Free Girls from da Hood 11 by Nikki Turner

great, yet exhausting sex. Occasionally, the sharp pain she had felt previously would resurface causing a little discomfort, but nothing major to complain about. She was actually a freak for pain. When she went to the emergency room, they refused to see her because she had no medical insurance or New Jersey I.D. After going ham on them, she abandoned the idea of spending the day in a doctor’s office and put it off. She chalked it up as a sign not to delay what she had initially set out to do. The quality time felt good to her. It almost made her forget about the tough choices she had to make earlier that day. She nestled up under Mike B as he pushed play on the next episode of The Walking Dead . Just as the show was about to start, the sound of Kendrick Lamar echoed from below the bed. The sucking of Lenore’s teeth illuminated in Mike B’s ear.
    â€œCome on with that” babe. You already knew ahead of time I was going to have to leave back out.
    â€œI know,” she replied dryly.
    Mike B shook his head as he raised up and leaned over. He scooped up his jeans. When he pulled his phone out of the clip, he saw Jeff’s name plastered across it. He replied to the text and then flung the covers off of himself.
    â€œBabe, I gotta go.”
    He had already slipped his right leg into his jeans.
    Lenore stared at him with wide eyes. “Be careful.”
    â€œThanks, baby. But it’s them niggas that should’ve been careful,” he snarled.
    Lenore didn’t respond. She could see in his eyes, he meant business. It was times like this that made her realize who her man really was in the streets. She climbed out of bed and walked over toward him. She pressed her body up against his and looped her arms up under his.
    â€œJust be safe.”
    Mike B spun around. He loved the way she concerned herself about his well-being. He didn’t trust many, but she was on that small list.
    â€œI will.” He kissed her on the forehead and then wrapped his arms around her waist. “I promise,” he added, and then he was out the door.

Chapter Five
    Mike B cruised down West Fourth Street until he reached Plainfield Avenue. He waited for the red light to turn green, then made a right headed toward West Front Street. He felt invisible as he and Jeff cruised through the town like two Grim Reapers, in his black on black Range. Mike B leisurely blazed up a blunt as he cruised up the block.
    He glanced at his watch. It was just thirty minutes shy of being the evening. The sun would be going down soon and Mike B wondered if he would still be alive by then. At the rate he and Jeff were going, he knew it was a possibility that they could get caught slipping, but he wasn’t thinking straight, so he didn’t care.
    He stopped at the red light on Front and Madison, better known as the, Spanish Harlem, of Plainfield. Passing Jeff the blunt, he scanned the flow of bodies through the limo tint. Papis and Mamis dominated the hood, holding down their territory with fierce pride, controlling all of the drug traffic within a five block radius.
    Mike B watched as several Spanish men openly made drug transactions in front of McDonald’s and pushed up on nearly every attractive female that passed by. They laughed and joked as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
    â€œLook at these bean eatin’ muthafuckas!” Jeff cursed. “They think shit sweet.”
    He continued. “I been trying to tell you that nigga Juan was the nigga behind that shit!” he spat, referring to Twan’s death.
    Mike B shook his head. He was not as sure as Jeff was. He wasn’t even sure that anybody they ran down on had anything to do with Twan’s murder. The only reason he was riding on Juan and his squad was because of the information they came across about him pulling out a gun on his cousin in the Mickey D’s parking lot.
    It surprised Mike B that people were even outside, with all the