Tampa Black: Part ! Read Free Page A

both respected and feared in the streets of Tampa for a reason, and now they were ready to turn the heat up another notch.
    Slowly Trion lit a Black & Mild while deeply in thought remembering the words on this type of matter that his mentor had given him. Jago once told him,
                  “Youth power is only an illusion; any mon can be overcome. Even a pawn can capture a king, all you need is patience and de right strategy …”
    Slipping out of his trance, Trion responded to his cousins’ inquiry,
    “emotions aint got no room in war dawg. When we push these pawns, every move has to count. Fuck just capturing the king, I want to crumble his whole court.”           
    With that said, they were now on their way to the family house in Ponce de Leon to meet up with the rest of the family.
    Pulling up to the house, it looked like everybody from the surrounding projects had shown up to pay their respects to the family. Exhausted and hungry from the pressure that the day had brought, Carlos and Smoke went inside to raid their grandma’s pots. Trion on the other hand, reclined his seat and closed his eyes to clear his mind; not at all anxious to meet ghetto paparazzi standing in the front yard.
    Moments later, hearing a gentle knock on his driver’s side window, Trion opened his eyes to see a beautiful face that he hadn’t seen since he was a kid and his heart dropped. Casually checking himself so he wouldn’t seem thirsty, he opened his eyes lazily raising his eyebrows to show his surprise. Coolly stepping out of his car into the open arms and warm smile of his ride or die chick, Trion embraced Tasha.
    Tasha was a sexy Trina looking chick with the attitude to match, except when it came to Trion. She was a thick chocolate specimen that stood at about five foot five, and every inch of her demanded attention. As she squeezed him hard enough to drain the life out of him, Trion couldn’t help but to think back to when they were kids…
    Tasha and her junkie mother Cynthia lived next door to him when she was about eight. Trion was about two years older than her, but that didn’t stop her from having a crush on him. When her mother failed to come home and feed her, he made sure she ate, and made sure she didn’t want for anything. One day Defax came and took Tasha away. As it turned out, Cynthia had been trading Tasha’s young body for payments to get high, the thought alone still troubled Trion’s spirit.
    `Stepping back, all he could do was smile and shake his head. Tasha had turned out to be every bit as sexy as he thought she would be. Unable to hide her smile, Tasha beamed as he spoke.
                  “Damn Tata, I see time has been good to you huh lil momma?”
    Appreciating the compliment, she gave him one of her own,
    “Boy you’re crazy. I see you haven’t done too bad yourself ...”
    After sharing a laugh, she noticed a cloud come over his eyes, and instantly she knew something was wrong.           
    “What’s on your mind Trion? And don’t lie, because I see it all over your face.”
    Trion thought about lying anyway, but he knew that she wouldn’t let it go so he told the truth.
    “You know that Jamaican nigga Zion?”
    Tasha nodded
    “Yes.”
    “Well I know that nigga is the one that put the hit on my mom. She saw the dreads that killed that boy in the projects the other night. Tasha when I find that nigga, he gone die, and I’m gone dismember his whole team.”
    Understanding his pain, and the road that lies ahead, Tasha spoke slowly.
    “If you want to do this I can help. Sometimes I highlight at a strip club in St. Petersburg. I’ve seen him a few times in the V.I.P, he always gives me personal invitations and tips big when I get there. From what I’ve heard, he has a big condo on the harbor. I can help you find it…”
    Knowing the danger, Trion started to decline the offer, but he could see in her eyes that it was a done deal,
    “okay