around.”
At that moment, Skye went crazy. She leaped over and grabbed a wad of Asia’s hair, then slung her onto the floor, diving on top of her body. Seconds later, she started throwing several jabs, with each one landing on Asia’s face. The people standing near the elevator ran over and stood there staring at them like it was a scene from
“I trusted you bitch!” Skye screamed as she continued to throw several punches.
“Skye, please stop! She has a small child!” Toni pleaded.
People in the lobby stood around watching and pointing as Skye put an old fashion beat down on Asia. A few seconds later, two security officers finally came over and pulled the two women apart. One of the officers helped Asia up off the floor while the other security guard stood in front of Skye.
“Miss, we aren’t tolerating this. We’ve already radioed in for the police,” one of the security officers said to Skye.
Toni stopped him. “No, that won’t be necessary. She was just about to leave.”
The security guard looked at Toni. “We can’t have this type of violence in this building, Ms. Vaughn,” he said.
Asia went wild when she saw blood on her clothes and strands of long, natural hair on the floor. At no time did she even bother to go check on her screaming baby, who was now being attended to by one of the bystanders. The stroller had been pushed several feet away during the fight. All Asia did was hold her eye which was swelling shut. Skye on the other hand came out of the scuffle with only a few scratches.
At that moment Cruze walked up. “Yo’, what’s going on?’ he asked running over and grabbing Skye from the security officer’s hold. “What happened, baby?”
“Asia was fucking Sandino and that’s his so-called baby, that’s what’s going on!” Skye yelled pointing in the direction of the stroller.
Cruze turned and looked at Asia. He hadn’t even recognized her.
“I want that woman arrested for assault!” Asia yelled to the security officer.
Skye lost it. “Sue me bitch, or better yet just take it out of the money you stole from me and my kids. You or that lil’ bastard baby will never get a dime of Sandino’s money as long as I’m in charge!”
Cruze wondered what Skye meant by that comment as he grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go. She’s not worth it,” he said, escorting Skye out the front door.
Once Skye was outside, she paced back and forth like a mad women while Cruze searched for a cab.
“That fucking bastard!” Skye’s breathing had become so heavy. “Out of all the woman he cheated on me with, he had to get that bitch pregnant. I should’ve seen the fucking signs. The way both of them claimed they hated each other so bad. All that shit was a front. That’s okay though, I got something for both of those muthafuckas!” she belted.
Cruze shook his head in disbelief as he stood silent. His premonition about Skye not being ready to come back to Miami and the trip becoming a disaster had been confirmed. “Skye, don’t beat yourself over it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
Skye pushed him away. “I’m ready to go home,” she replied, walking a few feet away from him.
When Cruze noticed a cab coming he whistled and signed for it to pull up in his direction. He yelled over at Skye and told her to come on. Once inside, he told the driver to take them to their hotel near Bayside.
“I don’t feel like staying here, let’s go to the airport. We might be able to switch our tickets and get a flight tonight,” Skye demanded.
“Why are you letting that bitch upset you like this? You knew from day one Asia wasn’t shit. Hell, it might not even be Sandino’s baby knowing her. You know the bitch is a liar.”
Skye didn’t say anything for a minute. “So, did you know Sandino was fucking Asia?’ she asked with an attitude.
Cruze looked her. “If I did would it make a difference?”
“You’re avoiding the question so that must mean you knew. Did you fuck her, too?”
He felt himself getting angry. “Skye, no I’ve never fucked Asia. I could have if I wanted to, but she wasn’t my style. I knew that bitch was poison the very first time I met her.”
“Well, I wish you would’ve told me. Maybe you could’ve saved me a headache. I hate that no good bitch.”
Suddenly Cruze looked down at Skye’s purse on the seat and saw the divorce papers still inside, which instantly made him infuriated. “So, are you even gonna tell me what the meeting was about? I see you still have the papers.”
Skye was nervous to tell Cruze the truth at the moment, so she decided to become defensive in order to take some of the focus off of the truth. She just hoped he would continue to stand by her side no matter what. She paused before speaking,
“Why are you pressuring me? Can I at least have some time to gather my damn thoughts?” she shot back at him.
Cruze didn’t respond, he knew Skye had gone through a lot in one day so an argument between them might’ve just sent her over the edge. Skye was unsure on what to do. Part of her definitely wanted to be in charge of Sandino’s money while the other part of her didn’t want that life again. Even though she’d already walked away from everything and vowed to never look back, the thought was tempting.
Feeling a headache coming on, Skye rubbed her temples for a few minutes then reached in her purse and took one of her pills. As Cruze looked at her and shook his head, Skye laid her head back on the seat. She desperately wished she could find Ms. Petra. A person who she could always confide in and someone she truly trusted. Skye didn’t like keeping secrets from Cruze, but needed a little time to let the ultimatum soak in her mind.
Meanwhile, Cruze looked out of the window wondering if Skye had a good reason for not giving the lawyer the divorce papers as she promised. As soon as she calmed down, he planned to get to the bottom of it. He didn’t like the idea that she was keeping something from him. But then again, he was doing the same thing. He prayed Skye wouldn’t leave him if she found out he was back in the streets.
The rest of the cab ride was silent.
CHAPTER 4
Asia drove down the street furious after leaving the meeting with the Sandino’s lawyer.
After all the commotion had calmed down and they got upstairs in her office, Asia immediately started asking personal questions about Sandino’s money. Toni became irritated and told Asia that she couldn’t talk about her client’s finances just as she’d informed her numerous times over the phone. Toni went on to say that the only reason she’d agreed to meet with Asia was because she was tired of the constant calls to her office. She then told Asia that things were getting complicated and from that point on, she only wanted to talk to Asia’s lawyer. When Asia told her she didn’t have a lawyer, Toni suggested that she get one, then ended the meeting. Asia wondered if Skye had something to do with Toni not wanting to give her any information.
“Those bitches are probably in cahoots trying to keep me from getting any of Sandino’s money,” she said to herself. “And why the fuck is it taking so long for Sandino to take that DNA test!”
Asia didn’t know what was going on, but she was in desperate need of some money… bad. In fact, that’s the only reason she’d kept the baby in the first place. A child by Sandino meant a nice payday.
“That bitch Skye better not try to interfere with my loot. She’s just upset that I fucked her husband and got the golden ticket in my back seat,” Asia said, glancing over her shoulder at her one month old son’s car seat. A son she’d named Sandino Lamar Washington Jr.
Either way, Asia knew she’d out smarted Skye once before and could do it again if she had to, especially since the matter involved money. She was the queen of conning and stealing, it was the only way she knew how to survive.
When she turned onto 21st Street, two blocks from Collins Avenue, Asia looked around at the scenery. It was always so lively in the South Beach neighborhood. This was her favorite spot to be in Miami because the area
