by Tee Jae
Chapter 4
Yani
I rolled my eyes as little Miss Princess stormed out of the courthouse. I knew exactly who she was, hell my own husband wouldn’t shut up about the bitch. I knew our marriage was an arrangement but over the years, Chris and I became very good friends. We understood each other and not to mention, I’d been in the drug business longer than most people he knew, so I always helped him out when it came to his little empire. When he flew into Cuba and spent time with the kids, he didn’t even sleep in the same bed as me, but somewhere down the line I fell in love with Chris. I thought eventually he would grow to love me but unfortunately things haven’t been working in my favor until now.
I took his arrest as the perfect opportunity to swoop in and play my role as his supportive wife that way he would see who is really down for him. I just had to get Brooklyn out of the way. The only reason I never arranged her death was because during an argument one night, I threatened to have her killed and Chris promised me he would kill my father. My father is a very dangerous man, but Chris was a different kind of dangerous when it came down to Brooklyn, I saw it in his eyes. I grew angrier by the second as he kept turning around and low key trying to see where she was. I smirked knowing that hood rat wasn’t coming inside, she wasn’t in a position to take care of herself and her family without Chris, so I knew she would abide by my rules.
He looked back at me offering a fake smile, God I wanted this man to love me back more than anything in the world. I leaned over the bench and rubbed his back giving him reassurance. I had one of my trusty workers waiting outside in the car with Chris’s bail money. Plus, the money I paid Judge Wright under the table should have him out of here in no time.
“All rise,” the bailiff spoke loudly and everyone stood up, “Judge Saloom presiding.” Strickler worriedly looked back at me. Judge Saloom? Where the fuck was Judge Wright? Now Chris was looking back at me with worry written all over his face. I tried to keep my cool as the DA stood up with a smirk on his face.
“Your honor, we the state of Georgia are requesting you deny bail for the defendant Chris Issac. He’s simply a flight risk with unlimited resources. In fact, I believe his wife, Yani Issac, daughter of the infamous Felipe Ortiz, head of the Ortiz Cartel in Cuba, who is seated behind him.” Everyone stopped and turned their attention on me, “We believe she’s here today to post bail on the defendant and fly him right out of the country.”
Strickler bolted up from his chair, “Your honor, I have to object, my client has been a resident of Georgia all of his life. I assure you my client has no reason to leave the U.S. he manages a slew of businesses one of them being a community health clinic where he caters to the homeless. He has a wife and two small kids who love their father deeply and they reside here in Atlanta.”
After about 15 minutes of Strickler and the D.A bickering back and forth, the judge banged his gavel.
“Order in the court!!!!! Order!!!!!” everyone remained quiet. “Due to the strength of the prosecution’s evidence against the defendant, I hereby deny bail for the defendant. Mr. Issac will be held in federal custody until trial date. Trial will be set to begin in 2 weeks from today.” I watched with rage as the judge got up and walked into his chambers. The federal agents stood up preparing to take Gator back into custody.
Bella burst out in tears, “Daddyyyyyyyyy! I want my daddy!” she ran out of my grasp and ran up to Chris holding on to his leg as one of the agents grabbed her.
“Get your fucking hands off my daughter!” I spat at the agent trying to pry Bella off of Chris’s leg. I grabbed her with one arm while holding C.J. in my other, “I’m sorry baby! I will do everything in my power so that you are home with us. With your family.” I told him as the agents pulled him away. He looked back at me like I let him down and my heart was crushed.
*****
“I want their fucking heads on a silver platter!” I hollered at Raul, as I frantically paced back and forth in my rented downtown penthouse. Raul was my right-hand man; his family worked for my family for years, we grew up together and he was groomed to work right under me. He ran his hand through his slick black hair. “That bitch judge Wright, that fucking D.A., and those pigs who put their filthy hands on Bella.”
“Calm down Senorita…we will pick them off one by one, right now our main concern is to find out where did his right-hand man disappear to.” I looked back at Raul like he had two heads.
“Duhhhhhhhh Raul, he is in witness protection! That little black punta!” I took a sip of my tequila. At this point, I didn’t give a fuck if it was 12 p.m., hell it was 5 o’clock somewhere. “Put a tail on the girl,” I said referring to Brooklyn, as I looked down on the city from my ceiling to floor windows.
“The girl is the least of our concern Yani,” he replied frustrated. Hauling my glass across the room at him and missing his head by an inch. It crashed into the wall and shattered on the floor,
“When I give you an order you fucking do it, you don’t fucking question me!!!! Put a tail on that bitch and NOW!!!!” I shouted as he hurriedly left out the room.
Chapter 5
Brooklyn
Leaving from the courthouse, I drove straight to the person who knew me better than anyone, my best friend Kassidy. I sat in front of her condo and dried my eyes, it was a Monday, so I knew she was home probably sleeping. Kassidy owned Snobbish, one of the hottest hair salons in Atlanta; all the celebrities stopped and got their hair done whenever they were in town. Not to mention, her weave line was selling worldwide. Walking towards her front door pulling out my spare key, I slid it into the lock letting myself inside. I punched the code into her alarm system shutting it off. The smell of her Cranberry Frost Bath and Body Works candle hit my nostrils. I walked straight up to her bar and grabbed the bottle of Patron and a shot glass pouring me a shot. “Sssssssss,” I hissed as the warm liquor hit my chest.
Kassidy walked down the stairs naked as the day she was born, now I wasn’t into girls like that, but Kassidy was perfect in my eyes. She had dark smooth chocolate skin that covered her flawless body, her slanted eyes and high cheekbones reminded me of a porcelain doll giving her exotic features. The long, black, silky, 30-inch Brazilian weave flowed over her apple ass as she walked towards me. She was my own personal black Barbie.
“Well looka here! You finally remembered you have a best friend Brookie,” she leaned over the bar calling me by my nickname, grabbing the Patron bottle out of my reach. “What the hell is wrong with you, it’s twelve o’clock in the afternoon? And what you all dolled up for?”
I rolled my eyes, “Gator had a bail hearing this morning.” She quickly walked around the bar.
“I’m sorry Brookie. Why wouldn’t you tell me? I would’ve came and supported yall.”
“It’s all over the news Kas.” I grabbed the Patron bottle back and took another shot.
“Well, you know I don’t watch that shit they are making my brother-n-law out to be a monster. I quit watching it after the first day.” She looked at me and frowned “So judging by the Patron, I’m guessing it didn’t go well. What happened? They denied his bail?”
I took another shot before I walked away to her living room plopping down on her all white sectional with her following close behind me. Shrugging my shoulders, “I don’t know what happened.”
“What the fuck you mean you don’t know, Brooklyn?”
“I mean, I fucking left.”
She stood up. “So, you just left him there with no support?” she threw her hands in the air, “Brooklyn, he needs you.”
I cut my eyes at her, “Trust me, he had all the fucking support he needed.” I turned the bottle up taking another shot to the head, “She was there.” I felt my voice cracking. Kassidy grabbed her chest clutching her fake pearls,
“He wouldn’t dare,” her face filled with shock. “Well, what did you do?” she grabbed my face for examination like a mother would do when her child returned home from a fight.
“I left I can�
�t fucking compete with his wife, Kas,” I turned the bottle up and took another shot. At this point, I lost count of what shot I was on, but I knew I was starting to feel tipsy as hell. Kassidy grabbed the bottle from me and placed it on her end table, before she could speak, Nas came walking down the stairs dressed in just a pair of basketball shorts.
“What up Brooklyn?” he nodded his head my way and took a seat at the breakfast bar.
“Nas, didn’t I tell you not to come out the room?” I cracked up laughing. I don’t know why she was trying to hide anything from me. Nas and Kassidy been fucking around since our high school days at Booker T. Washington. He lived downstairs from my grandmother in Hollywood court, so we all basically grew up together. Back in the day Kassidy, Nas, and I were inseparable until I hooked up with Gator and between him and school, I barely had time to bullshit with them anymore. Kassidy used to joke all the time and say that her and Nas would be so bored without me, that they just started fucking.
Apparently, they still are even after she told me about a month ago she was done with his ass for good. When Nas got 1st round draft picked to the Atlanta Hawks straight out of high school, Kassidy was ecstatic but with the NBA came the groupies and Nas wasn’t ready to settle down just yet. Nas was a brown skinned cutie and as hard as they come, he was average height with a muscular build. He wore his hair in a low Caesar fade and was crazy tatted, all the ladies were crazy about him including Kassidy, although she acts like she didn’t give a damn.
He smacked her on the ass, “Get in here and cook a nigga some breakfast, Kas.” She sucked her teeth and headed toward the kitchen. Her condo had an open floor plan, so I took my heels off grabbed a blanket off the end of her sofa and laid back. “Ok, so tell me everything Brooklyn and don’t leave anything out,” she cracked a few eggs over her hot skillet.
After I ran everything down to Kassidy she was livid, “Fuck that bitch, B. We can go back down there and whoop that hoe.” She jabbed her fist in the air.
“Calm yo ass down, Mayweather,” Nas said, stuffing pancakes in his mouth and turned to me. “Look Brooklyn, you my sis, so I always want what’s best for you, but you and Gator been down too long, just hear him out. From what I know, his plug ain’t nothing to fuck with, he probably didn’t have a choice.”
Kassidy rolled her eyes, “He still could’ve told her, Nas. Niggas kill me with that shit, always want a bitch to understand their fuck-ups but let it would’ve been Brooklyn who fucked u,p then she would’ve been labeled the biggest hoe all over Atlanta! Ughhhhhh niggas make me sick.”
Nas laughed, waving her off, “You fuck up all the time and I never once called you out your name.”
She raised her brow, “Nigga that’s cause I’m single and I do what the fuck I want.” She hopped off the bar and started twerking.
“Kas, don’t get fucked up in front of Brooklyn,” Nas got up dumping his dirty dishes in the sink and headed back upstairs. Kassidy kept running her mouth, “I’m moving” I blurted out. All the shit talking came to a halt,
“What the fuck you just say?” she walked towards me.
“I just think I need to maybe start over.”
“Brooklyn, you don’t need to start over your life is here with us…with me.” She pulled me in for a hug. “We can get through this…together.”
Even though I said this morning was my last time crying, the comfort and support from my best friend broke me down. “I’m just so fucking embarrassed, Kas! How could he do this to me?” I cried hysterically.
*****
After my breakdown session, I decided to head home and face my problems. I quickly sent Gator a text back since he had been texting me for the past few hours. I decided to be petty
Me: Stop calling and texting my phone before I call up there and tell them you got a cell phone.
Me: We are DONE!!!
Me: Congrats on your third child…your little trophy wife couldn’t wait to smear her pregnancy in my face.
Me: I Fucking hate you!!!!!!!!!!!
Me: I can’t wait to fuck somebody else…Have a nice life Bitch ass nigga!!!!
I powered my phone off and killed the engine to my car and headed inside. “I need to find that bitch’s address and send her Gator’s cars and belongings.” I was talking to myself as I entered the kitchen from the garage. As far as I was concerned, if I didn’t see him or her ever again in life, that would be okay with me…but I knew better than that.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Strickler?” I snapped as soon as I saw him sitting in my living area. Damn, I’m slipping I didn’t even see his car in the circular driveway.
“Business as usual,” he dryly replied.
“Business as usual.” I mocked him. “Get the fuck out of my house!” I drunkenly hollered. “All that shit talking about ‘I look at you as an Issac’ is bullshit. I walked in that courtroom today you and that bastard didn’t even look my way. Fuck yall and the business! Let Mrs. Issac go and handle his business. Ohhhhhhh wait, that’s right, she can’t because then her family would know what Gator’s sneaky ass is up too.”
“Brooklyn, I need you to understand that in order for us to help Chris, we have to play by Yani’s rules. So, today in the courtroom, we had to act accordingly trust me we both felt terrible.”
“Well, I don’t give a fuck about how any of you felt. I know how I feel and I’m done with this shit. So, you can tell Gator,” I put my fingers up in quotation “that he needs to find someone else to do the drop off because after today, I’m done. Find the door and let yourself out!” I hollered over my shoulder, trying to make it up the stairs without falling.
“Brooklyn, I need you to sleep on this tonight and call me in the morning. These are some very important people and if you don’t show up they will come looking for you,” he replied walking towards the door.
“Fuck youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” I hollered back. Holding on to the staircase, trying not to hit the floor, Sophia rushed to the stairs to help me to my bed. “Sophia, I don’t want him back here ya hear me? They hurt me today.” I started crying again. I couldn’t wait for this pain to be over.
Chapter 6
Gator
Bail denied!!!! Those words kept ringing through my head as the guards escorted me back to the federal camp. I sat in the back of the transportation van wondering where the hell did Brooklyn disappeared too.
Not being able to talk to Brooklyn was driving a nigga insane not to mention Yani was working on my fucking nerves. I swear if I wasn’t caged up, a nigga would’ve strangled that bitch by now and rode off into the sunset with Brooklyn and my two kids. A nigga just couldn’t afford to lose Brooklyn, she was too valuable to me; women like her don’t come around often.
“This too shall pass,” I kept whispering to myself.
Soon as I made it back to my cell, I pulled the burner phone from under the hole in my mattress that I got smuggled in here by Sasha, the Hispanic correction officer and powered it on. Once it came to life, it vibrated notifying me of 5 messages. Seeing Brooklyn’s number appear on the screen made a nigga’s heart skip a beat, but reading her messages pissed me the fuck off! I stood up pacing back and forth in my cell calling her phone back to back. I didn’t give a fuck if a guard seen me with a phone at this point. Her voicemail came straight on every time I called, so I switched it up hitting the house phone and it was giving me a busy signal.
“Fuckkkkkkkkkk!” I hollered in frustration. The fuck she mean my third child? Yani’s not pregnant. And Fuck another nigga? Huh, bitch? I walked back and forth talking to myself as if she could hear me. The vibration of my phone in my hand calmed me down when I saw it was Strickler.
“Chris, it’s me Dan…we have a problem. Brooklyn came home drunk tonight and she’s really fucked up about this whole situation. I don’t think it’s wise you trust her to make this drop for you.” He huffed nervously into the phone. Stickler was my lawyer but he was also a friend of the family and a trusted advisor, so I could understand his hesitancy, b
ut I also knew Brooklyn and she would eventually come to her senses and get the job done.
“Dan, calm down…I’ll take care of Brooklyn,” I spoke in a hushed tone moving to the corner of my cell where I could barely be heard. “Take your focus off of Brooklyn and find out about that nigga Duke and any breaks in my case.” I told him before hanging up.
After I hung up with Strickler, I dialed my nigga Justice. Justice was a young, solid nigga who overlooked ninety percent of my trap houses. My trust was shallow at this point, but I knew Justice wouldn’t fuck with my money.
“Who dis?” his voice boomed through the phone over the loud music in the background.
“Nigga, turn that damn music down and what I told you about answering numbers you don’t know?” I chastised him. His little ass wanted to be on top one day, but he had a lot to learn.
“Damn G, my bad! What’s good nigga?” he responded excited to hear from me.
“You tell me…how that sand moving?” I asked referring to the work I got on consignment from the Santana brothers. I needed to test out their product before I totally give the Ortiz’s my dick to suck. Felipe was the kind of prick that tried to control you with his product but never wanted to give you an actual seat at the table and Yani was just like him. CONTROLLING AND DESPERATE. I hustled my whole life to sit at a table like the Santana’s and this was just what I needed to step my game up and branch out further than Atlanta. I’m a grown ass man and it’s time I sit at the table and rightfully take my place in the game.
“Shit slipping through my fingers,” he answered making me smile. “I think we got a winner.”
I laid back on my bunk that was exactly what I wanted to hear. Most niggas just wanted to set up shop and get by, a nigga like me wanted the power and the money; connecting with the Santana’s came with that type of stature. The thought of having this shit at my fingertips and not being able to grasp it personally because of my own right-hand man was definitely about to send me over the edge. I just needed the Bonnie to my Clyde to stick with me. After all the shit I put her through, one would think to let her be free and happy elsewhere, but I was too selfish. The thoughts of Brooklyn being loyal, fucking, and sucking another nigga like she did me would hurt my soul. That nigga would never live to see another day of life. I was a God out here in these Atlanta streets, so that was the least of my worries. These niggas around here knew better than to even breathe in Brooklyn’s direction. When it came to Brooklyn, nobody was off limits, not even the mother of my kids.
