36. Joker
Joker
The following day
I t blew me that Monica thought I owed her something. I never officially told her that we were in a relationship. The words I love you never escaped my lips. I didn’t treat her like a girlfriend. She was delusional as hell. I dicked her down, spent a lil cash on her, took her a few places, and that’s it. She didn’t know shit ’bout my family. She wouldn’t have ever met my mama had she not showed up to her house unannounced. Yet she was trying to crash out on me ’cause of some shit she made herself believe. Aside from some good pussy and head, she didn’t have shit to offer me. She didn’t bring me peace. She was always angry with the world and wanted to take everything out on me.
I paced outside the door of the warehouse. Kenneth’s ass had yet to tell me what the fuck to do with this damn girl. She’d been lying in there screaming all got damn day as if someone was gon’ hear her.
Dough had been taking food in there to her. I hadn’t even bothered to go in there. Kenneth’s ass hadn’t been answering the phone and I was getting impatient than a mufucka. He needed to tell me something now or I was gon’ set her ass free like a fucking bird.
Halting, I slipped my phone from my pocket and looked down at it. I still didn’t have a notification from Halo and I’d been calling her phone all morning. I was trying to do the right thing and give her space to calm down, but it was angering me even more that she was ignoring me. I still hadn’t found out how the fuck she found out ’bout me. I’d been careful not to do anything around her that’d give her any ideas ’bout my street life. Somebody was running their fucking mouth and I was gon’ find out who.
Kenneth’s number popped up on my screen. I hurriedly answered. “What the fuck, nigga. I know you seen me calling you.”
“I’ve been busy. I’m out of town right now, but I need for you to handle that package for me. Do it as soon as possible and clean. I’ll be back in a couple days.” My lips parted to say something to him, but the phone beeped in my ear, alerting me that he’d hung up.
“This nigga,” I said and shook my head.
It fell silent on the other end of the door. I placed my ear to it to see if I could hear something and got nothing.
“Aye, the truck’s here,” Dough said from behind me.
“A’ight.” I turned and faced him, sliding my phone back into my pocket. “I finally talked to Kenneth.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants us to get rid of her.”
“Did he say why?”
“That nigga ain’t gon’ say why. Let’s handle this and then I’ll take care of her,” I told him and strolled away from the door.
As we trotted toward the back of the warehouse where the loading area was, a truck backed up toward the door. I had a shipment of drugs coming in this morning that I needed to get out on the streets today.
The truck stopped and the driver jumped down out of it. He rounded to the back and lifted the door for us. Mattresses were stacked to the top. He grabbed one and pulled it out, tossing it to the side.
“Help him,” I instructed one of my men. They removed all the mattresses, revealing the boxes stacked up behind ’em. The driver slid a box to one of my men and he grabbed it and then placed it on the floor. Dough pulled out a pocket knife and sliced the box open. Reaching inside, he grabbed a kilo and tossed it to me. I sliced it open with my knife and dipped the tip of the knife down into it. Dabbing my index finger in the contents, I rubbed it across my gums. I hit Dough with a nod, and they unloaded the remainder of the boxes.
My phone rang. I looked down and saw that it was a number I didn’t recognize. I almost didn’t answer, but I swiped to see who it was. “Yeah?”
“Knox?”
“Brave?”
“Hey, Ma didn’t come get me from school. I tried calling her but she isn’t answering the phone.”
“I’m on my way.” I turned to Dough and said, “Finish handling this shit for me,” and treaded toward the front entrance of the warehouse.
Hitting the fob on my truck, I climbed inside and pulled off. I dialed Halo’s number and the phone rang all the way to voicemail. I couldn’t help but feel like something had happened to her. No way she would’ve forgotten ’bout Brave otherwise. I pressed the gas even harder, racing to get to the school to pick him up so I could go by the house and see what the hell was going on.
When I pulled into the parking lot, there were barely any cars out there. Brave stood in front of the building with his teacher. I stopped and waited for him to hop inside, not bothering to get out ’cause I already wasn’t supposed to be up here. Them mufuckas banned me for life for standing up for Brave. They should’ve been suspending those fucking kids for bullying.
“You good?” I asked him and peeled off before he was even able to shut the door.
“Yeah,” he replied. I rushed to the house and when I turned onto the street, her car was in the driveway.
“Wait right here,” I told him and climbed out the car. I removed my strap from my waistline and approached the door. It was still sealed. Nothing looked tampered with.
I used my key and let myself into the house. The alarm beeped, alerting that the front door had opened. Halo poked her head out the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” she quickly asked and stormed in my direction.
“I came to see why the fuck you didn’t pick Brave up from school.”
“What? It’s not time for him to get out yet.”
“Yes the hell it is. Don’t worry though, I already got him.”
She grabbed her phone off the coffee table and stared at the screen. “Oh my God. I lost track of time.”
“What the fuck were you doing?” By the time I asked her that, some nigga came strolling out the kitchen with his phone up to his face. I lifted my hand and released a bullet. It wouldn’t hit him between the eyes had Halo not pushed my arm.
“What the fuck, Joker!” she screamed. The nigga stood there looking at me with wide eyes. His phone had dropped to the floor and apparently so did his piss from the stain in his pants. I didn’t take her as the type that’d date an older man, but you couldn’t really put shit past anyone.
“You call yourself getting yo’ fucking lick back?”
“That’s my daddy, you fucking jackass!”
“How the hell was I supposed to know that?”
“If you would’ve asked instead of shooting first, then you would know. There was a leak in the kitchen sink. He’s a plumber. I called him over here to check it out.”
“You called yo’ daddy?”
“That’s what I said.”
“You was supposed to call me for stuff like that.”
“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” she said as he reached down and picked his phone up from the floor.
“What’s going on?” I turned around and saw Halo’s mama standing there.
“Joker is being an ass,” Halo said and brushed past me.
“Where’s Brave?” her mama questioned.
“I’ll go get lil dude,” I told her and headed for the door. By then, Halo was already outside opening the passenger door for him.
“Gone in the house,” she told him as he climbed out the truck.
She slammed my door and I caught her by the wrist. “You can’t stay mad at me forever.”
“Look what you just did in there. You could’ve killed him and don’t even know what’s going on. This isn’t the life I want to live, Knox.” When she said my government, I knew she was serious.
“I apologize. I got a lil heated. I been calling you all day and you haven’t been answering the phone. When I saw him, all I saw was red. I thought you was in there putting my pussy on another nigga.”
“I thought one of the reasons why you fell for me was because I was different. I wouldn’t do something like that, especially when I’m carrying your baby. I can’t deal with you right now.” Yanking away from me, she marched into the house and slammed the door behind her.
Tucking my piece back into my waistline, I hopped into my truck and backed out the driveway, heading back to the warehouse. I thought that picking up Brave was gon’ help me, but it only made the situation worse.
By the time I made it back to the warehouse, the truck was unloaded and gone. Most of my men had already left with their product. Dough was chilling in his office, going over inventory. I stood there, staring at the door where shawty was being held. I was ready to get this debt off my hands. Marching to the door, I pulled it open, and she lay there on her back, looking up at the ceiling with tears streaming into her ears.
“Let me guess, you’re here to do his dirty work, right?” She sat up on the floor and her gray eyes poured into mine. It was then that I really took in her beauty. Shawty wasn’t bad looking at all. She had this curly brown hair with honey-blonde ends. Her face was small and narrow, looking like a teenager. Shit, I didn’t even know how old she was. I didn’t want to know anything ’bout her. It was gon’ make it easier for me to place a bullet in her ass.
“You’re here to kill me, right? That’s what he wanted, isn’t it?”
I removed the gun from my waistline and my hand dropped at my side. All I had to do was place a bullet between her eyes and have the clean-up crew come and get rid of her. Once this was over, I don’t care of it was on my deathbed, Ma better not go to his ass for nothing else.
“What the fuck did you do that he wants you dead?”
“Let’s just say that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Looking over my shoulder, I made sure that no one else was around before stepping into the room with her and shutting the door behind me. Kneeling down in front of her, I asked, “What did you see?”