La Familia 2

Tango played with Eliza in the living, pretending to be the boogie man, but with a large smile and goofy attitude. The one-year-old laughed and giggled loudly as Tango tickled her and swung her around the room like she was a bird. He was great with her. It was obvious Eliza was very comfortable around him. He didn’t mind babysitting while Mouse went to her friend’s funeral. He made snacks, they watched cartoons, and he was being a father to her. It was his family now, and he didn’t care about Rico. Rico was incarcerated and missing out on a good thing: family.

It was getting late and Tango put Eliza to bed. He read her a bedtime story and tucked her in, and then he kissed her on her forehead and smiled. She was an angel in his eyes and he wanted to be in her life. Tango slowly shut the door and went into the living room. His mother was in her bedroom sleeping. He was alone for now. He went to the window and gazed outside. It was dark out and Mouse hadn’t come home yet. He wasn’t too worried about her. She was a big girl who could handle herself and he trusted her.

He didn’t feel remorseful about murdering her friend, Crystal. It was just a job he had to perform. Crystal was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. She had seen his face. He had to protect himself and his family. But it did hurt him to see Mouse cry in his arms for hours. He consoled her. He felt he had no choice. He was responsible, but she would never find out because Tango planned on taking it to his grave. If the truth ever came out, there was no doubt in his mind that she would leave him for good. He could never lose her. Mouse thought he was working an honest job doing construction; she had no idea that he became a killer for hire.

Tango remained still by the living room window, watching the activity below his apartment. He lit a cigarette and observed the local hustlers hugging the block and the fiends continuously back and forth lurking for their next fix. With the weather becoming warmer it brought out everyone, from the hardworking residents to the despicable who swamped the neighborhood with their bad habits and transgressions.

Tango puffed and exhaled. Killing Dodo and Crystal didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. He was five grand richer and able to do for his family. That’s the only thing that mattered to him: providing.

Mike wanted him to do another hit. This time it was brothers: double the pay, five grand for them both. That was $10,000 in his pocket and he could do a lot with ten grand. He knew Tango was able to handle it, pull it off smoothly and be ghost. Mike was content with the Dodo hit. Tango accepted the job; now it was a matter of timing.

From the window, Tango saw Mouse on her way home. She had walked from the funeral home to the projects. He smiled. He missed her. He doused his cigarette and planned to greet her as she stepped into the apartment.

Moments later, he heard her fidgeting with the lock and she entered. The minute Mouse walked into the apartment, Tango snatched his woman into his arms and hugged and kissed her passionately. It was an unexpected greeting for Mouse, but she was thrilled to have a man miss her the way he did.

“I missed you, baby,” said Tango amicably.

“Where’s Eliza?”

“She’s ’sleep. I put her to bed an hour ago.”

“How was she? She wasn’t too much trouble?”

“She was fine. We had a good time. We played, watched cartoons, ate junk food, and she wore me out,” said Tango.

Mouse smiled broadly.

Tango squeezed his woman gently in his arms and said, “Now it’s your turn to wear me out.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup.”

The two kissed. Tango didn’t ask her how the funeral was because he didn’t care. Mouse seemed to be okay, being in a good mood. He just wanted some pussy. It seemed like they both were in a good mood. Mouse was happy to see Sammy again and having their much-needed talk. Tango wanted to love his woman down. He guided her toward the couch and pulled her down on top of him, where she straddled him. They kissed again and his hand was up her shirt, squeezing her tit. But before anything got started, Mouse said, “Let me go check on Eliza.”

She removed herself from his lap and went into the bedroom. The door was ajar; she peered inside to see her daughter sleeping soundly. It was so angelic. Mouse smiled. She went into the bedroom and kissed her daughter on her soft, rosy cheeks.

“Things are definitely getting better, Eliza,” Mouse whispered in the room. “Yes, they are. I have a good man in my life and he seems to be a keeper, and tomorrow, you gonna meet my best friend. We came a long way, baby girl, and Mommy is always gonna be around to protect you. I love you.”

Once again, she kissed her daughter on the cheek and went back into the living to join Tango. He was seated on the couch buck-naked with his cock out, rock hard and ready for her to ride it.

“Tango!” Mouse shrieked lightly. “Oh my God.”

“What? I told you that I missed you.”

“I see you did.” Mouse smiled provocatively.

Tango definitely knew how to make a bad day good.

The life he was now leading, it was natural to lie to his significant other. When Tango called Mouse to say he was going to be home late from work, Mouse asked why. “Some of my coworkers wanna take me out for a few drinks tonight, to celebrate my first month on the job,” he lied. It came easily, one lie after another. But Tango felt he was protecting his woman from the truth. He was out stalking the Broughton brothers, Penn and Reason. They were also YGC and heavy in the streets and definitely no stranger to guns, drugs, and some murders.

Tango got an address for them, learned their habits, and knew about their location, their favorite places to be. He moved around them like their own shadow. He was ready to strike. He was ready to get paid.

The brothers stayed in a three-story tenement off of Jerome Avenue. Security was weak and the neighborhood was high with crime. Tango easily fit right in. He took the stairway to their third-floor apartment and effortlessly broke into their apartment using a pick and tension wrench. He already knew the Broughton brothers weren’t home. They were at the local bar drinking. It’s what they did: drink and have a reckless lifestyle with women. And he also knew they lived alone. Tango carefully went through the untidy apartment with dirty dishes in the sink, scattered clothes everywhere, remnants of drug use on the table, the trashcan overflowing with rubbish and a few guns being out in the open. It was the typical gangster pad. It was sloppy and Tango winced from the smell.

He took his position in the place. In one hand was a wooden baseball bat; in the next was a 9 mm. Now all he had to do was sit and wait and let his victims come to him.

Two hours later the front door opened and there was loud talking. The brothers had arrived home unaware that they had unwanted company. Penn was talking and cursing. Reason followed his older brother with the alcohol making him move sluggishly. They moved their way around the dark apartment and turned on the lights.

Reason plopped down on the couch and was ready to pass out. Penn removed the pistol from his waistband and placed it on the table along with his other collections of guns. He was ready to roll up some weed and relax with his brother. However, the minute Reason closed his eyes to rest and Penn settled in being unarmed and kicking off his shoes Tango emerged from his hiding place and attacked. He moved like lightning and struck like thunder. The baseball bat smashed against Reason’s head, mashing his skull, and he toppled out of the chair and fell to the ground. He was fucked up. Penn went to reach for his gun but Tango was all over him, pistol whipping him with the butt of the gun and knocking him down to the floor.

Reason was knocked out cold from the blow, but Penn was conscious, bleeding from his head and scowling at Tango. He gazed up at the pistol aimed at him and cursed, “What the fuck, muthafucka!”

Tango had no reason to explain himself. He was there to execute a job. With no hesitation, he gripped the bat like Derek Jeter on the baseball field about to hit a homerun and swung at Reason; it almost took his head off. The Louisville Slugger smashed against his face spewing blood and immediately breaking his nose and then his jaw. Tango continually hit him with the bat so many times his body became unrecognizable. His face looked like ground meat. He broke every bone in the man’s face and a pool of blood expanded underneath the body. To add insult to injury, Tango shot him multiple times.

Reason suffered the same fate. The baseball bat destroyed his slim body, almost breaking him into two pieces. Tango went ham on the little brother, knocking out teeth, crushing skull, breaking his nose, shattering his eye socket; and shot him multiple times in the face too. It was a nasty and appalling message, both bodies mangled with sick brutality.

Tango left the place coolly. It was back home to his woman. He needed to lie in her arms and take his mind away from work. When he arrived at his apartment, Mouse was sleeping with Eliza cuddled in her arms in his bed. Tango removed his clothing knowing it was contaminated with DNA evidence. The first thing tomorrow morning he planned on burning everything like he did before. He put everything in a trash bag, got comfortable in some basketball shorts and a wife beater, and joined Mouse and Eliza in bed. He nestled behind his woman and held her tight and whispered, “I love you,” in her ear.