Urban Love Prophecy

by Jessica Ingro

  “I’m sure Annabelle can tell you who Suzy is.” I left it at that. Until we had hard proof about her past, I didn’t want to say too much.

  “Annabelle?” He asked.

  She turned to him and let out a laugh that was most definitely panic stricken. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to start trouble.”

  Done with this whole scene, I looked at my watch and decided it was time to go get Tori. We had a plane to catch, and I was over these assholes.

  “You guys got this?”

  “Yeah.” Killer moved over and took my spot in front of the stairs, blocking them.

  I took the stairs two at a time and went to the door at the end of the hall that I knew she’d be behind.

  The door swung open, and I was immediately brought to my knees when I saw Tori lying next to her dad with her arm wrapped around him. She was singing “My Girl” softly. As I stood there her breath hitched a few times through her tears, but she still put so much of her heart into that song.

  In that moment, she looked so damn vulnerable and small. Like a little girl looking to her father to make everything better again, just like she knew he could always do. All I could imagine was my little Jazzy lying there, and I knew I wanted to be that person not only to my daughter, but to Tori too.

  My hand gently ran the length of her arm to get her attention. She startled and looked up at me.

  “Is it time?” She asked as tears streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall.

  Overcome with emotions looking at her, I couldn’t get my voice to work so I just nodded. All I wanted to do was pick her up and hold her tight.

  Her eyes slowly closed like she was in great pain. She curled into her father’s body again, so I turned and took the room in to give her a little privacy. Her goodbye was an intimate and personal thing that I didn’t exactly feel comfortable watching.

  Her soft murmurs lasted for a few moments, and then she slowly sat up in the bed. I instantly went to her, wanting to console her and take away some of her pain. I was a fixer by nature, and it was wearing on me that I couldn’t make everything right in her world.

  Tori’s hands curled into the shirt on both sides of my waist, and she face planted into my abdomen. Tears racked her body as she sobbed into me.

  “It’s so unfair!” She wailed. “Why couldn’t I have more time?”

  “I know baby,” I murmured and wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

  After several minutes her crying slowed, and she looked up at me. I rested my hands on either side of her head and used my thumbs to wipe the tears flowing from her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  “I’d do anything for you, T. Told you that already. Don’t ever thank me for taking care of you. I’d die doing it.”

  A fresh sob made its way through her, and she tightened her arms that were still around my middle.

  “Take. Care. Her.” The words were barely louder than a breath, but their meaning couldn’t be mistaken. Her father was giving me his blessing, which was humbling. Especially since he barely knew me.

  “Always, sir. I’m honored to.”

  When he didn’t respond again, I decided we needed to go. For as much as it killed me to be the one who took her away from this moment, it was for the best that we were getting out of there. Some time in New York might be good for her to clear her mind of everything stressing her.

  “You ready?” I asked her and lifted her up from the bed.

  “Yeah. I guess.” She turned back and placed a kiss to her father’s cheek. “It’s okay, Daddy. I’m going to be alright. Go be with Mom.”

  I led her from the room by the hand and stopped once we were in the hall.

  “You going to be okay?” I asked her.

  She gave me a shaky smile and a slight nod of her head. “As long as I have you, I’ll be okay.”

  “You’ve got me, baby. No doubt about that.”

  “Good. We’ve got a plane to catch right?”

  “Yeah.” I knew she needed the subject change. And I respected it.

  “Then we’d better get going.”

  We started towards the stairs again, but she came to an abrupt stop a few feet from the landing.

  “They’re here aren’t they?” She asked, referring to Rich and Annabelle.

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Can you get me out of here without having to see them? I don’t think I can take that right now.”

  “Of course. Stay here.”

  I jogged down the stairs and did just what my girl needed, and fuck, but it felt good to slap those asses around a bit.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tori

  The blacked out SUV rolled to a stop in front of a house in New Jersey. It wasn’t far from where Jay’s mom lived, but it still wasn’t what I expected from the man who lived here—Jay’s best friend practically from birth—Marcus Young.

  I felt like I was looking at something out of Real Housewives of New Jersey.

  For some reason, now that I was here, I was more intimidated to meet him than I had been to meet Jay’s mother, Sylvia, earlier that day.

  Prior to meeting Sylvia, I had felt like a complete and utter wreck. All I kept thinking was what if she doesn’t like me? What if she thinks I’m not good enough for her son? I was afraid that she would only see what was on the surface—the spoiled, rich girl with her nose up in the air. Or at least that’s what I was used to people thinking about me. I knew, deep down, I was more. I just hoped she recognized it.

  Fortunately, there wasn’t a single thing about Sylvia Santiago that was judgmental. Before I could even say hello, she wrapped me up in a big hug that brought tears to my eyes, seeing as how it had been so long since a mom had shown me that kind of affection.

  “Perfect!” She announced to no one in particular, then proceeded to stuff us full of a smorgasbord of food.

  That was it. Perfect. And then she moved on like I had been a fixture in her home for years, rather than minutes. That was more of a stamp of approval than I could ever have hoped for.

  Once I was ready to roll out of my chair from the amount of food I had consumed, Sylvia gave me a tour of the house that Jay had bought for her. It was a stunning home that wasn’t too lavish, but was nothing to sneeze at either. It had five bedrooms in total. “Just enough to put some grandbabies in,” she said. I had to bite back my uncomfortable laughter at that comment. For as much as I’d love to have children with Jay, we weren’t there yet. It was a noble attempt on her part though.

  What shocked me the most about being with Sylvia was how soft my bad boy was with her. It was obvious from the way they interacted, they were tight. I got the feeling he was used to protecting her and doting on her. The love between them was overwhelming and made me sad thinking about the man I left behind in Texas.

  The saying “us against the world” definitely seemed to pertain to them based on the stories that were being told. Like the story when Jay was sixteen, his father showed up drunk one night and tried to break down the door. For as much as she detested violence, you could see the relief on her face when she spoke of Jay physically subduing him and getting him to leave.

  My favorite stories, though, were more lighthearted in nature. Seems Jay was charming even as a young boy. Being a single mother, Sylvia often had to take Jay to work with her when she waitressed. Even though he was told to sit in a corner booth and stay out of the way, he always seemed to find a way to endear himself to the female clientele. His mom told story after story of him singing Michael Jackson tunes and then as he got older, making up his own rhymes to wow the ladies. It was cute and extremely endearing to hear tales of him as a child.

  After several hours looking at pictures of Jay as a little boy and catching us up on her life, Jay whisked me away to meet Marcus.

  Jay had told me several stories about Marcus and him growing up, but that was about all I knew. I didn’t know
anything about him beyond when Jay got a record deal and moved out of the projects. I didn’t understand all the mystery surrounding Marcus, which was probably why I was so nervous. Then again, there was a lot about Jay that seemed a mystery.

  Jay opening the car door broke me from my thoughts. He helped me down and held my hand as we walked to the door.

  “This is quite a house,” I noted. I was trying not to fish for too much information, but curiosity was getting the better of me. I had grown up in fancy houses and been surrounded by money my whole life so that didn’t faze me. I was more interested in how Marcus made his living and afforded such extravagancy, especially since Jay had been so tight lipped about it.

  “I guess.” Jay shrugged and rang the bell.

  So much for my fishing expedition.

  When the door opened, I was more than surprised to see a man in a wheelchair behind it.

  “Yo, Marcus!” Jay leaned down, grabbed his hand and did the whole man hug, back pat thing.

  “Who’s the pretty lady?” Marcus asked with a flirtatious grin after they broke apart.

  I had to admit, Marcus was a good looking man. His hair was in cornrows. His eyes were an appealing brown, and he was stocky. His smile was striking. It was his best feature. I’m talking toothpaste commercial worthy.

  “Want you to meet Tori. Tori, this is my brother, Marcus.” Jay made the introductions, and I wanted to believe there was pride in his voice. Although that could have just been wishful thinking.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I held my hand out to shake his. In return, his hand wrapped around my outstretched one, but apparently that was too formal for Marcus because he promptly pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek that lingered so long it made me blush a little.

  “Pleasure’s all mine,” he replied in a sexy tone.

  Jay slapped the back of his head. “That’s enough of that. T’s off limits.”

  “You ruin all the fun.” Marcus shot back good-naturedly and studied me with a thoughtful look on his face for a few moments. “That’s fine because there’s plenty of other pussy hangin’ around here for me to find a good time with. Even if she does look like a fine piece—”

  “I’m warning you,” Jay growled at him.

  Marcus held his hands up defensively and laughed. I didn’t think that was too wise given the negative vibes reverberating off of Jay. “Alright! Alright!”

  Before Jay could respond further, he whirled around and wheeled out of the room.

  “Heard a lot about you, Tori,” Marcus called to me as we followed him to an elevator at the back of the house.

  “Really?” I replied out of shock. I didn’t expect that to be the case given the fact I didn’t know much about him.

  “Really,” he confirmed as we entered the elevator. “Must say you’re prettier in person than Jerome gave you credit for.”

  “Leave it to him to run his mouth,” Jay muttered.

  “Jerome is a great guy, if a bit flirtatious,” I chimed in. “It’s too bad he’s not here.”

  “Boys will be by later,” Jay said just as the doors opened. We found ourselves inside a very large, informal den where hardcore hip-hop music was pulsing throughout the room.

  Walking inside, I audibly gasped at what I saw once I took everything in.

  There were scantily clothed women doing lines of coke off mirrors on the large square coffee table. There was a girl getting fucked by two men in the far corner while at least half a dozen other people watched.

  Stacks of money peppered various surfaces. Guns of all sizes were piled up on a table on the opposite side of the room. On another couple of tables there were random sized bags of various drug-like substances lined up. My lack of experience aside, I knew some of it was weed, cocaine, and ecstasy. I wasn’t sure, but I thought there might be heroin too.

  There were three couches in a U shape in front of a wall mounted television. Sitting on the couch directly in front of the television, a man was getting a blow job while a game was playing on the screen. The woman between his legs was making god awful sounds as he choked her with his dick, and she worked herself between her legs.

  It was all enough to make me vomit.

  In that moment, I was so thankful Jazzy got sick at the last minute and couldn’t come on the trip with us. I really hoped Jay was smart enough not to bring her around this shit. He and I had never talked about what she was exposed to when she’s with him. It never came up and honestly, I didn’t think it was my business, but I definitely would have a problem with her being here. Hell, I had a problem with me being here.

  For as hip and cool as I fancied myself to be, there was no way I could hang here for a long period of time. As it was, I was afraid to sit down for fear of what might be lingering on the cushions.

  Jay had no problem though. He sank his ass into an unoccupied couch, spread his legs wide and assumed his lounging stance as I liked to call it.

  Marcus wheeled into the mix and positioned himself in an open spot next to the couch that was across from ours. In between him and Jay was the guy getting sucked off. Talk about awkward.

  Not wanting to draw too much attention to myself, I slowly lowered onto the couch next to Jay and sat with my hands in my lap. I tried, and I’m pretty sure I failed, to appear comfortable and not nearly as uptight as I felt.

  I chanced a glance to my left just as the guy made noises like he was ready to blow and the woman gagged. I quickly averted my eyes and shook my head.

  God, this all seemed so wrong.

  Thankfully, the duo opted to move away from our group once he climaxed, and his dick was tucked back into his pants. A sick part of me was actually curious—had she been fortunate enough to get off as well? I shook my head wondering what was wrong with me for even thinking that way.

  Sure Jay’s parties tended to be a little out of control with drugs, booze, sex and women, and yes that was initially outside my comfort zone. This wasn’t a party though. It was more of an operation. Everyone knows growing up in Texas, guns are second nature—like baby oil on strippers. Even I knew how to use one. But these weren’t just glocks or pistols, or hell even shotguns. These were mostly machine guns and assault rifles. Heavy artillery.

  What I couldn’t understand was how this could be business as usual for anyone, let alone Jay.

  Marcus snapped his fingers, and a topless woman in a thong came to his side.

  “Want a drink?” He asked us. Jay opted for a beer, and I just shook my head.

  The woman sauntered off to get both men a drink.

  I studiously tried to avoid watching anything that was happening in the room, without appearing to do so. I was sure I was failing miserably in that too, but the longer the seconds ticked by, the easier it was not to care. I tried giving Jay a look or two that showed my discomfort, but he either missed them or ignored them. A part of me was seriously ready to blow, but I didn’t want to insult Marcus.

  “How’s business?” Jay asked. His arm went around my shoulders, and I felt my body stiffen at his casualness. It wasn’t like he was trying to ease my concerns and make me more comfortable. No, he was just trying to make himself more comfortable. There was no real affection behind the move that I could tell, and it pissed me off.

  “Good. As you can see we got some new stuff going on.” He pointed towards the guns. “Got a new warehouse opening up soon. This shit will be gone when it does.”

  Jay nodded and accepted his beer from thong girl. “Probably not smart to keep that shit where you sleep. You, of all people, should know the dangers of that.” He gave Marcus a pointed look.

  “You think I don’t fucking know that?” Marcus returned heatedly.

  “Settle down man. I’m just sayin’.”

  “Fuck you. I know what you’re sayin’.”

  Their words told me nothing, yet said everything. Jay might be comfortable here, but he didn’t like Marcus surrounded by the stuff he was choosing to be around. That made me feel a tad bit better, but
not much.

  “Got any new tracks laid down?” Marcus stroked thong girl’s ass cheek as she sat on the couch next to him.

  Thank heavens for the subject change. I had a feeling things were about to get a little too heated between them.

  “Nah. Been collaborating some. Producing Plado’s album,” Jay answered.

  I gave thong girl a tight smile when she made eye contact with me. She returned the gesture, and I knew we’d never be friends.

  “How’s Nessy doing?” Marcus asked and if I was stiff before, it was nothing compared to how tight my body locked after hearing her name.

  “Fine. She and the girls are back on tour. I’ll probably head out to Atlanta for their shows there. Surprise the crowd. Got a kid that’s making a name for himself out that way that I want to check on.”

  This was news to me, and the fact that he was going to be in the same city as her again had me fuming. If I could throw a tantrum and demand he either stay or take me with him, I would. As it was, I was trying my damnedest to trust him not to go there again.

  Was it really so hard to include me when he was making his travel plans? Seriously. Not only was I his assistant, I was his girlfriend damn it!

  “Just like old times, you and Nessy. Shit gets crazy when you two are together.” Marcus took a sip of his drink and stayed oblivious to the daggers my eyes were shooting in his direction. I couldn’t believe he would talk about that while in my presence. Even if he was somehow unaware of what went down between Nessy and me, it was rude and disrespectful.

  “It’s not like that anymore,” Jay corrected him, and I was partially mollified.

  I could have sworn I heard Marcus murmur, “We’ll see,” before he said, “so you’re pussy whipped now?”

  “Fuck you,” Jay responded. “No bitch is going to pussy whip me.”

  “So Tori here ain’t the only one you’re puttin’ the naughty on?” Marcus asked before I could interject my feelings on this subject. Which by the way were so not good.