Thirsty 2 by Mike Sanders, Nuance Art Page B

to the burial site and for a moment Justice was still mad at Carlos for everything, but then she decided that maybe Carlos wasn’t so bad . . . for now. Sapphire took her seat at the head of her mother’s casket and Justice and Carlos sat next to her like a grieving couple.
    This is wrong , Justice thought, Carlos should be sitting next to Sapphire consoling her, not trying to console me. Justice had put aside her own grieving for Ms. Evans to be there for her friend and she realized it was a nice gesture that someone had thought of her feelings.
    The burial service was fast and short with the pastor reminding everyone that death was a necessary part of life and that they all would pass through that tunnel someday. Justice didn’t want to think about her mortality, so she turned her thoughts to home and her business. She briefly wondered what was going on at Phire & Ice.
    As Justice rose up to get her flower, she spotted a silver Jaguar creeping along the street. A light-skinned chick that greatly resembled an enemy was behind the wheel. “Can’t be,” Justice mumbled to herself.
    “What was that?” Carlos inquired, as he looked in the direction that Justice’s eyes were focused on.
    “Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw a dead bitch driving.”
    The venom in her voice did not go unnoticed by Carlos. Justice stared as the car made an abrupt stop, then eventually crept off in the direction it was going in.
    Justice and Sapphire watched the rest of the service continue, complete with the casket being lowered into the ground. Other mourners patted her and Justice on the back as they watched the dirt being thrown on the casket. “You ready to leave?” Carlos asked them.
    “No,” Sapphire said as she looked up. “I’mma stay until they throw the last speck of dirt on her grave.”
    Carlos walked away and Warren turned to walk off. Preme had already limped ahead. Justice watched Carlos and his goons walk away. She looked back in the direction where she thought she saw Tan’s car and realized that she might be extending her stay in Charlotte.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Tan and To’Wanda rode down Statesville Avenue after picking up some money from one of Tan’s workers. She had a little over an hour to make it to the bank so she could deposit the money along with the receipts from the construction company so the money could be “washed and dried” over the next few days.
    Her phone rang and she recognized the theme song from Looney Toons that she had assigned to Loon for his ringtone. To’Wanda busted out laughing. “You know you wrong.”
    “It’s how I feel, baby.” Tan paused to pick up the phone. She put Loon on speaker so To’Wanda could hold the phone while she talked and drove. “Speak.”
    “I know who did that shit at the hotel . . . and I’mma handle it,” Loon boasted over the loud noise that sounded like a live band in the background. Tan and To’Wanda looked at one another and shook their heads.
    “Where are you at?” Tan asked.
     “Huh?”
    “Where you at?” Tan repeated herself.
    “I’m at the strip club gettin’ some lunch,” Loon shouted over the music, while watching the girl on stage make it clap.
    “Why you call me and you can’t hear? Hit me back when you leave.”
     “Aiight, ‘cause you gonna wanna hear this.”
    To’Wanda gave Loon the tone and she handed Tan the phone as she put it back in her purse. “Dumb motherfucker’s gonna make me kill his ass sooner than I anticipated,” Tan spat as she struggled to see out of the window. Even with the windshield wipers on high speed, it still looked as though they had gone through a laser car wash instead of driving through a busy street. Everyone was driving at a slow pace and To’Wanda hadn’t even wanted to come out of the house, but she compromised because Tan hadn’t said anything when she went back to Marques alone for some more dick.
    “Aye, you think this is the church where they were having the funeral for that