17. Streets Lost a Real One
Seventeen
Streets Lost a Real One
brICK
Kilo
I just called you twice. Hit me back, nigga!
Ma
I see you handled your little problem. Nice work. I have an idea on how we can cut down shipping costs on the arms. Call me.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
I may have a lead on who’s been targeting your people. Call me when you have a chance.
Kilo
Brick! Nigga, CALL ME BACK! I need to see if I can eat this leftover salmon. It’s been in the fridge for three days! Is it still good?
Mina
I still can’t believe you would really do me like this!
Pistol
Aye…
Xoe
Hey, I know it’s been a minute, but I broke up with my nigga. Can I get back on the roster? I miss that dick.
Kilo
Nigga, I’m about to call Chap to file a missing person’s report… & do you know how to get blood out of leather?
Isighed before placing my phone back in the drawer of my nightstand.
I didn’t give a fuck about none of that.
The warehouses, the hoes, the shipping, Kilo’s leather pants or his fuckin’ tilapia.
I hadn’t even checked on the club. I knew I had an amazing, trustworthy staff, but going more than one day without at least calling was not like me.
It had been four.
“Can we get tacos today?” Peep asked from her comfortable position, body tangled up in mine with her head on my chest. The last few days had been filled with nothing but me sexing her, feeding her, eating her, holding her, and whatever else she wanted.
I was still pissed that I couldn’t take her on a honeymoon anytime soon, but we were doing good in our little bubble.
“Whatever you want,” I answered, kissing her shoulder. I meant that shit too. I think that woman had put some sort of hex on me. From the moment she snatched my soul with that tight ass pussy, she sunk her claws in a nigga even deeper.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked softly.
I sighed. I was about to ask for another round, but I already knew by her tone this was about to be some soft, feely shit.
“Stop asking me if you can ask me shit. Just say what’s on your mind.”
“What’s the deal with you and your mom? I can’t figure y’all out,” she said. I could tell from the look on her face that she had been thinking about this for a long ass time.
“Shit, Peep, I can’t figure us out,” I mumbled. That was the last thing I expected and honestly the last thing I wanted to talk about. I just told her she should ask me anything, so I couldn’t punk out already.
“Do you love her?” she asked, rubbing her fingers over my arm in a way that calmed me. She loved tracing over a nigga’s tattoos.
“I… I don’t know,” I sighed heavily. I realized that I had never been asked that question before, and the whole conversation had me feeling awkward as hell.
“Well… do you like her?” She continued to probe.
“Hell naw!” I answered quickly. “Listen, I’ll put a muhfucka in the ground before I let them disrespect her, but the lady is insane. She’s manipulative, and she constantly holds the shit she does over our heads. Mothers ain’t supposed to do shit like that,” I mumbled angrily.
“But she gave you such an amazing life,” she said, words sounding more like a question than a statement.
“At what cost, though? We needed a mother more than we needed all this other shit. We already lost one parent, and in a way, I felt like we lost her too.” This girl had me open like a fuckin’ book and the shit just kept spilling out.
“But… you had her. She was there.”
“She was there physically, sometimes. She was too busy being Lady West to be our mama. By the time I was six, she had enough bread to buy us a house and anything else we could have asked for. She could have stopped then, or at least slowed down, but she was more concerned with being a boss than she ever was with us. I think Kilo had it the worst, though,” I said softly.
“How so?”
“P and I… at least we can sort of remember how it was with both of them. Ki wasn’t even a year when Pops…
Yeah. He don’t even remember the nigga. He doesn’t remember sitting front row at the funeral or listening to Ma cry at night for weeks.
Pistol was a lil’ older and independent as hell, but I basically raised Ki’s ass.
That’s why the nigga be up under me all the time.
I would have much rather had a normal life like the other lil’ niggas I knew.
A mama who baked cookies, came to Open House at the school and shit.
Maybe we wouldn’t be so fucked up if we had some regularity.
The only thing she did to parent us was teach us how to fight and throw her money at every problem she could. ”
“At least she gave you… something,” Des replied.
“For as long as I can remember, my mom was just there. My dad sent my sister away for four years, said she was out of control. I cried every day for a year, and that lady never said a word about it. The only thing she ever did was try to fit me in a box, ‘You’ll never find a husband at your size, Destiny.’ ‘Just because he cheated, doesn’t mean you just leave.
A man will be a man.’ So much bullshit,” she huffed.
I chuckled because she had that annoying ass voice down to a tee.
She had been mocking that woman for every bit of thirty-one years.
“That lady wanted you to be weak because she was weak. She turned a blind eye to all your pop’s bullshit, so she couldn’t fathom the thought of you wanting better for yourself. Fuck her.”
“You’re right. Do you… ever want kids of your own?” she asked slowly, biting her lip as she awaited my answer.
“Nah.” My heart broke a little when her face fell.
“I mean, it would be cool to be able to undo the family curse and shit, but the thought of fuckin’ up, or something happening to—” I paused, taking a deep breath.
“Peep, I’m already ready to blow a nigga’s brains out behind you.
Can you imagine if we had kids? You keep tryin’ to sneak call me crazy, but I don’t think you’ve really seen crazy, yet.
If we had kids, I don’t think I’d be able to keep the top on that shit. ”
“Have you ever… killed anyone?” she whispered like someone could hear us.
“You really want the answer to that question?” I asked, giving her an amused look.
“How many?” she asked, giving me a nasty side eye.
“You think I’m just out here counting bodies, girl?”
“More than five?” I raised my brows and looked off, answering without saying a word. If the chips ever fell, she would never have to go on the record and say I told her shit.
“More than twenty?” she probed, eyes now ballooning.
“Stop asking questions you ain’t really ready to hear the answers to,” I chided, pulling her in and sneaking a kiss to her neck.
“My God… I gave my virginity away to The Sleighton Slasher.” I laughed hard as hell at her reference to the serial killer who had the whole city on lock back in the 90’s. He was never caught and was rumored to still be living among us after sending dozens of people to glory.
“You dramatic as hell.” I laughed, using my knee to part her thighs and sneaking a quick kiss that had me missing how her pussy felt creaming up my dick.
“What are you doing, Michael Meyers?” she said, giggling between my kisses.
“Just let me feel it one more time. The only thing I’m tryna’ kill right now is that pussy.” When she didn’t protest, I rolled her over to her back. I was just about to get mine when the chime on the front door went off.
“Fucccck,” I groaned.
“Who is that?” she asked. She looked just as pissed as I was at our interruption.
“My fuckin’ mama,” I groaned, dragging my body up so I could throw on a shirt and some shorts. I reluctantly walked to the front door just in time to see her walking in like it was her spot.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Ma?” I asked sarcastically.
“Have you heard anything from the P.I.?” she asked, walking straight past me and into the kitchen.
“Nah, I been busy, but I plan on hitting him up later to see what’s up.
” I wanted to roll my eyes at the fact that she gave me a deadline then decided to micromanage me the entire time.
Before she could open her mouth to call me a dumb ass nigga, or whatever insult she planned on hurling my way, Destiny came trotting into the kitchen.
One look at the wrinkled t-shirt she had on made it clear as day what we had been up to before we were so rudely interrupted. Ma looked between us with an amused smirk on her face, and I could hear the smart ass comment without her saying a word.
“Good afternoon, Destiny,” she greeted her.
“Good afternoon… Hey, Kalida, do you think you could let us know the next time you plan to swing by?” she asked, voice polite but firm. Both of our heads whipped in her direction as she stood there looking completely unsuspecting of the danger she was in. I had seen people lose limbs for less.
“Excuse me?” Ma asked and if I hadn’t been so concerned for my wife’s safety, I would have laughed. I don’t know if I had ever seen a person look so taken aback, especially not her ass. She turned her full body towards us.
“Respectfully, as the woman of this house, I think it would be more appropriate for you to start confirming that it’s a good time before you drop by,” Des said without faltering, meanwhile, I was about to start sweating.
Mama's eyes traveled back and forth from me to her, and I started saying the rosary in my head. It was a shame that I was about to become a widower right when I started to really like her ass.
“I’m sorry?” Ma asked with her brows raised as she stepped toward us. I discreetly angled my body between the two, realizing that I was about to have to square up with my fuckin’ Mama over Peep’s ass.
“A call or text is fine. Just to make sure we’re not busy. Maybe next time we can even do dinner.” She shrugged. Another long moment of awkward silence went by.
“Noted… My apologies,” Ma said, grabbing her purse. “Well, I guess I’ll get out of your hair. You two enjoy the rest of your evening.”