Page 18 of Fire & Roses: Harli

“It was nothing but the truth. And it just helped me realize I needed to focus on the only thing that matters, and that’s getting this motherfuckin’ money. Let me get up so I can handle my business.”

We got out of my bed and went our separate ways. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. Ryda was right. I was neglecting my duties as the leader. With no leads on the grocery store robbery, it made me even prouder of my girls. Kruz handled that hacking shit like a pro, and it left the cops with no video evidence. She had the video of the robbery downloaded to a thumb drive for me to give to Dice. Ryda played her role as a fake hostage to perfection. Even had the news asking if anyone had seen a person matching her description.

“Hello?” Dice spoke into the phone.

“We need to meet. I got something for you.” I got straight to the point as I put on my sweatpants.

“I just got in town from Vegas. I’ll send you a location.”

Our conversation was brief, like every other one, I thought as I placed my phone on my dresser. Pulling my graphic tee over my head, I paired my outfit with some bubble slides. My phone dinged with a location to meet Dice at in the next fifteen minutes. I grabbed my keys along with the thumb drive and left my apartment. Surprisingly, the location was close by and would only take me seven minutes to get there. When I pulled up to the field, I noticed Dice standing underneath a tree.

“What ya got for me?” Dice inquired as I approached her.

“I wanted to let you know that I got us the perfect third person,” I answered.

“You know you could’ve told me this over the phone, right? And perfect, huh? What makes you think that?”

“The fact that we hit the grocery store that’s been all over the news and they still have no leads.”

“No way that was y’all.”

“It was, and here’s the video footage for you and yo’ girls to watch.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she chuckled as she accepted the thumb drive. “How much y’all made off with?”

“Twenty-five thousand a piece.”

“Not bad, rookie. Y’all pissed the money away yet?”

“Nope, haven’t spent a dime.”

“Hmm, I’ll be in touch if I feel like y’all can handle makin’ some big money.”

Her heels slammed against the pavement as she made her way to her motorcycle. The anticipation of getting her call filled my head as I made my way to the clubhouse. If she felt seventy-five thousand was little money, I couldn’t wait to see what she called big money. My girls hadn’t been hounding me about spending the money, but I knew they were more than ready too. Hell, they did a great job, so it was only right we finally got to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Once I made it to the clubhouse, I texted the girls to meet me here. I went inside to count each duffle bag as I waited for them to show up. The fact that they’d been more worried about me with everything I was dealing with than spending money. I’d finally gotten the sisters I always wanted when I was growing up. Kruz fit into me and Ryda’s dynamic with ease, and I loved that. With more voice of reason, we were doing our best to keep Ryda out of trouble.

“Feel like I ain’t been here in years,” Ryda exaggerated, causing Kruz to laugh.

“Girl, it’s only been days. Don’t piss me off, Ryda,” I rolled my eyes.

“I mean we haven’t been here in two weeks, so I’m tryna figure out what changed?” Kruz chimed in.

“Well, I wanna start off by first sayin’ thank you for bein’ there for me. A real bitch been slippin’ while detoxing that nigga outta my system, and like the real bitches y’all are, y’all made sure I was good.”

“It’s like they say money comes and go but real bitches are forever,” Ryda protested.

“Girl, who ever said that?” Kruz looked over at her.

“The realest bitch of them all: me. Now how did it go with Dice?”

“She was shocked it was us that hit the grocery store, and she’ll get back with me if she thinks we’re ready to make some big money,” I informed. “I can’t wait to see what big money looks like, but until then let’s enjoy spendin’ our little money.”

“Final-fuckin’-ly,” Ryda huffed. “A real bitch got stuff to handle.”

“You ain’t wrong ‘cause I got bills I need to pay,” Kruz expressed.

“My bad for the hold up,” I apologized. “But understand that this has to last us until the next hit. We don’t know when that will be, so don’t do no crazy spendin’ be logical with y’all money. Still enjoy it because I know I’m about to. Startin’ with a steak I can pay for myself.”