Ajani Turner

"You've been ignoring me for the passed ten minutes. Did you even look at the dress?" Yoli questioned breaking the trance I was in. I stared at the maroon colored dress on the screen and frowned shaking my head. Yoli closed the laptop and pouted giving up on looking at bridesmaid dresses over the Internet and I sighed.

"Gyal you want a beach wedding right? I'd recommend doing lighter colors and not going so dark, you want things to feel vibrant" I said and she rubbed her chin and took in my words while I picked up my phone that was on the charger and looked at some of the unread messages I had been ignoring all morning.

"You mean like maybe a peach color? I've always liked colors like that" she said and I nodded my head and typed out a message to Kemba. By the time I sat my phone back down and looked at Yoli she was already watching me.

"There's a lot on my mind right now and I'm trying not to stress out because I know things will come together soon at least I pray they will" I said mumbling the last part and Yoli seemed to grow an understanding.

"Let's do a spa day or something tomorrow, I'll make an appointment and you can relax. This is an exciting time for the both of us, I'm getting married and you're about to welcome another baby" she said attempting to cheer me up and I nodded my head.

"The appointment went good the baby is the size of a large plum now I think" I said and Yoli clasped her hands together still convinced I was having a gyal. Her phone began ringing and while she took the call I excused myself and went upstairs where Kaine was laying in the toddler bed taking a nap with Knox.

I snapped a picture on my phone before leaning down and kissing my husbands lips. Kaine stopped snoring and opened one of his eyes sleepily before he noticed how uncomfortable he was laying in the small bed with his legs hanging way off the foot of the bed.

He carefully shifted moving Knox over some and my son stirred in his sleep before he got comfortable again allowing his father to get up. Kaine tucked Knox in before he stretched his body out and we left out quietly leaving the sound machines playing to keep him asleep.

"How long was I like that? I don't even remember falling asleep with him" Kaine said letting out a groan as he stretched his body out some. He looked kinda pale and I felt his face and his forehead realizing how warm he was.

"Are you sick?" I questioned touching his neck with my palm. Before he could respond I grabbed his hand and pulled him into out bedroom making him take a seat on the bed while I got the thermometer.

"My throat feels sore, I'm cold and my head is throbbing" he said in a groggy voice as I stuck a thermometer in his mouth. He had this pitiful look on his face while we waited for it to beep but once it did I removed it from his mouth and looked at his temperature.

"Am I sick?" He questioned letting out a cough and I nodded my head. Kaine pulled the covers back and climbed into bed shivering some before pulling the covers on top of him and shut his eyes shivering some more.

"Go to the sound machine app on my phone and plug it into the speaker so I can try and go to sleep please" Kaine said and I agreed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand and unlocked it following his instructions.

I plugged it into the wall and set it to the fan noise before turning all the lights off and closing the blinds with the remote for him.

By the time I came back downstairs Yoli looked like she was in a bad mood but when she saw the look on my face she seemed to grow concerned.

"What's wrong? Is Knox still refusing to take a nap?" She questioned and I shook my head no and walked into the kitchen with her following me.

"No Kaine is sick, he was suppose to take a trip down to Miami with Angelo this weekend. Dash knows people down there and he was trying to hook up a drug connect for them since mostly everyone over here won't work them because of Harlem" I explained and Yoli gasped and looked at me.

"They should work with my dad, I bet you Harlem will start acting right then. My father isn't going to let him make a bad reputation for his organization and Lem is afraid of my dad he's been dodging him since Ciara had Aiden because he knows my dad is going to have my cousins fuck him up" Yoli laughed.

"True, I'll relay the message to Kaine or Angelo because Kaine doesn't like when I make connections for him it tests his manhood" I said looking at my nails seeing one of them was broken.

Yoli grabbed a banana and began to peel it when someone knocked on my front door. I looked at Yoli who shrugged her shoulder and turned on the stool as I walked passed probably wondering who it was.

I heard the police sirens outside and I looked through the peephole spotting one cop. I carefully opened the door and he smiled and glanced over towards Rose's brownstone.

"Hi, I don't mean to bother you but I got a call about a missing teenager Brandon Mathews he lives next door with his grandmother. He's been missing since last night, you didn't happen to see him did you?" He questioned and I glanced at Rose who seemed to be near a break down as she watched us.

"I haven't seen him, I hope you guys find him though sometimes teenagers just do some crazy tings" I said and the officer agreed.

"Yeah well just keep a look out for him. Have a nice day" he said handing me a flyer before walking away and I shut the door and looked at the picture. Rose's grandson looked like a square but Aaron said he'd saw the bwoy doing drugs when Rose wasn't home.

I walked back into the kitchen and showed Yoli the flyer causing her eyes to widen. She looked closer at the picture before she made a face.

"He looks like one of them stoners that think they're cool as fuck cause they smoke meth and do a lot of partying. This is the lil bitch she said to keep Aaron away from? Ha no he needs to stay the fuck away from Aaron, we don't need his druggy ass rubbing off on him" Yoli said balling the flyer up and I laughed.

I warmed up my burrito bowl from the night before and Yoli opened the organic tortilla chips and seemed hesitant before she bit into one. I looked at my cellphone after getting a notification and I frowned and looked up at Yoli.

"Who is this dumb likkle gyal people keep sending me pictures of?" I questioned showing Yoli and she laughed.

"Her dad some drug dealer and she's a spoiled ass teenager who's trying to get at your husband. She be posting pictures of him and got people thinking they're sleeping together all her friends are calling it goals" Yoli said finding the entire thing hilarious.

I made Yoli go to her Instagram and find the page before I scrolled through noticing some of those pictures of Kaine were from my Instagram that I deleted awhile ago. The gyal was pretty I'd give her that but she needed to stay in a child's place before I slapped her mother for giving birth to her.

"Her and your little cousin were beefing last week, Selena called her a trout mouth bitch. It was really funny I would've told you but you said you don't like negative energy" She said and I nodded.

I was a strong believer in good and bad karma thanks to my grandfather Silas. So I let the situation go not really caring because I didn't let things like that bother me for long periods of time.

Once the microwave beeped I pulled my food out of it and Yoli looked at it seeming unsure on tasting it or not and I frowned growing offended.

"It looks so colorful and pretty but I don't know, is vegan food really that good?" Yoli questioned picking up a piece of avocado and bit into it.

"There's nothing wrong with it and it has corn and rice in it" I said showing her but she said she'd pass as she got up and went to my fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out.

"I'm suppose to be having a big dinner tonight to show my appreciation to the cartel and I invited Aaron's guy friend that he really likes. I was going to make vegan lasagna rolls but now that I see your face I guess that's not a good idea" I said rollin my eyes.

"And why wasn't I invited? Khan is out of the hospital and he is apart of the cartel" Yoli said and I cleared my throat and looked away.

"Kaine, Kyle, Kemba and Khan all under the same roof isn't a good idea. They all have names that start with K it's like they were meant to hate each other. I don't have time for the bwoys to be fighting and Jo won't make it any better so I didn't invite him either he's going to babysit Knox" I said and Yoli sat back down.

"I could help you cook something that they'll actually eat. You don't like to deal with meat so let me cook it" Yoli suggested and I looked at her before agreeing to cook two forms of lasagna one with meat and one without.

My phone started ringing and I quickly rushed into the living room to grab it. When I saw it was Johan I answered and leaned on the couch.

"Gyal, do you have a tarp? Get it and bring it to me" he said sounding like he was out of breath and I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you about to repaint again?" I questioned and he said he was. I hung the phone up realizing my brother was about to dismember a body and needed something to cover the floor with.

"Ajani I'm about to go to the store, I'll be back in like two hours with Khan and then I'll start cooking" Yoli said as she put her coat on and headed to the door. I watched her leave before going upstairs where Knox's bedroom door was opened and he was no longer in his bed.

I peeked into my room and he had got in the bed with Kaine and was laying on his father with his head in his chest. I walked over and touched my sons forehead seeing he was warm as well and Kaine grabbed my arm.

"You about to go somewhere?" He asked and I nodded my head. He moved Knox off of him and gently laid him on my side of the bed before sitting up.

"Kaine you're sick I won't be gone for that long just to bring something to Johan. It's okay if you go to sleep" I said and he shook his head.

Kaine didn't sleep a lot when he was home alone or it was just him and Knox because he didn't want to be caught slipping in his own home. The only time he actually slept through the night was when I was home and he knew the cartel was around.

"I'll ask Julez and Carter to stay, okay?" I questioned and he nodded his head. I kissed his forehead and he laid back down and placed his arm behind his head as he rested his eyes and let out a nasty cough.

"Be careful and take care of my baby" Kaine said keeping his eyes closed. I smiled as I pulled my shoes on and left out of the room closing the door.

I grabbed the tarp from the hall closet and went down the stairs. Before I could get to the front door someone rang the doorbell and I laughed thinking maybe Yoli forgot something but when I opened the door I was caught off guard by Selena standing there.

She was shivering and appeared frightened as she waved to her driver who pulled off. I stared at my younger cousin wondering why she was in New York. She took one look at my facial expression and her smile slowly dropped.

"My dad didn't call you? He was suppose to call you so I could come and visit during my three day weekend!" She said as she looked down at her bags.

"No, he didn't call and things are hectic right now Selena. Kaine and Knox are sick I have to go and run some errands and then I have a dinner party tonight" I said rubbing my forehead.

"It's not your fault, my dad just put me on a plane before calling and making sure it was okay with you" she said in a somber tone

"Julez take her bags in the house, I need you and Carter to stay behind Kaine is sick" I said quietly so only they could hear and they agreed but I could tell Julez had an attitude as he snatched up Selena's bag.

"What are you gonna do with me? I don't want to take another plane ride tonight, but I have my daddy's black card so I guess I could get a hotel if you sign for me" Selena offered.

"It's getting later in the day how about you stay tonight and I'll call your fadda and work this out. I'll text Kaine and let him know you're here, I'll be right back I have to give Johan something" I called and Selena seemed hesitant.

"I can tag along and wait in the car" she said quickly and I looked into her pleading eyes noticing she was nervous about Julez and Carter who wouldn't do anything to her. I agreed and walked out of my brownstone and she followed me to my car zipping her jacket closed tighter.

Kemba gave me a humorous look as I walked passed and I held up my middle finger before ordering him to open the passenger door for Selena and he scoffed and did it with attitude.

-

I pulled up outside of the warehouse and noticed Selena's eyes land on something and stay for awhile. I followed her eyes and when I saw who she was looking at I rubbed my forehead and cleared my throat catching her attention.

"His situation is already complicated, don't you have a boyfriend anyway?" I questioned grabbing the tarp from the back and she seemed to hesitant before she shook her head no.

"We broke up because his parents wanted him to focus more on school I guess but I think they found out my daddy is a kingpin. Sometimes I feel like it'll just be easier dealing with someone who understands the life we're born into" she said quietly glancing up at Moses who was leaning on a car and talking to a few men as he puffed on a blunt.

"I'll be right back" I said not having a response at the moment for her. When I got out of the car a few men whistled at me and Moses greeted me with a nod before his eyes trailed over to the car and he caught onto Selena watching him. I watched him smirk holding in his laughter as he turned back to look at me and I was giving him a disapproving look.

I walked into the building and Kyle greeted me from the hallway. He had a black eye still and kept things formal as he walked me to the room my brother was in.

Johan had a man tied up by his wrists and they were taking turns beating him with brass knuckles trying to get information out of him. I'd never seen the man before in my life so I wondered what my brother had discovered recently.

"Brought the tarp" I said tossing it to a guard and he thanked me as Johan walked over to me. The man began to plead for his life and a few of them began to laugh as if they knew he'd only irritate the situation.

"This batty bwoy is a snitch, he's been giving up our locations and making it easy for Alvin to find us" Johan said punching the man in the face again and tears dripped from his eyes.

"Did you hear the news? Apparently Jenny and Alvin inked some deal and he removed Vinny from the list, Dash informed me late last night are you sure he doesn't work for her? The mob has ties everywhere" I stated and Johan nodded taking in my words as he ripped the duct tape from the mans mouth.

"I'm not going to beg you to let me live if that's what you think" the man said as he coughed out some blood and I looked him over before taking a step closer.

"Good, it would've been pathetic considering you're dying either way" I said and he glared at me. I stepped to the side as the tarp was being placed down and Johan spoke to one of the guards who agreed on his method.

"We're going to cut the bwoy up and put him in cement" Johan said simply and the mans demeanor changed as his eyes filled up with tears.

Johan pulled out a pocket knife and cut the man down so he was no longer hanging from his wrists before he was tossed a baseball bat.

"No please kill me first, it's inhume to do this to someone!" He cried looking at me. Johan bashed him in the back of the head with a baseball bat and he fell forward letting out a whimper.

"This is life or death, you kill or you'll be killed and you got the short end of the stick. I have to protect my family and without you around it'll be easier to keep them safe" Johan explained bashing the man in the head again with the steel bat.

Johan stood shirtless as he examined the bat that had blood on it and the back of the mans head was caved in some and his auburn hair was soaking with blood.

"Thanks for the tarp gyal, you can go. I'll come by to get Knox in a few hours" Johan said looking up at me.

"Don't worry about it bwoy he's sick, take your time here and don't make it sloppy" I said walking out and a member of the cartel shut the door behind me and I heard the locks turn before hearing another thud signaling the man had been hit in the back of the head again.

Kyle was sitting on the steps smoking a cigarette and I slowly walked down the stairs before turning around to look at him.

"Khan is out of the hospital and he's going back to Jamaica in a few days. You're going to go and see him?" I questioned as Kyle blew smoke out of the corner of his mouth.

"The bwoy lived that's all that matter right? He has a fiancé to take care of him what do I need to go and see him for?" He questioned in a serious tone.

"Because the bwoys your brother and you love him which is why you don't want him to get married" I said simply and Kyle blew more smoke out of his mouth.

"That's debatable" Kyle smiled and I nodded and walked away so I wouldn't inhale any of his smoke. When I exited out of the warehouse I glanced towards my car not spotting Selena and I looked to where Moses was and noticed she was sitting next to him on the car and they were carrying on a full conversation while he smoked and she had this giant smile on her face.

When Selena felt eyes on her she looked towards me and I just gave her a glare causing her to quickly say her goodbyes and head to the car.

I ignored Moses and climbed into the driver seat as Selena stared down at her hands. I started the car up and ignored her pulling out of the parking lot.

"I was going to stay in the car but you know when you think someone is really cute and you keep looking at them because you wanna remember what they look like incase you never see them again? That's what I was doing and then he motioned for me to come over to him and he asked why I was looking at him and I told him why. Then I gave him my number after he asked for it and I don't know why it was an impulsive decision that I should have thought through" she said quickly.

"Call your fadda please and put him on speaker" I said quietly and she did as told. The phone rung for awhile before uncle Cal picked up on the last ring.

"So we just ship family members to each other now without calling beforehand?" I questioned and he cursed under his breath.

"I forgot I told Ava to call you and ask if it was okay and she must have forgot" Calvin said and Selena rolled her eyes.

"Things are really busy right now maybe over the summer she can come and hang out but it's to dangerous for her here right now" I said truthfully.

"Just send her back I apologize that was wrong of me, I should've made time to call you and have a conversation instead of depending on someone else. But for the record in a few years if you just sent Knox to me I would've just kept him" he said and I laughed.

"Well if he's anything like his fadda was when he becomes a teenager I'll be sure to do that" I said and he began laughing,

"Let me talk to Selena" he said and she took the phone off speaker and placed it to her ear. She kept sighing as he was talking to her and after awhile they exchanged I love you's and she hung the phone up.

"Your fadda is a good one, you want him to be happy right?" I