Free Checkmate: The Baddest Chick by Nisa Santiago Page B

and started the ignition. “I’m going to get you to a hospital. Just hold on, Andrea. Hold on,” Eduardo shouted.
    Eduardo was fuming. He began wondering how his place was easily penetrated. What the fuck happened? he thought. He raced out of the alleyway and headed for the nearest hospital.
    Eduardo halted the SUV in front of Christ Hospital. He jumped out and ran toward the emergency room screaming out, “My friend’s been shot!”
    The staff immediately came rushing out pushing a gurney toward the truck. They speedily removed Eduardo’s bodyguard from the backseat and placed him onto the gurney and rushed him inside.
    Eduardo didn’t follow. He stood outside the hospital with a scowl on his face. He was upset. His mind was spinning with revenge. He wouldn’t rest until he found out who was responsible for the invasion.
    One emergency staff member lingered behind and wanted to ask Eduardo some questions. But Eduardo didn’t have time to answer silly questions about his business. He pulled out wads of hundred-dollar bills and subtly gave the man five thousand dollars in cash.
    The man was shocked. “Sir, I don’t understand.”
    “My business is hush. You just make sure he doesn’t die in your hospital,” Eduardo explained to him coolly.
    The man was still shocked. He gripped the cash in his hand with a bewildered look. “I’m not a doctor.”
    “Find him and make sure he lives!” Eduardo said and then walked away.
    He got back into the truck and sped away. When he was a good distance from the hospital, it finally came to him. Eduardo uttered, “That fuckin’ bitch!”
    Eduardo was parked by the waters overlooking downtown Manhattan and puffing on a cigar. His operation in Jersey City had been breached, and he wasn’t too happy about it. He pulled out his cell phone and decided to make an urgent call.
    On the other end, Kola picked up. “Hey,” she answered excitedly. “What’s this about, Eduardo? You miss me?”
    “You’re a dead bitch!” he spat and then hung up abruptly, leaving Kola stunned.

CHAPTER 7
    C hico was to meet up with Two-Face’s connection in a small, remote town a few miles outside of Austin, Texas. It was a tiring trip for Chico and Two-Face, first by flight and then by car. Two-Face peoples didn’t feel comfortable traveling to New York, so they had requested that Chico meet with them in Texas, someplace near Mexico, where they had the advantage. Chico reluctantly agreed.
    His beef with Cross and Edge was becoming costly, and being with a woman like Blythe cost money. So Chico was ready to take risks to solidify his presence in the streets, and conquer the domains of Harlem with pure force and power. Two-Face was his gateway to having that strong connection. The young killer turned out to be a better investment than Chico thought, in more ways than one.
    Chico and Two-Face had landed in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport early that afternoon, and then the two rented a car and drove about eighty miles south-east into Bandera, population a little over 1,500; a boring, isolated white Christian town, where two individuals like Chico and Two-Face would stand out.
    Chico wasn’t worried about being seen or judged. He wanted to be in and out of Texas as quickly as possible. But he felt vulnerable. He’d hardly known Two-Face a few months, though the young Mexican teen had boosted Chico’s fierce reputation in Harlem.
    Chico drove around in the rented white Chevy Malibu. It was inconspicuous for him and cheap. He drove down Main Street, where he and Two-Face seemed to be the center of attention. They were new faces in town, and the locals quickly turned to get a look at the two minorities slowly creeping into their town.
    Chico pulled up to a Silver Dollar on the dusty Main Street, where some of the stone buildings and old saloon-looking businesses recalled the set of a Western movie. Chico noticed the several dusty old pickup trucks that lined the streets, and the residents