Gunz And Laci: Black Rose Mafia (17 page)

* * * *

“Bryce, can I talk to you?” We had been home for over an hour and hadn’t said much of anything to each other. He was in the living room watching TV while I was in the bedroom trying to figure out a couple of things.

“Yeah wassup,” he said, pulling me onto his lap.

“While I was in the kitchen with your mother, Jiselle and I got into it and-”

“I don’t even know why you pay Jiselle’s ass any mind,” he sighed, cutting me off.

“If you would’ve let me finish, you would know that I didn’t pay her any mind. I actually stood up for myself. Anyway, I had a talk with your mother and she told me the full story of what happened with my parents.” I had to pause because thinking about my parent’s death caused a couple of tears to fall. Gunz went to wipe them away, but I smacked his hand away and wiped them myself.

“Gunz stop; I’m trying to talk. Look, I have come to the decision that I will be avenging my parent’s death.”

“Laci, you don’t have to do that; I will handle it for you. I don’t want you being with me to turn you into something you’re not. Yes, I want you to be able to protect yourself but that’s as far as it goes. I don’t need you walking around with blood on your hands. A killer isn’t what you are,” he said, caressing my face.

“It might not be who I am but it’s in my blood. This is something I have to do; you may not understand it and that’s okay. I promise you, I’m not changing. I’m just finally finding who I’m supposed to be. I’m finding my voice and my strength. I will always be the Laci you fell in love with but I’m also going to be the Laci people second guess about crossing.”

For a couple of minutes, he was quiet and I searched his eyes trying to see if I could read him.

“I love you, Laci,” was all he said before kissing me.

“I love you too.” I giggled, pulling away from the kiss.

“Is that the only thing you wanted to talk about because if so, I’m trying to slide up in it.”

“No, that’s not the only thing I wanted to talk about. I think that it’s time for you to open up to me. If we are really going to do this, then I need to know who you are. You and your family are so guarded, which is okay, but I want you to be able to let your guard down with me.”

“I already told you what I do and, as you know, my family isn’t like most families. Growing up, we were all about business and my parents are trying to change that now, but it’s going to take some time.

“Okay, I guess that explains your family but that doesn’t tell me who you are as a person. Gunz, we have been together officially for a month and we barely talked about your past.”

“There is nothing to tell about my past. Growing up, my parents pushed us to make the best out of the skill we had. We did that and ended up capitalizing off of it. You think you don’t know me but you know me better than most people.”

“How do I know you better than most people?” I felt as if I didn’t know him at all.

“You know me better than most people because I’m in your heart. You know that I would do anything for you and that’s all that matters. I breathe and live for you, ma, so that’s all you really need to know. I’m a multifaceted type of nigga; I could sit here and tell you everything there is to know about me and, still, you wouldn’t know everything. The only way to know me is to stand by my side through thick and thin. Are you willing to stand by me through it all, lil mama?”

“I’m willing to go stand by your side through it all, as long as it means I can have you.” I smiled.

“That’s that shit I like to hear.” He smiled. I smiled too but then my smiled faded.

“Have you ever been in love?” This was something I wanted to know; no, it was something I needed to know.

“Yeah but that shit didn’t work out.” He shrugged.

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t matter why not; it didn’t work out,” he said.

“If it didn’t work out before, what makes you think it’s going to work out now?”

“You and Milani are two different people. What I saw in her doesn’t compare to what I see in you. All that matters is that I love you and I’m here for you.”

“Milani is the girl that bumped me at the club, right?” I had to be sure, just in case she tried to show out again.

“Yeah, that was her. But don’t worry about her because her ass is a non-factor.”

“I know she a non-factor because if she tries to get gully again, I’m going to beat her ass,” I sassed.

“Look at you getting all gangsta and shit. Let me find out my thug love got you wanting to change your ways.”

“It got me wanting to do more than just change my ways. I’m so tired of people looking at me as a liability. Even though you haven’t exactly said it to me, I believe that you think I’m a liability too, which is why I plan on proving the both of you wrong. I may be new to this but I’m built for this. Now, when is Jiselle supposed to start training me?”

“Call her and find out yourself lil gangsta.”

“Hand me your phone.” I smiled.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. I scrolled his contacts until I fell upon Jiselle’s name. The phone rang twice before she answered.

“Gunz, it’s late as hell; what do you want?” she sassed.

“This isn’t Gunz; this is your future sister in law, Laci,” I smirked.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Let’s get something straight Jiselle; you don’t like me and I don’t care for you too much. All I need from you is to teach whatever you are going to teach me and then, once we are done, you don’t ever have to talk to me again.”

“You make it seem like what I do is so easy. You look like you’re on the slow side, so it might take you a couple of months.”

“There isn’t a damn thing slow about me and the fact that I can’t stand to be around you for more than five minutes will be my motivation to learn.”

“Laci, you got a lot of mouth all of a-”

“Jiselle, I’m not going back and forth with you. I will be knocking on your door at six in the morning; make sure you’re ready bitch,” I snapped and hung up the phone.

“Look at my little fire cracker putting my sister in her place.” He smiled proudly.

“You don’t have to worry about me trying to become her because she’s a straight bitch. All I want to be able to do is handle myself and handle shit for you, if the time ever presents itself.”

“I hear that shit Laci. Now, give me a kiss and take your ass to bed. You might be demanding Jiselle’s ass, but I’m still that nigga in this relationship.”

I winked at him and gave him a quick kiss, then went upstairs to go lay down. Gunz didn’t want me to change but I was ready too. The person who I used to be, I couldn’t continue to be that person. She was weak and I couldn’t be weak while standing next to a man that commanded so much attention. I was going to milk Jiselle for everything she knew. I may not be as bad as Jiselle is once my training was over, but trust me, I was going to be badder than I was before. I had a legacy to carry on and deaths to avenge. I was about to become the bitch Shirley, Dennis, and Brett thought I could never be.

Instead of going to sleep, a nigga stayed up all night thinking about my relationship with Laci. I know y’all probably thinking I sound like a bitch but that’s just because you don’t understand where I’m coming from. Growing up, love wasn’t a part of the equation for me. Then, the first time I actually tried the shit, my shawty went and cheated on me, leaving love to be a touchy subject for me. Now, I knew I was in love with Laci because I couldn’t explain how I felt about her, but I knew I would do what it takes to see a smile on her face. I was down for Laci in every sense of the way, but I needed to know for sure that she was down for me.

“Hey, why didn’t you come to bed?” Laci yawned, coming over to the couch.

“I just been thinking about some things,” I told her.

“Then talk to me. Let me into your world.” She smiled.

“You see how I told you that you know me better than anyone because you have my heart.”

“Yeah.”

“That shit is serious. Usually, a mother is the first person a boy loves, but in this case, it’s you. For a while, I honestly thought what I had with Milani was love but that wasn’t the case. When I got with Milani, I was looking for some type of affection since I never received it from my family. With you, it’s different. When I pursued you, I wasn’t looking for affection. I honestly wasn’t looking for nothing but to get to know you.

I didn’t walk into your office because I needed a lawyer. I walked into your office because I saw you at the supermarket days prior. You piqued my interest while I never even caught your eye.” I stopped talking to see what she had to say.

“I didn’t even know that, Gunz.” She blushed. “I don’t know where you are going with this but the feelings I have for you are just as deep as the ones you have for me.”

“You see, that shit is kind of hard to believe. I see you as my wife, Laci, not as my girlfriend. We may not be married yet on paper, but to me, it’s just us. I don’t do that secretive shit. There is nothing that you can’t ask me that I won’t tell you; I’m not so sure the same thing could be said for you.”

“Gunz, what are you talking about?”

“Look, I’m not going to go into detail because it’s not even that deep. When I asked you yesterday what was going on with Nazi and you brushed me off, I didn’t like that shit. When you have secrets, they weaken our bond. When our bond is weakened, it’s easier for the enemy to come in and invade our territory.”

“But Gunz, I didn’t…” I held up my finger, stopping her from talking.

“I don’t need you to explain; I just need you to listen to what I told you. Go get dressed for your training. I’m gonna use the guest bathroom to get ready.”

I didn’t bother waiting for her to respond I just got up and walked away. I wanted to see if Laci was going to tell me what was going on with Nazi. If she didn’t tell me, then I knew that what we had would be over. Her keeping something that was so simple from me told me she didn’t respect me enough to honor my wishes. Now, part of her not respecting me could be because I babied her ass all the time. That shit was going to stop too. I need Laci to man up and with me always ready to catch her fall wasn’t going to help anything. As bad as I wanted Laci to be my Queen, I had to make sure she was willing to fight to be the woman on my arm. I need to be sure that it’s something that she wanted. I proved I was down for whatever when it come to her; I needed her to prove the same thing to me. Going to her training was going to be the perfect place for her to prove it to me.

* * * *

“Go ahead and knock her door shawty; don’t act scared,” I told Laci. We were standing at Jiselle’s door.

“Since she is your sister, I figured you were going to knock on her door,” she said, knocking.

“Nah, this is all about you, so you can knock.”

A couple of seconds later, Jiselle opened the door, ice grilling Laci. “When you’re on time, that means your late,” she sassed. Jiselle grabbed her stuff, locked her door, then pushed past us. I wanted to laugh but held my composure. Laci looked pissed off but she wasn’t saying anything.

“Y’all can follow me to the warehouse. I already have everything set up there. Gunz, I hope you know what you’re doing because I’m not taking it easy on her,” Jiselle said before getting in her car and peeling off.

“I swear, she gets on my nerves,” Laci huffed, getting in the car.

“Just handle your business,” I told her, straight up.

“Oh trust me, I’m going to handle my business; you don’t have to worry about that.” She smirked.

I nodded my head and drove off, heading towards the warehouse. I hope she was really ready to handle her business because Jiselle was going to give her the business, especially how Laci talked to her last night on the phone. I pulled up to the warehouse thirty minutes later. It was mid-April and spring chose to grace us with its presence a little bit early this year. The air was crisp with a cool breeze; this was the weather I loved because it wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. The spring weather was just right for me.

We all walked into the warehouse and went straight for the dungeon. The dungeon was where most of our training was done. I went over to the side and had a seat and watched in anticipation. Jiselle walked right up to Laci, smacking the shit out of her.

“That’s for that disrespectful ass phone call last night. Just because you are his bitch doesn’t mean you can treat me like one. I demand fucking respect,” Jiselle spat.

Laci lifted her arm to smack Jiselle, but Jiselle caught it then flipped Laci over on her back.

“ARGH!” Laci yelled out. She kept swinging on Jiselle, trying to get her off of her. A couple of the punches connected but a lot of them Jiselle dodged.

“Calm the fuck down before I black that eye,” Jiselle spat.

“You want me to calm down, but you flipped me, all because I treated you the way you treated me.”

Jiselle sucked her teeth, then got up off the floor and reached her hand out for Laci. Laci looked at her hand, grabbing it. Laci was halfway up when she yanked Jiselle to the ground. I’m sure Laci didn’t think the plan through because in a matter of seconds, Jiselle was back on top, and the two of them were going at it.

“Jiselle, that is enough.” I wanted to stay out of it but Jiselle was getting the best out of Laci.

“Gunz, shut up!” Laci yelled.

“Yeah, Gunz, shut up!” Jiselle yelled back, getting off of Laci again. “Now, I’m going to reach my hand out again; if you pull me down, I will kill you,” she told Laci.

“I don’t need your help getting off the ground,” Laci spat, getting up.

“Gunz, I don’t need you babying me. I can handle your sister, okay.”

“Ight,” I said, sitting back down.

For the rest of the morning, I just sat and watched Laci go through her training. Jiselle first taught her the fifty-two blocks. Laci picked up on them faster than I expected. Jiselle was going hard on her but Laci was definitely holding her own. Jiselle also taught her a little bit about knifes.

“I’m proud of you, lil mama,” I told her, pulling her into a hug. Jiselle looked at us, then rolled her eyes and left out.

“Thanks.” Laci smiled but it wasn’t genuine.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking about what you said earlier and you’re right. There shouldn’t be no secrets between the two of us. Nazi called to tell me that she had to leave school because Shirley and Dennis took their tuition money back.”

“Them muthafuckers are heartless, I swear. Do you know when she’s coming up here?”

“Nope. But I am worried about her.”

“Don’t stress. I’ll handle it.”

“How are you going to handle it?”

“I just told ya ass not to stress. Drop it and bring your ass on, so you can shower. You stink ma and I’ma have to bandage you up. Jiselle fucked ya little ass up.” I laughed.

“Shut up; she may have got the best of me today, but sooner or later, I’ll be able to handle her. I think she’s warming up to me.”

“Keep thinking that.” I laughed.

I had plans on dropping Laci off back at the crib and then I needed to catch up with Jinx. It was only right I told my brother what was going on. Jinx was a standup dude, so I knew he was going to do right by Nazi.