The Black Corleones 2: Love Ain't Loyal (8 page)

Samir left his father’s house
, but he wasn’t worried about the raid, he was more concerned with figuring out where Cesar stood, because his absence was deafening.

“What up Joe.”
Samir messaged Cesar. But the message went unanswered. He took the long way to his condo, constantly looking down at his two-way, hoping Cesar would respond. The more he waited, the more agitated he became. He tried not to listen to his father’s voice, but the truth was; it was getting to him. As he was about to pick up his phone to call Cesar, it rang with a number he didn’t recognized.

“Yo, state your case
,” he angrily answered.

“Hello, Samir
, it’s me,” a sweet, but sad voice was on the other end of the phone.

“Khloe
, baby, is that you?”

“Yes
, it’s me, are you busy?” she said crying into the receiver.

“Khloe
, what’s wrong baby, where are you?”

“I’m at a payphone
. Can you come and get me, please? I can’t take her beating me for nothing, please come, please…”

“A payphone
, what the fuck you mean? Where’s the phone I brought you, and where are you exactly?”

“She found it and took it away. I’m in Country Club Hills
at the Walgreens on One Eighty Third and Pulaski. Can you please come, please?”

“Khlo
, just hold tight, I’m on my way. Don’t worry, and don’t move. I’m coming baby girl,” he told her as he turned around and headed in her direction.

Samir
did 100 on the express way to get to her. He jumped in and out lanes, praying she was okay, and that he didn’t get pulled over. He didn’t care about the danger of his reckless driving; he had to get to her.

When he pulled up, he saw her standing outside
, alone next to the payphone. He jumped out of his car before he could put it in park, took his Avirex velour jacket off, and put it around her as he hugged her and wiped her tears. Samir kissed her forehead and assured her that everything would be okay, because she was with him now.

“Khloe
, I promise, you’re safe with me. You never have to go back, okay. I’ll always take care of you,” he told her, kissing her hand.

“Thank you for coming
,” she told him, with tears in her eyes.

“You don’t have to thank me. I love you, and I will always be here for you. I don’t want you to worry about nothing. I got you,” he told her.

“Wait
, did you just say you love me?” Khloe asked him in shock.

“Yes Khloe, I love you. I’ve always loved you
. From the first day I saw you.”

She didn’t speak for a moment because she was shock
ed to hear someone actually say they loved her. It was a phrase she had longed for her whole life, and here he was, the least likely person, telling her he loved her.

“Samir, I love you too
, but there is something I need to tell you.”

“Don’t worry about it
, baby girl. It doesn’t even matter because I already know how old you are.”

“How did you know that’
s what I was going to say?”

“I just had a feeling.”

Samir held her hand the whole ride to his condo. He glanced at her as she stared out the window, wondering what was on her mind. He knew she had been through a lot of turmoil in her young life, but she was with him, and it’s exactly where he always wanted her to be.

Samir
knew he couldn’t change what she already went through, but he would make sure her future was brighter than her past.

Khloe stared at the bright lights as they drove through the streets of downtown
, and for the first time, she could breathe. She didn’t know how the rest of her life would play out, but she knew as long as she was with Samir, she was safe.

As the
y pulled up to his building, she looked at the high rise in awe. She had never been anywhere as beautiful.

“Is this where you live?” she asked
.

“Yea
, this is my place.”

“You live here with your mother or something
?”

“Naw baby
, my momma don’t live here. It’s just you and me,” he laughed.

Her eyes widen
ed as the door man welcomed Samir back home. The majesty of the foyer was breathtaking, and right then she realized he wasn’t just some small time corner hustler. Looking at the décor of the building, Khloe realized Samir was bigger in the game then he let on.

When they arrived in front of apartment 1507, he handed her the keys
, kissed her cheek and welcomed her home to her new life.

She walked
into the condo and was taking back by how luxurious it was. The neo Italian furniture, marble counters, and back splashes were something she only seen on television or in magazines.

Khloe
took her shoes off to see if the carpet felt as soft as it looked. Then she saw the sparkle of the moon on Lake Michigan from his living room window. The view of the city was more stunning than she ever imagined. She started crying because she couldn’t believe he had finally saved her from her misery, and gave her something wonderful.

“What
’s the matter, baby girl?” he asked, as he stood behind her and put his arms around her.

“It’s just so pretty down here. You
r house is so beautiful,”

“Well
, it’s your house now. It’s ours. You believe I’ll take care of you, right?”

“I don’t know Samir
, to be honest with you.”

“Listen to me Khloe, I swear on my life, I will always take care of you. You
’re safe now. I just want you to smile, because you can be happy knowing that I will always be here, okay.”

Just as she was about to answer
him, his two-way went off with a message from Cesar. Samir didn’t return the message. He called and set up a meeting with Cesar right then and there. He couldn’t put it off any longer, especially with the raid coming down the pipeline.

He kissed Khloe on the forehead and snapped back into hustler mode. He made sure she was comfortable
, and headed out to meet with Cesar.

When Samir arrived
at Cesar’s house, he noticed a few cars he didn’t recognize, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He called inside for Cesar to come out because he didn’t want to speak business around niggas he didn’t know.

“What’s the deal
, Ces?” Samir greeted him when he came out.

“What’s good
, bro?” Cesar dapped him.

“Let’s take a ride my nigga
, cuz’ it’s some things we need to discuss.”

“
What’s on your mind, bro?” Cesar asked, as they drove through the wild 100’s.

“You tell me
, my nigga. You been acting real fucked up lately, Joe. First, that shit you pulled when we were going to Houston, and then you didn’t show up today when I specifically told all you niggas to be at my pops house. I’m starting to feel like you don’t respect me or what we trying to build,” Samir told him.

“First off
, I said what I had to say on the day we were leaving for H-town, so I’m not gonna get back into that. And as far as going to your pops house, I didn’t think I needed to be there, plus, I had some other shit to do anyway.”

“What the fuck you mean you had some other shit to do. I told you we
needed to be there, so that other shit should’ve been dropped. You made me look like an ass in front of my pops, my nigga. Now is your chance to start being a hunit, my nigga. If you don’t want to be a part of this family; then speak up now. We’ve been through too much together for one nigga to bring down what we been working towards, and besides, my pops informed us that we about to be raided, so yea, you needed to fucking be there, my nigga. This ego shit you got going on needs to stop right fucking now.”

“I’m not the one with the ego
, bro. I didn’t show up to the meeting because I felt like you didn’t need me. I’m supposed to be your right hand, second in command, and you treat me like I’m a worker. I’m supposed to be at the co-op meetings with you, instead, you took Meko. I’ve been down since we were little kids, and this nigga Meko closer to you than I am,” Cesar tried to play on Samir’s emotions, but deep down he didn’t care about being second in command, he wanted to be the top guy, because he was tired of living in Samir’s shadow. Money was changing Cesar and turning him into the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree.

“My nigga, we started this thing together, the five of us. Meko went to the meetings with me because my father requested it. He
’s the leader of this co-op and we have to do what he says, because he made all of this shit possible. He gave us this chance, and I respect my pops. You made me look weak, like I didn’t have a handle on my shit. How you wanna be second in command if you always under minding me and being difficult? Shit like that makes us look like we don’t have unity in our crew. And it has everything to do with ego. You so worried about titles, that you missing the bigger picture, my nigga. We out here doing shit that ain’t never been done by niggas our age since them Harlem niggas did it in the eighties.”

“My ego ain
’t got nothing to do with shit,” Cesar interrupting him.

“Nigga
, stop interrupting me, Joe… and listen to what I’m trying to tell you. We a fucking family and we need to move like one. That meeting wasn’t optional, bro. You so busy worrying about dumb shit, you don’t even know we made four and a half million dollars this past month. Niggas is starting to do bogus shit; like report us to the feds. My pops called all of us in to inform us that we’re being raided on Wednesday. But you wouldn’t know that cuz’ you acting like a female. Jealous over some Meko shit. Nigga, we’re the Black Corleones, there is no one man above this family.”

“Damn
,
a raid?
I had no idea, Sam. I been tripping, bro. My bad, I should’ve been there. I’m down with this family, and I’ll work on my shit, but what we gon’ do about this raid?”

“Nothing we can do about it. We just got
ta let it happen; but we gon’ clean out our traps and move everything. Pops is cutting us down until things smooth over. We really gotta put in work to cover our shorts until the heat is off. Then we need to set aside a payoff budget. Shit getting real out here, Ces, and I need all y’all down with me to continue what we started.”

“I got you
, bro.”

“We need to be at the spot
s in the morning, before class so we can make sure shit gets squared away before Wednesday.”

Samir dropped Cesar
off back at his house. He was hoping he got through to him because they couldn’t afford to have any more hang ups, especially with the alphabet boys on their heels.

When h
e got back to his building, it was the first time he was excited about being home, because despite everything he was dealing with in the streets and with the game, he knew Khloe was inside waiting for him. He had a reason to leave the woes of his hustler life at the door.

W
hen he walked into his condo there she was, asleep on the couch, looking like an angel in his eyes. He walked over and kissed her forehead, unintentionally waking her up.

“Hey, Khloe, why are you on the couch, babes?” he asked.

“I fell asleep waiting for you to come home.”

“Well, I’m here now, so let’s go to bed.” 

That night he slept peacefully with Khloe in his arms. She couldn’t have come to him at a better time
, because he was going to need some serenity with all that was about to happen in the streets.

              Chapter Eight

Samir sat in fourth period with his stomach in knots. He was praying to God
that the feds didn’t find anything tied to his operation. He couldn’t focus on his class because the nervousness was making him sick, literally.

He checked his phone and pager ever two minutes
, hoping for a word that it was all over. Wednesday morning came too quick for his taste. He didn’t get in the game to have these kinds of problems, and he was naive to think that they would stay under the radar of the laws.

But Samir wasn’t the only Corleone nervous about that morning. Meko and Seven sat in the back of their class
on pins and needles. They knew they emptied their spots completely, but they couldn’t help to wonder how things were unfolding.

Cesar and Chase headed to lunch off campus
, and although they wanted to ride by their spots, they knew it would be best if all members of the Corleone family stayed as far away from the trap as possible.

While the Corleones where sweating bricks
, the DEA raid teams were in position to simultaneously hit all four of the Black Corleone’s trap spots.

After suiting up, Agent Carl Scott lead his team to hit the Corleone
’s Gardens spot. Agent Scott gave a silent count down and his agents took their ram straight through the door of the apartment.

“Everybody get down on the ground
, now!” Agent Scott shouted as they gained entry.

Valli, his girl and a few of Samir’s workers were in the apartment
, but they were fully briefed on the raid that was going to happen. He made sure the place was as clean as a whistle, so no one was the least bit nervous. They cooperated as agents filled the apartment.

“No disrespect sir, but do you have a warrant for breaking my door
?” Valli asked, as the agents began to tear up the apartment apart.

“Get the fuck on the ground like I
told you, and don’t ask me shit,” Agent Scott said.

Ag
ent Scott took his job serious, and was one of few agents who didn’t allow himself to be turned. With promotions coming up, he needed this bust to be successful. Agents on Carlyle’s payroll were placed on Samir’s other trap spots and couldn’t oversee the dealings of Agent Scott’s raid detail.

After 30 minutes of searching the house
, Agent Scott was furious that he came up empty handed. He had all the people in the house ran through the system for warrants, but Valli and his crew was clean.

He gave a call to the agents in charge of the other raids
, and they all reported that they also came up with nothing.

Agent Scott felt like something was amiss
. He wondered how all four houses came up empty when they had so many tips coming in about the Black Corleones operation.

“We didn’t find anything
, sir. But I believe we’re on the right track. I would like permission to continue investigations,” Agent Scott reported to his commanding officer.

“I
’m sorry, Scott, we got bigger fish to fry in this city and we can’t waist any more time on this. It’s just rumors at this point,” his supervisor responded.

“But sir
, we—” Agent Scott began to speak before he was cut off.

“
—No buts, Scott, you hit every location and came up with nothing. No drugs, guns or money, and not to mention the people in the houses were clean as whistles. This investigation is over. Get back to the office to be briefed on your next assignment. This horse is dead.”

And with that
, the Black Corleones had dodged their first bullet with law enforcement.

Meanw
hile, Carlyle was headed downtown with Tim when his DEA informant gave him the call that everything was clear and Samir and his crew dodged their first bullet with the feds. He was relieved that the youngsters were as thorough as they were, but he was still firm on cutting them down until the heat was completely off of them. He was proud of his young crew and decided not to cut them down as much as he originally planned.

“Tim
, hit my boy and let him know that he can resume business as usual,” Carlyle requested.

“I got you
, Lyle.”

Samir was in his last period of the day
. His nerves on edge when he received the message from Tim informing him that his business could return to normal, relieved, he took a deep breath and got back into a hustler’s state of mind.

Just know that we still cutting you guys down as a precaution but your pops has decided
to forgo the extreme cut. We will let you know what you get by the end of the week.
Tim informed Sam.

Samir didn’t respond, he just decided to let the rest of his crew know they were back in business. He felt his nerves settle. The last few days leading up to the raid had him on edge. This was the last thing they needed with the expansion. He knew news was traveling fast, so he was a bit worried that his clientele would want to fall back, because nobody wants to fuck with niggas who had the feds sniffing around their operation. But what Samir didn’t know was the raid would only make The Black Corleones more popular amongst the rest of the dope world.

The streets were pumping about how the youngest team in the
Chi left the feds empty handed. While the hood was praising Samir and his crew, Cesar didn’t like what he was hearing.

Walking to his car after class
, he overheard a few corner hustlers from around the way talking about how Samir was the man, and how he had the feds dumbfounded when his spots came up empty. Cesar was furious hearing Samir getting all the credit when he felt he was doing all the work. In his mind, Samir wasn’t half the man he was; and he didn’t understand why the fuck everybody was always speaking so highly of him, like he was the one doing all the grinding.

Even though Samir and the rest of the Corleones didn’t care about titles and recognition, it was
the only thing Cesar cared about. His focus had shifting in the short time they were climbing to the top.

The money they were making was beginning to change Cesar. He had always had love for Samir since his childhood
, but in the same token he wasn’t in the position he was in now. He didn’t credit Samir for helping them get there, and he refused to own up to the fact that it was Samir’s alliance that put them in this position. All he cared about was niggas saying Samir’s name more than his own.

Being in a
crew was starting to bother Cesar and he began to devise a plan to set out on his own. He wanted to be a leader, but he didn’t realize that he didn’t have leadership characteristics. He wanted to be done with this Corleone bullshit, but he knew that right now wasn’t the time to break away, not with all the money they were about to make with their expansion. He knew he had to try his best not to let his envy show, but he couldn’t help but to be who he had always been preconceived to be.