“MA, I PROMISE I will be over to see you once I get back in town,” China told GaGa over the phone.
China was living in the $2.3 million mansion that Smooth had purchased before he was apprehended by the feds. No one but Roxy, GaGa, and her girls, Jane and Tabby, knew where she was living.
Her surprise pregnancy was exciting to everyone, including herself. She was gladsome of becoming a mother, just as much as everyone else around her was. Her girlfriends were already showering her with baby gifts before even knowing the gender of the two-month-old baby she was carrying. She didn’t find out the gender.
“China, when you come to town, I better be the first person on your list to see, or we gonna have problems, Miss Thang!” GaGa promised.
“Yes, Mom. I got you. I promise I will be over as soon as I get back in town.”
“Okay, baby. Call me when you do. Mama loves you.”
“I love you too, Mom,” China replied as she then hung up her iPhone 6.
“Lord, everyone’s killing me with this extra concern shit! Like they never seen a pregnant woman before?” China expressed to herself and Zorro, who was lying on top of her coverlet on her and Smooth’s king-sized bed—a bed she couldn’t wait to share with him again.
Some nights she’d sit up and rub her stomach thinking about how they would be as a family.
With him looking at federal time, I have no idea how long he’ll be gone, especially in Martin County, also known as Ku Klux Klan Town, China thought as she prepared to take a road trip to go visit Smooth and then Jenny.
Her girl, Jenny, was super excited to be a stepmother and couldn’t wait for the baby to come. But she, like China, hated that she would miss out on three years of the baby’s life.
Don’t worry, baby girl. I’ll name the baby after you too, China thought as she placed her neatly folded clothes into her suitcase.
She then opened her nightstand drawer and removed her Glock .45. She checked the clip and saw that it was full, so she placed it into her Prada handbag. China was always ready to handle business. She now had to care for more than herself; there were two lives—hers and the baby’s.
When China saw that she had everything ready for her road trip. She picked up her phone and called Miranda. The phone rang twice before Miranda picked up.
“Hi, Miranda. Sorry to bother you, but are you busy this weekend?” China asked.
“No, China. I’m doing the same thing I do every weekend. Let me guess. You’re going to see Smooth, and Zorro wants to come over,” Miranda stated, already knowing why China was calling her.
“Well, yes. I’m going to see him, and Zorro does want to see his godmother,” China joked while looking at the dog, whose ears were erect at the mention of his name.
“Bring him over, because I could do for some company.”
“Okay!”
“See you soon. And are you staying healthy for the baby?”
“Yes, I am,” China replied.
“That’s wonderful! See you soon,” Miranda said before hanging up the phone.
“Come on, Zorro! You’re going to your godmother’s house while I go visit Daddy,” China said as she grabbed Zorro’s leash from behind the bedroom door.
Zorro ran up to her and allowed her to snap on the leash. China then gripped the leash, grabbed her suitcase, and rolled it down the staircase with Zorro in tow. When she stepped outside, the sun licked at her skin.
“Damn! It’s hot out here today! This would be a great day to hit the beach!” China said to Zorro as she placed him in the backseat of her new all-black Mercedes-Benz SUV.
She was about to hop into the driver’s seat, until she remembered that she had forgotten to set the house alarm. She returned to the house, entered the five-digit passcode, and walked back to the car and started it up.
“Here we come, Daddy!” China said as she pulled out of the driveway on her way to Miranda’s.
* * *
“Man, we need to see what Smooth is gonna do. Shit! We still have the blocks ready to eat again,” Sue Rabbit said to Guru, who had come over to Sue and Roxy’s condo.
“It’s kinda hard to inform him of anything when the feds might be listening to everything we say,” Guru said.
“Man, I still think that China could help us out, bro.”
“Yeah, me too. Let’s not forget the soldier did a bid herself for holding down the team with her man,” Guru added.
“Yeah, and now it’s time to see if she’ll help out the team, stay aboard.”
“She’s anti-drug association, and this is before Smooth fell. It’s what broke them apart in the first place!” Guru said, taking a bit from his egg sandwich that Sue had cooked up for both of them.
“I say we wait until he calls again. We’ll then bring it to him in the best lingo we can without tipping off the feds,” Sue Rabbit suggested. “Meantime, we got a hundred kilos to get cooked up. At least I know who will handle it for us, and we won’t have to kill her afterward.”
Guru agreed with Sue by chewing and shaking his head.
“That sounds good. Before you know it, word will be out that we’re back on!”
“And before the feds come snooping, we’ll both have enough to retire. We can’t go for the all-timers. We have to just get us and get out, bro!” Sue added as he bit into his sandwich with gusto.
Guru felt good knowing that Sue Rabbit also wanted to back out of the game and not be acquisitive. He knew the cost of being greedy and moving without a set goal. It was a risk they were about to take, and they were both aware.
But every chance is a risk, Guru thought.
“Let’s just pray that China will help us stay aboard,” Guru said.
“Yeah, right!” Sue Rabbit replied.
* * *
Since Banga’s death, Meka was devastated and still in her own world. It wasn’t the same, and the drought on the streets he provided for spoke for itself. When she saw Smooth’s face appear on the news, it hurt her more than losing Banga.
Today, Meka decided to step out of her grief shell and unexpectedly go visit Smooth. When she pulled up to the Martin County Jail, she checked her makeup in the visor mirror. She dug into her purse and pulled out her lip liner to accentuate her crimson lipstick and sprayed on some Beyoncé Pulse perfume.
“Okay, girl. You killin’ ’em!” she complimented herself.
When she stepped out of her champagne Lexus, she adjusted her miniskirt that had climbed up her lustrous thighs. As Meka walked toward the front door, she turned heads from all directions.
“Damn, lil momma. What’s up?” a sideline hustler who was visiting his baby mama asked Meka.
Meka ignored the hustler and continued on her way.
When she got inside and stepped up to the receptionist, she popped a bubble and then spoke up. “I’m here to visit inmate Donavan Johnson,” Meka said, smacking on her bubblegum, which irritated the receptionist.
“Give us a moment, ma’am,” the receptionist said through the mic while she looked up Smooth’s location on the computer.
“Okay. Booth 17. He’ll be there shortly, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Meka said as she strutted into the visiting area where other friends and family were spending time with their loved ones.
When Smooth stepped into the chatty atmosphere, he was expecting to see China—and certainly not Meka.
Damn! She’s about to block China from coming today! Smooth thought as he sat down and put the phone to his ear.
“What’s up, Meka?” he said calmly, trying not to reveal the discontent of seeing her just pop up after his two months of incarceration.
“Hi, baby! I hope you’re not mad at me for not coming sooner, but I really needed to get myself together after Banga’s funeral,” Meka said, trying her best not to break down in front of him. The last thing Smooth needs is a weak bitch by his side, Meka thought. “It’s just not the same without him,” she added.
“It’s okay, Meka. I can understand what you’re going through. It’s good to see you too, beautiful,” Smooth said, licking his lips like Meka loved to see him do.
He took notice of how gorgeous she looked. She was definitely fly. Her hair was done in finger waves, her nails were freshly painted, and she had on a V-shaped blouse revealing the fact that she was not wearing a bra. Smooth could see her erect nipples protruding through.
“I miss you, Smooth. How the fuck did this happen? I’ve been trying to figure this shit out forever. They need to let you go like Ham. Shit! He’s free now!”
“Say what?” Smooth exclaimed, giving Meka a sharp stare.
“Yeah, boo. Ham is home. They dropped all his charges two weeks ago,” Meka informed him.
For two months, Smooth had been trying to see where he had gone wrong. For a fact, he knew that someone had ratted him out, and it was someone who knew that he would be meeting with Banga to do the drop at Rimes Food Market. The only ones close enough were Amanda and Ham.
Oh shit! Ham! It gotta be him. Who the fuck posts a million-dollar bond without help? Smooth thought.
“Meka! Ham’s bond was a million dollars. You mean to tell me that all his charges got dropped?”
“Yes, boo. He came home two weeks ago. I thought he was looking at bricks, baby,” Meka said, reckoning the same prospect Smooth was now thinking, from the hint in her voice.
“Meka, has Ham been on the block?”
“I don’t know, Smooth.”
“You know someone set me up, and I only fucked with you three when I was down here. Banga was already dead on Sunday when I talked to Ham, and he was asking for help to post a million-dollar bond. When did you learn of Banga’s death?” Smooth asked.
“Just like everyone else around here, I learned of it the same night he was killed. You had to be asleep not to know that he was killed,” she informed Smooth.
“Damn it, Meka! I was good to yo’ cousin! Ham set me up, Meka!” Smooth said, frustrated.
“Don’t worry, baby! Cousin or not, snitching is against all rules and codes. I won’t let him sink you,” she promised.
Smooth looked at her with a new respect, and smiled. “I know you won’t, boo!” Smooth said.