Heart of the Hustle

by A'zayler

  Snow smirked at him with her body full of soap bubbles. “What you gon’ say?”

  “I’ma tell them I did everything except ate your pussy last night, which I plan to do the next free minute I get, so they need to stop calling you because you’re about to be too tired to talk.” The water rushed over Angel’s face as he smiled down at Snow.

  She was so busy laughing that she couldn’t even rinse her body properly, which was something Angel had no problem helping her do. With no type of fight being put up from her, Angel pulled Snow into his arms and beneath the water with him.

  They remained at his condo for a few more hours before leaving to get to work. They both had a full day ahead of them and needed to get to it.

  Being that Snow was in need of clothes but refused to go to Empress’s house to get any, Angel had to run to the nearest mall to grab her something. The little pink and silver shirt and jeans he’d gotten her fit her perfectly. Almost too perfectly, making Angel think twice about letting her check the traps without him. After promising that he’d be back to get her for lunch, he dropped her off and went about his day.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I don’t hide my love

  “Empress, you’re so beautiful.” Vinny’s voice could be heard before Angel rounded the corner.

  “Thank you, my love.”

  “Move away with me and be my wife.”

  Empress gasped. “Of course I will, Vinny.”

  Angel stopped in his tracks before hearing his mother break out into a fit of giggles. Being around his father on the days he couldn’t remember his life wounded Angel deeply, but there was nothing he could do. He’d bent over backward trying his best to be there with them whenever he had a free minute, and though that didn’t help much, it still gave him time with Vinny.

  He didn’t know how Empress was holding up as well as she was, but she was making it happen, and for that he was grateful.

  “All of my cousins are going to be jealous. I’ll have the prettiest wife in all of California.”

  Angel walked around the corner just as he heard his father’s voice again. When he walked into the kitchen, D’Angelo was at the table scarfing down a plate of fruit. Vinny was also seated at the table with a large plate of food in front of him, while Empress leaned against the counter with her arms folded. Her face lit up when she saw Angel.

  “Well, well, well, look who decided to show up.”

  Angel smiled before walking to her and circling one of his arms around her neck. “Stop that. I told you I was coming.”

  Empress looked at her watch. “Yeah, hours ago.”

  “I had to make a few stops first.” Angel walked over to his father and held his hand out.

  Vinny shook it and nodded at him. “I keep telling her you’re a busy man. Being a doctor isn’t easy.” He smiled at Angel before looking at Empress.

  “Right. Everybody can’t practice medicine and run an entire drug corporation.” The bitterness in D’Angelo’s voice couldn’t be missed, but versus correcting him, Angel smiled and addressed his father instead.

  “It’s okay, Daddy. You know she doesn’t listen.”

  Both men laughed together before Empress joined in and took a seat at the table with them. The three of them talked for a little while while D’Angelo scrolled on his phone completely out of their family conversation. Since it was somewhat the norm, Angel disregarded his brother’s jealousy for the day and continued to converse with his parents.

  He needed to do everything he could to make sure the conversation kept going. He already knew that the moment it stopped, Empress would be asking about Snow. Unfortunately for him, Snow hadn’t gotten that memo and came walking into the kitchen.

  Her hair was pulled back into a bun with a few strands falling around her ears and neck, while her face frowned slightly. The shirt he’d purchased her from the mall earlier was covered by a black jacket, while the jeans hugged her curves just as sinfully as they had that morning.

  The way the large gold earrings meshed with her dark skin had stars in Angel’s eyes. She moved with so much grace and authority at the same time that her presence commanded the room without her even having to say anything.

  She looked around the large kitchen until she saw them. She looked completely over D’Angelo, but stopped and smiled at Vinny and Empress giddily as she waved, before her eyes landed on Angel. He could feel the energy between them shifting as she tried to suppress the urge to smile even larger at him. Instead of giving in to her happiness, she wiped her face clean of the smile she’d been sporting and nodded once at him. Angel smirked but kept his mouth shut.

  “Little girl, I’ve been looking all over the place for you this morning.” Empress didn’t even give her time to sit down.

  Snow smiled. “I was out, Mrs. Empress. I’m good.” She giggled.

  Angel watched his mother look her up and down. “Uh-huh,” she mumbled before looking over at Angel. “I just bet you are good.”

  Snow’s soft giggles made the pit of Angel’s gut jump with excitement. It was becoming such a task to stay in his seat and not shower her with kisses right there in front of his parents, but he was managing the best he could.

  “You were so good you couldn’t answer your phone too, huh?”

  “You know I don’t answer my phone when I’m working,” Snow answered, finally able to stop smiling.

  “Ma, leave that girl alone.” Angel rose to his feet. “She’s a grown woman. If she wants to be out here in these streets laying up, that’s her business.”

  Snow narrowed her eyes at him. “Nigga, don’t try me. I wasn’t out laying up.”

  “Better not have been,” Empress scolded playfully.

  Angel smirked at Snow as he stopped next to the counter she was leaning over. When he was only a few feet away from her, she looked over her shoulder at him, pleading with her eyes for him not to say anything. One thing she was going to have to learn when dealing with Angel was that he was a lover, and he loved on his woman whenever he felt like it. Even if it was in front of his parents.

  Before she could stop him, Angel pressed the front of his body against her butt and leaned over the counter with her. Snow did her best to move, but Angel wasn’t having it. Now, practically lying on top of her, Angel ran his nose along the back of her neck.

  “So, you weren’t laying up last night, Emelia?” he asked her with his nose continuing to roam around her neck.

  “Oh Lord,” Empress gasped. “I knew I heard you tell me she was with you this morning. Well, I’ll be.” Empress stood up from the table while grabbing Vinny’s plate along the way. “I knew something in the milk wasn’t clean when she didn’t come back over here last night.”

  D’Angelo got up from where he was sitting and walked toward the sink. “Well, ain’t this some shit?”

  “It sure the fuck is,” Snow fired off at D’Angelo.

  Angel licked Snow’s neck as she pushed at him with her elbow. “Calm down, and ignore him.” He licked her neck again.

  “Stop, Angel.” She fought her smile. “Get off me.”

  Angel enjoyed being in her personal space a little longer before standing completely back up and pulling her with him. “Her ass ain’t little, Ma. Believe me.”

  Empress covered her face playfully. “Oh, my goodness. Y’all are too much.” When she moved her hands, she looked at Snow with a large smile. “I thought more of you, Snow. Y’all just wait until I tell Zulema about this mess.” She eyed the way Angel was holding on to Snow’s waist before smiling again. “And look at Angel, holding on to you like I’ma take you from him or something.”

  Snow held her head down and giggled when Angel kissed the side of her face.

  “You in love with Mack’s daughter, Angel?” Vinny’s voice came from behind them.

  All of their heads turned in his direction, and they were was pleased to see that he was smiling. “Yeah, Daddy. I am.” Angel hugged her to him tighter. “Have been for a long time. You okay with that?
”

  “It’s a little too late for that, ain’t it?” D’Angelo chuckled before walking out of the kitchen.

  Angel and Snow both decided to ignore that comment.

  Vinny threw his hands up in surrender and nodded. “Mack is going to kick your ass, but hey, love is love.” He stood from the table. “Just don’t go having any babies. You two are still babies yourselves.”

  They all laughed together as they watched Vinny retreat from the kitchen and into the living room. When he was gone, Angel turned his attention back to Empress. She was still standing in front of him and Snow with a large smile on her face.

  “What, Ma?” Angel asked her.

  “I’m just surprised is all. Y’all have been getting around here like you hate each other, when all along you’ve been together.”

  Snow tried to walk out of Angel’s embrace, but he wouldn’t let her. “It just started last night. I did hate this nigga.”

  Angel and Empress both laughed at her, but just like he’d been doing all day, Angel called Snow on her lies.

  “Last night? Emelia, come on now, baby girl. You know we’ve been doing this since we were kids.” Angel twisted his mouth to the side while raising his eyebrows.

  Empress’s eyes bucked. “For real?”

  Angel nodded while still grinning. “Yep. I used to be busting li’l Emelia down in that basement at our house in Cali.”

  Empress covered her ears dramatically while Snow covered her face. “Angel!” They both screamed his name.

  Angel found the entire situation to be quite comical, while the women stood in front of him acting as if he and Snow were children. He’d never been the type of man to hide his relationships, and he didn’t plan on starting with Snow. Not that he could if he tried. The way his body drew to hers, there was no way he would have been able to keep Empress out of their business.

  “Y’all really need to cut it out.” Angel finally let Snow go. “Ma, Emelia is my baby. Emelia, tell Empress we’re together so we can stop all this mess.”

  Angel didn’t even bother to wait on them to say anything else before he left the kitchen. He didn’t have time to be playing with them. There were street affairs that needed to be handled, and he and Snow needed to be on their way.

  To give the women some time to do whatever they felt the need to do, Angel took a seat in the living room with his father and watched TV. When Snow finally came into the living room, she was smiling. He raised his eyebrows at her in question and she gave him the thumbs-up. That was all he needed. Angel was back on his feet and leaning over Vinny’s recliner to hug him.

  “See you later, Ma.” Angel hugged Empress as well when she met him at the front door.

  “I love her for you,” she whispered to him. “Treat her good.”

  Angel pecked Empress’s forehead. “Always.”

  When he pulled away from his mother, she hugged Snow before closing the door behind them. Once they were outside and headed to his car, Angel grabbed Snow’s hand.

  “You good?”

  She squinted her eyes at him. “I would have preferred you hadn’t done it that way, but I’m straight.”

  “Emelia, when I’m in love, I don’t keep it a secret. I did that with you once before, and I’ve regretted it every day since then, so I’ll never do it again. You’re either with me or you’re not.”

  She stood quietly with her hands in the small pockets of her jacket. “I’m with you.”

  Angel rounded the corner so that he was standing in front of her before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him. Her arms circled his neck immediately.

  “It’s some people Mack needs me to meet out of state next weekend. I wasn’t going to take you with me, but now I don’t think I can leave you.”

  “Take me.” Snow’s face was serious as she spoke. “You need somebody that’s going to watch your back. Let me help you.”

  Angel observed her fearless face as he considered what she was saying.

  “I’m only Emelia with you. I’m Snow with everybody else. You need me there with you. Meeting new people can be tricky, Angel. I’m going,” she told him with finality. “Don’t let our sex cloud your judgment. You know I’m the best to ever do this shit.”

  Angel nodded slowly. “That’s the same thing your father said.”

  “So, he told you to take me with you?”

  Angel nodded once.

  “Well, why are you second-guessing it? If us being together is going to have you trying to shield me from this life, Angel, I don’t know if we’re going to last. You know this is me, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop being who I am.”

  “I’m not asking you to do that. I just wasn’t sure, because the men we’re meeting, you . . .” Angel paused for a moment.

  “What about them?” Snow asked eagerly.

  “Mack said you have history with one of them.”

  Snow frowned in confusion as she looked past his head. “Did he give you names?”

  Angel nodded. “Juan and Julio Alsados.” Snow’s face relaxed in understanding while Angel watched her to gauge her reaction.

  He needed to make sure she was good to do this job. The last thing he needed was to end up getting hurt, physically or emotionally. From what Mack had told him that morning on their phone call, Juan had been the man Snow had dated for most of her adult life, only breaking up after she’d found out about him cheating with her best friend.

  “My father told you about Juan’s and my relationship?” Snow asked.

  A small nod from Angel answered her question.

  Snow stood quietly for such an extensive amount of time, that she began to make Angel nervous. He’d been heartbroken enough for one year, he wasn’t really trying to feel it again. Genesis had scarred him enough for ten women, so if Emelia was still stuck on her old nigga, he wasn’t taking her, and it was that simple.

  “Where are they requesting to meet?” Snow questioned.

  “A club in North Carolina.”

  Snow looked down at her hands as she fidgeted with her fingers. “What day do we leave?”

  “Next Friday.” Angel raised Snow’s head so that he could see her face. “You with it?”

  “Work is work. Fuck him. I’m over that.”

  Angel wanted to believe her, but he wasn’t too sure. Her face was just as serious as it always was, so he had no other choice but to take her at her word. He would have to watch her to make sure he wasn’t setting himself up by opening his heart to her if she was still in love with another man. Something in him wanted to believe that she wouldn’t let him down, but only time would tell.

  “Cool, get in. I have a few things I need to get in order before we meet them,” Angel said.

  Once they were both in the car, Angel pulled away from his parents’ house and sped toward the interstate. Snow was his business partner and lover; maybe she’d remain both, maybe she wouldn’t. Either way it went, by the end of the meeting next week, Angel would have his answer.

  One week later . . .

  The dark club was cool and packed from wall to wall with people as the different colored lights flickered across the building. The subtle breeze of air brushed against Angel’s face every so often as he sat in the velvet VIP booth with a table full of liquor in front of him.

  An expensive glass bottle of pink liquor was in one hand, while he held a thick blunt between his fingers in the other. The bass from the music was vibrating his back as he nodded slowly, with his eyes drooping lazily from the potent weed he’d been puffing on for the past few minutes.

  Clouds of smoke lingered in the air as the smells of weed, cologne, and perfume mixed with heat wafted up his nose. Angel’s long legs were stretched out in front of him while his arms draped loosely over the back of the black bench he was seated in. Women and men surrounded his booth, careful not to cross the velvet rope that separated him from the rest of the partygoers.

  Sounds of the latest songs blasted through the speakers as Angel s
louched down some and took another pull from his blunt. His head bobbed to the beat of the song as he pushed the circular clouds out of his mouth and into the rowdy atmosphere around him.

  “You sure you don’t want any company?” the cute little bartender with the large breasts asked him for the thousandth time that night.

  Angel smiled up at her lazily from where he was seated before shaking his head. “I’m just chilling, beautiful. Appreciate the offer.”

  “You just look so lonely. I’m sure there’s plenty of pretty women that’s dying to keep you company.”

  Angel took the bucket of ice and cups from her hand. “I got a few people on their way already. I’ll be cool until they arrive.”

  She gave him a flirtatious smile once more before telling him to let her know if he needed something. Once Angel told her he was good, she left and mixed back in with the thickening crowd. It was going on two o’clock in the morning, and he had been in the same spot for the past two hours just relaxing and surveying the scene.

  Mack and Empress had instructed him to arrive early to make sure everything was good before proceeding to do business, so that’s what he’d done. Being that he was still relatively new to the whole drug scene, he had to double-check everything with his predecessors before acting out his plans.

  Snow had done everything but get on her knees and beg for him to let her come early with him, but he’d instructed her to wait until he called her. He had another twenty minutes before Juan and his brother Julio were due to arrive, so he’d shot her a text and let her know that she could make her way to the club.

  He’d initially been hesitant about leaving her alone in a city to travel alone so late at night, until she reminded him who she was. Angel chuckled as he thought about her and the things she’d said to him earlier.

  “These niggas know not to fuck with me, Angel. It’s you that might need the escort.”

  Angel smirked again. Snow loved to make jokes about him being such a fresh face in the cartel, but what she didn’t know was that he was more than what met the eye. He’d chosen to be less involved in the cartel, but that hadn’t stopped Vinny from schooling him throughout the years.