It was the summer of '93, and the weather was almost hotter than the location. But then again, what could be hotter than hell? The Ninth! Some would assume that the steam which rose from the broken sidewalks in front of the brick apartment building justified the neighbor hood's nickname, the Ninth Circle of Hell. The heat wave however, had nothing to do with why people associated Messalina projects with Dante's Inferno. No, that honor went to the infestation of dealers, crack heads, boosters, and hoes. Dope boys handled their business like it was legal, and everyone learned to look the other way. If they didn't learn, then they never got the chance to look again. Life in the ninth operated by the code of the wild, predators ate and prey got eaten. The drug dealers sat on the top of chain. Boosters, strippers and hoes fell somewhere in the middle, while the crack heads and the civilians clung to the last wrung. Everyone knew their assigned roles and no one ever deviated from the script. Cleopatra James, an unremarkable thirteen year old girl, understood better than anyone, her dictated place in the procession. But that didn't mean she accepted the role she'd been given to play.

At the age of sixteen Lakeisha Moss was abandoned by her mother and left to fend for herself on the streets. Within days she's taken in by Ambrianna. During her stay with Ambrianna, Lakeisha is taught the difference between real women and fake women, the difference between a ho and a house wife. She's taught more than anything to ride-or-die. Angel DeAngelo was raised in the streets by neighbors rather than his own parents. With a father in jail and a mother who prostitutes, he brings the money to the table in the only way that he know hows: slanging. A notoriously feared street thug with respect from almost everyone around the hood. With money, power, and hos, he's got almost everything figured out. He's just missing one thing: a down chick. When the two encounter paths, sparks fly and everything is thrown out of proportion, as Lakeisha defies everything and anything involving, Angel. While Angel wants more than anything to explore what could be between the two of them. As a battle of wills begins, danger from another component stirs up trouble forcing the two to work together to confront it, or be killed.

BWWM [Synopsis inside] [In Process of Editing and Beginning Chapter Reconstruction]

Fresh out of high school Kashmere has everything figured out for the most part, until she meets August and decides give him a chance. She doesn't know it yet but her life will never be the same. © 2014-2015 RaquelR.™. All rights reserved.

Discontinued. Check out the new version...coming soon.