Soul Ties, page 12
“It’s a long story,” she responded curtly, folding her arms.
Chance placed his .380 on his lap.
“So, you’re going to shoot me?” Naomi asked indignantly, flinching at the sight of the gun.
Chance remained silent and kept his eyes on the road as he drove.
“Did you question that bitch like you’re questioning me?”
Chance clenched his jaws tightly. “Watch your mouth.”
“We been kicking it hard for months now, and you want to trip over this? You don’t trust me?” Naomi’s voice quivered.
“You can either answer my question or get the fuck out my shit.” Chance raised his shoulder indifferently. She wasn’t giving the responses that Chance wanted to hear. He pulled the car over to the curb.
Naomi was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Telling Chance that she had set up Yasin to be robbed was out of the question. A man like Chance would never respect any treachery like that. He’d cut ties with her off the principle alone. “I’m just asking you to trust me.”
“Trust will get you killed,” Chance growled. He unlocked the doors and motioned for Naomi to get out.
She scoffed and nodded in disbelief. She snatched her purse from the backseat and exited the car before slamming the door shut. Naomi kicked herself for catching feelings for Chance. Tonight had ruined any possibility of her having a future with Chance. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to tell him the truth.
“That nigga is going to pay. Both of them,” Naomi vowed as she watched Chance speed off. No man had ever played her like Chance just had. Embarrassed, she strutted into the nearest convenience store as she called an Uber. “Bitch-ass nigga,” she spat as her mind began to plot.
* * *
Naomi brought her heavy fist against the door repeatedly. Her right leg tapped the floor impatiently. The sun peeked across the horizon, but Naomi couldn’t let the night end without making this final stop. Still pissed about how Chance had threatened and humiliated her, she was ready to set her get-back plan in motion.
“Hold the fuck up!” a female’s voice yelled from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me! Na! Open up, yo!” Naomi waited until she heard the last lock click before she pushed herself through the door. “That nigga is dirty, man! I can’t believe I was really feeling him like that.” She stormed into the condo and let out a frustrated squeal.
“You banging on my door about to wake the baby up!” Naomi’s friend exclaimed. “What happened?” She softened her voice.
Naomi’s best friend sat down and listened as she vented. This was one person she knew who had her back no matter what. They held secrets for each other that they vowed to take to their graves.
“I’m so mad at myself because you warned me about this nigga! I had to be hardheaded and continue to fuck with him.” Naomi clapped her hands together before throwing them in the air.
Scoffing lightly, Naomi checked her phone to see if she had received a text or call from Chance. A part of her had really fallen for him, even though she could tell the energy wasn’t reciprocated. It was obvious he was stuck on his ex.
“That bitch Nina and Yasin’s scheming ass.” Her words were laced with malice. “We’re out having dinner when those two pop up. Nina is pregnant as fuck, acting like wifey on Yasin’s arm. She ain’t even really all of that.” The green-eyed monster crept up Naomi’s back. She knew all about Nina, unbeknownst to Chance. “I tried to warn Chance about Yasin, but he started asking questions I couldn’t answer. When I didn’t answer, he threatened to shoot me, then put my ass out his car!” Naomi exclaimed.
“I told you not to fuck with him. If anybody should know, it’s me.” The girl twisted her full mouth into a smirk.
“I know, T.” Naomi lowered her head. She thought about the argument they’d gotten into when Naomi informed her friend of the first night she met Chance. Naomi recognized Chance as soon as he walked into the club, but they didn’t know each other. Naomi knew of Chance through her best friend, Tiana.
Naomi, Tiana, and their deceased friend, Kiki, grew up together. They were known for being some of the most sought-out strippers from their city. Only the ballers stepped to them. Despite their reputation as sack chasers, the niggas lined up to fuck with them. They’d spent years tricking off niggas and even robbing a few. That’s how Naomi came up with the idea of robbing Yasin. The two used to flirt all the time when Yasin came into the club. He was new in town at the time but had established himself amongst Atlanta’s circle of bosses. Naomi saw him as the come up she and her girls needed.
Naomi played the role of a loyal girlfriend to Yasin. She waited until he was comfortable enough to let her accompany him on trips to pick up his monthly deposits as the distributor. Her plan was to have her girls meet her at a hotel she and Yasin were staying at and rob them. However, things went left quickly. Kiki ended up shot, while Tiana was able to escape. The mask she wore was the only reason Yasin didn’t know of her role in the robbery.
Tiana left Atlanta after that incident and moved to Charlotte, where she eventually met Chance. Naomi fled Atlanta for a while after the incident, only returning when she thought Yasin had forgotten about the situation. Unbeknownst to her, he had figured out that she was the mastermind of the whole robbery.
“You risked our friendship to fuck with that nigga when I told you how stupid he was for that bitch Nina! It’s like she put roots on him or some shit,” Tiana said, jealous about Chance’s unconditional love for Nina. “I got this nigga baby, and that ain’t even enough. What made you think he’d choose you?” At the end of the day, Tiana wasn’t mad at her friend. They had vowed to never let a nigga come between them years ago. “And if Yasin figures out you set me up with him, Chance is the least of our worries.”
* * *
Chance headed to Tiana’s condo to see his son before heading home. That was one person who could change his mood just by being in his presence. Tiana had kept her word by taking care of Chase until Chance took him in. He couldn’t wait to spend every day with Chase and watch him grow.
Chance had to do a double take when he saw Naomi emerging from the exit down the hall from Tiana’s condo. Instead of parking, Chance circled the block to ensure Naomi was gone. He wanted to know why Naomi was on this side of town when she lived the opposite way. And why did it look like she was sneaking from Tiana’s apartment?
He pulled out his phone to call one person he knew could get answers for him. It took a minute before he clicked on the contact to call it. It had been months since he’d last talked to Nina. He hoped she would hear him out.
* * *
Nina was up and indulging her pregnancy cravings while catching up on an episode of Queen Sugar. Chips, fruit, and a plate of onion rings were sprawled across the bed. Yasin was out working early this morning. He had left her a note that read:
Nina,
I’m thankful to wake up to you every morning. You carrying my son means so much to me. I have big plans for us. But first, there are some things we gotta discuss. I don’t know if you’ll want to be with me once I tell you everything, but I’m hoping you do. I love you more and more every day.
Yasin
She grimaced, wondering what Yasin wanted to tell her. Her heart fluttered and her chest tightened. One thing she knew for sure, she couldn’t take any bad news. She’d had enough of that for a lifetime.
The sound of her phone ringing brought her attention back to reality. Her heart felt like it could beat out of her chest when Chance’s name flashed across the screen. She stared down at the phone, debating whether she should answer it. Just as she reached to answer, the call ended. Swiping left on his name, Nina took a deep breath as she called Chance back.
“Hello.” His voice was deep and velvety on the other end.
“You called me?” she asked nervously, sounding like a little girl.
“We need to talk. Meet me at the mansion in an hour. Be there, Nina.”
Nina met the dial tone. She scoffed at Chance’s audacity but made up her mind to hear what he had to say.
* * *
Quan and Chance sat outside of the mansion, poolside. A big Dutch was passed between the two, filled with the best Kush Atlanta had to offer. Chance was elated that his right-hand man had decided to move to Atlanta. There wasn’t anything left in Charlotte that Quan couldn’t get right here with his homie. Ever since Nina left, Chance had to admit that he’d been lonely as hell. He had a few women on the side that he entertained, but he knew it would never be anything more. In fact, he even doubted that he’d ever find something as special as his and Nina’s bond. It was once in a lifetime. He wanted her back, but he had too much pride.
“Was it worth it, bruh? All that work we put in, the lives we took, the bids we had to do. Is all of this shit worth it?” Quan motioned to the surroundings of the lavish mansion.
Taking a long pull of the pearled cigar, Chance shrugged. He was living the American Dream, the ghetto American Dream. In a span of ten years, Chance had managed to acquire millions of dollars in drug money. On the way to encompassing those millions of dollars, he’d committed unspeakable acts, things that he vowed to never repeat. From project living and robbing niggas to buying mansions and driving lavish cars, Chance had come a long way. A lot of niggas would have lost their minds or turned state if they were in his shoes. Chance remained solid.
“I have everything I ever dreamed of, bro. At first, I hustled to put food on the table and get out of the hood. I been did that. Everything else I done was for Nina, man. I did it so she wouldn’t ever have to worry about shit and so our kids would always be straight. I done this for her, yo!” His voice quaked with a mixture of sadness and anger. “I risked my life for this shit. I could be locked down right now doing a life bid! And you know what, bro?”
“What?” Quan questioned as he clung to Chance’s words. He knew he needed to get this off his chest.
“For all the shit I ever did in my life, I’d gladly accept the consequences if that meant Nina could live a happy life, no worries,” Chance stated genuinely. “That’s my world.”
Quan tucked his bottom lip between his teeth and lifted the blunt in acknowledgement. He believed every word Chance said. “On some real shit, bro, I never loved anyone like you love Nina. I got someone I care for, but we ain’t at that point yet.” He hit the blunt and inhaled. “But if I we were, I wouldn’t let no petty shit keep us apart. And if that meant knocking a couple niggas off, then so be it. You already know how I’m coming.”
The men didn’t hear Nina creeping on the grass behind them. She’d overheard the last part of their conversation. A part of her wished that she could right everything that went wrong with Chance. But how could she do that when she was carrying another man’s child?
“Y’all niggas really slipping. What if I was your enemy?”
Quan stood up and enveloped Nina in a hug. Her protruding belly poked him, and he chuckled at the sight. “Damn, sis, you pregnant as hell. You look good. though.”
“I feel like a whale,” Nina whined as she sat down in the patio chair. She glared at Chance, who stared into the yard aimlessly, puffing the blunt.
“Hello to you too, Chance.” Nina took it upon herself to speak first. As stubborn as they both could be, she decided to be the bigger person. She was grateful for Quan’s presence and knew he would act as a mediator.
Chance passed the blunt to Quan and turned to face Nina. He admired her beauty, but his eyes found their way to Nina’s pregnant belly.
“You don’t have to stare at my stomach. I don’t need you throwing the shit in my face any more than you already have,” Nina snapped, getting heated, partly due to her raging pregnancy hormones.
“I didn’t tell you to fuck the nigga,” Chance shot back nonchalantly. He could tell that comment hurt Nina’s feelings, but it had slipped out. “You know you really ain’t been moving like the Nina I know? Jumping from one nigga to the next.”
Nina waved his statement away. She wouldn’t sit here and let Chance reduce her to the level of the hoes he fucked with. “I don’t know what you’re suggesting, but you should stop while you’re ahead,” Nina warned. “Maybe I wouldn’t have been fucking Yasin if you hadn’t come up with that stupid-ass plan to fake your death. And you know what? The shit was all for nothing because I could have died, and you still couldn’t kill Nino! Yasin had to do it!” Nina yelled. “I thought I lost you! Forever! I was good, Chance! I was coping with everything. Why did you have to show back up in my life after all the suffering, just to let me down again?” Nina dropped her head and wiped her streaming tears. “You should have let me be.”
“Because after everything, all the bullshit, I still wanted you! You betrayed me, Nina. Don’t you get it?” Chance exclaimed, feeling no sympathy for Nina’s tears. He had bottled up his feelings for months in order to protect Nina’s. He wanted her to know that he suffered as much as she had. “Not even a month after me faking my death, you on to the next nigga dick. I know I made my mistakes, but I never cheated on you. You ain’t have to do me like that.”
Quan shook his head, understanding both perspectives, but he didn’t get between them. This was some shit they needed to get off their chest.
“What was I supposed to do?”
“You were supposed to wait!” Chance pointed his finger in Nina’s face. “You were supposed to hold me down.”
“I never wanted shit to play out like this, Chance! I never wanted you to get shot. I never wanted to lose our baby. I never wanted to meet Yasin and fall for him! I swear I didn’t! But I did. And I can’t take it back.” Indecision pulled Nina back and forth like a seesaw. If she could change the hands of time and rearrange the events that played out, she would. “But I miss you so much,” Nina admitted.
Chance’s eyes burned with emotion. “I’m lost out here without you, ma. I need you, Nina.” He wrapped his arms around Nina’s waist. “Fuck that nigga. Don’t go back. You can stay here with me, a’ight?”
Chance planted soft kisses all over Nina’s face, breaking down her resolve. She placed one hand on Chance’s cheek and pecked his lips. In that moment, everything else was nonexistent. She was home. That was, until Nina felt a warm liquid trickling down her leg.
* * *
Everything happened so fast. Right before his eyes, Nina was doubling over in pain. Chance wished there was something he could do to alleviate her pain, but the only assistance he could offer was to rush her to the hospital. It was just his luck that the baby wanted to come at that moment, a moment when Nina and Chance were finally facing their built-up issues.
“Quannnn!” Nina hissed through clenched teeth. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, and she clenched the back of the headrest tightly. “If you don’t speed this fucking car up, I’m going to kick your ass!” Nobody had prepared her for the powerful contractions that invaded her midsection. Although Nina never imagined childbirth to be an easy task, she never fathomed this extent of excruciating pain. Another contraction ripped through body, and she clenched her legs together. “Chance, please,” Nina whimpered. “It feels like he’s about to come.”
“Shhhh.” Chance stroked Nina’s curly hair, attempting to soothe her as best as he could. “I’m right here with you. Don’t worry. I got you.”
* * *
Yasin cruised through the streets of Atlanta, smoking a blunt and enjoying his own thoughts. He cherished this because he didn’t usually get much time for himself. He thought back to the time before all the money, back when he was growing up in the grimy streets of New York, a place that took more than it gave. Yasin, however, was grateful for the lessons he’d learned in those treacherous streets.
Growing up, Yasin never had anything. His father, Yoda, was murdered when Yasin was eight years old. Being of Nigerian descent, Yoda was heavily involved with a crime organization in Nigeria. He dealt anything that the mafia supplied him with—guns, drugs, and sometimes even people. Yoda’s come up in New York was inevitable, and niggas hated that fact. Envy was deadlier than any man; Yoda started realizing that after niggas that he had fed started challenging his authority. Yoda didn’t know who he could trust, and that ultimately led to his murder.
Marissa, Yasin’s mother, was a Trinidadian beauty who was crazy in love with Yoda. When she discovered the only man she ever loved murdered in cold blood, she succumbed to the same lifestyle that took Yoda. Marissa turned to drugs, neglecting her only child’s well-being. In return, Yasin had to raise himself and put food on the table for both him and his mom. Despite his mother’s crack addiction, Yasin loved his mother with everything in him. He physically defended his mother’s name on multiple occasions because even as a crack addict, no one could deny Marissa’s beauty.
As he got older, Yasin started to understand what had happened to his father. Hustling wasn’t Yasin’s occupation, unlike every other young nigga in his hood. At the age of seventeen, Yasin was given a job that would change his life forever. Rodrigo Galliano, a member of the Italian mafia, hired Yasin to murder his known enemy. Rodrigo encountered Yasin on a few occasions when he would treat Marissa to dinner at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan. Just from observation, he liked the way Yasin moved. He moved with stealth and had the stature of a professional football player. Rodrigo hired a couple of his men to follow Yasin around his neighborhood. The rest was history. Rodrigo and Yasin developed a mutual relationship: Yasin eliminated Rodrigo’s problems, and Rodrigo made Yasin a rich man.
Yasin hadn’t planned on becoming a hitman, but he excelled at the job. He never planned on stopping, until karma caught up with him. After returning from a trip to Italy, Yasin found his mother with her throat slit in her apartment. It broke him. Marissa’s death triggered something sinister in Yasin. In his mind, Marissa never would have died if his father was alive. Yasin would have never had to become a hitman for Rodrigo if Yoda had survived. Yasin became fixated on finding his father’s murderer, vowing to avenge his father.
