Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
AHKEEM
The door of the jet was let down, and the smile on my baby’s face was priceless.
I knew she would be working while we were in Miami, but I also knew she needed a little vacation, so I carved out some time just for the two of us.
Instead of us just going by ourselves like we initially planned, it ended up turning into a group trip.
Javi, Zylynn, Moe, Jersey, Angie, and Diamond were flying out with us.
I arranged for us to stay at this big-ass house in Millionaire’s Row just so there would be enough space for all of us.
Diamond made sure to apologize directly to my wife on her sister’s behalf just so there wouldn’t be any tension during the trip. The issue was never Diamond; it was Amina’s ditzy ass. I saw now why Diamond always steered clear of her sister’s dealings.
“Welcome to the Yams!” I popped the bottle of champagne once we loaded off the jet. After all the shit that had been going on, we all needed a little bit of a reset.
“Where the niggas with money come out to play!” Angie followed up.
“Hello!” Jazzlyn high fived her.
“I know that’s right!” Zylynn agreed.
Me, Diamond, and the guys all stale faced them. “Not too fucking much out of you. I’ll turn this whole city up if you on bullshit,” Javi warned Zylynn and nudged her head a little bit.
“Y’all with the niggas with money. Don’t play stupid,” I chuckled before hooking my arm around Jazzlyn’s shoulders.
Angie smacked her lips. “Y’all cool and all, but I want one of these down south niggas with the golds and thick-ass wicks.”
“Moe right here while you playing,” Jersey teased as he pushed Moe in Angie’s direction. She described Moe perfectly, except he had regular dreads that hung down his back instead of wicks. His country Memphis grammar was close enough, and he kept some golds in his mouth.
Angie eyed Moe up. My homie was real lowkey and liked to chill in the cut, so even though I knew he was feeling Angie, he would never admit until he was ready. Jersey had just put him on the spot, so he had a mean mug on his face as he stuck him the middle finger.
Jazzlyn brought my head down so she could whisper in my ear. “They’re gonna fuck by the end of this trip.”
“Moe ain’t gone make a move.”
“Moe won’t have to. If my girl wants something, she’s gonna bag it.” She smirked.
I shook my head with a chuckle. This trip was about to be wild. These motherfuckas were starting early.
“Welcome to my city! You New York niggas need to feel the sand between y’all toes!
” Cinco welcomed us as he popped out of the Sprinter.
He and Taylor were ready to be our tour guides.
We couldn’t come out to Miami without tapping in with them, just like they wouldn’t come through New York without tapping in with us.
We were all family and always had a good time together.
“Long time no see, pussy. You got me those tickets to your game this weekend?” I dapped him up.
“You know I did. Got y’all a sky box. My baby gone give your lady all the details.”
“You better hit my parlay or we gone jump your ass.” I squeezed his shoulder.
We all ended up laughing, but I was dead-ass serious.
I kept betting on his ass this season ‘cause he was my homie. The last two times, I ain’t hit on shit, so this time, he’s better make some shit shake or I was gone fuck him up.
“I got you, bruh.”
While the ladies squealed and jumped around like little girls because they were back together again, we loaded up the Sprinter van with our luggage.
We would only be in Miami for four days, but my wife packed like she would be staying for a month.
I knew better than to question her because I knew everything she packed, she would be looking good as fuck in, and I would have the honor of taking her out of it.
Cinco copped him a mansion out in Fisher Island, south of Miami beach, which wasn’t too far from the house we rented out. He and Taylor rode with us to our rental.
“Can I shake some ass on this trip… please?” Jazzlyn got out of her seat and made herself comfortable on my lap with her bottom lip poked out.
I chuckled. “Do as you please. Just be ready for my face to be on the fucking news if a nigga look too hard.”
“Boo! No fun.” She gave me a thumbs down.
“You can shake yo ass for me. We got King of Diamonds at the house,” I teased her while gripping her ass.
Her phone rang with a FaceTime call from Priest, and she answered. “You landed safely?”
“Yes, Dad,” she jested, and he smacked his lips.
“Y’all aint fuck up my jet, did y’all?”
Jazzlyn groaned, still giving him shit. “No, we were real respectful on your jet. Ahk wanna say hi.”
She angled the camera toward me, and I smirked. “What’s good, big bro?”
He banged the line right in my face, prompting us to laugh.
It was real beef behind the gate I fucked up at the entrance of his neighborhood.
I knew he’d come back around eventually.
I had already hit up Brit to see when it would be a good time to pick up a couple of his cars and tow them to my car lot to be wrapped and detailed.
I figured I needed a nice gesture to get him back fucking with me.
“Oh, he’s pissed,” Jazzlyn continued to laugh while fanning her eyes so she wouldn’t tear up.
“He would’ve done the same shit behind Brit. I ain’t do shit wrong.”
“Y’all done being boo’d up over there?! We in Miami. We need to turn up!” Angie brought two shots our way.
My baby wasn’t scared of no liquor, so she threw her shot back with ease, and I did the same.
We all turned up for the rest of the ride to the house.
The palm trees and the view of the ocean from the back yard had the house looking like it was ripped right off a page of Architectural Digest. I was a New York nigga through and through, but Miami wasn’t looking too bad.
While everyone else was running wild in the mansion, I found myself in the backyard admiring the view.
The way the infinity pool was set up had it looking like it was leading right into the ocean. Shit was beautiful.
“When all this shit said and done, you wanna get us a house like this with a view of the water?” Jazzlyn wrapped her arms around me from behind.
I positioned her in front of me. The wind and sunlight hit her just right, blowing her hair back while her skin radiated. My baby was so damn gorgeous.
“This what you want? You always gave farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.”
“Ahkeem, get the fuck outta here. I wouldn’t be caught dead in no fucking farmhouse,” she sassed with a roll of her neck.
“I’m just fucking with you. I know what my baby like. I got you. Can we get a dog too?”
She nodded with a giggle. “Yup. A poodle.”
I smacked my lips while shaking my head. “I’m not getting no poodle. We gone have to compromise.”
“We’ll figure it out. Are you ready to turn up tonight? I’m thinking about doing handstands in the club. What you think?” She laughed while tapping her chin as if she was deep in thought.
I gripped her sides and pulled her close. “Not too fucking much. You got my seed in you.”
“Boy, I’m not full of nothing but Casamigos and McDonald’s french fries.” She waved me off.
“We’ll see. Do me a favor and chill on the drinking while we out here.”
She folded her arms against her chest, ready to protest. “See, Ahk?! Don’t start that shit. We just started trying. Let me live before you get me all fat.”
“You can live. I just need you to be safe.”
She sighed before wrapping her arms around me. “I get it, but we don’t even know if I’m pregnant yet, so that means I can turn up. Once I take a test after this trip, I’ll lock in and be safe for your big-headed-ass baby.”
“Our big-headed-ass baby,” I corrected her before pecking her lips.
We all chilled a little before we got ready to head out.
While we were in Miami, I still was on the hunt for Silas, so I needed to link with my homie who knew the ins and outs of the city better than I did.
Everybody looked like money as we filled up the Sprinter.
Our driver eased into a stop right in front of a spot called Bar Remedy.
“Yo, this us in the Sprinter,” I said to my homie Ezekiel over the phone.
“Bet. I’m coming out now.”
We stepped out of the Sprinter and were met with the busy nightlife of Miami. I loved Miami because it was just as fast paced as New York. The guys and I helped the ladies out of the van just as Ezekiel pulled up.
“You in my stomping grounds now, nigga!” Ezekiel walked over to me and dapped me up.
We shared a brotherly hug, happy to see each other.
Zeke and I went way back. When I used to traffic guns, he was one of my best customers.
We made a whole lot of money together and always looked out for each other if a favor was needed.
Zeke was a typical, flashy-ass Miami nigga, but he was real as fuck.
He had the long-ass wicks Angie had been talking about since we touched down and solid gold grills that matched the thick-ass gold Cuban links around his neck and wrist. Us New York niggas liked to be iced out, while Miami niggas liked to be flooded in gold.
He ran Miami with his crew, the Paper Chase Empire, and I ran New York.
We were two bosses who weren’t intimidated or threatened by each other.
“Let’s see what Miami hitting for. Good to see you, nigga.”
“Hell yeah. How long it’s been? You done got too big for a nigga now,” he jested.
I shook my head with a laugh. “Nah, it ain’t nothing like that. I just expanded my horizons a little bit.”
“I’m just fucking with you, dawg. I heard what type of time you on now. Keep doing your shit up there. You earned that shit, bruh.”
“‘Preciate it.” I pulled Jazzy closer to me and introduced her. “This my wife Jazzlyn. She owns a club out here, Club Reign. We extending the invite for tomorrow night. Bring the city out.”
He extended his hand to her, and she shook it.
“Oh shit! You own Club Reign? I done popped out there a few times. It’s always a vibe out there.
I gotta plug you in with my brother Kross.
He owns this lounge and bar we turning up at tonight.
” He pointed behind him at Bar Remedy. It looked real upscale, but from the music that was blasting from inside, I knew it wasn’t an uptight establishment like the neighboring ones.
“Bet. We can definitely make some money together.” My baby was all about networking, so I had to plug her in. Zeke and his people where the real deal, so there was no doubt that she and Kross could work on some shit that would guarantee them both some bread.
After Zeke introduced himself to everyone else, he led us inside and got us situated in the biggest section in the establishment. He already knew Cinco, so they chopped it up. We were then approached by Zeke’s brother, Kross, and his wife Remedy. They were hand in hand while they pulled up to us.
“Heard a lot about you. You kept down south strapped with heat.” Kross dapped me up.
“I did what I could. I ain’t on that no more, though. We on to bigger and better.”
“I respect that. Your name and face good down south,” he assured me before introducing us to his lady. “This my wife Remedy.”
“Oh my God! He named this spot after you? That’s so cute,” Jazzlyn gushed.
Remedy’s cheekbones rose as she nodded. “Yeah, my man did his big one.”
“And did!” the ladies agreed with her while clapping. That was enough to let me know that they hit it off. Remedy ended up getting pulled away from her husband by the ladies, and they all got to know her.
“She needs some damn homegirls. I don’t know how many times she dragged me to do girly shit with her,” Kross chuckled as he sent a wink in Remedy’s direction.
“My wife’s best friend, Taylor, lives out here. I’m sure they gone set some shit up with her. Good luck getting your lady off the phone. All they do is chit-chat, and spend fucking money.”
“I’m already knowing, dawg.” He shook his head while copping a seat next to me. We had a drink, catching a vibe in his spot. “I heard you got an issue on your hands.”
I scoffed at the thought of Silas. “Nigga ain’t no problem. More like an itch on my ass that I can’t reach. His pussy ass ducking all the smoke with me but keep sending his niggas at me.”
A laugh sounded from him as he stroked his beard. “From what I heard, you got his fucking crew dropping like flies out there in New York, which is why he’s down here trying to recruit niggas.”
“Sound ‘bout right. Tired of playing this little game with his weasel ass. When I catch him, I may just choke the life outta him with my bare hands.”
“Baby bro spoke highly of you, and I see how you moving up north. I’ll have my people put they ear out in the streets to get the drop on him. Once we have it, the Paper Chase Empire will slide with y’all. We family.” He extended his hand to me like a real nigga.
We shook hands, solidifying our ties. “We locked in. Whatever problem you may run across in New York, believe me, it’s handled as soon as you let me know.”
“I’ll remember that, fam. For tonight, you, your lady, and your crew enjoy y’all selves. Everything on the house.”
“‘Preciate it. I’m pretty sure my wife already extended the invite over to your wife.” We both glanced over at our wives, who were yapping up a storm and already laughing together like they’d known each other for years.
“She own Club Reign and hosting this big-ass event tomorrow tonight. Pull up. We’ll take care of you and the Paper Chase crew. ”
“You sure? We roll deep, fam,” he laughed.
“We got y’all. You show love, so it’s only right for me to do the same. I’ll hit you and Zeke with the details.”
Kross and I dapped up again before he excused himself. He whispered something in his wife’s ear, and she assured him that she was fine kicking it with the ladies before he left the section alone to go tend to business around the bar.
“This shit a go?” Jersey walked over to me with a drink in hand, wanting to be brought up to speed.
I downed the rest of my drink before I nodded my head. “No doubt. Paper Chase Empire rocking behind us.”
“We ran that nigga Silas out of New York just so he could land in the palm of our hands again.”
I laughed at how I had Silas spiraling out of his fucking mind. The nigga couldn’t have anticipated my next move even if I slapped his stupid ass with it. He was moving out of fear ‘cause he knew I was closing in on him.
“I meant that shit when I said it was war. Silas and whoever fuck with him getting whacked.”