Taboo 2:. Yoshe

to give her man some pussy back then. Shoot, I still want to give him some.”

      “You’re a whore, Asia!” India yelled out from the living room.

      Asia laughed. “Call me what you wanna call me. But he wasn’t tryin’ to mess with me. He was all into Tamir. If he would have been with the program, man, I think Tamir would have had some problems!” She looked up in the air, like she was talking to her deceased friend in heaven. “Sorry, Tamir, girl!” Both of them laughed.

      Asia continued as she walked into her bedroom, “But, oh, well. Since I can’t have Rasheed, I just settled for a few correction officers, who just happen to be payin’ like they weigh. Let them other females give up the puss for free. I’m not doin’ it,” she said with an attitude.

      “Is that what you’re doin’, you little trollop? You’re sellin’ coochie to those clowns? They are so corny and I can’t stand any of them. I don’t even want their money. They can keep it. Those guys on the job act like they’re so special. You would think that they’re some A-list celebrities or somethin’. I guess they feel like that because they are layin’ up with a couple of them desperate correction hoes. I just don’t have time for any of their shit,” India replied.

      Asia laughed. “Well, you can go ahead and keep comin’ home with that probationary new jack paycheck of yours. I think I done made top pay just from fuckin’ with a few of them CO niggas. I can keep my own paycheck right in my checking account!”

      India looked at her sister and smiled. “Do your thing, sweet pea. You know what Mama always said: ‘Men ain’t good for nothin’ but fuckin’ and that money.’ It sounds like you got a good hustle goin’ on.”

      “I do,” Asia agreed. “So what’s up with this Sierra chick? You gonna get at her or what?”

      “Hell, yeah!” India replied. “Sierra is the reason that Tamir is dead now. If she wouldn’t have started messin’ with Rasheed, Tamir probably would have still been alive today. Who knows? Tamir and Rasheed probably would have even gotten back together. Sierra’s ass is gonna get her payback but I’m gonna do it the smart way. There don’t have to be no fightin’ involved—no violence. I might just even befriend the stinkin’ bitch.”

      Asia came out of the bedroom with giant rollers in her hair. “Why don’t you just fuck with her man? Give her a taste of her own medicine so she can see how it feels. Didn’t you say that her man is an assistant deputy warden in your jail?” she asked.

      “Yes, he is, and I like that idea,” India responded. She pulled her long hair up and pinned it on top of her head. “I have to meet him first and gain his trust. I don’t know how I’m goin’ to do that though.” India looked at her twin suspiciously. “So while I’m tryin’ to get up with Sierra’s man, what are you goin’ to be doin’, Miss Hot Pants?”

      “I’m gonna be workin’ on Rasheed,” Asia announced. “If Rasheed ever comes back to Brooklyn, I’m all over that.”

      India playfully rolled her eyes. “Now how are you goin’ to do that when Rasheed is in Atlanta? He is not thinkin’ about you.”

      Asia shook her head. “Whatever, heifer. Personally, I don’t see Rasheed stayin’ in Atlanta for too long. He’ll be back because that nigga is a Brooklyn dude at heart. And when he comes back, I will be right here with open arms—and legs, too!” India couldn’t contain her laughter.

      The next day, after roll call, India watched closely as Sierra walked through the crowd of officers. She had been watching Sierra for some time now and saw that the woman didn’t really socialize with her coworkers. She stayed to herself most of the time.

      Once roll call was dismissed, everyone dispersed to go to their posts. India trailed closely behind Sierra, happy that they were headed in the same direction. This would give her the opportunity to finally meet the woman she despised so much.

      Sierra walked into a waiting elevator and India walked briskly to catch it before the doors closed.

      “Hold the elevator!” India yelled. Sierra held the elevator and peeped out the door. “Whew! Thank you,” India said as tried to catch her breath. She looked at the stoic Sierra and spoke first. “Hello.”

      Sierra smiled. “Hello. Are you goin’ to the fifth floor?” she asked, pressing the fifth floor button.

      India smiled back. “Yeah, I have Five West today. What post do you have?”

      “I have Five North. That’s my steady housin’ area,” Sierra replied.

      “Okay. That’s cool.”

      The door opened on the fifth floor and they both stepped out. They waited for the officers to open another gate that led them to their respective housing areas. Before Sierra walked to the North side, India held her hand out and introduced herself.

      “By the way, I’m India Charles, and you are?” India looked at the name tag on Sierra’s uniform. “Howell?”

      “Pretty name, India. My first name is Sierra.”

      “Thank you. So is yours.”

      “Are you a new officer? I don’t think that I have ever seen you before.”

      I was in the control room yesterday when your man kicked you out of his office, bitch, India thought. She put on a phony smile. “I’ve been here about a year and a half. I’m still on probation, though. I hope I make it off.”

      Sierra shook her head. “You’ll pass your probation. Don’t worry.”

      India looked at the sleeve of Sierra’s long-sleeved shirt. On one sleeve, she had two hash marks, each representing five years. This meant that Sierra had ten years or more on the job.

      “I see that you’re not a new jack. You’ve been there and done that, huh?”

      Sierra sighed. “Yeah, I guess I’ve seen it all over the years.”

      You haven’t seen anything yet, homegirl, India thought.

      Sierra knocked on the window of the control room. The officer opened both gates on the North and West sides to let them into the housing areas.

      “Take care, Howell. Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk again real soon.”

      Sierra waved back and smiled. “Yeah, Charles, that would be nice. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day.”

      Once India walked onto her post, her smile instantly disappeared. Doing Sierra Howell dirty was going to be easier than she thought it would be.

      Chapter 4

      Lamont

      It was the day after the argument between him and Sierra. Lamont was sitting in his office, pondering the future of their relationship. Lamont had noticed changes in Sierra since he had been promoted to assistant deputy warden, and he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with her. She was starting to become more suspicious and subliminally accuse him of cheating on her. It almost felt as if they were going backward in their relationship.

      He had no idea why Sierra couldn’t see that he was a changed man. Ever since they made their commitment to each other once again, Lamont had made it his business to reconstruct his negative traits. He loved that he finally had a stable home environment, something that he’d yearned for since his mother left him and his father. Lamont was six years old at the time.

      From that day he promised himself that if he ever was fortunate enough to settle down with a good woman, he was going to do the right thing by her. Sierra was that person, and he made sure that he did whatever he needed to do to make her feel secure. But how many more snide remarks about his previous infidelities could he take?

      Lamont leaned back in the chair, rubbing his chin. He couldn’t understand women and their thought processes. Here he was, a good provider, good father, and a good man, and Sierra