Anisa was killed down in Miami, and me think de’ same people who killed she may have hurt Miamor too. She started fucking with one of our marks, and me thinks she is in trouble. Chu’ are de only person who she might listen to. Please call me so that me can put her on three-way. Maybe chu can talk some sense into she. 852-444-9683. Me put some money on de’ commissary for chu. Call soon.
Aries
Murder knew exactly who Aries and Robyn were. Miamor had told him all about them in some of her letters. He was now worried about Miamor. He didn’t know what was going on, but he fully intended on finding out. He was up for parole, and would be out the joint in a couple of weeks. He wrote Aries back and asked her and Robyn to meet him in Miami. He had done five years easily, but now that he knew Miamor was in danger, the next two weeks were going to creep by torturously slow. I know lil’ mama better be a’ight, or niggas in Miami gon’ bleed!
Chapter Sixteen
(The Cartel)
Mecca stood over Miamor and looked at her with pure hatred. He had finally gotten a chance to be alone with her without any supervision, and he was going to make the most out of that opportunity. It was in between the nurse’s shift, and his heart was racing as he looked down at his worst enemy. He wanted to tell Carter about Miamor, but he didn’t want to take the chance of Carter siding with her. He saw how much Carter loved Miamor, and it enraged him, knowing that Carter loved the same woman that he hated so much. The last thing he wanted was to be in a beef with his only remaining blood brother over a female. He figured that what Carter didn’t know, couldn’t hurt him. This bitch got his head gone, but I’m about to end this game and send her to her Maker, he thought as he stared at her, clenching his jaws.
Mecca looked over his shoulder and made sure no one was coming just before he focused his attention back on his worst enemy. He bent down and began to whisper in Miamor’s ear, hoping to God that she could hear him. He was unaware that she had come out of her coma earlier that day, so when she opened her eyes, it startled him. He saw the lazy look in her eyes and knew that she was weak. He was glad that she was conscious. Now she would know who was taking her life. Mecca was about to gain his sweet revenge.
“I hate you, bitch!” Mecca whispered as he began to pinch her oxygen supply. “I want you to die a slow death. I’ma finish what Fabian couldn’t do,” he whispered and he smirked as he heard her heart monitor begin to beep faster.
Miamor wanted to return the gesture by saying, “Fuck you!” but she was too weak to even open her mouth. The only thing she could move was her fingers.
Mecca looked down at her hand and noticed that she managed to stick her middle finger out. He chuckled as he pulled the pillow from under her head. Stopping her oxygen flow wasn’t quick enough for him. He wanted her dead. He held the pillow up and prepared to suffocate her to death.
Miamor tried again to say something, tried to call for Carter, but only a low raspy grunt came out.
“Nobody can save you now, bitch!” Mecca whispered.
“What’s going on?” Carter asked as he walked into the room.
“I was just fluffing her pillow, bro. Your sleeping beauty looked uncomfortable,” Mecca said as he began to fluff the pillow, hoping that Carter didn’t see what he was really trying to do.
Carter smiled and walked over to Mecca and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take it from here,” he said, not knowing that Mecca was just about to murder his only true love. “I have to talk to you and Zyir when I finish up in here,” Carter added, thinking about the plan that he was putting together for their relocation.
“Cool. I’ll be downstairs,” Mecca said just before he shot Miamor a cold stare.
Miamor matched his stare, and she wished that she could say something. Mecca and Miamor both despised each other with equal passion, and it was obvious that neither of them wanted to tell Carter the truth. Both of them wanted to kill one another and still keep a bond with an unknowing Carter.
Mecca exited, and Carter focused his attention on Miamor. He pulled up a chair to her bed and began to stroke her hair and look into her eyes. “Hey, beautiful,” he said just before he leaned over and kissed her cheeks. He heard Miamor grunt while moving her lips, trying to talk.
“Shhh. Save your energy, baby,” he said as he put his finger over her lips. “The nurse said it will take a couple of days before you will be able to talk or sit up. You just have to rest,” he explained.
Miamor looked into Carter’s brown eyes and knew that he was the man that she wanted to spend her life with. However, she knew that Mecca was trying to kill her. I wish I could just tell him. Come on, Miamor, move your lips. Talk! she thought as she tried to say something. But it was to no avail. I have to tell him the truth. Will he still love me? Will he understand and pick me over Mecca.
Carter picked up Miamor’s hand and kissed it softly. “I am going to kill whoever did this to you, I swear. I know it’s all my fault. I was in the middle of a war and never thought about my enemy coming for you,” he said, feeling guiltier with every word.
Your brother is the one trying to kill me! Miamor thought as she heard the sincerity in his voice. She promised herself that if Mecca didn’t kill her, she would tell Carter the truth as soon as she was able to. She was tired of running from herself. She was looking into the eyes of the future. Her future was in Carter Jones.
“Just listen,” Carter said slowly and sternly. “After you get well, we are moving from Miami. No more wars no more of the fast life. We can work on us and become one,” he said, meaning every word of what he was saying. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Miamor, and he was willing to give up the dope game for good just to make that happen.
Carter couldn’t take Miami’s ills anymore. Breeze’s death was the last straw. It was as if Breeze had died twice, because just when they were coming to terms that she was gone, she reappeared, but only to commit suicide when they were only seconds away from saving her. Carter was tired of everything … everything except for Miamor. She is the only thing good in my life, he thought as he clenched his jaw, thinking about his deep love for her. Just to see her lying in that bed helpless almost brought a tear to his eye. He was ready to make her a happy woman, and eventually, his wife.
A tear slipped down Miamor’s cheek, and Carter believed it was tears of joy. But in actuality, it was a tear of pain. It pained Miamor to think about how she would have to tell him that she was connected to the man that killed most of his family, that she gave the drink to Taryn that killed her, and that she was a killer—a cold killer.
The nurse had just arrived, and Carter looked back, greeted her with a smile and stood up. “Get some rest. I will be back to check on you in a while,” he said as he pecked her on the forehead and exited the room gracefully.
“Man, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Zyir asked half jokingly as he watched Mecca take a shot of Patrón.
Mecca was noticeably angry and irritated. “Nothing. I’m good, Zy,” he said, thinking about how he couldn’t get to Miamor. I’ma kill that bitch tonight. I don’t give a fuck. She’s got to die, he thought as he tried to conceal his feelings from Zyir, who was staring at him like he was crazy.
“You sweating and shit. I’m just saying, you look like you got something on your mind,” Zyir said as he sat on the couch.
Before Mecca could respond, Carter entered the room. “Yo fam, I need to talk to y’all for a minute,” Carter said as he sat on the Italian leather couch next to Zyir. Mecca sat across from them and wanted to hear what Carter had to say.
“Our time has passed with this organization. We have to clean our money and get out of the game. I have been talking to a couple of business associates, and I’m putting something together for us in Phoenix. We can wash our money and get into the casino business.”
“A casino?” Zyir asked as he sat up, not expecting to hear what was coming out of Carter’s mouth.
“That’s right, Zy. We have to get out of the dope game and g
o legit. Some business partners of mine are willing to sell us a small share of a new casino that’s being built there. It’s the only way that we are going to ever prosper. The Feds are on me, and the connect ain’t fucking with me because of the indictment. We are in a lose-lose situation. It’s only a matter of time before The Cartel goes under, feel me?”
“What you talking about? Diamonds move dope! We run these streets, and I’m going to run these mu’fuckas until I die. Just like Poppa did,” Mecca said, sounding more ignorant with every word.
“That’s the mentality that’s going to land us all in jail. Think about it, Mecca,” Carter said as he emphasized his words with subtle hand gestures. “If snitch-ass Ace would not have had a baby mama, I would be serving a life sentence right now. We just barely got out of that situation, Mecca. We are under a microscope, and next time, I might not be so lucky!” Carter said, breaking down the truth to his younger brother.
“Maybe Carter is right,” Zyir added as he began rubbing his hands together. “We have to get out of this ‘hood mentality and expand. Think about not having to worry about, ‘are we going to get caught’ or ‘whose next to die'. We’re losing those we love behind this shit,” he said as he thought of Breeze. “I’m with it,” Zyir conceded as he held out his hand and slapped hands with Carter.
“Mecca, you in?” Carter asked as he and Zyir looked at him.
Yeah, I’m in, but first I got to kill your girl, Mecca thought as a small smirk appeared on his face. He was going to have fun killing Miamor. The fact that he was doing it right under Carter’s nose added more enjoyment for him. “I’m in, bro,” he said as he reached over and slapped Carter’s hand.
“Good, good,” Carter said as he stood up. “Look, but first we need to finish off the last shipment. We have to get our money out of the streets. Anybody that owes us money from consignment needs to pay up. We are out of the game officially today. I know that the business slowed down while I was locked up, but now I’m home, and it’s time to collect. Zyir, I want you to collect from them Liberty City niggas, and Mecca, you need to collect from the Overtown crew. We hit them each with fifty joints, right?” Carter asked, not sure of the amounts that they had spotted the crew with on the previous shipment.
“Yeah, that’s about right. I haven’t heard from any of them either,” Zyir added as he thought about the money that they had in the streets.
“Niggas thought that they wouldn’t have to pay up since you got locked up. They think The Cartel is over. It’s time for them niggas to pay,” Mecca added as Carter refreshed his memory. “I almost forgot about that debt they owe us.”
“I didn’t,” Carter added as he stood up to walk out of the room. “It’s time for The Cartel to collect,” he added just before he disappeared in the darkness of the hallway.
Zyir grabbed his keys, and so did Mecca. “I’m going to head out and take care of that,” Zyir said, planning to head to Liberty City.
“Me too,” Mecca said as his trigger finger began to itch.
He wanted to go and put a bullet in Miamor’s head so badly, but he decided to wait until he came back. He wanted Miamor to be in fear. She didn’t need to know when he would kill her, but she knew he was lurking, and that was enough to plant his seed of fear. He wanted to make her miserable before taking her life. Mecca smiled and headed out of the door, followed closely by Zyir.
Miamor watched as the nurse dipped the towel in the soapy wash pan. It pained Miamor to know that she was helpless and couldn’t move on her own. I feel so weak, she thought as she felt the warm towel on her skin. Mecca constantly stayed on her mind. She didn’t know when he would return to kill her, and she knew that he would succeed, because she was too weak to defend herself. She saw a man’s silhouette in the door and her heart began to speed up, hoping that it wasn’t Mecca.
Before she could play the guessing game, Carter appeared, leaning in the doorway. “How is she doing?” he asked as he slowly walked in.
“She is going to be fine. She just needs a lot of rest and love,” the nurse said as she continued to wipe Miamor’s arms and neck, cleaning her.
“Great,” Carter said as he leaned over and kissed Miamor’s forehead. He stared at Miamor, and couldn’t wait until he took her away from the chaos. He had already decided that he would ask her to marry him and be his forever. But first, he would have to nurse her back to health.
* * *
“Yeah, that’s the nigga right there,” Robyn said as she watched Mecca and Zyir leave the house. “The Dominican on the right, that’s Mecca Diamond, and the other one is Carter’s lil’ nigga, Zyir.”
Murder clenched his jaw and breathed heavily through his nose as they camped in a truck outside of the Diamond’s estate. They had been eyeing the place for hours, because Murder wanted to check out what he was going up against. He wanted to find Miamor, but first, he would have to find Carter.
“He’s the one that killed Anisa?” he asked as he grinded his teeth together, feeling the anger building up inside of himself.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Aries added as she remembered when Anisa was murdered.
Murder didn’t get the name “Murder” for nothing, and he was good at what he did. That’s why he always checked out the competition before just jumping into the situation blindly. He knew he would kill Mecca in due time, but he would have to be patient. His main concern was finding Miamor.
Zyir and Mecca got into two different cars, and they pulled out. Murder decided to follow Zyir, hoping he would lead him to Carter or Miamor.
* * *
Zyir slowly nodded his head to Nas as he maneuvered his car through the streets of Liberty City. He smiled as thoughts of Breeze invaded his mind, and just as quickly as the thought lit up his world, it brought him down. He blinked away tears as he thought about how their relationship never got the chance to grow. She had been taken away from him before they could build their love, and he missed her in a new way as each day passed. He looked at the picture he had of her on his dashboard, and gripped the steering wheel tightly as visions of her hanging crossed his mind.
He checked his rearview, and noticed a white truck that had been behind him for a minute. What the fuck? He thought to himself as he switched lanes, and just as he expected, the truck switched lanes also. He then knew he was being followed. Just to be sure, he made two rights hitting each block with speed, and the truck followed him. Zyir reached under his seat and pulled out his Tech-nine. He set it on his lap and glanced at the truck once again. He wasn’t about to play the “cat and mouse” game, so he decided to see what was happening. He approached a red light, and the white truck was behind him about two car lengths. He tried to look and see who the driver was, but the black tint kept him or her a mystery.
Zyir threw his gear into park and hopped out with his gun in hand. He pointed at the truck as he walked toward it. “What’s good, my nigga?” he yelled as his jaw tightened and he was ready for whatever. He couldn’t see who was behind the glass, so he hesitated to squeeze. The truck burned rubber and sped past him, as Zyir kept his gun on the vehicle. He pointed the Tech at the truck until it was out of sight. He didn’t know who was following him, but they were about to get aired out by his little friend.
Zyir hopped back in his car and headed to Liberty City to pick up the rest of The Cartel’s money. “Whew!” he huffed as he turned up the music and proceeded. “Maybe, I’m tripping,” he said, pulling off.
Chapter Seventeen
(The Cartel) Six Weeks Later
Carter’s eyes were bloodshot red as he sat near Miamor’s bedside. His worry for her had taken a toll on his body. He hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since finding her, because he sat in the rocking chair in her room all day and night to make sure that she was okay. He was grateful that she had come out of her coma, but she was still so weak, and he felt that he needed to be strong for her. He wanted to keep her spirits up until she was fully recovered. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows
on his knees as he sighed. He watched her stir in her sleep slightly.
“No … no …!” she groaned while still asleep. She began to struggle and lash out as if she were fighting someone.
Carter stood and approached her bedside. “Miamor,” he said. “Wake up, ma.”
“No!” she screamed as she sat straight up in bed and fought against Carter. It was dark in the room, and Miamor had been dreaming of Mecca killing her. When she awoke and found a man by her bed, she thought that he had come for her again. She was sweating and her breathing was la bored
She was shaking, the terror in her heart paralyzing her while her eyes darted wildly around the room.
“Miamor, it’s me, baby … it’s just me!” Carter said soothingly as he held on to her tightly.
When Miamor heard Carter’s voice she broke down in his arms. “He’s going to kill me!” she sobbed as she held on to him like a frightened little girl clinging to her father.
Concern was written all over Carter’s face. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. “Who, Miamor? You have to tell me who you’re afraid of,” Carter said. He was determined that when he found out the identity of Miamor’s attacker, he was going to kill him.
Miamor saw the sincerity in his eyes, which only made her cry harder.
He sighed and pulled her to his chest. “Shh. It’s okay, ma. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I almost lost you once. I won’t lose you again,” he promised.
He scooped Miamor into his arms and carried her to the rocking chair. He sat down with her and stroked her hair while he rocked back and forth.
“I can’t stay here, Carter,” she whispered. She gripped the collar of shirt in fear. She was holding on to him for dear life.
“Shh … I got you, ma. I promise you—”
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