“In fact, you two bitches need to get out the car too,” the partner instructed.
Reluctantly, the ladies did what they were told. All three were held at gunpoint and harassed while the second cop rummaged through Pyro’s vehicle searching for drugs or guns. Pyro was roughly patted down for a gun, and like his car, the search on him came up empty. Both cops were annoyed that he was clean.
Knowing there wasn’t anything else they could do to them, the cops had to let them go. They had nothing—no information about him. His license and registration listed a PO Box, so they had no idea where he laid his head at night.
Pyro grimaced at the officers but kept his composure, knowing now wasn’t the place or the time for payback.
“Y’all have a nice day, officers,” he said nearly mockingly to them.
They ignored him and went back to their marked cop car.
Pyro predicted the harassment from the cops. When Charlie and Ahbou had waited for him and Chanel for two hours at their parents’ place and tried to follow them home, he knew there was more to come. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know it was Charlie and her cop boyfriend tailing them that night. Pyro knew that Charlie’s man was a dirty cop by the way Charlie was tossing around twenty stacks for the funeral like it was nothing to her. And dirty cops never played by the rules.
Pyro purposely didn’t bring any guns with him to the funeral, and he took a chance riding clean for once. However, he had a contingency plan. He had shooters on his payroll that subtly followed behind them. They were at the funeral, unseen and watchful. Pyro wanted an address on Charlie’s man, Ahbou.
Pyro sent a text to the shooters, instructing them to follow Ahbou home after the funeral. It was time to remind Charlie who she was dealing with. Pyro was not a man to be fucked with.
When Ahbou got out of his car and walked to his front door, two masked gunmen came out of nowhere and lit him up brighter than Times Square at midnight. Several slugs tore into his body—including a gunshot to the head, and Ahbou was dead before he hit the ground. They didn’t give a fuck that he was a cop—a dirty cop was a criminal like them. He violated, and the underworld dealt with him accordingly.
Chapter Thirty-Four
It had been twenty-four hours since Claire was laid to rest in the earth. Charlie kept herself locked inside her apartment, needing some solitude. Although she was bitchy and cold to everyone with her tough-girl persona, half of her died when she buried Claire. Charlie knew it was mostly her fault. Her shenanigans had pushed her sister over the edge. Charlie fondly remembered how people would ask if they were twins when they were younger. As they aged, the bond between the two deepened. Charlie took her sister for granted, and now that she was gone she wondered if Claire knew that she deeply loved her. She didn’t always show it—but she did.
Her solitude wouldn’t last. There was a knock at her door. Charlie opened the door and greeted Mona halfheartedly.
“Can I come in?” asked Mona.
Charlie stepped aside and Mona walked inside. With Claire gone, the place felt different and cursed.
“What do you want, Mona?”
“Listen, I have some bad news to tell you. Ahbou is dead.”
“Dead? How?”
“He was gunned down right after your sister’s funeral.”
It was tragic news, but Charlie wasn’t too broken up about it. She wasn’t in love with him. And she knew he killed KB. Maybe it was karma coming back for him.
“That’s fucked up,” Charlie said with fake outrage.
“I know. And I figure you shouldn’t be alone after everything that’s happened to you,” said Mona. “Whoever killed Ahbou, they’re gonna pay. Believe that, Charlie. The entire force is out there investigating his murder, and someone will be held accountable.”
“Good,” Charlie replied.
She pretended to grieve for Ahbou, but inside, she was cracking up that Mona actually believed that she cared.
Mona got comfortable on the couch and started rolling up a blunt. She looked up at Charlie and said, “Look, Ahbou’s death isn’t the only reason why I’m here.”
Charlie was listening.
“They—my partners—want you to know that this will not hinder our business relationship with you, and they want you to stay focused on what really matters. We need to keep things flowing, especially the money.”
“I know. I understand. I’m always gonna be ’bout my business, no matter what. You know that.”
Mona stared at her, looking for any signs of change or weakness with Charlie, but she saw nothing but the same coldhearted get-money bitch from when they first met.
“Good. It’s what we wanted to hear from you,” Mona said.