Aria and Aubrey { A TLS} : Book Two

Chapter Thirty-Two: Just A Little Too Late

==Aria’s Home==

==Later That Day==

==Ace POV==

Being with Tammy was a mistake. We had nothing in common except for the lust we felt for each other. I mean we had some great sex honestly, but other than that there was no chemistry. No..fire. No love. She was more of a quickie gone bad, and I couldn’t deal with it anymore.

I had decided to go see Aria and apologize the right way, instead of leaving things off on a really sour note. I walked up the stone pathway towards her home where she used to live, my mind racing with a million thoughts per minute. I had really loved this girl with all of my heart, despite everything that went down between us. It was weird coming here...more weird than I had prepared myself for.

I knocked on the door and rang the doorbell a few times, the anxiousness in my stomach growing. What if he’s there with her right now? What if I’m disturbing them from “making love”? Ugh, disgusting... There wasn’t any commotion, so I decided to go towards the back of the house. Maybe they’re in the back rooms. I walked around to the back and began banging on that door as well. Still no commotion. The hell?

“ARIA!” I called out. My eyebrows furrowed as I realized that no one was home. That’s weird, I thought. Her car is still here.

I whipped out my IPhone from my jeans pocket and punched in some numbers. I let the phone dial in my ear a few times before I heard a tired and wispy voice answer.

“Hello?”

“Tammy? What the hell? Are you okay? You sound like you’ve been crying oceans.”

I heard her sniffle and then adjust herself. “No. no I’m fine. Actually, no I’m not. Have you heard from Ari this morning? Or anything? I last spoke to her yesterday morning and saw her that afternoon. After that, she just went MIA.”

My stomach started to turn. It wasn’t like Aria to just disappear like that...not unless something was really wrong. “Uh, no I haven’t. I’m actually at her house now. I tried knocking a few times and ringing the doorbell, but no one answered. Do you know where she is?”

It got really quiet on the phone for a few minutes. I looked at my phone and then brought it back. “Hello?”

“I’m here. I’m here. It’s just...Oh God. I hope she’s okay. I can’t believe this is happening..”

I slapped a confused look on my face. “What? What’s happening? I’m not understanding.”

Tammy got quiet again and I was growing more concerned by the minute. “Tamera…”

“A-Ace...I think Aria and Aubrey went missing.”

I stood in front of Aria’s house completely incredulous. Missing? How is that f*cking possible? “Missing? W-What are you talking about?”

“W-Well, yesterday, Aria told me to come by and pick up the kids because some issues were happening concerning Aubrey and she didn’t want them around for that. She told me it was a very serious situation and that for some reason, people were after Aubrey. I was instructed to taking the children to the airport, but I ended up just bringing them home with me. I forgot what she said about Aubrey’s mother though. That was the last time I ever had a full conversation with her except for when I came to pick up the kids a little later. After that, she vanished.”

My mind processed all of this information, trying to find some way of tracking them two down. “Did she hint at where she was going? Or where she ‘thought’ she might be going?”

Tammy sighed. “Not really. I just know that the people who were after Aubrey came from California.”

California...all the way from Cali to Connecticut? Damn, Aubrey must have done some fucked up shit for this to happen. “Get you and the kids dressed. We’re going out of town for a few days.”

“W-What? No, Ace we can’t go-”. I hung up on her. I wasn’t trying to have anyone talk me out of saving Aria. She didn’t deserve to be thrown into this shit, especially not at Aubrey’s expense. And this was exactly what I was afraid of, her getting herself into some deep shit just because of the emotional hold he has on her. I shook my head as I walked back to my car and jumped in.

He’s not going to do this to her a second time. And I damn sure won’t let him take her life.

--

=Some hours later in Oakland, Calirfornia=

=Aria’s POV=

“Ah, I see you guys have made it here peacefully huh? Great, because that ride was the only thing that’s gonna be peaceful in this shit.”

The bags were still over me and Aubrey’s heads as we knelt on this hard ground. I couldn’t tell if it was hardwood, or something you’d feel in a basement, but either way this shit creeped me out. Whoever was speaking creeped me out even more. It was like the voice of Satan had finally found a way to escape into human form.

“Drake, Drake, Drake. Tsk, Tsk. It’s so sad for us to see each other again like this my freind. Then again, this is a happy reunion, isn’t it? I mean everyone is here, you’re here. Everything is great-” Within seconds I felt the distinct sharpness of a kick into my left side. “Then again, maybe not.” I groaned as I thudded to the floor, the pain seeping everywhere into my body.

“Abel, please leave her alone! She never did anything to you so just let her go. I’m the one who betrayed you. Torture me instead.” Aubrey’s deep voice pleaded. Even when he was begging to save me he sounded gorgeous.

“Oh?” Abel said, as the pounding of his feet drifted towards Aubrey. “Now you want to be the big man huh? Face your fears? It’s too late for that nigga. Your time has come and gone.”

I was still on the floor in pain and especially too scared to move. I felt the wetness of my tears seep into this disgusting bag that was over my face. The smell of cigarette smoke and despreateness made me gag. What did I do to derserve this? Oh, I know. I let Aubrey back into my life once again, not caring about the thigns it would cost me-like my fucking life.

“You see Drake. When I give your ass instructions, you do as I say. That’s the point when there is a leader, right? I treat you all like the dogs you are, never letting the leashes go any further than what I expect.”

“Abel, who the fuck said we-” POP! The sound of the gun shot made me jump and cringe all in one breath. I started hyperventilating and trying to get any air possible into my lungs.

“Can somebody get this stupid ass bag off of her head? Drake’s too I guess. I want them to be able to see the pain in each other’s eyes when I’m beating the shit out of both of them.”

Like clockwork, I felt the bag being snatched off of my head. There was a bright light, and even the smell of cigarette smoke became enhanced. My eyes adjusted to the lighting as I looked around me frantically. I could make out maybe four men standing in front of me. Aubrey was next to me too, the bag off his head and his chest rising and falling heavily.

Then I noticed the body. The head was turned away from us, but I could tell they had died with their eyes open. Blood seeped onto the floor from the fresh gun wound in their head, the dark red liquid just rushing towards Aubrey’s leg. Oh my God...