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Holding my shit up, I waited until Bartholomew answered. He didn’t bother to look at my helmet once. He made sure to keep his eyes locked in on me. That was his best bet to be honest because my blood was boiling at this point, and I was liable to do damn near anything to his bitch ass.

Being this close was a risk but I loved taking them. I wouldn’t be the nigga I was today if I didn’t defy somebody muthafuckin’ rules. Bartholomew’s jaws went to moving and before I knew it, tobacco was shot from his mouth to my shoes, and I couldn’t help but smile. I loved shit like this.Show me you ain’t scared to get down, bitch boy.

“I don’t give a fuck what it says, nigger. You and your kind aren’t welcome on the north side of Eastlake. That’s ours.”

Nodding, I gripped my helmet as tight as I could and swung on his ass hitting him dead in his shit. My helmet went to work knocking him down inch by inch. Just because you towered over me didn’t mean shit to me. All it took was the right nigga to make yo’ dumbass call timber. His crew wasn’t gon’ let him take the ass whooping but my crew did this shit for fun.

“Yeahhhhhh, this my type of party!” Zinc yelled. I didn’t have to lay eyes on him to know his gold smile was present as he rubbed his hands together. Beating on niggas was a thrill for him.

One thing you needed to understand was BMG didn’t fight fair. We kept a tool on us and used it every chance we got. It wasn’t shit to catch a charge because more than likely, Aunt Gina was gon’ get that bitch stripped anyway. It paid to have friends in high places. BMG ran this city, we just let dumb muthafuckas like Bartholomew live in it. I didn’t have to worry about mine but he damn sure had to worry about his.

“Hey. Hey! If y’all don’t leave, I’m calling the police.” An unfamiliar voice was heard above all the slurs and degrading terms that were shouted from both crews.

“Call them then, bitch!” Hearing one of mine call a woman out her name made me slow down on beating cracker jack face in. Disrespect wasn’t tolerated no matter what the situation was.

Hitting him one last time, I looked down at my handy work and tossed my shit at him. My brand new fuckin’ helmet was covered in his blood, and I was beyond pissed. However, I had other matters to handle. He wasn’t going nowhere no time soon.

“Who the fuck just called her a bitch?” I questioned looking to the crew.

“Me nigga. She talking ‘bout calling twelve.” Litty was the one to speak up. Like I said, they didn’t discriminate.

“Don’t ever talk to a woman like that. You know how the fuck I am when it comes to that shit,” I corrected him.

“Get away from my shop. I don’t need this kind of shit around my business!” she yelled again.

“We will bald head ass bitch. Damn. Give us a minute,” Litty threw back.

He wasn’t gon’ let miss ma’am talk to us crazy. I applauded him for always having BMG back but sometimes you had to calm all that rah-rah shit down. She was more than likely not used to this kind of shit going on.

“Look, we ‘bout to go. Our job done here, anyway.” I reached down and picked up Bartholomew’s helmet. “That was custom fuckin’ made. I want my shit cleaned, Opie, and returned to me in the next forty-eight or I promise you the north gon’ see what usniggerscan really do. I’ll be taking this until I get mine back and you better not have no fuck ass lice.”

“Hello. Yes, I’d like to report a disturbance. There’s like twenty men in the back of my shop in the alley fighting.” I looked at her with my head cocked to the side.You really called them folk.

Walking over to her, I snatched the phone from her ear and threw that bitch as far as I could. It was one thing to threaten BMG but to call them people on us brought out a different side. I understood why she did it completely, but somebody needed to let her know the rules and regulations ‘round this muthafucka. She looked like fresh meat anyway, so I knew she didn’t have a clue.

“You new to the Lake?” I inquired.

“That was my fuckin’ phone and now I’m pressing charges for damaging of property. Get you and your ghetto ass friends the fuck away from my shop… now!”

The more I took her in the more I felt challenged. She was older indeed but damn she was so fuckin’ pretty. Litty didn’t liewhen he called her bald-headed, either. The pixie fade looked good on her though, and she colored that bitch blond. It looked nice against her lighter toned skin. Her features definitely gave you a reason to hesitate and choose your words wisely. To make matters worse, you could see that ass from the front. However, now wasn’t the time to be mesmerized.

“We don’t take too kind to threats, Fade. Don’t ever in yo’ life call them people on us again. You way too pretty to end up on an obituary,” I warned her.

“D-Did you just threaten me?” she asked in an appalled manner.

“That shit don’t feel good, do it? The only difference is… I meant what the fuck I said.” I stepped back and gave her a onceover before addressing my crew. “BMG, you heard the lady. Let’s go!”

I carried Bartholomew’s helmet with me and tucked it away. The rest of the crew saddled up and we were out that bitch. Silvy and her lil’ brother was taken care of by the twins. I was sure this shit was gon’ hit my father’s ears before I could make it back to the hood. That nigga had eyes and ears everywhere. I prepared myself for the talk as I led the crew back to the clubhouse.

Chapter Four

KOSHA

It was both Melanie and I’s first day. Her first in this new school and mine at the shop. The way I wanted everything to go so smooth… I prayed many times over for it. A smooth transition and a smooth opening. I didn’t know a thing about Eastlake, but I had family in Graceland Heights, and I was sure they could give me a tour soon.

Pulling in front of Mel’s school, I snagged a parking space, and we entered the building heading for the office. The mixture of kids brought a smile to my face. From what I saw so far, she would fit right in. Looking over at my baby, she wore an attitude, but I gave it no attention. This was our new life and something she would have to get used to.

“Hi, how can I help you?”

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