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Authors: Noire

BOOK: Sexy Little Liar
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I shrugged and admitted, “I ain't hardly got nothing left in the bank, but I still got thirty in Gutta's safe. Twenty-five g's for him, and the other five I was sitting on so me and you can get down and flip some weight. You still got your ends to put in, right?”
“Um, hell yeah,” Bunni said, looking all shifty-eyed and guilty in the mug. “Yeah, girl. I still gots some of mine. But um, even if we put our money together, ten grand ain't enough to get no real weight so we might need to borrow some of Gutta's cash too. Don't worry, though. We can put it back once our product starts selling.”
“Hell
no,
Mink!” Peaches screamed on me. “Don't you touch not one damn dime of Gutta's money! Bad enough that fool is gonna come home and find out you got kicked outta his crib and all his shit is stuffed in a storage bin! If you mess over his money too that nigga is gonna put your lights out, baby. For
good
!”
“Awww,
fuck
Gutta!” Bunni barked as she channel surfed on the flat screen she had bought that was so damn big it covered half the living room wall. “Fuck him up his jailbird ass!”
“Oh, so now it's fuck Gutta?” I stared her down, peeping her game. “Oh, I get it now. I see how you living, Bunni. Your ass is broke too. Broke
and
crazy! Talking about diggin' in Gutta's stash and fuckin' him up the ass at the same time! You singing loony tunes, Bunni, 'cause you broke and your pockets is full of lint.”
“I ain't broke, baby! I already told you I gots minez! But check this out,” Bunni said as she clicked off the television and walked up on me with her chunky monkey leading the way. I busted the twisted lil twinkle in her eye from all the way across the room, and I knew she was thinking hard on a brand-new scheme. “We can still make some moves and rack up on some cash. I finally heard back from my boy uptown. He got in touch with the connect who's gonna hook us up with the product. Don't worry, his prices are real good and he said he got us.”
“Okay, he got us but
when
, Bunni? That dude been ducking you ever since we got back from Dallas, and you still don't even know who his connect is. If we gonna make a big move and get at some big money, then we need to make it now.”
Bunni waved her hand. “Don't you worry about nothing, Mink. Leave the move-making to me. You holding five racks for yourself and twenty-five for Gutta, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well there it is,” she said like playing the drug game was real simple. “All we gotta do is slide my dude the twenty-five, and then we triple-flip our first batch of product and we can pay Gutta back and put some dough in our pockets at the same time.”
“Whoa, hold the hell up,” I said and shook my head. “Where's your loot? How much you putting in?”
She threw up her hands. “Okay, damn! You got me, Mink! I spent my shit! I'm broke. You busted me. I spent it. You know good and damn well I spent it!”
I shook my head at that shit. “Well I guess the plan is dead then. I ain't tryna mess up none of Gutta's money, girl. You heard what Peaches just said. That nigga will straight wild out and press his tool to my head if he comes home and I'm broke.”
“But you not
gonna
be broke, Mink!” Bunni insisted. “It's not like we gonna hang out and spend his shit up partying or nothing! The only thing we doing is using some of his paper so we can stack more paper. Besides”—she smirked and twisted her lips—“Gutta ain't the head-case you need to be worried about right now. That fool Punchie Collins wants that money you stole from him, and you ain't gonna be able to keep ducking his ass forever. And on the real, once you pay him and Gutta off and get you a little yay and some yak, then your ass is gonna be just as broke as minez.”
I thought about it for a minute and then I nodded. Bunni was right. Gutta was on lock in an upstate prison, while psycho Punchie Collins was right outside lurking in the staircase and looking to sneak my ass. If running a little street hustle could bring in enough quick cash to dig myself outta the hole I had once again fallen into, then I was all for it.
“Okay,” I said as Peaches looked at me and rolled his eyes in disgust. “I'm down. But you sure we can triple-flip our money real quick, right? I mean, your dude is on the up and up, word? You know him like that for real?”
Bunni yawned and nodded. “Yeah. I know him. We used to fuck back in the day. Trust me, Mink. All we gotta do is get him the cash and he'll deliver the product. We'll put our shit out there with a couple of corner boys who scramble uptown, and before you know it our pockets will be real knotty again.”
“Cool,” I said as I stared down at the letter I had just got out the mail from Gutta that morning. “The sooner your boy can hook us up, the better.”
CHAPTER 6
B
unni had made contact with her boy named Light and we held a meeting in the stairwell of a project building down the block. He was a scary-lookin' yellow dude with light green eyes, and he sounded like a real killer when he laid down his rules.
“I'm telling you right now”—he pointed his finger in my face—“don't go jumping off in no water that's too deep, ya heard? You wanna play with the big boys and rake in the large bills? Then you gotta bone-up to the risks and pay ya fuckin' dues! Ain't no mercy out here on the streets, ladies. You gimme twenty-five racks and I'll give you enough shit to flip and make back fifty large in profit, dig? Now, you stick me for my product and I
promise
I'ma stick you in a garbage bag. But if you play this shit the right way there might be some opportunities for you to make even more in the future.”
I turned my head and smirked at that one. I wasn't tryna become no female drug czar. All I wanted to do was make my money and get gone, but Bunni's eyes got real big when she heard the words
future opportunities
and I could tell she was already sold.
We turned over the cash and ol' boy told us where we could pick up our product. He said his manz was already there waiting for us, and he even drew up a little sketch map so we would know which part of the warehouse to go to. I almost shit when we turned around to leave and he licked his lips and said in a low voice, “You know, y'all are two fine-ass bitches! A nigga like me don't usually fuck where he eat, but if I did, I'd take a quick go at both of y'all. Together. In a sandwich.” His gleaming eyeballs turned the corner on our curvy hips as he tried to check for our bootys. He shook his head in delightful admiration. “Damn. I hate I'ma have to pass on all this good looking pussy, but it was nice meeting you jawns anyway.”
“Nice
meeting
you?” I elbowed Bunni all in her liver as he got in his whip and pulled off. “What the fuck is he talking about nice
meeting
you? You said you
knew
this muthafucka! You said y'all used to
fuck
!”
Bunni had the stupid look on her face. “Naw, that ain't exactly what I said, Mink! I said I knew the dude who was down to make the deal with us. Me and
him
used to fuck. I think this guy is his cousin.”
“His cousin? You
think
? You mean we just gave the last of our money to some nigga you used to bang's so-called
cousin
?”
“Um, yeah,” Bunni said, looking even stupider in the face. “Pretty much.”
 
The address Light had sent us to pick up our product at was in a warehouse on the Lower East Side of the city. I was scared as shit when we got there, and I kept praying he hadn't set us up to get knocked. Me and Bunni both looked right ridiculous in our designer shit and high-heel shoes as we crept up the rickety stairs and followed the map that ol' boy had sketched out for us.
“You go first,” Bunni whispered as we stood outside a door that had a whole bunch of graffiti scrawled on it in different colors.
“Hell no!” I frowned and pushed her in front of me. “This was your idea, your fuckin' scheme, and
your
fuckin' friend!”
She turned around and gave me the evil eye.
“Uh-huh. But it's
your
fuckin'
money
, remember?”
Bunni smirked, then crossed her arms and backed up until she was leaning up against the wall. She wasn't about to move another muscle. I could see it all in her face. I was mad as hell, but since my money was on the line I had no choice but to open that door and go through with our plan.
I took a deep breath and twisted the knob, then pushed the door open. A rush of foul, musty air flew up my nose. I squinted into the darkened room. The first thing I saw was a whole bunch of wooden crates stacked up real high.
The second thing I saw was big-nose Moolah Jenkins, one of my childhood enemies. Moolah slang dope for Punchie Collins, and my heart banged at the sight of him swigging from a naked bottle of Old English malt liquor.
“Sup, Stink Mink! I knew I smelled something rotten up in here! Why you looking so surprised to see me, mami?”
“What's up, Moolah,” I said suspiciously. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Oh, I'm doing what I do best, shawty. I'm representing for my boss, bitch!”
And that would be scary Punchie. A tight knot of fear swelled in my stomach.
“Look, we ain't in the third grade no goddamn more,” I barked on him. “Me and Punchie might got us some bizz we need to handle, but that ain't got nothing to do with you. It's between me and him.”
“Oh, Cool P already know how you do bizz, baby. You said you was gonna hook him up, right, Mink?” Moolah took a swig from his Old E and laughed real loud and crazy. “Yeah, I know, I know. Check this out.” He put one hand on his hip, stuck out his butt, twisted up his lips, and started imitating me in a high-pitched voice. “I got you, Punchie!” he said, walking back and forth and switching his skinny booty the same way I switched mine. “I'ma tear you off
proper
! I'ma take real good care of you, boo!” He shot me a thumbs-up sign and winked.
“Come on now, Moolah, baby.” Bunni came to my rescue and tried to help me out. She shimmied up on her crazy-ass neighbor and made sure he got a good look at her stank camel toe. For somebody who was just acting real damn scary on the other side of the door, Bunni sounded swole and in control right now. “Fuck Punchie!” Bunni talked that shit. “Mink ain't been ducking no damn Punchie! She just had a little cash-flow problem, that's all. She's still gonna take care of him. Right now she's tryna handle her business so she can hook him up with a little extra when her ends get right. That's what's up.”
“When her ends get right?” Moolah quit grinning and exploded. He grilled us like he wanted to smash our foreheads in with his beer bottle. “Y'all bitches been flossin' all over town in a stretch fuckin' limo! Ya driver prolly got a fuckin' hernia tryna carry all ya packages up the stairs! Oh yeah.” He laughed. “I got ya fuckin' cash-flow problem, baby!” Moolah clapped his hands and bent over, cracking the hell up. “While you busy looking for ya lil connect, all your product done flowed right outta your pockets and straight into minez!”
“What?” I said as he kept right on laughing. I didn't see shit funny, and I didn't like the way that fool was looking at me neither. Like he was a slick rat that had just swallowed a fat hunk of cheese. “Where's the dude who was supposed to meet us up in here? You tryna say you got my package, Moolah?” I shrieked over his loud-ass laughter. I licked my lips and glanced at Bunni in a panic. “Girl what the fuck is this nigga talking about?”
“I'm talking about your grimy-ass getting
jacked
, bitch!” Moolah barked. “The same way you was catching our customers on the stairs and collecting our cash? Well I just caught your connect and collected on your ass too!”
“
Moolah!
You stole my product?”
“Uh-huh,” he said, chuckling. “About fifty bills worth, baby.”
My whole face broke apart as tears sprang to my eyes. “Uh-uh, Moolah. Don't do that. You know that shit ain't right. We was about to flip that. Lemme talk to Punchie and get this shit straight. All I owe him is a grand or two at the most. How y'all niggas gonna beat me outta a whole fifty large?”
“What the fuck?” Moolah smirked. “I'm supposed to feel sorry for your silly ass or something? Didn't my boy Light explain this shit to you? There ain't no mercy in this game!”
“But I was gonna turn that money over to pay Gutta!”
“
Fuck
Gutta! That nigga ain't no real G! If he don't know how to handle a trickster like you then he deserves to get ganked! You got a lotta shit to learn, so welcome to the game, Miss Stink Ass! Now, I'ma hit you with some real good advice so don't say I ain't never gave you nothing okay? Pay attention, shit head. The first rule of the drug hustle is,
don't trust nobody you don't know
!”
I stared at that fool and his eyes were glistening with laughter and glee.
“Guess what the second rule is?”
Like I gave a damn! I wanted to smash that nigga and I wasn't about to play no guessing games with him.
“What is it?” Bunni bust out and asked over my shoulder.
Moolah laughed even louder. “The second rule is, don't trust nobody you
do
know neither!”
 
I had a headache that just wouldn't quit.
“For real, Mink, I'm sorry,” Bunni said as I laid on the couch with a frozen bag of jumbo shrimp pressed to my throbbing dome. “Come on now, damn! How many times do I gotta say I'm sorry?”
I closed my eyes and ignored her ass. Gutta was gonna be home real soon and my head had been hurting like hell every day. I was so mad behind big-nose Moolah's thievery that I wanted to kill his ass. But on the real, what was I gonna do about it, huh? I mean, I couldn't just call the cops and tell 'em that Moolah had ganked me out of a package I was planning to flip, and I damn sure couldn't roll up in the projects and tell my cousins to catch Moolah and take my cash outta his ass neither. Hell no. I could see that scenario now. I would have to do a whole lotta 'splaining about how I had walked up on twenty-five g's to buy drugs in the first damn place, and knowing my corrupt family they would end up tryna shake me down for the last few little dollars I had left.
I didn't know what to do or where to turn. All I knew is that once Gutta rolled into Harlem my ass wasn't gonna have too much longer to live.
“Mink!” Bunni called my name real loud. “Did you hear me? I said I'm sorry! Damn! I don't know what else to say, girl. I'm sorry.”
I was mad as hell at Bunni on the real, but deep inside I knew it wasn't all her fault. There was no way I shoulda agreed to dip in Gutta's stash in the first place. Peaches had tried to warn me about letting all that money run through my hands like water, but my ass had been burning up with a fever. All that cheddar had me high as hell. I had been straight outta control, floating on a cloud of endless green, and no matter what Peaches said, I had been too stupid and too damn greedy to even try to come down.
“Mink,” Bunni said slowly, and as I hid behind my icy pack of shrimp, all I could wonder was why this chick was still blabbing in my ear. “I know you probably don't wanna hear this but . . .”
I turned over and groaned. She had that shit right. Whatever it was that was about to roll outta Bunni's mouth, I didn't wanna hear it.
“Girlfriend, my left titty is
itchin'
.”
I jumped up and flung that bag of shrimp dead in her grill.
“Bunita fuckin' Baines! If you don't get your nasty-ass, rashy-tash, itchin' little ball of a titty up outta my face . . .”
“But it's a sign, Mink!” she protested. “Some kinda signal-sign! Girl you know when my titty itches it's tryna tell me something!”
“Uh-uh. I don't know shit about no paranormal titty signs, Bunni! All I know is that my ass is about to get murked because
you
trusted a fool with my money, and
I
trusted
you
!”
“I was just tryna
help
your ass, Mink! All my money is gone too, and you don't see me whining and bitching and dragging my ass all over the floor about it! Damn, girl. This ain't the first time we been broke. I can feel it, Mink. For real. My left titty ain't never led me wrong yet. Something good is gonna happen for us, girlfriend. I know it will.”
I plopped back down on the couch and slapped a pillow over my face. I hated to admit it, but Bunni was right. We had been way broker than this before. At least I still had a couple of dollars left. I could at least buy Gutta some fresh sneakers and gear and put a few ends in his pocket. Thank God for that!
“On the real, girl. I got a feeling,” Bunni insisted. “Something real good is about to happen.”
“Yeah, okay.” I sucked my teeth and tried to stay mad even though Bunni had the slickest con game in Harlem, and just the thought of a good gank was starting to give me a rush. “Something real damn good better happen real damn quick, Bunni. It sure as hell better.”

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