by D D Bridges
I walked through my front door and headed straight for the kitchen. I whipped the freezer door open and grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables that I could put on my nose. It had stopped bleeding but it still hurt like hell. I’d wait until the next morning to have it checked out.
I headed for my extra bedroom which was on the opposite side of the penthouse from the master bedroom. When I first arrived in Atlanta two months ago I began transforming the extra space into a surveillance room. I had a plethora of computer operated gadgets that allowed me to keep a close watch on pretty much whomever I wanted to. The average person would walk into this room and think that a CIA investigation team was working here, but it was just me. I was a one man show and I was a force to be reckoned with. I heard that Darius’s friend, Derek, was supposed to be some type of computer genius, but I doubted that he had anything on me. He probably thought that hacking into government files was impressive, but to me that was child’s play. I laughed to myself as I thought about how stupid my half-brother was. He didn’t even know that I had his house and his car bugged. Every move that he was going to make I’d know well in advance.
Chapter II- Darius
I told Mike to follow me to Walter’s house. On our way there I called ahead and filled Walter in on everything that just went down. Other than being shocked about what transpired, he was simply a concerned father who wanted to make sure that his daughter was okay.
It was the middle of the night but that didn’t change the fact that Walter’s whole family was up once we arrived. I helped Leah out of the SUV and she threw her arm over my shoulders as I helped her walk to the door. She was limping and I was still unsure of all of the injuries she sustained.
“Oh my god. Baby, are you okay?” Walter’s wife, Debra immediately reached out and grabbed her daughter once we made it to the front door. Walter and their son Jeremiah were standing by and they offered their assistance as well as they helped her into the house. Debra tenderly wrapped her arm around Leah and guided her further into their home.
“I’ll be okay, ma’,” Leah said, her voice lacking confidence. I knew that she felt that she had let her family down, but it wouldn’t be long before she realized that all her family felt toward her at that moment was their love and care for her.
“Let’s get you upstairs and into bed,” Debra said as they moved toward the staircase.
“I’ll be there to check on you in a minute, sweetie,” Walter called after her. He turned to me and then nodded his head toward his study. I already knew what time it was. I followed him there and once we were inside we realized that Jeremiah followed us as well.
“Son, let Darius and I talk for a minute,” Walter told him.
“Dad…” he said and I could tell by his tone that he had every intention of getting involved in this situation that involved his older sister, no matter how dangerous it was.
“Fine,” Walter told his son hesitantly. “Close the door.” I understood why Walter didn’t want Jeremiah involved. He was only 18 and Walter was just trying to protect him. But maybe this would be the opportune time for Walter to let go a little and let his son grow up.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Walter said after we sat in silence for a few moments.
“I know. I’m lost for words myself,” I said.
“I just don’t understand. We trusted Allen and he does this to my daughter,” Walter added. I could see Walter becoming upset. “Not to mention the fact that he’s been plotting against you with D.J.”
The mention of D.J.’s name made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Some brother he was. I couldn’t wait until the next time that I saw him and we could talk one-on-one. Me and my gun had some things that we wanted to say to him.
“So what are you gonna do, Darius?” Jeremiah asked.
I looked at Jeremiah as I pondered his question.
“I don’t know,” I said as I rose to my feet.
“We gotta do something,” Walter said. “If something happens to you…”
“Look, don’t worry about me,” I told him. “The important thing is making sure that we keep that punk away from Leah.”
“If he knows what’s good for him then he won’t contact her again,” Walter spat. “I swear if I ever see him I’m gonna put my hands around his neck.”
“How can we ensure that he won’t call her?” Jeremiah asked.
“I’ll talk to Leah and let her know that she needs to cut all contact with him,” Walter said. He seemed to be pondering something else and then looked at his son and said, “It looks like your mother and I will have to cancel our anniversary trip this week.”
“But dad, it’s your twenty-fifth anniversary. Mom has been planning this trip for months,” Jeremiah said.
“I know, but I can’t afford to leave you and Leah here unprotected. Not while Allen is still in the wind.”
“Dad, I can look out for Leah. And I can take care of things around here while you’re gone too.” It was obvious that Jeremiah was desperate to prove himself to his father. That was just the phase that he was in at this point in his life.
“Come on, dad. Let me do this,” he tried again. Walter looked at me and then back at his son.
“Jeremiah, it’s not that I don’t trust you,” he told him. “I just can’t take the chance of something happening while your mother and I are lying on a beach somewhere.”
“Well Walter, you can’t skip out on your anniversary. You haven’t had a vacation in years and Debra will be disappointed,” I told him.
“Debra will understand that we need to be here right now,” he said.
“I have an idea,” I said looking back and forth between the two of them. “Why don’t you let Jeremiah and Leah stay at my house while y’all are away. I just hired new security to be on the grounds around the clock, not to mention the fact that my boys are there. My house is probably the safest place that they could be.”
“Yeah, dad. That’s a great idea,” Jeremiah replied. I could see that Walter was at least considering what I said. I thought that I was going to have to work harder to convince him but instead he said,
“Fine. That is a good idea, Darius.”
Jeremiah and I looked at each other and smiled as we slapped hands. Having him around was going to be cool. He was a little green, but I was sure that was going to change once he got around my boys.
*******
Mike waited outside of Walter’s house for me. We left there and went back to the mansion. Soon as we got there, Mike got the rest of the boys up and told them that we needed to talk. We congregated in the library where we could talk privately. They all wanted to know what was going on, so Mike and I filled them in on that night’s events. They were all stunned and couldn’t believe what we told them.
“Nah, fuck that! We can’t let them get away with this shit!” Terry spat angrily as he paced across the floor. “That nigga D.J. need to be dealt wit’. Let’s go find that nigga and put his ass to sleep.”
“Terry, calm down. I don’t even know where he lives,” I said. All of the adrenaline that I had been living off of for the past couple of hours was wearing off and I was beginning to realize how tired I actually was. It was almost 5 in the morning and I hadn’t been to sleep yet.
“No problem,” Terry said. “Derek can track him down in thirty minutes.”
“Yep. Just give me the word,” Derek said, rubbing his hands together. All my boys halted and stared at me, anticipating my response. They all wanted blood, but none of them would move unless I said so.
“No,” I said simply. They all grunted out of frustration.
“That’s fucked up,” Kenny said. “How you gon’ let that shit slide.”
“Regardless of how you all may feel about him, I don’t want to kill my brother unless I absolutely have to. He’s still my brother at the end of the day.”
“Well, what about that other nigga. You said you know all about him; where he works and where his family lives, right?�
�� Terry said, recanting some facts that I had given them about Allen a while back. “So let’s roll up in there tonight and send a message. Shit, we’ll cap everybody up in that piece, the dog included.”
“We ain’t the damn Mafia, Terry,” I told him but it was for all of their benefit. “We can’t just go around killing for the hell of it. All our asses will be locked up in no time.”
“Then what are we gonna do?” Mike said. “They coming for you and we gotta make the first move.”
“Mike is right,” Kenny said. “Let’s strike first.”
“It’s not about striking first or making the first move,” I said as I got up and began to pace the floor. “It’s about making the right move; the most strategic move.”
“Like a game of chess,” Derek said.
“Exactly,” I concurred. “Now, I got some other things that I gotta focus on right now, but the time will come when we will have to deal with both of them. Y’all just make sure that you’re ready.”
Chapter III- Natalie
I had to admit, the guestroom that Ms. Martha set up for me was absolutely beautiful. It had everything that I needed; a private bathroom with both a shower and Jacuzzi style tub, a queen-sized canopy bed, and even a vanity mirror. I was never the type of girl to chase after the upscale lifestyle, but I could definitely get used to this. There were still so many parts to the mansion that I hadn’t even explored yet. The guys told me about the gym, the game room, and the home theatre, but none of those things had really piqued my interest.
The rift between Darius and I was keeping me from being able to enjoy this experience. I had barely even spoken to him for the past few days and I didn’t like the feeling of loneliness that was beginning to settle in my heart. I would see him at breakfast and then again at dinner, but we wouldn’t speak. He wouldn’t even look at me and I knew that I hurt him. I thought that after all that I had been through I would be strong enough to be with a man like him, but I was wrong about that. Darius didn’t understand just how frail I was and how terrified I was of losing another person that I loved.
Yes, I had come to realize that I loved Darius. I’d never felt that way for a man ever in my life. It was so strange because we hadn’t even been together that long, yet he had already stolen my heart. But I wasn’t sure how he felt about me. He always seemed so afraid to fully express his feelings. That was why our relationship was in the state that it was now. I was beginning to think that Darius loved his father’s company more than anything else, and that there was simply no room for me in his heart. If this wasn’t the case then he would have vowed to put his gun to rest and not go after Francisco. He was showing a complete disregard for his own life all because he wanted to defend his father’s legacy. But I guess I couldn’t judge his decision. I had no real idea how it felt to be in his shoes. He went his whole life never knowing his father and now he had to shoulder the responsibility of carrying on what his father built. This was tough on Darius, that I was sure of. I just hated the fact that he still felt the need to prove that he was worthy of wearing the crown that his father had passed down to him.
I stood in my room, clad in a black silk robe that touched the floor and matching slippers. I stared out of the window and watched as Darius and his boys prepared to leave for the office. Mike got into the driver’s seat of the Benz and Darius got in the passenger seat. I had to admit that he could definitely hang a suit. All of his tailored suits fit him to a tee, making him look both professional and sexy. The rest of the guys loaded into the SUV and then they followed the Benz down the long driveway. I watched two of the new security guards as they stood on either side of the gate as the vehicles left the property.
Instead of going down for breakfast at the regular time, I decided to wait until after I knew Darius left for work; my way of trying to both avoid him and get his attention. I thought that maybe if he didn’t see me during breakfast he would be concerned enough to talk to me about it later. Sure, it was immature and as stubborn as he was it probably wouldn’t work anyway, but it was worth a try.
There was a knock on the door and I figured that it was Ms. Martha coming to see what I wanted for breakfast or if I wanted anything at all. I already had my mind set on some of her bacon and eggs so I rushed over to the door. When I opened it though it wasn’t Ms. Martha, but Darius’s mother, Donna.
“Good morning,” she greeted sweetly, giving me a half smile. I really liked Darius’s mother. You could tell that she was from the hood, but she still knew how to keep it classy. Not only that, but she was very down-to-earth and really easy to talk to. She made me feel welcomed since I had been staying there, which was more than I could say for her son. The only reason that I’d stayed this long was because Francisco was still on the loose and this was probably the only place where I was truly safe.
“Good morning, Ms. Donna,” I said as I opened the door wider so that she could come into the room.
“I told you that you can just call me Donna, sweetie. The Ms. makes me feel old,” she said jokingly and I laughed.
“Yes ma’am, I’ll remember that,” I told her.
“I just wanted to check on you and make sure that you’re okay. We all noticed that you didn’t make it down to breakfast,” she said, the expression on her face revealing that she was sincerely concerned.
“Yeah, I was about to come down. I was just up here thinking about some things and I lost track of time.”
“Is everything okay?” she asked as we both sat down in two cushioned chairs that were over near the window. “I’m not trying to be in you all’s business, but I’ve noticed that things don’t seem to be smooth with you and my son. I thought that maybe that was why you chose to skip breakfast.”
She was definitely intuitive, but I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from a woman like her. I sighed and said, “Well, I guess you could say that we’re not communicating very well right now. Right after we came back from Paris we had an argument.”
“An argument about what?” she wanted to know.
“About the fact that he doesn’t seem to care that the decisions that he makes affects all of us. I tried to tell him how I felt about the way that he was handling things, but he just continued to claim that he was doing what was best. He doesn’t seem to get it and I don’t know what to do. The last thing I want is for something to happen to him.”
I stopped talking because I could feel the tears threatening to emerge out of their hiding place and ruin my morning. I had already spent every night crying myself to sleep over Darius and the fact that we weren’t together. I definitely didn’t want to cry in front of his mother. I had this thing about me where I had to appear strong in front of people. No matter how much I was hurting, I would try to hide it for as long as I could. But the look of understanding that Donna gave me not only let me know that she could see through me, but it also put me at ease and made me feel that maybe I could trust her with my deepest thoughts and feelings.
“Sweetie, you will just have to get in line because we all worry about Darius,” she told me. “I know that you must have been so scared while you all were in Paris.”
“I was,” I admitted. “We barely made it out of there alive and to think that Darius was in the middle of it all…” My words failed me as I flashbacked to the moment when Jeff and I were sitting in the auction waiting for Darius and D.J. to return. I heard a loud popping sound but didn’t realize that they were gunshots until Jeff put his arm around me and forced me onto the floor. I thought for sure that Darius was dead until Derek came and got us out of there. He assured us that Darius was alright, but at that moment none of us knew how long that would be the case. Things did not look good that day, but somehow we all managed to make it back to Atlanta safely.
Donna stood and said, “Well, my son has always been head-strong and stubborn, so you might as well get used to it. And even though he might not be acting like it right now, I know that he cares about you. He wouldn’t have insisted that you stay here if he
didn’t.”
I simply nodded because I knew that she was right. Darius may not know how to express it at times, but I knew that he cared about me.
“Come on. Let’s get you downstairs and get some food in you.” I stood and followed her out of the room and downstairs into the foyer. Just as we were heading to the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Donna went over to open the door.
“Hi Ms. Donna,” I heard a young man say before he stepped inside, dragging his suitcase.
“Hi Jeremiah and Leah,” Donna said as she hugged the guy and then hugged the young lady that came in behind him, also carrying a suitcase. I remembered Darius telling me all about Walter and his family so their names definitely rang a bell. They were both good looking kids, especially Leah who was gorgeous. Her high-yellow skin color and petite frame were complimented by her designer clothes and long, wavy hair. She smiled at Donna, but something didn’t seem right about her. She seemed broken and like she had been through a lot. Her brother on the other hand appeared fine but seemed to be keeping one eye on his sister the whole time.
“I’m so glad that you all will be staying with us while your parents are in Fiji,” Donna said to them as she closed the door.
“We’re excited too,” Jeremiah said. “Has Darius left for work already?”
“Yeah, you just missed him,” she replied. “I want you all to meet someone. This is Darius’s girlfriend, Natalie. Natalie, this is Jeremiah and Leah. They’re just like family to us.”
“Hi Natalie, nice to meet you,” Jeremiah smiled and said as he reached out and shook my hand.
“Hi,” Leah smiled and said as she shook my hand as well.
