Seconds turned into minutes and minutes quickly became hours. Startled by the sound of the front door being slammed shut, Jessica leaped to her feet. Wiping a small bit of sleep from the inner corner of each eye, she focused in on Leesa, realizing her usual high-spirited facial expression was not there; instead, it was replaced with one of horror. Jessica knew something was wrong. After watching Leesa fall to her knees and start to wail, she got in panic mode herself. Originally, the day-to-day hustle life naïve Jessica thought Hutch was in jail; possibly had got knocked with a gun and some enormous amount of drugs. Tragically, that was not the case.
After a few minutes of trying to get Leesa to calm down and stop hyperventilating, Jessica was hit with the news. Her big brother, her constant protector, was dead and not coming back. He’d got killed; shot down like a stray dog in the street. Just as hysterical as Leesa was, Jessica had become. She was in denial. She didn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it. She started calling Hutch’s phone and received his voice mail. Despite pleas from her sister-in-law to stay put and deal with the awful reality of the truth, Jessica bolted outside onto the porch. In tears, the distraught sister rushed to the location her sibling was supposedly at. Face-to-face with yellow crime-scene tape and countless news cameras and residents mulling about, the normally strong willed and strong-minded Jessica broke all the way down. Throwing up all her stomach’s contents onto the curb, her life would never be the same. Hutch was gone and never coming back.
The word on the streets was, of course, much different than what law officials claimed. Hood rumor was Hutch was on his way to link up with his peoples when old boy said he needed to holler at him on the 911 urgent tip. Being a stand-up dude everyone could count on if need be, Hutch put his own business on hold. A female visiting inside the house revealed when Hutch arrived, his man acted as if something was off. Something didn’t seem right. She confessed to Leesa she, like Hutch, felt the strange tension as well. Their host started acting funny to them both. She told Leesa the guy just broke out in tears repeating that he was sorry. Hutch didn’t bother to ask ole boy what he was talking about and just left, she exposed. When he jumped in the car, the police surrounded it. “Girl, he tried to get out and surrender or run; but the police opened fire, murdering him like he wasn’t shit to them.” She shook her head in utter disgust.
Through multiple cross investigations in the police department as well as the streets, it came out that a couple of dirty on-the-take officers on a task force cut a deal setting Hutch up. Leesa was devastated. She couldn’t understand how and why they’d do something so heinous. Livid, she attempted to sue, but the police had planted a gun on Hutch, claiming he tried to open fire so they returned fire in self-defense. Leesa knew her man and knew that was a blatant lie. Hutch never took his gun to meet his connect. He didn’t need to, for they were too close for that. The dry-snitching rat who set Hutch up got six months for his cooperation. Ironically, they found him dead in the shower.
* * *
Rattled out of her dreadful daydream, J-Rite heard a car horn was honking like there was no tomorrow. Looking out the window, she saw it was her cab. Snatching up her money and gun, she was ready.
Better to be caught with this motherfucker than without it.
She placed it in the small of her back. J-Rite then hopped in the cab and was at the bus station ten minutes later purchasing a ticket.
CHAPTER SIX
J-Rite was awakened by the bus driver shaking her left shoulder. She got off the bus and called Leesa to let her know her whereabouts. “Aye, girl, I just got here. We just pulled into this bad boy. Where you at?”
“Give me about thirty minutes or so and I’ll be there. I got caught up in something that need my attention ASAP.”
“All right, big sis, no problem. I’m good. Just hit me up when you get here to the station. I’m gonna grab something to eat.” Taking a quick inventory of where she was at, she saw a McDonald’s and headed toward it. Not being able to get the fact that her connect and friend Buzzy was locked up facing God knows what consequences, she ate her meal thinking of her future.
I know I can get rich up here in this motherfucker. This place a damn gold mine just like Grand Rapid is. If I hustle hard for six months maybe I can get my money all the way up and get out of the game. Maybe I can go back home to Detroit and see if Mike Mike done changed.
Her thoughts momentarily drifted back to her old life.
I know I did him dirty just busting up like I did; but me and him been on two different levels for the last few years.
After she ate her food she walked back to the bus station and waited. Finally her cell rang. “Yeah, what’s up?” J-Rite said, answering her phone.
“Hey, sis, where are you at?” Leesa asked.
“I’m inside the station.”
“Well, I’m outside; c’mon, let’s ride.”
J-Rite walked outside and saw Leesa standing next to a nice sports car sitting on chrome rims. “Damn, girl, I like this.” She admired the vehicle while walking over, hugging Leesa.
“Thanks, sis. You know how I do.” She winked her eye as they got into the car. After tossing an ounce of weed on Jessica’s lap, she informed her they had to make a stop. “We gotta stop and get some blunts. We can go to the store right up the street.” They pulled up in the parking lot of the liquor store and parked. “You want something outta here, Jessica?” Leesa asked as they entered the store.
“Yeah, a juice. I’ll grab it,” she replied, walking to the cooler. J-Rite grabbed her juice and walked to the counter where Leesa was standing.
“Well, damn! How are you doing today, Ms. Lady?” a male’s voice from behind J-Rite asked, standing a little too close for comfort.
“Who in the hell is you talking to?” Wanting to stay aware of her surroundings and who had invaded her inner space, with an attitude, she turned to see who it was. Face-to-face with the man, she noticed he was nothing short of gorgeous. She was hoping he was talking to her.
“Stop playing; you know I’m talking to you, with your pretty self. How you doing?”
“I’m fine, and how about you?” J-Rite smiled while trying to look cute still holding her juice.
“I know you fine. That’s why I’m trying to see what’s good with you.” The fact that his pickup line was so cornball made the usually hard-core-disposition J-Rite blush and giggle. “A guy been wanting to holla since you walked in.”
“Oh, so you were stalking me? Is that what you do?” she teased with an even bigger smile on her face.
“Of course,” he said flashing his dental as well. “I’m Dino, and I’m a stalker of a beautiful woman named . . .” He waited for her to hopefully reveal her name.
“Well, I’m J-Rite.”
“Well, can I call you sometime, J-Rite?” he said, staring directly into her eyes.
“Yeah, I guess you can.” Dino had hazel-brown eyes. Six feet tall, with a medium build, honey-brown skin, and 360 waves, J-Rite wasted no time telling him her number to lock in his phone after Leesa had paid for their items and they were headed out the door. “Well, Dino, hit me up whenever; I’m around.”
“He was a cutie, girl.” Leesa said when J-Rite joined her in the car.
“Yeah, he really was. Now, okay, girl, where we headed? Clue me in.”
“Well, I want to show you this house I’m thinking about getting. You know me. It’s some low-key type of shit, you feel me? Besides, with you not too far away, I think we can lock things down around here. There’s money in these streets up here. And real talk, I got a major plug outta this world. We gonna get it in!”
“Dang, Leesa, that would be really freaking boss status shit. I was thinking the exact same thing. You know I’m with you no matter what.”
Besides, I need money in a major way, especially since Buzzy is ass fried.
J-Rite thought about the reality that she was almost out of product as she broke down a blunt, then started rolling up some weed. “I’m down for whatever when it comes to getting that money,” she proclaimed while lighting the blunt.
“I know; since Hutch been gone, things done changed for you, J-Rite. But trust me, you my girl for real, for real. Matter of fact, forget that; we’re family.”
“Yeah, we all we got, Leesa. My big brother ain’t here, but we always gonna be good.”
After Leesa started laying out her plan for them in the weeks to come it became apparent J-Rite was about to be moving in a different crowd and on a much different level in the game than she was in with Buzzy.
“So, okay, sis, you got anybody you wanna bring in with us? Because we gonna be moving a lot of work; I mean a lot! And we need all hands on deck that can be trusted. None of these lames from up here, though.”
J-Rite thought for a minute about who she knew wanted to hustle and make money and who wanted to just get paid and showboat.
I could bring in Asia, but that ain’t a good idea. She’s cut from a different cloth, so she gon’ be on that stunna shit and probably make us hot.
After doing another brief rundown off people she could trust, her mind kept going back to the obvious two: Raven and Wild Child. J-Rite knew that Wild Child slanging dope was out of the question. She was true to the game of stripping and selling pussy and nothing more. That left only one choice. “Yeah, I got somebody. It’s my homegirl Raven. Remember her?”
“Oh yeah. How’s she doing? I ain’t seen her in a minute.”
“She doing straight. She still be dancing up at the club from time to time, but you know them three kids of hers be slowing down her grind. But trust and believe, if the money’s right, that bitch will put in work. Plus, she one of the few people beside you I really truly trust.”
* * *
As the pair of them drove through the inner city and into the suburbs, Leesa finally crossed over into what seemed like the difference between heaven and hell. “Look around, sis. This is the hood I’m talking about getting the house in.”
“Wow, I ain’t gonna front. This looks low key for real. Some old cornball movie type shit.”
“I told you. And it’s a lot of money out here. The people I’ve been serving all got good-ass jobs. So none of that ‘I got a DVD player you can hold until I get paid’ bullshit! Straight-up cash and carry.”
As J-Rite sat back and peered out the window, she couldn’t believe that the people that lived in these houses and drove these nice cars were drug users. This is the life she always wanted: big house, nice car, a family, and less drama to deal with. Yet, here, her dream was tainted. She faced the harsh fact that no matter where you live in the world, drugs, crime, and corrupt behavior would follow.
“This is the house right here,” Leesa blurted, bringing J-Rite out of her thoughts. It was a two-story brick house with a yard full of green grass, a white picket fence, a two-car garage, and a long driveway. “So, sis, what you think of the house so far? Nice, right?”
“Yeah, girl. I like it. It’s nice.”
“Well, I’ll know if I’m going to get it in a few weeks. I like it a lot. The real estate agent said I’ll probably get it, so we’ll see. All I need to do is get with this plug and put the deal he offered all the way into motion.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan to me.” With Buzzy out of the picture as a supplier, Leesa was right on time with her offer. He’d brought her up to Grand Rapids to change her life and inadvertently, he had.
Good luck with jail, boy! See ya and I wouldn’t wanna be ya!
J-Rite grinned, thinking about all the money she was promised to be raking in.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Riding around getting high, the two soon-to-be ballers set to take over a new territory pulled into a crowded parking lot.
“So you wanna hit this club with me or what? We might as well celebrate now. Because after we get started, ain’t no slowing down.”
“Yeah, we can roll. I’m game.” J-Rite finished off her tail.
“Now you know they ain’t gon’ let you in with your gun.”
“How you know I got my gun on me?”
Leesa gave her a strange look and laughed. “
Really,
girl? You forgot I just ain’t meet your wild ass! You
my
little sister; I ain’t
yours!
”
“Damn, this place is packed.” J-Rite was buzzed looking around at the three-ring circus that was taking place out in public. There were people in the parking lot popping bottles, blowing weed, shooting dice, and just having a good time.
Look at this nigga getting his dick sucked on the side of his car. He must be getting money to get it like this ’cause he ugly as hell.
They pulled up in valet and got out. After paying the cover charge and getting searched, the duo entered. The interior of the club looked like an old warehouse. It had a huge waterfall in the middle of the floor, with an oversized oval-shaped bar to the side. People were dancing and having what appeared to be the time of their lives as music blasted through the speakers. The elbow-to-elbow crowd was packed like sardines. With drinks accidentally spilling on several women and the pungent stench of a few musty men, the two of them had just about enough of being average.
“Hey, girl, let’s go find the VIP section. I can’t live like this!” Leesa fanned her face with her hand trying to get some air.
“I think it’s upstairs.” J-Rite pointed to the carpeted staircase that was roped off from the rest of the club.
When they got upstairs, there was a bouncer looking like a gorilla standing guard in front of a rope. Posted and ready to attack, he looked as if he devoured steroids for every meal. “Yeah, that’s a flat fifty for both y’all, and that’s because I think your girl cute,” he said with a deep, sultry tone while smoking J-Rite over head to toe.
The booth they sat in was close to the corner. A girl in a black skirt, white shirt, and black heels walked up to the table pretending she was happy to be doing her job. “Hello, I’m your waitress for the evening. Can I help you ladies?”
“Yeah, can I get a double shot of Cuervo and a Corona with lemon?” Leesa asked matter-of-factly.
“And how about you, miss?”
“I’ll have a double shot of Rémy and a MGD, that’s all,” J-Rite yelled over the loud-playing music.
The waitress disappeared into the semidarkness getting their drinks. After a few minutes, she returned delivering their drinks and checking to make sure all was well. Moments later, the visibly irritated waitress walked back up to the table, tray in hand. “Here y’all go. Enjoy.” She forced a smile setting a bottle and two glasses down.
“Hey, hold up! What’s the deal? We ain’t order this,” Leesa stopped her before she could walk away.
“I know you didn’t order it. It’s with compliments from the owner of the club, Tyrus,” she announced, nodding her head back in the direction of a table near the rear.
“Look at you. I see you still got it, girl,” J-Rite said, smiling as she poured the champagne for them.
“Shut up, girl! The last thing I need is for some nothing-ass nigga to bother me trying to be a big shot. I’m good on all that.”
A mere few seconds after Leesa said that they were rudely interrupted by a visitor to their table. “Hey, how you ladies doing this evening? Y’all good?”
“We’re both doing fine,” Leesa said speaking for her and J-Rite.
“Well, I hope y’all enjoying the champagne. It’s the best we have in the house,” he boasted, flashing a slight smile so that his gold diamond-encrusted tooth could be seen.
Leesa was all up in her feelings and wanted to let the seemingly generous wannabe mack playa know exactly where she stood. “Yeah, about that . . .”
J-Rite sat back already knowing Leesa was about to set Tyrus, or whatever his name was, straight.
This nigga used to having hoes fall all over his ass. My girl ’bout to get him all the way together.
“You didn’t have to do that; you know, send no bottle over. We good. We can buy our own drinks, you feel me?” Leesa said with a mug on her face. She didn’t believe in letting a man take care of her if it wasn’t Hutch. She was the strong, independent type who didn’t want, expect, or take any handouts or free shit. Leesa knew sometimes free shit ends up being the most expensive thing you can ever have.
“No no no. It’s nothing. I like doing things for beautiful women like you two. Maybe we can go to the room later and y’all can do something for me. What y’all think?” he said, still smiling, letting the knot in his pocket be seen.
“Nigga, you got us fucked up! Fuck you think this is!” Leesa shouted as she threw her drink in his face. “I don’t know what kind of bitches y’all got up in this motherfucker, but me and my little sister ain’t none of them! We ain’t home grown from this part of town or city. Bitch, we from the D, and that disrespect shit don’t fly with us. Your money and bottom-shelf bottles ain’t nothing to us. We move in circles with real bosses—
not
chumps!”
One of his bouncers saw as well as heard what was going on and rushed over to the table. “Is everything good, man?” he asked, ready to earn his paycheck or possibly get killed.
“And if it wasn’t, nigga, you wasn’t gon’ do shit but get your feelings hurt too!” J-Rite said, grabbing a beer bottle ready to go to work.
“Yeah, man, shit is good; it’s all good,” Tyrus said to his boy, wiping his face, then licking his fingers. He was a thinker before a reactor; that’s what made him who he was. He was definitely going to make these two fresh-mouthed females pay for embarrassing him; just not now. “They don’t know any better. They not from around here. They from Detroit . . . so they say.” He walked off smiling, plotting, and scheming on payback for their asses.
“All right, let’s go, J-Rite, before I have to kill that fake idiot and his boy.” Leesa fought to be heard over the music while getting her purse and heading toward the steps. They made their way to the front door when J-Rite noticed two women in leather outfits watching them all the way to the parking lot.
“Hey, Leesa, look at them hoes over there. You think they up to something? I mean, they staring at us all extra and whatnot.”
Leesa looked in the direction of the women. “I don’t know what they want, but fuck ’em; let’s go. Let’s ride.”
“That country-reject nigga blew my fucking buzz anyhow!” J-Rite said, leaning back in the passenger seat.
“Niggaz always on some bullshit. That’s what I loved so much about Hutch. He was real,” Leesa said, pulling out of the parking lot and into the street.
“Yeah, I miss that boy too.”
J-Rite looked in the side mirror and saw two motorcycles coming up behind them at a fast pace. The bikes rode past for a distance. She thought they were going to keep going, but the bikes suddenly slowed down, then stopped altogether. Instantly knowing something was about to jump off, she grabbed her gun from under the seat. Leesa, taking her gun from its stash spot, got ready too.
“Hey, that’s them thirst buckets from back at the club!” J-Rite shouted.
The bikes tried to block the car, but Leesa maneuvered the vehicle and swerved around them and kept going.
“Okay, sis, dig this. We can’t outrun these chicks so we gon’ have to handle our business! So get ready. I’m about to stop.” Leesa pulled up in a parking lot and slammed down on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt.
The bikes roared up aggressively, stopping in front of them. J-Rite was hyped up; definitely ready to go to battle. With a vengeance, she jumped out of the car pointing her gun directly at one of their out-of-the-blue pursuers’ heads. “What the fuck y’all want with us? Why y’all following us? Huh? What’s the deal, bitch?”
“Look, ladies, we don’t want no trouble, but we got a job to do,” she responded, not fearful of the pistol being aimed in her direction.
“And what the fuck type of job is that?” Leesa barked, also heated.
“Hey, our boss Tyrus wants to talk to both of y’all. He said for us to bring y’all back to the club. That’s it!”
“Bring us back for what?” J-Rite hissed, gun in hand.
“Look, bitch, I don’t freaking know. We just follow orders. We don’t ask questions. He asks; we deliver!”
“Well, bitch,” she returned the insult and fever thrown her way, “that’s an order you won’t be able to comply with. So fuck y’all and y’all boss! We about to be out.”
J-Rite and Leesa started easing their way back to the car. One of the women posted on J-Rite’s side tried to reach for something. It was useless. Leesa fired off one round, striking the female in her kneecap. As the girl fell to the ground, Leesa let off one more, ripping a gaping hole in her victim’s shoulder.
“Hey, you! Don’t fucking move!” J-Rite shouted to the other one who was now in tears. She walked over to the lady. “Me and my sister make our own moves; call our own shots. You can go pick yo’ friend up off the ground and go tell that nigga Tyrus if he wanna war with us, bring his A-game, because we Detroit bitches, and we don’t break!” Raising her gun, J-Rite put several holes in each of the motorcycles, rendering them undrivable.
About forty-five minutes later, Leesa pulled up at J-Rite’s building. “Look, we gonna link back up in the morning and start to get things popping in a major way. So, if you can, get in touch with Raven and whoever else you think we can trust; we’ll be good. You see, after tonight, these lames out this way be straight jealous to see females doing they own thang. So we gotta be ready!”
J-Rite let Leesa know she was thankful for the chance and wouldn’t let her down.