking love this fucking pussy, bitch. You a sexy red bitch, and I’m ’bout to let loose in this pussy.”

The more shit he talked, the more she couldn’t wait to taste his blood, so right when he was about to cum, she fell into his body, removed the razor blade that she had stuffed under his pillow when he wasn’t looking, and dug into the jugular vein on his neck. To shield the pain, she bit into his neck and sucked the wound. Glover never felt anything so sexual in all of his life, so he had no idea that he was sliced. He was about to write it off as the best sex he ever had, until she rose up and her lips were bloody red.

“What the fuck?” He pushed her off of him and she tumbled to the floor. In panic mode, he held on to his neck and blood oozed through his fingers. “Why did you cut me?” He looked down at her. His blood was all over her breasts and belly. “Why would you do some shit like that?”

Farah scooted away and ended up with her back against the wall. Literally. “I was just tasting you, baby.” She laughed, exposing her red teeth. “And you’re so sweet.”

Fuming mad, Glover dipped toward his dresser and grabbed his mother’s 9 mm. Now armed, he dodged after her, ready to take her life.

At the moment, Farah’s driving skills resembled a drunk’s, but although she had wine earlier, she was as sober as a newborn baby. Her driving was impacted because of what had just happened. Glover almost switched shit on her and took her out of this world, instead of the other way around. She still couldn’t believe she was alive. She clutched the steering wheel so hard her fingernails were imprinted on it.

When G pushed her to the floor and approached her with the gun, had it not been for the steel heel on her shoe, which she used to stab him in his groin area, she would’ve been murdered. After she stabbed him repeatedly everywhere her shoe would land, he lost so much blood that she was able to wrestle the gun out of his hand and put a bullet in his head. When she was done, she cleaned the place up as much as possible.

Starved, she strolled into the IHOP restaurant to order pancakes with cheese. When her order was complete and she was on her way out, she smacked into Rhonda, who was walking inside. At first she was going to pretend she didn’t see her, but Rhonda blocked her path and stared directly into her eyes.

This is all I need right now.
“Hi, Rhonda.” Farah sounded dry.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened to Chloe.” Her expression was bland and emotionless. “She was always real cool with me and I liked
her
a lot.” She looked her over. “So, how are you holding up? You look good.”

“I’m not as good as I look.” Farah observed Rhonda’s hands and the way she was carrying herself. Something felt off. “Knight came up to me the day my sister died. He kind of blamed me for everything that happened with the baby and it fucked my head up. You know it wasn’t done on purpose, right?”

“He told me what happened.” She ignored her question and stepped closer to Farah, who backed up. “But if you alive, it means you’re okay. Thank God for small favors, right?”

“I’m alive, but it wasn’t without a fight, Rhonda. He had a gun and everything. Had I not pushed him down, I would be dead.”

“I don’t care what you would have done to him, Farah. Me and Knight are not together anymore.”

“What?” She frowned. “Why?”

“Because he doesn’t want to be with a woman who can’t hold a baby.”

“That’s so fucked up on his part!” She reached out to touch her arm, but Rhonda snatched it away. “I liked Knight for you. We all did.”

“Well, he didn’t feel the same way.” Her creepy expression made Farah uncomfortable.

“How come it looks like you’re still mad at me?”

“You get anything in the mail lately?” Rhonda asked with a grin. “Anything at all?”

The hair on the back of Farah’s neck rose. The first thing she thought about was the picture she had ripped up in her purse. Although she didn’t get it in the mail, she received it all the same. “Why you say that?”

Rhonda smiled and walked past Farah to the counter.

“Rhonda, why did you say that?”

“No reason.” She grinned. “And if you talk to Slade again, tell him I said hi.”

 

 

Slade sat at a flimsy square gray card table inside of a gym with Major, Killa, Willie, and some of Willie’s men. Willie owned the gym because of the openness , which made it difficult to place microphones if the Feds were after him. The smell of dirty boxing gloves and unwashed floors hovered in the air, but nobody seemed to mind. Audio was outside chain-smoking because he hadn’t come to grips that he and Chloe were done. Truthfully his absence was appreciated, because these days, Audio never knew what to say out of his mouth.

After the main objectives were covered, Willie decided to talk about what else was on his mind. “You’re not going back to Mississippi, Slade.” He looked him square in the eyes. “I hope you know that.”

The last time somebody told him he wasn’t going home it was Willie’s son, Randy, and suddenly Slade could see the family resemblance. Slade looked at his brothers in disbelief. “What you mean, I’m not going back?” He frowned and placed his clenched fist on the table. “I thought we made our arrangement clear when we shook hands. DC not for me or my brothers.”

He covered his face with a soft smile. “Let me clear up my position. What I’m saying is that I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.” He looked at Major and Killa. “All of you. Once you see the paper I’m putting on the table, you won’t want to ever go back, except on holidays.” He chuckled.

Slade eased up a little, although he was still tense. The money had been great since he’d been in Washington, DC. It allowed him to be able to rent his own place in Platinum Lofts, pay his brother’s hospital bill, and buy a new ride. Not to mention, with having paper, the search for Knox was constantly funded. But it didn’t make him like DC any more. His only objective was reconnecting family and returning to Mississippi.

“Me and my brothers appreciate everything you’ve done for us. We do, but you need to prepare yourself for the fact that we are out the moment we find our brother. DC may be good for you, but for us it’s bad luck,” Slade said in a low voice. “Not to mention, our cousin Markee has been missing for months. It’s not like him to up and roll out without talking to anybody in the family. Something ain’t right.”

“And ain’t no amount of money you can offer up can get us to change our minds,” Killa added, ready to board the next thing smoking out of the city. “If you ask me, we losing more than we’ve gained.”

Willie’s expression was tight because he was so used to throwing money around to grant his wishes that he couldn’t understand rejection. “I’m sorry about your family members. I really am. But unlike the respect I have for Knox, when I first met him, I can’t say Markee is of the same breed.”

Slade frowned and sat closer to the table. “Anybody with a Baker name is of the same breed.” He sat back in his chair. “Even if he wasn’t, it ain’t your call.”

“You’re right, and I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying that we do great together, so whether or not you reconnect with your family, I don’t see why we should end the relationship. Can you honestly say that you’ve made as much money ever before in your life as you have with me?”

“I can honestly say that none of this shit matters,” Slade explained. “Like my brother said, family does. Not to mention, there are a lot of niggas I need to get away from out here before I catch a case.”

Willie waved his hand for a bottle of Scotch to be brought to the table. “Are you referring to Randy? If you are, you need to know he’s not moving the same. He’s afraid, son. The one hundred thousand dollars I placed on his head has him stuck. He moved out of his house and everything. And because I met with the connect and made an exclusive deal, he can’t cop from him anymore.”

“I went by his house the other day and saw he moved,” one of his men said.

“So you see, son, it’s all good. He won’t be coming out of his hole for a while.”

“You can’t trust shit Randy does or says,” Major responded. “I’m still not understanding why he would say he had a ransom on my brother’s head when he didn’t.”

“If I know him like I know I do, it was probably the plan to kidnap your brother.” He looked at the Baker Boys seriously. “But his team doesn’t respect him, so maybe something went afoul. What I want to express to you boys is that we work good together, and if taking my own son out will make you feel safer, then . . .”

Slade sat up straight. “Get this straight: it ain’t a nigga alive who can make me feel unsafe, or safer. I’m going back home because there’s nothing here for me anymore. Case closed.”

Killa and Major knew he was referring to Farah despite never saying the words, but they both knew their brother and could bear witness to the fact that Slade had never been this destroyed before. All of the money and all of the bitches he had in his life couldn’t stop his heart from beating for her.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Willie said, sliding the glasses of Scotch toward each of them. They weren’t the type of niggas to sip Scotch, but they accepted the glasses anyway. “You have to respect a man with goals. I just know that my business ventures have increased with you boys around, and if there’s something I can do to change your minds, I won’t stop until I find it.”

Something in his voice told Slade that, in the future, there would be problems with him when it was time to bounce. Besides, any man who would kill his own son could never be trusted. For now, while he was making paper, it was best to stay cordial.

“And I can respect your diligence, Willie, but the answer will always be no.”

They were just about to down their drinks when an albino with coal-black hair strutted inside the gym with a navy blue gym bag over his shoulder. Willie’s men immediately rushed him, knocking him to the floor. His bag was yanked from his grasp and the contents were searched. When the only things they found were some boxing gloves, a towel, and a mouth guard, everyone breathed a little easier.

Now that things were safe, Willie strolled up to him, his brown tailored suit hanging effortlessly off of his frame. He grabbed him up by the top of the shirt and his men gripped him by the arms. “How did you get in here?”

“The door was unlocked.” He moved to point at the door, but Willie’s men thought he was making a crazy move and punched him in the gut. The man doubled over before his men stood him up straight again.

“I asked you, how did you get in here?” Willie repeated.

“I’m telling you, man, the door was unlocked.”

“So you calling me a liar?” He frowned, stepping closer.

“On everything I love,” he said in a weak voice, “the door was unlocked when I walked in here. I wouldn’t even fuck around with you like that.”

Willie was just about to give the order to kill him, when one of his men whispered something in his ear. It was then that he remembered that Audio went outside to chain-smoke, leaving all of then vulnerable. The kid was getting on his fucking nerves and, truthfully, he didn’t see his benefit. In his world, he got rid of things that were useless. “Didn’t you see the sign that the gym was closed?”

“I come here every Saturday night, man.” He paused. “If it was there, I probably overlooked it.” He looked around at everyone. “I would’ve never stepped in here unless I thought it was open for business. All I wanted to do was hit the bag a few times.”

Willie looked over his light skin, black cotton sweatpants, and matching shirt. He looked harmless enough. Although Willie was prepared to give him the nod of approval, Slade saw something different in his eyes.

“Get out of here while you’re still able. We busy right now.” Willie shooed him with a wave of his hand.

Lollipop grabbed his gloves from the floor when Slade asked, “You box?” Everyone looked at Slade.

Lollipop stopped what he was doing, eyed him suspiciously, and said, “I do all right.”

Slade stood up and approached. “How about me and you go a few rounds?” Killa and Major followed him. Slade stopped inches away from Lollipop. “You got gloves I can borrow, Willie?”

“Yeah,” he responded skeptically, “we got some in the back.” Willie waved his hand, sending one of his men on the search.

“I thought y’all were having a meeting,” Lollipop interjected. “I’m not trying to break that up.” He picked up his mouth guard and towel and seemed in a hurry to go back out.

“It ain’t a problem. We rounding up anyway.” Slade removed his watch and handed it to Major. “You look a little out of it. You sure you came to hit the bag?”

Lollipop nodded.

“Okay, let’s go at it then.”

This was not the plan. Lollipop was instructed to go to the meeting, see who was present, and report back to Randy. Originally he knew it was a bad idea to show up at the gym, for fear he’d be recognized, but now things seemed much more serious. He heard about how Slade murdered one of Randy’s men with his bare hands. He wasn’t trying to be his next victim. But after much time and discussion on Randy’s part, he reluctantly gave in. “I should have a few minutes to go one round.”

Slade grabbed the gloves and wrap from one of Willie’s men, and Major and Killa put them on his fists. When they were secure, he slammed them together and hopped inside the small ring next to them. When he looked down, Lollipop hadn’t moved an inch. “You coming in or what?”

Lollipop could feel his balls in his throat. Something about Slade told him it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t back out now. He didn’t even know if the gloves he had would fit, because they belonged to Randy. After one of Willie’s men slipped them on, he felt they were too tight, but jumped into the ring anyway. “I’m with it.”

Slade smiled, slammed his gloves together, and grinned. “Good, let’s do it.” He hopped around the ring a few times before throwing a jab geared for Lollipop’s jaw. Quick on his feet, he got out of the way just in time. “I see you know how to dodge a punch. Let’s see if you know how to take one.” Using a more calculated move, Slade slammed his glove into his jaw as lightly as possible. His objective wasn’t to kill him, at least not right now. He wanted to hurt him to see what he was made of. Still, his lightest blow sent Lollipop flying against the ropes.

Lollipop shook his head and tried to toss away the pain. His only objective now was to make it out of the ring alive. “I ain’t hardly feel shit.” He rubbed his throbbing jaw. “But I see you a—”

His sentence was broken because Slade stole him in the face again, forcing Lollipop’s lips to slap together as he fell to the floor. This time Lollipop couldn’t recall where he was or his first name. For a second he lay in the ring, face up, trying to decipher if he was a man or his cousin Melinda from Virginia.

“You all right, man?” Willie grinned from the outside. “Because you can stop anytime you want.” Although the show wasn’t planned, he had to admit it was great entertainment. “This shit ain’t mandatory.”

Lollipop turned over and crawled to the ropes. With the little strength he had left, he pulled himself up, loosely dangling from the sides. Finally on his feet, he turned around and faced Slade. Unlike his present condition, Slade looked unscathed. “I’m fine,” he said to everyone. “Give me a second.”

“You sure?” Slade asked with slight remorse. Originally he was looking to take his frustrations out on someone, considering all of the fucked-up things going on in his life, so when Lollipop came in with the gloves, he figured he’d be a worthy adversary. Now he felt sorry for the man. “Because we can end this now.”

“I said I’m fine.” He smashed his gloves together and approached. “Stop wasting time, nigga. Come on!”

Originally Slade was thinking of the best excuse to let him off of the hook; that was, before the left side of his face was met with a crushing blow. The punch took him so much off-guard that he fell into the ropes and lost time. When Slade stood back on his feet, he grinned. Maybe he was a worthy opponent after all. Now he would show no mercy. Before Lollipop could understand the damage he caused, he was struck in the chin with an uppercut that sent him flying out of the ring. He flapped his legs and arms until he landed at Willie’s crocodile-shoe feet.

“Dammmnnnnn!” Major cheered. “You just space-shuttled this nigga!”

Willie laughed heartily, looking down at him. “I think you’ve had enough,” he told Lollipop. “You should be going about your way now.” He helped him to his feet, and one of his men stuffed Lollipop’s bag into his chest. He gripped it with his glove-covered hands and tried to stop swaying. “Come back when it’s not so busy and get some practice. Because you need it.”

“When you do come back, make sure Slade isn’t here.” One of Willie’s men laughed.

Lollipop held tightly to his things, looked at Slade once more, and angrily stomped off.

“I don’t know, Slade,” Willie said, approaching the ring. “Something tells me you have a new enemy.”

Killa removed one of his gloves and Slade said, “Tell him to get in line.”

After the boxing match, Slade and his brothers exited the gym, with Willie and his men following them. The Baker Boys were about to approach the truck when Slade scanned the outside surroundings. “Where is Audio?” His head swiveled from right to left quickly. “Fucking with that dude in the ring, I forgot that he never came back.”

Killa stepped away from his brothers, and from where he stood, looked up and down the dark streets. “I don’t know. He told us he was coming out here to smoke a cigarette.” He zeroed in on a building on the side of the gym. “Maybe he—”

“Wait, there he goes right there.” Major pointed up the street.

Slade glanced up the block and saw his brother on the side of the building, talking to some chick. He was furious for a number of reasons. First of all, he should’ve come back to the meeting a long time ago. Secondly, the way his body swerved, he could tell he was busted. “Audio, get the fuck over here, man! We ’bout to bounce!”