Boss Divas by De'nesha Diamond Page A

family’s dark secret—that he and Python are brothers. His mother spilled the beans. How and why he kept something like that from me for all these years, I don’t know.
    â€œNo. I didn’t know that.”
    â€œYeah. Profit and I sniffed him out after his wedding, if you can believe it. He married that crazy bitch, LeShelle. We drove by to pay our respects, replaced the confetti with bullets.”
    â€œLet me guess. He survived that shit, too?”
    â€œWhat can I say? You two have a lot in common.”
    He stares at me.
    â€œYou both have nine lives,” I answer, intending the double meaning.
    â€œHumph. So the war continues,” he grumbles under his breath. “I’ll catch up with that muthafucka sooner or later.”
    I nod, but get nowhere trying to read him. Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords were beefing long before there were eight-tracks. I’ve always thought, Mason’s main drive to defeat the GD’s head nigga was about the shoot-out that cost him an eye, but now I’m wondering if it has more to do with Python killing Melanie. Not because she was Cousin Skeets’s daughter, but because he was in love with her.
    My heart drops into the pit of my stomach. After all, he didn’t crawl into my bed until after she was out of the picture. “Well,” I break in to change the subject. “I think the first person we need to talk to is Profit. He isn’t too happy with me nowadays and he ain’t shy about lettin’ my ass know it.”
    A goofy smile breaks out across Mason’s face. “Is that right? Lil man missed his big bro?”
    â€œFuck yeah. He was tore up over the shit. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees you.”
    He sits up. “I can’t wait to see his ass either. Maybe we should do that shit first thing. Call him over for breakfast.”
    â€œ If he takes my call.”
    Mason frowns. “It’s that serious? What went down?”
    My cell phone goes off again. “Fuck.”
    â€œAnswer it.” He slaps my butt. “Clearly, whoever it is is going to keep calling until you pick it up.”
    Annoyed, I stretched over and grab the phone. “Yeah. What is it?”
    â€œHE’S DEAD. HE’S DEAD. HE’S DEAD!”
    I almost didn’t recognize my momma’s wailing. “Momma, calm down.”
    â€œHE’S DEAD. HE’S DEAD. HE’S DEAD.”
    â€œI know, Momma. I know.” I climb off of Mason and swing my legs over the bed. “But Bishop wouldn’t want you to be crying like this,” I say soothingly, though I have no idea if that shit is true or not.
    â€œNo. Not Bishop. It’s Melvin . He’s dead. It’s all over the news,” she screeches.
    â€œWhat?” Did I hear her right? “Cousin Skeet?”
    â€œOH, GOD. WHHHHYYYYY?”
    â€œHoly shit!” I bounce out of bed and hit the television from across the room.
    â€œWhassup?” Mason asks.
    â€œ. . . the police are stumped as to why this escaped mental patient, Alice Carver, murdered the city’s twenty-year police captain and his wife in their home. Authorities have offered little information about the case, but stated that they are currently interviewing two women who were kidnapped by the same woman: Barbara Lewis and Maybelline Carver—an older sister of the alleged killer . . .”
    â€œBarbara Lewis,” Mason responds, catching his mother’s name. “What the fuck? Has the whole damn world gone crazy since I’ve been gone?”

13
    Momma Peaches
    â€œM aybelline, can you wake up for me?” a man’s voice floats somewhere above me. I wish that he would go away. This sleep is feeling too good. In fact, I wouldn’t mind lying here forever. “Maybelline?” he persists—to the point that I don’t think that he’s ever going away. “Maybelline?”
    â€œWhaaaat?” My small grunt