Gotta Pay The Cost To Ride With The Boss

By Shavekia Layfield

Hurricane Katrina changed young Cresette ‘Cree’ Leblanc’s life forever. She was raised by Mrs. Wilma, the baby sitter that her mother left her with thirteen years prior to the storm. Cree was Mrs. Wilma’s pride and joy, she couldn't have kids and thought of her as a gift from God.

When the storm hit, everyone was asked to evacuate. Cree was loaded on a bus without Mrs. Wilma but expected to catch up with her once they arrived to the new destination. To her devastation, Mrs. Wilma was not there. After being separated from the only family she ever knew and in a strange location she hooked up with Jerome Bishop.

Bishop was the ultimate King of the Streets. Everyone, from the men and women in the hood up to the President of the United States, knew and respected him. He was a business owner by day and a notorious drug dealer by night. He used his business as a front for his illegal operations.

Cree falls for Bishop instantly. He played the role as a mentor for some time but once she was done following her dreams, he vowed to make Cree all his. She was just the ambitious go-getter that he wanted for his team.

The economy had the streets shook. Money wasn’t the same, not to mention his rivals, twin brothers Marco and Keco, were hot on his ass to try and take him down to take over what he had built. Bishop solicits Cree to help him get back on the money train but his request could cost her everything from her job down to her freedom. Cree is all in, she feels like she owns Bishop her life and she has a hustle mentality that has developed over the years. But above all, she knows she has to pay the cost to ride with the Boss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Royalty Publishing House
• Release date: Jan 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781648405389

Book preview

Gotta Pay The Cost To Ride With A BossFull Page Image

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Get a FIRST Look!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Pre-Order Your Copy Now!

Read More on the LiT Reading App!

Join Our Mailing List!

© 2017

Published by Royalty Publishing House

www.royaltypublishinghouse.com

---

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

---

Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher.

This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 16+

Prologue

T he news says the storm that is coming our way is going to be bad. They are telling us to evacuate, Mrs. Wilma told Cree as she watched the weather news covering Hurricane Katrina. Mrs. Wilma was a nice lady. She had taken Cree in when she was just three-years-old. Her mother, Janet, dropped her off for Mrs. Wilma to watch her while she went for a job interview, and never returned.

Mrs. Wilma loved Cree. She always called Cree her little angel. Mrs. Wilma always wanted children but couldn’t physically have any. Her husband died during the September 11 th attack while he was on business at the Pentagon. All Mrs. Wilma had left was Cree. She didn’t have much but she gave Cree her last.

I see that. What are we going to do?

Well, honey, we only can do what we can. Gather what we can and we will head over to the stadium for shelter.

Cree followed Mrs. Wilma’s instructions. She went in her room and packed her bags. Cree was a beautiful girl. She was shy but very smart. She made good grades and excelled in every aspect of school. Her smile masked her internal darkness. Mrs. Wilma never sugarcoated things. At a young age, Cree knew that her mother was a drug addict and heavily strung out. She did not know who her father was and they weren’t sure if Janet knew either.

Cree was blessed to be born drug free. She had big dreams. She wanted to go in the military and go to school to be a Social Worker. She wanted to save the world. She knew what it felt like to be a motherless child and she wanted to comfort all others that felt the same. She was lucky to have Mrs. Wilma. Mrs. Wilma filled a voided space in Cree’s life, but she always kept a space in her heart for her mother.

You ready? Mrs. Wilma asked Cree.

I guess so. I got my bag and my necklace.

The necklace on her neck was worth several millions of dollars. The necklace was left in her diaper bag when Janet dropped her off. Mrs. Wilma wasn’t sure if Janet knew it was in the bag, but she kept it for Cree.

On her sixteenth birthday, Mrs. Wilma presented the necklace to Cree as a gift from her mother. Cree had never seen anything so beautiful. The necklace was made up of oval shaped diamond clustering around rubies in the center to give a floral look. Each stone was set in platinum and 18-carat white gold. Mrs. Wilma was sure that it was stolen, but still passed it down to Cree and Cree guarded it with her life.

Here, take this. Mrs. Wilma handed Cree an envelope. Inside was her birth certificate, social security card, shot records, pictures of them and several hundreds of dollars.

What is this for?

Just in case. Come on, let’s go.

In case what?

Mrs. Wilma didn’t answer Cree. The rain had already started to pour down. They hustled into the car and headed straight for the stadium. As expected, the place was packed. There were people everywhere. They were all huddled up trying to load the different buses and vans that were provided for them to help evacuate.

Cree tried to stay close to Mrs. Wilma but it was hard. The crowd was humongous and the people were pushing and shoving. Come on, baby, keep up.

I am trying, Cree said.

They reached the loading area and the panicking crowd was even worst. They were crying and screaming. Single mothers with their children were trying to keep them all together.

One more, we have a seat for one more person. Mrs. Wilma heard the driver call out.

Go on, Cree, and I will take the other van right behind this one. I want you to make it out safely, Mrs. Wilma told her. Keep up with that paperwork and I will see you when we get to our stop.

Okay. I have it in my bag. I love you, Mrs. Wilma. Cree kissed and hugged Mrs. Wilma, then loaded the bus.

Cree watched and saw Mrs. Wilma get on the van behind hers and she sat down and smiled with a sense of relief. She didn’t know where they were going and was excited to find out. Cree had fallen asleep shortly after the van had taken off. When she woke up, she didn’t know where she was or how long they had been riding. The van came to a stop as Cree stretched and yawned. She looked around and saw the other vans had arrived. Cree smiled; she was ready to get off the van and catch up with Mrs. Wilma.

She got off the van and looked around. Cree saw hundreds of people, but none of them were Mrs. Wilma. Excuse me, where are we? Cree asked one of the people that had a Red Cross t-shirt on.

Atlanta, Georgia, the lady answered.

Did everyone from Nawlins come to Atlanta?

No, they are all over Georgia and Alabama. Do you need help finding someone?

I am not sure. Cree walked away from the lady to look for Mrs. Wilma. She tried to hold back her tears because she didn’t want them to cloud her vision. It didn’t take her long to realize that Mrs. Wilma was not there.

For the first time, Cree was alone. She was in a different place and she didn’t have any family or friends. She looked around to see if there was anyone she knew, but she couldn’t find not one familiar face. Cree found a corner and sat down on top of her bag and stared off into space. She didn’t know what she was going to do or how she would survive.

You are way too beautiful to be over here alone and crying.

Cree looked up and saw the handsomest man she had ever seen in person. He looked like a celebrity. She was in Atlanta and superstars were all around. Are you a rapper? she asked.

He laughed at the caramel colored beauty. Even with her sitting, he could tell that she was tall and slender by her long toned legs. She appeared to be young, but like she worked out, because she had small muscles showing on her arm and legs. She had on a pair of milk white shorts, a cotton candy pink shirt, and earth toned brown sandals. Her hair was in box braids that were pulled into a bun. Her deep dark brown eyes were slightly slanted. She was a bit young for his taste, but he couldn’t help but find her attractive.

I do a lot of things, lil’ momma, but rapping is the one thing I don’t do. My name is Jerome Bishop, but everyone calls me just Bishop.

I am Cresette Leblanc, but everyone calls me Cree.

Hello, Ms. Cree. So you are from New Orleans? That storm is causing all kind of havoc in the city.

Yes, that’s how I got here. I was evacuating with my guardian, Mrs. Wilma, but we got separated and ended up on two different vans in two different areas, Cree explained.

Your guardian, as in not your mom?

Right, I haven’t seen my mom since I was 10 years old. That was six years ago.

Damn, you have had a hard life and you barely have hit puberty. Well, I am known as the Robin Hood of the South. I love to help my folks out. If you would let me, I would love to help you.

Cree thought about it. She knew all about southern hospitality and hoped that this is what this was, just a case of southern hospitality. She looked around and knew that there was nowhere for her to go but to a foster care agency or all girls group home. She didn’t want to go to neither place.

I am not going to hurt you. I would have had a sister your age, but she was killed about six weeks ago. Bishop told her. He sounded so sincere and Cree felt safe in his presence.

Cree agreed. She wasn’t sure that she was making the right the decision, but she did what she thought was best for her at the time. Okay, cool.

Bishop smiled and extended his hand to help her up. Cree was already in love with Bishop’s smile. His teeth were whiter than a pearl. His skin was black as night but smooth like butter. He wore gold and diamond jewelry that looked expensive to Cree. He was dressed in Ralph Lauren Polo from head to toe. Bishop’s dark skin made his canary yellow shirt pop. Cree felt expensive just by walking next to him.

When they got outside, Bishop told Cree to stand to the side. She watched as he talked to a few men who were dressed almost as nice and a few that were in baggy street gear. After Bishop walked away, the men began to unload several trucks of water and food. He really is a good guy, Cree told herself. She smiled at the men helping the displaced families.

What you guys are doing is really nice, Cree told Bishop when he returned to where she was standing.

Thank you. I do what I can for my people.

Cree nodded her head and Bishop led her to his car. She found it strange that he led her to the back seat and he followed suit. Then she realized that there was a driver in the front seat. Are you some type of celebrity? Like an actor?

Well, I guess that’s two things I don’t do. I don’t act nor rap. I am a businessman. I own everything from car dealerships to hair and nail salons. I am a hard working entrepreneur. I like to help people.

Me too. I want to be a solider in the military. I am torn between the Navy and Air Force. And I want to go to school to be a Social Worker. I want to help motherless and fatherless children like me.

That’s awesome too. I see a lot of me in you. You wouldn’t believe this, but I was born and raised in the projects. My mom and dad both sold and used drugs. I had to grow up really fast to keep food on the table for me and my sisters.

If it wasn’t for Mrs. Wilma, I would have been in the same boat. I have to find her.

Don’t worry, I am going to help you. I will find her and bring her to you.

Will you really? I would be so thankful.

Yes, Cree. I am a powerful man and I know a lot of powerful people. I will find her for you.

Cree smiled. She sat back and closed her eyes. Bishop wiped the tear that fell from Cree’s eyes. He could tell she was a good girl. In many ways, she reminded him of his sister. He missed Kesha so much and hated that she had to go the way she did. Bishop wasn’t going to rest until the ones responsible paid for her death.

They pulled up to Bishop’s spot, and Cree’s mouth dropped. She had a nice living, but nothing like this. "Wow, maybe