Thug Luv

by Jazmyne

  “How the fuck you find that out?” Jay asked.

  “Come on now, money talks,” Boog replied reaching into his pocket once again. This time he removed a before and after photo of James, handing them both to Ace.

  “Let me see that shit,” Jay said taking the pictures from Ace hand. “Leo is James?” He asked looking from Boog to Ace. He couldn’t believe that bullshit. While Jay looked at the pictures Boog continued telling them about the niggas on the list.

  Chapter 18

  Aaliyah sat in her office lost in her thoughts; it had been a week since Ace had taken the girls to Florida. She didn’t want them to leave and was truly missing them. The three of them had become extremely close and Aaliyah had gotten very attached to them. Her days and nights had gone from fun and excitement to dull and boring just like that. She also knew that with the girls being gone, she wasn’t sure if or when she’ll ever see, Ace again.

  Aaliyah hoped the cases she decided to take would keep her busy enough to keep her mind off Ace but as of now, nothing worked. She was worried sick about him and wanted to be wrapped in his arms. She wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay and she wanted him to tell her the same thing. Aaliyah felt that it was nothing but wishful thinking.

  The news was having a field day with the shooting that had taken place at Ace home, over a week ago. It was no longer the top story on any of the news channels but every day the police was releasing new information. Aaliyah knew they didn’t have a case against Ace or anyone that was at his home the night of the shooting. She concluded that it was a home invasion and Ace had killed all five victims in self-defense. With no guns or no evidence saying otherwise the case should have been dismissed the very next day, but Detective Miles wanted to be a dickhead and was making things way more complicated than they needed to be.

  The knock at the door startled Aaliyah. “Come in!” She called out opening her top drawer just in case it was J’vion. She wasn’t playing with him anymore she was blasting his ass. The door opened slowly and when Ace came into view she smiled. She wasn’t expecting to see him and he was holding a dozen roses. “What are you doing here?” She asked getting up from her seat and walking around her desk to hug him. She really didn’t care what the reason was that brought him to her office, she was just glad to see him.

  “I needed to see you. We haven’t seen each other since the day I took the girls to Florida,” Ace said after they shared a passionate kiss. Aaliyah took the roses from his hand and smelled them.

  “You know I really never got to thank you for all you have done for me and my girls,” Ace said taking a seat.

  “Amir, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to thank me for the things I have done for you?” She asked sitting the roses on her desk. “I did everything I did because I wanted to.”

  “I know and I appreciate everything. Can you get off for the rest of the day?” He asked. “I have a few things planned for you and me.”

  “Can I get off the rest of the day?” Aaliyah asked with a raised eyebrow. “What kind of question is that? I’m the damn boss,” she laughed closing the top drawer and grabbing her purse from the bottom drawer. Ace laughed too.

  “You’re right,” Ace said.

  “So, what do you have planned for us?” Aaliyah asked as they left her office.

  “You’ll find out,” was the only thing Ace said. Aaliyah stopped to talk to Jennifer before her and Ace walked out hand in hand. Aaliyah smiled but it quickly turned into a frown when she thought on the last time she and Ace walked out of her office hand and hand.

  Ace felt when Aaliyah’s body tensed up. “What’s the matter?” He asked wrapping his arm around her shoulders while pulling her close.

  “Nothing,” Aaliyah lied, she didn’t want to ruin whatever Ace had planned for the two of them by bringing up something that happened months ago.

  “Why are you lying to me?” He asked as he stopped walking.

  “I’m not lying, nothing is wrong,” she tried to assure.

  “So you’re really goin’ to stand here in my face and lie to me?” He asked.

  “Amir, it isn’t really a big deal, I promise,” she said.

  “It has to be something big because you went from cool and calm to tense and nervous just that fast,” Ace said calling her out.

  “Okay, damn Amir. I was thinking about the first time you and I walked out of my office building hand in hand and what happened. That’s all,” she said rolling her eyes.

  “That’s all you had to say and you don’t have to worry about anything like that happening again,” he assured grabbing her by the hand and walking out the front door.

  *

  Ace pulled into the parking lot of the Embassy suites in downtown Hampton. He got out walked around the car and helped Aaliyah out the car. They headed inside hand in hand and straight to the elevators. When they stepped off the elevator on the third floor Ace wrapped his arms around her waist as he guided her to the room they would be occupying for the night. He opened the room door and let Aaliyah walk in first.

  Aaliyah gasped when she found the room dimly lit with candles and red, white, and pink rose peddles scattered all over the room.

  “Amir you did this for me?” Aaliyah asked with tears threatening to fall.

  “I did, words could never express how much you mean to me. Aaliyah, you deserve this and so much more,” Ace said. “You have encouraged me to keep fighting and looking for my wife, yet you never showed an ounce of jealousy or threw me any type of shade. You took care of my girls when I wasn’t able to and not once have you asked for anything in return, but for me to love you. I will forever be in debt to you and no matter what happens between you and I, I want you to know that I love you and respect you for whom you are,” Ace said as they looked into each other eyes. Aaliyah could tell Ace meant every word he had just spoken to her. She wanted to cry but didn’t want to ruin the moment so she looked away as a smile spread across her lips. All she ever wanted from Ace was for him to love her and he had confessed his love for her.

  Ace picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where he removed her work attire before laying her across the king size bed the room had to offer. He removed the ponytail holder that was holding her hair into a neat ponytail and began massaging her head. Aaliyah moaned as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the massage Ace was giving her. Ace worked his way down to her shoulders and down her back all the way down to her feet. Aaliyah had never experienced anything like it before. After massaging her body from head to toe Ace ran her a hot bubble bath, while she soaked in the hot water he continued massaging her body, before washing her body from head to toe. He helped her out the tub and carried her back to the bed where he made love to her for the rest of the night.

  Ace watched as Aaliyah slept on his chest, while his arm rested around her upper body. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. Ace tried to take his mind off everything but couldn’t. The fact that his babies’ birthday were coming up and he couldn’t be there to celebrate with them fucked him up. But he knew if everything ended well he would have more than their birthday to celebrate with them.

  Ace dozed off but woke up from his ringing cell phone. He quickly snatched it up before it woke Aaliyah from her sleep.

  “Yo?” He spoke into the phone as he eased up from the bed to take it into the other room.

  Chapter 19

  Ace pulled up to his crib in no time. Cutting his car off, he sat back to reflect on his life in general. He could honestly say he had done some good and bad things throughout his entire life. Before he had his baby girls he was ruthless and reckless. Now that they were in his life, he had calmed down a lot. He had caged the beast years ago only for it to be released once again. He shook out any and all thoughts and put his mind on the task at hand. He opened the car door and stepped out heading inside the house. He hadn’t been home since h
e dropped Savanna and Serenity off to their grandmother.

  “Hello?” He answered his ringing phone.

  “DADDY!” Serenity and Savanna screamed into the phone.

  “What’s the matter?” Ace asked with concern written all over his face.

  “Daddy, we wanna come home!” Savanna cried.

  “Yeah we don’t like being here. Grandma is mean and auntie doesn’t like us,” Serenity cried.

  “What happened?” Ace asked.

  “Daddy we miss you and Aaliyah. Please come get us. Please daddy!” Savanna cried into the phone breaking Ace’s heart in half. He knew they were safe where they were and he couldn’t chance them being in the middle of harm’s way, again.

  “I promise you and your sister that I’ll be there to get y’all as soon as possible,” Ace said into the phone.

  “Daddy please we hate it here. Please come get us,” Savanna begged. Ace heart was torn. He never wanted to be able to tell his babies that he couldn’t do something, but at this very moment those were the very words he would be saying to them.

  “Baby I can’t come get you and your sister right now,” Ace spoke softly into the phone.

  “Why?” Serenity asked.

  “Baby it isn’t safe for you or your sister to be here right now,” Ace said.

  “Well can Aaliyah come get us?”

  “No, Aaliyah can’t come get y’all either. I’ll be there soon,” Ace promised. “I love you ladies and I’ll see you soon.”

  “I love you too,” Serenity and Savanna said before they disconnected the call.

  “Amir!” The voice from behind called him getting his attention. Ace turned around and found Detective Miles quickly approaching him. “Why do you wanna have a meeting with me?” He asked.

  Ace laughed, “Glad you can join me. Come on inside the whole gang is waiting on us,” Ace said as he showed Detective Miles inside his home. As soon as they walked in the inhaled the scent of weed smoke and loud noises coming from inside the living room where the TV was being watched. Ace presence was felt because everyone turned around at once. There isn’t any reason for formalities we all know of each other, I’m sure,” Ace spat sarcastically.

  “What’s the deal? You called a meeting and you take all fuckin’ day to show up?” Leo asked standing to his feet. When he turned around to face Ace, he and Detective Miles locked eyes, but he quickly placed his attention on Ace, “What the fuck is he doin’ here?” He asked pointing to Detective Miles. “You fuck with cops now?” He chuckled shaking his head.

  “Nah, I’ve never been friends with pigs let alone fuck with them,” Ace answered. “But I will admit at one point in time I had a few of those mothafuckas on payroll. They got paid well for their services.” He finished. “But let me get to the real reason as to why I invited you two mothafuckas to my home.” He said fixing him a drink while waving Detective Miles over to join the rest of them. Ace took a seat while locking eyes with his niggas. Their eyes were letting him know that they weren’t for all the talking and was ready to do both Miles and Leo in causing him to smile. Ace had nothing but respect for his niggas and would have held them down in the same manner.

  “Are we goin’ to sit here staring at each other all night or are you goin’ to tell us what the fuck you want?” Leo asked becoming nervous and very impatient.

  “Well to be totally honesty with you, Leo, oh wait or should I call you, James?” Ace asked with a slight grin on his face.

  Leo was pissed but held his composure as best he could. He had been under the alias; Leo for quite some time now and for Ace to blow his shit up just like that had him boiling inside. He wasn’t planning on going back to jail or dying.

  Detective Miles kept his poker face on but deep down inside he was losing his cool as well.

  “The reason I invited you two to my home here tonight is because you two are on a list of mothafuckas that must kick the dirt, sooner rather than later,” Ace said. “And if I don’t kill you two sneaky mothafuckas here tonight, my wife will die. So as you can see my decision was a no brainer.” He finished.

  “You can’t kill me. I’m a fuckin’ officer of the law!” Detective Miles spat standing to his feet.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I can kill whoever the fuck I want. I just can’t get caught with the murder weapon or the dead body,” Ace chuckled. Detective Miles looked as if he was reaching and a gun shot went off.

  POW!

  Everyone jumped up and drew their weapons as they watched Detective Miles drop to the floor.

  “DADDY!” Leo screamed. He was unsure of who had pulled the trigger. Watching his father die was something he never thought he would ever see. His entire body had gone numb. Leo let his eyes dart around the room. He knew he was out numbered but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to take one or two of them with him.

  The gun play started again as bodies flew around the room trying to dodge the flying bullets; once again Ace home had become a battle zone, only difference this time was that his daughters and woman wasn’t in the middle of it all.

  “Aww shit!” Leo screamed out holding his arm. The same arm that a bullet had just ripped through, he had tried staying quiet but the pain was unbearable. His gun had slid across the floor.

  “Man up, bitch,” Jay said now standing over him. “Ayo, Ace do you wanna be the one to take this sucker ass nigga out or should I?” He asked looking over his shoulders to find all three of his niggas quickly approaching.

  “It’s only right I be the one to do it, since yo ass took Miles out,” Ace said holding his shoulder. He too had taken a bullet but he took that shit like the true G he was.

  “Man, you don’t even have to do this. We can figure some shit out,” Leo said sounding like a straight bitch. He was quick to pull the trigger on the next nigga, but now that he was the one staring down the barrel of a gun he switched into bitch mode.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I have to kill you,” Ace said squeezing the trigger once. He, Jay, Boog, and Boy watched as the bullet hit Leo right between the eyes, killing him on the spot.

  “Y’all niggas get out of here and let me deal with the police,” Ace said knowing one of his neighbors had already called and they were on their way.

  “I can’t do that,” Jay said shaking his head no.

  “Man, get the fuck outta here!” Ace yelled. “And let me handle the fuckin’ law,” he spat. He wasn’t about to take a chance in getting his boys locked up. A shoot at his home had taken place twice in the last few weeks. At least he could argue self-defense and or a home invasion if that’s what everything balled down to.

  Jay slapped hands with Ace followed by Boog and Boy slapping hands with him next.

  “Call us as soon as you can,” Boy said as he wiped his gun off and placed it in Detective Miles’ hand. Jay did the same with his gun, placing it in Leo’s hand while Ace kept his gun this time. Boog was the only one who took his gun with him to get rid of it.

  Ace nodded his head up and down, “I will do that as soon as I can,” Ace said as he watched his niggas leave through the back door. Ace took a seat and waited for the Hampton Police Department to run in his home with their guns drawn ready to shoot anything they thought was moving.

  *

  “Hello?” Aaliyah answered with sleep in her voice. She looked over at the clock sitting on the nightstand.

  “You need to get up and go check on, Ace,” Boog said into the phone. Aaliyah sat up in bed.

  “Is everything alright with, Amir?” She asked nervously.

  “I’ll let him explain but you need to get to the house, now,” Boog answered before the line went dead. Aaliyah jumped out the bed and took a quick shower, dressed and left the hotel room. When she got to the lobby she called a taxi because she had left her car parked at her office. She paced backed and forth while waiting for the taxi to arrive
, wondering what had happened that fast. He had left her hours ago to handle business.

  Aaliyah didn’t let the taxi come to a complete stop; she was pulling the handle on the door to open the back door. She slipped inside and gave to driver her destination.

  *

  When the taxi came to a complete stop a few houses from Ace’s home she paid and thanked him for his services as she climbed out. The many police cars blocking the street surrounding Ace’s home had her even more nervous. She rushed to his front yard and was stopped by an officer in uniform.

  “Ma’am, you can’t go over there. This here is a crime sense,” he said.

  “My name is Aaliyah and my client, Amir Johnson lives there,” she said pointing behind him. Aaliyah’s heart dropped when her eyes landed on a coroner rolling a body out on a stretcher in a body bag. “Oh God no,” she thought becoming a little weak. She felt as if she was going to collapse right where she stood. Aaliyah found the strength to brush past the police man. When she entered the house she found an EMT worker patching Ace’s shoulder up and an Detective questioning him.

  “How many fuckin’ times do I have to tell you that I was in bed when I heard noises and I came downstairs to check and see what was goin’ on and they started shooting,” Ace spat annoyed. He had repeated the same story to two different Detectives and not once did he change anything he had said before.

  “You know you’re riding up shit’s creek without a paddle?” The Detective asked with a smirk on his face. “You have killed an officer of the law,” he finished.

  “I didn’t know he was a fuckin’ Detective, it was dark and I was protecting myself and my home!” Ace spat.

  “I have it from here,” Aaliyah said interrupting the conversation that was taking place between Ace and the Detective.

  “Aaliyah, are you sure this is a case you wanna take?” Detective Jones asked.

  “Don’t worry about what cases I take on. You can’t charge my client with anything,” Aaliyah said getting right down to business. “His home was broken into and he was protecting himself, self-defense. You have no case,” she said with her hands on her hips.