B00CD6BCB0 EBOK

by King, Joy Deja

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “Precious, you know me. I’ma give it to you raw. When you have this sort of rival shit going on, one side comes at you with all they got. If you’re able to survive it ‘cause most crews ain’t but we have, then it becomes our turn. Once we fire back they’ll back the fuck down. Trust me, between Genesis and Lorenzo one of them will get the job done.”

  “I do believe that. But I’m ready for it to happen now.”

  “The waiting game is always the most stressful. But you’re built for this, Precious. This ain’t neither of our first time at this rodeo.” All I could do was laugh at what Nico said because he was absolutely right.

  “This isn’t our first but I’m hoping it will be our last. I’m over all of this drama. I might look like I’m still twenty-five but I can’t take those bullets like I used to.”

  “If you keep Lorenzo by your side, I doubt that you will.”

  “Excuse me.where did that come from?”

  “Just an observation but it’s pretty obvious he’s very much in love with you. I’m still no fan of his but I’ll respect any man that puts you first and that’s what he seems to do.”

  “That means a lot to me, Nico. I know we fuss and go back and forth sometimes like an old married couple but your opinion does matter to me. I have to admit, Lorenzo makes me so happy.”

  “I can tell.”

  “You can?”

  “I haven’t seen that spark in your eyes for so long but it’s back. If Lorenzo is responsible for that then he a’ight wit’ me.”

  “Wow, this dating thing is working wonders for you.”

  “As a matter of fact I want you to meet my girlfriend.”

  “Your girlfriend? I thought you were only dating?”

  “I told you one had a lot of potential. And it worked out. I’m even considering proposing to her.” “Marriage!”

  “Listen, I’m not getting any younger. I need a wife. It’s time for me to settle down. I think I’ve waited for you long enough.”

  “I don’t know what to say except I thought you would love me forever.”

  “I will but I still have to move on and I think I found the woman I can finally do that with. And here comes Ashley now,” Nico smiled, looking down the block. I looked in the direction Nico was staring and she was a very pretty young thing but I knew she had to have more than just a pretty face to win Nico over.

  “Hey Honey,” she said, giving Nico a kiss on the lips. I went to the wrong building but luckily I found you. Are you ready for dinner because I’m starving.”

  “Me too. Ashley I want you to meet Precious.”

  “Hi, it’s a pleasure.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

  “Precious, is the mother of my daughter.”

  “It really is a pleasure. Nico has said nothing but great things about you.”

  “Well who am I to disagree with any of it.” We did a polite group laugh together but all jokes aside Ashley seemed like a sweet young woman who was making Nico extremely happy which was wonderful. “I’m not going to hold you all up any longer. Ashley, again it was a pleasure to meet you and enjoy your dinner.”

  “Thank you and the same to you. Maybe we can all do a double date soon.”

  “Maybe,” I cracked but I was really thinking lets not take all this politeness too far. “Nico, I’ll talk to you later,” I waved and got in the awaiting SUV.

  On the ride to Lorenzo’s place, I couldn’t help but think about Nico and how he had found love and was even considering getting married. I always knew that was possible but it becoming reality was a harder pill for me to swallow. I guess I had to admit to myself that there was a part of me who was still that selfish, defiant, self-absorbed girl that had to have all the boys want only me. But the two most important men in my life, Supreme and Nico had both moved on. Now it was time for me to bow out gracefully and genuinely wish them well.

  Aaliyah

  “What the fuck were you thinking! I told you to wait on the Maya situation but you had to go and do what the fuck you wanted to do. You have absolutely no self control.”

  “That’s where you wrong. Because if I didn’t have any self control Maya would be dead right now instead of being nursed back to health.”

  “You don’t get it do you,” Dale spit, tossing his keys down on the table in the hotel room.

  “Get what?” I scoffed, sitting down on the couch in the sitting room area and turning on the television.

  “Turn that shit off,” Dale barked, grabbing the remote out of my hand and tossing it across the room.

  “You know what, you need to fuckin’ chill. It ain’ t that serious. I could’ve easily let the bitch die but I love my grandfather. I don’t understand why you so bent out of shape about the shit.”

  “If you hadn’t of called me to get a fuckin’ doctor over there, she would’ve been dead.”

  “And I thanked you profusely, what else do you want from me?”

  “My brother was right about you. You really are a rich, self entitled spoiled brat.”

  “Oh, is that how we’re describing me now and you want to bring your brother into this? You all think because you grew up in the “hood” and poor but somehow turned your life around and became rich that you’re better than me. Please, we’re both criminals. The only difference is, I was born rich with a silver spoon in my mouth and you all were born in a crack house. So don’t preach to me save that shit for the choir.”

  “Let me explain something to you lil’ girl.”

  “Now I’m a lil’ girl. When you were fuckin’ me last night you didn’t call me a lil’ girl. So make up your mind. Which one am I?”

  “Aaliyah, we’re running a business which you are a part of. When we come to an agreement, you have to abide by it. We agreed to wait until we got all our other bullshit handled before making our move on Maya. It doesn’t matter whether or not you think it’s a big deal, it’s about playing by the rules. This is not your playground and you can’t make up the rules and change them as you go along.”

  “I hear what you’re saying but…”

  “There is no but,” Dale cracked, cutting me off.

  “You went behind my back to Clap, who technically works directly for me and had him do some shit for you that wasn’t approved by no one but you. If I was in a really foul mood, I would have Clap and his entire crew killed for being disloyal because of you. That’s what I mean by you’re such a fuckin’ spoiled brat. Numerous niggas could’ve lost their life tonight all because Aaliyah wanted to do what the fuck Aaliyah wanted to do and not thinking about the consequences. That’s what spoiled rich girls like you do and that’s why I don’t fuckin’ date ‘em ‘cause you a liability.”

  “So why are you fuckin’ wit’ me then?”

  “‘Cause I thought you were different. You sold me on that whole spill about wanting to make it on your own and stepping out of the shadows of your rich family.”

  “All that is true.”

  “Making moves like this shows me otherwise. We got a war going on wit’ these Dominican niggas and I’m tryna focus on that shit but you got me calling up doctors to come and clean up yo’ bullshit. I don’t have time for that. You need to grow the fuck up or get out this business. This shit ain’t for a pampered princess.”

  “You and I both know that I’ve busted my ass to make deals happen for us, one being Juan Alvarez. And besides me overseeing multiple clients we have, your brother also used my pampered princess ass to clean up that bottom basement discount bitch that could’ve never caught the eye of a Drug Kingpin if it wasn’t for the transformation I performed on that chick. So don’t act like this pampered princess is not doing her fair share of the work.”

  “Aaliyah, you’re absolutely right,” Dale said, sitting down on the couch, rubbing his hand over his mouth. “But when you do dumb shit like this, it undermines the good shit. It only takes one slip to fuck everything up. We’re in a prof
ession that requires us to gamble with our lives on a daily basis. Any move we make might be our last one. We don’t want that to happen because of a stupid emotional decision.”

  “You’re right and I was wrong. My decision regarding Maya was completely an emotional one. She made a comment to me while we were at the hospital and it sent me over the edge. I felt like she had been tracking my moves in an attempt to do harm against me. This was the bitch that tried to use Peaches to have me set up to be killed. I felt for my peace of mind I needed her to be taken out before she had the opportunity to get at me again.”

  “I understand that but you should’ve came to me. I already had someone keeping tabs on her, but I could’ve put a couple men on her full time to make sure that never happened. The point is we have to discuss things like that as a team before you go behind my back and pull the trigger. Luckily I was able to clean this shit up but next time you might not be so lucky.”

  “There won’t be a next time. Dale, everyday I learn something new about this business from you. I respect how you move. From now on I’ll come to you first,” I promised, before playfully kissing him on the cheek. His chiseled jaw was still flinching so I knew he hadn’t calmed all the way down but he was getting there. Dale was fine but the nigga was even sexier when he was upset. All I wanted to do was kiss his succulent lips and put my tongue all down his throat but I didn’t want him to think I was using sex to get my way so I played it cool. But I made a notation in my mind that the next time we did fuck to put it on him extra, extra good.

  On my way to have lunch with my Mother I decided to make a detour and check on Maya. I had to let her go soon but I wanted to see how bad the damage was. At this point, her ass was alive and that’s all that mattered. When I pulled in the garage of the nondescript house back in the secluded area, I waited for Clap to come out.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked when he came inside the garage to get me.

  “Still recovering from that tongue thrashing Dale put on me but other than that I’m good.”

  “I apologize for putting you in the middle of that. Best believe I suffered a severe tongue thrashing of my own all because of this sorry ass heffa Maya. Even when this trick is put out of commission she still manages to cause chaos. How is she doing by the way?”

  “Much better. The doctor Dale had come through did the damn thing. He also gave us a list of things to do that will help her make a full recovery. He also gave us his phone number in case we have any questions.”

  “I knew Dale would bring in a qualified doctor. Did he say how long it would take for her to make a full recovery?”

  “A few weeks.”

  “We ain’t got that long to wait.”

  “I mean she’s good to go now but I’m talkin’ ‘bout her to physically look back to her normal self.”

  “Her ass can do a full recovery at home. I’ll have you watch over her for a couple more days then we’ll decide where to leave her. You have her eyes still covered?”

  “I just did so since I knew you were coming. We all keep our faces covered whenever we go to the basement to check up on her. Even the doctor had his face covered up”

  “Good, take me to her.”

  When we got downstairs to the basement I turned the light on and saw Maya bound and gagged, hovering in the corner. Her face looked like a Mack truck had hit it. If I didn’t know it was Maya I wouldn’t have even recognized her. The amount of hate I felt for her, was indescribable but seeing Maya over there in the corner, looking like death had pounded on her door made me feel a twinge of guilt. But the twinge was so minuscule it almost didn’t exist. I examined her for a few more minutes from a short distance before heading back upstairs.

  “What the hell ya’ beat her wit’ a baseball bat?” I inquired, when we were back upstairs and the door was shut.

  “All that damage came straight from our fist. We each took turns pounding on her until you called and told us to stop.”

  “Well I’m not here for the Maya pity party just keep an eye on her. For the next couple days, feed her good, let her bathe, give her some toiletries, a brush and anything else to prepare for her homecoming.” “Whatever you say.”

  “I’ll be in touch in the next couple days to let you know where to drop her off at.”

  While driving to meet my mother, Maya’s face kept popping up in my head. She looked like she had been dragged over concrete multiple times. The sight of her right now would no doubt send my Grandfather back into a coma. Now I had to figure out where to leave her. I would prefer to toss her on the side of the road like the trash she is but I needed

  a more strategic approach.

  My Mother already had a drink in one hand and the menu in the other when I met her at multilevel The Park restaurant. It was one of my favorite spots in Chelsea if only for the atmosphere. The glassed in garden always made me feel like it was Central Park indoors. I mean there were trees in the building. The ambiance was mos def one of a kind so it was a must for me to dine at every time I came to town.

  “So sorry I’m late but I’m trying to get a ton of things done before I leave tomorrow,” I said, hugging my Mom before I sat down across from her.

  “No problem. I’m more upset that you’re leaving tomorrow. I know your grandfather is really sad too.”

  “I went to see grandfather this morning and he has been making so much progress. He told me he’d be able to go home soon. Before I leave tomorrow I’m going to go see him again. Not only am I going to call him everyday while I’m gone, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to personally check on him.”

  “I know he was thrilled to hear that but it’s not the same. We love having you here all the time.”

  “I love being here too.”

  “Then why don’t you stay? You said yourself you don’t have much going on in Miami besides bartending.”

  “True but it’s not that easy.”

  “Why not…wait let me guess. Does the new guy you’re seeing live in Miami?”

  “He does but that has nothing to do with why I don’t want to leave.”

  “Are you sure? There aren’t too many things that are more intoxicating than a new exciting relationship.”

  “That is true but I really want to try and make it on my own in Miami. Once I’ve conquered all that I want, then I’ll come back home to New York.”

  “You have so much of me and your father in you. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.” We both laughed at my Mother’s statement.

  “Honestly I think it’s a little bit of both but I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t want to be like anybody else.”

  “Aaliyah, you’re so young and when I was your age I was fearless too but you have to be careful. Do you know we still haven’t located Maya? I’m almost positive the same people who tried to kill me took her.” “Do you think they killed her?”

  “If not they’re holding her hostage. But nobody has contacted us so I’m assuming she might be dead.” The more my Mother talked about what she thought might have happened to Maya the wheels were turning in my head about how I could use it to my advantage.

  “You might be right but for grandfather’s sake I hope you’re wrong.”

  “Me too. That’s why I want to make sure that you stay out of trouble and watch yourself. If anything happened to you not only would I be devastated but it would kill your grandfather.”

  “Where is this coming from? I’m not in any trouble. All is good with me.”

  “Call it a mother’s instinct but I’m worried about you. I don’t want you to get caught up in something that could end up ruining the rest of your life.”

  “Would you stop it,” I grinned, and taped my Mom’s hand playfully. “I got this. If I can survive being locked up in jail then I can survive anything.”

  “Just know, no matter what situation you get yourself into, I’m here for you. You are me and I am you. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me turn my back on you or stop loving you.
Do you understand?”

  “Of course and I know that. Now can you do something for me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stop worrying about me so much. I’m better than fine. I want you to be happy. Go fall in love again or has that already happened? I noticed you’ve been spending a few nights away from home. Does that mean things are getting serious between you and Lorenzo?”

  “I think so,” my Mother blushed, stroking her hair like she always did, when she was nervous. That’s when I noticed her wrist about to blind me.

  “What in the world! I’ve never seen so many diamonds on one piece of jewelry. Did Lorenzo get you that bracelet?” I asked, about to salivate.

  “Yes he did. Isn’t it beautiful.”

  “No, beautiful isn’t a strong enough word to describe what’s decorating your wrist. That must have cost Lorenzo a fortune.”

  “I know…right! I almost felt bad about accepting it.”

  “I’m sure that feeling didn’t last long especially after you slipped it on your wrist.”

  “You’re such a mess, Aaliyah.”

  “Speaking of messes, look who just walked in.” My Mother tactfully turned in the direction I was looking.

  “Be nice, Aaliyah.”

  “Please. She’s a nut job just like Justina. Watch what I tell you. I forgot Amir and I used to come to this restaurant all the time. Now he’s bringing his new girlfriend,” I frowned, shaking my head.

  “Brace yourself. It looks like the lovely couple are coming to our table.”

  “Can somebody please just hand me a bag so I can vomit right now.”

  “Keep your cool. Don’t ever forget you’re Aaliyah Mills Carter and no woman is your competition. You’re in a league of your very own.”

  “Precious,” Amir said, speaking to my Mother first. “Aaliyah, I wanted to come over and speak to you both.” Latreese gave us a simple ass smile like it meant something.

  “Thanks for coming over to speak. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

  “Same here,” Amir said, before him and his girlfriend went back to their table.

  “See that wasn’t so bad now was it?”