Thuggz Valentine

by Wahida Clark

Overview

This is the first Street Lit book to be written in reverse! Thuggz Valentine is the story of a modern day Bonnie & Clyde, natural born killers who go out in a blaze of glory after taking on the city s police force. Step by step, readers relive Ebony and Bless s last day together . . . Valentines Day. The day however, starts nothing like it ends, and as time goes back, hour by hour, the two lovers are unable to avoid destiny. Fate brings them together in a most bizarre way, and the couple realize the day is not about winning, it s about embracing the moment, no matter the outcome. Thuggz Valentine is the story of a ghetto love doomed from the beginning, but definitely worth the trip to Hell.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936649181
Publisher:	W. Clark Distribution & Media Corpo
Publication date:	06/30/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	228
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

From Inmate to the New York Times Best seller Three-time New York Times bestselling author Wahida Clark has become one of the most sought after Urban Lit authors of this generation and is one of only 4 Urban Lit authors to appear on the New York Times bestseller list. Wahida Clark has an amazing story. Tenacity, vision and sheer determination are what brought her to where she is today. Clark began writing her first novel while serving a 9 ½ year prison sentence, including 9 months in solitary confinement, at the Lexington Prison Camp in Lexington, Ky.While behind bars, Clarkinked a publishing deal with a major publishing house, wrote and released 7 novels and laid the groundwork for her publishing company, Wahida Clark Presents Publishing. Released in June of 2007, today Clark is signed to Cash Money Content, the publishing arm from iconic record label Cash Money Records, home to multi-platinum hip-hop recording artists Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Drake. To date she has released 13 successful novels including THREE New York Times bestsellers. Her own publishing company, Wahida Clark Presents is one of the fastest growing independent publishing houses in the country. In just 4 short years, WCP has earned nearly 1 million dollars in sales, has 26 titles currently in stores across the country and has a roster of 14 established urban authors. Her Novels Wahida Clark has sold more than 700,000 novels to date including TWO New York Times bestsellers with Cash Money Content. Her latest novel, in stores April 23, 2013 is the CMC release, “Honor Thy Thug,” the follow up to her New York Times bestselling title “Justify My Thug” (2011, CMC) which debuted on the list at #19, only two weeks after release. “Payback Ain’t Enough” (also from CMC), made its debut on the New York Times Extended Bestseller List at #27 in 2012 and is the follow up to Payback With Ya Life” (2008). Payback With Ya Life was one of only four urban fiction releases to appear on the New York Times list. In 2005, Wahida Clark was crowned the Queen of Thug Love Fiction by the reigning Queen of Hip-Hop Fiction, Nikki Turner. She has since become known as the Queen of Street Literature. Per Professor Vanessa Irvin Morris of Drexel University School of Library Science’s Readers Guide to Street Literature, “Wahida Clark is the creator of the Thug Love Fiction genre which is a sub-genre of street lit. She is also the first street lit author to pen a series, thus establishing the trend. Wahida’s style of writing has become the template for urban literature. When you read her novels, they are so real you are convinced that you either know the characters; you want to know the characters; or you are one of the characters!” Clarks bestselling novels include: Thugs and the Women Who Love Them (Part 1 of the “Thug Series”), Every Thug Needs a Lady (Part 2), Thug Matrimony (Part 3), Thug Lovin’ (Part 4), Justify My Thug (Part 5), Payback is a Mutha (Part 1), Payback With Ya Life (Part 2), The Golden Hustla and Sleeping with the Enemy. She has also edited her first anthology, What’s Really Hood!: A Collection of Tales from the Streets. Her Business A naturally business-savvy woman, Clark followed the invaluable advice of jailhouse mate and multi-millionaire Queen of Media, Martha Stewart, who she consulted with on her business plan for Wahida Clark Publishing. Clark and Stewart also both participated in the facility’s career day event. Wahida chose to speak on publishing and being an author. Stewart spoke on the basics of starting a business and business trends. Clark’s Wahida Clark Publishing opened its doors in 2008 and today is home to 14 successful and award-winning urban lit authors. Her Legacy This year Wahida Clark will celebrate her first stage production with the debut of “Thugs and the Women Who Love Them.” The production will open May 1 and run through May 4th at The Tabernacle inAtlanta,GA. As well as an accomplished author, Wahida Clark is a gifted motivational speaker. “I share my story as often as I can in hopes of opening the eyes of young people caught up in the life of fast money on the streets of our urban communities,” says Clark. “If my story changes the path of just one at-risk youth, I have done what I have set out to do.” As Co-founder and National VP of Prodigal Sons and Daughters Redirection Services (PSD),Clarkis committed to reaching young male and female offenders. A multi-faceted program, PSD’s mission is to prepare former offenders for a smooth transition into home-life, work-life, the community and society. Clark brings the program to prisons, halfway houses and youth houses inNew Jersey,New YorkandPennsylvaniamonthly. The program graduates at least 100 former offenders per year. PSD’s Services also include: The 12 Week Mentorship and Life Skills Training program which graduates at least 100 men and women per year. One Hundred Successful Ex-offenders Seminar and Workshop held 4 times per year reaching more than 100 members yearly. The Urban Farm Project – Gardening workshop – including theParadiseGardensand Green House Construction project which trains 20 – 40 transitioning members per year. PSD Family Support System refers 50 families for assistance. PSD Printing and Publishing provides hands-on training for a minimum of 10 at risk youth per annually. PSD Labor For Favors Work Readiness Program trained/employed 150 young men and women inn 2012. PSD Computer Training and GED Classes enrolled 13 students in its first 6 months. Wahida Clark is also Co-founder and Vice President of Phoenix Academy Inc. an organization that also provides support groups as well as mentoring for at-risk youth. Presentations are made at Youth Houses and High Schools in an attempt to reach troubled teens struggling with addictive and/or criminal behaviors. The ultimate goal ofPhoenixAcademyis to establish charter and vocational training schools for at risk young people. Find Wahida Clark on line at: www.twitter.com/wahidaclark, www.honorthythug.com, www.facebook.com/wahidaclark, www.facebook.com/wahidaclarkreadersclub, www.wclarkpublishing.com.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

February 14

6:15 p.m.

Thuggz Valentine, mutherfuckaz!"

The ground shook from the explosion.

Kabooooooom!

The blast rattled the ground like an earthquake, igniting cars and SUVs, shattering store windows, knocking out the power, and setting off car alarms within a two-block downtown Newark radius. Several bystanders were killed, including a few police officers who'd had the two suspects surrounded, as well as every person inside the overturned bus, which was the source of the blast. People thought it was a terrorist attack.

It wasn't.

It was a standing ovation for Bless and Ebony. They embraced death on their own terms. They lived their last day on the edge and to the fullest. Even though it was filled with murder and mayhem.

Three minutes earlier ...

6:12 p.m.

"Fuck y'all!" Bless managed to yell out, despite the burning sensation of the bullet wounds and a natural sense of impending doom. His head rested on Ebony's lap while her back leaned against the underbelly of the overturned bus.

Ebony stroked his head. "Shhh baby. Save your energy."

Muffled cries and yells of anguish echoed from the passengers trapped inside. There was no escape. The bus had landed on the door side, destining everyone inside to a fiery fate. Desperate, the imprisoned riders beat furiously on sealed windows, too dazed and hurt by the crash to even come close to shattering them. Their hysterical eyes gazed at all the police surrounding them in a half moon formation. Officers shielded themselves behind open doors with automatic weapons, pistols, and shotguns all trained on Bless and Ebony. High above, a police helicopter hovered.

"It's over." Bless closed his eyes.

"No, baby, not yet. Remember what you said? Real gangstas never give up," she reminded him.

He forced a smile onto his lips. "You ... you, could've saved yourself."

With tears running down her cheeks, she stroked his face. "Today has been the best day of my life. Before you, I didn't know what it really meant to be free. I am feeling totally alive. Anything after this would be a disappointment. I love you, Bless," she expressed, but she knew he hadn't heard her. She felt his body convulse, tighten, and then relax. She knew he was gone. She had been speaking to his soul. A soul she knew much deeper than even she was conscious of. Ebony held back every tear but one, which escaped down her cheek. She closed Bless's lifeless eyes with two fingers that resembled the peace sign, and then laid her gun on her leg. A tall, black detective stepped out of the police mob with his arms raised. He advanced slowly.

"Listen to me, Miss. Please. This can all end peacefully. I want to walk you out of this alive," he pleaded.

"Believe me ... I plan to," Ebony said.

"That's good. Very good," he replied, missing the significance of her tone.

Ebony reached into Bless's pocket and pulled out his crumpled pack of Newport's and matches. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! It's just a cigarette!" she bellowed at the itchy trigger-fingered officers.

Just a cigarette ... She didn't smoke.

She put it in her mouth, lit it up, then inhaled a satisfying stream of smoke. When she exhaled, all the fear that she was harboring vanished.

"Now, I'm going to ask you to toss the gun over, okay?"

She inhaled. "Not yet."

He shook his head. "No! I said now! Look around you."

She did.

"It's over! There is nowhere to go!" he warned her.

Ebony glanced at all the stone-faced police squinting through scopes, with her head in the crosshairs. She took in all the gawking downtown onlookers, all while hearing the stifled cries of the people on the bus. And lastly, she looked up at the beautiful blue sky.

"Yeah, you right. There's nowhere to go ..." she remarked, and then struck another match. "But up."

She and the cop exchanged glances. Yet, he strained at the match. The realization hit him when he saw the leaking gas from the overturned bus pooling in the street and settling like a beached whale. His brown eyes widened in horror, taking in the implications of the lit match.

"Nooooo!" he yelled.

But it was too late ...

"Thuggz Valentine, mutherfuckaz!" she screamed, laughing as if life was one big joke.

Then ... she tossed the match.

CHAPTER 2

5:56 p.m.

The back of the ambulance swung wide and slammed into a parked car as Ebony fishtailed out of the hospital parking lot. Car alarms whooped loudly, but could hardly be heard over gunfire and screeching tires.

Boc! Boc! Boc! Boc!

Boosh!

One of the back windows shattered as police opened up with multiple shots trying to stop the stolen ambulance and the wanted couple inside. "Gimme that gun!" Bless gritted, fighting through the pain. Ebony handed him the gun as she swung a hard left, picking up two more cruisers on the chase.

Bless staggered toward the back of the ambulance, thrown off balance by Ebony's wide maneuvers. The painkillers had him doped up, so he couldn't feel the bullets that would be forever lodged inside him. He braced himself against the wall and took aim through the same back window the police blew out. He let the gun go.

Boc! Boc! Boc!

He shot straight at the driver's face. The first bullet spider webbed the windshield, but the second shattered the officer's skull. Bless watched the driver's head snap back, a mist of blood painting the inside of the cracked windshield. The passenger tried to grab the wheel, but the cruiser slammed into a parked car, hurling the passenger through the windshield and breaking his neck against the car's hood.

"Mutherfuckin' right!" Bless shouted, proud of his handiwork. He knew he wouldn't live through this, so he was intent on taking as many souls with him to hell as he could.

"What happened?" Ebony called out.

"I just blew that muth ... aaarrrggggh!" he groaned.

Bless had only turned his head for a second, but that was enough time for another police cruiser to zoom up close to the bumper of the ambulance and allow the passenger of the cruiser to snipe him through the window. The bullet pierced Bless on the left side of his chest and knocked him back onto the gurney.

"Oh my God, Bless! Talk to me!" Ebony yelled, wanting to jump up and run to him.

"Fuck! I got hit!"

Their situation was growing darker by the minute.

"Baby, just hold on. I got us!" Ebony vowed, slamming the accelerator to the floor.

More police cruisers poured into the chase from every side street she passed. In the distance, she could hear the beating wind. That could only mean one thing.

Helicopters.

She took a deep breath to fight back the tears, but her mind continued to race. She remembered hearing somewhere that helicopters couldn't fly over airports, but she knew they were too far away from Newark Liberty International Airport. They had to lose the police on foot, or blend into a crowd. They had to disappear somehow, somewhere. It's useless, her mind told her.

Fuck you! Her spirit screamed back.

Ebony made a right so sharp, she damn near flipped the ambulance. Two police cruisers overshot the turn and sideswiped each other. Two more gone. But the police were like roaches. For every one taken out, there were ten more in hot pursuit.

"T-take 'em t-t-to the hood, bae," Bless gritted. "We ... can lose 'em there."

Ebony looked at the speedometer leaning hard over 100. The downtown city stores, office buildings, people, hustle and bustle zipped by with the speed of a bullet. Up ahead she saw the road block. The police had the street clogged. Guns cocked, sights set. But Ebony wasn't about to stop. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands and focused dead ahead.

"She's going to ram us!"

"She's crazy!"

"Open fire!" the commanding officer barked. The overly anxious, adrenaline pumping cops began spraying the approaching ambulance.

At the last moment, Ebony swerved onto the sidewalk, crushing two pedestrians, but having no time to care. The move gave her enough space to skirt the blockade, ducking low as people dived aside as she sped past.

"Hahahaaaa!" she cackled like a mad woman, feeling the rush and energy of being totally alive. Make it to the hood, make it to the hood, make it to the hood, she kept telling herself like a mantra to whichever god was listening.

Behind her, squad cars flashing blue and white lights were still on her tail. Some so close, they bumped her bumper trying to make her lose control. They were everywhere. Every second she felt more and more like she was drowning, descending into the depths of hopelessness, sinking into further doom.

And then she realized ...

From the moment they met, she knew they were destined for tragedy. But today hadn't been about winning, it had been about living. It had been about a love deeper than she had ever known and was now ready to die for. It was about embracing the moment, no matter the outcome. Once that thought went through her mind, her whole body seemed to relax and unravel, like an unclenched fist. A smile spread across her face like the sun shining through a cloudy day.

"Bless," she called out. "You still with me?"

"Yeah, sweetness."

"I love you."

She heard him laugh that laugh that made her pussy wet, and this moment was no exception.

"That's obvious," he replied. "I love you too."

"Sing our song, bae," she requested one last time.

"Shorty, I'm there for you anytime you need me, for real girl, it's me and your world, believe me," he rapped, the energy of the moment enough to make him forget the pain.

As he rapped, her mind played back to the highlights of the day. And to think, I started this morning wanting to die. Ebony smiled.

She never saw the bus.

It came from her blind side. She slammed her foot onto the brake and so did the bus driver. He panicked and threw the wheel hard to the left. The automatic air brakes locked up, causing the bus to tip over, landing on its side. It began sliding toward her with almost as much velocity as it had when it was on its wheels. The people inside were tossed around like popcorn kernels as sparks shot up the whole length of the bus's side. It slammed into the ambulance, pushing it full steam ahead into the side of a corner store, pinning the transport vehicle so hard, it almost crushed it like an accordion.

The force of the collision virtually knocked Ebony out. The only thing that kept her conscious was the love in her heart and her sheer will to get them to safety. Bless lay dazed, coughing up blood. Ebony pulled herself free of the front seat and staggered to the back. She grabbed Bless's arm.

"No, ma, go! You still have a chance. Leave me here," he agonized, blood running down his chin.

"Say that again, and I'll shoot you myself," Ebony spat, taking the gun out of his hand. She put his arm around her neck and embraced him around the waist. "Bae —"

"Stop —"

"But we still got a chance, baby," she tried to convince him, hoping against hope that she could speak it into existence.

"Damn, I love you, girl." He coughed, giving it all he had as they climbed out the back of the ambulance.

The little leap from the bumper to the ground proved too much for his weak knees and his whole body collapsed. The only thing keeping him up was Ebony. They made it around the bus.

"I told you I got us, boo." She giggled, enjoying the moment, despite the obvious.

Whatever window of escape they had, quickly closed as police swarmed the area. They kept a buffer zone, but their formation said one thing ...

This was the end.

They both paused and looked out at the sea of blue before them. Neither was scared, but only one of them knew what they were going to do.

Ebony spotted the gas leak.

To her, it was as easy as accepting destiny. Bless coughed so hard, his whole body shook. She held him tighter.

"Come on, Bless. Sit down. Let's have a picnic," she joked, while hoping they wouldn't become the barbecue.

They settled down only a few feet from the gas leak. The police formation was 100 feet away from them. Bless laid his head on her lap. She laid her head against the bus's underbelly.

"It's ... it's over," Bless managed to get out.

But, that was something they had both known for a long time.

CHAPTER 3

5:26 p.m.

Ebony sat in the Bentley shivering, and it wasn't just from her wearing a pair of tan boy shorts and a yellow tank top in the middle of winter. Her attachment to Bless had become like a drug, and she felt withdrawal symptoms. Now that he was gone, she could only focus on getting that next fix.

Gone.

The word seemed so final, so absolute, and it made her want to die on the spot. Even though he wasn't gone, her meaning of gone meant that he wasn't with her now, where she needed him to be. She felt helpless and alone, like life was slowly draining from her like a balloon. Still, Ebony imagined his tongue between her legs, his dick deep inside her, his hands all over her, caressing her everywhere. He had known. Even when she'd said no, he knew she meant yes. No one but one other man had ever touched her like that. Made her feel so wanted, so desired, so loved. It felt good to have that void filled.

She found her own fingers pushing aside the thin material of her tan, silk boy shorts. Her juices pooled, slicking her hand, and before she knew it, she reclined the front seat, cocked her foot up on the dashboard, and forced two fingers inside her throbbing pussy.

"Ohhh, Bless!" she moaned, imagining her fingers were his.

"Open up to me, sweetness. Give it all to me." She heard his voice in her head.

Ebony spread her legs wider and arched her back, sliding a third finger inside herself. She twisted her digits in and out, back and forth, the whole time seeing Bless in her mind's eye, dicking her down.

Suck on my thumb while you take this dick, she imagined him saying.

Placing her left thumb in her mouth, she grinded her hips into her three-finger stroke.

"Yes, Bless, deeper. Oh fuck yeah! Right-right there," she gasped, totally lost in her own fantasy.

"Fuck! This pussy is so wet. Make it cum for me!"

"Y-yes, daddy, yessssssss," Ebony replied, popping her pussy faster and faster, harder and harder, bucking her hips until her pussy exploded with such force it squirted all over the steering wheel and dashboard.

Sexually quenched, her whole body slumped, but when she opened her eyes and cold reality slapped her stunned face, her stomach knotted and she hugged the steering wheel and began to sob.

"Bless," she cried.

It was over. Her mind repeated, "Die ... Die ... Die ..."

No.

Something inside her spoke up again. No. It was loud, clear, and denied her access to the weak little girl hidden inside.

Bitch, go get your man! Her resolve compelled her, unwilling to take no for an answer.

If we're gonna die, we're gonna die in his arms, the crazed voice vowed, slowly spreading through her veins, filling her with fearlessness, vigor, and I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck energy, as it made its way all through her being.

The tears stopped falling. Ebony sat up, focused. Thinking, But how?

Ebony started the car with no more of a plan than the directions to the hospital. As she drove, she wondered how in the world she was going to get Bless out of police custody without a weapon. Hell, she didn't even have on a pair of shoes! The thought made her burst out laughing hysterically, and the laughter helped her overcome the last of the tension left in her body.

She looked at her own eyes in the rearview mirror, remembering Bless's words. "Your eyes slant just like a cats. I bet there's a panther in there somewhere," he had said while she rode his dick.

"We're about to find out," the words rolled off her tongue.

The light turned green. Her mind said, "Go!"

Ebony drove to the hospital and turned into the parking lot, her head on swivel and her eyes peeled. A few police cruisers were parked around the main entrance, and when she drove around they were near the emergency entrance as well.

"Shit!" she spat as she pulled into a parking space backward. She knew her face was recognizable because of surveillance videos from the robberies. Besides, they had seen her when they had snatched up Bless. There was no way she could walk through the front door.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Thuggz Valentine"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Wahida Clark.
Excerpted by permission of Wahida Clark Presents Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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