The Versace League (15 page)

             
“I am good. Did you know Ashley?” Jessica asked.

             
“I knew her father, Cortez. We did some work together,” Roscoe said with a light smile.

             
Hearing Cortez’s name caused Yamin to pay closer attention. He stared into the man’s face, but didn’t quite recognize who he was. He was an older guy, assumedly in his late 40’s early 50’s, with a salt and pepper beard and low cut. He was brown skinned, with small brown eyes and a nice build. He wondered what kind of work he was referring to. It was then he’d wished he was more familiar with all of the clients that came through The Versace League.

             
“Small world,” Jessica said. She looked to her side, “This is my husband..”

             
“Yamin,” Roscoe cut her off and placed his hand out for Yamin to shake. “Cortez has told me a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you, I’m Roscoe.”

             
“I don’t think I know you mane. Cortez has never mentioned you,” Yamin stared strangely at Roscoe’s hand and then placed his arms across his chest. He wasn’t in the mood to be friendly and wondered why a client even felt it appropriate to show up at Ashley’s funeral.

             
“Very well. Maybe you and I should become better acquainted. Your brother and I did very good work together,” Roscoe suggested.

             
Yamin wasn’t trying to hear anything Roscoe had to say. He wasn’t in the trusting mood with all that had transpired. He couldn’t even trust his own brother Aasir so there was no way he was going to trust some random nigga. He grabbed Jessica’s arm and pulled her away from Roscoe.

             
             
The two of them walked to the waiting limo and as soon as they were inside, Yamin shot Jessica an angry look. He reached over for the drink that he’d left sitting in the cup holder and quickly brought the rim of the glass to his lips to take a sip. “Who the fuck was that Jessica?”

             
“I represented him on a case a couple of years ago. I had no idea that he knew Cortez or Ashley,” Jessica responded and she glanced out of the window. She could see Roscoe still staring at her and an eerie feeling crept up within. He had a crooked smile on his face and it was as if he could see her watching him through the tinted window. Her spine stiffened and she quickly looked away from him and caught Yamin’s eyes plastered on her. “Haven’t seen him in some time,” she added.

             
“It doesn’t matter everything is done and over with now. They out there looking for Patrice’s ass, and they better hope they catch her before I do. I’m just ready to put this mess behind me, redo our honeymoon, and just try to enjoy the rest of my fuckin’ life,” Yamin said and solemnly shook his head.

He hated that things had turned out the way that they had, but he was happy that it was close to being over with. The manhunt was on for Patrice by the Feds and by Yamin and The League. She was a grimy bitch that needed to be dealt with and quickly.

             
Once the limo pulled away from the burial site, Yamin took in a deep breath. He could feel most of the stress and worry exit his body. He brought the glass to his mouth and downed the remainder of his drink.

GAME OVER

3 months later….

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The clock struck three-forty a.m. when Yamin was awakened by the sounds of someone pounding on his front door. He reached for the .45 caliber pistol that sat on his night stand and then climbed out of bed. He was fully naked and he slid on a pair of house shoes before he stepped out of he and Jessica’s oversized bedroom. As he descended the stairs, he could hear his phone ringing behind him but he kept his attention on who was at the door.

It had been a few months since his life was permanently changed by the loss of his younger brother Cortez and his niece Ashley. Things were on the path to what he called normal and he and Jessica were excited with anticipation of their unborn child. There was a still a huge hole in his heart that he was sure would take a long time to close, but for the most part, he felt at peace. Patrice had been arrested two weeks after Ashley’s funeral and she admitted to accidentally killing Ashley, but claimed she had nothing to do with Cortez’s death.

She was given a plea and sentenced to forty- five years to life with the possibility of parole after twenty. Plenty of times Yamin wanted to visit her and ask her what her motive was, what caused her to want to take away two things that was so precious to him, but he opted out. He wasn’t sure if he could hold it together and was almost for certain he would body her even with her being caged up so he just stayed away.

“Who the fuck is it?” Yamin yelled out. He cocked the pistol and walked to the door, peeping out of the hole to see who was on the other side. Manny and Emmanuel stood in front of the door having what looked to be a casual conversation. He unlocked the two locks on the door and then pulled it open. “Fuck is you niggas doing?”

“Aye, we just pulled up and seen-“ Manny stopped mid-sentence and his lips curled up in disgust upon noticing Yamin standing in the doorway with not an article of clothing on. He frowned horrendously at Yamin and then turned to his side to look at his cousin. “Is this nigga serious?”

Emmanuel shook his head and turned his back to Yamin while tugging on his square. He shrugged his shoulders and looked toward the street.

“We just left Aucelie’s house. She said she pulled up in the driveway of her crib and two niggas was standing on the doorstep. They dropped this off-” Manny said holding a package out for Yamin.
             

Yamin looked down at the package in Manny’s hands, but didn’t grab it at first. He surveyed the outside and the writing that was scribbled on top and addressed to him. He was confused. He felt like somebody was trying to fuck with him and began to look at Manny and Emmanuel suspiciously. Patrice was locked up and it obvious that she was the one that was responsible for all of the tragic events that had transpired. There hadn’t been any contact since her arrest and as far as he was concerned, it was over. Why were they going to Aucelie’s house? He didn’t tell them to do that.

“I didn’t tell y’all to go and check on Aucelie. Fuck were you doing over there?” Yamin asked and snatched the package out of Manny’s hand. He turned to go inside so they he could see what was inside the package.

“Nigga, she called and said them niggas was sitting outside her fuckin’ door and she was scared to get out of the car. By time we got there, her ass had already got out and them niggas was gone. She said they dropped that shit in front of her door,” Manny explained as he followed behind his boss, shaking his head at the attitude.

“Does she know what they look like? What the hell is going on? Just got back in town this morning and I supposed to leave out again. Now somebody wanna fuck with me,” Yamin placed the DVD inside of the player. He walked out of the living room and took off upstairs to put some clothes on. He grabbed his wife beater from the floor and pulled it over his head while taking in a deep breath.

“Is everything okay?” Who was at the door?” Jessica said as she sat up in bed. She smiled at her husband and reached for her quickly growing abdomen. She was a little over four months and it was already beginning to show on her petite body. Although these last few months were mainly about healing for Yamin, it had been some of the best moments of her life.

She and Yamin had immediately gone back to the islands after Patrice’s arrest and spent a few weeks getting to know one another again. She was so in love and once again ended up hating that that she ever doubted her commitment to Yamin. He had been way more loving than he ever had. He had never been so gentle with her until their trip and she was for certain that she’d fallen in love way deeper than she had ever thought was possible.

Yamin was a great man no matter what he did for a living. He took the time to take care of every part of her, starting with her mind all the way down to the feet that she walked with. She no longer felt insecure and she went to bed with a smile on her face, no longer worried that Yamin was out doing something wrong. This past week when he told her he had a job to handle, she didn’t question him or herself, she just believed him. Their relationship had grown stronger than ever before and she was glad to carry his last name and to be carrying his child.

“Just Manny and Emmanuel. Go back to sleep,” Yamin said as she slipped into a pair of gym shorts. “I’ll be back up in a few.” Yamin climbed onto the bed and kissed Jessica on her lips. She had a glow that caused her dark skin to look radiant and smooth like it had been dipped in a coating of chocolate syrup. She was so beautiful to him. Pregnancy only added to her beauty and didn’t take away from it like some pregnant women he’d seen before. Not only did she have beautiful skin, but her hair was thicker and healthier, her breasts were fuller, and her ass was a little fatter.

“Okay, don’t take long,” Jessica said. She climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom

Yamin bolted down the stairs of his home and saw Manny and Emmanuel waiting for his return as they patiently sat on the sofa. He nodded at Manny, who then got up to press play on the DVD player. Yamin quickly grabbed a glass and bottle of Dom from the bar area and returned to his den. He didn’t know what he was about to see and wondered if this had been a package that had been lost in the process. Since everything had gone down, he’d purchased a new home, and suggested that Aucelie and Donica do the same, but they’d both refused. He didn’t want to leave Jessica at home alone when he left for work and always be concerned that someone was going to potentially harm her.

He always knew that Patrice wasn’t working alone. The video of Cortez being killed proved that and the shooting that took place at his home, also confirmed it. He’d assumed that since she was arrested and that there hadn’t been any contact that whoever she’d hired was just going to go away, but as the video began to play he could see that he’d assumed wrong.

Yamin could feel his insides boiling with each passing second. He poured himself a glass of alcohol and watched the screen, taking in every detail. It was video of the inside of Aucelie’s home and whoever was recording was watching her every move. The view went from her living room, her kitchen, her bedroom, and even to her bathroom. Yamin was distraught as he watched his younger sister being violated in a way that no woman should be violated.

“Turn it off,” Yamin ordered unable to take anymore. He took a sip of his drink and sat down on the sofa pulling out the small little note that had come with the DVD. He was hot as a firecracker and popped his neck from side to side as heat steamed from his ears.

Patrice was only a pawn in this little game I’ve been playing with you. Did you really think I would send a bird to do an Eagle’s job? Did you think that you had gotten away with what you’ve done to me years ago? You took what’s mine and I want it back. I’ve been watching Aucelie for months now and no one has noticed. What kind of League is this?  I will continue to take what’s yours until you give me my shit back.  You started this and now I will finish it. I’m done with the games. My patience is wearing thin. You have 3 days or else I will take away someone else close to you starting with Jessica, Aucelie, Donica…and so on.
The note read.

“Who the fuck are you?” Yamin yelled and jumped to his feet. He downed the remainder of his drink and heaved out a ragged breath. How could he return something when he didn't know what it was he'd taken. Mostly every job he did evolved around stealing something. This note like all the others wasn't helping him at all.

  
             
"Where is Aucelie now?" Yamin asked and looked up to see Jessica stepping off the last step.

  
             
"She's at the crib. Said her and Donica went out for drinks right before she came home and found them standing there," Emmanuel answered.

 
             
    "I need her and Donica placed somewhere safe. Take Jessica with you. I'm gonna call up a few of The League members and see if I can figure this shit out."

    
             
"Yamin, baby, what's going on?" Jessica asked as she neared him.

  
             
  "Nothing. I just need you to go with them until I can clear some shit up," Yamin said as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. He kissed her forehead and felt a feeling of intensity rush through his body. As he pulled away from her a weird feeling crept within and caused his heart to slow. He looked at his wife and for some reason felt like this was the last time he would see her. He wondered if Cortez felt like this when he'd said goodbye to Donica for the last time.

 
             
  "Everything is cool. Just get dressed and Manny and Emmanuel will take you to be with Aucelie and Donica. I got some shit I need to handle and I don't want you by yourself."

Yamin stepped away and went back to his drink. Just when he thought everything was over it oddly seemed as if it was just beginning.

THE TRUTH WON'T SET YOU FREE