Working Girls (15 page)
Authors: Treasure Hernandez
Chapter Twenty-two
H
alleigh entered the twenty-four-hour restaurant along with Tasha and Mimi. The Manolo Mamis were in the building, and all eyes were on them as they strolled in. Halleigh was still beautiful, although her recent struggles showed in her face and loss of weight. She looked tired and worn out, but she was proud of herself for being brave enough to fight her drug addiction. Although she hated what Tasha did to her at the time, handcuffing her to the bed and not allowing her to leave the room, she loved her for it now and understood exactly why she had done it. Had she not, as far as Halleigh was concerned, she could be lying dead in an alley somewhere.
alleigh entered the twenty-four-hour restaurant along with Tasha and Mimi. The Manolo Mamis were in the building, and all eyes were on them as they strolled in. Halleigh was still beautiful, although her recent struggles showed in her face and loss of weight. She looked tired and worn out, but she was proud of herself for being brave enough to fight her drug addiction. Although she hated what Tasha did to her at the time, handcuffing her to the bed and not allowing her to leave the room, she loved her for it now and understood exactly why she had done it. Had she not, as far as Halleigh was concerned, she could be lying dead in an alley somewhere.
Tasha had opened Halleigh's eyes and made her realize that she was following in her mother's footsteps. She would have eventually found herself at the point of no return, but thanks to Tasha's support, she didn't finish the path she was heading down. It was only the beginning of Halleigh's recovery, but it was a start.
Tasha was only few years older than Halleigh, but she showed her motherly love at the time Halleigh needed it the most. Halleigh looked at Tasha and smiled, and Tasha returned the smile, proud of the way Halleigh shook the monkey off her back.
Among the patrons who looked their way when the girls entered the restaurant was Malek. His heart sank into his stomach when he saw Halleigh. She wasn't the same Halleigh he'd seen just a few months ago. She looked as though she'd taken an ass-whippin' from the streets.
What the fuck happened? Malek looked her up and down. But then he heard the sound of Tasha's words echoing through his head. “She needs you,” he remembered her telling him, and from the looks of things, he knew that it was true.
Malek couldn't take his eyes off of her, and his heart beat so loudly in his chest that he was sure Jamaica Joe and Tariq could hear it. Malek's heart dropped at the sight of Halleigh. He noticed that she had lost weight, and her eyes looked baggy. He knew something wasn't right with her, and that's probably what Tasha had been trying to warn him about. His pride wanted him not to stare, but his heart made his eyes stick on her.
No matter what Halleigh and Malek had gone through, he still loved her. Halleigh might have been able to shake drugs, but Malek couldn't seem to shake her.
For the last couple of months, Malek, trying to keep Halleigh off his mind, was just getting with chicks for the hell of it. But whenever he was inside one of them, he couldn't help but picture Halleigh's face.
“Who the fuck is Halleigh?” one of the girls spat to him as she sat butt naked on top of him, riding the hell out of him.
She was putting her back into it when all of a sudden he had yelled, “Oh, Halleigh, baby, don't stop!”
Although Malek was never intimate with Halleigh, he had dreamed about it a million times. He had played that night in his head after his high school championship game, when she had promised him her virginity, imagining how it would beâhow it would feel to be inside of her, to be the first man ever inside of her. It would have been such a privilege. He knew he was going to wife her. But then everything took a turn for the worse when he dropped her off at her house after the game so she could freshen up for him. It was then that two men savagely raped her and stole her innocence. To this day, Malek wanted revenge on those two fools just as much as he wanted revenge on whoever took his parents out.
Halleigh finally looked in the direction where Malek and his crew were sitting, and when she saw him, her eyes almost popped out of her head. She stopped suddenly in her tracks.
“You all right, girl?” Tasha asked her. She followed Halleigh's eyes and saw Malek.
“Yeah,” Halleigh lied. She wanted to believe that she was okay, but she wasn't.
“Come on,” Tasha said, grabbing her arm. “Just let him be over there with his boys. If he wants to step to you, then so be it. Otherwise, let 'im be.”
Halleigh didn't even realize that Malek was there with Jamaica Joe and Tariq. As a matter of fact, she almost forgot that she was there with Tasha and Mimi. When she and Malek had locked eyes, it felt as if the two of them were the only ones in the room.
“Yeah, you're right,” Halleigh said as she took a couple more steps. She peeled her eyes off of Malek and let them fall on the two guys he was with. Once again she stopped dead in her tracks, but this time, she began to tremble.
“What is it, Hal?” Tasha asked, her eyes darting back and forth from Halleigh to Malek and his boys. “You okay?” Tasha could feel Halleigh's body trembling.
Halleigh just stood there with her mouth dropped open as she stared at Tariq.
That's him,
Halleigh thought. “That's him,” she said out loud. Halleigh would never forget the faces of the men who raped her, and Tariq's face was one of them.
That's him,
Halleigh thought. “That's him,” she said out loud. Halleigh would never forget the faces of the men who raped her, and Tariq's face was one of them.
Her heart began to beat rapidly. She couldn't believe that Malek was sitting there with himâthe man he was supposed to protect her from, the man he said he would kill if he ever found him. And now here the two of them were, about to break bread together.
Halleigh pulled her arm away from Tasha and hurried to the back of the restaurant, where the restrooms were located. She could barely breathe. The sight of Malek with Tariq made her want to throw up.
She burst into the bathroom and rested both of her arms on the sink. She was tormented by horrific memories of the night her virginity was ripped away from her. The fact that Malek was sitting next to her rapist made her heart sink deeper in her chest. She couldn't believe it. “How could he?” she whispered as the tears in her eyes built up. “How could he?”
Chapter Twenty-three
“ I
'll be back,” Malek said to Joe and Tariq as he made his way to the back of the restaurant. He knew Jamaica Joe probably had something to say about him going after Halleigh, but he couldn't hold off any longer. He had to talk to her.
'll be back,” Malek said to Joe and Tariq as he made his way to the back of the restaurant. He knew Jamaica Joe probably had something to say about him going after Halleigh, but he couldn't hold off any longer. He had to talk to her.
He paced outside of the bathroom, waiting for Halleigh to come out.
“Yo, come on, man,” Joe called out. “We got business.”
Malek acted like he didn't hear him and just continued pacing until he heard the women's bathroom door open. He caught Halleigh on her way out. “Halleigh!” he whispered as he grabbed her arm.
“Get away from me, Malek,” she said, trying to pull away.
“No, I need to talk to you. Just listen to me for a minute,” Malek said while Halleigh struggled to get away from his grip, using up the little bit of energy left in her body.
Malek got tired of struggling with her and ended up pushing her into the men's bathroom and into one of the stalls. But she pulled away from him, not wanting anything to do with him. She was inconsolable.
“Don't touch me,” she said weakly. His touch hurt her sensitive body, but she also didn't want his hands on her since he was associating with the person who'd raped her. Halleigh couldn't believe that Malek was with a man that had hurt her so bad. After she got raped, it sparked a chain of events that changed her life forever. In her mind, Malek was just as lowdown as the hoodlum he was sitting with.
“Are you okay?” Malek cupped her face in his hands and stared into her lost eyes. “What happened to you? Baby, I'm sorry. I should've come to you,” Malek said as he got an up close and personal look at just how bad Halleigh appeared. She was “Whitney Houston skinny.”
“Stop touching me,” Halleigh said. “I can't believe this. How could you be with him? How could you?”
“What? Who? What are you talking about?”
Just then, the men's bathroom door opened. “Yo, Malek!” Tariq called out as he entered the bathroom.
Malek closed the stall door and replied, “What up?”
“It's time to go,” Tariq said. “Joe trying to get on the road.”
The sound of Tariq's voice sent chills up Halleigh's spine. The same way she could never forget his face, she could never forget his voice.
“All right, I'll be out in a minute,” Malek said in an irritated tone. The only thing on his mind was Halleigh.
When Tariq left the restroom, Halleigh snatched away from Malek once again.
“Just let me go, Malek!”
“I will let you go, but on one condition . . .” Malek paused before continuing. “Leave with me, Hal.”
Halleigh let out a sarcastic laugh.
“I'm serious. You're not looking too good. Let me take care of you. We can start over, just me and you.”
“Let you take care of me?” Halleigh repeated. “Let you take care of me? You mean the same way you been taking care of me? Fuck you, Malek!”
“Fuck me? You the one who picked that other nigga over me, and you got the nerve to have an attitude with me?”
“It looks like you picked your niggas over me,” she replied, her eyes flooded with tears. Malek's betrayal hurt more than anything she'd ever felt.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Let me ask you one question, Malek. Since when did you start fucking with the nigga that raped me? Huh? He's what started all this. He raped me, and you're running around here with him like y'all best friends,” Halleigh yelled, the warm tears gracing her cheeks.
Her words hit Malek like a ton of bricks.
“Y'all cut from the same cloth, Malek?” She began beating on Malek's chest. “You a rapist too? Huh? Is that what you were going to do to the girl in that room the night of that party before you saw that it was me?”
“Whoa, hold up,” Malek said, putting up his hands. “You trying to say my boy Joe was one of the dudes that raped you?”
“I don't know his fuckin' name. The one you just told you'd be out in a minute,” Halleigh said furiously. “What? Are you two on your way to rape somebody else?”
Malek tried to digest everything Halleigh was spitting at him. Finally, Halleigh mustered up every ounce of strength she had in an attempt to shove Malek out of her way, but Malek grabbed her.
“Get your hands off me,” she said. “Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me again,” Halleigh screamed with so much rage that Malek released her. Then she squeezed past him and stormed out of the bathroom.
“Wait, Halleigh!” he yelled out, but Halleigh never looked back. Still in a daze, Malek exited the bathroom stall and began pacing again. “I can't believe this shit.” He balled his fist and began punching the walls in the restroom as he tried to calm down.
Halleigh's words had hit him like a dagger, and he couldn't fathom someone hurting her again. He was determined to make things right for them. She was his soul mate, and he wasn't going to lose her again. The thought of Tariq raping Halleigh emerged in his mind, and he instantly became enraged. He pulled out his gun and cocked the hammer back. I'ma murder that nigga.
Just like Halleigh had accused him, he felt guilty, as if he were one of the men who'd raped her. All of this time he'd had no clue that Tariq was one of the men who'd hurt Halleigh on that horrible night, but now that he knew, he was going to make Tariq pay.
Chapter Twenty-four
M
alek walked out of the restroom with rage in his eyes, his temple pulsating from the range of emotions he was experiencing. He watched as Halleigh, the woman he loved from the depths of his soul, rushed out of the restaurant with Tasha and Mimi.
alek walked out of the restroom with rage in his eyes, his temple pulsating from the range of emotions he was experiencing. He watched as Halleigh, the woman he loved from the depths of his soul, rushed out of the restaurant with Tasha and Mimi.
He then focused his attention on Tariq, who was seated next to Jamaica Joe. His blood boiled as he closed his eyes and envisioned the hurtful expression that had covered Halleigh's face. Things had definitely shifted from what Malek thought they seemed. All along, he had been thinking that it was Halleigh who was, in fact, sleeping with the enemy by fucking with Manolo, when it was actually Malek himself that was cliqued up with one of the dudes that had raped her.
Just then, Malek became suspicious of everybody who was assigned under Tariq. Was it one of them who had gone to Halleigh's mom's apartment that night and participated in the assault? Malek's mind was twisted. He didn't know what his next move should be. Should he find out who the other cat was that helped Tariq and take them both out, or should he just kill Tariq's ass and ask questions later?
Malek looked out the window and saw Halleigh hop into the passenger's side of Tasha's car. He had to admit, he did love her. He felt like a traitor for associating with people who had harmed her. But now wasn't the time for him to stand there and beat himself up. He had a vendetta to take care of.
When Jamaica Joe saw Malek heading back their way, he stood and threw a fifty dollar bill on the table. He then walked over to Malek. “Everything's good?” Joe asked, noticing the distressed look on his face.
Malek nodded. He wasn't sure if he should tell Joe about the situation. He knew that Tariq was Joe's man way before he'd entered the picture, so he wasn't trying to create bad business by spitting venom on Joe's right-hand man. I'ma handle that nigga myself when the time is right, Malek assured himself and then turned to Joe and said, “Yeah, man, everything is good.”
“Good, then let's get out of here. Time is money andâ” Before Joe could finish his sentence, the sound of his car alarm going off caught his attention. “Fuck is going on?” he asked as he hurried outside.
Malek ran out behind him and exchanged cold stares with Tariq as he passed.
“ ' Sup, dude?” Tariq asked him aggressively, peeping out how Malek had just mean-mugged him like he had a problem with him or something.
Malek stopped in his tracks as Joe kept moving. Joe wasn't concerned about what was happening between his two soldiers. He was only concerned about his car, or better yet, the goods he had inside his car.
Malek stepped into Tariq's space. “What, mu'fucka?” he said, blatantly showing him disrespect as he stared down at him. “You got a problem?”
Before the confrontation could escalate, gunshots rang out in the air.
“Oh shit! Joe!” Malek pushed past Tariq and ran outside, his pistol drawn.
Tariq ran out after him, and they both started busting, no questions asked, at Jamaica Joe's truck, his Viper car alarm blaring loudly as bullets whizzed through the air.
The back of Jamaica Joe's truck was open, and by the time they made their way over to the truck, blasting the entire way, Malek immediately peeped that the duffel bag full of bricks was missing. The gunfire was so hectic that everybody had to take cover. Joe, Tariq, and Malek were tucked behind a car in the parking lot, while Sweets, Manolo, and the Shottah Boyz ducked behind Joe's truck.
“Fuck! They got the joints,” Joe stated in a frustrated tone. He pulled a full clip out of his pants pocket and loaded it into his gun. “I'm tired of playing around with this gay mu'fucka!”
Boom! Boom!
Bullets crashed the windows of the car they were crouched behind, sending glass flying everywhere.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Malek shot back. He saw Manolo peek from behind Joe's truck and shot relentlessly at him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jamaica Joe looked at Tariq, who was crouched low, hiding from the bullets, while Malek was a true soldier, standing his own against the hit squad. “Nigga, fuck you doing?” he yelled to Tariq. “Go get my bricks!” Joe reached over the car hood and fired a shot.
By now Joe's truck looked like Swiss cheese, but that was the last thing on his mind. He couldn't afford to take this loss. He had to get his dope back.
Tariq stood up and pulled out his gun. He shot in Sweets' direction, making sure not to hit any of his crew, firing shots indirectly.
Malek was a madman, taking out all of his anger on Sweets and his crew. What he really wanted to do was blast on Tariq's ass, but that opportunity would have to present itself at a later date. Right now his target was Manolo. He'd hurt Halleigh too. And from this point on, Malek was getting ready to get at any nigga who had even looked at her wrong in the past.
His gun spat,
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All of a sudden, Tariq stepped into Malek's line of view. Malek's gun was already aimed to hit him. All he had to do was pull the trigger. This nigga raped my girl, he thought as his finger twitched violently. This nigga took what should've been mine.
Malek had never killed a man, but he was tempted to let Tariq have his whole clip. He froze and stared at Tariq, his gun pointed at his back. Tariq had no idea that Malek was behind him with deadly intentions.
Jamaica Joe heard the sirens of the approaching police cars. They sounded as if they were right around the corner. He peered from behind the car, and his eyes bucked when he saw Malek aiming his pistol at the back of Tariq's head. Fuck is he doing? Joe thought.
Malek closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.
CLICK! The sound of the empty clip rang out, but Tariq didn't hear it.
Sweets ran and jumped back into his truck when he heard the police sirens, and was pulling wildly out of the parking lot as Tariq feigned to bust wildly at him.
Tears filled Malek's eyes. He regretted wasting his bullets on Sweets. CLICK! CLICK! He continued to squeeze the trigger anyway, even though he knew he had no ammunition.
Jamaica Joe ran up and put his hand on Malek's shoulder. “Whoa,” he stated in Malek's ear as he took the gun from his hand. He didn't ask any questions, but he definitely wanted to know what was going on between Tariq and Malek. “Jacob!” he shouted, signaling to Tariq that the police were on their way.
Since their truck was all shot up, tires and all, Tariq busted out a window to another car in the restaurant parking lot. He quickly hot-wired the car and pulled off with Jamaica Joe in the front seat and Malek in the back.
Riding shotgun as Tariq maneuvered away from the shootout scene, Jamaica Joe turned around and eyed Malek suspiciously. “You a'ight, partna?”
Malek leaned across the back seat and nodded his head, murderous thoughts racing through his mind as he sat behind Tariq. “Don't like to leave business unfinished, that's all.”
“Oh, we gon' finish that shit,” Tariq stated, referring to the beef with the South Side. He tossed his pistol in the back seat and threw his head back in relief. He took a deep breath, knowing he had just sparked some deep shit. “This shit ain't over,” he added, pretending he was ready to retaliate.
“No doubt,” Malek responded, referring to his unresolved beef with Tariq. Malek's blood was boiling. He couldn't control himself anymore. He slowly picked up Tariq's banger and put it in his lap.
Tupac's song, “Hail Mary,” was in the CD player, and Malek asked Tariq to turn it up a notch, but it wasn't because he wanted to hear the song. Once the music was up loud enough to conceal the sound, Malek cocked the pistol and pointed it to the back of Tariq's dome.
THE END
(of FLINT book 2)
. . . but the saga continues in FLINT book 3.
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