That East Side Love 2

by Lucinda John

  “Aww Diamond, don’t cry. We all make stupid choices that we have to live with. That’s a part of growing up,” he soothed me.

  “I know. I just wished I followed my heart and not my mind. My heart was telling me it loved Zoe, but my mind wanted Bobby because of all the years I spent loving him.”

  “I understand Diamond. What’s done is done, now you have to focus on what happens next. You can use this lesson and learn from it or just allow yourself to sit and be depressed.”

  “Juss, you always know the right thing to say.”

  “That’s what friends are for. Let me go grab you a bottle of water. With all that crying you did you need to rehydrate your body.

  “I do have a headache,” I admitted.

  “Can you take anything for it?” he asked.

  “Yes, I have some Tylenol in the cupboard. Can you grab them for me please?”

  “Will do,” he smiled disappearing into the kitchen.

  While Justice went to fetch my pills, I pulled out my phone to text Zoe.

  Me: I am so sorry for everything. I know you would probably never text me back but if there is a slight chance that you would, I choose you. It took me hitting rock bottom to realize that I was pursuing something that needed to be buried instead of focusing on what was in front of my face. If you ever read this text, because I know you have me blocked, I want you to know that I love you so much and maybe one day we can make things work. I pray for Ian’s safe return. I love you Joshua.

  “Here,” Justice said handing me the pills and a water bottle just as I sent Zoe my text.

  I gulped down the pills, and drunk the whole bottle of water in seconds.

  “Dang Dee, you were really thirsty. I don’t think you should be allowing yourself to get like that. Should I grab you another bottle of water?”

  “No really, I’m fine,” I yawed feeling tired all of a sudden.

  “You look tired. Maybe you should go lay down and I’ll come back another time.”

  “I can’t feel my legs Justice,” I babbled.

  “It’s ok, go to sleep,” was the last thing I heard Justice say before everything went black.

  Chapter 26

  Beamer

  “Mommy can we go see daddy now?” Ian asked me for the one hundredth time.

  “Don’t you like staying with mommy?” I asked as we walked inside our three-bedroom apartment.

  “Yes, but I miss daddy,” he whined.

  “If you go back to daddy he will take you away and I will never get to see you again,” I cried.

  Ever since I took Ian from the park, my life has been complete. It took Ian time to warm up to me, but when he finally did, we hit it off pretty good. He was just starting to call me ‘mommy’ and I was feeling proud.

  With the money I collected from Dash from my cut, I was able to move to Philly and live comfortable. It was a change from the sunshine state I was born and raised in, but we were adjusting fine. This was the last place I could think of that Zoe wouldn’t dare to look. With any luck Bobby killed Zoe or even better, both of them was dead.

  “DADDY!!!!” Ian yelled snapping me out of my thoughts.

  Zoe was sitting on my couch smoking a blunt scaring the hell out of me. I wanted to run, but I was sure he had his goons ready to pull the trigger on me at the drop of a hat. How Zoe found me was beyond me. Now I was sitting here shitting bricks because my life was getting ready to end.

  “Hey boy, how you been?” Zoe asked Ian with a smile on his face.

  “I’ve been good,” he smiled. “Mommy didn’t tell me you were coming, was this a surprise?” Ian asked.

  “Yes, this was daddy BIG surprise,” he grinned. “Say goodbye to mommy, you're going to see her later,” Zoe said causing chills to run to my spine.

  “Bye mommy,” Ian hugged me. “I had fun visiting you.”

  “I love you,” I said hugging my son tightly.

  “Don’t cry mommy, I’ll be back.”

  “Ok,” I nodded knowing I was dead meat the moment Ian was out of sight.

  “Go outside Ian, Grandma is waiting for you.”

  “Ok,” he said running to the door.

  Zoe watched as Ian got in the car with his mother and they drove off. Zoe’s attention was on making sure Ian left the premises so I used this opportunity to run away.

  POW!

  Zoe shot me in the back of my leg causing me to scream out in pain.

  “I should kill you,” he said stepping on my bullet wound. “Thank your son for sparing your life. I see the way he loves you and I don’t want to be the one that took you away from him. However, if Bobby gets to you first that’s your problem. It may take him time to put two and two together, but I’m a smart nigga. I know you had his traps robbed, just to frame me,” Zoe laughed.

  “Stay away from my fucking son. If I ever decide to allow him to see you then I will come to you. If you come near him again I won’t be so fucking nice,” Zoe said kicking me hard in the head with his steel toe boots.

  I could hear my neck snap back as pain began to rip through my body. Zoe walked out of my house whistling Young Dolph’s “Preach,” as I laid in the floor drifting in and out of consciousness.

  Chapter 27

  Cray

  Almost losing Bobby made me realize how much I couldn’t live without him. While I was on my break at my aunt’s house, all I could think about is him, and us being a family. What Daniel had going on was fun, just that. He wasn't interested in having kids or being a family man. He was just living the only life he had to live.

  Watching Bobby connected to all the cords fighting for his life again for the second time, broke my heart. I just prayed like hell when he recovered that he would get out the game and we could move out of Florida. I knew the chances of that happening was slim, but I still held on to hope.

  I took Bobby’s mom advice and changed Bobby’s number and placed Diamond’s name on the cannot visit list. Diamond always wanted to play victim when in reality she was the suspect. As a woman, how could you not respect a man’s relationship and still sleep with him? I knew they had love for one another, but she should have left him alone when she saw that he had a family.

  “I’m having a hard time getting in contact with Diamond,” Bobby’s mom said as she took a seat next to me.

  “Where is Kay now?” I asked.

  “With Lona, but this is so not like Diamond to leave Kay like that. I think something is seriously wrong.”

  “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  “Get in contact with the authorities.”

  When I looked over at Bobby his eyes were wide open. All the days I spent sitting here talking to him he never blinked an eye, but once he heard his mom say Diamond was missing, he opened his eyes. Pissed off, I stormed out of the room. Wherever Diamond was, I prayed her and that baby was lying in the ditch dead.

  Chapter 28

  Zoe

  Since I got Ian back, my sisters, mother and I have been vacationing in the Bahamas. I wanted to forget about everything that happened and just spend time with my family. The day I received Diamond’s text I started thinking about the possibility of us getting together again. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go down that road with her again, that’s why I left her text unanswered. Diamond still had a lot of growing up to do. I was ready to be in a relationship, not father a grown ass woman.

  When I got home, Pete was standing in front of my door waiting for me with Kay by his side. The first thing I thought about was something happening to Diamond and my heart started to beat rapidly. I couldn't handle any more heat coming my way, but I was willing to kill for the ones I loved.

  “Mom, take Ian and Kay in the house please.” I waited until they were inside before reverting my attention back to Pete. “What happened?”

  “My daughter is missing?”

  “Your daughter? Pete what daughter?”

  “Diamond,” he said clearing his throat.

  “Wait one fucking minute, my
Diamond?”

  “Yes, Kay’s big sister Diamond.”

  “How the fuck is she your daughter?” I asked.

  “Diamond’s mother and I had relations and nine months later she was born, what the fuck you mean how she’s my fucking daughter?”

  “Why you never told me?” I asked. “You can tell me every fucking thing but this is the one thing you choose to keep from me!” I yelled.

  “Diamond’s mother and I decided to keep it between us. She was married and didn't want to ruin her marriage and with Janet not being able to have kids, I didn’t want to burden her with an outside child,” he confessed.

  “What’s up with y’all motherfuckers disclaiming y’all children?”

  “Now is not the time Zoe, she’s missing.”

  “For how long?”

  “Forty-eight hours. I’ve already filed a police report.”

  “What the fuck did you do that for? You know how I feel about these pigs in my fucking business,” I snapped.

  “What the fuck did you expect me to do? This is my daughter we’re talking about.”

  “Now you claim her,” I laughed “Any leads?”

  “No.”

  “Exactly, you pigs are good for nothing. I’ll handle this my way, get the fuck off of my property,” I said walking inside.

  I didn’t want to be bothered so I walked straight to my office. Opening my box of weed, I rolled four joints and smoked them back to back. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Although I wasn’t feeling Diamond at the moment, it didn’t change the fact that she could possibly be the mother of my child, most importantly it didn't change the fact that I still loved and cared about her.

  Walking to my bar, I grabbed the bottle of Henny and started drinking out the bottle. I called my PI and gave her the rundown on everything. I even wired her three mil just to get the job done. Diamond was important to me and I needed her home like yesterday. I was drowning in my feelings as I went through the photo album Diamond made for me.

  Flipping through the pages of our memories, I remembered why I fell in love with her. If God could spare her life and bring her home to me, I promised that I would make things right. It was sad how it took tragedy for you to realize how much you really love a person.

  I went through my phone and unblocked all the numbers that I had on my block list. Before I could even put my phone down, my connect in Haiti started blowing me up.

  “Hello?” I finally answered.

  “Zoe, you fucked up big time!”

  “I can explain….I,” I stopped when I was interrupted by cries of a baby.

  “Oh you hear that huh? Well that’s the sweet sound of your baby girl, although she looks nothing like you. Are you sure you are the father?” he laughed. “In the case of the unknown baby, Joshua you are not the father.” He continued his laughter making my blood pressure rise.

  “I swear to God if you fuck with them I am going to…”

  “Do what? Come for me? Try again. Matter of fact, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. You have one week to get to Haiti or this bitch and her baby is dead,” he spat hanging up the phone.

  My connect was the most ruthless nigga to ever walk this earth. I knew walking out on our meeting with no money or explanation, was going to come back and bite me in the ass, I just didn’t know it was going to hurt that bad. I had one week to come up with a plan to get Diamond and the baby back alive. Even if the baby wasn’t mine I still wanted her home safe.

  Picking up my phone, I sent Choppa and Rich a 9-1-1 text demanding they meet me at our spot.

  Chapter 29

  Bobby

  Zoe knocked me on my ass and I swore on my uncle’s grave I was going to make him pay for it, but for now I had to focus on getting Diamond back. When I heard Diamond was missing, my whole world turned upside down. Technically, I wasn’t in a coma for as long as they thought I was, I just wasn’t ready to deal with Cray. All she did was apologize for stepping out on me and tell me how she wanted our family back.

  The time we spent apart did the complete opposite for me. I was no longer in love with Cray. I loved her because we shared a baby together but us in a relationship, was something that wasn’t going to happen. I was now with Diamond wholeheartedly and it was going to stay that way. Cray and I was just going to have to figure out how to co-parent.

  Against my doctor’s orders, I checked myself out of the hospital. I couldn’t lay down all day while my wife was missing. My jaw was still healing, so it hurt like hell when I talked and I still suffered terrible headaches due to my concussion; however, I was going to have to suck this shit up until I got Diamond back safe and sound.

  Cookie already gave me the inside scoop on how Zoe called a major meeting at his warehouse. I knew me showing up there was like me asking for the death penalty, but I needed to be in. I had to bury the hatchet with Zoe until we brought Diamond home.

  “Bobby where the fuck are you going?” Cray asked as I walked passed her.

  “To go find my wife.” I stopped looking her in the face.

  “Your wife?”

  “Yes my wife. Listen Cray, the time we spent apart helped me realize that Diamond is who I want to be with. You wanted me to make my decision and I did,” I explained.

  “What about our son?” I cried.

  “He will be well taken care of. This doesn’t take way from the fact that I will still be in his life.”

  “Wow,” she said looking at me with a confused look as tears streamed from her eyes.

  “You can keep the house. As soon as I come back, I’m moving out,” I said jogging towards Bookie’s car.

  “You sure you want to do this?” Bookie asked me.

  “I have to bruh, you riding?”

  “Until the wheels fall off nigga.”

  “Ok, let’s do this,” I said knocking on the door of the warehouse.

  A big black motherfucker answered the door, looked me up and down then slammed the door in my face. I was about to knock again until Zoe came to the door with his fye in my face. I done looked down the barrel of this nigga’s gun so much that I wasn’t fazed by it.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked me.

  “I heard about Diamond and I want in on whatever you have planned.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” he laughed.

  “As a heart attack.”

  “Bobby, get the fuck out of my face before I kill you. I am not in the mood to spare your life this time.

  “Well do what you gotta do because I’m not leaving until you either let me in on the plan or kill me.”

  Instead of answering me, he pulled out his beeping phone and looked down at it. Something must have pissed him off because I watched him turn into the fucking Hulk. His jaw clenched so hard that I could hear his teeth grinding. He looked up at me with red eyes and just studied me.

  “You want in, you got it. If you get yourself in a fucked up position, I’m letting you and that fuck boy die. The only ones I’m riding for is my niggas,” he said stepping to the side and letting me inside.

  I entered the warehouse and there was about thirty niggas sitting around a conference table. This shit must have been serious because a picture of the suspected and his crew was displayed on a projector, while those niggas sat taking notes. I wasn’t sure if I was around a bunch of drug dealers, or in a college English class.

  Before Zoe could continue with whatever he was saying there was another knock at the door. The big nigga that opened the door the first time went to see who it was. Bookie and I took a seat in the back corner and waited for guest to join us.

  Officer Pete then join us with an army of SWAT niggas who were all wear bullet proof vest and carrying big guns. Pete walked in rolling a heavy chest, then stood next to his men. I could pick up the tension between Pete and Zoe so I wondered what was going on between the two of them.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Zoe asked with venom in his eyes.

  “I came to offer my assistance.”
He said opening the chest that was filled with war like weapons.

  Zoe looked as if he was going to say something but changed his mind. Nodding his head he took his spot in the middle of the room and began his lecture.

  “The niggas who have Diamond are the Heineken Boys, the most ruthless mafia in Haiti.” He said with a clenched jaw. “We missed a meeting with the connect, causing us to miss payment, however I don’t think that was enough for him to have Diamond snatched” He continued.

  “What you think is up?” One of the guys asks.

  “I’m not sure, but we have no time to figure it out, we have one week to come up with a plan to take these niggas down. This crew is highly feared by everyone is Haiti so the thought of adding the authorities on our payroll for assistance is out of the window.”

  “How about we go send the troops to Haiti first have them study the Heineken Boys every move, once they have everything mapped out then we fly down and move in. If you fly down now then that will alarm them and we would have to go in busting at everyone. To be honest I think this is a set up.” Pete said.

  “Set up why?” Zoe asked.

  “The meeting was for you to break ties right?”

  “Yes I found an African that I was going to fuck with after pushing that last of the weight.” Zoe said to him.

  “Then there you got it, when you start fucking with a nigga’s money then that’s when they use you loved ones to get you back in line?” Pete said making logic out of the situation.

  Zoe just sat back with a blunt dangling from his lips as he soaked up the information.

  “Ok we do as Pete say, I want everyone to fly out to Haiti tonight gather enough information you can, day five we move.” He said in between puffs.

  “What about this clown ass nigga and his booty partner?” Choppa asked pointing to me.

  “He is his own army, they will help us but none of you are obligated to lay your life on the line for them.” Zoe smirked, winking at me.

  For the remainder of the meeting, Zoe gave us the basic run down on how he wanted things handled when we got to Haiti. We were under strict orders not to move until him, Choppa, and Rich arrived. All I could think about was Diamond, although my head pounded in pain and it hurt like hell to breath, I was determined to bring Diamond back and learn how to take Zoe down at the same time.