Crimes of Passion

Chapter 17

Amari

When Rocky and I got back to the safe house we had a fresh shipment of dope to deal with. We sat in his office, weighing out our product and smoking a fat blunt. After the long ass day I had, lord knows I needed it. It was quiet between us; no one said anything unless it had to do with dope.  I felt some tension in the room and it made me uneasy. If this nigga had something to say, then he should say it.

As if he read my mind, Rocky broke the silence.

“You and Yvette did well earlier. I know you got skills, but only from what I’ve been told. It was good to see you in action.”

I was a bit surprised by what he said.  He seemed sincere. I appreciated the compliment, but I wasn’t trying to catch feelings and lose sight of my goal. I still didn’t know how the fuck he knew about my shit in Chicago. Until I had some answers on that, I had to be even more careful.

“Thanks man.” I said plainly.

He nodded.

“So what’s up with you and Yvette?”

“What do you mean?” I asked a bit amazed that he had called her by her real name.

“Well damn, you got baby girl all up in my organization and I see how y’all be looking at each other. Either you trying to wife her or she must have some magic pussy.” He said laughing.

I shook my head. “It ain’t even like that. I want to wife her, but shit, I haven’t found the right time.” I told him.

Before he could respond, my phone started ringing.

“It’s your girl.” Rocky snickered.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my phone and answered it.

Right away I knew something was wrong. Yvette’s voice was stern, but she sounded shaky. It was almost as if she’d been crying or something. “Is everything okay?” I asked her. She was quiet. “It’s my parents…” she began to say, “They’re dead. Someone murdered them. Amari please get here quick. Whoever did this, I-I want to get them! I need your help.”

“Don’t worry ma, I’ll be there in 10 minutes flat!” I said hanging up the phone.

I grabbed my shit from the desk and quickly shoved it in my pockets.

“Yo, I got to go. Yvette said someone smoked her parents.”

Rocky

“Yo, I got to go. Yvette said someone smoked her parents.” Amari said after hanging up the phone.

I quickly snapped into caring friend mode.

“I’m coming dog!”

We left my office and I instructed some of the other guys to finish weighing and packaging the dope. I wanted that shit on the streets by morning. We hopped into my Mercedes and drove to Yvette’s crib. Phase one of the plan was complete. Uncle Tony was right; this nigga would jump at the chance to help the bitch. Tony and Amari had a whole history from back in Chicago. What a coincidence that the nigga who tried to smoke my uncle would end up trying to make his way into my organization. Once Uncle T told me about Amari, we immediately devised a plan. He warned me that he was skilled; young and ruthless. Originally we were supposed to go for his mom, but with Yvette in the picture, we could have a little more fun.

We pulled up to the bitch’s crib and headed up to her suite. I kept myself composed and ready to pull out the sympathy card. The door was open so we walked straight in. Amari called out for Yvette and she came running out from what seemed like her room. She hugged him and motioned to sofas parallel to us.

I carefully scanned the bodies of the Yvette’s dead parents. The shots were clean and precisely fired. If there was one skill uncle T had, it was shooting. Any minute now Amari would recognize the art of the murder and know it was Tony.

Amari

The bodies of Yvette’s parents were now drained and limp. Their whites were pale and the blood surrounding them had now dried. Yvette walked up to them and slid her hand over each of their faces, closing their lifeless eyes.

As I examined further, the first thing I noticed was that there was no sign of a struggle. I was better than any crime scene investigator you’d ever meet. Dead bodies weren’t anything new to me, and being in the streets I learned to identify any and everything. Her parents had no bruises, cuts, or anything. The shots were accurately fired to places that would kill upon impact. It seemed like it was done with a sniper as well. Something felt off about the whole thing. I mean, they seemed like good people so why would someone want to smoke them?

I looked over at Yvette. She sat with one leg crossed over the other and her hands in her lap. Her face was blank. I was used to seeing people dead, niggas die all the time, but besides my grandmother, I’d never lost anyone else. Fuck, I couldn’t imagine losing my mom.

I switched my attention back to the bodies. I starred long and hard. I hadn’t seen shots like this since I was in Chicago, since… Tony!

 No way in hell, I thought. It couldn’t be him. Had he made his way to LA? Fuck!

“You good?” Rocky asked

“I know who did this.” I said through clenched teeth.

Both Yvette and Rocky looked at me with their full attention.

“Tony. Yvette, you remember him right?”

“Amari, it can’t be...” She said quietly.

I could see the fear in her eyes. It was the same look she had back in New York when we had our first encounter with Tony.

“Who the hell is Tony?” Rocky asked.

“Some unfinished business.” I answered.

I felt my blood boiling inside me. This muthafucka finally made it to LA, and now he was coming at me with all he had. This involved two people, him and I. Now he was involving Yvette and this wasn’t something I could make up to her. My guess was that he’d come after Yvette next. I didn’t exactly have a lot of friends in LA, so my mom would probably be next.

“Look at this!” Yvette called.

She was holding a piece of paper in her hand.

It was a note that said “Amari, this is just the beginning. –T”

At this point I was furious. I clenched my fists, trying to keep myself calm. Just the thought that Tony was here in LA was enough. It was bad enough he had already tried to hurt my mom once, now he was coming after Yvette. His bitch ass couldn’t even be a man and come straight to me.

My fists were shaking harder and the more I thought of the situation the more my anger heightened.

“What if he tries to hurt me…?” Yvette whispered.

After hearing her, my hand flew straight into the wall creating a deep hole. Pieces of paint and debris fell to the ground. I pulled my fist from the wall. My knuckles were busted and blood covered my hand.

“Amari, are you okay?” Yvette said running to my side.

“My bad ma, I didn’t mean to fuck up your wall like that.”

“I get it, I’m scared too. I don’t want anything to happen to you or your mom.”

She grabbed a towel off the sofa and wrapped it around my hand to help with the bleeding.

“Thanks.” I said genuinely.

  I took a moment to recollect myself. We were going to need a plan and fast. Yvette and my mom were the next targets on Tony’s list, and I had to keep them safe. I don’t know who this nigga knew in the city and what connections he had. I had to keep my girls safe, and I was going to need help. As much as I didn’t want to, I knew I needed Rocky’s assistance. I could probably get X and a couple other guys from the organization as well. Tony wasn’t going to run anything soon. I needed to get rid of him, and this time, permanently.

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