Tale of the Murda Mamas

When he finally saw Miamor emerge from the hotel alone, struggling, and barefoot, he grabbed his gun and jumped out of the car and ran toward her. His baggy khaki shorts, white T-shirt and red fitted cap represented the complete opposite of what Carter’s poised demeanor did, but the two men had one thing in common. They both loved Miamor.

“Miamor!” he yelled, grabbing her attention.

Miamor didn’t even look in his direction. She heard a man screaming her name and instantly thought of Mecca. She looked around for something to defend herself with, but she could barely scrape herself off of the ground. She frantically tried to hide, but there was nowhere to go. Traumatized and too tired to put up a fight, she screamed when Murder finally reached her. It wasn’t until he picked her up off the ground did she realize that she wasn’t in danger.

“It’s okay, ma. Murder’s back. I’m gonna handle that nigga and anybody associated with him,” he sneered. “Word to my mutha', ma. I’ma cook that beef personally!

Miamor thought that her eyes were deceiving her. “Murder?” she called out as she touched his face. “It’s me, shorty. I got you.”

Relief washed over Miamor and she gave into her body’s urge to rest. She closed her eyes, knowing that she was in the arms of family, and that nothing would happen to her while he was around. It had been five long years since she had felt that safe. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she had felt the secure connection with Murder. But now that she had seen his face again, she realized he was still so prevalent in her life. Even with Carter, there was the constant threat of danger, but with Murder, there were no secrets. No lies dwelled between them. There was only trust.

Murder took Miamor back to the motel room where Robyn and Aries were waiting. It was a far cry from the Four Seasons, but it was how he got down. Murder was not into the glamorous life. He wasn’t a flashy type a nigga. He was a ‘hood nigga and a goon who had established his track record in the ‘hood from the sandbox up. He didn’t need all the extras. He actually found the entire Cartel establishment to be a joke. Those clown-ass niggas on that Hollywood Godfather shit, he thought as he put Miamor down and stared at her. That Rico Suave-ass nigga don’t know how to keep a bitch like Miamor. Shorty a gangsta, not some high society broad.

“What happened to she?” Aries asked as she and Robyn rushed to Miamor’s side and observed their dear friend.

“That bitch-ass nigga, Mecca happened to her,” Robyn stated as she shook her head and wiped away a tear. She and Miamor hadn’t always seen eye to eye. They butted heads more than a little bit, but that’s what family does. Miamor was her sister. They had been through the fire together, and to see her so beat up enraged her.

“That nigga, Carter let the shit happen to her. Mecca’s his brother. He wanted to be her man, so he should have been her man and made sure she wasn’t touched, nah mean?” Murder said. “He gonna feel it too.”

Miamor heard the voices around her and slowly opened her eyes.

“How are you feeling, mama?” Robyn asked.

Miamor smiled slightly and shook her head from side to side. “I lost him!” she whispered.

Aries and Robyn looked at one another, and then back down to Miamor. They couldn’t understand her love for Young Carter, and they were past the point of trying. They were just glad that they had gotten their friend out while she was still alive. They knew that Miamor no longer had the malice it took to kill, so they would handle it for her.

She doesn’t even have to know, Robyn thought. Once Carter and Mecca are out of the picture, she will be able to move on with her life. She’ll be back to her old self in no time.

“Chu have us, Mia,” Aries stated. “That’s all chu need.”

“I’m so sorry for turning my back on y’all. You guys are all I have,” Miamor said.

Robyn knew that Miamor wasn’t herself, because she had never apologized for anything. The new, emotional woman in front of her was not the same girl she had met years ago. She wasn’t the same chick who had cut off a nigga’s dick for money, or the same one who had taught her to shoot a gun properly. Miamor had changed. She was vulnerable. Love has really made her ass go soft, Robyn thought.

“It’s okay, honey. We’re sisters. We’re always here for you. Me and Aries are going to let you get some rest, but there’s somebody else here for you,” Robyn said as she stood. She grabbed Aries’ hand and they exited the room.

Miamor turned her head and smiled when she saw Murder posted by the door, with one foot resting against the wall. He scanned her from head to toe. Neither of them said a word, but they stared intently at each other. They were both surveying the changes they saw in one another.

He finally walked over to Miamor and knelt beside the bed. He grabbed her hand and turned it over to see the tattoo on her wrist. “You still my lil’ mama, huh?” he asked as he kissed the tattoo. He knew what the phrase “Murder Mama” meant. It meant that she was his, and she knew it too.

“Always,” she replied as she touched his face, remembering the bond that they had once shared.

“I missed you, Miamor. I thought about you every day while I was on the island,” he said.

She wiped a lone tear away and gave him a half smile. She used to think about Murder all the time, before she met Carter. “I missed you too,” she responded.

Murder looked at her, and the anger inside of him was evident. It radiated off of him, and because she knew him so well, she was able to read him like a book. His presence was exactly as she remembered it. He was still strong and commanding as he had always been. Prison had done him good. He was solid and strong, his swagger still the same… low key and mysterious.

“I didn’t want this for you, Miamor. This wasn’t supposed to be your life,” Murder stated as he kissed her hand.

“This is all I’ve ever known. Every time I find someone that I love, I realize that fate is playing a sick game with me. I can never have someone to call my own. You belonged to Anisa. Carter belongs to The Cartel. I wanted you both, but neither of you were meant for me,” she said miserably, the sorrow of her broken heart affecting her words.

“I came to take you home,” Murder stated.

“Ha!” Miamor laughed obnoxiously as she shook her head. “Home? I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those. I’ve never been in one place long enough to consider it home. I’ve never felt safe enough to be ‘at home',” she said. “Where’s home for me, Murder?”

“With me,” he stated simply.

Miamor knew that because Anisa wasn’t around, things could be different between them. He loved her. He always had, but she wasn’t an eighteen-year-old girl anymore. She was a grown ass woman who had evolved. With her emotions for Carter all over the place, she didn’t know how she felt. When she had come to Miami, she had put Murder out of her mind, but it was obvious to her that he had never forgotten about her. He had come for her after five long years, just as he had promised he would. He never broke his word to her. He would give her the world if he could. Can I offer him the same loyalty in return? she asked herself.

“I don’t know if I can give you what you want from me right now, Murder. I’ve never lied to you, so I do not want to start now. My heart is with someone else,” she admitted sadly. It was something that she did not want to say, but something that he had to hear.

Murder winced and released her hand. He hated Carter for locking down Miamor’s heart. The look in her eye when she spoke of Carter was the same look that used to be reserved for him years ago. “That nigga almost cost you your life, Mia,” he reminded.

“He didn’t know what I was into…”

Murder heard her as she tried to defend him, but he interrupted. “Aw, ma, don’t give me that. The nigga knew what he was into! That’s all that matters. If he’s a boss, then he protects those around him, especially his bitch. You know the game, ma. I know you know, cuz I taught you. You should have murked him, Miamor. Quick, and without a second thought, because that was the job you were paid to do. That was what you signed up for when you picked up that phone years ago. You’re my lil’ mama. You’re Murder’s mama baby, girl. You know what it is between me and you. That’s why you got my name tatted on you.”

Miamor turned up her lips and rolled her eyes as she sneered at him in denial. “We all got the same tattoo,”