“Justice are you sitting down?” Toni urged as Justice had opened the door and placed her foot on the pavement. She stepped back in and closed the door.
“Yeah, I’m in the car, what’s up.”
“Girl, you ain’t gonna believe what these broads did today.”
Justice was barely able to exhale before Toni continued, “Precious beat up Fancy!”
“She what!” Justice shouted. She could feel her blood boil as she could picture Precious Amazonian ass picking on a stripper half her size. Justice reflected on the promises she’d made the young girl who was shaking her ass to pay for the expensive courses at Northwestern University. Being that the girl wanted to make something of herself and that this was a “temporary means” to an ultimate goal, Justice wanted to see the girl succeed. Justice had promised that she would do her best to keep Fancy out of conflict, and when the girl needed her most, she was hundreds of miles away.
“What the hell? How the hell did it happen?” Justice knew the answer to that question before she finished asking, but knowing Toni, she would get the answer anyway.
“One of the guys from the Chicago Bulls asked her for a lap dance in VIP and the guy was making it rain. Precious was jealous and she tried to move in on the dance and try to get some of the money. The guy told her nicely that he wasn’t interested in her and Fancy laughed in her face. Precious couldn’t take it and she backhanded Fancy so hard she fell down, then Precious pounced on her like a cat on a mouse and started nailing her.”
“Are you serious?” Justice shouted as she banged her fist on the steering wheel. She pictured Precious’ face and was tempted to hammer the wheel but she refrained in order not to look like a crazy ass black woman in the shopping mall’s parking lot.
“Yes boss lady, and that’s not the half of it.” Toni continued. She quickly exhaled and continued with her soap opera, “Somebody posted a video on World Star Hip Hop of Virgin giving two niggas head in the VIP.”
“Da fuck?!” Justice was furious. The last place she wanted publicity for her club was on a website dedicated to posting random and sometimes explicit clippings that had gone viral. She had had it with Precious and Virgin’s bullshit and she knew that when she got back to Chicago, she was going to have to get her hands dirty—but first, there was a more pressing matter to tend to. “Bitch, as soon as I get to Chicago, I’m cleaning house. I might start with your ass.”
Justice wanted to kick Toni’s ass so fucking bad. She had left a laundry list of objectives for the girl to accomplish and here she was getting more and more shit to clean. What the fuck was Toni doing being a manager if she couldn’t manage any of these situations?
“Damn, I’m sorry. But what could I do?” She could hear Toni crying on the other end. Toni started wailing and speaking incoherently. All Justice got out of what Toni was saying was something about getting another chance and not wanting to be fired and some other shit that was trivial to her. Justice looked in the rearview mirror at her own reflection and she shook her head.
This is some bullshit
, Justice thought to herself. She exhaled “I’mma kill them bitches.” She said as she cracked the door open.
“What’d you say boss lady?” Toni was still sniffling. Justice could imagine Toni looking pathetic.
“Look, just do what you gotta do to keep the club open, I’ll take care of Precious and Virgin when I get back.” Justice commanded.
“Okay.”
Justice ended the call. She opened the door, stepped out, and inhaled the fresh air. A fight and a fuckin’ sex video—great! Precious and Virgin had successfully found Justice’s last nerve and was working that lil’ mutha-fucka to pieces.
“Aye Ma!” Some young man was shouting. Justice kept walking to the door because she hated being addressed in that manner and she wasn’t about to give the young man the time of day. If he knew what was good for him at that moment, he would keep his distance.
“Baby girl!” Justice heard the voice again and then felt a tight grip on her arm pulling her back. Justice reached around to swing and almost hit War in the face.
“Fuck you touchin’ me for?” Justice shouted, not caring whether or not she embarrassed him in front of his female friend, who surprisingly stepped to the side. “I will fuck you up out here.”
“My bad, I saw you getting out of your car and noticed you left your lights on, I was trying to save you from having your car jumped.” War defended. He wrapped his arms around the young lady who was with him who looked as if she couldn’t have been a day out of high school.
Justice looked down the parking light and noticed that her lights were indeed still on. “I’m sorry.” She said humbly. As she took a second look at War, she was mesmerized by how much he looked like Carlos. If she had not seen those cuts in his eyebrows, she would have sworn it was him.
“No problem.” War said as they headed in the mall. “I think my uncle tryna get at you.”
“Your uncle has my number.” Justice lied. She didn’t know what War may have known about her relationship with Carlos and she didn’t feel like spilling her guts to a young man she barely knew either.
“Knowing him, he’ll probably be using it real soon.” War said as he peeped at her ass before him and the young lady strolled in the door. Justice watched as he kissed her on the cheek like a schoolboy in love with his first crush. She turned back to the parking lot to go turn her lights off. Once she accomplished that task, she made her way back to the mall without any more interruptions.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“ . . .
I Had To Raise The Limit
!”
Cash P’s ringtone blared from Red’s phone, jarring him out of his deep slumber. Red unwrapped his arms from around the body lying next to him. He rubbed his eyes while the ringtone continued to scream from the phone. After getting in a stretch, he sat up, grabbed the phone, and swiped the screen to answer it.
“Talk,” Red commanded. He looked over at the nightstand noticing the bright red 5:45 illuminating on the digital clock, letting him know how early it was in the morning.
“Get up, cuzo, I need to holla at’cha.” The high-pitched voice of his cousin, Kim called for his attention. “You still looking for that Justice bitch, right?”
“Hell yeah, you know I am, What’s good?” Red replied with a hoarse voice. In addition, at that moment, he felt a set of soft lips on his dick, sucking him to an erection. He lifted up the sheets to see Always’s head bobbing up and down. He shook his head with a grin.
“Yeah, that bitch came back to Charlotte for Ms. Evans’ funeral,” Kim went on as if she were carrying on a conversation in the middle of the afternoon. “I didn’t even know she knew that lady like that. I woulda went to the funeral if I had remembered what time it was and shit, I loved Ms. Ev—”
“Is she still there now?” Red was trying to conduct business, but Always had gotten between his legs and started slurping on his balls, putting the right amount of pressure on them to make his toes curl and for him to start hissing.
“Yeah, they said she was hugged up on Ms. Evans’ daughter and shit.”
“Good looking Kim,” Red responded. Always climbed on top of him, her wetness bubbling and slowly letting him enter her moist sugar walls, raw dawg. Red knew he should have put a condom on, but he was caught up in the moment and his dick was doing the thinking. Always was living up to her name; her pussy always stayed wet and ready. Her sugar walls were so tight and warm, Red came within a few strokes but that didn’t stop him from rolling her onto her back and fucking her in the ass, missionary style. This was her favorite act and she came twice in succession as he stroked her tight hole and played with her clit ring.
***
“You gotta go,” Red told Always as he rolled over. He had just busted another nut, this time in her asshole. His body was sweaty and he knew that he needed to jump in the shower to wash the smell of sex off him so he could go meet Chris.
“What you mean I gotta go?” Always questioned. Her skillful hands caressed his slowly deflating erection, trying to make it hard again so they could go another round. Her other hand played with the small curly hairs on his chest and around his nipples. “I wanna go again.”
“Look, me and Chris got business to handle,” Red said as he got out of the bed. He looked on the floor and found Always’s lace panties and bra and tossed them to her. “You gotta go,” he repeated with authority.
“Okay,” Always reluctantly replied. “But what about my money you promised me from them last two licks?” Red had used Always in a few stick-ups over the past two months and had not paid her for the last two. Since Red was fucking her, she figured he thought she wouldn’t ask for her share. But fuck that! Always was a paper chaser. The dick was good, no doubt, but it was not paying the bills.
“Fuck you talkin’ ‘bout? As many meals you done ate off me and as many nuts I done made your trick ass bust . . . bitch, you paid,” Red said as if she were some random hood chick who was getting on his last nerve.
Red watched Always put on her bra and panties and search the room for the rest of her clothes. “I got somethin’ for yo’ ass.” Always mumbled under of her breath.
“You say somethin’?” Red glared at her but she didn’t repeat herself. She continued to gather her belongings while seething with anger.
Red knew she was heated but he couldn’t have cared less. He had gotten two nuts off in her and had fun with her the previous night, but now it was time for her to go. All he could think about was what Kim had told him and he knew it was urgent for him to get to Charlotte and take care of that bitch before she could go back to Chicago. He guessed he would have a better chance of catching her off balance if she was out of Chicago. He wanted Justice so bad he could almost smell that bitch.
***
Red went through a couple a scenarios that ended with him busting two or three rounds in Justice’s cranium and getting his revenge for her killing J. T. He was at Christina’s apartment, waiting for her to get dressed. He thought about how she would go the fuck off if she knew he had fucked that bitch, Always without her being there, let alone without a condom. Over the past few months, they had tricked with Always a few times, but never one without the other until Red had broken the code the night before.
Christina stepped out of her bedroom dressed in an athletic jumpsuit, looking like she was ready to go play ball. He appreciated the fact that unlike most women, Christina knew how to get in and get the fuck out of the bathroom.
“You ready to go that fast?” Red asked as he picked up her already packed bag, ready to take it down to the car.
“Hell yeah,” Christina confirmed, “you know a bitch like me don’t take long.”
Red cracked a smile, letting his dimples show. “Let’s go murk that bitch and get back.”
“Calm down, Denzel, this ain’t Training Day. This shit gotta be done with precision,” Christina said as she walked past him to get her cosmetic bag off the kitchen counter. “You think I’mma need some more outfits?”
“Depends on how long we stayin’.”
“And how long might that be?” she asked while exiting the door.
“As long as it takes to watch that bitch take her last breath,” Red replied with a venomous sneer. With that said, they were out the door.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I’m just asking you to have lunch with me, no pressure,” Carlos pleaded his case over the phone. Justice was in the mirror applying gloss to her lips. She knew that War had told his uncle that he had seen her at the mall and she had to admit, she wasn’t surprised that he’d reached out so fast. The only way Carlos could have gotten her Chicago number would have been from Sapphire and she couldn’t believe Sapphire had given it to him. Sapphire had just assumed everything was cool after the conversation at her mother’s funeral. Funny how she couldn’t get the girl out of the bed but Sapphire had enough time to try to play cupid with one of her old flames. Justice wished Sapphire were in the room so she could curse her out, but she was back in her own house now.
“Look!” Carlos was clearly agitated. The man was used to getting his way and didn’t appreciate Justice rejecting his offer. “It’s a spot on 28
th
and North Davidson called Amélie’s. It’s a French bakery and the food is off the chain. We’ll be on neutral ground and it’s a public place, so you ain’t gotta feel secluded.” He paused for effect, and then added, “So, what’s good?”
Justice exhaled at the thought of her and Carlos sharing airspace again. True, she needed him so that she could rock Tan to sleep, but at the same time, she didn’t want to fuck with him outside of that. On one hand, she didn’t trust Carlos any further than she could see him. On the other, meeting at Amélie’s was safe and probably the best situation for her to be in. She would be able to resist the temptation to kill his ass then.
“Okay, I’ll go,” Justice said reluctantly. She really didn’t want to do it, but she figured she’d let him think he was getting back in, maybe even think he was getting some pussy. However, once she was to get the information she needed, it would be fuck Tan and fuck Carlos, too.
***
Justice looked in the rearview mirror and made sure her naturally curly hair was pressed to perfection. She looked around the crowded parking lot before she stepped out of the car and made her way up the stairs into Amélie’s. Inside, she noticed the pleasant smell of pastries and soups, and sure enough, the place was packed even though it was four o’clock in the evening. She looked at all of the pastries and could not decide which one she should indulge in. The place looked like something straight out of a French magazine. Justice longed to go to Paris, but had not yet had the time. For now, this French deli was as close as she was going to get.
“See somethin’ you want?” Carlos asked as he snuck up beside her. Justice took in the form-fitting Cavi shirt and the jeans that fit right about his waist and didn’t fall off his ass. She was so glad he was dressed like a grown man now and not a thug. That shit was a definite turn off. He toted a leather laptop knapsack that made him fit right in with the other twenty-somethings who found luxury in the Internet café they were in. “I’mma recommend the Portabella and leek tartine and the salted caramel brownie.” Carlos sounded more like a college-educated snob than a street nigga, and Justice was somewhat impressed.