"She did?" Black asked, surprised because he knew that Bobby had warned Ivillisa Ortiz not to call his house again.
"Yes, Mike, she did."
"What she want this time?"
"She called and asked to speak to Bobby. When I told her to stop calling here, she said to tell Bobby that Ivillisa Ortiz called and that a man named Lex was on his way there to kill her. When Bobby got home we argued about it and Bobby left. I can’t go through this again, Mike."
"I know, Pam. Did Bobby say where he was going?"
"I guess he went to her."
"Okay, Pam. If Bobby calls, tell him I’m with Victor, and he can call me on his phone."
"I’ll tell him," Pam said in a voice that Black hadn’t heard since the night she killed Cat and Melinda. He ended the call and thought back to that night.
Black had been out dancing with Shy and they called Bobby to take them home, when Bobby got a call from Pam.
"I’m at your little girlfriend’s apartment. I need you and Mike to come here now," Pam said and calmly hung up the phone.
When they arrived at the apartment it was in darkness, lit only by the streetlights shining through the window. When Bobby saw the gun in Pam’s hand, Black stepped in front of him and Shy looked at him like he was crazy.
"What’s up with the gun, Pam?" Black asked.
"It’s for killing, Mike. You know better than most people what a gun is for," Pam said, obviously in a state of shock.
"Why don’t you give me the gun, Pam?" Black asked quietly.
"Here," Pam said and handed the gun to Black. "I’m finished with it."
Now that she was no longer armed, Bobby stepped toward his wife again. "Pam," he said softly. "Where’s Cat?"
"She’s in the bedroom."
Bobby and Black went to the bedroom and opened the door. There on the floor was Cat with a gunshot wound in the chest. Pam very calmly explained that Cat had called the house again and said that she had just gotten finished fucking Bobby. After a round of bitch this and ho that, Cat said that she was going to take Bobby from Pam, and that she had broken into their house and was looking forward to fuckin’ Bobby on their bed.
"That’s when I hung up on her. But then I thought about it. This woman is crazy. So I called her back. I told her that we needed to talk face-to-face. I was surprised when she invited me over. We had small talk at the door when I first got here, and then she asked me to follow her. Said she wanted to show me something and led me straight to the bedroom. She opened the door and pointed to the bed. She said this is where she and Bobby fuck every day. That’s when I shot her."
They took Pam to Black’s house and left her with Shy while Black and Bobby disposed of the body. When they drove off, they drove right past Melinda, who had been following them all night. Melinda wanted to get back at Black for dumping her for Shy. She hated Shy with a passion and Melinda decided that whether she got Black back or not, that bitch Shy didn’t deserve to live-even if it meant killing Black too.
With Pam resting comfortably, Shy went back down-stairs and turned on the television. She had been channel surfing for awhile when Melinda stepped into the light, her gun was pointed at Shy. "How did you get in here?"
"I used to live here until you came along, bitch," Melinda said and took another step closer to Shy.
"What do you want?"
"I’m here to take back what you took from me."
"What are you talkin’ about?"
"I’m talkin’ about Black, you stupid bitch."
"And you think-"
"Shut up, bitch," Melinda said calmly. "You ruined everything. I was happy, we were happy; happy with each other, bitch. Do you understand what that means? Do you understand how I feel?"
Shy remained quiet.
"No, I didn’t think so. You couldn’t possibly under-stand what this feels like."
"You know you don’t have to do this," Shy pleaded with Melinda.
"Oh, yes, I do. You don’t deserve to have him. You don’t deserve to have my man."
"We can talk about this, can’t we?"
"Talk? Talk about what? How you snuck behind my back and stole my man? Is that what we should talk about, bitch? I don’t think so. What do you think; if you keep me here talking that Black will come and save your worthless bitch-ass? Well, you can forget about that. I saw the body him and Bobby carried out. What, your girl Pam kill somebody?"
Shy didn’t answer.
"It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to answer me, bitch. I know they took that body to the funeral parlor, and if they did, it’ll be at least two hours before they get finished, so nobody is coming to save you."
If that was the case, Shy figured since she was going to die, she might as well speak her mind and die with dignity.
"You know what," Shy paused. "Damn, I don’t even remember what your name is. Never was all that important. But I guess it doesn’t matter now. I guess nothing matters now. So let me tell you something. Mike Black is my man, bitch, not your man-my man." Shy held up her left hand. "This big-ass fuckin’ rock on my finger proves that he’s my man. He may have been your man, but you weren’t woman enough to hold him, and that’s why he’s my man. So go ahead and kill me you dumb bitch, ’cause even if you kill me, Mike Black will always be my man!"
Melinda grabbed the gun with both hands and cocked the hammer. Shy heard the shot, closed her eyes, and prepared to die.
But nothing happened.
Shy opened her eyes in time to see Melinda drop the gun and fall to the floor.
Pam stepped out of the shadows with a gun in her hand and stood over Melinda’s body. "These bitches got to learn to stop fuckin’ with somebody else’s man."
Pam had killed two women that night and as a result, the stress of that traumatic experience caused her to suffer a nervous breakdown. Over the last couple of years her health had improved, but Black feared that this latest event might push Pam over the edge once again.
"We gotta find Bobby," Black told Victor. He knew that Bobby loved his wife and would do anything to avoid her having to go through what she had to endure because of his relationship with Cat. "He’s on his way to this woman’s apartment to make sure she stops calling Pam. Only problem is, I have no idea where she lives."
"I think I might know," Victor said as he drove.
"Where?"
"I can’t be sure, but Sabrina said that she used to see Bobby’s car outside a building on Grant Avenue."
Black laughed a little. "What was Sabrina doin’ down there?"
"She was with Bo."
"Even better question: What was Bo doin’ down there?" Black asked. Then he looked at Victor. "I know this is none of my business, and far be it for me to tell you who to lay the pipe to, but all I’m sayin’ is be careful about fuckin’ around with Sabrina. Niggas do stupid shit over a man fuckin’ with his woman."
"I understand, Black," Victor said.
"You see how this shit is workin’ out for Bobby."
Black was absolutely right about Bobby. As soon as Bobby heard about Ivillisa calling Pam, he left and headed straight for her apartment.
When Bobby got there, he could hear Ivillisa screaming as he came down the hall.
"I won’t do it no more, I swear, Lex, please!"
Bobby banged on the door.
"Help me, please!" He heard Ivillisa yell.
Bobby took out his gun, kicked in the door and went inside the apartment. "Ivy!" he shouted.
"In the bedroom," Ivillisa yelled and tried to run away from Lex.
"Shut up!" Lex said and grabbed her by her hair. He began punching her in the face. When he let go of her hair, Ivillisa fell to the ground. Lex began kicking her just as Bobby appeared at the door. He looked at Ivillisa. Her once beautiful face was now a bloody mess. Her eye was swollen almost to the point of being shut. Her lip was busted and her clothes were torn.
Bobby ran up behind Lex and pulled him off her. Lex turned around and hit Bobby. Ivillisa got up and ran out of the room.