Page 55 of For the Love of City

The only one who’d had the good sense to keep quiet, spoke up now and everyone turned to her.

We’d picked up Trice thanks to the work of Lika who had gone and posed as a bartender at the club Trice worked at.

Since she only liked to be friends with people she could use, Lika made sure to present herself as weak so that Trice would take the bait.

And it worked.

“You really don’t know why you’re here?”

“No.” She was trying to put on this sad face but I decided to let Judge and Trice know what was up since they were so clueless.

“Y’all’s names have been brought up in a new case that your boy over here is trying to build against all of us.

Me, Trav and Lyric. And Trice, it seems as though you were dumb enough to help this nigga set me up.

The Jane Doe on the case? None other than you saying that you were the one that saw me with drugs and testified to the fact that I helped run a criminal empire.

The reason my shit got thrown out was because it was clear that I got railroaded.

They couldn’t connect me to drugs without either of your testimonies.

At least you were smart enough to get an alias. ”

I had to give her that because she didn’t put her name on paperwork. She wasn’t smart enough to not fuck with these niggas, but I gave credit where it was due.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked too nervous not to know but that was none of my business.

“You can say that. It was wild that my shit got checked out and they’d found drugs there. This nigga would’ve never been able to plant that shit where I lay my head, but you would’ve had plenty of access.”

When I read that file and she was the witness, I knew that she’d been the one to plant drugs in my car. “The shit they found didn’t even have my prints on it and I never brought work home or touched product. That’s where you fucked up.”

Her demeanor changed like she knew she was caught and I saw her attitude kick in despite the situation she was in.

“That still doesn’t explain why I’m here. You started killing bitches now? I thought that was something you didn’t do.”

“You always thought you were something special, Trice. Why not make this the time to prove you right?” I’d hated this bitch for a long time. First because I thought she was going to be a bad influence on Lyric and then later for how she treated her like she owed her something.

“You couldn’t live with yourself if you pulled the trigger. You always had Lyric stepping in to handle women because you had a soft spot for them.”

“Funny how things change but some shit stays the same.”

Lyric strolled in looking like she was ready to put in work.

Her hair was in straight backs like she’d just gotten P to give her a fresh braid down before she came.

She wore no jewelry but her face was made up.

Her outfit was some run-of-the-mill shit that could never be linked back to her.

Knowing Lyric she pulled up to the flea market incognito and found it in a resale bin.

Seeing her former friend had Trice’s entire face hardening. Her eyes tracked Lyric as she walked into the room the hatred obvious.

“Not you out here looking like a Homeless Barbie . You had plenty of time to do some shit and you never did. Just admit the shit, Ness, you soft as that nigga you lay next to every night.”

The envy was all in Trice’s voice and it was a damn shame that she hadn’t found some business besides hating on my kid in the last two years. I guess sliding on dicks and hating Lyric were her only full-time jobs.

“You mean the nigga that beat D-Mill’s ass and was ready to kill for me? Yeah, I guess I am as soft as he is.” Lyric took the shit Trice said in stride and I was sure that Trice thought that once again she was getting a pass.

“You been an uppity bitch even when you were on the block. Had everybody looking out for Ness cause she was protected. Y’all got lucky y’all had these niggas to watch over y’all. This rise you got was handed to you. Never thought I’d see nepotism in the hood.”

“And why the fuck wouldn’t I put people on when I come up you crab in a barrel ass bitch?

That’s your problem, you think that if somebody is shining that somehow undermines what you got going on.

Everybody gets a time in the spotlight. You don’t see the fucking sun moon and stars competing for attention.

Everybody got a role. But instead, your desperate ass wanted to always be in the mix.

And look where it got you: running behind every nigga that might give you attention, money or two seconds of fame.

Them two? They got this shit out the mud and as their family damn right they looked out.

What it look like not giving me a leg up?

And what did I do? Did I sit around and just be a princess?

Nah, I worked that much harder so that people understood I might have been given an opportunity but I for damn sure wouldn’t waste it.

Guess you can’t say the same.” Lyric was playing it far more calm than I expected her to.

Even the way she was cutting into Trice was precise and not the ball of anger I expected it to be.

My baby girl has grown up for real.

“You always looked down on me. Especially when that uppity bitch started coming around.”

“Nah, you knew that your ass was going to be on the way out because you were gonna be exposed as a fraud. But I’m tired of talking, unlike you I got shit to live for: music to make, money to spend and a nigga who would live and die for me.

So let me beat your ass for the one time before I put a bullet in your head. ”

Lyric pulled her gun from behind her back and held it out. I took it from her without question.

I’d been waiting on this bitch to get her comeuppance and I was just glad that I could have a front-row seat to her demise.

“You ain’t that hard. Talking all that shit. You said you ain’t ever really do no dirt with City.”

Lyric didn’t say a word but the laughter from everyone around Trice was loud and clear of how wrong she was.

Lyric’s face was devious as she walked closer to Trice who leaned back in her seat.

“Let me let you in on a little secret, since you seem to think I’m soft.

I might have thought you were my friend, but I knew when to keep my mouth shut around your ass.

You a gossiping ass bitch, you think I’m going to put my name on bodies that popped up?

How dumb do you think I am? All this time you thought my ass was a paper gangsta when I got more bodies under my Louis belt than most niggas you swear are hard.

How many times I tell you that power moves in silence?

Where you think I learned that? You think that this music shit made us rich when we were already there without it?

The label is just expanding on an empire that has its foundations on the block.

We had the same opportunities, hell you more than me cause at least your mama gave a fuck enough to keep you.

Mine was trying to sell me off to a nigga so she could be free.

But it’s good, I owe you this so let’s go. ”

She motioned for Trice to get up from the chair so they could get started. Since we had a gang of shooters in the room, there was no reason to secure her.

Trice laughed and folded her arms as she crossed her legs. She kept an arrogant smirk on her face as she lifted her head to look at Lyric.

“If you think I’m about to fight you, you’re cra—” Trice hadn’t heard the person coming up behind her until she was yanked up by her hair and thrown out of her chair.

“You better be glad I gotta baby in my belly or I’d be helping my girl fuck you up.

Stupid ass.” Pretty looked just like her name: pretty as hell.

Some combat boots I knew were designer, leather shorts that made her legs look about a mile long and a black t-shirt tucked into her shorts I knew was mine covering her chest as she strut her fine ass toward me uncaring as Trice picked herself up off the ground.

“Of course you can’t really do shit. And who was stupid enough to put a baby in your old ass? Aren’t your eggs dust by now?”

Porsha didn’t bother to respond to Trice, just leaned up on her toes to give me a kiss.

My hands were on her hips steadying her and pulling her closer into my body.

We got so lost in the kiss that we forgot we needed to be paying attention.

When I heard Trice scream out, I pulled away and saw Lyric holding her by the back of her head raining blows down on her face.

“Talk that shit now, Trice! Stole my money. Fucked a worthless nigga for pennies. Knew he was foul and kept your legs open and your mouth shut. I. Was. Supposed. To. Be. Your. SISTER!”

I wished Lyric would’ve wrapped her hands cause I could hear Grant’s ass now fussing me out for how her knuckles were going to look when she got back home.

Wasn’t shit I could do about that now. She wanted Trice to feel her pain and she wanted that contact to be pure and unadulterated.

Those blows were thudding all over Trice’s body and face.

Porsha took a step forward and I knew it was because she wanted to get a lick in once Trice was on the ground.

“Absolutely not, Pretty.”

She grunted at me like she was irritated but she kept her ass right where she was.

“You supposed to be my friend but you do me like this?” Trice was holding her face like she knew how bad it was swelling up. She looked like she’d gone a few rounds with Hitman Hearns but lucky for her she wasn’t going to live long enough for all the lumps to form.