The California Saga (22 page)

 

 

“Come on, baby.” I helped Touch out of bed and into a standing position so that he could use his walker.

He had made a lot of progress over the past few weeks. He'd gone from being totally dependent to walking, bathing, eating, dressing, and basically doing everything on his own. Although Touch was recovering, I still had a deep hatred for Calico, and I wasn't going to be happy until he paid for his deed.

Touch's mother walked through the front door.

“Hey, Ma!” I said.

Touch's mother would come over periodically to give me a break. That gave me an opportunity to do any errands I may have. I refused to leave Touch alone until I was sure he could bust a nigga ass if he had to. Until then he would never be alone. I'd purchased extra guns and placed them throughout the house for added protection. I'd even gone as far as to teach his mom how to shoot. This nigga Calico had just tried to take Touch's life, and there was no way I was gonna take a chance of him coming back to finish the job.

“Okay, baby, I'll be right back.” I kissed Touch and then headed toward the front door prepared to set the alarm on my way out. Although we lived in a prominent high-end neighborhood, crime had no address, so I needed to protect my man at all costs.

“Wait!” Touch called out as though he was in pain.

“What's wrong, baby?” I said in a panic.

“Come sit next to me.” Touch patted on a stool at the breakfast bar next to him. “I wanted to wait 'til my mom was here before I did this.”

Confused, I slowly walked toward him and sat on the stool as he requested. I watched as he struggled to dig an item from out of his pocket. I immediately reached out to assist him.

“No, baby,” he said, resisting. “I got it.” He then finally pulled out a small box. “This isn't the way I dreamed of doing things, but this can't wait any longer. You've shown me love that no other woman, other than my mother, has ever shown me. We've shared good and bad times, and between it all, you stood your ground as my ride-or-die chick. Jewel, I love you, baby, and I can never repay you for your loyalty, but I can give you all of me for the rest of my life. If you would accept, I would love for you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

My eyes filled with water, and it felt like someone was literally tugging at my heart. “Yes, baby. Of course, I will be your wife.”

We kissed each other passionately.

My ring was beautiful. Touch had outdone himself. As soon as I'd seen the name Harry Winston, I knew there was no way I could be disappointed. He was a celebrity jeweler, so I knew Touch couldn't go wrong with him. I opened the box to see a 14-karat white gold princess and baguette matching ring and band set with a total weight of eight carats. I immediately placed the ring on my finger and admired it, leaving the band in the box for our actual wedding day.

“Well, it looks like I'm finally getting my wish,” Touch's mom said. She'd always wanted me as a daughter-in-law.

Way back when Touch and I were truly platonic friends, I could remember his mother constantly saying, “Boy, I sure wish you were my daughter-in-law.”

“Now get out of here and go do your wifely duties. Get me some groceries, woman!” Touch said in a playful tone.

I grabbed my Gucci bag and headed out the door and made my way to Wal-Mart. Like always, the Wal-Mart parking lot was full, and the store was busy like a damn nightclub. I breezed my way through the aisles of the store, picking up items and checking them off my grocery list.

“Yo, Jewel,” someone called out to me.

I turned around to see one of Calico's boys that went by the name Poppo standing before me. I unzipped my purse that sat in the child seat of the shopping cart. I wanted easy access to my gun in case I needed to shoot this nigga.

“Yeah?” I responded with an attitude. I didn't know what type of shit he was on, and I didn't want to make the mistake of showing fear.

“What's good with you, baby girl? Still looking good, I see.”

I could tell by his body language and his words that he wasn't on no beef shit. In the past, he had tried to get with me, but since Touch had gotten shot, I didn't know what to expect or who could be trusted.

“Whatever, nigga.” I blew him off then continued to look for Touch's favorite cereal, Fruity Pebbles.

“Why you keep blowing me off? I been trying to holla at you for a minute now.”

I was just about to diss the hell out of this nigga, but then it hit me. Poppo was obviously one of those niggas that was weak for pussy. He had been trying to get with me since I was dating Calico. Every time Calico would send him to pick up some shit from me or to deliver me some money or anything, he would always make a pass at me. One time he even grabbed my ass. I figured, if he would stab his boy in the back during that time, why not do it now? Literally, that is. Plus, I knew firsthand how Calico treated his boys. He treated them like shit. I knew I could easily get in Poppo's head, so I executed.

“Yeah, you have, Poppo, but I'm a boss bitch, and I need a boss by my side. I can't have no nigga that's being bitched out every day by some other nigga that thinks he's the boss.”

“Man, fuck that nigga! I'm trying to do a little something on my own, so I can break off from that nigga now. He be trying to play niggas for a little bitch, and I'm getting tired of that shit.”

Poppo's simple ass played right into my little game when he said exactly what I wanted to hear.

“So you think all you need is a little drug connect to get away from Calico? Hell, if that's all it takes, I can put you on to a connect, but Calico will kill your ass if he knew you was trying to do your own thing. That shit makes you his competition.”

“Man, I'll deal with Calico.”

Poppo's words were music to my ears.

“Okay, look . . . this is the deal. You know Touch is fucked up, so he ain't even fucking with the drug game right now. So I'm gonna need a new boss by my side. If you can get rid of Calico to assure we won't have problems, I will put you on to my connect, and me and you can build a new empire of our own.”

“Done deal. Say no more. How can I reach you?”

Poppo's weak ass had fallen right into my trap. Just like the average nigga, he was weak for pussy. I knew I could tell him anything and have him eating out of the palm of my hand. Sure, I made him feel like he was the man and I was gonna be by his side, but it was only to get what I wanted, which was Calico out of the way and my man safe. What better way to have Calico killed than to have his own boy do it?

Poppo and I exchanged phone numbers, and I finished up my grocery shopping excited as a kid on Christmas.

 

 

“Damn right!” I said to no one in particular as I walked back to my car in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart shopping center.

Running into Jewel was a coincidence, but the offer she made had to be a sign that it was time to break away from Calico. But, still, I had to wonder if this bitch was for real. I must admit, her offer did seem too good to be true. Was this bitch trying to set me up? After all, my man did just try to kill her nigga.
Maybe, once I get Calico out the way, I would be her next man.
All kinds of shit was running through my head, but fuck it! I needed the come-up. It was whatever.

Once I got to the crib, I couldn't get that shit off my mind. This would be the perfect fucking come-up. I could be on top, and I knew that's all I needed to get Jewel. I'd wanted that ass for a long time and it looked like my time was finally coming. I stayed up late watching episodes of
The First 48
and eating pizza and drinking Heineken, which eventually got a nigga tired as hell. I slowly began to doze off to sleep.

“Poppo, I'm going to ask you this, one time,” Jewel stated as she handed me a glass of Nuvo.

She was dressed in a red wife-beater and torn, tight-ass jeans that looked to have been painted on her. And, gotdamn, that ass was phat! We definitely weren't at my place or hers. Instead, it looked as if we were in one of those uppity expensive hotels like the Westin or Loews or something. The room was huge.

I lifted my head from the king-size bed to see pink roses scattered all over the carpet. A Jacuzzi was to the right of me. A tray of all kinds of cheeses, meats and fruits were to the left of me on a table. Yeah, I could get used to this kind of lifestyle. Jewel was definitely high-class and high-maintenance, but a nigga wasn't complaining. I was confident I could keep up with her and supply all of her wants and needs.

“Thank you,” I responded as I took the glass from her and took a gulp of the sparkling pink wine.

“Did you have anything to do with Calico's death?” she inquired. “That nigga was found with a rat in his mouth, and his eyes were cut out. Everyone is in disbelief.”

“Don't worry about it. Now that he's out of the way, I will take the throne and have you right by my side as my queen.” I rubbed her cheek with my hand.

I thought back to the funeral that I'd gone to just to be nosy, and so that I didn't look suspect. Dressed in all black and my Dolce & Gabbana shades, I was playing the part to the hilt. Calico had plenty of people from near and far there to see him off. His mother, baby mamas, and thousands of “side-bitches” were all trying to hang on to the casket as the funeral groundskeepers lowered it into the ground. He had so many bitches there, for a minute I thought a fight was gonna break out.

“Like I said, Calico is gone. It's time for us to get on with our lives,” I told her.

“Let's make a toast,” Jewel suggested.

“To making money, happiness, and prosperity,” I said, touching glasses with her.

“Well, I'll drink to that!” Jewel grinned then took a sip from her glass.

After she took several sips of her drink, she slowly took off her clothes, revealing a black lace teddy. She turned on the DVD player, and the song “12 Play” by R. Kelly came on. I had no idea how she knew this was one of my favorite songs. When she started dancing around and popping her ass in my face, my dick instantly got hard. One by one, she took off each piece of lingerie.

“You hungry?” she asked.

“A little.”

Jewel began feeding me a little meat, cheese, and strawberries dipped in white chocolate.

“Now, I'm very hungry,” she said before placing watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon all over my body.

Afterwards, she started eating it off me. I'd never had any girl do this shit to me. Before I knew it, she began licking my balls and deep-throating my dick. I closed my eyes. I couldn't help it and came right in her mouth. And she gladly swallowed.

 

 

“Damn!” I woke up with my dick covered in cum.

That was one of the best dreams I ever had. I took that as a sure sign that Jewel was going to be mine for good.

 

 

“Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!” I loudly recited the famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr. as I exited the confines of Virginia Beach jail.

After spending three days there, a bitch was happy to finally get out. When I was originally booked on the lesser assault charge after speaking with the detectives, I went to speak to the magistrate about a bond. That bitch nigga denied me bond, claiming that I was a flight risk, since I lived out of state, so I had to wait to get a bond hearing. When I went before the judge, he granted me a $10,000 bond. I got in touch with a bondsman, and he let me out for a thousand dollars.

I waited patiently for my cab to arrive and literally jumped for joy when I saw him pull up.

“Yippee!” I skipped to the cab like a little kid and hopped in the backseat. “The Doubletree Hotel at Military Circle Mall in Norfolk.” I directed him to the hotel I'd stayed at during my arrest. I needed to return there to pick up my car.

As soon as the cabby pulled up to the hotel, I paid him, hopped into my car, and made my way to the interstate, headed back to Columbus, Georgia to my parents' crib to pick up my kids. I'd gotten my own little crib in Atlanta, but I rarely spent any time there.

As I was driving, the scene from New Year's Eve kept playing over and over in my head. The two things most disturbing to me were, one, I'd witnessed Touch getting shot by Calico, and two, I was so damn close to death myself. I knew in my heart that Calico would not have hesitated to put a bullet in me just as fast if he knew I was that chick that robbed him of his money. With that in mind, I began to reflect back on the agreement I'd made with Detective Tarver.
What the fuck have I done?
I wondered to myself, realizing I had made a big mistake.
I've just given myself a death sentence. Calico is gonna fucking kill me. I'm never gonna make it to court
.

My brain started racing, and my nerves were starting to get the better of me. If Calico found out I was an eyewitness, and planning to testify against him, he would make sure I didn't have a breath left in my body, come the trial date. As paranoia set in, I began constantly looking in my side-view and rearview mirrors to see if someone was following me. I was beginning to feel like a fucking lunatic fleeing from the crazy house.

For a moment I could have sworn that a tinted-out black Tahoe was following me. I was so shook, my tank was on empty, but I refused to get gas. When I finally was forced, I circled the gas station two times to be sure no one was following me into the station. I pumped my gas and jumped back on the interstate in record-breaking time.

As I continued to drive, my brain was constantly plagued by this whole Calico situation, so I decided to give Detective Tarver a call.

“Tarver,” he answered on the first ring.

“Hi, this is Sasha Williams. I just worked out a deal with you on that case involving the shooting at Club Encore in Virginia Beach.”

“Hey, Sasha. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I was wondering if Calico would be informed that I will be testifying, because I'm a little worried about my safety.”

“Well, we will inform him there is an eyewitness, but we won't reveal who until the court proceedings. But you don't have to worry. Once we get our hands on him, he will not be coming out, and until then, we will do all we can to make sure you're protected. Don't you worry.”

“Okay,” I said, still not feeling any more confident than I'd felt before the call. Actually, I felt worse.

I knew, after talking to the detective, there was no way I could go through with the deal we had negotiated. These days it was easier to beat the system than the streets. I could buck on court and be on the run and live to tell about it, as opposed to testifying against Calico and not even making it to court.

Now that I'd made my mind up that I wasn't going to court to testify against Calico, nor my charge for that matter, I had to put an escape plan into play. I knew it was nothing to change my look, get a new driver's license and relocate. I could easily go someplace like Jamaica and live with no problem. I knew a few people there. Plus, I would be in heaven, with so much Jamaican dick to choose from.

The only downfall would be leaving my family, baby daddy, and worst of all, my three- and seven-year-old sons, Malik and Jahad, whom I adored. I'm sure I could probably live without my sorry-ass drug-dealer-gone-bad baby daddy, Rick. Hell, he was part of the reason I had to resort to the streets.

I had actually stopped stripping at one point and was a working chick. I had a comfortable life, house, car, and even a rental property. Then this nigga's drug game got fucked up, and he drained me of every penny, leaving me with two foreclosed homes. And soon I was back to stripping and living with my parents. It wasn't until I bucked on Jewel for Calico's one hundred grand that I was able to get back on my feet. So that nigga, I could definitely do without, but it was the thought of being away from my kids that was killing me. Deep inside, I knew it would be too risky to have them with me while on the run.

My plan was set. I just needed to execute. I still had about fifty grand left from Calico's money that I'd tricked Jewel into giving me, but I needed about fifty more. I wanted to have at least a hundred grand cash when I dipped out of the country. It was time for me to get my hustle on, and by all means I intended to. My life depended on it.

I called up my boy Diablo. Originally from Virginia, Diablo used to run drugs hard in VA but had recently moved to Atlanta when shit got hot, after a few young boys that he used as runners got locked up and started snitching. Although I didn't formally meet him until I started working at Bottoms Up, a strip club in Atlanta, I knew of him in VA because his name rang bells. And, of course, like every other baller, little miss Jewel used to date him too.

When Diablo hit the
A
, he started going even harder, making even more money, and eventually becoming one of the top suppliers in Atlanta. He used his drug money to open a club and started getting money from both angles.

“What up, sexy?” Diablo said.

“Hey, boo. I was calling to see if you were hiring,” I said, knowing Diablo would know exactly what I meant. I'd done some work for him before, so he knew I was game for whatever.

“Not right now, baby girl. I'm waiting on some family to come up from out of the country. They should be here in a couple of weeks. Check with me then.” Diablo spoke in code, saying that he was waiting for his product to come in.

“Cool,” I said then ended the call.

The plan was set and soon to be in motion. I just needed to stay alive until then. I planned to use those couple of free weeks to spend time with my boys and let them know how much their mommy loved them, especially since, at this point, tomorrow definitely wasn't promised.