The Trophy Wife Page 16

  The Italians had just sparked a war with his organization and were expecting Hova to strike back. He figured this was a creative way of killing Kalil as well as retaliating without losing any of his soldiers.

  Hova gave one of disciples a signal, and immediately the disciple gave Kalil his loaded gun. Kalil looked at the gun that rested in his hand and wanted so badly to use it on Hova, but he knew he had his daughter’s life in his hands.

  “You have three hours.” Hova nonchalantly turned his back on Kalil and looked out the glass window that overlooked the club.

  Kalil rushed out the club and into Quinn’s car.

  Quinn noticed the frantic look on Kalil’s face and asked, “You all right?”

  Kalil shook his head from side to side. “They got Jada.”

  “What?” Quinn asked in confusion.

  “Hova got Jada and London. I’ma kill that mu’fucka!” Kalil cocked back the gun, and he gripped the pistol so tightly, his hand began to shake.

  Quinn was trying to understand the situation, but first he had to calm Kalil down to get the information. “Hold on, fam! Calm down. Why did he take Jada before you even told him about the bricks? What’s going on?”

  “Hova has my daughter.” Kalil put his face in his hands and shook his head in disbelief. “This ain’t about the drugs. London is his wife. He found out about us, and he’s playing some sort of game. He gave me three hours to hit Moretti, or he’s going to kill them both,” Kalil said in a desperate tone.

  “Word? You fuckin’ Hova’s wife? Fuck was you thinking, Kalil?” Quinn couldn’t believe that Kalil was getting ready to beef out with the king of New York over a woman. He shook his head in frustration. “Fuck, Kalil!”

  “I ain’t know! She never told me her husband’s name. He wasn’t my concern. Now Jada’s life is on the line.” Kalil’s voice cracked from the pressure of the cries that he kept subdued in his throat. “What am I gon’ do?”

  “What he told you to do. We gon’ get at them Italian mu’fuckas. We don’t have a choice. We got to save your shorty. We done bodied plenty of niggas for less than that.”

  By the sounds of things, Quinn knew that the situation was deep. He took a deep breath and pulled his pistol from his waist. He sat the gun on his lap, and without saying anything, he said a million words.

  Kalil knew that his cousin was ready to go all out for his family. “I’m gon’ murder that mu’fucka if he hurts my daughter. Word to my mother, if one hair on her head is out of place.” Kalil couldn’t contain his anger as Quinn pulled away from the curb.

  All conversation ceased as both men became lost in their own thoughts.

  In a way, Kalil felt guilty for putting his daughter in harm’s way. He did love London dearly, but now he was second-guessing his decision to get involved with a married woman. He and London deserved whatever was coming to them, but Jada was innocent in the situation. She didn’t make the choice to get involved in the affair, she was pulled into it by association and was now reaping the consequences. I have to get my daughter back. I can’t let anything happen to my baby girl, Kalil thought as he drove himself crazy with possibilities of how the situation could end.

  As he rode shotgun through the city streets, he tried to shake the thoughts of Jada and London out of his mind. He knew that he would have to stay focused in order to pull off the impossible mission that Hova had sent him on. He closed his eyes, tried to calm his brain, and leaned his seat back as he prepared to face his old boss, Mr. Moretti. This was the beginning of the end, and nobody but God could save him now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Damn, Kalil, pick up the phone. You sure that Moretti is in there?” Quinn loaded his semiautomatic handgun and eyed the building suspiciously.

  “Yeah. It’s the same routine with these mu’fuckas, man. They in there.” Kalil loaded his own weapon and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Every time I try to get out of the game, something pulls me back in. This shit is gon’ be the death of me, but I refuse to let it be the death of Jada.

  Kalil and Quinn exited the car.

  “Go around to the back.” Kalil crept up on the trailer that sat in the middle of the construction site and peeked through the window.

  Frank Moretti and two other men were sitting at a table playing dominos, laughing and having a good time. Kalil knew that they would be there every Friday night for their domino game. He noticed that each man was strapped. Two guns were also on the table as they socialized and laughed amongst each other.

  Quinn pulled the ski mask over his face and gave his cousin a pound. “All right, fam. Be careful. Let’s do this shit quick and easy.”

  Kalil also pulled his mask over his face and then cocked his banger. He crept again to the door and inconspicuously peeked into the trailer.

  “Fuck!” he whispered. He crouched back against the trailer and shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn’t believe he had gotten involved with Hova’s wife. He loved London dearly, but he would have approached his relationship with her completely differently if he’d known who she was. Because of his carelessness, London and his daughter’s lives were threatened. Get your mind right, baby, Kalil thought to himself. You can’t save them if your head ain’t right. Focus on what you doing and stick to the script.

  After reasoning with himself, Kalil knew there was no avoiding what he was about to do. He focused his attention on the Italian men inside of the trailer and listened closely as he overheard their conversation.

  “That blond-hair faggot thinks he runs Manhattan. Fuck outta here! I’ll run his ass uptown wit’ the niggers. What type of man calls himself Hova anyways?” Frank Moretti puffed his cigar and smacked his domino onto the middle of the table.

  The other men began to laugh at Moretti’s comment and played their hands.

  One man said, “I sent word through one of his goons that we want thirty percent like you asked.”

  “Yeah, if that faggot knows what’s good for him, he’ll break bread! I want in!” Frank Moretti grabbed his crotch and blew out two smoke circles.

  “Hey, Paulie, did you pick up the dough from the niggers uptown?” Moretti remembered it was that time of the month for his pickups. Extortion was the Moretti family’s main hustle, and they had a hand in everyone’s pot. Everyone except for Hova’s.

  “Yeah, I picked up fifty large this morning from the niggers in Harlem. They’re making a pretty penny off those blocks. Maybe we need to demand a bigger percentage.”

  Frank shook his head. “Nah, it’s best to just play fair for now. What did you do with the money?”

  Paulie threw his head in the direction of the back room. “It’s in the safe in the back.”

  That statement was music to Kalil’s ears. I might as well get that cash too, he thought as he prepared to handle his business. He could use the cash, so he could kill two birds with one stone on this hit. Kalil gripped his gun tighter as he thought about the lives that were on the line. He knew that he was walking into a situation where the odds were against him, but he didn’t care at that point. His only concern was killing Moretti.

  Tap, tap, tap!

  Kalil heard his cue. Quinn was knocking on the back door to focus all of their attention toward the back. Kalil peeked in and watched as all their heads turned toward the back door.

  “Who the fuck is that?” Moretti whispered.

  His goons put their hands on their guns and stood up. Once they headed to the back, leaving Moretti in the front room alone, Kalil swiftly opened the door and crept up behind him while his head was turned.

  Before Moretti could even react, Kalil’s pressed his pistol to the back of his head. “You know what time it is! Lay the fuck down or I’ma pop off,” Kalil whispered menacingly in his ear as he lightly jabbed the back of Moretti’s head with the gun.

  “Fuck!” Moretti mumbled as he did what he was told.

  By the time Moretti hit the floor, his goons were returning to the front. They didn’t even notice the mask
ed man until it was too late. They had already put their pistols on their waistlines.

  “Put yo’ hands the fuck up, or I’ma pop this mu’fucka!’ Kalil poked the gun to the back of Moretti’s head.

  Paulie reached for his pistol, but before he even had it aimed well, Kalil fired a shot that went through the bottom of the trailer, inches away from Moretti’s head.

  “Goddammit! Son of a bitch!” Moretti yelled out in fear as his body involuntarily jumped from the sound of the gunshot.

  “Next time I won’t miss. You better tell your goons to fall back,” Kalil told Moretti.

  “Do what he says,” Moretti mumbled.

  The henchmen instantly put up their hands for fear that their boss would get shot. That’s when Quinn came from the back entrance and pulled the guns off the goons. What they thought was a bird tapping on the window was the beginning stages of an ambush.

  “Tie their asses up,” Kalil said as he pressed the gun to the back of Moretti’s head.

  Quinn hit one of the goons, causing him to collapse to the floor. He hit the other man soon after and tied them both up with the rope he had brought.

  Kalil put his knee into Moretti’s back. “Yo, where the dough at?”

  “Do you know who the fuck you are fuckin’ with?” Moretti had a slight grin on his face.

  His smug arrogance was trying Kalil’s patience. “Shut the fuck up!” Kalil hit him with a forceful blow to the back of the head with his gun. “I’ma ask you one more time—Where is the dough?”

  Blood leaked out of Moretti’s head as he winced in pain. “Fuck you!” he yelled.

  Without hesitation, Kalil pointed his gun at one of the goons and let a round off into his head. It was all or nothing for Kalil, and he wasn’t playing any games.

  Moretti yelled, “Paulie!” as he watched his cousin gasp for air and hold his bloody wound.

  “You bastard motherfucker! If I live through this I am going to hunt you down. You don’t know who you are fucking with!”

  Moretti spewed the words at him as if he was throwing fire, but it didn’t make a difference to Kalil. He was already beefing with Hova, so he had no fear of starting beef with the Italians. At that point he didn’t care about himself. He was only thinking of saving Jada and, if he could, saving London as well.

  “Where the stash?” Kalil yelled again.

  “It’s in the back. The combo is seven, thirty-one, twenty-three,” one of the other men admitted, knowing that Moretti would die before he gave in.

  Kalil nodded his head at Quinn, signaling him to get the cash, and Quinn hurried to the back while Kalil kept an eye on the two men.

  Moretti was furious; he didn’t care if he lived or died at that point. “You better kill me! I’m going to find you and gut you like a fuckin’ fish!” he yelled.

  Just then, Quinn came out of the back with four brown paper bags full of money. “Jackpot!” he said as he entered the room.

  Kalil knew it was time to do what he came to do. He put the gun to Moretti’s head and pulled the trigger.

  Boom!

  “Hova sends his best regards,” Kalil said loud enough so the other men could hear him clearly. He wanted to let it be known that the hit was from Hova, so eventually the Moretti family would retaliate on him. Kalil’s adrenaline began to pump as he saw Moretti’s body lying there lifeless, but he knew it had to be done. He had to get London and Jada out of the bad situation.

  He reached down and violently snatched the thin gold necklace from Moretti’s neck. It was nothing extravagant, just a fourteen-karat gold chain with a small gold cross attached to it. It was sacred to Moretti and had been given to him when he was a young boy.

  Kalil stuffed the chain into his pocket and left the scene, Quinn following close behind. Kalil purposely left the two men alive to be messengers. He was sure that Hova would get his, one way or another.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The room was tense and the only sound that could be heard was Jada as she whimpered in London’s lap.

  “Shut that lil’ bitch up, man! She’s getting on my fuckin’ nerves.” Lynch eyed Jada cruelly. “Fuck is taking Hova so long to call us back? I’m ready to dead these bitches and get the fuck out of here.”

  Peanut flipped the face up to his cell phone to see if he had any missed calls. “Just shut the fuck up and wait for the call, Lynch.” He was hoping that Kalil would hit him back, because time was running out and there was only so much he could do before the inevitable occurred.

  London trembled at the thought of her fate. I was so close to freedom, she thought as a tear slid down her ashen face. She’d never imagined that her life would end so violently. She didn’t want Jada to go through the pain that she knew was waiting for them both. “Ssh. Just go to sleep, sweetheart. When you wake up, it’ll all be over,” she said, trying to soothe the young girl’s soul.

  At that point she knew that she was going to die. There was no way that she could cheat death when dealing with someone as cold as her husband. The only thing that she could do was pray to God to take her quickly, but in her heart she knew that Lynch would enjoy each and every minute of her torture. He would prolong her life until he was tired of watching her breathe and would then put her to rest as if she were a stray dog.

  London was hoping that they would spare Jada, and if they didn’t, she could only hope that she wouldn’t suffer much pain.

  “I want my daddy,” Jada moaned.

  “I know, I know,” London replied.

  “Yo, shut the fuck up!” Lynch couldn’t wait to put his hostages out of their misery.

  Peanut knew that in less than an hour Hova was going to order the murder of Kalil’s daughter and there was nothing he could do to stop it. “I’ll be back, fam. I got to piss like a mu’fucka.” He grabbed his crotch and trotted up the basement steps, skipping two at a time. Once he was out of ear’s reach, he pulled out his cell phone in one last desperate attempt and dialed Kalil’s number. Damn, Kalil, pick up the phone.

  Quinn sat in his apartment feverishly counting the money that they’d just lifted from the Italians while Kalil paced nervously in front of him. The kitchen table was covered with cash, bills of all different denominations. It was evident that it was dirty money because all of the bills were crumpled and gritty. Anyone who knew the dope game could tell that the money had been passed from hand to hand countless times.

  “Man, stop pacing back and forth like that. You fucking up my count.” Quinn was under enough pressure just knowing that his little niece was being held hostage and Kalil was spazzing out, making the situation more stressful.

  Kalil walked the same back-and-forth pattern that he’d been doing for the last half hour. “How much is it, fam? Please tell me it’s enough to help me get my shorty back.”

  “It’s a start.” Quinn rose from the table and shoveled the money back into the duffel bag. “It’s around seventy stacks.” He handed the bag to Kalil.

  “That ain’t even half of what I owe.” Kalil felt the vibration of his phone against his hip. He looked at it before answering. “I don’t got time for you right now, Nut,” he whispered. He sent Peanut to voice mail and placed his phone back in its clip.

  Just then his phone vibrated again and he picked it up, this time recognizing Hova’s number. He hit the button to connect the call and placed the phone to his ear. He waited for Hova to speak first.

  “Tick, tock, Kalil. You’re running out of time,” Hova stated, laughter in his voice.

  The sound of Hova’s voice infuriated Kalil. Hova really was a sick man. He was enjoying the torture that he was putting Kalil through.

  “I did what you asked me to do. Moretti is a done deal. Now give me back my daughter!” Kalil shouted into the phone, his jaw locked from the rage he was feeling.

  “You might want to change your tone and remember who you are speaking with. I have something that you are trying to get back. Bring me Moretti’s chain and maybe, just maybe, I’ll let Daddy see his lit
tle girl again.”

  “I got the chain, yo. Just don’t hurt her.” Kalil hated being powerless, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do at the moment. He had to go along with Hova’s antics if he wanted to get his child back. His heart beat so loudly in his chest that it felt like a thousand slaves were trying to break out to freedom. His pride as a man and as a father was being tested and he knew that he couldn’t let Hova get away with this. This mu’fucka gon’ see me. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m gon’ get Jada back, and once she’s safe, I’m gon’ make sure that I’m the last thing Hova sees before he meets his maker.

  “Tick tock, Kalil,” Hova taunted one last time before hanging up the phone.

  Kalil threw his phone against the wall and rushed out of the room and into Quinn’s room.

  Quinn immediately noticed the change in his cousin’s temperature. “Kalil, what did he say?” He could see the heat in Kalil’s eyes and he already knew what time it was.

  Kalil didn’t respond. He went into the top of the closet and pulled out the pistols that they both kept hidden. He put a 9 mm pistol in his waistline as his face turned red and tears gathered in his eyes. Then he pulled out a .45, popped the clip loudly into place, and then tossed a .357 Ruger at Quinn. “It’s time to stop playing with this mu’fucka. He got my fucking daughter tied the fuck up somewhere. I’m about to put this nigga in the ground.”

  Kalil pushed one of Hova’s disciples out of his personal space as he entered the room. “Fuck is you doing, nigga? Get your fucking hands off me.”

  The disciple wanted to boss up but he could tell by the look on Kalil’s face that it was in his best interests to get out of the way.

  Quinn, meanwhile, kept his hand tucked discreetly in his hoodie as he gripped his pistol and counted the number of disciples around the room. He knew they were clearly outnumbered, but he was ready to put in work for his cousin.