by J. L Rose
Pulling back and looking at Dante in complete surprise, Alinna stared into Dante’s eyes for a moment. “Who told you?”
“You did,” Dante answered, and then said, “I caught on to what you said after we hung up the phone. The wholewe’re okay and it’s okay comment.”
“I was wondering if you would catch that.”
“I try not to miss too much.”
“Are you mad or happy?”
“Why would I be mad?” Dante asked, staring at Alinna with questioning eyes.
“I just thought that with what we’ve been doing that you wouldn’t be ready for us to have a baby yet,” Alinna explained to him.
“Shorty listen,” Dante started, kicking off his shoes, and then pulling out both .40’s, laying one of the bedside table, and then sliding the other under his pillow only to feel another burner. He pulled it out only to see Alinna’s .380.
“You weren’t home,” Alinna told him, taking her gun, and sticking it under her own pillow as she moved over to her side of the bed.
Laying down beside Alinna as she laid her head on his chest, Dante admitted what he was saying. “I don’t worry about you handling business and what not, but I’ve thought about that too and I’m changing up things a little bit. You can continue doing your thing with Vanessa, Harmony, and Amber, but I’ma deal with the problems my way without you. I want you to focus on stacking this case and getting us rich, you good with that?”
“I don’t know if I have a choice,” Alinna answered rubbing her hand under his shirt, rubbing his stomach feeling his six pack and hard muscles.
“One more thing,” Dante told her, causing Alinna to raise her head to meet his eyes. “You got something you wanna tell me?”
“Like what?” Alinna asked with a confused look on her face.
“Miguel?” Dante asked, smirking at Alinna.
Slowly smiling, Alinna laid her head back down onto her man’s chest and went into explaining to Dante about Miguel finding out about the Geovani hit and then explaining about Miguel’s threats to turn them in if she wouldn’t sleep with him, which was how she set up the hit at the hotel where both Amber and Harmony killed Miguel.
“Where was Vanessa while you, Amber, and Harmony were handling ole boy.
“You heard about the white girl named Amber who’s being called Miguel’s mistress?” Alinna asked, looking back up at Dante.
“Yeah, who’s she?” Dante asked holding Alinna eyes.
“She wasn’t nobody really, just a hotel clerk,” Alinna answered. “But she’s the reason Vanessa wasn’t in the room with me, Amber, and Harmony.
“So Vanessa was putting shorty to sleep while y’all deaded that clown, Miguel?” Dante asked, smiling as he shook his head. “You women are really something else.”
“We learned from the best,” Alinna told Dante, smiling at him. “What you get from the hit in Alabama?”
“It’s in the closet,” Dante told her, watching as Alinna climbed out of bed and walked over to the closet pulling out the two briefcase and walking back over to the bed.
Laying both briefcases on top of the bed, Alinna opened one and saw the heroin. Dante announce that one briefcase was filled with two bricks of heroin that she broke into while the other was packed with $250,000.
Looking over to Dante in shock and surprise, Alinna opened the other briefcase and saw that it was in fact filled with money. She looked back to Dante asking him, “What happened to Big Daddy and Rachel after you, Dre, and Tony T got the money and drugs?
“You already know what happened with Big Daddy’s fat ass, but Rachel never made it out of Miami,” Dante told her, winking his eye.
Shaking her head smiling, Alinna said, “I want you to chill for a while.”
“Chill? For what?” Dante asked, staring at Alinna with a questionable stare.
“Baby, we have enough work to last us at least until after the baby is born. I’m already one month into this pregnancy and I want us to move in together,” Alinna told him, and then added, “I want us all to move in together.”
“All of us, as in me, you, the girls and Dre?”
“Tony T also, since he’s messing with Harmony.”
Quiet for a moment while thinking, Dante finally said, “Alright, I’m with the whole living together idea, but I’m not with the whole laying back doing nothing idea.”
Sighing, Alinna smiled and said, “Alright, you Dre, Tony T, can do a few small jobs outside of Florida, but nothing major until after the baby is born, Dante.”
Smiling, Dante said, “Now that’s an idea I’m with shorty.”
“I bet you are,” Alinna replied, smiling as she closed both brief cases, winking at Dante.
Chapter 13
Bringing up the idea to the others about everyone moving in together, and getting everyone to agree, Alinna, Vanessa, Amber, and Harmony looked for a new house that everyone was going to move into, only for Dante, Dre, and Tony T to up and leave the state again after hearing about some pill dealer in South Carolina who went by the name, Snoop.
Finding a large enough house for all seven of them, Alinna went ahead and put a down payment on the house, while Dante, Dre, and Tony T were still out of town handling their business.
Once the paperwork was complete, the real estate agent gave them the okay to move in. Alinna, and the girls went shopping for the new house and even hiring a new housekeeper and cook for the house. She was an older motherly-type of black woman named, Rosa.
By the time Dante, Dre, and Tony T returned from South Carolina, nearly everything was finished with the new house.
“Damn shorty, you don’t miss ya man?” Dante asked, smiling as he walked into the bedroom seeing Alinna packing her stuff.
Leaning back into him as Dante wrapped his arms around her from the back and hugging him back, Alinna raised her lips accepting the kiss Dante gave her, and then nodded over to the backpack that he dropped by the door. “What’s in the bag?”
“I miss you too,” Dante told her, releasing Alinna only to playfully slap her on the ass before walking over to pick up the Louie Vuitton backpack and toss it over onto the bed as he walked to the foot of the bed.
“What’s up? You’re moving and didn’t tell me about it?” Dante asked, really just noticing the room was empty while pulling out three clear extra-large sandwich bags filled with molly pills.
“If you would have called me, you would have known what was going on while you were gone,” Alinna told him as she picked up one of the sandwich bags. “How many pills are these?”
“Five thousand,” Dante answered, ignoring the look she shot him. “What do you mean ‘what’s going on while I was out?’”
Rolling her eyes as she tossed the sandwich bags onto the bed next to the backpack, Alinna went back to packing saying, “We already found a new place. It’s a new house that’s half furnished and whenever you and your boys finish jumping from state to state, we can move in.”
Ignoring her attitude because of her pregnancy, Dante walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, laying his hands on her stomach as he spoke into her ear, “Come on shorty, you know I’m there whenever you need me. Alinna all you gotta do is call and anything and everything I’m doing will stop, you know that Alinna.”
A Quiet moment after listening to Dante, knowing he meant exactly what he said to her, Alinna dropped the clothes she was folding and reached up and back with her right hand, grabbing Dante behind the neck as she learned her head up kissing him in a passionate kiss.
Breaking after a moment, Alinna turned facing Dante saying, “I want to move into our house today.”
Nodding his head, Dante pulled out his cell phone and called Dre.
“Yeah fam, what’s up?” Dre answered.
“Braw we got to handle something real quick,” Dante told his boy while staring at Alinna watching the smile slowly spread across his lips.
* * *
Giving Alinna what she wanted with Dre and Tony T’s he
lp, Dante emptied her condo and his apartment out. After thirty minutes of being instructed where to arrange furniture, Dante, Dre and Tony T finally finished working and felt as if they were free moving men.
After getting a better look around the new two-story, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath, and four-car garage house, Dante allowed Alinna to drag him from the kitchen to meet the new housekeeper named Rose who he instantly liked. They then ended up outside in the large backyard only to see Vanessa, Harmony, and Amber all inside the massive ten-foot swimming pool while both Dre and Tony T stood talking to a dark-skinned, shaved-head guy who was smoking a cigarette.
“Who’s homeboy?” Dante asked Alinna while staring straight at the guy.
“Relax baby,” Alinna told Dante, smiling as she rubbed his chest, seeing that look he got when seeing new people. “That’s Amber’s boyfriend.”
“What is he doing here?” Dante asked still staring at the guy.
“I’m going to talk to you about that later,” Alinna told him just as Amber called out to Dante from the pool.
Shifting his eyes from the guy over to Amber as she climbed from the pool wearing a baby blue two-piece bathing suit, Dante looked back over to the guy seeing him and both Dre and Tony T now staring over to him.
“Dante,” Amber said, smiling as she jogged up beside him grabbing his hand. “I want you to meet somebody, please give him a chance, Dante.”
Looking over to the poolside where Harmony and Vanessa sat leaning on the edge of the pool, Alinna locked eyes with Vanessa seeing the questioning look on her girls face.
Shaking her head as she looked from Vanessa while following a step behind Dante and Amber, Alinna stepped beside her man as Amber introduced her boyfriend to Dante.
“Dante, this is my boyfriend Wesley,” Amber told Dante but then looked to her man saying, “Wesley, this is who we’ve been telling you about.”
Holding out his hand to Dante, Wesley said, “What’s up rude boy? I’ve been hearing of you, it’s good to meet you brethren.”
Ignoring Wesley’s hand but recognizing Wesley’s accent, Dante switched his English to a Jamaican patois saying, “What part of Jamaica you from?”
Smiling at hearing his own language, surprised at how good Dante spoke Patois, Wesley replied also in Patois, “I’m from Kingston, brethren, you a Rastaman?”
Nodding his head that he was, Dante continued in Patois saying, “My father was a dread, and my mother was American. How you meet Amber?”
Explaining how he and Amber met a few months back while he was making a drop-off with some work he was getting rid of, Amber got into it with some dude and a female, he later found out Ambers dude at the time and the female was dudes lady on the side, Wesley broke down how he helped out a little.
“Where’s homeboy now?” Dante asked, switching back to English as he held Wesley eyes.
“Let’s just say a blood clot don’t have no worries now,” Wesley told Dante, smiling a small devious smile.
Nodding his head slowly as he held Wesley’s dark brown eyes, Dante broke eye contact looking over to Amber saying, “Why didn’t you tell me you had a problem with some clown you was messing with?”
Looking to Wesley but looking back to Dante seeing the way he was staring at her, Amber cut her eyes over to Alinna, and then looked back at Dante again saying, “I never got a chance to say anything. Wesley handled it before I could say anything. You mad?”
Shaking his head that he wasn’t, Dante said, “Just tell us what’s going and whether it’s handled or not. Don’t leave us in the blind. But I’m pretty sure Alinna, Vanessa and Harmony knew about this.”
Watching Dante turn and walk off with Alinna following behind him, Amber looked to Dre asking, “Dre, he mad ain’t he?”
“Naw,” Dre answered shaking his head. “If fam was mad, you’d be looking for a new boyfriend cause ole boy Wesley here would already be taking that trip to see the good lord.”
* * *
“Where’d you learned to speak Patois?” Alinna asked Dante as she stood at the breakfast bar while Rose handed Dante a bottle of Corona from the refrigerator.
“My pop’s,” Dante answered nodding his thanks to Rose, but then looked to Alinna meeting her stare. “My pop’s was Jamaican. I learned it before he was killed.”
“No wonder you are like you are. You a dread and all y’all are crazy,” Alinna said jokingly but then turned serious asking, “So what do you think about Wesley?”
“Why?” Dante asked, lowering the bottle from his lips shifting his eyes to Alinna.
Sighing softly, Alinna admitted, “Amber and Vanessa came to me about putting Wesley up with us.”
“Us what?” Dante asked sitting his bottle down and staring hard at Alinna.
Looking to Rose and seeing the older women walk out the kitchen, Dante turned to Alinna who said, “Wesley sells weed and he just lost his connect because of something that happened, but he also knows a few spots you, Dre, and Tony T can hit. But I’ve already made my decision. I’m just letting you know my decision.”
“Well handle ya business since you already made your decision,” Dante told her as he turned away, leaving the kitchen just as his cell phone went off.
Watching Dante walk off, Alinna shook her head as she heard the double doors leading to the backyard opening looking back seeing Amber, Harmony, and Vanessa walking inside the house.
“What happen, A?” Amber asked as she, Vanessa and Harmony stopped beside Alinna.
“Y’all know how Dante is, he don’t trust nobody,” Alinna told her girls. “He gotta get to know Wesley before he get cool enough to have him around.”
“So you told him about Wesley working with us on opening up a trap house?” Vanessa asked.
“I never got a chance before he got mad and walked off,” Alinna said just as Dante walked back up with his faced balled up and pissed off.
“Hit me up on my cell phone if you need me, I gotta handle something,” Dante told Alinna, and then looked to Vanessa saying, “Nessa, walk with me real quick. I wanna holla at you right quick.”
“Where you about to go, Dante?” Alinna asked him as he Vanessa was walking off.
“Call me if you need me,” Dante told Alinna, repeating himself and then turning away continuing towards the front of the house.
Cursing in Spanish under her breath, Alinna sat watching both Dante and Vanessa walk away from her.
Once outside and over at the garage door at the far right side of the house, Dante got the garage door opened, but turned back to Vanessa ignoring how good she really looked in her two-piece bathing suit that she was wearing, realizing why his boy Dre was going crazy for the girl. He said, “Vanessa look, Alinna told me about this shit with Amber dude locking in with us. I don’t know homeboy, but I’m holding you responsible for this dude because I know Alinna is doing this more for you instead of Amber, so if this dude gets wrong, I expect you to deal with homeboy or I’ma deal with him and then I’ma deal with everybody that’s connected with him no matter who the person is or if I got love for the person. Now are we clear?”
Understanding Dante clearly, as she stood staring into his eyes, Vanessa nodded her head saying, “I got you Dante. Don’t worry.”
“Good looking out,” Dante told her as he walked in the garage where his bike was.
Once on his Kawasaki Ninja, Dante backed his bike out, stopping next to Vanessa as she stood still watching him. “I actually do like you a lot, Nessa. Don’t let me down shorty.”
Slowly smiling, Vanessa said, “Relax, I got you,” Winking his eyes allowed a small smile, which caused Vanessa to smile even harder.
Dante cranked up the bike but yelled, “Now get back inside before Dre comes out here and cut up about you dressed like that.”
Laughing as she stood watching Dante ride off, Vanessa shook her head unable to help, admitting she actually cared about and liked him as well.
Chapter 14
Pulling inside the shopping c
enter parking lot twenty minutes after leaving for an open parking space, he found an open spot where a Dodge Caravan was pulling out. Parking the bike and shutting off the engine, Dante swung his head around at hearing the car horn behind him.
Pulling off his helmet, Dante climbed off the bike and walked over to the driver’s window. “What do you want, Angela?”
“Get in the car, Dante,” Angela ordered, rolling the window up in his face.
Cursing to himself as he walked around the car, Dante climbed inside the Malibu only for Angela to pull off before he could fully close the car door.
Repeating himself again, Dante asked, “What do you want now, Angela?”
“Who the fuck is Alinna, Dante?”
“What?” Dante asked in surprise, looking over to Angela.
“You heard what the fuck I said. Who is she to you?”
“What you talking about?”
“Nigga, don’t fucking play with me,” Angela yelled looking over to Dante. “Are you fucking this bitch?”
“Who told you about Alinna?” Dante asked, controlling his anger as he stared at Angela.
“I have my ways to keep up with you, that’s how I know you have been helping this bitch out. Now answer my fucking question, Dante. Are you fucking her?”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“What?” she screamed, swinging her head back around to Dante. “Muthafucker it has everything to do with me when my child’s father is fucking some other bitch.”
Staring at Angela in disbelief, not sure that he heard her right, Dante asked, “What the fuck you just said?”
“You heard me nigga, I’m fucking pregna…”
“Bitch say it,” Dante spit out, Glock already in his right hand and pressed to the side of Angela head.
“What are you gonna do, kill me?” Angela asked feeling her heart beating harder than she ever felt it beat before. “I’m carrying your fucking child and you wanna kill me? Are you forgetting that I’m also a police sergeant?”
Cursing as he snatched his burner away from against Angela’s head, Dante cursed even louder and slammed his fist into the dashboard causing Angela to jump in fear and surprise. “Tell me this is bullshit, Angela?”
