Long As You Know Who You Belong To 2

by Bri Noreen

  We chatted about the operation and why they were here. It was around noon when I finally brought the meeting to a close. I had just finished explaining why I had called the emergency meeting in LA and I was waiting to see if there were any objections. I had never been known to have a problem out of any of my fam, but time had passed since we had been down for each other. I had to be sure that everyone was down with no questions asked. Anyone who wasn’t…well, they wouldn’t make it out the front door.

  “So to bring all this shit I said full circle, I need my fam to help me out.”

  “Bro, you don’t even have to ask,” Keem spoke up.

  “Don’t be so quick on the trigger, my nigga. This is going to require y’all to uproot your lives and move out west by next Monday.” Eyes all around the room grew wide. “I know this is a lot to ask, but this is home. Not just the D, but being here in this room, surrounded by the people that have been loyal to a nigga through everything. It don’t get no realer than this. Y’all are fam, and I can’t make these moves without the people I trust. I will make sure that you and your families are set up nice out west and any expenses that need to be handled, just let me know, and I got you.”

  “So we got housing and whips set up or do we need to handle that?” Bailey asked.

  “Each of you have your own spots according to the areas I need you to oversee. I know that everyone has a different role in the operation, but you all will also be in charge of your own areas with the exception of Brandin and Simba. All that will be outlined in the packages that will be delivered to you tomorrow. Each of you will receive specific instructions that I need you follow to the letter. After everyone has completed their tasks, we’ll meet at the specified location next Wednesday in LA. Understood?”

  Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. I knew this was a lot to take in, but I needed to make sure that everyone was cool moving forward with what I had just explained.

  “Does anyone have questions or concerns? As a matter of fact, does anyone have any objections? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  A blanket of silence fell over the room, and I studied the faces across from me. Everyone knew this shit was blood in and blood out, but I would rather the bloodshed take place now before I spent money sending niggas across the country and shit. When no one objected, I smiled.

  “A’ight then. Again, I appreciate everyone for showing up and being willing to jump in with no questions asked. Now that business is done, playtime begins. Turn the fuck up on me at my club, South Beach, and with any luck, I’ll be there with something else to celebrate.”

  Blaze

  August 2015

  I was beyond tired when I walked out of work and I was still on edge about what Roman wanted me to do. I hadn’t seen or heard from Grey since the night he’d walked out on me and while I was grateful that he seemed to be out of harm’s way for now, I missed him terribly. I missed his intense grey eyes, his sense of humor, his smell, and his mannish ways. Just thinking about him made me tear up, but I quickly wiped them way when I heard Amazing coming out of the door behind me. She locked up the shop and came around to face me.

  “You okay, boss?”

  “I’m good. Thank you for staying tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I reached out and hugged her, and we went our separate ways. I pulled out my phone to check my messages, hoping that Grey had reached out. I was disappointed to only see the new email notification. I ignored it and headed to my car that was parked in the back, ready to get out of the blazing heat. When I got to the parking lot, I could cry at the scene in front of me. My car was missing! Fuck! I didn’t have time for the bullshit today! I was tired and horny, and now to top shit off, someone had stolen my car.

  “Fuck!” I screamed.

  I sucked in a deep breath as I pulled my cell phone back out and started calling Triple A. Before I could hit send, a black Town Car pulled up in front of me. The driver side window rolled down and revealed an older, salt and pepper haired black man with a toothy grin.

  “Hello, Miss. I’m Carl. I’m here to pick you up.”

  “Uh, no, I think you’re mistaken.” I said, turning my attention back to my phone.

  “Oh no, ma’am. I am here to pick up a Ms. Blaze McGowan. You look like the picture.” He smiled as he presented me with a selfie I had taken a few weeks ago. “Why don’t you check your email,” he suggested.

  Confused, I looked at him and then at my phone, remembering the new email notification I had received a few moments ago. Cautiously, I opened the email and it read:

  From: YourMan821@gmail.com

  Subject: I miss you…

  Re: Baby, I don’t know what I did to drive you away, but please let me fix it. Get in the car and follow the directions. I promise you won’t be sorry you did. Love You, Grey.

  P.S. Don’t worry about your car. It’s at your crib.

  My heart thumped against my chest, and a smile overtook my face. The threats that Roman had made still lingered in the back of my head, but I missed my man more than I could explain in words. So I hopped in the back of the Town Car and rode off to the unknown destination anxious to see my boo.

  Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to the Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills. The email notification on my phone chimed again. I opened up the email and it read:

  From: YourLove821@gmail.com

  Subject: I admire you…

  Re: I remember when you walked into this hotel the day of our first date. I was completely enamored by you. I mean your style, your beauty, the amount of class and confidence you carried…I was in awe. Suddenly, that four star hotel and that five star restaurant weren’t worthy of your presence and I knew that I had a rare gem that I never wanted to let go of.

  I changed my life for you. I went harder because I wanted to be everything that you wanted me to be. I was determined to make you love me despite what you already knew about me. I think I did a pretty good job of that. Lol.

  Go to the front desk and get a key to room 303.

  I had to giggle at the effort Grey was putting forth. He had went as far as creating separate email accounts so that each email address matched the content of the email. I was beyond impressed. I hopped out of the car with renewed energy. His words resonated with me, and I was relieved to know how he felt. When he walked out on me I thought that maybe I had lost him for good. I made a promise to myself as I walked into the hotel that I would tell him everything that I had been hiding, including my past. I at least owed him that much. I just had to pray that he would accept me.

  After retrieving my room key, I took the elevator up to the third floor. I unlocked the door, and tears involuntarily fell from my eyes as soon as I saw what was behind the door. The entire room was covered in pastel colored roses. From the front door to the sitting area to the bedroom, there were flowers everywhere. Baby blue, soft peach, blush pink, faded lilac, and muted yellow flowers filled every space inside the large suite. There was also a trail of bags that started at the front door and trailed to the bedroom. Starting with the first, I opened them all. The bags contained an outfit, a pair of heels, jewelry, bath products, perfume, a bottle of champagne, and a few candles. My phone alerted me to another email and I opened it.

  From: YourFutureBabyDaddy821@gmail.com

  Subject: I cherish you…

  Re: Your body is beautiful, and I miss seeing all your curves, especially your smile. I miss being inside of you and being able to capture a little bit of heaven on earth. I miss the face that you make when I’m hitting your spot and the sounds you make when I make you cream. I can’t wait to get back in between them legs and explain without words how much you mean to me.

  Pamper yourself and get dressed for Daddy. Carl will be back to pick you up at seven.

  I shuddered from the tingle that had traveled down my spine after reading his words. Before I could free myself from the nasty thoughts that invaded my brain, a knock on the door came. I went to open it and a pretty female was on the other side. In front
of her was a massage table and a few towels. I smiled. Grey had thought of everything. I let her inside and went to get undressed.

  Two and a half hours later, I was standing in front of the mirror admiring myself in the beautiful outfit Grey had picked out. He certainly had taste because I was in love with the clothes gracing my body. Wearing a red chiffon maxi skirt with a split up the front and a matching red crop top with wide straps, the look was effortlessly chic. He had paired it with a pair of three strap metallic gold Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, a gold snake choker and a pair of eighteen karat gold Marli studs. I had swept my red wine hair back into a neat ponytail and pulled my feathered, side swept bangs to the front. Placing my essentials into the sparkling leopard print Judith Leiber clutch, I rushed out of the hotel suite to meet Carl.

  A few minutes later I was back in the Town Car being chauffeured to a new destination. Imaginary butterflies fluttered around in the pit of my stomach as I anticipated the next surprise. A new email notification came through and pulled me out of my thoughts.

  From: YourHeart821@gmail.com

  Subject: I love you

  Re: I never truly knew what love was until I met you. I coasted through life fucking bitches and getting money, but never cared to have love in my life. From what I knew, love was more of a burden than a gift. Too many stories of heartbreak, lies, cheating, and all the other bullshit had been told and I wasn’t even trying to experience any of it firsthand. But when I met you all that changed. I honestly didn’t care what type of bullshit I had to endure or how much pain I had to feel, I would take it all just to have you in my life.

  Being away from you for the last two weeks has eaten me alive, ma. I miss everything about you from the way you smile when I surprise you to the way you pop your gum when you’re irritated. I would probably die if I have to spend another day without you, and since a nigga ain’t got a death wish, you gotta help me out with that. See you soon.

  X marks the spot.

  Tears fell from my eyes, and I quickly brushed them away once I felt the car stop moving. Carl hopped out and opened my door, and I stepped out, throwing my hand to my forehead to shield my eyes from the glare of the setting sun. I stood on the sidewalk and looked around, confused. I was surrounded by buildings but nothing special. There was a large jewelry store to my right, a gas station across the street, and a few small businesses crammed in a strip mall adjacent to where I stood. I looked around a little more and saw an X on the ground near the entrance to the jewelry store. I walked over to it. As soon as I stood over the X, a new email notification sounded. I opened it, but it was blank. Before I could look up from my phone a hard body slammed into me, nearly knocking me down. A pair of strong hands caught me before my body could hit the concrete, and I looked up into those pretty grey eyes and smiled.

  “My bad. I wasn’t even paying attention. You good?” Grey asked. I grinned at him as I straightened myself out. He looked damn good with his dreads pulled back and rolled into each other like Wale in the “Matrimony” video. He was clean as fuck in a black jacquard Gucci tuxedo and a pair of studded Jimmy Choo dress shoes. I couldn’t stop staring at him. He cleared his throat and repeated himself, waiting for me to reply. “My bad. I wasn’t even paying attention. You good?”

  “Don’t even worry about it. I’ve got enough to cushion the fall.” I responded with the same reply I’d given him the first day we’d met. I giggled at the fact that he was recreating our first encounter.

  “I can see that.” He smirked as he took his time looking me over.

  “Boy, don't be flirting with me like that. I know you gotta crazy girlfriend lurking somewhere in the shadows.” I continued playing along.

  “Damn, straight like that?”

  “Yeah, as good looking as you are, I know you've got some chick whipped and ready to whoop some ass over you. And knowing how big of a flirt I am, I need to get moving before I wind up in some unwanted drama.” I turned to walk away, but he quickly grabbed my arm. I turned around to face him.

  “I let you walk away that day, but I won’t ever make that mistake again…not ever. Not after you’ve captured my heart and now hold it in the palm of your hand.” He paused as his eyes filled with water. Watching him get emotional started a flow of water to leak from my eyes. He blinked a few times and continued. “I can’t believe you got a nigga out here about to cry, man.” I laughed as he chuckled to himself. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

  “Blaze, I’m fucking in love with you. I don’t know how you got in here,” he said, pointing to his heart. “But you’ve made it your home. I couldn’t find a better homie, lover or friend than you. The last time we were here, I was copping a ring to make it official with someone who never made me feel an ounce of what I feel for you. So it was only right that I redo this moment and make it count for something.”

  Slowly, Grey kneeled down and pulled out a red velvet box from his pant pocket. My hands flew to my face as the realization of what he was about to do set in. Tears fell like rain from my eyes as Grey choked back a few of his own. Popping open the box, Grey extended it to me.

  “Blaze McGowan, will you do me the honor of being my friend, my rock, my boo, my baby and my future baby momma for the rest of my life? Will you marry a nigga?”

  I could barely see due to the flood of tears that were clouding my vision. I couldn’t believe that after all the shit that I had been through, I had found love. The feeling that this man gave me was indescribable and rare. I had never met someone who loved and understood me so completely. I couldn’t understand what I had done to deserve someone like Grey. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded my head in response to his question. He hopped up and slid the beautiful 9 carat Tacori Dantela engagement ring onto my ring finger.

  Grabbing my chin, he kissed me with all the passion he had in his body. My whole body flushed with an overwhelming sense of relief and pure happiness. Even though Roman’s request was still very present in my mind, I knew that Grey would take care of him after I told him about what was going on. I had to believe that everything was going to be okay. I finally felt loved and I refused to let that feeling go. So fuck Roman and his threats. He was going to have to do what he had to do because nobody was going to make me go against the man I loved. No fucking body!

  Karma

  August 2015

  I thought I hated him until I saw him walk around that corner. When I woke up from my coma, rage was the only emotion that my brain would allow me to access, but as I stood there watching him fumbling around with whatever he had in his hand, my heart melted a little. I had been following him around for a few days against Roman’s advisement and watching his movements. He spent most of his time between his restaurant and his club, but I had noticed that he had been moving around less and less until today. I knew something big was going down based on his sudden burst of activity, so I trailed him.

  I had to admit it. I was still in love with Grey. Hell yes, I was pissed at the fact that he had fucked Blu behind my back. I was even more livid that he had attempted to kill me and had successfully killed my father. But I had fallen really hard for him….harder than I had fallen for anybody in my entire life. I wasn’t saying that I still wanted to marry the nigga and have his babies, but in that moment I was seriously reconsidering the plan that we had whipped up. That is until I saw her.

  He walked around the corner, bumped into her and caught her before she fell. At first I didn’t think anything of it. But as he continued standing there, I realized that their interaction was too casual as if they were very familiar with one another. I almost lost my shit when he got down on one knee and pulled out a ring box. What in the entire fuck? If I could’ve screamed without drawing attention to myself I would have. Not only was this mothafucka proposing, but he was proposing to my former client, Blaze. Instantly, my mind flashed to the night I ran into him at her event, and my body began to overheat like a transmission with no coolant. He had been seeing her too? He was slanging his dick to every
fucking body, huh?

  See, fucking with Roman had thrown me off my square. Here I was sitting on my fucking hands waiting on him to tell me the next move, when I could have been touched Grey before I had to witness his bitch ass get engaged! To that fat bitch? She was a happy meal away from being Precious! Aight, I’m over exaggerating but I’m fucking pissed! This nigga had already done the unthinkable and now he had taken it a step further by proposing to the bitch. Granted, the nigga thought I was dead but why the fuck did this nigga keep on coming up! Everything thing that was thrown against him only made him stronger. I was beginning to think that Roman’s plan was some bullshit and that I was going to have to strike out on my own. This nigga needed to pay with his life.

  I stormed off in the direction of my car, hopped in, and drove off like I was competing with Danica Patrick. I had to calm down and fast before my irrational thinking got the best of me. As much as I wanted to off this nigga with one shot, watching him suffer was going to bring me greater joy. With one integral part of our plan rotting in my living room, I only had one move left to put me back on track to destroying Grey’s world. What I had just witnessed only added fuel to the fire, and I was ready to burn his fucking life down! Driving like a bat out of hell, I raced to the meet-up location and waited for my guest to arrive.

  A few minutes later, I watched as a pearl Audi R8 pulled up across from me in the parking lot of the abandoned building. I held my breath. I didn’t know what or who to expect because the person that I had contacted to help me was someone I had never met before. All I knew was a name and a number. My father had often used this person whenever he needed something taken care of, and he was too busy or the situation was too hot for him to personally deal with it. I could only hope that this person named, Nine, could help me out because my request was not typically something you would call on a hitman for.