EPILOGUE

ONCE AGAIN, REEF WAS the mastermind behind things. Though he didn’t get his hands dirty, he was the one who came up with the idea to finally get rid of Reese and Mar. The others didn’t think it would work because Lindell was nothing more than a crack head, but Shareef knew better. He knew that using the mother would be the perfect rouse to drive him to them. Now, Reese was gone and Mar had gone with him. Lindell just happened to bear the wrong son. It had cost her life.

Shareef flew back to Miami. He was scheduled to meet with several investors to set things up for Ghost and Reem to purchase some franchises. The old timer was filthy rich, but, before he left, he was already telling Ghost about another big job he had lined up. Ghost looked at him like he was crazy when he mentioned the job. Ghost insisted that he was done with the game. But taking money wasn’t anything like selling drugs. For some reason, it wasn’t as easy for Ghost to give it up. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush and the fast money.

“So, baby, how is the wedding planning coming along?” Ghost asked Kia, as he entered the room.

“Great! You’re going to love it.”

Kia was looking at magazines and catalogs for wedding planning. The bed was scattered with various catalogs. Ghost shoved some to the side and laid behind his fiancée, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. After wrapping his arms around her waist, he took a deep whiff of her body spray and blew on the side of her stomach, drawing a giggle from Kia.

“How is my little man in there?” Ghost rubbed her stomach. “I love you, baby. I can’t wait to marry you.”

“I know, baby. I love you, too. You’re so good to me.”

Ghost had convinced Shareef to let them get married in his mansion. It wasn’t hard to persuade him to allow them to fly down and get married in his home. He really liked Ghost. He was his friend’s son. Together, they had visited Khalil, Ghost’s father. It was strained at first, but Ghost broke in, and they enjoyed the visit. They promised to help Khalil once he was released, but under one condition: as long as he stopped getting high. Khalil promised he would leave the crack alone for good and get his life together. The visit was the best thing that had happened to him while he was down. Not only did he get to rekindle the relationship with his son and longtime friend, but he, also, had something to look forward to—the take. He was set for the remainder of the bid because they dropped a few grand on his commissary account before they left.

Ghost gave Kia a hundred-thousand dollar budget for the wedding. She couldn’t believe her man had become a millionaire. And stayed alive while doing it at that. The hundred grand would go a long way because they didn’t need to rent anywhere out since they already had an extravagant place to hold the ceremony.

Ghost collected the bounty money that was out on Reese and Mar’s head for the counterfeit money. All together it was one hundred and fifty thousand out on Reese’s head, but, once the job was done, Ghost had gotten rid of Reese. Suave gave him the fifty grand plus an extra twenty-five thousand and a brick of coke as well. They loved the way Reese was taken out. They begged Ghost for the details, but he wouldn’t give any. It was his pleasure to get rid of the two men who had caused so much havoc in his life, but he still collected the bounty for the hell of it.

He gave Kia a hundred grand of the money for the wedding and let the others split the rest. Reem took twenty-five grand, and Frog and Schemes took the same, but the two of them kept the brick of coke as well. Ghost wanted nothing to do with the drugs.

Generously, Ghost let Frog keep the money that they got from Reese’s stash, which was close to a hundred grand. Though Reem had put up some ransom money for Kia, he didn’t mind letting Frog keep what was retrieved. He needed the money more than the rest of them, and he had put in a lot of work, so it was only right. Schemes was the only one who objected to the stash money being given to Frog. He wanted some, too. He was greedy, but they didn’t give him any of the money. Frog had earned it.

“Look, baby.” Kia pointed at something in the catalog. “That’s nice,” Ghost said, with only a glimpse at what she was pointing to.

He grabbed her and pulled her into the clutches of his arms. He started kissing her passionately, and she invited his move. Buried under his body, she looked into his eyes. She was in love. They had everything. Money, cars, home, and, soon, they would have a child together. But none of it meant anything to her without him. He was all she wanted.

“Baby,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me. Promise me again you’re done for good.”

“I promise,” he told her almost sincerely.

Then, he thought about the job Shareef told him he was working on. He tried to shake the thought, but the truth was he loved the take.

Agents Boselli and Graham were stationed outside the address they believed Schemes was hiding out at. They used the phone records to track down the entire crew, and, with some expert FBI work, they found who they were looking for.

“Do you think he’s in there?” Vito asked.

“According to our surveillance team, they say he’s in there right now. He was seen going inside not long ago with a duffel bag in his hand.”

“If I was a betting man, I’d bet with you, not against you.” “Was he alone when he went in?” Vito was ready to make a move.

“Yeah, according to them he was.”“All right. Let’s go see if we can find out what’s in that bag.” The two of them emerged from the car and crossed the street, heading toward the house. Schemes was in for a rude awakening. They climbed the steps cautiously before approaching the door. Vito put his ear to the door to see if he could hear any activity inside while John, the taller of the two, took a peek in the window.

“Nah, nothing.”

“Well, let’s join the party,” John said.

Schemes and Frog went inside a house he had rented under an alias. He knew he was wanted by the feds for, at least, questioning. His lawyer told him the feds wanted to see him for questioning and DNA samples. There was no way Schemes was going to allow that.

“Ghost really looked out for me with that paper. I needed that.” Frog was as happy as ever. Ghost had broken him off with the money from the stash they took from Reese, and then with some of the ransom that was on Reese’s head and a brick of coke. Schemes got a brick of coke as well and set up a sell to a buyer who had just brought the two bricks.

Schemes had just completed the transaction and returned to the house where Frog was waiting for him. He had no idea that he was being trailed by the feds the entire time. Even worse, they were outside his door right now.

Schemes dumped the contents of the bag on the kitchen table. He had sold the kilos for a small twenty-five thousand a piece.

“Come on and count this shit up so we can split it up,” Frog said, taking a seat at the table.

“Man, I got rid of the work. We ain’t splitting this. I’ll give you fifteen of it,” Schemes said. He was still upset about Ghost giving Frog the money from Reese’s stash.

“What?” Frog jumped up from the table.

“You heard me! You didn’t give me none of the money from Reese’s stash.”

“Are you serious?” Frog couldn’t believe his ears. This was his flesh and blood on the other side of the table and here he was being greedy. Frog had been nothing but loyal to his cousin, and this was how he was being repaid.

“Hell, yeah! I’m serious! I put my ass on the line to sell that work, so it’s only right I get more.”

Frog lost it. He smacked the money from the table, sending it flying around the kitchen. “Fuck this money! I’ll take all of this shit!” He pulled his gun from his waist and pointed it at Schemes.

A sly grin eased on Schemes’s face. “After all we have been through, this is what it comes down to?”

“Yeah, this is how it is! You’re a fucking snake, cuz!” Frog grimaced through clenched teeth.

“I put work in, too! Don’t forget that!”

There was a knock at the door, but they were so caught up in the moment that they ignored it.

“Yeah, you’re right, Frog. You’re a rider! You definitely put that work in, but don’t forget I put this shit together for us. That quarter million we got in there is me! I put that together. My idea!” Schemes said.

Frog didn’t budge. He kept the gun pointed at Schemes’s face. He kept his finger on the trigger, and, with the slightest amount of pressure, Schemes would be joining Smitty. Frog knew his cousin had a point. Schemes was responsible for putting together the plan to kidnap Kia, from which they came up with the quarter million. The paper that they got from Reese’s stash and the bounty money weren’t part of the plan; that was just icing on the cake. Ghost and everyone else were really convinced that Reese was behind the abduction. It was the perfect plan, and Schemes took pride in being the mastermind behind it all.

Frog knew Schemes was a problem, and his instincts told him to pull the trigger. He was a monster that needed to be killed.

“FBI! Open the door! Donald, we know you are in there. We just want to ask you a few questions,” one of the agents shouted from the other side of the door.

The sound of the FBI made Frog and Schemes’s hearts sink. “Looks like we have some company,” Schemes said, happier than ever to hear the presence of the feds. He was anti-police. He hated them. But, right now, the knock at the door was like music to his ears. It might save his life.

Frog’s mind went blank. The feds were at the door. He felt like he was going to go to jail for a long time anyway, so how much could it hurt to get rid of Schemes? His mind was playing tricks on him, and he was on the verge of blacking out.

“So, what are you going to do? It looks like we have some company,” Schemes said with a sadistic smirk on his face. He showed no emotion, but, on the inside, he was scared to death because he knew Frog was a killer.

Frog gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the gun as he listened to the thoughts in his head: You can never trust a nigga named Schemes.