by A'zayler
“I’m sure. I want you to.”
Demoto looked at her and nodded. That was it, the ball was now rolling. Demoto grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.
“You know I got you.”
“I know.”
“Well don’t sweat it. I’ll take care of you and everything else.”
Taryn smiled at him. “As always.”
Demoto chuckled a little as they got out of the car and headed into the mall. “As always huh?”
“Yeah, always.”
Chapter Three
“It’s funny as hell to me bruh.” Demoto shot the basketball.
“No the fuck it ain’t, my nigga. I don’t see the humor in it at all. I’m actually tired of hearing the shit. Then after Kia tells me everything, she wants to say, ‘and don’t tell Demoto.’” Jacko tried his best to imitate a female voice.
He and Demoto were at the local basketball court near Jacko’s house. They had just gotten from Double O and had a little bit of free time before their meeting later. Following that, both of them had jobs that needed to be done. It seemed that since Demoto was promoted to the number one assassin, his workload had doubled. Every other day he had another contract coming through. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Mr. Buck was giving them as little time as possible to be with Taryn and Kia.
Demoto stopped bouncing the ball and doubled over in laughter. “Nigga you stupid.”
“No, my nigga, I’m just annoyed as hell. Kia’s little ass voice, then she be telling me the shit like I can get down on one knee and propose to Taryn for your slow ass.”
“Man, you know how women are. She telling you not to tell me, but she wants you to. She probably figures if you tell me, then I’ll do it.” Demoto jumped off of the ground and shot the ball.
“Well, if that’s the case,” Jacko walked over to Demoto and looked at him, “ask that damn girl to marry you. Maybe I’ll be able to get some rest at night. I be at home hearing about y’all business like it’s mine.”
“It’s your damn fault. Ain’t nobody tell you to take your ass and marry Kia. Like nigga, come on. What choice did you really leave me?”
Jacko pushed his hair from his face and passed the ball back to Demoto. “I can’t help that I saw what I wanted and acted on it. Keep on bullshitting and let somebody else run up on Pretty Lee. Your ass gon’ be crying then. It’s gone be me begging Kia to tell Taryn some shit.”
Demoto stopped dribbling the ball and stared at Jacko. He didn’t find anything about what he’d just said funny at all, and he really couldn’t understand why Jacko would even say something like that. Jacko motioned his hand toward the goal, but Demoto was no longer paying that any attention.
“Demoto, shoot the damn ball. I don’t give a fuck about you getting all solid faced and shit. It’s the truth. Women ain’t waiting on niggas no more. They will kick our ass straight to the curb.”
“What I don’t understand is why you would say the shit, though. You supposed to be my homeboy.”
“I am, and that’s why I’m telling you. I don’t understand why you always get so serious when somebody say something about you not being with Taryn. Your ass act like she even wants someone else.”
Jacko shook his head. After all the years that they’d been together, Demoto still got fire hot thinking about Taryn getting another nigga. He knew the love the two of them shared was special and unlike anything he’d ever seen before, but Demoto took that shit to a totally different level. Like now, he was still standing there with the ball in his hand refusing to shoot because his mind was probably on Taryn and another man. Something that Jacko never saw happening.
“Furthermore, is there any nigga that Pretty Lee might find that you ain’t gon’ kill? I mean just being honest.”
“It ain’t one. I’ll kill every nigga that she even thinks of being with.”
“My point exactly. Marry the girl and move the fuck on. It’s clear you don’t plan on leaving her or allowing her to leave you, so what’s the issue?”
“I just want to make sure everything is good first. Like money and shit.”
Jacko looked at Demoto with one of the craziest looks he could muster. “Niggggga! You are one of the richest niggas around. Like, bruh, we ain’t even twenty-five yet and we’re damn near millionaires. How much more money do you need?”
Demoto’s face dropped a little from his frown and a smile appeared. “See, that’s why you my fucking nigga.” He walked over with his hand out, preparing to dap Jacko up.
Jacko walked away and shook his head. “Bruh you need some help. I ain’t dapping your ass up.”
They laughed before going back to their game. They played one on one for a while until it was time for them to head home and shower. They split up with Demoto driving to the apartment he and Taryn shared while Jacko went to his house. On the drive there, Demoto thought a lot about what Jacko had said. He had been making Taryn wait for no reason. She was the mother of his son and the only woman he could see himself with. Why was he waiting?
True enough, his job was dangerous, and he didn’t really favor it, but it brought the money in and he was good at it. There would never come a time when he would let someone harm his family, so he really could go ahead and pop the question. Until recently, he hadn’t really given it any thought. However, since Jacko had been mentioning it for the last few days, it had been on his mind more.
He was a little thrown off by the topic for the simple fact that Taryn never said anything about it. Yeah, they talked about being married and all the extra stuff, but what couple didn’t? He assumed that was the norm. Clearly it wasn’t. She was really waiting, and he was procrastinating. Demoto’s mind was on all the places he could get Taryn a ring from when his red cell phone rang.
He grabbed it from the seat with no hesitation and answered it. “Yeah?”
“Eleven o’clock tonight. In Columbus, Georgia, at 2347 Urban Avenue. 34-year-old white male accused of a home invasion and the murder of three people. Followed by that will be his accomplices. Take your time. All other details will be in the package. Check your mail.”
“Confirmed.”
After that one word, the line went dead. Demoto turned his music back up and headed home. It looked like his day was about to get a lot busier than he’d expected. He was already on a job in Atlanta at five, with a meeting a seven back in Columbus. He would have to get on his shit as soon as he got to the house. As he turned into the parking lot of their apartment complex, his personal phone started singing. Lil John’s song “Ms. Chocolate” rang out.
“What’s going on, baby girl?”
“Missing you. Where you at?”
A smile crossed his face as he listened to Taryn talk. “At the house about to take a shower real quick before work.”
“What you taking a shower in the middle of the day for?” He could hear the playful accusation in her voice.
“I’m all sweaty.”
Taryn sucked her teeth. “From doing what?” She made sure to emphasize the ‘t’ at the end of what.
Demoto laughed because Taryn was crazy as hell. “I was playing basketball, Tee.”
“Um huh. Don’t make me hurt your ass.”
“Tell me how you plan to do that.”
“Boyyyy, don’t try me. You know you be doing all that screaming and moaning when I’m putting this pussy on you.”
Demoto laughed before she could say anything else. He could hear her laughing too.
“Damn right I do. That shit is fucking oxygen.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Well, why you asking me a thousand and one questions about my shower?” Demoto got out of his car and headed up the stairs.
“I was just messing with you. I know you like it when I play all jealous over you and stuff.”
This girl kept him laughing. She was right though because there wasn’t a woman on the face of the earth that would make him cheat on Taryn. Ever since he’d met her it had been that way. She satisfied him in every
aspect of the word, so there was no need to look anywhere else, and she knew it too. That’s why she said the shit she said sometimes.
“I hear you talking, shawty. What time you finish with classes today?”
“I have one more and my group from that class wants to meet in the library to do our project. Can you get Ayo from school and bring him to me, please? I know you have to work later, so I’ll take him with me to study.”
Demoto looked at his watch to check the time. “Yeah, but that means I’ll have to get him now and take with me to my meeting then bring him to you. I don’t have time to do it any other way.”
Taryn was quiet for a minute. “Will that be okay for you?”
“Come on now. Look what you’re asking.”
“I forgot you were super dad.” Taryn laughed.
“I know you did. Just don’t forget that shit again.”
“Okay. Just don’t forget his snacks. You know he likes to cut a fool when he hungry.”
The two of them talked for a little longer before he told her he’d call her back. Within an hour, Demoto was dressed and headed to Ayo’s daycare then to the Double O office. Being one of the lead people in charge had its perks, but some days he wished that he was still at the bottom. Being in such a powerful positon required a lot of his time. The only reason he was still flowing with things outside of the money, was the fact that he was free to do pretty much anything.
The parking lot of Ayo’s daycare was relatively empty as were the halls. The building was completely quiet minus the occasional baby cries. Ayo’s room was in the two-year-old class, which was at the far end of the hall, meaning he had to pass the three-year-old room that he would be in next month in order to get there.
Now that wouldn’t be a problem for him if every time he came to pick Ayo up, the girl from the three-year-old class didn’t call herself flirting with him. She was a pretty woman and everything, he just didn’t want her. The only reason he ever even gave her a second look was because she was dark skinned like he liked. Other than that, he never would have even known she existed.
Demoto kept his focus on the window of Ayo’s class and did his best not to look in the girl’s direction. The slightest bit of eye contact and she was coming out the door. He thought he had made it safely to Ayo’s class until he walked in the door. She was sitting in the rocking chair with one of the kids while the others lay asleep in various spots in the room. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw him.
“Hi, Mr. Youngblood.” She stood from the chair and walked toward the mat that Ayo was lying on. “He just went down. It took him a little while today. I don’t think he feels very well. He was kind of fussy.”
Demoto’s eyebrows creased with concern as he leaned down to grab Ayo from the floor. His head tilted over to the side. His long blonde locs the miniature version of his father’s. Demoto carefully laid him over his shoulder, patting his back lightly. Ayo stirred a little, but that didn’t last long before he was comfortably back asleep.
“Appreciate it.” Demoto turned to leave but she grabbed his arm.
“Wait. You still haven’t used that number I gave you.”
Demoto kept walking to the door. “I don’t plan to.”
“Damn, you cold.”
Demoto turned around. “Have you not seen how big my baby mama is? Take it from me, lil shawty, you don’t want those problems.”
The girl rolled her eyes as she rocked the baby in her arms. “I ain’t scared of her. Besides, who said she has to know?”
“You should be.” Demoto shook his head and grabbed Ayo’s bag.
“How she gon’ know unless you tell her?”
This chick is fucking looney.
“Because she ain’t stupid. Listen, shawty, I appreciate it, I really do. But just take my word for it when I tell you it ain’t happening. I don’t cheat on my girl for one, and two, she would beat your lil ass to death, so play with it if you want.”
Demoto didn’t wait to hear anything she said after that because he already knew it was reckless and he didn’t want to lose his temper in the middle of the daycare. Hopefully she’d take heed to his warning and just go ahead on about her business. Just as much as he didn’t play about Taryn, she didn’t play about him. Especially when it came to other women. Although he liked to see her go hard for him, he didn’t bring unnecessary drama her way.
Once Ayo was buckled in his car seat Demoto was on his way to Double O. On the ride there, Ayo woke up.
“Bonjour Ayo,” (Hello Ayo)
He still looked a little sleepy as he rubbed his eyes. “Bonjour papa,” (Hello Daddy) his little voice was a lot softer than normal due to the fact that he’d just woken up.
“Vous d’accord?” (You okay?)
“Jai som—” Demoto watched Ayo close his eyes for a second before opening them again. The sun bounced off his charcoal colored skin. “Jai sommeil,” (I’m sleepy)
Demoto nodded. “Aller dormir.” (Go to sleep)
After instruction from his father, Ayo lay his head over to the side of his seat and closed his eyes. He kept them closed only for a minute before opening them right back up.
“Can I have chicken nuggets?”
Demoto smiled because he knew it wasn’t going to be long before he asked for food. For a two-year-old, he had an appetite of a ten-year-old. He could eat all day. Some nights he and Ayo would sit at the table eating long after Taryn had finished. Demoto smiled; that was his little mini me.
“Daddy got you.”
Demoto made a quick left and got into the turning lane. There was a McDonald’s on the corner. He grabbed Ayo’s food quickly and continued on to work. Getting Ayo, his Happy Meal, and all the other things he needed to take inside was a task, especially since Ayo was acting like he couldn’t walk. With one arm carrying a child and a Happy Meal, and the other weighed down with a Ninja Turtles book bag, and all black Nike backpack, and a large brown briefcase that housed his contracts, Demoto made his way inside Double O.
“Family man,” Nichelle, the secretary, said as soon as they walked into the door.
“You already know. How you doing today, shawty?”
“I’m pretty good, boss. You want me to take Ayo for you?”
Demoto shook his head. “Nah, I got him. Thank you, though.”
“No problem,” she said to his back because he was already headed toward the elevators.
Demoto appreciated the fact that his little family was welcomed there. Taryn and Ayo spent so much time at Double O it was almost a second home for them all. On top of the fact that he was one of the highest ranking employees, Taryn’s daddy being the boss of everything didn’t hurt either. She and Ayo came and went as they pleased.
Once they were in front of the elevator, Demoto leaned down so that Ayo could press the button for it. He did the same thing again once they got on. Ayo’s tiny finger pressed the number five, and the button turned red, signaling the floor they were going to. When they got to the floor where Demoto, Mr. Buck, Jacko, Bradley Marks, and Adisa’s office were, Ayo was chilling in his father’s arm as he did all the work. He offered no help. Not even carrying his food or backpack.
“Uncle Jack!” Ayo screamed as he tried his best to shimmy down out of Demoto’s arms.
When Demoto looked up and saw Jacko walking down the hall, Demoto let him down. He ran straight to Jacko. He hugged Jacko’s neck as soon as picked him up.
“What’s going on, nephew?”
“Umm, nothing. I got chicken nuggets.”
“You do? Can Uncle Jack have some?”
Ayo nodded and reached toward Demoto for his Happy Meal.
Demoto handed him the food and walked toward his office. The way all of their offices were set up, Ayo had free range. That one floor was separated just for them. No one else was allowed unless requested. Ayo ran from Jacko’s office to Demoto’s back and forth for a while, since they were the only two there at the moment. In the bottom drawer of Demoto’s desk Ayo found
a plethora of snacks that Taryn had left.
Anytime she came to the office she made it her business to make sure his snack drawer was fully stocked for when he was there. She even made sure to throw a few of Demoto’s favorite snacks in there as well. Demoto rubbed his forehead as he looked over his contracts for the night. He was growing very frustrated at not being able to concentrate on his work. After a few more minutes of failed attempts, he threw his pen down. He leaned back in his chair and watched Ayo eat goldfish and play with a box of blocks that he’d pulled out of Mr. Bucks office.
“Aye, Jack, you busy?” Demoto yelled from his office.
“Running through a few numbers. What’s up?”
Jacko was the money man of the team. Anything dealing with numbers and financial matters, Jacko was the person to see. He was one of the main reasons Double O was still in full operation. All money was clean and accounted for. Jacko was so good with numbers that it was shocking. Demoto had always known his boy was good, but to actually see him matriculate some of the money that they ran through still caught him off guard sometimes. He’d been given the job after one of Demoto’s successful takedowns a few years back.
“I got called for another job a few hours ago on top of the one that I already had later.”
“Damn, nigga. How you gon’ swing that shit?”
“Jack, come on man. I ain’t number one for nothing.”
The two of them laughed again before Demoto went into what he really wanted to talk about.
“Tee asked me to look up her people for her. She wanted to know where her parents are buried at.”
Jacko leaned back in his chair so that he could see inside Demoto’s office. The way their desks were positioned, they could look directly into the other’s office if need be. Mr. Buck claimed it was because they worked so well as a team.
“So what you gon’ do?”
“It’s not what I’m gon’ do, it’s what I already did.”
Jacko raised his eyebrows. “You found them already?”
Demoto nodded.
“Ain’t that a good thing? Why you looking so sick?”