by A'zayler
“Moto I don’t understand, you’re always so gentle with me. You’ve never given any inkling of being a...well…you know…a…ummm, well you know what I mean,” she said, unable to say the word.
“That’s because I love you, T. You and my contracts are two different things. It’s not something I chose to do; it was offered and the pay is good. As cruel as it may sound, it’s not that personal.” Taryn got up and sat on the same side of the table as him. With her arm looped through his, she laid her head on his shoulder. Demoto rested his hand between the thickness of her thighs and relaxed. With her body next to his, Demoto felt the best he’d felt all night.
“I’m here forever Moto.” She meant those words with every fiber of her being. Many people would probably judge her for loving a man that killed others, but so! Fuck them and their opinions; anybody got out of line, she’d just have Demoto handle it. She knew she should have been running for the hills by now, but she wouldn’t dare. Who was she to judge? Her livelihood wasn’t that great either.
“Now T, this is between us. Nobody besides Jacko and Adisa knows.” Taryn nodded her head in understanding. She had so many questions, but chose to leave them unanswered. The less she knew the better. An hour had passed, and they’d finished and were headed to the car when Taryn’s cell phone rang. It was Jeremiah. She pressed the ignore button and put in her pocket. In her seatbelt and ready to pull off, it began to ring again. This time Demoto pulled it out of her pocket to see who was calling. Taryn held her breath waiting for his outburst, but it never came. Instead, he was chillingly calm.
“Why Miah keep calling?”
“I don’t know. He was just at the party with Ace all hugged up and kissing. I don’t know why he calling me now.”
It bothered Demoto to hear the hurt in her voice. He didn’t want her hurting behind another man. If she was feeling sour about Ace, that meant she still cared about Jeremiah. Demoto clinched his jaw tight while running his hand over his dreads. He hated that she loved another man. He wanted to be the only recipient of her love.
“You sound like you care.” His response came out a little harsher than he wanted it to. She picked up on it right away and looked at him. With her hand resting on his leg, she leaned over the console and kissed the muscle jumping in his jaw. She rubbed the side of his face for a minute before moving his hand to her chest. She placed it over her heart so he could feel it beating.
“My heart belongs to you and only you, Demoto. I don’t care who Jeremiah is with, it just pissed me off that he’s so sloppy.”
“It better,” he smiled as they headed back towards his house.
*****
The smell of lavender and vanilla filler her nostrils as she lay on the floor of her living room. She had been shopping all day and she was dog tired now. Against his will, Demoto had let her get her own apartment. Mr. Buck had co-signed her lease and she’d gotten her keys that morning. Taryn chuckled to herself as she thought about the fit Demoto had when she’d told him she was moving out. He didn’t understand why she couldn’t just live with him. He only gave in once she agreed to live in the same apartment complex as he did. All of her belongings were in the right places; all she had to do now was hang pictures. She had been in her apartment for almost two weeks now and she had yet to do so.
Between Demoto and Mr. Buck, her entire place was furnished. The two insisted on paying for all of her things. Taryn was even more excited now that Kia was about to move in with her. She hadn’t wanted to leave her dad at first, but he insisted. Taryn had moved into a two-bedroom in hopes that she would, and she’d finally agreed.
“Why you laying on the floor?” Kia asked, walking into the house. She had an arm full of clothes as she headed towards the back. When she came back, she was empty handed and exhausted. After kicking her shoes off, she lay on the floor next to Taryn. They were in deep conversation when there was a knock at the door.
“That’s probably Demoto. He’s been trying to get over here all day,” Taryn laughed as she got up to get the door. As soon as she opened it, greedy hands were on her. They roamed freely over her body, pulling her against his hard chest. His full lips devoured her smaller ones until they were breathless. He looked down at her, happy to finally be in her presence.
“I missed you today,” he said as Taryn freed his hair from the band around it before kissing his mouth again.
“I can tell.”
“You busy? I need to talk to you about something.” He looked around and noticed Kia getting off the floor. She waved as she bypassed them and headed for her room. Once the door was closed, Demoto pulled Taryn to the couch so they could sit down. He observed her appearance, taking in her beauty. Her face was serious, awaiting his words.
“I got a contract today. It pays two hundred thousand up front, and another two once I’m finished.” Her eyes got big at the amount of money he mentioned. “The only thing about it is, it’s going to take some time. One month minimum.” Taryn’s face dropped with sadness. She hated when he had to leave. She barely made it through nights without him; how was she going to spend an entire month, maybe longer, alone?
“Where is it? Is it in driving distance from here?”
“No babe, I have to fly. It’s in New York.” He watched her fall backwards onto the sofa. Her arms were crossed around her waist as she poked her lip out. Although he expected this type of reaction, he didn’t know it would make him feel this bad. He stroked her hair as he fought with himself about what to say next. He thought long and hard, trying to make a decision.
“How about you go with me?” She perked up at hearing this, but quickly deflated when she realized she had to work.
“How long will you be gone? I have to work.”
“No you don’t. You might as well quit that little Foot Locker gig, I can handle things from here on out.”
“Handle things? Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I am not about to sit around and let you take care of me. If we’re in this relationship, we’re in it together! Don’t ever in your life insult my hustle like that again. Whatever we do from now on, we will do as a team! Know that!” Demoto was at a loss for words. Taryn had never spoken to him like that. She was always so meek and mild-mannered, but not today. He hadn’t meant to insult her; he was simply being the man she deserved. “Don’t sit there looking crazy, just give me a kiss and I’ll forgive you,” Taryn smiled at him as he leaned in to kiss her mouth. After pulling away from her soft lips, Demoto stood up to stretch.
“Go pack your things; we’re leaving in the morning.”
“What? Didn’t I just tell you I have to work?”
“Didn’t you just tell me we’re a team?” He watched her eyebrows relax across her face “Yeah, that’s what I thought! Now go pack your bags, we’re leaving tomorrow. It’s a little colder in New York, so pack accordingly T.” He kissed her once more before heading out the door. Taryn sat there for a minute engrossed in her thoughts until Kia came back.
“So where y’all going?” she asked as she plopped down on the sofa. Taryn stared off into space for a moment. Demoto had told her not to tell anyone, but Kia was her best friend. She could trust her with her deepest secrets, but what about Demoto’s? Concluding it wasn’t her business to tell, she kept it to herself.
“Demoto has a business trip to New York tomorrow, and he wants me to go.”
“Girl you better go! I wish Jacko would take me to New York,” she blushed. Kia and Jacko had gotten pretty close lately, and had recently made it official. Taryn was so happy they were a couple; they looked so cute together.
“I’m going. I just hate to miss work! Plus I don’t have much cold weather attire.”
“Girl you act like you work a corporate job or something; you do nothing but ring up shoes all day! As far as clothes go, the mall doesn’t close until nine baby girl!” Kia smiled. Taryn laughed at her as they headed to their rooms to change. There were no explanations needed when it was time to shop.
*****
The atmosphere was cold and stale as he waited in the sitting room. He had a meeting with Cayman in twenty minutes, and was ready to get it over with. He was already tired of waiting; it was freezing! There was absolutely no reason for it to be that cold. He ran his hands up and down his goose bump-covered arms trying to keep warm. That only worked for a few minutes before he was right back cold. After looking down at his watch, he noticed he had ten minutes left until his meeting started, so he was going to walk to the Starbucks across the street. Just as he stood to leave, the door opened and out walked Cayman’s second in charge, Buck. Demoto immediately went to shake his hand. Buck was the definition of a real OG. He didn’t talk much, but when he did nothing but wisdom percolated out. He had all of Demoto’s respect. He hadn’t had the opportunity to work with him yet, but he hoped to in the future. Buck grasped Demoto’s hand in a firm grip. He had been meaning to talk with Demoto for a while; he just never had the time to before now. Gathering him and Jacko up for a talk had been his plan, but the girls and business continued to interfere. He didn’t know whether or not Jacko had told Demoto about him being Kia and Taryn’s father or not yet, so he would do that now.
“Handling business, Youngblood?”
“Yes sir. Getting my assignment right now.”
“Good. I’ve been seeing nothing but great things coming from you and I expect it to continue. You’re a hard worker, and passionate about your craft. You’re a very respectable and trustworthy young man, which brings me to my next point. You and my daughter have gotten very close, I assume?” The bewilderment displayed on Demoto’s face gave him his answer. Jacko hadn’t told him anything. “You are the Demoto Youngblood that my Tee-Tee speaks so highly of, correct?”
“Mr. Buck I am Demoto Youngblood, probably the only one around, but I don’t know a Tee-Tee.” A hearty laugh escaped Buck’s lips as Demoto stood convoluted.
“Taryn, Taryn-Lee is my daughter. Tee-Tee is a nickname I gave her. She’s told me about you on more than one occasion, and from what I gathered you two are pretty serious. I expect that you will treat her accordingly and keep her out of harm’s way. She’s been through enough. I don’t want her going through anything else that’s going to cause her pain.”
This was news to Demoto. Not one time had Taryn mentioned Mr. Buck’s name. She’d told him Kia’s dad had taken her as his own, but all he knew him by was daddy, because that’s how she referred to him. No wonder Kia tough as nails. It all made sense to him now. Kia was street smart in too many ways to count. Now he saw why; she had been groomed by the best. He had to make sure to tell Jacko.
“Yes sir we are. I love her. I will protect her with my life, as she will for me. I’ll fight the world for Taryn-Lee and she knows that. My loyalty to her surpasses that of a normal relationship, Mr. Buck. I promise you have nothing to worry about; when she’s with me, she’s safe.”
“This I already knew, Youngblood. I’ve had my eyes on you and your little friend Jack for some time now. I hope you didn’t think Kia and Taryn were out without my knowing. Never. I have eyes on them at all times, along with you two. I’m not here to threaten you, just to give my blessing. You two young men are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Real is rare around here these days. As long as y’all continue to keep them safe and happy, you have your life. The moment something goes bad, you will see me,” Buck said as he patted Demoto on the shoulder before walking away He was halfway down the hall when he stopped and turned back around.
“Leave this conversation between us. I don’t want the girls finding out, they’ll kill me,” he smiled and got onto the elevator. Demoto was baffled by this news, but obviously he was doing good. Buck wasn’t the man to make idle threats, so he had to stay on his A-game. It was funny though, because when he spoke of the girls killing him, he wore a smile only a father could. The love he had for Kia and Taryn was real, and Demoto respected it.
“Come on in Youngblood,” Bradley Marks, Cayman’s secretary, said and motioned him inside the office. Demoto followed closely behind and sat down. He looked around for Cayman, but there were no signs of him.
“I thought I was meeting Cayman?”
“That’s what I called you here to talk about today. There have been some things going on lately that we aren’t too sure about, and we need to make changes. Our leadership isn’t what it’s supposed to be, so let’s just say it’s time to clean house. There are people working this organization to the bone, and our security is something we can’t play with. We have to be able to ensure the work we’re doing is under the radar. In order to keep it that way, jobs will only be given and taken by the best we have. Demoto you are one of the most loyal people on our payroll, and without you our proceeds would decrease drastically. The job you’ve taken in New York will seal the deal for your promotion. If you can handle that, upon your return, there will be an extensive amount of gain.” Marks held eye contact until Demoto nodded his head in understanding.
The two went on for another thirty minutes going over his job. Bradley informed Demoto that there was a family living in New York that had the background folders of everybody to ever come in contact with Double O. Each folder contained the person’s entire life, on paper. From family to school and arrests, they had it. The father was the Senator of New York, and a longtime member of Double O. He had been the legit spokesman since the organization started. He married the bookkeeper of Double O and had two children. The oldest son was also a member of Double O, and a computer technician. Anything involving electronics and scamming, he was the go-to guy. Lastly was the daughter; she was the youngest of the family, but the most beneficial. She was the accountant. Every dollar Double O owned had gone through her hands. She was in charge of the budgets and payroll. She made sure all dirty money was accounted for before it was washed clean. If it wasn’t for her, Double O would have never made it this far. Double O was a respectable and legal organization because she assured the money appeared legal.
Overall, the family was one of the most detrimental assets to this company, but they’d been slipping. They had begun to get sloppy and were bringing negative attention to the Double O Corporation. The reason this particular job was going to take so long was because trust had to be established. Being that this family was veterans in this game, they trusted no one. You are going to have to be around longer than a few days to get in their good graces. Demoto had been chosen for the job because not only was he knowledgeable and inventive, but he was ardent and dependable. If anybody could get the job done, it would be him. Demoto leaned forward onto the front of the Bradley’s desk.
“Okay, so you want the whole family taken out?”
“Correct! Make it clean and undetectable. The father is a senator. You have to be sure this looks like a hit, and that it doesn’t blow back on Double O,” Bradley finished as he handed Demoto a backpack. “Everything you need is in here. Be sure to be safe and smart, Youngblood.”
“No problem. Nevertheless, I have one question, why didn’t you pick the number one for this? If this job is so important, wouldn’t you want your best assassin on the job?” Bradley smirked at Demoto’s question before answering.
“You are the best assassin. He’s number one simply because he was here first. Like I said at the beginning of our meeting, changes are in order. Good day Demoto.” They shook hands and Demoto left. He had to go home and get everything together for his trip.
Chapter 15
The plane ride to New York was nothing short of eventful. Trying to explain to Taryn the various aspects of this trip was exhausting. Her catching on wasn’t the problem; convincing her she couldn’t help was. She wanted to help him take this family down. Demoto was stressing because he knew how important this was, and couldn’t afford any mistakes. Taryn was a smart girl, and could probably help as some point, but not now. These people were professionals; he couldn’t have her ruining things before he even got it started. She was adamant about helping, and it was giving him a headache.
/> After the first two hours of telling her no, they viewed the contents of the backpack together. Inside were fake identification cards for him, a folder with private information on the family, and a set of keys for the house he would be living in. Inside the folders was everything he would need in order to move in on the family. He just had to figure out the right way to use it. After leaving Bradley’s office yesterday, he had Double O’s computer tech make Taryn fake IDs as well. He hadn’t told her yet because he wasn’t sure how she would fit into all of this. The main reason for him having them made in advance was so no one could trace their names while in New York.
After their two-hour flight, they’d just landed at LaGuardia and were headed to get their bags. The airport was packed with people. Everyone was moving along to their destinations without acknowledging the presence of the next person. That’s how Demoto liked it. Whenever he was on a job, he maintained a low profile. He didn’t want to converse with anybody that might remember him being there. When the time came, he wanted a clean break. As he stood quietly behind Taryn, he watched the people that continued to bypass them. He wanted to stay alert and aware of his surroundings. Taryn was standing next to the carousel waiting for their bags. She’d insisted on getting her own, so to avoid the argument he let her have her way. She’d caught an attitude right after the plane landed and hadn’t spoken to him since. He thought her tantrum was funny. How she was going to get around and do anything without speaking to him was amusing. He was busy watching her wrap her long hair into a bun when his pocket started to vibrate. He retrieved his vibrating phone, noticing it was the red one. He pressed the answer key, but said nothing.
“I know you’ve made it. You have approximately one month to make this happen. Don’t disappoint me,” Bradley said before hanging up.