Page 76 of Obsessive Love
“Deal.” He reached across his desk and dapped me up. “When do you want to announce the new recruits?”
“Let’s wait and see how they do in practice; Diara is ready to put them to work. If she’s good with how they play together, I say we announce them on the Friday before the press lunch.” Hood turned his attention to his computer. “That work for you?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s a few weeks away, so I’m good with that. Their physical reports already came back, and they're clear.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” I checked my phone to see that Fable was still giving me a death stare through the camera. I chuckled, then put my phone away.
“How is your house guest?” he asked.
“We chill,” I answered as I walked away. “Stop by the house soon to meet her.”
“Alright, Ms. Arlene, what you got me into?” I asked her as I pulled my truck up to the address she’d given me. I shut the truck off and turned to face her. “I already know it’s going to be some nigga shit cuz you got your homegirls with you.” I noddedat Ms. Nadine, Nine’s mama, and Mrs. Mary, the head of the DeCorte clan, and shook my head.
“Mind your business, Pyrite,” Ms. Arlene said. She turned to the women in the back seat and sighed. “This is just a peaceful conversation.”
“Okay,” Ms. Nadine said, nodding. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement, and I had a feeling her ass was going to be anything but pleasant. She’d pulled her normally curly hair into a sleek bun and wore a dope-ass Nike tracksuit. “Just a friendly hello, got it?”
“No,” Mrs. Mary said, shaking her head. “I ain’t with it.” Mrs. Mary was the firecracker of the trio; she was the oldest, probably knocking on seventy-five’s door, but you couldn’t tell that from how she acted. She didn’t give a damn about what came out of her mouth and dared a nigga to try her. Pastor DeCorte always said his grandchildren got their short tempers from her, and I believed him. Being a DeCorte came with a reputation that she gladly upheld.
“Mary,” Ms. Arlene sighed. “We talked about this.”
“You talked; I didn’t agree,” she said as she searched her purse. “I talked to Krude before I left, and he said to knock that bitch head off her shoulders, and it ain’t too often my grandson gives advice, so when he does, I listen.”
“Wait, Mrs. Mary, Krude said what?” I laughed. I had no idea what the hell they were talking about or even what they had planned, but if she was taking Krude’s advice, I knew it wasn’t good. When the fellas and I went to Ms. Arlene’s yesterday to hang out, she pulled me aside and asked if I could take her on a run today. I didn’t think much about it, so I said yes without asking questions. I should’ve opened my mouth because now they asses had me on a mission.
“Beat her ass.” Mrs. Mary looked up from her purse with a serious expression. “I didn’t stutter. Paxton even agreed.”
“You took advice from Krude and Paxton?” I questioned, and she nodded. “Why?”
“Because when they’re right, they’re right,” she said and shrugged. “Now, come open this door so I can get out.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I laughed, then exited the car. I took my time walking around the car to send Nine a quick text, asking him if he knew his mama was out here with three other gang members. I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and opened Ms. Arlene’s door first, helped her out of the car, went to the back seat, and helped Ms. Nadine, then Mrs. Mary. “Y’all want me to walk with y’all to the door?”
“Yeah, come on,” Ms. Nadine said, nodding. “As a matter of fact, lead the way. We need to discuss some things first.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, closing the door. I walked ahead of them up the driveway and headed toward the front porch. I rang the doorbell and stepped aside. “Whose house is this?”
“Legacy’s bitch ass parents,” Ms. Arlene said. I turned around to face her, and when I did, I was pretty sure I fucked up. All three of them stood there in shiesty masks. The only reason I knew who was who was because they wore different colors. Mrs. Mary wore red, Ms. Arlene was blue, and Ms. Nadine was black. What got me the most was that I just realized they wore black forces. “Now, move.”
I stepped aside just as the door opened, but Legacy’s mama didn’t stand a chance. They rushed her. Mrs. Mary was the first to land a hit, and the other two followed suit. In disbelief, I watched them beat Legacy’s mama ass. Three grown-ass older women were beating this woman’s ass, and I didn’t even feel bad for her. To get any of them to act out of character meant that she did the unforgivable.
Ms. Arlene pulled her mask off and bent to get in Legacy’s mama’s face. “You did that baby wrong her entire life because you’re a punk bitch. She couldn’t control the fact that her mamawas dying. Tammy decided to have her child even though she couldn’t raise her. She loved you enough to give you a gift. A testament of y’all’s love, and you let her down.”
“I loved Tammy, not Legacy!” Legacy, mama yelled. “I didn’t ask for her!”
“And it was obvious, but don’t worry because my son has her now. For the rest of her life, Hood will take care of her. Love, spoil, and worship the ground she walks on.” She grabbed Legacy's mama by her hair to make her look at her. “I may not be here to protect her, but she will be protected for the rest of her life and beyond that. When I get to heaven, I will find Tammy and let her know thatherLegacy is safe now because ofmyHood. She can finally rest.”
“Shoot her,” Mrs. Mary said, tapping Ms. Arlene on the shoulder with her gun. “Stop talking to that bitch and put her out of her misery.”
“No, don’t kill her,” Ms. Nadine said, being the voice of reason. “Let her see how much Legacy flourishes with Hood. That will be the ultimate revenge.”
Ms. Arlene stared at Legacy’s mama briefly, then nodded. She let her head go, stood, and then kicked her in the stomach before walking away. Ms. Nadine helped her out the door and to the car.
Mrs. Mary waited until they were gone, then pulled her mask off and retrieved a knife from her pocket. She slammed it into her ankle and dragged it to her thigh. Legacy’s mama screamed at the top of her lungs, and I stood there shocked. “That baby has been a part of my life for almost twenty years; if I’d known the way you treated her, I would’ve already showed the fuck up.” She grabbed her mama's face to make her look at her. “Arlene is a nicer person than me; remember that.” She let Legacy’s mama face go, stood, and turned to face me. “Let’s go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I nodded, then put my arm out for her to take. Mrs. Mary lopped her arm around mine, and we left the house after I helped everyone into the car and got in. “Next time we make a stop, and y’all got a mask, make sure you get me one too.”
“Don’t tell my son we did this,” Ms. Arlene said as I drove back to her house. “It ain’t his or Legacy's business.”
