Love and War

by Jackie Chanel

  “This is an OG’s car,” Aries laughed. “Where you want to eat?”

  Caprice closed her eyes and considered her answer. She had to move faster if she wanted to get any information out of Aries. Continuing along the same path wasn’t getting her anywhere close to what she needed to do. She needed him to trust her enough to be alone with her, and not in a public place. She was going to have to give up the goods.

  Caprice leaned over and softly kissed Aries on his cheek. “We can go to your place. You can cook for me.”

  Aries burst out laughing. “Me? Cook for you? Yeah right.”

  Caprice sat back in her seat and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay. That’s cool. If I’m not worth a home cooked meal, then fuck it. I can cook for myself.”

  “It’s not like that,” Aries explained as he pulled to a stop light. “But I don’t cook for females.”

  Caprice opened the car door and got out. “I said it’s cool. But you should know that I’m not just any female.” She shut the door and began walking towards the parking garage housing her Lexus.

  She wasn’t mad and that’s exactly what she wanted Aries to see. She knew that getting out of the car would aggravate him. People didn’t just walk out on Aries when he was talking.

  He’d been the leader of Black Diamond Mafia for so long that he didn’t encounter many people who didn’t do what he wanted. He was used to getting his own way. He was used to women throwing themselves at him. He had some of the baddest bitches in New York City willing to drop whatever they were doing if he texted them that he wanted his dick sucked. However, it was the twenty-two year old college chick from Miami that kept him on his toes and excited him. She was his biggest challenge and they both knew it.

  None of that mattered to Caprice as she drove through the Village. She had more finals to study for. Maybe she could convince Rocco to come to her since she knew that Diesel was unavailable.

  When her phone vibrated, she looked at the text.

  Why’d you get out the car?

  I told you what I wanted. You said no. There wasn’t a reason to stick around.

  Do people always do what you want?

  The ones that care about me do.

  Caprice sat the phone in the center console and cranked up Beyonce. She ignored the back to back text alerts from Aries. She’d said all that she had to say.

  ****

  “So, I got some news,” Caprice stated proudly when she walked into Peter Poleski’s office a couple of days after ditching Aries at the stop light.

  Nico and Domani were sitting on a large Italian leather sofa. A bottle of Scotch sat on the table in front of them. Domani’s eyes lit up when he saw his daughter.

  “It’s about time,” Nico grumbled. “It’s been a month.”

  Caprice eased between her father and brother and made room for herself on the sofa. She poured herself a drink, despite her father’s frown. He hated when she drank anything stronger than a glass of wine in front of him.

  “It’s just one drink. Relax,” Caprice said.

  “What did you find out?” Nico asked. “What did Aries say?”

  “Aries hasn’t really said anything, but his best friend won’t shut up. You should know him…calls himself Diesel. And as it turns out, the new connect isn’t Jamaican. He’s some Colombian dude named Cesar and he’s virtually impossible to touch.”

  “Hmm,” Domani said. “Cesar Valdez isn’t impossible to touch. He’s difficult to get to since he went underground a few years back. But me and him go way back. I did a little business for him back in the eighties.”

  “Really?” Caprice loved hearing about the days before her father became the Boss. “What kind of business?”

  “Nothing for you to concern yourself with,” Domani answered. “I’ll talk to Cesar. What else did you find out?”

  “Well, Aries is tougher than I thought,” she replied. “He doesn’t trust many people. His weakness is his mother and his little sister. He’ll do anything for them, especially if he thinks they’re being hurt. He bought them a house upstate and pays for his sister’s private school. He’s really paranoid about them even coming into the city to visit. I have a list of ways we can use that to our advantage. And,” Caprice paused dramatically because she knew the last piece of information she had was juicy.

  “Diesel said he and Aries just met with some dude who just got out of Riker’s for building pipe bombs and shit in his garage. Aries paying him to make car bombs. Dude has a hit list and he wants to make it look like mob hits…or at least what he thinks a mob hit looks like. He watches too many movies, in my opinion.”

  Nico laughed. “You’re one to talk! Everything you thought you knew about us, you learned from The Sopranos.”

  “Anyway,” Caprice pouted. “That’s all I know right now. I’m working on getting his hit list. He thinks I’m mad at him, so he’ll be coming around my house soon.”

  “You’ve done good,” Domani praised his daughter. “Without Cesar in his back pocket, Aries won’t have a choice but to fall back in line with Nico. He can’t be the number one anything with no supply. But definitely find out who he’s targeting. They’ll appreciate us giving them a heads up.”

  “He won’t call Nico for a re-up,” Caprice replied. “That much I do know. He’ll keep looking for a new connect. And, he’s going to keep recruiting members until he has better numbers than we do. He wants to be bigger than us and he isn’t going to stop until we take him down.”

  “Yeah, Dad,” Nico butted in. “He has to pay for plotting against us. Caprice isn’t done, if that’s what you’re thinking. She still has a job to do.”

  Caprice crossed her legs and sipped the strong dark liquor. “I’m ready,” she replied. “It’s hard getting him alone without giving up the goods, but I’m going to think of a way. The sooner this is done, the soon I can go back to Staten Island.”

  Domani placed his arm around Caprice’s shoulders and squeezed. “You’re doing a helluva job. You got balls, I tell ya that. Why don’t you hang out with your brother for a few days? Catch a flick…go see Maria.”

  Caprice smiled at her brother. She needed a break. Pretending to be someone else, pretending to actually like someone that she hated was mentally exhausting.

  “Works for me. But I gotta drive out there. Aries has been texting me all day. He’ll probably be waiting for me to come back to Queens. I can’t let him see me with Nico.”

  “Good,” Nico said. “I’m sure Maria is going to want to cook for you. She’s sad that you gave up your cooking lessons and moved over here. She isn’t happy with you.”

  “Doesn’t she think that I moved to be closer to school?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then do your job,” Caprice teased, “and take her mind off of me. I mean, you do have that big old house to yourself now.”

  A thin smile graced Domani’s face as he watched his children continue to tease each other. When this thing was all over, he would tell them about the casino. They wouldn’t have to worry about things like missing each other or gangbangers anymore. All they would need to think about is where they wanted to build their homes in Atlantic City.

  Chapter Nine

  It was a quarter after eight when Nico pulled in front of Caprice’s apartment building. She’d spent two days in Staten Island with her family. She was expecting Rocco at nine and should have been home getting ready, but she couldn’t pass up one last drink with her only sibling.

  “Do you need me to help you up or can you walk?”

  “I can walk,” she laughed. Her words were slightly slurred. Three glasses of wine had her a little buzzed. “See you in a couple of days.”

  “Night, sis.”

  Caprice waited on the sidewalk for Nico to drive off. The cool night air helped clear her head and steadied her feet. She walked into her building and up the stairs to her third floor apartment without a problem. She opened the door, hung her keys and purse on the wall hook, and slipped off her shoes before sw
itching on the living room light.

  “Oh my God!” she yelped. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”

  Aries slowly leaned forward on her sofa and glared at her. His eyes were red rimmed and dark. He was high as hell.

  “You and I need to talk,” Aries growled. “Sit down.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do in my own fuckin’ house. Get out of here before I call the police.”

  As much as she wanted to grab her gun and shoot him, Caprice dug in her pocket for her cell phone instead. She knew she still had to play her role. An innocent college student would definitely call 911 if there as an intruder in her home.

  “You need to leave, Aries.”

  Aries stood up slowly. His muscular 6’7” frame inched towards Caprice. She actually felt a little apprehensive. Taking a few steps back, she reached blindly behind her for her purse.

  “I said sit down!” Aries yelled and slapped the phone out of her hand. He grabbed the front of her shirt and threw her on the couch.

  Caprice nearly panicked when she caught a glance of the crazed look in his eyes. She had no idea what was wrong with Aries, or what he planned on doing to her.

  “I’ve been texting you for two days. Where have you been?” he snapped.

  “Visiting some friends,” she replied. “Why? We don’t have to talk every day.”

  “Visiting friends? Yeah right,” Aries’ laugh was sinister. Caprice shuddered.

  This wasn’t the situation she expected and honestly, she had no idea what to do. He wasn’t going to let her get to her phone, so she had to stall him. Rocco would be at her apartment soon. If she couldn’t get to get purse, she’d just have to pray that Rocco would come to her rescue.

  Aries walked over to the couch and sat down. Caprice scrambled to the other end, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked. “You’re scaring me.”

  “You wanna tell me how you know Nico Bonatelli?”

  Ice cold blood rushed through Caprice’s veins. She closed her eyes briefly and tried to calm herself. This was bad…very bad.

  “Who?” The word actually came out calmer than she felt.

  “Don’t play with me, bitch! You know what the fuck I’m talking about!”

  Aries pulled his steel .45mm out his pants and sat it on his lap. Caprice eyed the gun and kept her eyes on it. The longer they sat there in silence, the angrier she became. There was no way in hell that Aries stayed breathing after this. No matter what he did to her, there was no way Nico or Rocco would let him live.

  No. Fucking. Way.

  “Nico Bonatelli?” she said with raised eyebrows. “Doesn’t ring a bell, but then again, I know a lot of guys. You broke into my apartment over some guy that I may or may not know? Jealous much?”

  “You’re one of their hoes, aren’t you? You supposed to be spyin’ on me or something?”

  “I still don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Caprice replied. “Leave now and we’ll just chalk this up to whatever you smoked or mollie you popped before you came here.”

  Aries lunged for Caprice and grabbed her neck. He threw her to the ground and began choking her. Caprice grabbed at his hands and flailed her legs trying to get him off of her. It was no use. He was too strong.

  “Aries! Stop!” Keisha’s voice startled both Aries and Caprice.

  For once, Caprice was glad to see the girl, especially when Aries relaxed his grip around her neck. She coughed and tried to control her breathing. She wiggled away from Aries, but he looked at her and grinned.

  “Didn’t I tell you we would take care of this bitch?” Keisha said to her cousin. “And she ain’t one of their hoes. Nico is her brother. Now get out of here and let us handle this. It’s our job, remember?”

  As Caprice’s vision came into focus, she saw three other girls crowding the doorway of her apartment. Two of them were holding baseball bats.

  “I knew you were up to something shady. You heard me talking about my cousin. Then all of a sudden you want to hang with me,” Keisha said to Caprice. “We’ve had some of the same classes together this whole time, but you waited almost four years to talk to me. Dumb bitch. Stuck up bitches like you don’t ever want to be friends with hood chicks like me unless they want something.”

  “Why are you still talking?” Caprice asked as she struggled to get to her feet. The night wasn’t going to end well for her, but if she could just make it to her purse, it wouldn’t end well for Keisha and Aries either.

  “You obviously didn’t come here to chit chat, so what do you expect me to do? Cry? Beg? Confess my secrets? Don’t hold your breath.”

  Keisha stepped closer, blocking Caprice’s path to her purse.

  “You’re going to tell us what you’ve been telling your brother.”

  Caprice shook her head. “No I’m not. But Diesel knows everything I told my brother. All it took was a smile and a few texts to get your man to spill the beans.”

  Keisha reacted just like Caprice expected...with emotion.

  “Bitch!” Keisha yelled and slapped Caprice across the face.

  The sting of her heavy hand felt like fire. Keisha’s hand was adorned with heavy sharp rings that cut Caprice’s face like a razor.

  No emotion, Caprice said to herself. Fight with no emotion.

  Caprice balanced herself and swung with enough force that her punch knocked Keisha to the floor. The other girls sprung into action. Caprice had never been in a real fight before, but she swung and kicked with everything Angelo had taught her. It was useless. Her hands and feet were no match against four girls and two baseball bats. Bones in her legs and arms crunched as metal bats made contact. On the ground, Caprice screamed in excruciating pain.

  The merciless beating went on for three or four minutes. Caprice screamed as her broken body continued to absorb blow after blow. She didn’t hear Aries order the girls to stop. The pain was agonizing. Her eyes and ears were filled with blood.

  Aries stood over her crumpled body and stared down at her.

  “Damn shame you turned out to be the enemy,” he said. “I kinda liked you.”

  Aries kneeled down next to Caprice and put his mouth close to her ear.

  “I hope you had a good time with your brother,” he whispered. “You’re never going to see him again.”

  Caprice struggled to say anything but her mouth was too swollen to move. Her words came out as unidentifiable grunts.

  Aries chuckled as he stood up. “Goodbye Caprice.” He grinned over her practically lifeless body, then spit on her face.

  A weak groan escaped her lips as the intruders filed out of her apartment. A lone tear rolled out of her right eye as Caprice prayed for death and revenge.

  Chapter Ten

  The Young and The Restless was playing on the television when Caprice’s eyes began to flutter. Eventually she opened both eyes. She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision. She didn’t have to wonder where she was. The soft hum of medical electronics and the glaring white blanket covering her body confirmed she was in a hospital bed. She painfully remembered why. She remembered every single detail of the beating she’d taken. Her only question was how long she’d been lying in the bed and when she could go home.

  “Mommy?” Caprice whispered. She knew that her mother was in the room. She could smell the Chanel #5 that Mahogany always wore.

  “Yes, dear?” Mahogany’s voice was very close. Caprice turned her heavy head to the side. Sure enough, Mahogany’s gentle face was mere inches away from her daughter’s.

  Her mother’s voice was calm and soothing, but her dark brown eyes flashed with a hint of anger. She had every right to be upset. Her child was lying in a hospital bed, lucky to be alive. The last few days hadn’t been a walk in the park.

  “Not in New York, am I?” Caprice whispered. All she could do was whisper. She didn’t have the energy to speak any louder. Plus, she could barely open her mouth. Her jaw was wired shut.<
br />
  “Of course not,” Mahogany stated. “I told you that when you asked yesterday.”

  “Nico?”

  Mahogany sighed heavily. “He’s fine. Your father is fine. They’re on their way down here to see you.” She held a Styrofoam cup with a straw to Caprice’s lips. “Have some water. It will make your throat feel better.”

  With her mother’s help, Caprice managed to get the straw in her mouth and took a sip. The cool water did make her feel better. She took a few more sips before Mahogany moved the cup away.

  “I hurt,” Caprice whispered again.

  “Of course you do.”

  Caprice took a deep breath and immediately cried out in pain. Mahogany shook her head.

  “Don’t do that.”

  Caprice nodded slowly. The pain in her chest was unreal. She began to do a quick mental inventory of her obvious injuries, starting with the pain in her head, chest, and the pink casts encasing her left arm and leg.

  “I’m pretty banged up, huh?”

  Mahogany looked up from her phone sharply. “This isn’t a joke, Caprice. You could have died! You almost did!”

  “But I didn’t,” Caprice managed to shrug her shoulders with little pain. “How long have I been here?”

  “A week.”

  A week! Caprice began to panic. “I’ve got to get back to New York. I can’t miss graduation.”

  “I’m glad you’re thinking about your real life instead of that mess you were caught up in with Domani and Nico,” Mahogany snapped. “But you can’t travel. I’m sorry, baby, but you are going to miss your ceremony.”

  Caprice shook her head and caused a wave of pain and nausea to course through her body. She felt sick to her stomach. If her jaw wasn’t wired shut, she would have clenched her teeth so hard that they probably would have broken.

  “No. Can’t miss it. Worked too hard to not walk across the stage.”

  “Technically, you can’t walk anywhere.”

  “Mom!” Tears began to fill Caprice’s eyes. For a moment, she reverted back to the kid she’d been before she moved to New York. Back to a time when her life was nothing but private school, friends, and no one telling her that she couldn’t do something. She’d worked too hard, even with the bullshit with Aries, to forfeit her chance to walk across the NYU stage.