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since she’d known him. He’d always treated her like his main bitch, even before she ever officially was. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t even his idea to put Tasha on the ho stroll in the first place; it was her own. She was paper-driven at the time, and whoring was just another way to add to the hustle.
    Unlike the other girls, Tasha had been picky regarding who she would trick with. Not that the majority of the men were fine anyway, but there was a fine line between unattractive, plain ol’ ugly, and completely disgusting. So if one of her johns would show up looking like he could make her throw up, Tasha would pass on the money, and not once did Manolo ever reprimand her for it. But if any other bitch had tried that, he would have been upside her head quick, fast and in a hurry.
    Although Tasha had witnessed Manolo beat a couple of the girls senseless, he’d never laid a hand on her, except to embrace her or make love to her. Come to think of it, Manolo was the first man in Tasha’s life who hadn’t hurt her, and setting him up was how she was about to repay him.
    All of a sudden, the sound of the tires rolling off the paved highway lane and onto the berm startled Tasha out of her thoughts. “Oh, shit!” she said as she regained control of the car and positioned the vehicle back in its lane. Now she just needed to get control of herself because there was no turning back at this point.
    As Tasha continued driving, fond thoughts of Manolo were suppressed by visions of everything she had witnessed him doing to the other girls, especially Halleigh and Mimi. She recalled how Manolo had beaten Mimi almost unconscious one night at Wild Thangs, leaving her so bruised up that she couldn’t put in work for almost a month. Then she recalled the time Manolo beat Halleigh when she refused to give him head as he had ordered her to do. And she didn’t even want to think about the time he locked her down in the basement all those days.
    Tasha couldn’t help but shudder. How could she have stood by all of these years and turn a blind eye? Guilt began to consume her.
    Tasha realized that all the girls who had ever come through that house had taken one for the team by means of physical or mental abuse. Everyone but her. So, as she weighed her loyalty to Manolo against her sympathy for the girls, it was a no-brainer. She stepped on the gas and said, “Fuck you, Manolo. I’m out for self now.”

Chapter Four
    T ariq waited anxiously at Atlas Restaurant. Today was the day that he would become boss by default. He had spent the last few weeks mapping out his master plan, and now it was all about to go down. Tariq hadn’t been shy about bragging of his efforts, before they were even played out, to any member of his team that had been willing to listen. But he felt comfortable bringing only one of his workers into the actual scheme.
    Poppa, one of Tariq’s workers, would wait for them to arrive at a rest stop halfway between Detroit and Flint. That was the spot where Tariq decided to take out both Joe and Malek, and Poppa was going to be the triggerman. Tariq was counting on Joe bringing Malek along. He knew that Malek already had a thing against him, and if Joe turned up dead on a run he had set up, Tariq knew that it wouldn’t take long for Malek to put two and two together. Then a war would be on between the two of them. But by the same token, Tariq knew that Malek was like Joe’s little shadow, and more likely than not, he would be tagging along.
    The plan was one that couldn’t fail, let Tariq tell it. After Poppa took out Joe and Malek, Tariq was going to leave their bodies there to rot, and take off with not only the bricks of cocaine, but with his newfound boss status. It was cut and dried. The only thing for him to do now was to wait.
    After leaving the restaurant, Tariq sat out in the parking lot in his 2007 Suburban. That was the spot where he was supposed