The Versace League (2 page)

             
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Ashley screamed excitedly. She ran down the hall and grabbed his leg as he headed to the exit. A huge smile covered Cortez’s face as he reached down and grabbed his princess tossing her into the air. One thing was for certain; this was one girl whose company he loved to be in. He kissed her on the cheek and then held her tight in his arms. “I wanna go with you Daddy! Please! Please! Please!”

             
Cortez laughed, “It’s already late and I got stuff to do. How about I come get you in the morning and we got out for breakfast and then maybe some shopping?”

             
“No! Daddy, take me with you tonight!” she pleaded. Her smile was quickly replaced with a frown and it broke Cortez’s heart. He was guilty of not spending enough time with her, but it was with good reason. He wanted to ensure that Ashley and Donica would never want for anything. That was one of his main goals in life-get rich with his brothers and take care of his family. Donica didn’t have to be his for him to keep that promise. She had held him down for ten years before he had anything and remained the same after he’d come up. Regardless of their relationship, he would always take care of her.  

             
  Cortez sucked in a deep breath and placed Ashley on the floor. His heart was heavy. He didn't want to let his baby girl down, but he had too much work to do. His brother was out of town and a lot of responsibility had been left in his hands. The last thing he wanted was to seem as if he was incapable of handling his business.

      "I will come back first thing in the morning to pick you up. We'll go to IHOP-"

      "Okay," Ashley cried before her daddy could finish breaking her heart. Tiny little tears fell down her face and it caused Cortez to feel even worse. He looked up to see Donica standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Her expression was sad and hopeful.

     Women.
Cortez thought and shook his head. He ran his hand across his face and blew out a frustrated breath.

       "Get her an overnight bag together. I'll take her tonight."

        "Yayyyy!" Ashley cheered. She took off running to her bedroom with Donica following behind her. Cortez waited by the front door for Ashley to get ready. He thought about the play for the night and wondered what all he could get done while Ashley was in his care. He didn’t want to expose her to anything that she didn’t have to be exposed to.

             
A few moments later, Ashley came skipping down the hall and reached for her father’s hand. Cortez glanced over his shoulder at Donica, and then proceeded out of the door. Donica locked up behind them.

It was pitch black outside and the air was cool and windy. Cortez scooped Ashley up in his arms and rushed to his black on black Dodge Charger. He deactivated the alarm, opened the back door for Ashley to hop in, and then placed her bags on the floor. Once she was buckled in, he went to close the door and was met face to face with the barrel of a gun. The first bullet went in quickly and precisely, entering the side of Cortez’s right cheek. He fell back against the car and slid onto the ground where he rolled over onto his knees and reached for the pistol that was tucked in his jeans.

             
POW! POW!

             
Two more bullets entered Cortez’s back taking all the fight he had left out of him. His mouth filled with blood as he tried to yell out for help. Every time he got enough stamina to move, his heart slowed to a minimal. He could hear drowned out screams from Ashley coming from inside the Charger. He placed his hands on the ground, lifted his head, and tried to speak, “Ash-ley!”

             
Clotted blood spilled down each side of his mouth as only gurgles came out. It was impossible for anyone to hear him. He tried hard to get up and not give up. The last thing he wanted was to take his last breath and something happen to his baby girl.

             
One more time!
Cortez told himself as he lifted his head again from the cold and lonely concrete.

             
“Nigga, you got a lot of fight in you,” the shooter laughed. He wore a smug grin on his face as he watched Cortez struggle to get to his feet. A huge air of confidence filled him. He leveled the .38 in line with Cortez’s head and pulled back on the trigger. He proceeded to open the back door of the Charger and reach for Ashley. She backed away and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her little body trembled in fear at the man whom she just witnessed kill her father.

             
“Cort! Ashley!” Donica yelled. She flipped the porch light on and ran down the three stairs in front of her home.

             
The shooter grabbed little Ashley by her hair and hurriedly pulled her out of the backseat. He turned his gun toward Donica and let off two warning shots. He didn’t want to kill her. He came and did exactly what he’d set out to do.

             
“Ashley!!!!!!!” Donica screamed.

HONEY~DOOMED

“Oh my God! Ashley! No, No, No! Ashley!” Donica yelled as she ran to the end of the driveway. Her heart pounded profusely. Her legs felt like spaghetti once the Red Chevy Suburban sped off before she could get to it. Squinting her eyes, she attempted to read the six numbers and letters off the plate, but it was too dark to make out anything. Knowing it was useless to run after the car, she quickly retreated to where she’d dropped her cell phone. For the first time she moved her eyes to where Cortez laid face down on the ground. There was so much blood she couldn’t stomach it. A slew of vomit came out of her mouth and she felt as if she was going to faint.

             
“Yes! Please send the police to my home quick! My daughter has been kidnapped and her father has been shot!” Donica managed to get out. Her breathing quickened as the reality of the situation hit her. She wanted it to be a dream, but every time she looked at Cortez she heard Ashley’s screams. Her little girl was gone and the father of her child, the love her life was dead in her drive way.

             
Why didn’t I just come out when I heard the first shot? I could’ve saved her!
While the 911 operator asked question after question, Donica could barely concentrate on anything she was being told.
Focus Donica! Focus!

             
“Ma’am, just get somebody out here please! Hurry!” Donica yelled into the phone. She gave the operator her address and hung up the cell phone. She ran her hands across her face and dropped down next to Cortez. He wasn’t breathing. There wasn’t a sign of life left in him. Donica couldn’t understand this. Why did this happen and most importantly, why did it happen to her? She knew that Cortez was a hustler and that sometimes his job could be dangerous, but she never expected that something like
this
would happen.

             
“Cort! Cort!” she cried knowing that her tears wouldn’t help. She brought her hands down to touch him, but quickly pulled them back.

             
“What happened over here?” a neighbor called out.

             
“Somebody done shot that boy!” another said.

             
“Did somebody call the police?” a third person from the slowly forming crowd asked.

             
Donica attempted to stop the tears and stood to her feet. She pulled her cell phone out once again and went to make that one call that would forever change things.

***

            Jessica pushed the double doors open and allowed the Caribbean air to flow into the room. She sexily strutted over to Yamin who sat on the edge of the bed. Straddling him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a huge sigh. She was happy and it showed all over her face. Ever since Yamin had come into her life, she found herself constantly smiling. She’d never been happy in her life and she now had a reason to be.

       Jessica sexily flung her hair to the back and slid a finger into Yamin’s mouth. He eyed her with such passion that it caused a wave of her sweet juices to flow. She pulled Yamin’s shirt over his head, and then slowly outlined the crevices of his chest with the tip of her finger. She ran her tongue across her lips and covered Yamin’s lips with hers. Their tongues danced with each other.

            “I love you Yamin,” she said into his mouth.

            The anticipation was killing Yamin. The rise in his swimming shorts eagerly pressed against the fabric, dying to be released. Quickly, he released himself, no longer able to withstand the wait. He grabbed at her bikini bottom, ripped it off, and placed her on top of the bed. His dick throbbed and caused him to become harder and harder by the second.

       Yamin forced Jessica's legs apart and she dropped her head back and let out a huge sigh. He entered her with ease and began to stroke her fervently. The fire between the two began to heat up the room. Strong grunts escaped from Yamin's lips and mellow light moans from hers. Jessica wrapped her legs around Yamin's waist and begged him to go deeper. He pulled her bikini top away and sucked her nipple into his mouth. She screamed out the pleasure she was feeling.

        "Yamin! Oh God---Yamin!" Jessica cried out. She was thankful for the interaction between the two. Their lovemaking always made her feel like the most important person in the world. He was so attentive, taking his time to stroke every ounce of her warmth.

       Jessica could tell by the faces that Yamin made each time he went inside of her that he was satisfied. She met each stroke he made by squeezing her canal tightly around him. She covered him in her honey and shut her eyes tightly. Her body tensed up and began to shake as he took her down an orgasmic ride.

     "Damn, woman!" Yamin expressed. "Jessica- I love you baby!"

      "I love you too!" she panted, her body still jerking with pleasure.

      
Buzz! Buzz!

      Yamin couldn't hold out any longer. He gripped both arms under Jessica's legs and stroked harder. His mouth gaped open and the veins in every part of his body popped out. She felt so good to him as he slid in and out of her.

      Buzz! Buzz!

      Just as he spilled his seeds into her, his phone began to vibrate even louder against the nightstand until it finally fell and hit the floor. Yamin pulled back huffing and puffing as if he’d ran a marathon. His lips curved into a sexy smile marking his cheeks with those deep dimples of his. Jessica always satisfied him in a way that left him in awe. He’d dated many women, but she was definitely one of a kind.

             
“Oh baby, where are you going? Isn’t this our honeymoon? I know you are not tapping out,” Jessica cooed. She sat up on the bed and reached for Yamin when he pushed her hand away and went for his phone that had fallen to the floor.

             
“Hold up and let me see who keeps calling me.”

             
Jessica nodded her head and sucked her teeth. His phone had been a persistent issue in their relationship and it always rubbed Jessica the wrong way. She knew that he was hiding something, but he constantly ensured her that he wasn’t. They’d only been honoring their vows for a total of two days and Jessica was beginning to doubt her choice.

Before getting married, Yamin and her only dated for a year before he got down on one knee and asked her to bear his last name. She didn’t see a reason not to when she said ‘yes’, but since moving into his home, and living with him for the past six months, she had become reasonably suspicious. His phone always rang throughout the day and during off times at night, and it always stayed on vibrate. There were often times that she would wake up in the middle of the night and he would be missing, and when he returned home he would sneak in the bed as if nothing ever happened. She hated to be insecure and hated that Yamin made her feel that way. She was a very sought out criminal defense attorney and exuded confidence in everything she did. Insecurity had been something she never worried about until she met Yamin. Not only did she feel inadequate at times, she found herself feeling out of place. Yamin was seven years younger than she was with him being only twenty-four.

             
Jessica rubbed her sweaty palms against the bed sheets and grazed her eyes over him. He was unlike any dude she’d ever dated. Whereas she was used to the older and calmer, college preppy type, Yamin was a little more on the thuggish side. He was six-two, weighed about two hundred pounds with dark chocolate skin. Jessica assumed that he was a basketball player or an athlete of some sort when they’d first met. His body was spectacular, something that she couldn’t deny.

             
It’s business Jessica!
She told herself as she watched Yamin scroll through the messages on his phone with a frown. He pulled his shorts up with one hand and grabbed a half-smoked blunt from the nightstand. Without saying a word, he left Jessica sitting on the bed in wonderment as he walked outside onto the balcony. They were honeymooning in Jamaica and had planned to take a three day cruise afterwards.

             
“No-oh shit! No, man don’t tell me that,” Yamin cried.

             
Jessica sprung to her feet and grabbed her silk nightie from the floor. She pulled it over her body and caressed her hand over her chest. She watched Yamin’s back and waited to hear something further from him. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she could swear that she’d heard him crying.