getting fucked up had him thinking that he would rather take a loss. So he used me to fill in for Trae, and now he wanted me to stay on board, but that wasn’t happening.
For our next order of business, I brought Tasha and the kids back to New York with me. I needed to make sure I had them all close by until Trae was released. I wasn’t trusting Li. He was not a man of his word and we needed to make this final move. As luck would have it, Faheem and Jaz also came back to the East Coast. They found a house in Jersey out in Little Falls. Jaz had her sights on attending Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Faheem was recovering well, and having all of us back together out East, it seemed as if the family was getting stronger. Just about all of the little problems went away, and now I was about to handle the biggest one.
“You know I love you, right?” I said to Angel as we looked into each other’s eyes.
“Yes. And I think you just got me pregnant,” she said, looking at me like I stole something precious.
“I hope so. And don’t be talking shit, either. You heard the reverend, he said, ‘honor and obey.’” I kissed her lips and then her stomach before I got up.
“Whatever,” she said as she threw the pillow at me.
I went into the bathroom, hopped into the shower, and let the hot, steamy water clear my mind. I then went over my plan one more time carefully, examining each detail. When I emerged, Angel was fast asleep. I got dressed and walked over to her, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. She let out a slight moan and then a light snore. I smiled, walked over to my spot, grabbed my straps, and headed out.
• • •
Once I got off the plane, I met up with Rick. I gave him the cash I had for him, a tape and the exact address of where I was meeting Mr. Li. I collected the package he had for me, which was a Glock 40 and then I moved to my designated location. As I stood enjoying the crisp California air, I thought about how far we had come. Trae and I had been to hell and back. We were blessed to get out of the streets for the most part and settle down, and we were looking forward to enjoying life. We had women who loved us, the type that every thug needed. We believed that our matrimony would be lived out happily ever after. However, as fate would have it, there was no justice for a thug.
When the limo pulled up, I took a deep breath and walked up to the curb. There was no turning back. Two Asian gentlemen jumped out, and I was patted down. Once my Glock was removed, I was directed to the backseat. We rode in silence for about thirty minutes. When we pulled up to Mr. Li’s office, I braced myself for the work at hand but couldn’t help but marvel at the sight before me. It looked to be about eight office buildings, six stories high. The outside was ultramodern, complete with precise, landscaped layouts, glass and marble exteriors, beautiful atrium gardens, fountains, waterfalls surrounded by marble and granite statues. It was not a game. All of this belonged to Li, Hammerstein, and Burke.
I followed my escorts inside the softly lit foyer and was intrigued once again. The walls of the plush leather waiting area displayed artwork that I was sure started at a mil. I was led onto the round glass elevator that took us up to the top floor. When the glass doors slid open, we made our way down the hall to a glass conference room. There were guests already in place mingling. No one came over and introduced himself to me, so I stood in a corner watching everyone interact. The room was filled with men of Asian descent. Each of them appeared the same: calm, cool, and calculating. I could tell that these men were not his workers but his peers. There wasn’t a woman in sight.
“Mr. Santos.”
I turned toward the direction of the voice. “Mr. Li,” I said as I moved toward him. When I got within five feet, I stopped and bowed.
He moved toward me and shook my hand. “Please, I want you to mingle a little bit. Why are you