Page 35 of Sugar and Skulls

Only after I pull out of the court do I breathe again. How the fuck is this going to work? Every interaction with him drains me. The faster I pull my plan together the sooner I’ll be done with him.

A billboard of a voluptuous seventy’s era stripper winks at me in approval as I drive into the broken-up parking lot to the abandoned strip club. Tate my main seller walks up to my window. “Nice,” he says as he drags a finger through the dust along the side of Sylvia.

“Yeah, the others inside?” I ask.

“Yep.” He eyes the bag in the seat next to me. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well, I need to sell this shit for the Devils. Don’t ask me why, I won’t tell you. Just know I need to sell it and I want it done outside of Trap.”

His eyes wander over my face and they soften as he takes in my battered face. “Sugar, I told you those guys shouldn’t be messed with,” he says quietly.

I bang my palm on the steering wheel. “I know. I know what you told me, Tate, but I got to get rid of it. Can we cut it with something better, bring the grade up and push it in Reno?”

“How long are we going to be doing this?”

“Just a few times. Until I…well until I can get rid of him.”

His eyes go wide, and he hops away from the rod as if it burned him. He grips his hair, turning in a circle. “Jesse…”

“I told you not to call me that when we are doing business.”

“This isn’t about business. You’re going to get yourself killed, Jess.”

Tate and I have become friends. I guess you could say he replaced William after he and Penny hooked up. I trust him. He watches my back, knowing the drug world is not where my strengths lie.

Tate is tall, lanky, maybe mid-twenties, with a boyish face and charm. His hair flops over his brown eyes which he is always flipping out of the way. He started selling drugs to help his mom. She has cancer and her disability checks barely cover her rent and groceries leaving nothing for anything else.

“I’ll double your money for the risk of getting it from point A to B. Please, Tate?”

“I’m not worried about me. You can’t just get rid of Jimmy. Even if you succeed there will be retribution. From the looks of you, you’ve already experienced some of that.” He squats down and rests his arms on my windowsill.

My head rests against the back of the seat. “I know, I fucked up. But, I have to try. He will never leave me alone if I don’t.”

“Yeah, you know I can handle it. Just, don’t go getting yourself killed.” He flops his hair and lays his head on his arms. “Maybe, I can be the go between. That way you won’t have to be alone with him.”

“No. I’m already asking too much. I’ll be fine, promise.”

Tate gives me a big smile and opens the door for me. “Okay, Sugar, you’re the boss.”

I hand Tate the bag and he locks it in his truck as I head inside.

Good news is the market for dope is never ending.

Bad news is I hate it. I hate it all.

Chapter Fifteen

Jesse

???

All six of my runners had already heard the rumors that I would be selling for Jimmy. Good news travels fast. I assured them nothing has changed. I didn’t lie. Sometimes honesty is the best policy. Once they heard what happened, the first time I’ve told anyone, they all vow to have my back. Tate is going to handle the sale of their shit and the rest of the guys will handle things in Trap. Not much will change.

Donny approaches me as everyone else heads out. He hands me a wad of cash that will go back to the residents of Trap as I see fit. “Hey, this is shitty timing after what you just told us about you and Jimmy but….” he hands me a polaroid.

I stare at the photo, blood pumps in my ears and my hands begin to tremble. My mind races back to a time when I was young, when I was the girl in the photo.

“I…I figured you might know who she is and make this right. One of our new customers dropped this as he was pulling his cash out.”

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