by J. L Rose
“Alinna let me hit you back,” Dante told her, hanging up the phone before Alinna could respond while starting hard at the Spanish guy holding his daughter.
“Yeah, you here to …”
“Geno, who’s at the door,” Angela asked as she walked up only to see Dante and broke out a smile. “Hi baby, why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming?”
“Who’s he and what’s wrong with this picture?” Dante asked nodding towards the Spanish guy.
Looking from Dante to Geno then noticing what had Dante’s handsome face all balled up, Angela took Mya from Geno, and then introduced the two of them. “Dante this is my brother Geno, Geno this is Mya’s father, Dante I told you about.”
“What’s up man?” Dante heard Geno say with a thick Spanish accent, ignoring the guy as he took Mya from Angela then walking into the house.
Walking directly into the front room, Dante sat down onto the sofa with Mya, playing with her just as Angela came walking into the front room a few minutes later sitting down beside him. “For the future, I don’t want different men holding my daughter Angela.”
Knowing better than to argue with him about his daughter, Angela simply agreed and then asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Naw I’m good but you can get me something to drink though,” Dante told her cutting his eyes over to Angela as she stood up beside him. Walking off, he couldn’t help but notice that just as Alinna having his baby did justice for Angela’s body it did hers as well.
Focusing back to his daughter, Dante took the bottle of Corona that Angela handed to him noticing that she now kept a supply of Coronas since finding out it was the only beer he drank.
“Dante, I need to talk to you,” Angela told him as she sat back next to him leaving against Dante.
“I’m listening,” Dante replied, noticing Angela’s position, but allowing it for the moment.
“I’m supposed to go out of town on business next week; I need you to watch Mya until I get back.”
“How long you going to be gone?”
“You gonna miss me?”
“Answer the question Angela
“Just a week then I’m coming back. I’m supposed to pick up a prisoner and fly him back here from New Jersey.”
“Call me and let me know when you’re back,” Dante told her just as his cell phone went off again.
Seeing Tony T calling, Dante answered, “What’s good T?”
“Braw where you at?”
“Seeing Mya, why?”
“We’re all at the hospital. Vanessa’s about to have her baby and Dre’s asking about you. Ya lady on her way.”
“What hospital y’all at?”
“Jackson.”
“Alright, I’m on my way now.”
Hanging up the phone, Dante gave Mya to Angela, only to hear her ask, “Dante, where are you going? What happened?”
“Dre’s girlfriend is having her baby,” Dante told her kissing his daughter, then pulling out a large bank roll, he peeled off $500 and handed it to Angela saying, “I’ll call you later.”
* * *
Leaving Angela’s house and pulling into Jackson Memorial Hospital twenty minutes later, Dante found a parking space and even though he didn’t like it, Dante left both of his burners inside the Range Rover then jogged through the parking lot to the front door of the hospital.
Not bothering with stopping at the desk for information, Dante pulled out his phone and called Tony T getting the information on where they were.
Five minutes later, stepping out of the elevator on the third floor, Dante jogged down the end of the hall, made a left and spotted Tony T, Harmony, Amber, and Wesley as well as Alinna who was talking to Amber and Harmony.
“What’s up y’all?” Dante asked as he walked up on the group.
“Baby,” Alinna cried, walking up to Dante hugging and kissing him.
“Where’s Dre and Vanessa?” Dante asked looking at Alinna and Tony T.
“They just took her inside,” Alinna answered him. “They’ve been there a little over five minutes now.”
“Braw, you should’ve seen Dre. Homeboy looked as if he was about to lose it,” Tony T said jokingly.
“Shut up, Tony,” Harmony told him, elbowing Tony T in his side.
“I wanna see how you act when I have your baby.”
“What do you meanwhen?” Tony T asked as he began to panic. “You pregnant women?”
Shaking his head at Tony T and Harmony, Dante looked to Wesley hearing him call his name getting his attention. “What’s up Wesley?”
“What’s going on, Brethren? We need to talk a second, Rastaman,” Wesley told Dante nodding for Dante to step to the side with him.
“What’s good Wesley?” Dante asked once he and Wesley stood away from the others.
“Member the blood clot rude boy you tell me about?”
“Yeah what about him?”
“Pulling out a photo from his pocket, Wesley handed the picture over to Dante. “Is this him?”
Looking at the photo Dante instantly recognized Vegas even though it was a picture of his head after it was amputated from his body.
Slowly smiling looking back to Wesley, Dante asked, “This your work?”
Nodding his head that it was with a small smile on his lips, Wesley dapped up with Dante once Dante held up his fist showing respect and a show of love.
* * *
Vanessa gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She and Dre named him Andre Payne Jr. Vanessa was then moved to her own room where Alinna and the others was allowed to visit her.
“How you feeling, girl?” Vanessa asked, cursing the others laughing.
“Here we go Vanessa,” is what the others heard just as the nurse came in pushing a nursery bed into the room.
Smiling at seeing her son and watching as the nurse picked him up from his bed, Vanessa reached out taking her son smiling down at her.
“He looks like you and Dre,” Dante spoke up as he stood across from Dre on the other side of Vanessa’s bed.
“That means my little nigga is handsome just like his daddy,” Dre said, smiling as he bent down and kissed first Vanessa then his son’s head.
Spending some time with Vanessa until the nurse announced that Vanessa and the baby needed to rest and that everybody needed to leave, Dre kissed Vanessa and his son again, handed Vanessa her cell phone telling her to call if she needed anything.
After the other girls left and said their goodbyes, everyone else left the room. Dante fell asleep with Dre smiling at his boy. “How does it feel bro?”
Shaking his head and smiling, Dre answered, “I’m still trying to get my head right over it all, but I do know one thing – it’s time that we turn it up because ain’t no fucking way my son will want anything else, you feel me fam?”
Dapping with his best friend, Dante answered him saying, “Don’t even worry braw, everything’s gonna be good.”
Chapter 17
Three weeks after Vanessa had the baby and released to go home, Dante received a call from Angela telling him to meet her at the Denny’s on 27th and 199th so they could talk.
Leaving the house and an upset Alinna, Dante pulled into Denny’s twenty minutes later. Finding a spot to park, he climbed out of the Range Rover and headed into the restaurant.
Seeing Angela and his daughter as soon as he walked in the Denny’s, Dante walked over smiling at his daughter spotting him and began whining and reaching for him.
“What’s up Angela?” Dante asked, taking Mya from her and then sitting down. “What’s so important you had to get me out of my house at this hour?”
“Dante, I’ve got a problem I need you to help me.”
“What problem?”
“It’s my new captain, I’m about to be under investigation.”
“Investigation? For what?” Dante asked, raising his eyes from his little girl looking at Angela.
Telling Dante about the problem she was having with her new captain with him flir
ting and asking her out and even going as far as feeling on her, which lead her to punch him in the mouth; the captain took it as a personal issue and turned it into a work issue. Angela cried angrily as she spoke.
“You still haven’t told me what you being investigated for, Angela,” Dante told her.
“He knows you’re Mya’s father and he trying to connect you with me. He wants us both arrested, Dante,” Angela told him getting more upset.
“Arrested? For what?” Dante asked confused.
“He knows about the Narcotics sergeant that was murdered by Alinna. He found out that Miguel was working for your girlfriend and he knows that Alinna and her friends are becoming one, if not the largest drug suppliers in the city, and it’s well known that you, Andre, and Tony T are backing them.
“So what’s the problem?” Dante asked her, “What’s he waiting on? Why hasn’t he sent anyone after us yet if he knows all of this?”
“Because he’s waiting to get us all at once. He thinks that we all work together,” Angela explained.
Nodding his head slowly, Dante said after a minute, “Tell me everything you got on this guy.”
* * *
Getting back to the house two hours later, Dante parked the Range Rover in the garage and went through the side door into the kitchen.
Heading up stairs, Dante made it halfway to his bedroom hearing Alinna’s voice, walking into the room only to see Alinna and Vanessa seated at the foot of the bed talking with each other.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Vanessa told Alinna, standing up and kissing Dante on the cheek saying, “Hey big braw.”
Smiling as she watched Vanessa leave, Alinna looked to Dante as she stopped next to the baby bed checking on his son. “What did Angela want?”
“We gotta problem,” Dante replied walking away from his son day bed pulling off his shirt then sitting down on his side of the bed.
Once Dante undressed and climbed into bed, Alinna crawled into bed with him, curling up next to him laying her head on his chest. “Tell me what happened.”
Breaking down the whole story to Alinna that Angela told him about Captain Whitehead, Dante finished his story only to say, “I’ma deal with his ass real soon.”
“What’s your plan?” Alinna asked him as she ran her left hand up and down his mid-section.
“I’m still putting it together,” Dante told her as he started at the ceiling. “It’s gonna have to be soon though.”
* * *
Leaving the house again later that morning, Dante drove his old Nissan Altima and parked two houses across the street from the address Angela gave him.
Seeing the heavyset middle aged white man in his police uniform with the noticeable captain bars that shined on his collar, Dante sat watching Captain Whitehead kiss his wife goodbye then walked out to the black and chrome Lincoln Town Car.
Starting up the Nissan Altima once Captain Whitehead back the town car out of the driveway and drove away, Dante pulled off behind him driving right pass the captain’s home.
Keeping a short distance away following it from the neighborhood, Dante pulled the Nissan up alongside of the town car at the stoplight a block away from where the captain lived.
Changing his plan at seeing the perfect opportunity with Captain Whitehead, he took out his cell phone and with the street nearly empty at this hour of the morning, Dante put the Altima in park then calmly opened his car door climbing out of the driver’s seat and pulled out his Glock from the front of his jeans as Captain Whitehead was turning his head in his direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dumping a full clip into Captain Whitehead, Dante turned and climbed back into his Altima, took one last look over to Captain Whitehead as the fat man laid slumped dead against the steering wheel driving off, Dante made a U-turn and simply drove away.
* * *
Getting rid of the Nissan Altima, Dante called and had Dre pick him up from the Burger King on 199th and 441st standing outside smoking a joint he took from Alinna before leaving the house earlier.
Hearing his cell phone wake up and ringing in his pocket, Dante got the phone out seeing Angela calling. He answered, “Yeah Angela.”
“Dante where are you?” Angela asked sounding excited.
“Waiting for Dre,” Dante answered her and then said, “If you’re about to do some talking just wait till I get over there. Dre’s gonna be here in a minute.”
“Just tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m good Angela.”
“Dante, I love you. I love you so much, baby.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Dante replied hanging up the phone and shaking his head.
Once Dre’s Land Rover pulled inside the Burger King ten minutes later after Dante hanging up with Angela, he walked around to the passenger side and got in.
“What’s up, fam?” Dre said dapping up with Dante after he got in the SUV
“What’s good, braw?” Dante replied and then said, “Roll through Angela’s spot real quick. She wanna holla at me.”
“Everything good with Mya?” Dre asked him.
“Yeah, she just wanna holla about something else,” Dante explained.
“What happened with your ride?” Dre asked as he drove away from the Burger King.
Telling Dre the whole conversation with Angela about Captain Whitehead and his plot to set them all up, Dante finished explaining and explained how they would have to lay back for a little while as Dre pulled in front of Angela’s house just as she was stepping out the front door talking to Mya’s babysitter.
“Hold up a second,” Dante told Dre as he climbed from the Land Rover.
Heading up the walkway as Angela walked out to meet him, Dante crossed the front yard as Angela asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me when you were planning to do this Dante?”
“Did it matter?” he asked as he walked around and climbed inside the passenger of Angela’s ride.
Tossing her bags onto the backseat then climbing inside the driver’s seat, Angela shut the car door, cranked up the engine, and looked to Dante saying, “It’s all over the news what you did, and you must have hit him with every bullet in your magazine. I’ve already received over twenty calls since I’m next in position behind Captain Whitehead.”
“Let me know what’s going on,” Dante told her and climbed out of the car when Angela called his name.
Turning back to see what she wanted only for Angela to lean over and kiss him on the lips, Dante was just about to push her away but found himself returning the kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Dante saw the expression on her face, and said, “Call me later and let me know what’s going on.”
“I love you, Dante,” he heard her call out as he climbed from the car, shutting the door behind him.
* * *
Once Dre pulled off and parked in their front yard, Dante and Dre saw Harmony’s new Audi go flying past them, leaving the house in a hurry.
After Dre parked his Land Rover inside the garage, Dante climbed out from the SUV just as his cell phone rang.
Looking at the phone seeing once he took it out his pocket, Dante answered, “What’s up, shorty?”
“Dante, where are you?” Alinna asked after hearing Dante voice.
“I’m walking in the house now,” Dante answered, receiving a smile from Rose as he and Dre entered the house through the kitchen.
Hearing the phone hang up in his ear, Dante looked at the screen, seeing Alinna actually hung up on him, shaking his head.
“Dante, are you and Andre eating breakfast?” Rose asked looking from Dante to Dre then back.
“Yeah, you can hook something up,” Dante answered leaving the kitchen and hearing Dre telling Rose exactly what he wanted. Making it halfway up the stairs as Alinna, D.J. walked up on him.
“Where the hell have you been, Dante?”
“Handling business,” he told Alinna, taking his son out of Alinna’s arms.
“What business?”
“
What’s up with you?”
“I’m wondering why is it when I wake up you’re not in bed or even in the house? What business did you need to handle?”
“I told you about it last night,” Dante told her and then asked, “What is you tripping about now?”
Staring up at Dante a moment, Alinna never got a chance to respond as Vanessa and Amber came downstairs.
“A, you ready?’ Amber asked, noticing Alinna’s facial expression cutting her eyes over to Vanessa, seeing her girl noticed Alinna expression also.
Rolling her eyes at Dante, Alinna started down the stairs again calling for both Vanessa and Amber to come on so they can leave.
Chapter 18
“Alinna, are you okay?” Vanessa asked her girl as they drove away from the time house. Driving in Alinna’s new BMW 325I, she glanced back and forth from the road back over to Alinna. Hearing Vanessa and staring out of her window from the passenger seat, Alinna responded after a minute passed. “I think something’s up with that bitch Angela.”
“You mean Dante’s daughters mom?” Amber asked from the backseat.
“Yeah, that bitch,” Alinna answered nastily.
“I thought everything was alright with you and Dante on that level,” Vanessa added.
“I was,” Alinna replied and looked to Vanessa saying, “This bitch called Dante at twelve something in the morning about some problem he told me about after he got home. Then his ass was gone again when I woke up. When I asked him where he had been he said some mess about taking care of business.”
“You know how that man is better than all of us. He’s always handling something,” Amber spoke up.
“What’s wrong with him taking care of a problem?” Vanessa asked.
“I do not care about Dante handling his business. What I do care about is my man coming home smelling like some other bitch. That’s what the problem is,” Alinna stated, her anger was heard through her voice. Turning her attention back out of the window Vanessa and Amber sat quietly; Alinna stared out the window not seeing anything and thinking about how she could get to the bottom of this problem.
* * *
Turning down the block where Harmony’s trap house was after calling her worker’s, Tony T slowed his Aston Martin in front of the trap house, but sat looking out of the tinted passenger window for a brief moment, trying to understand what he was seeing.