Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife: A Novel by Nikki Turner Read Free Book Online

Shit” to come from one.
    The shots rang out so fast, the thug was stunned for a brief moment. He’d frozen in mid-step, but only for a second. Once he saw the shot was fired into the ground and not him, he regrouped, sizing her up as Yarni met his eyes. She saw a smirk on his face as if this was all some big joke. But this wasn’t a game that Yarni was playing. This was her life and she planned to live it past the twenty years she’d already experienced on Earth.
    “Bug, come on,” the driver of the van hollered. “Let it go, Bug. Let’s bounce.” But Bug ignored him.
    “Fuck dat,” the young thug stated. “I got this. Shit is bubblegum! I ain’t never in my life been shook up by no bitch, with or without a gun.” He and Yarni were having a Mexican standoff with their eyes.
    This was the first time that Yarni had ever fired a gun. When her uncle gave it to her he said to never pull it out unless you are going to use it. And if she waited too long after pulling it, she may lose her opportunity. Bug, inching closer, looked to be bold enough to try to take the gun away from her, which wasn’t an option for her, not at this moment or in this situation. Nerves caused her head to spin and hand to shake a little. But that didn’t stop her from doing what she had to do.
    The next shot Yarni fired was another warning shot into the ground. She hoped it would persuade him to put some pep in his step in the opposite direction from where she was going. Instead of scaring him off, it did the exact opposite, increasing his confidence. He equated the wasted bullet in the ground with weakness, not strength, and moved in on her.
    “You mine, bitch,” he said through gritted teeth, letting go of the baggy pants he’d had a death grip on in order to charge at Yarni. “Bitches should never play with grown men.” He yelled when he lurched toward her.
    Wrong move. Yarni squeezed off another shot. This time the bullet slammed into Bug’s leg. Finally realizing he’d messed with the wrong one, the wounded young thug tried to turn and run from the trouble he had started. He was too slow, though. He caught another one slam dab in his rear end. “Shit!” he cried out. His ass was on fire. “Crazy bitch!” He tried to make his way back to the van. Whatever had been on his mind was now on his ass, as he hobbled in pain.
    Still afraid that his friends may get out of the van and come to their comrade’s rescue with machine guns or something, Yarni made out like one of Charlie’s Angels and quickly pointed her weapon at the vehicle. She was feeling scared and invincible at the same time. “Hey, you motherfuckers! It ain’t like you thought it would be, is it? Now get the fuck on.” She simultaneously let a couple more shots off on in the direction of the van as she screamed at them. It was becoming easier by the second to pull the trigger on these fools.
    Pedal to the metal, the driver of the van mashed out. He skidded off, burning up rubber trying to get the hell out of Dodge, leaving Bug to fend for himself.
    “Fuck you going?” Bug screamed in frustration and disgust. To make matters worse, his pants, as baggy as they were, dropped to the ground. He hopped off after the van with his jeans around his ankles, watching the taillights of the getaway car signaling to turn. He was hoping they would wait on him around the corner. With his naked rear end exposed, he watched the taillights vanish and realized he was assed out in more ways than one.

Back to Reality … in the Courtroom
     
    “Counselor Pitman-Taylor, are you the attorney for this case?” Judge Fairchild repeated.
    The sound of the judge’s voice instantly brought Yarni’s thoughts back to the courtroom. “Yes, Your Honor, I’ll be representing Ms. Londers.” For the moment, Yarni put aside the memory of the past situation and the man, Bug, sitting in the back of the courtroom. The man who would have done only God knows what if she hadn’t pulled the