Chapter 9
CASH “MONEY” BANKS
“You know you ain’t have to come,” Slim said from the backseat.
Jelani’s little jumpoff came through and confirmed what we already suspected—Rahmel’s people were the ones that shot up the block party.
“Nah. Niggas wanna try and kill me? They gon’ have to see my face before they die,” I gritted.
I hadn’t moved like this since Pops got killed.
What they didn’t get was he made sure we were built for this life long before he died.
It didn’t matter that I was on a football scholarship or that Jelani was in private school.
“How many did she say usually be in there?” I asked Jelani.
“Five on a good day. But she said they’re lazy as fuck—just be in there bullshittin’ and playing XBOX,” he said, pulling his ski mask down and checking the safety on his gun. “We robbin’ these niggas too. I’m tight I had to leave my shorty’s house early for this.”
“Oh, you and Monica a thing now?” I asked, tugging my own mask into place.
“Not officially. But she knows what it is.”
Fontaine nodded toward the house. “Ayo, look.”
A pretty dark-skinned woman stepped onto the porch with a baby balanced on her hip and headed straight for the Audi truck parked out front.
“This nigga got his girl coming in and out the trap?” Slim shook his head.
We all watched as she buckled the baby into the car seat and pulled off.
Ain’t no way in hell I’d bring my girl—let alone a baby—into a spot that could get hit any second.
That’s sloppy as fuck. But at least she left before we went in.
No need to traumatize her more than she will be once I killed her bitch ass baby daddy.
We waited an extra ten minutes to make sure she didn’t double back. Thankfully, the block was dead. A few junkies were hanging around the bandos, but the Eastland Crew didn’t sell on this street, so we weren’t worried about lookouts.
“Aight, let’s move,” I said, popping the car door. The others slid out behind me—Slim and Jelani circled around to the back while Fontaine and I crept up the sagging porch.
Fontaine looked over at me as we took our positions on either side of the door.
Go time.
I stepped up and kicked the door off its flimsy hinges with my black Air Forces.
The music was blasting, so it took them a second to realize what was happening.
“What the—”
I popped the one sitting closest to the door in the leg. He screamed, clutching his knee as blood soaked through his jeans. That got the attention of the other four, who were glued to the Madden game on the TV.
Daemon, the nigga I came for, reached for his strap just as Slim and Jelani stormed through the back of the house. Slim hit him over the head with his gun, knocking him out cold.
“Turn this shit down!” I barked.
Fontaine shot the Bluetooth speaker, which cut the noise instantly, minus the dude crying on the floor and the game still running on the TV.
Hands went up fast. They didn’t even try to put up a fight. Fucking pathetic.
“This y’all stash house?” I bunched up my face, scanning the room.
The shit was trifling—it smelled like stale sweat and weed.
Empty takeout containers and bottles of Olde English were scattered all over the carpet, which was crusted up with God knows what.
It was trash like the niggas who ran it.
“How the fuck y’all get anything done in here? ”
Jelani clapped his hands and stepped into the middle of the room. “Here’s what’s finna happen. Y’all getting robbed today. Wasn’t the plan, but my girl’s mad I left early—and now I gotta buy her something nice to make up for it.”
“And your boss is dying,” I deadpanned.
I looked around. “Which one of y’all drove the day of the block party?”
They all turned to the dude I shot.
“Bet.” I raised my gun and put one in his head. Blood splattered on the wall behind him.
“Now, show him where the stash at,” I ordered, nodding at Jelani. “And starting today, we’re taking forty percent off everything y’all make.”
Two of them stood, visibly trembling. Jelani followed close behind with his gun trained on their backs.
Daemon groaned on the floor, starting to come to.
I nudged him with my foot. “Wakey, wakey, bitch.”
He blinked up at me, dazed. “The fuck is this?”
“A stick up,” I replied, nodding at Slim to grab him. He yanked Daemon off the floor and dumped him onto one of the filthy couches.
I pulled off my ski mask and leaned in. “Let me ask you something, Daemon. How the fuck did you think this was gonna go?”
His eyes went wide when he saw my face.
“You had to have known that, whether I lived or died, someone was coming for you.”
“You dumped Rahmel’s body on my mama’s porch!” he spat.
“Yeah, well, your cousin was a thief. Did you know that?” I asked, watching his face tighten. “I see. Let me guess—he told you he’d put the family onto whatever bullshit he was building on the side?”
“Fuck you.”
Jelani and Fontaine came back upstairs, lugging two heavy duffle bags each.
I sucked my teeth. “Look at you. About to go join that nigga in hell.”
Jelani stood over him. “Yo, how you got your baby mom and your kid in this shit?”
“Don’t touch my girl!” Daemon yelled, his eyes welling up.
Why was it that these niggas only seemed to remember their families at the end? Not when they were stealing shit from me. Not when they were lighting up a block party full of kids.
“Ain’t no one touching her, bruh. I’m not that heartless,” I said. “You see, Toya got a nice life insurance payout. The least I can do is make sure your girl is straight for a year. But from now on, the Eastland Crew works for BC. And when you see Rahmel? Tell him I said ‘fuck you’.”
I fired two shots to his head and watched his lifeless body slump back, eyes still open.
“The rest of you niggas get the fuck out!” I roared.
Slim was already dumping gasoline everywhere, soaking the couch and curtains. The others damn near tripped over each other scrambling to the door.
I grabbed a lighter off the coffee table and sparked it, setting one of the cheap curtains on fire. Flames licked up the fabric, smoke quickly filling up the room.
“Money, we out,” Slim called, tossing the empty can on the ground. The house was basically a tinderbox, and the flames spread fast. Fontaine slammed the trunk shut, loading the last bag, just as the windows exploded—glass raining onto the pavement.
A sick sense of satisfaction filled me, reigniting that old hunger I’d buried for years.
“That shit’s gonna blow any second,” Jelani said, getting in the car. The house groaned as flames and black smoke filled the sky. In the distance, the wail of sirens grew louder.
My phone buzzed.
Future Wife: Did you delete the dating apps off my phone??
Why would you need apps when you have me?
Future Wife: Something is really wrong with you, Cash.
Jelani shoved me. “Fuck you cheesing about? Twelve ‘bout to be on our ass.”
I laughed, tossing the phone on the console. Slim climbed in last, slamming the door as I peeled off. Red and blue lights flashed past us, racing in the opposite direction towards the fire.
This was just the beginning. Nairobi was still working Kyree. It was time to dig out the rot threatening my crew next. No way in hell I was letting these niggas ruin the legacy my pops built.