I got it. Hurry up, get in there, somebody’s shooting. You got to get Twin out of there,” she said in a panicked voice as she put the backpack on her back.
“Wait outside while we clear this shit out,” the bouncer replied as he pulled his gun and made his way into the club. She ran to her car and popped her trunk as she hurriedly placed the backpack inside.
“What you doing, ma? Give me the bag,” Free said eagerly as he looked from left to right.
“Nigga, you ain’t gon’ get ghost on me. I’ll meet you at Junior’s tomorrow at noon. I’ll bring the money with me; we’ll split it up then. Now go before Twin sees you.”
“Don’t fuck with me, shorty,” Free stated in a hushed tone as he grabbed her arm tightly.
“Look, I said I got you. Now go!”
Free reluctantly ran toward his car.
“Where the dough?” Big Lou asked as soon as Free got in.
“The bitch got it,” Free replied. “She gon’ meet me tomorrow, and we gon’ split it up then.”
“How you know she gon’ show up?”
Free looked out his window as he watched Twin run out to the girl. She instantly began to cry and her act was so realistic that he had to let out a laugh. “She’ll show.”
The next day Free waited anxiously in the back of the restaurant as he watched the girl approach. She was wearing an all-white Versace sundress, and her hair was pulled back off her face in a loose ponytail. The side of her face was swollen, and her lip was busted. She carried the backpack at her side as she limped toward him. Pain was written all over her face with each step that she took.
“Here’s the money,” she said.
“What happened to your face?” Free asked her as he watched her sit down tenderly, trying to avoid causing herself any further pain.
“I took an ass-whooping for forty grand,” she replied nonchalantly as if it were no big deal.
Free couldn’t help but to laugh at the girl before him. She was unlike any chick that he had ever encountered. He was intrigued by her arrogant swagger, and her beauty was comparable to none.
“Let’s go, shorty,” he said as he stood up and took the backpack from her hands.
“Go where? I got to get my cut so I can get back before Twin notices I’m gone,” she said.
“Fuck that nigga,” Free said as he stood up and stared down at her. “You rolling with me.”
“Excuse you? How you know I’m trying to fuck with you like that?” the girl replied with much attitude as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Don’t front, ma. You wouldn’t have let me get out of that club with your boy’s cash if you weren’t feeling a nigga.”
A smile involuntarily graced her lips as she put her Dior sunglasses on her face to hide her true feelings. “I don’t even know you,” she replied sweetly, keeping up her hard exterior and playing hard to get.
“I’m Free,” he replied as he held out his hand and turned to leave. “What’s your name, ma?”
“Six,” she hesitantly replied as she placed her hand in his and shook her head in doubt.
“Now you know me,” Free said as he led her to his car.
“This is crazy,” she told herself as she reluctantly followed behind him. “Twin will come after me.”
“Listen, shorty, I’m not gon’ let nobody harm you. All you got to do is keep it real with me. If you hold me down, I’ll hold you down, a’ight?”
“Yeah, a’ight,” Six replied with a seductive smile. “But can we leave town?”
Free stopped walking and looked Six directly in her eyes. “This nigga got you shook?”
“No, it’s not that. I just want us to start fresh. A new city, a new beginning.”
“Okay…but my man Big Lou coming with us.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and then playfully pulled her to the car. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know Six from the next chick on the street. Free was a spontaneous person and blew wherever the wind took him. He chased the money, and as he walked toward his car, he chuckled thinking that he may have just met his match. “Where to?” he asked as he started his car.
“The Midwest,” she replied. “I’ve got a father in Detroit. I haven’t seen him since my mom died a few years ago.”
When Free pulled away from the curb that day they became partners. Partners in crime, partners in life, partners in love. Everything was fifty-fifty with them. It was the beginning of the end.
Free opened his eyes when he felt the plane touch down in Detroit. He smiled as he reflected on the first time he had met Six. Just thinking about her made him love her more. As a man he felt like he was getting ready to give up a part of himself by marrying Six. Although he loved her more than life, and he planned to be with her, there was something about putting a ring on her finger that scared him. He had been planning this for some time now. For seven years he had been on his grind, trying to stack his chips so that he would be able to provide for himself and his woman. Six was spoiled. She had been ever since he met her. Free had stolen her from Twin, who had never spared her of any material possession. Free wanted to be able to give her more than any other man ever could. He wanted to give her the world, and he was ready to make her his wife. There was no questioning the fact that Six loved Free more than anything. She had been loyal to him from the time she laid eyes on him. He couldn’t see his life without her, and it was time to make their relationship permanent.
Free stood slowly and followed Big Lou off the aircraft. They made their way through the corridors of the airport as they walked toward the baggage-pickup area.
“Yo’, man, you serious about giving this shit up?” Big Lou asked. Big Lou and Free had been pulling capers together since they were young and coming up in Brooklyn. They had quickly made a name for themselves in New York, but after they had robbed Twin, they both skipped town and relocated to Detroit. They tried to stay low-key once they arrived in the Midwest, but they soon discovered that their new city was wide open and prime for the taking. They quickly returned to their old ways, and they reverted to the lifestyle that they knew best. Big Lou and Free were willing to get money by any means necessary as long as the amount of money outweighed the risk.
“Yeah, I’m done. This was my last hit. I’ve been stacking my paper for a minute now. Me and Six can kick back and just live, you know?” Free said.
“Yo’, I don’t know anything about that. I ain’t gon’ never leave this game alone,” Big Lou replied.
“I hear you, fam,” Free replied as they slapped hands and embraced briefly. “I’ma get at you.”
Free and Big Lou grabbed their luggage and went their separate ways. Free located his silver Lexus Coupe and headed home. His hands were moist, and his heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest. Just the thought of settling down made his stomach turn. By marrying Six, he was committing himself to her for life. He was nervous, and he was pushing ninety-five miles per hour on the freeway trying to get to Six. He knew that she would be surprised. He wasn’t due back in Detroit for another couple days, but he decided to finish up early and fly back to propose to her. Is this the chick that I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with? Is she really down for a nigga, like I’m down for her? Will I be the type of man that she needs me to be? He knew that the answer to all of his questions was yes. Six was the woman for him. They completed each other, and the closer they became, the more intense his feelings for her became. The potency of his love for her even surprised him. She was his rib, and without her, he couldn’t breathe.
As he pulled his luxury vehicle onto his street, he was so nervous that it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.