Don Don stepped out of the shower in his private apartment and quickly dried off before wrapping the towel around his waist and exiting the bathroom. He was startled by his girlfriend, Angelique, standing in the hallway. He looked at her and asked, "Why are you still here, baby? I thought you were goin' shoppin' with your girls?"
"I am," she replied. "But I'm gonna need a little more money. There is this cute dress I want but it's four hundred."
Angelique
"I just gave you eight hundred, baby."
"That's for the shoes. If you don't want to give it then that's fine. I can just model the shoes for you later while I'm wearing nothing else."
"Ooh, as nice as that sounds, I can't do anything with you later. I got some business to handle."
"Donovan, I thought—"
"Baby, I can't tonight." He entered his bedroom with her and made his way over to his mini safe and punched in the code. After opening the little door, he pulled out one of the rolls of money he had inside. He took some money from one of the rolls and then locked everything back up before handing the money to Angelique. "Is that enough for my Angel?"
"That's definitely enough, daddy."
"Is it enough for you to give me some sugar?"
She smiled as she stood up from the bed and kissed his lips. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him more passionately as he placed a hand on her ass and squeezed it. She pulled back and looked into his eyes before saying, "It's been a minute since you've been up in me. I thought this relationship was gonna be about balance?"
"I be wanting to but you got me a-dick-ted." He shared a laugh with her and then said, "That shit be feelin' so good, baby. I have that dick on my mind no matter where I am."
She giggled and said, "I love how comfortable you are with me. I've never been in a situation like this before. This thing between us is unique in so many ways."
"Angel, I love you."
"Hmm, wasn't always the case."
"Baby, that was the past. You weren't even...you back then. The woman standin' in front of me right now has my heart if she wants it."
"What about all of your hoes?"
"Angel, do you see any other women's shit up in this apartment? I only have two keys to this place and you got one of them. Baby, I admit, I used to still hookup with other women when me and you first got reacquainted but never since we've been serious."
"Never? Not even head?"
"Never. Baby, I wouldn't have stopped wearin' rubbers if I was still fuckin' on random bitches. And I would be makin' you put on one to fuck me if I didn't trust you. I'm in love with you. I ain't never said them three words to nobody outside of my family before."
"Aw, I love you, too, Donovan."
"Do you forgive me for the past?"
"I can forgive you talking your shit to me back in the day but I'm not ready to forgive you for everything. I don't know when I'll be over it all."
"Even if I take you to Paris?"
Her eyes lit up as she asked, "What?"
"I've been thinkin' about it and maybe we should take a trip there. I know how much you've always wanted to go. And I remember you were in French club back in high school."
"Wait, you remember that?"
"I remember everything, the good and the bad. I'll do whatever I need to do to make up the bad to you, and I'll do anything to add to the good, baby. I promise." He softly put his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes. "You mean everything to me, Angel."
"Donovan, you're going to get me all in my feelings and my girls are gonna be picking on me and shit." She kissed him and then backed away and picked up her coat. "I love you."
"Mwen pral we ou pita, zanj mwen an."
Angelique smiled and replied, "See you, later."
"Baby, how come you never speak to me in Creole? You got Haitian in you just like me."
"Why should I speak in either Haitian Creole or Spanish when my people aren't proud of me and never will be? Later, baby."
She left his bedroom and picked up her coat from his living room sofa, putting it on before leaving his apartment. She then exited the apartment and took the carpeted stairs down to the building lobby and exited the building; checking her phone to make sure her friends were still meeting up at the prearranged location.
As she walked away from the building, Roderick watched her from the passenger side of JD's car parked across the street. He then picked his phone up and asked, "Is that the bitch you seen him enter the building with last night, Nard?"
"Yeah," said Nard through the speakerphone. "That's her fine ass, bruh."
"You and Trek need to follow her ass. If she gets near a secluded place with nobody around, hop out the whip and snatch her ass up. And rough her up if she fights back. Me and JD are gonna stay on the apartment and wait for Don Don's punk ass to walk out."
"Yo, what does secluded mean?" asked Trek.
"Nigga," said Nard, "it means like isolated or off to itself."
"Mothafuckas, focus!" shouted Roderick. "Don't lose track of her."
"We're on the bitch, boss," said Nard as he started his car and drove off in the direction that Angelique was walking.
"A'ight, hit me up if anything goes wrong." He ended the call and then looked at JD and said, "I hope we don't have to kill her ass, man. Nobody has to die, not even Don Don if he does what we need him to do."
"His girl fine as fuck. I hope we don't have to kill her neither." He pulled out his pistol and examined it before saying, "I have no problem poppin' a cap in Don Don though."
Roderick noticed Don Don exiting the building minutes later and said, "There that nigga go right there."
"He walkin' up the sidewalk?"
"Yeah. Nard said the nigga does the same as me. He parks his car somewhere and has Uber or Lyft take him back and forth between his private place and wherever he parks his car." When he saw Don Don climb into an Uber ride, he tapped JD's shoulder and said, "Follow that Uber, bruh."
JD quickly put away his pistol and started up the car, pulling away from the curb and distantly following the car Don Don was riding in.
Since school was out for the holiday break, Roderick had more time to focus on getting Don Don out of the picture. He and his crew had been following Don Don around for the longest and finally found out where his private apartment was. After the drug addicts who took the synthetic pills were hospitalized, both Escobar and Fat Moe had to put a pause on everything. To make it look legit, Roderick stopped selling pills to his clients, too. However, he continued selling cocaine and was very close to having the money to buy his way back out of Escobar's operation.
"Shit, he's goin' to see Escobar," said Roderick. "Just pull over so I can get out. I can walk the rest of the way to The Bottoms."
"You sure?" JD asked.
"Yeah, it'll look less suspicious if I walk in to talk to Escobar a good minute after Don Don walks in." When JD pulled over to a curb, Roderick told him, "Find out where Nard and Trek is in about an hour."
"A'ight, be easy, bruh."
Roderick gave him a head nod and then climbed out of the car. Not a second after JD drove away, Roderick's phone began ringing. He looked at it and when he saw it was Reece, he ignored the call and proceeded to walk to The Bottoms.
Meanwhile, Jacory entered the northside shopping mall with Demetrius and Montrell so they could do some Christmas shopping. It had been a week since Jacory and Nate's violent breakup and most of his bruises had healed, with the exception of his eye. There was still a noticeable bruise around his eye; however, it was no longer swollen shut. He hadn't spoken to Nate since that night and barely paid attention to him at school. Nate missed two days of school following that night but Jacory wasn't aware of the reason and didn't care to know why.
"My momma would love this blouse," said Demetrius while picking up a beautiful violet-colored blouse in JCPenney.
"That's cute," said Jacory. "I have no idea what to get my momma or Reginald this year. Last year I got them matching Adidas tracksuits."
"I'm giving my momma a gift certificate to Red Lobster," said Montrell.
"What?" Demetrius asked. "Trell, you better give your momma something better than that."
"See, you don't know Aunt Eileen," joked Jacory. "A gift that has something to do with food is the perfect gift for her."
Montrell nodded and said, "Exactly."
"I'm gonna go over to the shoe section," said Jacory before walking away from them. While he was browsing the high-heeled shoes to look for a pair his mother would like, Tayvon approached him carrying a bag of food and a drink carrier with two drinks inside.
"Jacory," said Tayvon with an attitude. "I see you're doing just fine."
"Yep, blessed and highly favored. Go away, Tayvon."
"Nah, because what you did was fucked up."
Jacory kept his attention on the shoes and nonchalantly asked, "Oh, and what did I do?"
"When you broke two of Nate's ribs, one of them punctured his lung! They had to give him a chest tube to get him to breathe. He was coughing up blood and everything. He could've died."
"Damn, that's a shame."
"Wow. You really are somethin' else. Look, I get it. You got cheated on twice and it was fucked up. But the fact that you'd try to kill somebody over that shit is just—"
Jacory finally looked at him and snapped, "See, I'm gonna have to stop you right there. Where is the concern for me? Huh, nigga? That piece of shit hit me so hard that I was knocked out for nearly two hours on my fucking floor! You don't think I could've died from brain damage? Would if he had cracked my skull and I had a brain bleed? My people weren't home to help me! Did he tell you that?"
"He told me y'all got into a fight because you found out about me and him."
"And you believe his every word like that? Shit, you need to ask your twin can you borrow his brain sometimes."
"Yo, fuck you!"
"Nigga, fuck you, too! You can have Nate's sorry ass!" He quickly calmed himself and smiled, saying, "Now, take your ashy ass to another store and get some lotion for them hands before people start thinking you're wearing alligator skin gloves, boo."
Tayvon shook his head and walked away. He exited the store and made his way into the main opening of the mall. He took the escalator up to the second-floor of the mall and walked to Hollister, where Nate worked. He waited until Nate was done ringing up several customers before walking up to the counter.
"Tay, what are you doing here?" Nate asked while carefully holding his side.
"Have you taken your break yet?"
"Nah, not yet."
"Well, I got some chicken quesadillas and some tacos from Taco Bell. How about we go to the food court and get our eat on." He did a funny dance and laughed a little, causing Nate to crack a smile.
"Wait right here. I'm gonna go clock out for my break."
After clocking out for his break, Nate exited the store with Tayvon and walked to the food court. While those two were sitting down to eat, Jacory was in line with Demetrius and Montrell in JCPenney. He thought about his argument with Tayvon and realized there was no need to lie about what really happened.
"Nate punched me," he said out of the blue to Demetrius and Montrell.
"What?" Montrell asked.
"Last week, nobody robbed us."
"You said you were giving Nate his birthday gifts early before breaking up with him and some niggas jumped y'all," said Demetrius.
"I lied and I am so fucking done lying to people about my life. I told Nate it was over and he left my house. But he'd left his phone and like the dumbass I sometimes am, I opened the door to give him his phone. He barged his way in and hit me so hard that it knocked me out."
Montrell gasped as tears filled his eyes and said, "Jacory, oh my God."
"Aunt Eileen promised me she wouldn't tell you about it and now I feel guilty for asking her not to tell you. You're family, Trell."
"What happened after Nate knocked you out?" Demetrius asked.
"I was out for way over an hour. When I woke up, it was nighttime and snow was blowing on me because he'd left the door wide open. So, I cleaned myself up and I called Rod. Rod picked me up and drove me to Nate's. I used Rod's pistol to beat Nate's ass and then I kicked him in his side. I just learned from Tay that I broke two of Nate's ribs and one of them punctured his lung. He could've died. Hell, I could've died."
"You walked away from that relationship and that's all that matters," said Demetrius while holding back his tears. "You're here with us and not laid up in some morgue."
"And fuck Nate's punctured lung," said Montrell. "I have half a mind to go up to Hollister and get his ass fired."
"No," said Jacory. "I handled it my way and it's over."
"You said you used Rod's pistol?" asked Demetrius. "Mookie, you pistol-whipped him?"
"And fired three shots at him, two right beside his head and one so close to his nuts that it tore a hole in his jeans."
"You fired the gun?" asked Montrell.
"Yes. Rod taught me a long time ago how to use guns. I guess there are some things you never forget." The lined moved up and he said, "I know y'all are probably worried about me but I'm going to be okay. I'm free and I have a good feeling about this Christmas."
Back in the food court, Tayvon stared at Nate while Nate was eating. Nate noticed him and asked with a smile, "Why are you lookin' at me like that?"
"I was just thinkin' about when you were in the hospital last week. I've never seen you like that before."
"With the gashes in my face and a tube running into me so I can breathe? I've never seen myself like that before. And the whole time, all I could do was wonder if Jacory was okay. I don't blame him for what happened."
"What? Nate, he attacked you."
"After I knocked him out. Tay, I fucked up. I really, really fucked up."
"So, Jacory's version is what really happened? Why did you lie to me?"
"I guess...I just wanted it to be different, which is stupid. I'm stupid."
"Nah, don't even do that to yourself."
"I don't know what's wrong with me. One minute, I'm good and the next..." He looked down at the table.
Tayvon placed his hand on top of Nate's on the table, causing Nate to look back up into his eyes. He then asked, "Have you ever thought about talkin' to somebody?"
"You mean a shrink? You sound like Jacory."
"Seriously, Nate. Man, maybe there's somethin' goin' on with you that you can't control."
"I'm not comfortable talkin' to a stranger about my life. And what would even be the point? I'll never get Jacory back after what happened."
"Then, don't do it for him. Do it for yourself. I mean, don't you wanna be a better you?"
Nate smiled again and asked, "What's with all this concern? I thought you only wanted me for my dick and ass?"
"I want you for everything you got. I want it all. But if you're only cool with the sex then I'll back off and we can keep it casual. It's up to you."
"Tay, I don't wanna string you along like that. I don't want you to be some rebound. Besides, if there is something wrong with me then maybe it's best if you keep your distance. I don't wanna hurt you."
"I can handle bein' a rebound if that's what happens. But I have a feeling it won't."
"If we're gonna do this then I'm gonna need you to understand that I'm not over Jacory. I'm still in love with him. I still think about him and I do still wanna be with him. I can't just turn off my feelings."
"I understand. With time, you'll move on. In the meantime, I'm gonna make sure you're good."
Nate smiled again and asked, "Oh, is that right?"
"Yep. I'm talkin' backrubs, foot massages, a lil' head every now and then until you fully recover; the works."
Nate laughed a little and then grabbed his side as the pain hit him, saying, "I might have to take you up on that offer. I'm sore as fuck. You think you can wait around here until I get off?"
"Sure, why?"
"You can come to my house with me and do all that shit you was just talkin' about in my room. I'll give you a ride home afterwards."
Tayvon took a sip from his drink and smiled before saying, "Cool, I'm down."
At The Bottoms, Escobar paced around the abandoned apartment before finally looking at Don Don and theorizing, "Somebody on your crew is foul."
"My boys ain't do shit," said Don Don. "Besides, eastside and southside had them fake pills. We don't get our shit from the same niggas. You know Fat Moe and them run their own shit and we get ours from the Dominicans on the westside."
"Maybe somebody on your crew is in with Fat Moe's peoples," Roderick suggested coldly.
"And maybe I should beat yo faggot ass," Don Don said while standing from his chair.
"Nigga, sit yo ass down!" Escobar snapped at him. When Don Don didn't sit, he got in his face and stated, "You ain't big enough to come for me, young blood. Trust."
Don Don sat back in his seat and repeated, "My boys ain't do shit. Some of them used to be in Rod's crew."
"Yeah" agreed Roderick. "And I kicked them out because I couldn't trust them."
"Yo, how you didn't end up with any of them pills?" Don Don asked Roderick. "Huh? How was it just my boys?"
"What you tryin' to say, bruh?"
"You in good with them fuckin' Dominicans. How do we know you ain't set this shit up?"
"Don Don, fall back," said Escobar.
"Nah, I can handle this shit," said Roderick while keeping his eyes locked on Don Don. "I am in good with the Dominicans. And I do hate yo ass. But how the fuck would I set up some shit with the southside suppliers? I don't even know where the southside get they shit from. Escobar is right, somebody in your crew fucked up. And whoever it is, they're workin' with Fat Moe. It's probably some snitch ass bitch."
Not a second after he'd said that, both his phone and Don Don's phone beeped. Roderick looked at his phone to see it was a text from Nard saying he and Trek had snatched Don Don's girl. Don Don's text message was from one of his boys telling him that they were positioned up the street from Roderick's stash house.
"Yo, I gotta roll out," said Don Don.
"Me, too," said Roderick.
"Man," Escobar said angrily, "Whateva y'all got goin' on needs to wait until we sort this shit out. I'm losing money every day because of this shit! I can't keep business on hold like this forever."
"Sorry boss," said Don Don. "I gotta take care of some important shit with my family right now. I'll hit you up later." He hurried out of the apartment and while taking the stairwell, called one of his boys and told him, "This shit is goin' down tonight. I want y'all to sit on that mothafucka and wait until Rod and all of his boys are inside. Light that bitch up as soon as they are. Kill all them niggas."
Back inside the apartment, Roderick looked at Escobar and said, "I gotta go, man."
"Youngin'," said Escobar. "I need to know. Tell me you didn't do some side shit with Nico and Juan."
"Escobar, you know I've never done anything to hurt the business. Everything I've ever done was to help you, including this."
"So, you did do somethin'? Why?"
"You got a target on your back, man. And not for a bullet. It's for a knife. Keep your guard up and remember, I always got your back."
"Boy, if somebody is makin' a move against me, you need to tell me right now who the fuck it is."
"You're gonna have to trust me like I've always had to trust you. I'm out."
Roderick exited the apartment and texted Nard back, telling him to go to the Greater Heights Bridge and wait. He then texted JD and told him to go by the stash house and get some money out of the safe. As he made his way to his car, he received a call from Jacory but ignored it. He quickly climbed into his car, started it up and drove away towards the Greater Heights Bridge.
Nate pulled into his driveway and then turned off his car before climbing out with Tayvon. He led Tayvon into his house and upstairs into his bedroom. Tayvon had been in Nate's bedroom a few times before but never while Nate's parents were home. He helped Nate change out of his clothes into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top and then sat down on the bed beside Nate.
"I see that big bruise on your side is healing," said Tayvon. "How bad does it still hurt?"
"It ain't that bad," Nate replied. "I mean, I've had to miss track practice and everything but I'll be good as new by the time school starts back up in January. You want some hot chocolate or anything? I can go down to the kitchen and—"
He was interrupted by Tayvon kissing him and caressing his soft dick through his sweatpants. When Tayvon felt Nate's dick growing hard, he smiled and said, "I know just how to make you feel better. Did you lock the door?"
"Yeah, it's locked. Let me put on some music so my momma won't hear you makin' them gwak noises on my dick, baby."
He picked up the remote to turn on the Bluetooth setting for his TV's soundbar and wirelessly connected it to his phone so that he could play music from a playlist he'd created earlier that day at work. As "Jumpman" by Drake & Future began playing, Tayvon pulled Nate's sweatpants down a little and made him recline back on the bed so that he could give Nate head.
Meanwhile, Roderick drove into a motel parking lot and parked his car beside Nard's car. He then climbed out and ran up a set of steps to the motel's upper-level. He made his way to room 230 and after doing a special knock on the door, Trek opened the door and let him in. Roderick immediately noticed Don Don's girlfriend, Angelique, tied up and gagged sitting on one of the beds with her back against the headboard.
"Bro, you not gonna believe this shit," said Nard. "Ol' girl is a dude."
"What?" Roderick asked with a confused look on his face.
"She a tranny, nigga," said Trek.
"And how y'all know that?" He looked at them and when they didn't say anything, he shook his head and angrily said to them, "You dumbass niggas. I didn't tell you to snatch her up so you could fuck on her. The fuck is wrong with y'all?"
"We ain't gonna fuck on her now," said Trek. "Or him. Whatever the fuck that is."
"Just shut the fuck up! We can't fuck this up! Damn!" He took out his pistol, causing Angelique to become upset. He set the pistol down and moved closer to her, assuring her, "We're not gonna hurt you. That ain't even what this is about. This is only about Don Don. He's in some shit and he gotta go because of it. I'm givin' him a chance and that's why we had to snatch you up. Do you understand?" When Angelique nodded, he said, "Good."
"This shit is weird," said Nard.
"How so?" Roderick asked with an attitude. "She's a woman. Look at her."
"Nah, I'm good, bro."
"Nigga, she is a woman! You wouldn't have known shit had you not tried some perv shit with her. You obviously thought she looked good, right? And you're attracted to women, right? That means she is a woman. I don't wanna hear you refer to her as he, him, it, or that again. Do I make myself clear?"
"It ain't even that deep, man," said Trek.
"Yes, the fuck it is, nigga! I know she's involved with Don Don but she's transgender, bro. And we got guns and shit around her. Don't y'all niggas pay attention to the news? She probably traumatized out her mind right now and y'all punk asses worried about your egos because you tried to fuck on her and found out she got a dick. Even if she didn't have a dick, you shouldn't try to fuck on a woman that don't want your musty asses anyway. I swear y'all dumb as fuck!"
"Why I gotta be musty though?" Nard asked. "I washed my ass today. Don't be callin' me musty, nigga."
"Nigga, shut up! Where the fuck is JD? I told him to roll by the trap and get some money hours ago." Not a second after he said that, someone did the special knock on the door. He picked his pistol back up and looked at Trek and motioned for him to get the door.
Trek opened the door and JD walked in, saying, "Yo, some niggas have been parked up the street from the trap for hours."
"Say what?" Roderick asked.
"I was goin' there like you said earlier and I seen a Lincoln Navigator with tinted windows parked up the street. So, I parked a block away and kept an eye on them. Them niggas was definitely up to some shit because they sent one nigga out on a food run."
Roderick looked at him and asked, "How did the dude that went on the food run look?"
"He was a heavyset nigga with dreads."
"Had a scar on his left cheek?"
JD nodded and confirmed, "Yeah, you got it."
"That's one of Don Don's boys. Fuck! One of y'all niggas wasn't careful. I told y'all to always pay attention to shit. One of his boys caught one of y'all asses slippin'. They know where the trap is. And now they know we know that they know because none of our black asses have been back there all fuckin' day! Shit!"
"We got Don Don's bitch though," said Trek. "All we gotta do is get him to a spot using her and fuck him up."
"She pretty as fuck, too," said JD.
"Nigga," said Nard. "She's a"—he noticed the way Roderick was looking at him—"woman with somethin' extra between her legs."
"Like she got a big clit or somethin'?" JD asked.
"Yeah, probably so big that it's bigger than your dick," Trek joked.
JD smiled while saying, "Mmm, seems like I got somethin' in common with Don Don." He gave Angelique a head nod and asked, "What's good, baby girl? I'll treat you better than Don Don ever could. Believe that shit."
"Dang, you learn somethin' new every day," said Nard.
"Niggas, focus," Roderick snapped at them. "We need to plan this shit out. And we don't have much time."
"A'ight," said JD. "But what we gonna do about the trap? They gonna need all kinds of shit to open the safe but we got other shit in there that they can steal."
"We can't worry about that now," said Roderick. "For now, we gotta stay away from the trap. Don Don is gonna have niggas watchin' that shit twenty-four seven. Trust."
While they were coming up with a plan in the motel room, Jacory pulled up to their stash house in a Lyft. During his Christmas shopping earlier that day, he'd purchased an outfit for Roderick as a combination of a thank you and Christmas gift. He'd tried calling Roderick and figured he was probably busy with his homeboys at the stash house. Since he knew they were cool with Roderick being gay, he decided to catch a Lyft ride to the stash house to drop off the gift. He'd been comfortable being around the hood with Roderick for years and was never afraid of it.
"I'll be right back," he told the driver as he climbed out of the car with the gift bag.
As he was climbing onto the porch and knocking on the door, several men climbed out of the Lincoln Navigator parked up the street and ran towards the stash house with their guns drawn. The Lyft driver noticed them and immediately drove away, catching Jacory's attention. He dropped the gift bag when he saw the armed men approaching him.
"I think I have the wrong house," he told them in an attempt to get away.
"Nah, you got the right house," said one of the men, who looked familiar to Jacory. "You're Rod's faggot ass boyfriend." The man smiled and said, "You're comin' with us. And don't even think about tryin' no shit. Because whether dead or alive, you're a weakness for that nigga."
Carefully, Jacory put his hands up and as he was doing so, made his Burberry scarf fall onto the porch in between the door and the gift bag. He stepped down from the porch and one of the men reached into his back pocket and snatched his phone from him. The men then forced him up the street and into the Navigator. Once they were all inside, the Navigator sped off into the night.