"You sound like a fuckin’ fool. What’s it about, if it ain’t about the money?"

"It’s about honor and loyalty to the people you got history with. Not that mutha fucka Black. We don’t need them niggas. We did just fine without them all these years."

"Don’t make me regret keepin’ you around, Blue," Rain said and put her hand on her gun again.

"Keep me around?" He started walking toward the door. "Maybe when you get a little older you’ll realize that you can’t just use people and throw them away when you’re done with them."

"Whatever, nigga," Rain said. She was startled by a loud banging on her office door. She looked at the big screen and saw Mixson, one of her dealers, leaning against the door.

Rain pressed the button and Mixson fell in the office. Rain jumped up and Blue rushed to him. Blue pulled him in the office while Rain closed the door. Blue helped Mixson into a chair. Rain looked down and saw the trail of blood; then she noticed the cuts on his face and knew that she’d gotten hit again.

"What happened?" she asked.

"There were four of them; caught us by surprise."

"How’d you get away?" Rain wanted to know, since nobody had survived the other two robberies.

"I just started bustin’ shots and when the shit got too thick, I jumped out the window."

"So you don’t know what happened, do you?" Rain asked and picked up the phone. When she got no answer she dialed another number and got the same result. She turned back to Mixson. "I guess they’re all dead."

Blue looked at Rain. "So is he."

CHAPTER FOUR

Bobby Ray held up Rawls’ head and hit him again. He was tied to a chair and for the last hour, Bobby had been hitting him in his face, his chest, and his arms. No matter how much or how hard Bobby hit Rawls, he hadn’t said a word.