Trap House (31 page)

She told me that after I disowned her and blamed her for the death of Tori, she immediately
checked into rehab. She wanted to turn her life around, but it was too late, because she was soon
diagnosed with AIDS. God only knew what my sister was going through, and I wanted to stay there
and consoler her, but if I didn’t leave right away, we would both be dead. So I gave her some money
for her medicine and told her I had to go. I also warned her to stay away from our father since he
was the madman behind the whole nightmare. Right on cue, I noticed on the surveillance monitors
from the cameras outside that we were no longer alone. About fifteen masked men surrounded
the place, with their guns in hand, I knew it wasn’t good at all. I grabbed my sister’s hand, and
we headed down into the basement. A few days after we bought the place, I’d had a tunnel built
down there for emergencies just like that one. As she helped me move boxes from the wall, she
asked what it was, and I told her it was a secret passageway with two paths. One led straight to the
getaway car in the driveway, and the other was a ladder that would take us to the alley.

Kierra took the way to the car, prepared to throw them off so I could escape, even though I
begged and pleaded with her not to. “Keep going, Lovely. My life ends here. One sister died
because of me already, but this time, one sister will live because of me.” We exchanged “I love
you’s” while I climbed the ladder to the alley, and in seconds, she was in the car, ready to save my
life.

It looked and sounded like being on Jefferson for the annual fireworks display when they shot
up my sister, killing her instantly. Although I was unbearably sick to my stomach, I knew there
was no reason to stop and turn around. Going back would have been useless, because there was
nothing to go back to. My big sister was gone, and once they realized it was her instead of me, the
man hunt—or the woman hunt, for that matter—would begin.

I ran as fast as I could through the alley, jumping over trash and dodging stray cats. I made
it to a main street just as a city bus approached, and I was thankful for that. Finally feeling safe
and secure, I didn’t think twice about getting on. I dropped my duffel bag and caught my breath,
and then I paid the driver a stack to take me as far as he could go without stopping. Just then, I
turned around and saw a face I recognized. It was Lucifer himself, dressed as a homeless man. He
applauded me for a job well done.

Without hesitating or skipping a beat, I went for my piece just as he went for his. When our guns
were pointed at each other and I was about to blow his muthafuckin’ head off, he started talking
shit, trying to mess with my mind. “Baby girl, don’t you miss Daddy?” When I had nothing to
say, he continued, “Lovely, they had to go. They were liabilities,” he answered, reading my mind.
I still didn’t say one word, so he went on, “Your mother was a fucking crack head, and you know
I don’t condone that shit. She was sucking and fucking every nigga or bitch with a dollar. Her ass
was dirty and disrespectful, and everybody knew she was my wife.” He pointed to himself, and I
caught a glimpse of a bezel diamond pinky ring and Rolex watch. I cursed myself out in my head
because had I been on my game, I would’ve noticed that shit and the brown Gucci loafers he was
wearing under the dingy get up when I first stepped on the bus. If I would’ve been paying attention,
maybe my ass would’ve gotten right off that damn bus. “She was supposed to hold it down until
I came back for her, but she fucked that up in the most disrespectful way, Lovely. She had to go!”
he barked and then took a step toward me.

“Forget Lena! You right. She was a junkie, not to mention a poor excuse for a mother.” I gave
him no grief about my mother because it was no secret that she was not my favorite parent. When
I was younger, there were so many days when I went hungry and many nights when I went to bed
dirty because of lack of running water. My father had given her a huge amount of money to hold
us over, but the only people to see most of it were drug dealers. “But just tell me one thing…why
would you kill your own flesh and blood, your baby girl, Tori? She was just a kid, and she never
did nothing wrong to nobody! She had her whole life ahead of her,” I said, holding back the tears
as I thought about how much I loved my fourteen-year-old sister and how she was so much like
my baby. I was only five years older than Tori, but she was indeed like a daughter. I was too young
to be her mother, of course, but I would’ve done anything to make sure she was happy and well
taken care of.

“Tori was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those bullets were meant for Kierra, and I‘m
sure you know that by now,” he said without a shred of remorse, like
“Oops! It was an accident, but
what‘s done is done.”

“Shit! Kierra was your blood too. Hell, she was your firstborn!” I snapped.

“Muthafucka,
I’m
your blood, and you standing here with a gun pointed at me like I‘m a nigga
in the street,” I said, pointing out the obvious.

“Lovely, the day Kierra became a crack head was the day I disowned her as my daughter, and
she fucking robbed my guy, so you know she had to pay. Family is family, but baby, business is
business—and it don’t matter who you are. She put herself in a fucked-up situation, and she knew
the consequences. Junkie, prostitute, dealer, worker, lookout, narc, judge, or lawyer—when you
play in these streets, you got an expiration date. Baby, that girl’s time was up, and that’s just the
way it is! As for you, LB—that’s what they callin’ you these days, right?”

He looked up at me with a smile that could melt hearts and the most beautiful emerald-green
eyes that always seemed to amaze me. When I was younger I used to love to stare into them
because they were the exact shade as mine. I always thought my father looked a lot like actor
Terrance Howard and was perfect and could do no wrong. So, it puzzled me when people in the
media downed him, calling him names like “murderer” or “monster” or “the Devil.” It angered
me, and I couldn’t understand why so many people said those untrue things about my daddy.
Every night, I prayed that people would see the beautiful, kindhearted, giving man who tucked me
and my sisters in bed, smothering us with Eskimo kisses and telling us bedtime stories. However,
standing there on that bus looking his cold-hearted ass in the face, I could’ve sworn he had horns
coming out of his head and a pitchfork in his hand, but the more I stared at it, the more reality told
me it was really just a Desert Eagle aimed right between my eyes.

“Well, as for you, it’s simple, baby. I’m home now, ready to reclaim my position as GOD on these
streets.” He raised his arms up like he was the king of kings and the lord of lords. “Unfortunately,
I can’t do that with you in my way. You got the connect straight from the muthafuckin’ MOB, and
I want it!” he said through clenched teeth.

“How do you know about my connect?” I asked, as it all began to make sense. I knew I had been
set up, but I didn’t know who had done it, so when Lucifer told me he knew about my connect, I
had my culprit.

“I run this shit, Lovely, and don’t you ever forget that! I been keeping tabs on you since the first
day you entered the game, baby. I knew about Maine and how much he loved you, even if you
didn’t know he killed your mom and was there when your sister was killed. I know about Do It and
White Girl’s baby. Don’t shit go down in the ‘hood without me knowing about it!” he barked.

“So you mean Maine isn’t working for you anymore?” I asked with a confused look on my
face. Maine and I had been dating for a while, but we never really disclosed our line of business
with each other. He didn’t know I was the notorious drug dealer LB, and I didn’t know he was the
contract killer hired to take my empire down. He had tried to warn me about my father just hours
earlier, but I thought he was out to get me, so I fled from the hotel we were hiding out in. From the
looks of things, I should’ve stayed my ass with him, and maybe I wouldn’t have found myself in
that position on that bus. “You set me up with my connect, and you put the Feds on me, too, didn’t
you? You bastard!” I continued.

“I may be a lot of things, baby, but you know damn well I ain’t no fucking snitch. After all, I
got knocked because some snitch-ass nigga couldn’t keep his fucking mouth closed. So to answer
your question and make it clear, no. You got the Feds on your ass all by yourself, baby girl. You
was running major weight and clocking dollars, and if you caught everybody’s attention in Detroit,
then you know you caught their attention. The Feds see everything.” He glanced down at his fancy
watch. “Anyway, I’m glad we had this little chat, but it looks like our ride has come to an end,” he
said, taking a step closer to me.

I stepped back. “Don’t fucking come any closer to me, or I’m going to blow your fucking brains
out!” I yelled.

He stepped closer to me again, and again I stepped back. “Baby girl you ain’t no real killer,
because if you was, you wouldn’t have warned me. You would’ve just pulled that trigger,” he said,
taking another step toward me and putting his hand over my gun.

I backed up but bumped right into the bus driver. He hemmed me up into a full nelson, causing
me to drop my gun. “What you want me to do with her, boss?” he asked, as the bus crept along.

I could’ve kicked myself. I hadn’t even noticed that the bus was barely moving. I looked up at
his six-seven frame and noticed a huge slash scar across his entire face, starting from under his
chin and ending right at his temple. I wished I had a machete so I could put another one on the other
side to make an X. That bastard who had a hold on me needed crossing out. My hopeful gaze once
again fell upon my father’s menacing scowl, as I waited for him to answer his goon, but I knew for
certain that my life was over. There was no need to scream. It was two o’clock in the morning, and
no one was out except bums, dope boys, and crack addicts, who were not about to play Captain
Save-a-Ho for my ass.

“Lovely, I’m sorry it has to end like this, but it is what it is—no hard feelings.” He brushed a
piece of dangling hair away from my face and then planted a kiss on my cheek like some type of
bullshit straight out of the movies. “Tell your mother and sister I said hello.” He put the barrel of
his gun right up against my forehead, and I didn’t even flinch or close my eyes because I wasn’t
going to give his sorry ass the satisfaction. There was no point in begging him to spare my life
because I knew my father wasn’t cut out like that. In all the years I’d known him, he’d never
changed his mind about anything. Once he said it, it was done!