In the follow-up to the bestselling urban novel Crackhead , a new boss takes over the South Bronx as Laci and Dink try to make a life away from crime. In Crackhead , the South Bronx Bitches, an infamous drug ring, promoted lies, betrayal, and disloyalty resulting in drama and death. Nobody’s lives were ever the same. Dink and Laci are adjusting to life as college students at Boston University. But with Laci fighting the demons of her past addiction at the hands of the South Bronx Bitches and Dink struggling to adapt to the legit life away from his former drug empire, will their pasts keep them from moving forward?​ Smurf has taken over the South Bronx in Dink’s absence. When he joins up with the mysterious Dirty, who comes to town with a new product and plans to take over the state, can they avoid the reach of a detective hell-bent on solving the mysterious deaths of Dame, Marco, and Crystal? Or will Smurf’s own strained relationship with his mother play a part in the demise of newly acquired empire? Lisa Lennox delivers in this fast-paced, emotional sequel to her bestselling first novel, Crackhead . With an ending so unexpected, and revenge so cold, fans will be talking about this book for years to come. Lisa Lennox is a pseudonym for a bestselling author. Crackhead II PROLOGUE Boston University, Fall 1989 MARK MY WORDS, without knowledge you’re all bound for the welfare line or the penitentiary,” said Mr. Giencanna, the instructor for the Introduction to Philosophy class. Nobody was trying to hear him and he proceeded with the daily roll call. “Mr. Jason Abbott?” Mr. Giencanna called out, fixing his glasses on his hawklike nose. “Here,” a young man in the rear spoke up. “Casey Bernard?” “Right here,” said another male’s voice. “Miss Natalie Farmer?” This time there was no reply. “Natalie Farmer?” he repeated. A young man wearing a blue and gray varsity jacket nudged Natalie, who was sitting at her desk, dozing off. “What?” she said sleepily, and with an attitude. He nodded toward the instructor. “Roll call. That’s what.” “I’m here, Mr. Giencanna, sir,” Natalie said, wiping around her mouth. “Stay with us, please, Miss Farmer,” Mr. Giencanna said. Although he phrased it like a request, Natalie knew by his tone and the piercing look in his eyes that it was, without a doubt, an order. Mr. Giencanna cleared his throat and continued. “Miss Julacia Johnson?” Once again, there was no reply. The classroom was silent as everyone looked around to see if there was another student nodding off somewhere. Everyone appeared to be wide awake. “Perhaps we have another sleeping beauty amongst us,” Mr. Giencanna said sarcastically. “Is there a Miss Julacia Johnson present?” Still there was no reply. The welfare line or the penitentiary, he thought. No sooner than his eye looked to call the next name, the lecture hall door came flying open. “Present,” Laci huffed, as she rushed into the lecture hall with books in hand. The class fell silent to the remarkable presence before them. There, Laci stood, just as beautiful as ever. Her shiny Shirley Temple curls, full of body, fell across the left side of her forehead, tickling her eyebrow. Her moody brown eyes sparked with a hunger for knowledge. “Sorry I’m late,” Laci said, out of breath as she looked down at her Movado watch, the same one her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday. “But I’m here. I made it!” “And who are you, sir?” Mr. Giencanna looked past her. “Ah . . . I’m Din—I mean, Daryl . . . Daryl Highsmith. I’m not on the list, sir; I just got accepted last week.” “Highsmith,” Mr. Giencanna repeated, and wrote it down on his student roster. Laci and Dink sat next to each other and smiled, as the instructor continued to check the class attendance. Over the next hour and fifty minutes, Laci wrote vigorously, making key notes of Mr. Giencanna’s lecture. Dink, on the other hand, sat back in his seat stoically, twirling his pencil in between his thumb and forefinger, which distracted Laci momentarily. She looked over at Dink and admired him in his faded denim jacket and jeans, white T-shirt, and dope man Nikes. The faint smell of Obsession tickled her nostrils. Laci’s lingering gaze caught Dink’s attention and he met her stare. Dink winked, blew a quick kiss at her, and turned his focus back on Mr. Giencanna. Laci never thought she’d see this day and was amazed. “Let me ask all of you something,” Mr. Giencanna spoke seriously, interrupting Laci’s thoughts. He leaned against the podium and adjusted his glasses before speaking again. The class became still; the only sound they heard was the second hand ticking on the clock that hung against the wall. “Everybody has heard the terms good and evil, right?” “Yes,” every student confirmed in unison. “So, what do you consider good? And better yet, what do you equate with the word ‘good’?” “Angels,” a female student called out. “God,” another student chi