Chapter Three

“So you want him dead because of a woman,” Aries concluded once he had finished his story.

“No, I want him dead because of the blatant disrespect,” Case corrected. “By the end of that summer she was his girl. I caught her at his dorm room, sleeping naked in his bed one day while he was at class. They weren’t expecting me. I just popped up. That was the first time he decided to touch what belonged to me. I let my issues with him go once before because I knew that she deserved a nigga like Macy. I took the higher road; this time I want what’s mine.”

Aries nodded her head. She had gotten rid of people for much less. Money and women were usually the motivation for murder, and Macy was about to fall victim because of his trespasses. He had alienated the one man who had helped him reach legitimate success, and Aries was the Grim Reaper. It pained her to agree to the terms. Her road to redemption had been interrupted, and she would have to leave her family for a while to get the job done.

“I know that this may be too much to ask, but I’ll need some financial stability to do this for you. I need a place—a nice place,” she added. “A presidential suite at the Ritz would be nice. I’ll also need guns and a car ... on you.”

He nodded. “Done.”

“Now get out of my house,” she spat as she stood to her feet while glaring at Case in contempt.

“I’ll be in touch,” Case said as he gave her a dazzling white smile and stood to his feet. He followed her to the door, watching her behind sway as it hypnotized him. He shook his head because it was a shame that Aries was who she was. If she were any other woman, Case would have definitely come at her. She would probably be wifey, but the path she had chosen made her spoiled goods.

No hustler could ever trust a Murder Mama.They were too ruthless, and Aries didn’t exclude anyone from her wrath. Anybody could get it. Including you, she thought silently as she watched Case walk out of her home and pull away from the curb.

 

 

Aries stood in front of the mirror breathing heavily as she gripped the sides of the sink’s vanity. Stress plagued her as she thought of Case’s proposal. He was forcing her hand, making her go back to a lifestyle that she no longer believed in. Her mind spun as she thought of how to get herself out of the situation, but deep inside she knew that the only way out was compliance. She had to do what he wanted her to do.

She kicked herself for coming out of hiding and showing her face in California. Going to Robyn’s execution had put her at risk; it had put her family at risk. It had been stupid. She was positive that it was how he had located her.

She thought of killing Case. I should body that nigga for even coming to my doorstep, she thought angrily as her head hung in indecision. Aries was seriously contemplating that option, but the reality was that Case was too powerful to touch. He had a crazy goon squad with numbers into the hundreds, and she was only one woman. She couldn’t take on the world, and it hurt her pride to give in to his demands.

Back in the day, no one would have ever been able to come at her that way. She popped niggas like kernels and didn’t think twice about whose boyfriend, son, or father she was putting to rest. Case, however, wasn’t just any old mark. He was a boss—a boss who moved smart and who had enough resources to locate her after half a decade.

A hand on the back of her neck caused her to flinch. She turned around swiftly and grabbed the hand tightly, prepared for a fight.

“Rachel, it’s just me,” Prince said.

She exhaled as she walked into his chest and rested her head against it. “Oh my God. You scared me,” she whispered.

Just that quickly, an inclination to take a life had come back to her, but when she realized it was only her husband, she calmed down. She knew the emptiness that came along with committing that type of crime. It had taken her so long to fill her soul and truly live again. Once she went back to her old ways, she wasn’t sure if she would make it out. Rachel Coleman would die in the world that Aries used to dwell in.

“You’re trembling. What’s wrong?” Prince asked.

“I just had a bad dream. I can’t sleep,” she lied as she squeezed him tightly. “Just hold me.”

His warm embrace did nothing to ease her heart, and as they made their way back into their bedroom, her senses were on full alert. Every little noise made the hairs on the back of her neck stand tall. “I’m going to get Tre,” she said. “I want him in here with us tonight.”

Prince lay back in their bed and mumbled an okay as Aries left the room. She peeked in on their son and then bypassed his room momentarily so that she could check the rest of the house.

It was pitch black in the Caribbean home, and she turned on no lights. She knew her house better than anyone else, so if someone was inside of it, the darkness would work to her advantage. She no longer owned a gun, and made a mental note to purchase one as soon as possible.

Aries crept to the kitchen and reached into her knife block, running her hands over the many knives until she located the large chef’s knife. She paused in silence as she listened to the sounds of her house. She heard many sounds. The creak of the air conditioning as it turned on, the sound of the wind causing her white picket fence to open and close on its own: These were all sounds that were familiar to her. She was trying to decipher anything that sounded out of place.

When she was sure that nothing was moving inside, she turned on the lights. She went from room to room with the knife ready, but found nothing. She sighed in relief. I’m tripping, she thought. No one is here.

She retreated to the second floor and grabbed her son out of his bed. She took him into her bedroom, where Prince was snoring loudly. He slept so comfortably, completely oblivious to the sudden threat that had entered their lives.

She tucked the knife beneath her mattress and lay down with her son in her arms. She kept him near as her eyes scanned the room. She couldn’t relax, not when she knew that her enemies were so close.

She had to make this problem disappear, and she knew that it meant returning to L.A. to repay a debt to her old friend Case.