The Plug's Daughter Read online

  “For real. Shit. I’m gonna call him and tell him to come over so we can talk. I have to get this shit off my chest before I do something crazy with all of these fucked up ass emotions girl.”

  “I feel you boo. Just be careful, because from what you’ve told me he’s a beer short of a six pack. Don’t make me have to call my goons and make a trip up there. You know I will bitch.”

  That made me smile because my boo was a ride or die all day every day. “I know. Let me call that fool. I’ll hit you up tomorrow. Okay.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Love you chica.”

  “And I love you back. Muah!”

  We hung up and I decided to wait and call Trell when I got home. In a way I was hoping that Keenyn would call me. Damn, if only I’d ran into him that night instead of Trell.

  * * *

  Instead of calling Trell right away, I decided to strip down and take a nice, long, hot shower. Water always seemed to relax me and I needed to wind down before we talked. At the moment I needed to get my thoughts together. Something told me that it wasn’t going to be easy to get through to him.

  My choice to move to Atlanta was only going to prove to be hazardous if we stayed together, but with the situation that I’d gotten into, it was my only choice. Although he didn’t know what was going on, I had to be closer to my father. I needed his protection just in case some crazy shit that I’d done came back to haunt me like a ghost.

  The sensual aroma of my Gucci Guilty body wash filled the confines of the bathroom as steam covered the glass door of the shower. Brown and beige Italian Marble tiles surrounded me as the water’s pressure beat down on my weary body. Instead of clearing my mind, the shower only seemed to make me think more.

  Thoughts of Trell were swimming around in my mental despite the ritual that usually relaxed me. I sighed as the hot tears fell down my cheeks, mixing with the stream of water that spewed from the double shower head. It was seven months ago when I ran into Trell at a hot spot in downtown Miami.

  “Sen, that you?” A deep, masculine voice called out behind me when I was on my way out.

  I spun around in my six inch stiletto heels and was face to face with so much fineness that I almost lost my balance. His face didn’t register in my memory, which caused me to ask the next question.

  “Who the fuck are you?” My first thought was to be defensive because I didn’t know what that nigga was up to. Did he know who my father was? Was he there to gun me down in front of a packed ass club? I knew that anything could happen with the lifestyle that my father lived and I was prepared.

  He grinned, flashing one sexy dimple and an iced out grill. I wasn’t really feeling the grill, but I was feeling his features and his build. He was about 6’2, with flawless, cocoa brown skin that was covered in neatly trimmed facial hair. I mean, his side burns, beard and moustache were on point. It was obvious that he was a dope boy and I wondered what hot whip in the parking lot belonged to him.

  “Damn, you a feisty one. You don’t know who I am shawty?” His forehead creased as he pushed his eyebrows together, feigning surprise.

  His accent sounded like he was from ATL, but I hadn’t really spent much time there since I was a kid. My dad would often come to Miami to visit me. He wanted to keep me and his lifestyle separate after him and my mother’s divorce. Honestly, I liked Miami better and after spending so much time out of the States, I was glad to be studying at home.

  “Am I supposed to know you or something?” My hands were on my hips and I threw mad attitude as I narrowed my eyes into slits. How else would he know my name?

  That sexy ass grin invaded his handsome face again. My eyes were on his muscular arms and wide chest. His waist was slim and I could only imagine what he was packing in those dark blue jeans. I could tell that he’d just pulled the tags off. Even his J’s were crisp like they’d just been taken out of the box.

  “Wow, you can’t be for real right now.” His smile was gone and he looked genuinely disappointed that I didn’t recognize him.

  Then I thought about that time last year, when I visited my father for New Years. Nadia had gone with me and of course we partied like two wild, ratchet ass bitches. We both got pissy drunk and I woke up in a hotel suite at the W with some strange nigga. I woke up the next morning butt naked and he was sprawled next to me. Immediately I thought about my dad. I couldn’t be that reckless because of him.

  When I looked in the trash can and saw the Magnum wrapper I felt relieved. At least he’d used protection. All I could do was hope he’d kept it on because I didn’t remember shit. As I got dressed and stumbled out of the bedroom I ran into Nadia who was walking out of another bedroom. I hadn’t been to ATL since. Was he that nigga? I honestly could not remember his face at all.

  “Uh, I’m for real and if you don’t tell me who you are by the time the valet pulls my Range up, it won’t matter. I got shit to do,” I snapped.

  The sexy stranger glanced down at his platinum Rolex and shook his head. “What the hell you gotta do at 3 am other than go get some breakfast wit’ me?”

  I couldn’t help but smile sexily at that. “Just go ahead and tell me how you know my name, and I might.”

  “I’m Trell. We used to go to school together back in Atlanta. C’mon shawty, we played in the sandbox together and shit,” he said with that smile on his face again.

  “How the hell did you recognize me in a dark ass club after ten years?” I asked suddenly giving him a suspicious look.

  Honestly, I still didn’t remember him.

  “Nah shawty, I remember when you came down to visit your pops a while back. I was at Lenox Mall wit’ my nigga Jus and he pointed yo’ fine ass out talkin’ ‘bout you Mendosa’s daughter. I never stopped thinkin’ ‘bout yo’ fine ass, so I can’t help but remember you. It just so happened that I came down here wit’ a couple of my niggas. I saw you a few times in the club and I was wondering if it was you. Once we got out here where it’s some light, I knew it was. Like I said, I’d never forget a face…or a body like yours. Real talk.”

  That long ass speech had my attention, but I had to give my ticket to the valet and move on.

  “How long will you be here?” I asked as I unlocked my car door with the remote key.

  “A few more days,” he said vaguely as his eyes scanned my face and then dropped to the cleavage that was oozing out of my low cut top.

  “It’s too soon for me to go to breakfast with you. Maybe we’ll get together before you leave. What’s your number?” I was playing it safe because I’d made so many bad decisions about men in the past. Repeating history over and over again was not my thing.

  As he recited each digit I punched it into my phone and then saved his name as Trell ATL. Once I was behind the wheel heading away from the club, I remembered exactly who he was. His name was Latrell Robertson and we had gone to elementary and middle school together. Of course he looked different after ten years and he went by the nickname Rocky back then. A smile spread across my face, but soon faded. I could remember my father telling me how much he couldn’t stand Trell when we were kids.

  When I thought about it, I could kind of understand why. Trell wasn’t as polite and respectful as Keenyn. He loved to fight and cussed like a sailor. I could remember when Trell came to my tenth birthday party and my pops called his father to tell him to come get him. That fool was wreaking havoc like a human version of the Tasmanian Devil. Not only was he starting fights with all of the kids, including the girls, but he went off and broke a window just because he couldn’t break the pinata.

  Lost in my thoughts, I turned the water off and grabbed a towel as I stepped out of the shower. Without even drying off, I walked into my bedroom and called Trell.

  “Shawty…sup ma?”

  I rolled my eyes starting to resent the small things that I liked about him at first. He had swag and he was a brash, shit talking ass nigga. That had initially turned me on, but now I was wondering if I should’ve took his behavior as a kid as a
warning sign. I liked dope boys who made lots of money and did all types of foul shit in the streets, but I didn’t like being mistreated. One thing I didn’t take was a man’s abuse. With a father like Mendosa, I didn’t have to.

  “Nothing. I just got out of the shower,” I said before getting straight to the point. “We need to talk.”

  “Y’en wait for yo’ man shawty? Damn, that’s fucked up, but it’s cool. I’m pullin’ up now, so I guess I’m right in time for that talk huh?” His voice proved his disinterest.

  I was sure that he didn’t take what I said seriously. Trell tended to be shallow as hell and didn’t have a deep bone in his body. Not only did that nigga do all types of illegal shit, but he didn’t give a fuck who he hurt while doing it. As long as he got his paper, he was good. It wasn’t just about making money either. He enjoyed everything that came with his lifestyle, especially murder.

  “Why didn’t you call me first?” I hated that pop up bullshit.

  “I did call you ma. Y’en answer. You was in the shower remember? Come open the door yo’.”

  I decided to not even argue about it since we needed to talk anyway. As I made my way to the door I let out a deep sigh not knowing exactly how our conversation was going to turn out.

  Chapter 4

  Keenyn

  “What’s up son?” My pops pounded me up with a smile on his face.

  His girlfriend Kelly was eight years younger than him and looked at least my age. She glanced up at me with light brown eyes.

  “Hey Keenyn,” she called out with a smile on her caramel complexioned face.

  There was a slight gap between her teeth that was actually kind of sexy to me. I hated to look at my father’s woman, but she was thick to death. I mean, pops wasn’t a bad looking man either, so I could see it. The thing was, Kelly was just too damn fine. She ran her fingers through her short, pixie style haircut and stood up. I had to look away because she was rocking a short ass pair of shorts and a low cut shirt.

  “I’m gonna go upstairs and let ya’ll have your time.” She licked her lips flirtatiously before leaving the room.

  “Mmm mmm mmm,” my pops said as he shook his head.

  I could imagine what was on his mind as I sat down on the sofa. He sat down beside me.

  “So, you got some work to drop off huh? That’s the only time you come over here.” He smiled despite what he’d just said.

  “Stop playin’ old man. You the one that’s always booed up and shit.”

  He laughed and took a swig from a Bud Light bottle. “You see how fine she is. Shit, you’d be booed up too.”

  I nodded in agreement and thought about Sen. If I had a chick who looked like her, I’d be booed up too. “Yeah, you right.”

  “You do have a lil’ girlfriend though right? She’s cute. What’s her name…?”

  “Elena and nah, we broke up.” I didn’t go into it.

  “Why?” His smile faded. “You want a beer.”

  “She had a man back home and yeah, a beer would be on time right now.”

  “Damn and go get it yourself. You know where the refrigerator is.”

  I smirked at him and shook my head before heading to the kitchen. After grabbing a beer I walked back into the sitting area. The television was on ESPN and Sports Center was on. I wanted to hear what was going on, but my pops had the TV on mute. That let me know that he wanted to talk about something. Usually he’d have the volume on full blast and I’d be on the back burner.

  “So, what’s goin’ on old man?” I asked when I sat down.

  “Old man? Nigga please. I’d fold yo’ ass up in here and then you’ll see just how old I am.” There was a serious look on his face, but I knew better. He didn’t really want to try me.

  True, back in the days he did do business with Mendosa and sold marijuana and cocaine. My pops was infamous for not taking no shit and his reputation always surpassed him, retired or not. He had pulled out of the illegal lifestyle almost five years ago, but he let me keep my work in the shed behind his two story brick house. There were a few locks on the shed and he lived in a pretty good area that was secluded, so I didn’t really worry. Besides, nobody knew what was in there anyway.

  “Not much. I just…” He cleared his throat. “I was thinkin’ of gettin’ back in the game.”

  I was confused. “Why?”

  He shrugged his shoulders before guzzling the rest of his beer. “I just miss it. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to get a lil’ extra dough.”

  I thought about that. That younger bitch he was fucking with must’ve been high maintenance as hell.

  “Is it Kelly?”

  Letting out a sigh, he scratched his head and then said, “Kinda. I mean, I don’t wanna have to compete with these young cats. I got a lil’ money, but…she got expensive taste. I love her Keys.”

  “I know you do pops, but damn, is she worth it? You got out and I thought you were good…”

  “I am good, but not enough.”

  I thought about it. Had messing around with Kelly put him in a bad spot financially? Instead of asking I just offered him some advice instead.

  “Do what you feel you gotta do old man. I got your back. Just think about it first. Okay.”

  He shook my hand. “Okay. Thanks son.”

  We talked a little longer before I decided to pull my car around back and load the shed up. Once I was done I said my goodbyes to my pops and got in my car. I was headed home and thought about calling Jasenia, but before I could my phone started ringing.

  When I looked down at the screen I noticed that it was Dame.

  “Sup man?”

  “My nigga, what you got goin’ on?”

  I could already tell that something was up with his slick ass and I wasn’t in the mood for it. Dame had been my best friend since we were four years old. On the first day of Pre K we just seemed to click like brothers. We’d been close as hell ever since. Back then this nigga named Trell was part of our crew too and then we included JJ. Over the years we’d fallen out with Trell and he had his own crew of niggas who had ambitions of running the East Side, but Mendosa had a strong hold on Atlanta period.

  Dame’s crew ran a trap and some blocks on the West Side and although he and Trell had been close until some bullshit that had gone down in high school, they beefed constantly in the streets. I personally didn’t believe in having a crew to make money. I sold potent ass weed to a small, reliable clientele and didn’t believe in all of that flossing and showing off. I liked nice shit though, but I knew how to stay under the radar and be seen when I wanted to be.

  “What’s goin’ on now nigga?” I had my eyes on the scene because I’d left my Bluetooth at the crib.

  I didn’t want the cops to fuck with me because I was talking on the phone. Dekalb County police were some greedy ass mufuckas and they couldn’t wait to hem up a young, black man. The thing was, I was only a few classes away from a Criminal Justice degree and I knew the law as well as my rights. However, I had no clue what I was going to do with that shit. Honestly, I only wanted the education and not necessarily an honest job. I was used to being a hustler and so I was comfortable with my hustle.

  “Nothin’ man.” He laughed. “That nigga JJ was just here askin’ me to give him a OZ ‘til the end of the week.”

  I shook my head. “I just fronted that nigga a eighth yesterday. What the fuck?”

  “I’on know man, but that nigga’s fallin’ off and shit.”

  I didn’t say anything because I knew that his call had to be about something else other than JJ’s begging ass. Something told me that he was in some shit and he needed my cool as a cucumber ass to defuse it.

  “Yeah, but what’s really up nigga? Get to the fuckin’ point.”

  Dame got a little weed from me here and there to get off of, but he really fucked with coke. He got that pure, uncut shit from Mendosa of course. He had tried to pull me into the coke game with him time and time again, but it was a no go. I’d seen firsthand what the li
festyle had done to my pops and decided to stick with weed. It was dangerous too, but the people I sold to didn’t seem as volatile as those ruthless niggas in the coke game. Mo’ money, mo’ problems like Biggie had said. Yeah, Mendosa and my pops had me on that old school music.

  “Shit, straight up man, Come by my crib.” Dame’s voice sounded funny and I was wondering what he wanted me to meet him at his crib for.

  We’d already done business for the day and I wasn’t really in the mood to hang out.

  “Nah nigga, I’m goin’ home. I ain’t in the mood to be fuckin’ wit’ yo’ crazy ass.” Whenever I went out with that nigga it was a fight or a shootout.

  I didn’t like to bring attention to myself, so getting into disputes and shit wasn’t really my thing. A nigga like me could hold my own, but I really didn’t like to be put in the position to pull a trigger. Arguing wasn’t my thing, but I didn’t mind throwing some hands. The only thing about that was the fact that niggas my age didn’t believe in fighting. They always wanted to pull out a strap, so I made sure that I had mine at all times. So, my nine was in the arm rest waiting for a nigga to test me. That was why it was best for me to just make my money and lay low.

  “What you mean man? It ain’t nothing like that. I ain’t in the mood to get in no shit either. Look, you my right hand my nigga. We ain’t got fucked up and just chopped it up in a while. Just come through for a lil’ minute. I got a proposition for you.” His voice was full of the malice that I knew flowed through his veins.

  All of my friends that I’d grown up with were different from me. They were calculating and self-serving. I often wondered what they would or wouldn’t do for a come up. JJ and Dame were the only niggas I really fucked with now and my loyalty to them was never in question. Mendosa and my pops were the only real family that I had and my loyalty lied with them as well. Still, you never knew what kind of hate and contempt another nigga was holding on to.

  “A’ight. I’m on my way,” I said reluctantly.

  Shit, I needed to chill and smoke a blunt or two anyway.