La Familia 2 Read Free Page B

sat by the window in the kitchen of my project apartment gazing out at the ghetto once again. I was back in Edenwald, the place I grew up in, and I didn’t like it. I missed the place I had in Co-op City when I was selling drugs for Rico. It was bigger, more comfortable, and a lot more lavish, but staying there came with a cost. I was fortunate that the feds didn’t come for me too like they did for Rico’s entire crew. I managed to stay under the radar and stay free. It was a blessing.
    But then I still felt cursed. I was alone and basically living on ends. My life had changed dramatically. Never in a million years would I think I would become a single mother struggling to survive and barely paying rent. The icing on the cake was being blackmailed by Rico. He had this murder lingering over my head, threatening my freedom if I didn’t comply with any of his demands. I was sick of him, but I had to put up with him; he was my son’s father, and regardless of him serving a twenty-five-year sentence upstate, he still managed to have control over my life.
    I would frequently visit Rico, like I had a choice, taking Danny on the six-hour trip by bus to see his father in Attica prison, and you would think Rico would be appreciative of it, seeing his son, but he wasn’t. He barely held his son in his arms or played with him as we sat in the crowded visiting room being heavily watched by a half dozen correction officers. He said he cherished the boy, loved him, but I couldn’t tell.
    I had to admit, Rico did look good clad in his prison-issued gray jumpsuit and bald head glistening like a diamond. He seemed to be taking really good care of himself and was bulking up by weightlifting. But looks could be deceiving. Prison didn’t age or change him at all. He still had that powerful image. But he was still on that bullshit, wanting to be controlling and a perpetual asshole in my life.
    He glared at me and had the audacity to ask, “Who you fuckin’ out there?”
    I scowled. “What?”
    â€œSammy, you fuckin’ heard me. I don’t repeat myself,” he uttered.
    I was only coming to visit him with his son because he had this murder over my head, and if it weren’t for that, I would have been ghost a long time ago. Fuck Rico! I hated him so much that I wanted to kill him at that moment. He had the nerve to grill me about my life, who I was fuckin’, and how I did me. No matter what, he was always going to be a jerk.
    But he scared me, now more that he was locked up than when he was on the streets. He was a sneaky nigga. It was also brought to my attention that he still had a handful of killers on the streets. I know he did. He made it known that I was being watched like a hawk. Why though? The man had twenty-five years to serve, so was I not allowed to move on with my life? He had the best of both worlds, some of the sweetest pussy from Mouse and me, two of the project’s baddest bitches, and we both gave him some beautiful babies.
    â€œYou gonna always be mine, Sammy, you know that right?” he said. “You ain’t going anywhere. Fuck that.”
    He looked at me with his cold eyes, apathy in his heart, and didn’t even blink. The statement of always being his had me about to throw up. I was never his in the first place. It was a fling, a damn mistake.
    I had no reply to his chilling comment. I just sat there like a damn fool. Danny was in my arms chilling; he was quiet and being a good baby by not fussing or crying. It was Rico who seemed to be throwing the temper tantrum. I felt trapped by Rico’s words. He reached across the table to take my hand into his. I hesitated. I didn’t want him touching me. I wanted to leave, but I had an hour visit with him and there was no way he was going to let me cut it short. I was there with his son, but he cared not to hold him for too long. His only concern was my business.
    â€œWhat do you want from me,