B00CD6BCB0 EBOK

by King, Joy Deja

  Aaliyah

  Waking up to the sounds of seagulls and waves crashing against the rocks was giving me life. When I got out of bed I stood on the private terrace naked and let the sun be my only source of cover. The sun kept darting in and out of cloud cover, but when it peeked its luminous face out, the water took on hypnotic emerald and turquoise hues. Between my body absorbing the heat from the sun and the little flecks of rain dancing around my face, it all made for a glorious morning.

  “You’re up early,” Dale remarked, shifting his body in the direction I was standing which caused the crisp white sheet to slide down past his lower torso, revealing his massive tool. I was one step from getting back in bed to ride him until I couldn’t scream out his name anymore but I got up early for a reason. I would be back in New York in a few days so I planned on handling as much business as possible before I left.

  “I have a busy day ahead of me.”

  “So do I but I wanted to slide inside of you before I got my day started.”

  “Stop toying with me. We both know if I get back in that bed with you, neither of us is going to have a productive day. Unless you call having multiple orgasms being productive.”

  “As a matter of fact I do.”

  “Of course you would but we’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one. I do promise to make it up to you tonight.” I gave Dale a playful air kiss before getting dressed to go for my morning run.”

  “I’m counting on that makeup sex.”

  “So am I.”

  For the last few months every time I was in Miami, whenever possible I made it part of my daily regimen to go running by the beach. Not only was it doing wonders for my body but also my mind. The wind hitting my face and taking in that fresh air seemed to rejuvenate every inch of me. Once I finished my run I decided to take off my shoes and socks to walk along the beach. I felt a warm tingle coming through the soft golden sand into my feet and moving up my body. The calm waves had me completely at peace so much so when I felt one of my phones vibrating I didn’t want to answer it. I had escaped into my own world and wanted no visitors. But I was in a business where escaping wasn’t an option. I had to be readily available at all times but to my surprise this wasn’t a business call it was my Mother calling on my personal phone.

  “Good morning! You miss me already?”

  “Of course I do. I was actually going to leave you a message. I know you like to sleep late and I wasn’t expecting for you to answer. What a pleasant surprise.”

  “I went for a morning run to get my day started early. I’m walking on the beach as we speak.”

  “You lucky girl. I wish I were on a beach right now with a drink in my hand. But with the way things are going, I have no time for that.”

  “Did something else happen?”

  “Just this street life that I can’t seem to escape.” “What are you talking about?”

  “We found Maya but like expected the same people who have been causing havoc for our organization is responsible for kidnapping her.” “Really? Is she alive?”

  “Thank goodness yes. She was badly beaten but alive. We’re trying to let her heal a little more before she goes to see your grandfather.”

  “That makes sense. Where does he think she

  is?”

  “I told him she had went out of the country on a trip and I was just able to reach her and now she’s on her way back.”

  “Good, that at least buys you some time.”

  “It does but we’re all on edge right now and it’s going to be this way until we get rid of the people behind this mess.”

  “Mom, don’t stress yourself. Everything will be fine. Grandfather is out of his coma, you found Maya, and lets not forget you have a man that beyond adores you and lavishes you with diamonds. You have lots to be optimistic about.”

  “True except Lorenzo and I are on a break.”

  “Why? You seemed so happy with him.”

  “As Lorenzo described it, it’s complicated. When you come back to town we’ll go to the spa, have a girls day and talk about it.”

  “I can hear it in your voice that it’s bothering you. You sure you don’t want to talk about it now?”

  “No. I’m already late meeting Genesis and Nico. Like I said, I didn’t think you were going to answer the phone. I just wanted to let you know we found Maya alive.”

  “You know how I feel about Maya.”

  “You mean how we all feel about Maya..”

  “Yes, but because of grandfather, I’m glad she’s

  okay.”

  “Exactly but I can’t help but wonder why they kept her alive, what was the reason. No matter how many reasons I come up with, none of them make sense.”

  “You never know why people do what they do. Maya is back and that’s all that matters.”

  “How did you turn into the mother and I turn into the daughter? You’re much too wise for your age.”

  “I had the best teacher. Luckily I listened to you a lot.”

  “I love you, Aaliyah.”

  “I love you too. I’ll be back in New York in a few days so I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

  I let out a sigh when I hung up with my Mom. I felt bad about deceiving her but it was the best idea I could come up with. Once she told me she thought the same people who shot Grandfather and tried to kill her took Maya, I ran with it. It seemed more feasible then randomly dropping Maya off somewhere. But hearing how stressed she sounded on the phone bothered me. The damage was already done so it made no sense in beating myself up over it.

  After my walk I went home, took a shower and headed over to Bal Harbour to shop before my meeting. I wanted to stop at La Perla and get some sexy lingerie to wear for Dale tonight. When I was about to go inside, I heard somebody calling out my name. I looked around for a familiar face because I didn’t know that many people in Miami.

  “Aaliyah, over here!” I saw a woman waving her hand and until she got closer I didn’t recognize who it was.

  “Tori, hi! It’s good to see you,” I said, giving her

  a hug.

  “It’s good to see you too. It’s been too long.”

  “I know. We both have so much going on. You look amazing though.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “I might’ve set the foundation but you’re maintaining it. So how is your relationship with the Dominican Drug Lord going since he was the reason for your transformation in the first place.”

  “It’s coming.”

  “Why so down…Dale said you had made a lot of progress with him.”

  “Maybe too much progress but that’s another

  story.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Too long of a story to tell right now and I’m about to meet Emory over at Segafredo for lunch. What are you doing later on? What about dinner? It would be nice to talk to another female about what’s going on with me. You know with Emory everything is business.”

  “Don’t I. But I’m not sure about tonight. I’m swamped with meetings before I leave for New York in a few days. If not tonight what about tomorrow?”

  “My flight leaves tomorrow morning, it’s back to work for me too, if you call what I’m doing work.” “Of course it’s work. You’re infiltrating a rival who’s a threat to our organization. I give you props for that.”

  “Listen, I need to be going. To keep Emory waiting is a serious no, no.”

  “Well it was good seeing you. It’s too bad we can’t get together while we’re both in town but if you ever need to talk, you can always call me.”

  “Thanks, Aaliyah,” Tori said, giving me a hug goodbye. “Take care.”

  “You too.” There seemed to be a cloud of dread over Tori as she walked away. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had gotten in over her head. The sad part is even if she had Emory wouldn’t give a damn. He’d make sure Tori stayed in the trenches until she delivered everything he needed from her.

  “Baby, I can’t believe you have to go out to
night. I had this whole evening planned for us. Do you not see this lingerie I picked up from LaPerla,” I teased, dangling the red lace garter slip on my finger.

  “And I can’t wait to take it off of you.”

  “How can you do that when you’re about to leave?”

  “I told you I wouldn’t be gone that long. Two hours max.”

  “What’s so important that you have to leave right now and why can’t I come with you?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you but Emory said that he got word them Dominican niggas might be planning to make a hit on one of our major spots.”

  “Maybe that’s why Tori seemed somewhat despondent when I saw her earlier.”

  “You saw Tori?”

  “Yeah, earlier today when I was over at Bal Habour. She was on her way to have lunch with Emory. She didn’t quite seem herself.”

  “That’s a possibility. I personally haven’t had a chance to sit down and discuss how everything was coming along but Emory has been keeping me posted. From what he said Tori had everything under control and was making tremendous progress. It’s logical she was the one that brought the information to him.”

  “Well let me know what you find out.”

  “I will and don’t forget when I get back home have that on,” he smiled, pointing to the lingerie. “Call me if you need me.”

  “You do the same.” Dale gave me a kiss and headed out. With a couple hours to waste, I ran myself a bubble bath, lit some candles, put on some music and got me a bottle of champagne. By the time Dale got back my buzz would be at an all time high and we’d have the best drunk sex ever. I don’t know if it was the hot bubble bath, the soft music and champagne or a combination of all three but shortly after I got in the bath, I found myself dozing off into a deep sleep.

  “Don’t move or I’ma blow yo’ motherfuckin’ brain out!” At first I thought I was having a bad nightmare because I was still halfway sleep. But when I felt the tip of a gun jamming in the back of my head I knew this shit was as real as it could get.

  “What do you want?” I swallowed hard waiting for a response.

  “Where is Dale?”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t play stupid!” The gun was lodged even harder in the back of my head.

  “He’s not here. I don’t know where he is. I swear.” I honestly didn’t know where Dale was meeting Emory at but even if I did I wouldn’t tell. The reason being was because I knew how this game worked. Whether I gave up Dale or not the shooter was going to kill me regardless. There was no sense in taking him with me. Hopefully Dale would find out the person responsible for killing me and seek retribution. Under the circumstance that was the best I could hope for.

  “Then I guess tonight you’ll have to die in his place.” I heard the gun cock and my heart dropped. My life flashed before me. If I was going to die I wanted to see the face of the person responsible for it.

  “Please don’t kill me,” I pleaded, turning around quickly so I could see the face of the person about to take me out this world. But to my dismay, who I assumed to be a man was wearing a black ski mask and with the dimly lit bathroom I couldn’t even remotely see what he looked like. I closed my eyes prepared to die without ever knowing who was responsible for my death. I then thought about my Mother, both my Fathers, little brother, Grandfather and how they would never see me alive again. They would be destroyed that I was gone and they never had a chance to say goodbye. Many would say I was too young to die but that was now my fate and I accepted it, simply praying to God that it wouldn’t be too painful. I waited to hear the sound of the bullet explode out the gun, hitting me in the chest or worse blowing my brains out, making it impossible for my family to have an open casket funeral.

  I continued to wait and the time seemed to be getting longer and longer. I wasn’t sure if my mind was playing tricks on me or if there really was a long lapse in time. I finally opened my eyes to see why I hadn’t met death yet and the person was gone…they disappeared. I didn’t know if I should be thankful or scared that the shooter was nowhere to be seen. I quickly got out the bathtub, ran to the drawer where I kept my gun, locked the bedroom door and called Dale.

  “Baby, come home but make sure you bring a lot of backup.”

  “Aaliyah, what happened.are you okay?”

  “I woke up with a gun pointed to the back of my head. The shooter was looking for you. I wouldn’t tell him shit and he said he was gonna kill me but then for some crazy reason he left.”

  “This just happened?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m in our bedroom. I locked the door and I got my gun. I told you to bring backup because I don’t know if the gunman is still lurking or if other people were with him.”

  “I’m about to use my other phone to place a call to get some men to the house right now. I’m also on my way but I want you to stay on the phone with me until help gets there.”

  “Ok.”

  “Baby, they didn’t hurt you did they?” I knew what Dale was alluding to and I could sense the distress in his voice.

  “No. I wasn’t raped or anything. I honestly thought he was just gonna kill me but for whatever reason he didn’t.”

  Right after those words left my mouth I thought about the conversation I had with my Mother earlier today. I now understood why she was so baffled that Maya was left alive and not killed. I knew the only reason I let Maya live was because of my Grandfather but why would the shooter let me live? For some reason the answer to that question was more important to me than the act itself.

  Precious

  “Dad, you look wonderful. Each day you’re getting better and better. The nurse we hired seems to be doing an excellent job. How do you like her?”

  “She’s great. I like her a lot.”

  “I’m so glad you agreed to stay with me until you make a full recovery.”

  “I’m glad you asked. I never gave up hope that one day you and I would have a close relationship. To see it’s coming true makes taking that bullet worthwhile.”

  “I’m so sorry it took something like this for me to realize how much you mean to me. You truly are the patriarch of this family. I think you’re the reason Aaliyah and I are in a much better place. We bonded over our mutual love for you and now we’re closer than ever.”

  “That makes me feel good. You know how much both you and Aaliyah mean to me. Now I

  hope the same healing can take place between you and your sister.” I turned my head choosing not to respond to my Father. After everything he had been through, I wanted all of our conversations to be positive.

  “Aaliyah is coming to New York later on today. She’s going to be amazed by all the progress you’ve made.” I decided to change the subject wanting to dodge a Maya conversation but of course my Father wouldn’t let up.

  “I know you’ve been through a lot with Maya but the same way we were able to get past our differences you can do that with Maya.”

  “The problems we had are completely different than the ones I have with Maya. Lets not have this conversation because I don’t want to upset you.”

  “No we need to discuss what…” Before my Father could continue we were interrupted when we heard the doorbell. I assumed it was the nurse who always came first thing in the morning so I went to open the door.

  “Good morning, Precious.” My stomach felt nauseated seeing Maya’s face so early in the morning.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Father invited me over. So can I please come in?” I stepped to the side, allowing Maya to walk past me.

  “Daddy! Maya exclaimed, in an annoyingly

  bubbly voice.

  “So good to see you, Maya,” he smiled, giving her a hug.

  “It’s good too see you too. You’re looking better and better each day. Thanks for inviting me over.”

  “Precious, I hope you don’t mind that I invited Maya over.”

  “Nope. When I asked you t
o stay with me I said I wanted you to be comfortable and to treat my home like it was your very own.”

  “You did and you’ve been extremely gracious.”

  “I’ll leave the two of you alone to talk. Dad, if you need anything let me know.”

  I couldn’t disappear into my bedroom fast enough. See Maya always brought back some of the worst memories of my life. I blamed her for just about every horrendous thing that happened to me except for the death of my Mother. Other than that, Maya seemed to be attached or played some sort of role in all my tragedies. I know my Father was convinced that she had changed but I wasn’t buying it. No matter how big the grin all I saw was evil.

  Knock…knock..knock

  I heard somebody knocking at my bedroom door and I instantly got scared and thought something had happened to my Father. “Is everything ok?” I asked in a somewhat panicked voice, opening the door.

  “Everything is fine.”

  “So why are you knocking at my door?”

  “The nurse came and took father out for therapy.”

  “Why did you stay here? You should’ve gone with them.”

  “Dad suggested I stay here and talk to you.” “He suggested wrong,” I snapped, closing the door in Maya’s face.

  “Please don’t do that,” Maya said, reaching her hand out to stop the door from closing. “Precious, I don’t want to fight with you. I want to try and make things right between us. After that ordeal I went through and almost dying I know how important family is.”

  “Maya, we’re related through blood only. We’re not family.”

  “But I want us to be. When I was locked up in that basement, tortured and beaten I thought about that time we held you hostage. We kept you away from your family and now I realize how scared you must’ve of been. You didn’t deserve that and I’m sorry. I was young and jealous of this fairytale life you had with Supreme and I wanted it for myself. It doesn’t excuse what I put you and your family through but I want you to know and believe that I’m sorry.”

  “Are you sorry for killing your brother Mike, Maya? Or for kidnapping Aaliyah when she was just a baby or what about when you slept with my husband by making him believe I had ran off with Nico.”