YUMI
“So, what are they looking at?” Emery asked. I smiled at him and shook my head. We were now settled in his smoke room after the delicious meal the chef had prepared. As I sat across from him, heels off and legs tucked, I had to wonder why I chose to get inside the car with him.
I knew why.
It was because the man made it clear he wasn’t going to stop coming for me. He may have tried to offer me an out, but truth be told, I wanted to come. It was clear Emery had changed a lot. I was now experiencing the grown Emery, the one who clearly hadn’t gotten over me after all these years. What was his story besides the obvious? Who was Emery now, aside from the impulsive, stalking, demanding man he was showing me?
“You know I can’t talk about the case with you, Emery. What I will say is that the prosecution is determined to get Emil and Ellis locked away for life.”
His head reclined and rested on the back of the chair. He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. I could tellhe was exhausted with all of this, and I wished I had a solution for him.
“My brother and cousin can’t go to jail, Yumi. Because of our status, those people there will target them. We have many enemies, but we also have allies. Those allies only go so far, though. Because I’m aware of how the system works, they will put them in jail with no contact. I can’t have that.”
“I will do the best I can. Attorney Langston Collins and I think we may be able to sway the jury. Oh! I forgot she told me to check my email.” I stood, went to my satchel, pulled out my laptop, then returned to my seat. After logging in, I opened my email and clicked the attachment she sent me. It was a link to a video.
I opened it and watched as a girl recorded herself bobbing her head to the music. The footage switched to show the partygoers having a good time and dancing to the music. My eyes scanned the entire video until I saw Emil and Ellis enter a VIP section. By looking at the video, you couldn’t tell who they were. She was recording her friends twerking, in clear view of the VIP section Alphonso and Raymon were sitting in. The video showed only two men walking up to the section, but because I knew them so well, I recognized them. Before I could see their faces, gunfire erupted, and screams could be heard from everywhere, then the video cut out.
“Looks like some bullshit to me.”
“Well, technically, it is. If I didn’t know them, I wouldn’t be able to tell they were them. So, this won’t be admissible in court. All they’ll have is her word.” I closed the laptop and picked up my phone to call Langston, but Emery placed his hand over mine to stop me from dialing.
He looked at me with a stoic expression that had me frowning in concern.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I know you think I’m a criminal who does bad things, but only 30 percent of that shit is true. My overall makeup is to provide and protect. I don’t want you to look at me as a crime boss. I want you to look at me as the same man you fell in love with.”
“I—”
“I’m not done,” he said, cutting me off. “Since the day you walked away from me, I took being groomed as the head of the family seriously. I felt like I didn’t have shit to lose no more, so I allowed my father to rope me into this life even further. I had plans to go with you, Yumi. I was going to say fuck this shit and go off to college to take my painting seriously and be with the girl of my dreams.
“That shit got derailed, and I felt as if I had to step up and take on this position. Now, I’m in this shit deep, but I have an exit plan. I need you to bear with me while I take the necessary steps to end this chapter of my life and do what I always planned to do since I met you.” He reached forward, opening the small cabinet attached to the table in front of us, and presented a black leather case. I watched as he lifted the lid and turned it toward me. I pulled air into my lungs, watching the box of diamonds blind me temporarily. The jewels sparkled against the dim lighting as my fingers lightly graced the necklace with the YE pendant. The hoop earrings, bracelet, and ring complemented the necklace well.
“It’s beautiful. Is this for your mom?”
Emery smirked and shook his head. “It’s for you.” He lifted the ring from the cushion, set the box on the table, and grabbed my hand. “I want to marry you, Yumi. You don’t have to say yes right now, because I know you need time to get rid of that headache you claim to love. But I’m only giving you a month to let that nigga go before I have to step in. By that time, I will be done with this bullshit so I can focus on making our dream lifecome true.” He placed the ring on my finger as I admired the cluster of diamonds.
“Why a month?”
“Because that’s how long it’s going to take to get all my affairs in order. We have to get through this trial bullshit, then I have to meet with the other families and find my successor. I’m done with shit that doesn’t make me happy. I want a regular fucking life and not have to worry about shipments, snakes, trials, and snitches.”
“This is a lot, Emery. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“It’s either you or me, yum. And I’m sure you don’t want me to be the one to break his heart.”
“That’s what scares me, Emery. You kill people?—”
“People who deserve that shit.”
“And what did Liam do to deserve to die?”
“He has my wife struggling to choose me. That shit infuriates me, but I’m giving the nigga grace on the strength of you. So, if you don’t want him to disappear, I suggest you listen to your husband and let that nigga down easily. Or hard, it doesn’t matter to me.”
I blew out a breath and shook my head. “Can I think about this?”
“You have a month, baby. Do all the thinking you need during that time, and hopefully you will choose right. Now, come on. I want to show you something.” He stood and held out his hand to me. I accepted and allowed him to take me through this castle to the other side of the house. We came upon a door, and he opened it, revealing an art room. There were canvases of black leaders, his family, islands, pets, and a heap of other things inside.
“Wow. This is beautiful, Emery. I remember when you used to draw me.” I giggled.
