Gangster Love

by ThatBlackGirl

Huey Freeman is the leader of a gang in the streets of Chicago who never expected a night out would make him meet a girl like Jazmine Dubois. As time goes on, he realises that it's not easy being a gang leader let alone being in a relationship. Especially with a looming threat hanging over them. Can they find a way to work together or is it too much for them to handle?

37. Chapter 37: DNA Discover

IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE: I have changed the name of Cookie Freeman's daughter from Gianna to Jencia and it will be explained at the end of the chapter, I don't want to spoil anything.

Proceed.

---

They both sat there shocked, not sure if they heard or read right.

Riley was going to be a dad?

No, that didn't sound right but it was right. It was right there in colour, not even black and white. Riley was the father to Nike's baby. The one that was going to arrive in a couple of months.

Royalty moved back onto the bed, moving away from him. She placed her back against the headboard and pulled the sheets over her chest, eyes wide as she stared off into the distance. This couldn't be happening. They just made their relationship official for the first time and this had to pop up. The problems of all problems. In the past, one of the conversations she would have with her girls would be if they would go for a man if he had a child already and her answer was yes but that applied to the baby being here before she was, not her being there before the baby. This made the situation worse. She literally had to watch another woman carry her boyfriend's child. She had to watch them go to doctor appointments together, throw a baby shower together, everything. With a woman that seemed to be stressful as hell too. Her name alone gave off red flags. This was not what Royalty wanted to wake up to after a beautiful date and passionate sex last night. She wanted to have the whole cuddle and giggle in the morning, maybe a quickie and then make each other breakfast butt ass naked. Like what couples do in the honeymoon stage. Not a DNA test that the nigga she was ready to give her all to was going to be a daddy. Who does she have to speak to so she could fight them?

Oh wait, she already knew... he was sitting at the end of the bed.

Riley read the words over and over again. '99.9% accurate. Riley Escobar Freeman is the father of the foetus.' Oh how sick he was feeling right now. His parents have always told him that his ways will land him with a std or a baby or both. He has never had a std so he guessed they got one thing right, no matter how much he wished it wasn't true. All he wanted to do was celebrate his 24th birthday but somehow during the processes he got a bitch pregnant. One named after a shoe brand at that. He really hit a new low with that one. Why did he let his dick do most of the talking? He should've listened to his heart that said not to. For once his heart was actually trying to reach out to his brain to tell him not to sleep with them females but he ignored it. He didn't care. He wanted to be irresponsible but not anymore. He needed to start acting like an adult, something his mother and brother would continue to tell him until he hopefully listened. He was listening now.

He turned to see Royalty looking shocked which was completely understandable. "Baby... you ok?" He couldn't help but to ask even though he sort of knew the answer to that question already.

She wanted to cringe at the poor choice of nickname when he tried to get her attention. "Yes Riley."

He swallowed hard, hearing no emotion in her answer. He decided to crawl up next to her but even as he did, she didn't make no move to get closer to him. That kind of hurt him. "Are you sure? You're being quiet."

"Quiet?" She turned to him and gave him a confused look. "How am I supposed to react Riley? You're going to be a dad, to a baby that isn't coming from me. What do you want me to say? You're the one that is supposed to be saying something. I'm not going to scream and holler about this shit."

"I-" He started but he didn't know what to even say to her. "I don't know." Royalty sighed before swinging her legs out of his bed covers to pick up her underwear to put it back on. "Where you going?"

"Home. You gotta find that girl and sort your shit out." She told him simply as she clipped on her bra.

"But I don't know what to do." He told her truthfully.

She turned to look at him. She could see how lost he looked and her stomach sank. He looked like he was in pain. "Find her, talk to her. Discuss what you're going to do together and sort your shit out. This is some real shit Riley, no childish ting."

He wished it was that easy but for some reason, his mind was struggling to process what was happening. He had to ask the one question he was scared to ask because he knew it wouldn't be fair to her. He really shouldn't ask. "Ca- can you come with me? When I talk to her. Please, I need you." He begged.

Royalty has never seen him beg anyone for anything, it was almost scary to see but he seemed to be allowing himself to become more vulnerable around her. "You need to do this on your own. We can break up but you and that child is forever."

"Nah I want you forever too. I told you I mean that shit. Please Royalty, I need you. I know you'll be able to help me. I'm not trying to seem completely useless and lean on your ass for everything but I just need something. You're the only person I trust. Please baby." He pleaded with her.

As she slipped on her jeans she sighed, giving in. She didn't expect to cave in so easily and quickly. 'See wah dis bwoy ah do to me.' She mentally rolled her eyes.

She disliked her generosity majority of the time. She always helped people she cared for, no matter how much they didn't deserve it sometimes. "Fine but you do this today, it can't wait."

Riley nodded, grateful. "Thank you." He walked over to her and was about to kiss her but hesitated, not knowing if she would allow him to touch her but he tried. He was happy when she didn't pull away. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Can't apologise for this. It is what it is." She shrugged.

Just then his phone went off, breaking the twos eye contact. He reached over and read the text from Huey. His mouth dropped open.

"What? What happened now?" She asked him worriedly. After the morning she was happening, she did not need to hear anything else that could mess up her day.

He slowly looked over at her. "You're not finna believe what more shit came through today."

---

Huey held onto the envelop he was waiting for ever since Raven told him about a possible new, well, old, family member. In his hand, held the DNA test. He had matched her blood to his. He couldn't ask anyone else that actually knew her because then they would start asking questions and he didn't want questions when he was looking for the very answers to what they would ask. It was a long shot and harder to match but he needed to be sure, it wasn't something that could've been left alone.

What he didn't expect was to see an envelope similar to what he had for his brother. It seemed they both were getting DNA tests today but only one was hoping to be positive.

After dropping Riley his letter, giving him a look while doing so, he walked back to his own home and walked straight into the kitchen.

"I left you for two seconds and you're already getting comfortable?" He smirked.

Jazmine turned around from the stove and grinned. "You woke me up when you left so I decided to make us breakfast."

"I wasn't even gone that long and you've already started making food... you were awake a long time ago wasn't you?" He realised.

"Nooo." She tried to deny but didn't put much effort in doing so. He raised an eyebrow at her failed attempt to lie. "Ok fine, yeah I was but I didn't want to come out of your comfy arms. You know you're good at cuddling, like really good, scary good. Someone's had practice." She teased.

Huey rolled his eyes and stepped up to Jazmine. She moved so she wasn't leaning on the stove just as he stepped closer to her. Her back hit the counter top, stopping her from moving away. Jazmine's breath caught in her throat as she stared into his deep maroon eyes, having no clue what his next move was going to be. He put his hand delicately under her chin and slowly lifted it higher, making her neck straight but without breaking eye contact. "I don't practice. That was specifically for you." He told her. It wasn't a completely lie. Raven was his only serious relationship as mentioned many times before which meant she got to see more sides to him than any female could ever see. They were young so cuddling then and cuddling now was different. Back then it was cute, they were teenagers, now he was a grown adult. It meant more. In his adult life he has never held a girl in his arms the way he did last night with Jazmine. He couldn't deny that it felt... nice. He was definitely looking forward to more nights with her.

"You just sexy for no reason huh?" She let slip from her lips, making her immediately go red in the face. "Did I really just say that out loud?"

He smirked at her face changing colour. "Yes, yes you did." He reached down and gave her a soft peck on her awaiting lips.

As he pulled away, Jazmine gave him a bashful smile. "I- I should speak my mind more often."

"I like forwardness."

"And I like you." She said, without skipping a beat.

Just as he said, he liked forwardness and she showed just that. It was attractive as hell to him. He pulled her in close and gave her a much deserving kiss when she suddenly broke away.

"Wait, my eggs!" She spun out of his arms and checked on the food she was making as much as she didn't want to leave his embrace.

Huey stepped back and allowed Jazmine space to finish cooking. He sat onto of his counter top and picked up the envelop he had yet to open. He sighed, which caught Jazmine's attention. "What's that?" She asked, referring to the item in his hands.

He forgot she didn't know what was happening so he gave her a quick rundown on everything that was happening behind the scene. He thought it would be weird to be discussing his business with an outsider but this outsider just so happened to be his new girlfriend. His girlfriend that had already been dragged through the mud because of his lifestyle but still stuck by his side and was now here with him in the kitchen, cooking them breakfast. If anyone heard him talking to her about this, they will know she was special or that he was crazy, he didn't do this with just anyone. "This is the DNA test I have been waiting for to clear up the theories we have."

Jazmine stared at him with wide eyes as she dished out their food. "Wow, so you really might have a family member in with your enemy?"

He slightly nodded as he grabbed their plates while she grabbed their drinks and made their way over to the stools in the kitchen to sit and eat. "Yeah... I don't want to bring up such a painful memory but do you remember ever seeing someone with similar traits as my family and I?" He questioned cautiously, not wanting to bring up past trauma but he just had to ask.

Jazmine stopped eating and before she gave permission, her mind trailed off and pulled up the dark memories of that night. Her thoughts and flashbacks were going 100 miles per second, digging up all the stress and pain she experienced. Getting grabbed outside the club, waking up in the dark room, get punched around... Vladimir. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered his name. A name she never wanted to mutter again. "I-" She started but paused.

Huey saw the hesitation in her voice. "Forget it, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up." He quickly dismissed but she shook her head.

"It's fine. You needed to ask but to answer your question, I didn't. No one that looked like you were around, I'm pretty sure I would've let you know too."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He held onto one of her cheeks to pull her closer so he could kiss her other cheek.

Jazmine couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Someone is very affection this morning."

It was true. He didn't even notice it until she mentioned it, he just didn't seem to help himself when he was around her. "Only for you." He sent her a wink, making her blush. "Second time today and it's not even 12pm? Wow, I'm on a roll."

"Ugh shut up." She playfully pushed him, trying her best to cover her red cheeks. "Just open the damn envelope."

As much as he wanted to tease her a bit more, he decided to do as she said. He picked up the awaiting envelope and ripped it open. Jazmine sat quietly next to him, eating her food and watching him. He pulled out the white sheet and quickly scanned over it. "Oh shit." Was the first thing that slipped out his mouth. He immediately pulled out his phone to text his family, they weren't going to believe this shit.

Curiosity got the best of Jazmine so she reached over to read over the letter herself.

'13% chance of relation. Possible distant aunt.'

"You were right... this is your dad's cousin!" She said excitedly until she remembered something. "But, why is she with them?" She didn't even want to say their names.

Huey slowly shook his head, feeling shell shocked. "I have no clue but I need to talk to my family to sort this shit out. I need to know why they kept this secret and what happened to Jencia and Carmen Freeman because obviously one of them is still alive. Who knows, they both might still be alive."

"Wow. That shit is crazy as fuck. I hope you find out what you need to know."

"I hope so too. Freeman's are stubborn, getting information out of them might be a little difficult."

"Well I know you and you can get information out of anyone." She said to him.

He shrugged. "True."

After that the two completely forgot about the letter on the table and went off in their own world for the next two hours before they would leave to do what they needed to do. They were already becoming so comfortable with each other that everything was starting to feel natural. Jazmine being around him all the time, waking up next to him. It felt good but they knew they didn't want to rush what they had or it could fall apart just as quickly and that's the last thing they wanted.

---

All four couples broke off and went to do what they needed to do. Hiro and Caesar went to handle business, the Freeman's went to handle family business while the girls decided to plan their business.

They sat at their dinner table with papers spread out everywhere with stationary on top. The papers were covered in writing and numbers, anyone on the outside would think it was nonsense.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Jazmine grinned excitedly.

"Right? I'm going to have my own business soon." Cindy smirked.

Cindy decided it was time to start her business on the gym she wanted to buy and renovate. It was still sitting empty where it was abandoned. She wanted it before someone else buys it and destroys it, making it something unnecessary to the neighbourhood. They were going over business plans, lay outs and payments. They were going to view the place next week in person since they haven't seen how bad the damage was now from it being neglected.

"The place has a lot of potential... I can't wait to go inside so I can start planning how it is going to look." Ming said as she looked over the magazines in front of her.

Royalty gave her a deep straight face. "You're already doing that. You have already started about 4 different colour schemes."

Ming looked up at her friend. "Well excuse me for trying to be prepared. I want Cindy to have options because once we start with the colour everything else will come together."

Royalty held her hands up in defence. "Mi sorry."

"Well I appreciate all the help I can get. I have no clue how my parents wanted me to run a prestige company when I need help just to start a little business." Cindy sighed as she looked over all the numbers. At this point, they were all looking jumbled up. "I can't believe I set my deadline to next summer. It's so close!"

"Well that's what friends are for." Jazmine smiled. "We help each other. You're not going to do this all on your own."

"I know but how am I going to handle all of..." A thought popped up in Cindy's head, something she should've thought about a long time ago. "I'm dumb as fuck." She laughed to herself while everyone else just looked confused. She turned to Jazmine. "Jazzy. You want to open a dance studio right?" Jazmine nodded. "Why don't we become business partners? That way we can build an extension of the gym for your studio. It would be separate but together if you get what I mean. If anyone from your studio wants to sign up for a membership at my gym, they get discount and vice versa. That way we have regular customers and both get paid. I mean it's a suggestion, it doesn't have to be specifically that but you get what I am trying to put across." Cindy propositioned.

Jazmine thought about it. "That is actually a good idea. It could work. The two are mutually exclusive. People that dance work out too. That will attract more people our way, especially after school kids." She gasped. "That way parents can drop their kids off for dance or basketball club."

"Exactly! So, do we have a deal?"

Jazmine shook her hand with enthusiasm. "Deal. Business partner. Wait, we will have to different names though."

Cindy shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Ok. We will focus on your gym first because we will be building a studio from scratch basically. It will take some time so that might not be finished until the following new year." Jazmine announced. She had flipped to the page of her plans in her note book for her studio and started going over it.

"Ahh now I need to get my shit together." Royalty pouted.

"Don't stress. Theres no rush. You're helping us for now which is more than what we can ask for."

Ming nodded. "Yeah, you don't have to decide right away because we've started planning. You still have time."

Royalty sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I think I'm going to do hair. Open a hairdresser and barbershop in one. Hairdresser first though."

"Well at least you can practice on your man." Cindy teased, making her remembered what happened this morning.

"Oh right, I haven't even told you guys."

"Ohh tea. Let's order food and some wine and we can talk about our little dates." Jazmine suggested without missing a beat. They all needed a break after staring at papers for so long which was why she was quick to jump at the opportunity to stop for a moment.

They all agreed and did just that. It wasn't long before the papers were forgotten on the dinner table and they all sat in the living room eating pizza and drinking wine, ready to hear the little gossip.

"I'll go first since Jazmine already had an idea of my date. Sneaky bitch." Ming rolled her eyes at Jazmine's dramatic gasp. "My baby Hiro took me to a kickball game out of town and it just so happened to be the senior team to the junior team I used to play for."

"Wow. Did you see anyone you know?"

She nodded. "Yeah a couple. Hiro got us VIP tickets which meant we was right up at the front when my old team mate, Amy, saw me. She came over and then got me to go on the field just to have one kick. The announcer recognised me and said my whole business in front of everyone." She rolled her eyes. Ming pulled out her phone and went to search her name to see if a video came up from last night and there was. She was even more certain her parents were about to see it very soon if they haven't already. She showed her friends who looked in shock.

"Wow. Half a milli views already. Ok Ming I see you. Someone might be getting back into the game I see." Cindy teased.

"Nah not me. That's done. My friend said the same thing but I like what I'm about to do now."

"Thats good but what did Hiro say?" Jazmine asked.

"He was just shocked but very impressed. Even when I was shouting in Mandarin, he still let me do my thing. He didn't care that he didn't understand, he even said he was going to learn which means I'm going to learn Japanese for him." She told them.

This made Jazmine pout. "Aww that's so sweet."

"I know right! Ok, enough about me. Cynthia, your turn to share." Ming winked as she took a sip of her wine.

Cindy rolled her eyes at her full name, a reaction she couldn't help. "Well he took me ice skating which was hilarious. He couldn't skate for shit. I had to show him a bit. He could barely stand on the ice let alone move. He refused to drop, like he was adamant to not drop. It was all going good until this older white couple decided to voice their unwanted opinion say we were 'disgusting'. That put us in a bad mood and we kind of talked about how our relationship was going to be tested and shit. By the end of it, we were both over the ice skating and went on a cocktail date instead."

"Wow, I'm sorry that happened to you." Jazmine said.

"Girl fuck them bitches. I don't give a fuck." Cindy told her truthfully. "It's just white people getting their nose stuck up someone else's ass they have no place of being."

"I mean that's one way to put it." Royalty mumbled against her glass before taking a sip.

"He brought out your inner Elsa again didn't he?" Ming joked, which caused Cindy to roll her eyes at the name.

"He wouldn't stop calling me that throughout the whole date. I don't even like Frozen! I even accidently referenced the movie and he wouldn't stop bringing it up. But yeah that was mine. Nothing else. Jazmine, wanna share next since you got all dressed up?" Cindy swiftly moved on, seeing no need to go into that subject.

A smile broke out on her face. "Yes!" She looked up at the celling dramatically as she got flashbacks. "He took me to this art gallery and it was amazing! The art was amazing and we talked about each piece and our thoughts of it while sipping champagne. We even saw a piece of Riley's work in there. You should check it out, it's really good." Jazmine directed the last part to Royalty who looked shocked. She didn't expect Riley to have work in an art gallery. "While I was looking at one, the owner came up and it just so happened to be her painting. She was telling me a bit about herself. She even dated Hiro a few years ago." Ming raised an eyebrow, wondering if she had competition and Jazmine saw this. "Girl don't worry, no competition. She is married with a child and another on the way anyway. Then Huey brought me the very painting right there and then, which reminds me that it is still at his house. Damn."

"You're acting like your ass isn't going to find your way back soon." Royalty smirked.

"Shh." Jazmine dismissed playfully. "Anyway, he organised a roof top dinner and we talked. It was honestly the most romantic thing I have experienced in so long." She said blissfully until she remembered something that also happened during the dinner. "Oh, then Jayden text me... I have to sort that baggage out asap."

"I bet he's going to cry." Cindy commented, making Royalty and Ming burst out in laughter.

"I bet he's going to go on his knees and beg for her back." Ming added.

"I bet he's going to do something stupid and Huey is going to fuck him up." When Royalty said that, everyone looked at her with different expressions. "What? That's the type of shit he would do. Riley would do the exact same. Maybe Jayden took too many hits in high school and college playing football but he seems the type of guy to try and act, uh, all macho and shit. You have to be careful Jaz, he looks like he can switch any moment. Look how many years we've been away from each other, you don't know if he changed during college." Royalty told her surprisingly calmly.

Jazmine didn't even think about it. Since he laid his eyes on her in Empire, he seemed very... possessive. Like he didn't want to let her go. She understood it in a romantic sense but his seemed to be slowly tip toeing into the creepy side. As Royalty said, she hasn't seen him in years and she's barely hung out with him when they were sleeping together. Then when he surprised her with a dinner with her parents when she wasn't ready. She had to tread lightly. "You're right. I'll definitely look out for signs of crazy."

"As you should."

"Now tell us about your date." Jazmine flipped.

Royalty sighed but a ghost smile formed on her lip as she thought about the date. "Whew, the date! Well, where to start? He took us to what you American's call carnival."

"You're still won't accept that?" Cindy laughed, having heard the girls dislike for the use of the word carnival in the states.

"Yup!" She answered. "So, not even long before we arrived, a guy questioned Riley's masculinity on a shooting game and you know how niggas are. They made a bet and Riley won with flying colours, winning prizes for your girl. After that we went game to game, winning them... my winnings are at his house, damn." Royalty said more to herself. "Then we went on the rides. We got on the Ferris wheel and talked, kissed and he officially asked me to be his girl, it was... sweet. Like, really sweet. He can be a little soft around me." Her smile dropped when she remembered this morning and what she just learned. "But then! The shit that happened. This nigga is going to have a bloodclaut baby with di girl he did fuck." She informed them, the native Jamaican in her coming out.

Jazmine gasped. "No?"

"Bitch yes!" She groaned. "I still can't believe this shit."

"You really about to be a step mother like we said you would be? I hope you're not evil." Cindy teased.

Royalty's scowl only deepened. "You hoes jinxed me."

Ming had to hold back her laugh to talk. "Sis, we didn't jinx shit. This shit happens."

"Yeah, to me, not you guys. I don't see any of you with step kids on the way." She rolled her eyes. "I finally take a nigga serious after years and this the fuckery I receive." She kissed her teeth. "We're going to talk to her today."

"'We?'" They all said at once.

"Yes we. I'm going with him to talk to her. This shit should be good."

"Maybe I should come so I can see if y'all fight. I'll record it. I would say put it on Worldstar but they ain't shit now." Cindy suggested.

Royalty wanted to throw the cushion at the blonde's head but didn't feel like having to clean the wine stain out of the pillow. "Shut the fuck up. I can't even fight her, she's pregnant bitch."

"You fight anyone."

"So do you!" Royalty called her out. "And I don't fight children, old people or pregnant women. Unless they're asking for it, I might give them a forehead flick or something."

"If you try this bitch, you try these hands." Cindy shrugged as she lifted her fists.

Jazmine laughed and grabbed another slice of pizza. "Again, I can't stand you hoes." It was as if that was their catchphrase the amount of times they would say it to each other.

"We can't stand you either hoe." Ming said to her back.

They looked at each other in silence for a second before bursting out in laughter until Jazmine gasped, causing them to stop laughing.

"Oh shit." Jazmine remembered. "Huey's birthday is next week, what am I going to do? It's the first birthday together so it has to be extra special."

"But knowing him, he won't want anything." Cindy pointed out.

"I know, he says it's just a reminder that he's a year closer to death but everyone deserves to celebrate their birthday. You know how much I love birthdays and holidays." Jazmine pouted.

Ming looked over at Cindy. "You should've known our girl was going to do something for Mr Straight face anyway. Which reminds me, Cindy's birthday is coming up too."

"So is Caesars." Cindy told them.

Royalty snorted. "Your parents were getting busy on Valentine's man."

"Anyyywaaay, back to my problem." Jazmine pulled their attention back to her. "What am I going to do?!"

"Slap on some lingerie and call it a day. He'll know what to do." Royalty shrugged and took another bite out her pizza.

Jazmine squinted her eyes at the girl. "That ain't shit! That's basic."

"Throw some rose petals on that bitch."

"Ugh, you're so useless."

"No... maybe she's onto something." Ming thought about it for a second. "Cindy you better listen up too so you have something for Caesar." The blonde rolled her eyes but listened anyway. She didn't even think about their birthday. "Use his place to set something up all cute and get sexy. Simple. Men don't expect much, especially someone like Huey. You can get away with that shit."

She sighed. "I know...but I wanted to do something a little extra."

"You'll think of something." Royalty reassured her with her mouth full of pizza. "Oh yeah, Riley's little cousins are having a birthday party next week and Dante invited us. He said its superhero themed and he wants us to dress up. He said we don't have to but we can and if we are, we have to force our boyfriends to dress up also."

"That sounds so fun! I love dressing up. Oh my gosh, who are we going to be?" Jazmine excitement began to grow by the second.

"It's a good thing we actually watch superhero stuff then." Ming snorted. "Ugh, there's so much. Marvel... DC... so much to choose from."

"All I know is, I hope no one wears the same thing as me." Cindy shrugged and picked up another slice.

Royalty couldn't help but to laugh. "Girl, there is enough blonde, white superheroes. Your ass will be fine."

"...You right."

She smirked. "That's on privilege."

They went on to talk about what outfits they should get themselves and their boyfriends, excited to be dressing up. All the drama they had were being left for a few hours but they knew it was just going to start brewing again but for now it was at the back of their minds.

---

"This is about to be so interesting." Jaliyah mumbled from the passenger seat in Riley's car.

After informing the cousins about the news, Huey called a family meeting, getting everyone together to discuss their discovery. He could tell from the replies he had received, everyone was now tense.

'That ain't the only thing interesting going to be said.' Riley thought in annoyance as he thought about his own DNA results. He needed to tell them since they were all waiting on the test too. It didn't help that he was stressing the fuck out. He just got Royalty and he already fucked up, his irresponsible ass got a woman pregnant now he had to step up and he knew it was going to hurt her in the process. She was going to watch everything. He wished things didn't have to happen this way.

"I know. Todo esto es una locura." Monquie spoke from the backseat, applying more makeup to her face.

"Yeah, crazy..." Jaliyah trailed off as she watched her younger cousin through the rear-view mirror, putting on an unnecessary amount of makeup on, which was strange. "Hey Mon, how's you and your girlfriend?" She asked curiously.

Riley quietly snickered. "I forgot your ass was half gay."

Monique rolled her eyes at Riley. She has been hearing him say that ever since she came out as bisexual 4 years ago. Some people may not like hearing that but to her, she found it funny. Plus, it was Riley, he would say it all the time if wanted to. "Yeah we're cool."

"You sure?"

She slowly looked up and caught eye contact with her cousin. Did she know?

Before Monquie could even try to come up with an answer, Riley pulled up to his parents' house, which she was grateful for. With lightning speed, she packed up her makeup and jumped out the car.

"Damn Flash, slow down." Riley told her as he got out the car too.

Two more cars pulled up next to his and the cousins all walked towards the door together. They knocked and Mackenzie was there with a smile on her face to greet everyone.

"Hey babies! I feel like I haven't seen you all in one place in forever." She hugged and kissed everyone as she let them in.

They walked into the living room where aunt Cookie, their grandfather and fathers all sat, clueless to why they were there.

"About time your ass came over. Calling me early for me to come out my house for stupid reasons I bet." Grandad complained for where he was sitting. "Who fucked up now?"

"Trust me, this isn't stupid." Huey told him.

"Well damn, let us get this over and done with. I got Baby Boy to catch on BET."

"Grandad, they show it all the time. It will legitimately come on an hour later." Huey rolled his eyes.

"So?! A nigga still wants to watch my movie. Shittt and then after that Friday is coming on. You know I love them films. You know, the old nigga reminds me of me. We both handsome and end up being surrounded by dumb asses."

Cookie hit her brother in the shoulder. "Robert hush up. You know you look nothing like him." She turned to her nieces and nephews. "So how you been babies?"

That was the second time they have been called babies since they have arrived. It was a bit weird. "You know... just been working and school." Jaliyah answered, taking another look at Monique.

"Well that's good, that's good."

"Yup, very proud of my baby going through college." Mairo smiled at the youngest in the room.

"Thanks pops." She smiled at him.

Chrisitan looked at his youngest son and saw he looked very fidgety in his spot. He looked troubled. "Riley. What's bothering you?" He questioned.

'Damn, I couldn't even hold on until after. I can never get shit past these niggas.' Riley cursed himself.

"Your father is right, what is it? What did you do now?" Mackenzie crossed her arms, waiting for an answer now too. She knew her son all too well.

Riley felt all eyes on him and began to sweat. He did not want to say it like this but it was too late. He was cornered. "Mann this some bullshit. The baby is mine ok! The test came today, that hoe is having my baby, shit." He confessed. He felt as if this should've made his shoulders lighter but it didn't. The load just felt more painful.

"You can't call her a hoe no more, that's the mother of your child now." Mackenzie sighed and rubbed her forehead. She wished for a negative result like everyone else but there was nothing they could do about it now. They just had to adapt now. "And don't be dropping that child off to us all the time. I was ready to kick the shit out of Huey when he dropped that baby with us. Good thing Raven stepped in and is raising that baby all on her own. Bless her kind heart."

Huey rolled his eyes at his name being mentioned for what he felt was irrelevant to the subject.

"Have you talked to her?" Dante asked, the first he was hearing this information.

Riley shook his head. "No. Royalty going to come with me to talk to her."

A wave of disapproving noises went around the room after he said that.

"Nigga is she even your girl for you to be dragging her into your shit?" Dominic asked his nephew.

He knotted his eyebrows together, irritated. "As of last night she is."

"Well I hope she knows that you're going to step up and be a father and raise that child." Mackenzie went onto lecture him.

"Yeah yeah I know. Look, that's not even why we hear for so let's hop off my di-" He paused and looked at the two older women who gave him a look. "Never mind, imma shut up."

"Uhmm. That's the right call. Yup."

The room fell silent for a few seconds, the cousins looking at each other, wondering who was going to speak up first.

Anthony, being the oldest of them, decided he would get the conversation rolling. After that, Huey could take over on what he knew. "So when was you going to tell us that there is more Freeman's."

The parents looked at each other.

"But there is always more of us." Mario answered confused.

"We mean from uncle Ryan and aunt Cookie." Demetrius added, already knowing they were trying to play dumb.

"What are you talking about? Ryan never had children and Cookie was unable to complete a pregnancy and even when she did the baby sadly passed." Christian told them, wondering why they were bringing this topic up as they never have before. It was one of those family things people accepted and kept it moving. No one spoke on it again.

"There's no point in lying. I had Jaliyah check all your medical files." Huey told them and he saw the shock wave around the room.

"Boy who the hell told you to do that?! Girl you can get into trouble for that!"

Jaliyah sighed at her grandfather statement, knowing it was true but it was something she needed to find out. She was curious too. "I know but this is something we all want to know. Something we all need to know."

"What for?" Cookie spoke up for the first time since the topic was brought up. Huey could see the distant look in her face and knew he was onto something.

"It would make more sense if you tell us the story about Jenica and Carmen Freeman first." He told anyone who wanted to start. Once he said their names, everyone who seemed to know, understood that they couldn't hide the secret any longer. It was time to tell the decades old secret.

"I guess you guys already know some of it..." Cookie started. The cousins all got comfortable, wanting to hear everything that was about to be said. "It was true that I had 4 miscarriages but the still born was a lie. The baby survived." A faint smiled formed on Cookie's lips as her mind went back to a memory she blocked out for years. "Jenica Freeman-Raymond... a beautiful baby girl. I was so scared to let her out my arms. Just so precious and small, especially compared to Chris who was already 4 months older than her. We named her Jenica because it means "God is gracious" which we believed for blessing me to carry a baby to term and survive. Those 10 years John and I spent with our daughters were the best 10 years of our lives. She was smart, courageous, caring but also a little trouble maker with anything she could get her hands on." The older adults in the room chuckled as they remembered the memories Cookie was speaking of. "When Christian and Jenica were 5, our brother Ryan got a random girl pregnant. One he was sleeping around with, kind of reminds me of someone too." Everyone slowly turned to Riley who already knew everyone was going to look his way.

"Yeah yeah I get it, I fucked up. Continue." He quickly dismissed.

"Anyway, that was when Carmen was born. Robert, Ryan and I all had our own children now but Robert still had us beat by having another child the year after Carmen's birth. After that, everything was fairly normal. Robert had the boys, I had my daughter and Ryan had his. We were all extremely protective over them girls. They had protection everywhere they went. We didn't want anyone to harm them like any family would be like. I had been trying for too many years to have her be taken away from me but that's exactly what happened." She let out a shaky breath, her years of grief slowly starting to overtake her body once again. Mackenzie held her hand for comfort even though she knew anything she did was not going to help with the pain Cookie was feeling. "But them girls were not weak girls. Carmen had a fire in her that people were shocked to see in a little 5-year-old but then they remembered her father and understood exactly where she got it from. She was super-fast too. Despite the five-year age gap between Jenica and Carmen, they were very close which made us proud to see. Actually, all five of them were close like how you kids are close." Cookie pointed out.

Christian nodded. "Jenica was actually my best friend. I loved my cousin so much." At the end, his voice cracked as much as he tried to stop it from happening. Just like Cookie, the memories he stored away was coming back and his wife was right there to comfort him.

"Carmen was our best friend too. She was crazy but I wouldn't exchange her for anyone else." Dominic smirked.

"It was nice to have some nieces. All I could do was produce knuckle headed boys." Grandad mumbled not so quietly as he twirled his walking stick in his hand. It had taken him awhile to accept it but he was slowly getting used to it by now. It was becoming an extension of his arm.

"This man is almost never nice to us." Mario shook his head as his father.

"I gave you life didn't I? Oh yeah, thought as much."

"Anyway." Cookie interrupted them before they could go off on a whole different discussion. "They both grew up like any other child. Well, kind of. Ryan was always running his gang which they all witnessed but Robert and I did our best to keep them away as they were too young to get involved. To provide them with some type of normal childhood. Then one night... things just flipped upside down and was never the same." Cookie took a deep breath as she felt her heart breaking as if it was the first time she spoke of this night but the wound still felt fresh. "Ryan was having some problem with the Russians, it also seems like history is about to repeat itself, I hope it doesn't. The kids were at my house having a sleep over while the men went out. It was a normal Saturday night. All the children were sleeping in Jenica's room while I was downstairs drinking a glass of water when I heard glass shattering, followed by screaming. I ran as quick as I could up to the room where I found 3 men in the room, fighting off the boys who were trying to get their cousins back. They grabbed Jenica and Carmen. It was as if they specifically wanted the girls and that was all. I tried to fight them off too put ended up getting shot in the foot."

A short gasp went around the room as they continued to listen to Cookie retelling the past. "Oh no, that's horrible."

Cookie slightly smiled at Monique even though there was no happiness behind it. "That was the least amount of pain I have ever felt in my life sweetheart, its ok." Hearing her say that made the younger generation feel uncomfortable. Being shot was one of the most painful physical pain you could go through so they automatically knew that compared to her mental and emotional pain, getting shot in the foot was nothing. That was scary to think about. "John, Ryan and Robert just so happened to pull up to the house at the very moment the men had escaped while I laid on the floor with blood spilling everywhere with the boys trying to help me. Our girls. Th-" Cookie had to stop speaking as she began to sob. She couldn't stop. The night was now replaying over and over again in her head and it was causing her so much pain.

"Uncle Ryan went after them immediately while uncle John and dad came to look for us." Christian continued for his aunt. He knew she wasn't going to be able to finish telling the story and he didn't blame her. He was the oldest and remembered seeing and hearing everything. He also lost his best friend so that tore him apart too. "Uncle Ryan chased down the men none stop and his people were chasing the Russian's down with him. That had taken a route that some of the Panthers were hanging out so once they saw their boss racing after another car, they hopped in their car and started to follow. Uncle Ryan said he wanted to crash or shoot up the car so badly but the thought of hitting his daughter or niece would be something he could never live with. It was hard to even see exactly where they were in the car because so much was going on was what he told us. The chase lasted about 10 minutes and got onto the freeway when the Russian's lost control. The car hit the barrier and went flying... it rolled down a hill into a forest and almost instantly caught fire." Christian had to pause himself and let everything settle. The room was still, everyone hanging onto the words being spoken, it being worse than they expected. Huey felt guilty for coming so head strong in the beginning. He should've been more sensitive to the matter because he had a sickening felling it was just going to get worse. They still haven't reached the part where they actually find out what happened to the girls.

Dominic decided to take over from his brother. "Everyone jumped out their car but it was too late. The damage to the car was irreversible and dangerous to even get close to. There was no saving whoever was in there. The fire had claimed whatever life was inside. Uncle Ryan tried to run towards the car despite seeing the fire but was pulled back just in time when the car exploded. He didn't even have time to properly react to the idea of his daughter and niece being in the fire when he was called over to somewhere else. Confused, he followed his name being called. That's when... that's when he found Jenica." Cookie cry got louder as she heard her daughter's name being said, already knowing what was coming next. "She was found 15 feet away from the car. As the car rolled down the hill, she had flown out the window and hit her head. We were told she died instantly. She never suffered but we sadly couldn't do anything to save her."

"Uncle Ryan waited for us to arrive. Aunt Cookie refused to go to the hospital until she found out what happened to her daughter so I just remember blood being everywhere. When we arrived, he just looked lost. He was staring at the flames in the car just silent. He may not have planned to have a child but he loved Carmen more than anything. He always said she made him a better man. She taught him what it meant to truly be a man. Now she was gone. He hated that he left her that night, feeling as if it was his fault. His fault that he had beef, his fault that he wasn't around his daughter on the weekend he had her, his fault that he didn't stop them from crashing, his fault that two daughters were lost that night. That was the first time I have ever heard pain being verbalised listening to aunt Cookie's cries. It was scary, especially for a four-year-old like me." Mario added.

"I can't believe all this happened. How did things change after?" Anthony asked the parents in the room who were all feeling emotional.

"Everything changed." Robert spoke up for the first time in forever as he looked over at his grandchildren. "Cookie was heartbroken all over again. Ryan was pissed at the world for the longest time but before he could get revenge on the Russian's, they disappeared. He carried hate in his heart for the longest time, it was the only thing big enough to fill what once held Carmen, even Jenica. Jenica was 10, Carmen was 5. Two beautiful nieces I had. We sadly couldn't recover anything from the fire so we decided to just have a headstone where Jenica was buried, to be for Carmen as well. They are resting together. From then, no one has spoken about the two in years. Carmen's mother moved across town away from us so that was that. Now, why all of a sudden you knuckleheaded niggas are going snooping through shit you have no business in?" Robert inquired once he finished the story.

Huey cleared his throat. It was a lot to take in but he had to focus because this was something everyone had to hear and after what was just said, everything was clicking in place. It was bigger than they thought. "I know this is going to sound insensitive but some things need to be cleared up. So, you said Jenica was 10 when she died and Carmen was 5 and after the crash the only body that was recovered was Jenica."

"Yes that is correct. My poor baby..." Cookie trailed off, holding her hands to her chest for some type of comfort.

"So that means it is possible that Carmen could have possible survived the accident."

The older people in the room all had different levels of confused on their face. "What makes you say that Huey?" His father questioned him, wanting to know why his kids did digging in their past and forced them to relive a night they all wanted to forget.

"I- well, we, think we found Carmen."

Silence. That was the reply he got. His parents looked at him as if he was crazy because it sounded crazy.

"Huey, honey, from what I heard, no one could've survived that fire." Mackenzie told him.

Huey had to hold himself from rolling his eyes at the patronising tone as if he sounded crazy. He did, he just didn't like being talked to like that but it was from his mother so he should've expected it. "When we were out on one of our missions, Raven had a fight with one of the Russian's but when the woman removed her mask, Raven froze because she saw the similarities between her and us. She ran before we could talk to her. Raven busted her lip so we took the mask that had the blood on it and ran the DNA with my own and there's a match. That woman is Carmen. It must be her."

Cookie gasped. "Sweet baby Carmen? It couldn't be. How?!"

"Whatever Russian had survived must've taken her with them before the fire, before uncle Ryan could see them leaving. If the fire didn't happen, you all would've been looking for her as there was a chance, she was still alive. The fire just made everything seem like a dead end. It burnt any possible evidence and I know no one would be bothered looking too into recovering ashes." Huey explained to them. It sounded crazy but possible. Since he found out the truth, it has been running in his mind ever since. He was sure the woman was the missing Freeman now.

"So what you going to do?" Christian inquired, generally curious on what plan his son could come up with since this all didn't even sound real.

"We plan to go get her. Weather it is willingly or by force, we will see."

"How sure are you that this is my baby cousin?" Dominic crossed his arms as he looked at the boys.

"Shiitt 'bout 13% or whatever it said on the paper." Riley told them.

Dante took a deep breath. "We know this was hard to talk about but we wouldn't have brought it up if we didn't need to. Raven had a hunch and it was right. This way, it gives everyone the closure they may have needed."

"However, you might not even need it once we get Carmen back." His twin finished off.

"Wait, quick question." Jaliyah brought up something that they had forgotten to mention earlier. "When I was looking through their files, I saw one of them had surgery when they were a new born but there were no clue dates or anything. Does any of them have a scar on their lower abdomen?"

Cookie nodded. "Carmen. She was only a couple of days old when she had the surgery and the scar was always there... if it is her, my brother is not even here to see his sweet baby Carmen again." She sighed sadly.

"Well we could tell Carmen's mother if she's still around. I'm sure she would like to know if her daughter is alive."

The whole room stood paused. "Uh uh." The older adults all said at once.

"Why?" The young adults questioned.

"Because that woman hates our guts." Grandad went on to explain. "Since it was Ryan's shit that got her daughter taken away from her, that woman tried to burn our damn house down but Cookie beat her ass."

"Damn, is that you aunt Cookie?" Riley almost laughed.

"You know I'm not one for violence but I protect my own."

"That's what's up."

Mackenzie walked back into the room after disappearing half way through the conversation to go and retrieve a few things she knew hasn't been touched in years. "I had a feeling you guys might want to see some of their old pictures." She reached into the box and started to take out pictures and handed it around the room, everyone looking at them for the first time or as if it was the first time.

"Aww you guys look so cute." Monique as she looked at the picture of her father and uncles.

"I was the cutest of course." Mario smirked but his brothers disagreed.

Huey looked down at the picture in his hand. It was a picture of his father, uncles and two girls that looked to be in the same age bracket as them. They all had big grins on their faces, with not a care in the world. Just innocent.

"I was 7 in that picture. It was summer and we went to Miami for the first time. Jenica is the one with her hair in beads and Carmen is the one with two puffs." Christian pointed for his son to see the aunts he should've known.

"The Freeman genes just be strong for no reason huh." Demetrius joked as he looked over at the pictures.

"You got that right!" Grandad agreed.

"What's the most recent picture of Carmen and Jenica?" Huey asked his father.

Christian reached in the box and began looking around until he found the picture he was looking for. "This one. It was from the night they were taken. The very last picture was shared together."

Huey took the picture in his hands and instantly felt a shiver run down his spine. It was as if looking at the pictures of the girls brought a ghost like feeling around him, it was hard to explain but it was there. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick picture to Raven as she was the one that lead them on their journey of uncovering the unknown Freeman's. It didn't take long for him to get a reply.

Raven: Aww they were so cute! But the woman definitely looked like one of them girls, maybe more of the younger girl.

Huey: Thanks.

Raven: Welcome, make sure you tell me everything that happened. I wanna know.

He put his phone away after reading the last text, knowing he didn't even need to reply but now he had to leave. As much as Huey hated to break up this family moment, he needed to prepare for getting the woman that has been missing from the family. "Thank you for everything but I need to go now. The faster I plan to get the one who is most likely Carmen, the faster you will be able to see her again." He spoke to the room as he stood along with his brother and the twins.

"I'm going to stay here a while." Anthony told his cousins, Jaliyah and Monique nodding in agreement. They wanted to find out more about Jenica and Carmen Freeman as they were probably so many stories their fathers held back just because their cousins were missing from their lives now.

"Ok. We'll see you guys later."

Just before the boys left the house, grandad called them back.

"Boys! Don't y'all go and trouble poor Carmen's mother! Remember she hates anyone with the name Freeman. Try and mess our shit up back then. She doesn't need to be given false hope with your ass running around her places. She crazy too!"

They paused and all shared a look. "We won't."

---

"But we did."

The four men stood outside the yellow house that was on the other side of town. The home that held Carmen's mother. It wasn't hard to track her down, fairly easier than they thought. They had also found out that she has a son older than Carmen who is in prison, currently on his 8th year on his 13 years sentence for armed robbery and another son younger than Carmen who was in New York. She was alone. No husband, no children. Just her.

"You think she might shoot us?" Dante asked as they walked up to the house.

"Nigga why the fuck you put that in my head? Now I gotta keep my hand on my strap." Riley went to reach for his waistband but Huey stopped him.

"Don't. We don't need no bloodshed or threats to be going on."

Demetrius couldn't help but chuckle. "The way grandad and aunt Cookie was talking about her, I think we're more in danger from her."

Huey shook his head but couldn't help but let out a slight sigh pass his lips. "Let's just get this done."

He reached forward and knocked the door, more aggressively than he intended.

"Who the fuck is knocking at my door like some motherfucking feds?! It better not be no gawd damn feds!" They heard an older woman's voice from behind the door which kind of shocked them. Before they could share their shock, the door swung open. "Hello?!"

"Keisha Andrews?"

The woman looked the man up and down. "Yes. What you want?" She looked at all four men and it didn't take long for it to click, the family resemblance was uncanny. Her mood instantly becoming sour. "Oh hella nah. I've gone over 30 years without seeing one of your toxic Freeman asses and now you come out of nowhere and disturb my peace."

"We just wanna tal-" Dante was interrupted by the irate woman.

"Who sent you? Did Ryan's bitch ass send you? He wasn't shit."

Demetrius shook his head. "No, uncle Ryan is dead. He died a few years ago."

She began to chuckle at the news. "Damn, his ass finally dead. Did the streets take him? It should've done the moment I met his ass."

Before anyone could answer, Huey cleared his throat. "Why don't you let us inside? We won't be long. We answer any questions you have in exchange you answer a few questions we may ask. Deal?"

Keisha thought about it for a second. She knew she shouldn't let the vermin of a bloodline in her home but she was curious to what they wanted after all these years. Plus, she had two pistols stashed which she knew how to use if necessary. "Fine. Don't touch anything." She opened the door wider and allowed the men to walk into her home. Before she closed it, she looked around outside for anyone lurking since she could never trust them. The last thing she wanted was a shootout in her home.

They walked into the living room and sat on the couches that were there while she went back to her single chair right in front of the tv. "You wanna tell me your names and which Freeman you belong to?"

"Huey, my brother Riley. Chrisitan's sons. Dante and Demetrius, Dominic's sons. There's more of us too."

"Hmm. I see it but then again you all look like you can belong to either sibling. It's weird, very weird. No individuality, nothing... So, what brings you on these sides of town? The part of town I moved to so I can get away from your family." She questioned, wanting to get straight to the point so they could get out her house. She took out her half-used cigarette and lit it again. Once it was lit, she took a deep pull, knowing she was going to need it to get through this talk.

"We can't see family?" Dante poorly joked.

Anger grew on the womans face. "Family? What you motherfuckers have is not family, it's a business! A business that kills innocent people in the process. It's almost like I can smell the violence on you. It's sickening. Smells like blood, innocent blood. You didn't even have to tell me, I already know you're involved and the afro is the leader. I know a leader when I see on."

"That's not our intention." Demetrius told her. They weren't really phased by her words, they have heard similar things from other people before. It was nothing new.

"That's your problem, you don't mean to but you do! And you all just keep it pushing once the fucking smoke clears like shit never happened! Your family doesn't care about no one and I know that for a fact."

"They cared about Carmen." Huey looked her dead in the eyes as he said that and he could see the colour drain from her face at the name.

Her lip started to quiver. "Don't you ever say my daughter's name again. She didn't deserve to be born into your family... you know, I'm surprised you even know. No one muttered her name once her cousin was buried. Not a single word."

"We did some digging."

"Well stop. Ryan is the reason she is dead. It is his fault my daughter is dead!" She screamed at them.

"So is it your fault your son is in jail and your other son decided to move far away from you?" Huey asked rhetorically.

She gave him a side eye. "I had nothing to do with that."

"Oh ok, I thought we was blaming other people."

Keisha took another long pull from her cigarette. "Again, what the fuck do you want with me? Why have you come here talking about my daughter?"

"Well we think our aun-" Dante started to say but was stopped before he could tell her the news.

"Don't. She is not your aunt!" Keisha shouted once again. They could all tell how tense she was on the subject but they didn't appreciate all the hostility. They weren't even thought of when all this mess happened.

Riley kissed his teeth, today had been a very stressful day for him and he didn't have time for anyone's rudeness. "Look here lady, she was our aunt weather you liked it or not. Maybe if you never decided to fuck our uncle Ryan raw you wouldn't have produced a Freeman but guess what bitch, you did! Her last name is Freeman, meaning she is a Freeman in more ways than one. Get over it and listen to what we have to fucking say!"

The room fell silent after that. You could see the visible shock on her face but she didn't say anything, allowing Huey to take over.

"Carmen might be alive." He started off. Keisha's eyes grew wide. This was not what she expected to hear but then again she never expected, nor wished, to see a Freeman again. "We're pretty sure it's her which is the only reason we came to tell you. Everyone thought it was best to leave you out of it but we thought a mother would like to know that her child isn't dead and is in fact alive. We don't care how much you hate our family, just trust the new generation. We can't tell you the details but we'll get her back and you'll be able to see your daughter again."

Keisha's eyes teared up, overcome with emotion just like how his family was. "Carmen..." She said her name as if it was foreign to her. "She... she might be alive? Oh my gosh..." She looked up to the celling. "Why now Lord? After all these years of numbing pain you bring my baby back to me now? Why?" She slowly turned back to the Freeman's, the first ones she has seen in years. "If you are lying..."

"We wouldn't lie about something like this." Demetrius reassured her. "We were shocked at the revelation ourselves but we did our research. We made sure we were had evidence its Carmen and everything helps the case."

"If I find out you're lying I will burn down your house. I tried once, I'll do it again, this time successful." She threatened.

"Not if our aunt Cookie beats your ass again." Riley smirked in amusement and they saw the embarrassment on her face.

Before she could curse him out, Huey stepped back in. "That is all we came to say, we don't need any more of your time."

They all stood, ready to leave. "Wait." Keisha called. She had pulled out another cigarette, needed after what she just heard and lit it. After a pull, she spoke. "If that's my daughter... I wanna see her as soon as you get her. No later. I have waited all these years to see my daughter again, I always thought it would be when I died but if I can see her while living, I want to."

The Freeman's shared a look before looking back at the mother. "We'll see."

"Don't come out all this way, tell me this shit and say 'we'll see'. I want to see my daughter!"

Huey took a deep breath. "Fine."

With that, they walked out the house with not a glance back, leaving Keisha to sit in her chair alone and smoking. This was not what she expected the first time she saw a Freeman again, she thought the situation would've been more hostile but these new kids were different. They didn't seem like Ryan. The biggest mistake she ever made was falling into his bed. She should've ran when she had a chance. Even when she was pregnant, she should've ran. Carmen would've still been alive and happy with her. Wait... but her daughter was alive... her daughter was actually alive... she had to tell her sons.

---

Cheetah walked into her room with a deep sigh. It has been a long, physically draining week. She had killed so many people. Now, it didn't sound normal but to her it was, it has been for years. However, something seemed odd. Vladimir has been sending her out on more killing missions. Don't get her wrong, she loved them and she was the right person for them but the past few months she has been focused on pushing product. She had no idea why he was putting her out on the frontlines. As much as she tried to prove she was independent, he was still her boss and she had to listen to him. He liked to keep her hidden for special occasions but in the past few days, there was nothing that special about her killing tasks.

The other day for example. After she was done torturing the guy and was going to have her guys dump the body, Vladimir told her to go with them. He told her to kill who ever came but ordered to not kill the one with the afro, the leader, and the right hand, which didn't take her long to guess who it was. When she laid eyes on the afro, she couldn't believe it, it was so big! She wondered if her hair would ever get that big. Her adoptive parents would always straighten her hair saying it was more manageable that way so she has never seen her hair like his before. As she got older, she straightened it less and less until she did the big chop, now she preferred her hair short. It didn't get in the way and now it had gained its natural qualities again, healthy.

Nothing made sense but at the moment she was so tired, she didn't even care that it was only evening. She wanted to sleep. She decided to wash off all the dried blood and mud on her first. As she stepped into her EnSite bathroom, she stripped and turned on the shower, making sure it was hot. It didn't take long for the room to steam up. After selecting her shower playlist, she stepped in the shower. A satisfied sigh slipped out her lips as the water warmed her skin. As she cleaned the dirt off her body she decided to give her hair a good wash. As she touched her short hair, she felt the scar in her head. The first day in her life she remembered.

She has never experienced a more confusing day than the day she woke up.

---

The young girl moaned. The pain in her head was unbearable. It was pulsating through her head. It hurt her so much.

She stirred, trying to activate her limbs to move but it was hard. Everything just hurt. She could hear the sound of beeping next to her. Confused, she opened her eyes.

It took her a while but she managed to do it. She looked up and saw a plain wall looking back at her. She looked down and around her. She was attached to wires and hooked up to a machine. That's where the beeping was coming from. Her arm was wrapped in a bandage, had a plain nightdress on and was in a bed. The pain in her head didn't get any better and she wondered why. She reached up and touched her head. It was wrapped in a bandage. She looked around. The room was basic. There was a sink, a mirror, a bed, a couple of cabinets but that's it.

Still feeling a little disoriented but scared she looked over at the door. That's where she was going to escape to. She didn't know where she was or where the door would lead to but she needed to get out. She tugged at all the wires on her body, stiffening a moan in pain as she did so. The machine began to go off but she didn't care as much as her head did. She climbed out the bed and made her way towards the door, staggering.

That's when the same door she was going to escape through burst open and two men and a woman walked through.

"Hey! Get back in the bed!" The biggest one shouted at her.

When he reached forward to grab her, she screamed and ran away from his reach faster than she expected herself to. The next man tried to grab her but she dodged that too. Just as she went to reach the door, they both finally grabbed her.

"No! Get off of me! Let me gooooo!" She shrieked from the top of her lungs. Her head was shrieked at her to stop shouting but she didn't care, she was scared and needed to leave wherever she was.

"Please, calm down! You're going to hurt yourself." The women in a lab coat begged her. She had to shout to be heard. "Please!"

The girl calmed down but it wasn't willingly. She had no adrenaline in her to continue to fight so she had no choice but to get back in the bed. She was tired. "Thank you." The woman softly smiled before hooking her back up to the machines. "You're a fast one aren't you? As drained as you were, I would have never expected that type of speed, especially from some as young as you."

"Where am I? Who are you?" The girl had to ask. She looked at her. She had short dark hair, dark eyes and tan skin. She looked no older than 35 and was pretty.

The woman looked up at the girl as she put the needle back in her hand. "What is the last thing you remember?"

The girl sat and tried to look in her memories for something, anything but it was all blank. "I- I don't remember anything... I- I can't-" She began to tear up as she struggled to remember anything. She felt as if she needed to learn something but she couldn't.

"Shhh shh. Its ok, its ok." The woman soothed. "My name is Dr Poppy Bell. I will be taking care of you and help you recover."

"What happened to me?"

"You really don't remember anything?" The girl slowly shook her head. Poppy sighed, trying to mask her happiness. Her boss would be happy to hear this. She went on to say the story they had rehearsed. "We found you on the side of a road not far from here. You were in a terrible car accident with your parents. They didn't survive but we found you and have been looking after you for the past two weeks."

She gasped. "2 weeks?" Poppy nodded sympathetically. "I was in an accident? My parents... they're dead?" She felt herself getting sad but she wasn't completely sure why. She couldn't even remember what they looked like or who they even were but she knew that she was supposed to be sad about it.

Poppy nodded. "Yes I am afraid. We have been trying to find any other family but we are stumped. We've used all resources we have to find anyone but nothing." She lied.

She sat and tried to remember anything but she couldn't. "But, but why can't I remember anything." She cried.

"Because you hit your head pretty bad. You are very lucky to even be alive and functioning as well as you are already." She pointed to the bandage wrapped around the girls' head. "You've lost your memory sweetheart."

"Will I ever get it back?"

"I am uncertain about that but I very much doubt it."

'Hopefully it stays that way.' Poppy thought to herself but kept the fake smile on her face.

"Oh..." She bowed her head but lifted it when she had another question. "What is my name? I don't know what my name is."

"Oh sweetheart..." She sighed. "I sadly don't know your real name either." She saw the girl become even more sad at hearing that. "Tell you what, if you don't remember in the next few days, I'll give you a cool one. Deal?" She held her hand out for a high five.

The girl hesitated but gave the high five, a faint smile on her lips. "Ok."

"That's a good girl. Now, let's go over a few test shall we."

Poppy checked over the young patients' vitals and ran some test with the resources she had. The girl was unconscious for two weeks and her results came back clear. She recovered faster than she expected. She spent the rest of the day with the girl, watching her over which she never expected herself to do.

A week went by and the girl had fully recovered at this point with still no memory but she wasn't too worried. Poppy had become a friend to her during this time which meant she wasn't as scared or anxious anymore. She was there every day throughout most of the day and the two would play games, laugh and talk. Poppy even started teaching her a few things to keep her from getting bored.

Today was like any other days, or so the young girl thought.

"And what colour is this?" Poppy pointed to the flashcard in her hand.

"Red."

Poppy grinned. "Well done!"

"Thank you." She giggled.

"Wow. You have really made a speedy recovery. Like I have never seen before."

Before they could continue to talk, there was a knock at the door and then it opened.

The little girl's breath caught in her throat as she laid eyes on the new comers, ones she hadn't seen before. There was a very muscular white man with black hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a skinnier man with dark blonde hair and brown eyes and finally a little boy with the same physical traits as the last man.

"Um, why are you here?" Poppy asked nervously.

"Why, I came to see the little girl I saved of course." The skinnier one smiled.

The girl's eyes casted over him. "You saved me?"

"Sure did." He lied effortlessly. "What's your name little girl?"

She sunk into her bed, embarrassed. "I- I don't know my name."

"Aww well isn't that a pity." He faked frowned. He already knew this information. He then turned to Poppy with a straight face. "I heard she's recovering well."

Poppy nodded and smiled. "Yes, she's made a full recover. She is very fast. Fast in many ways actually."

"Yes I remember you telling me how she ran from my men." The little black girl felt embarrassed once again, not used to having so many eyes on her. "Wait! That will be your name."

She was confused now. "Huh? What will be my name?"

The man slowly stepped forward towards the bed. "Cheetah. The fastest land animal in the world. Just think, a very very fast car cannot match a cheetahs speed and you managed to get away from two big men the first time very quickly."

The girl gasped, fascinated by the information. "I wanna see a cheetaaah."

"Maybe one day little Cheetah." He winked at her, testing out the new name. By the smile on her face he knew she liked it. "Now that you have a name, I will tell you mine. My name is Igor, I-"

"That's not fair. I want a cool nickname." The younger boy cut of the man with his arms crossed.

Igor slowly turned around in annoyance, glaring at him. "Excuse my rude son Cheetah. He's just an attention seeking bastard otherwise known as Vladimir."

Vladimir rolled his eyes. "I'm 9. I need attention all the time."

"No you don't you little dip shit." Igor then cursed at him in Russian before turning to Poppy. "What do you advise we do with her?"

Cheetah looked up confused and began to panic. "I'm not staying here? Where am I going to go?"

Poppy softly smiled between the girl and the other man in the room. She was still a little upset that Igor stepped in and took the chance to give the girl a new name but she had to get over it, she couldn't try to override her boss's discussion. "Cheetah. The other man over there is my husband Harry." The man nodded in acknowledgment, still not saying anything. "After a long talk these past two days, we felt as if it would be a good idea to have you live with us. We have a spare room that we can design however you wish but that is if you want it."

Everyone watched Cheetah look back and forth between the couple. Poppy had a very welcoming and warm aura whereas Harry seemed very closed off and cold. They looked like polar opposites, making it hard to imagine them being married to each other. She could tell Poppy was more than happy to have her but she had to analyse Harry since they had just met. She looked at him intensely, trying to figure him out and he just stared back. Even though she was only five, from what she was told, she could already understand when someone didn't really like her and Harry didn't. She thought it wouldn't be a good idea to go with them because of that reason however, she didn't have much choice. She was told her parents are dead and they couldn't find anyone to take care of her and here Poppy was, willing to take care of her. She had no idea what was on the other side of the door but she guessed going with Poppy and Harry was the only way she was going to find out.

She smiled at Poppy. "Ok. I'll come with you." She jumped in Poppy's arms who sighed in happiness. She never thought she would have a child but for some reason, being around this little girl, one that looked nothing like her, she could feel her motherly instincts creeping out. Her 'talk' with her husband consisted mostly of shouting. They agreed to not have children, even going as far as getting her tubes tied and getting a vasectomy but she had to explain that with Cheetah, they skipped the baby stage. The stage they were dreading. She even said how quickly Cheetah was catching onto things so it wouldn't be hard to raise the girl. He eventually agreed but he was still on edge about the whole situation.

Igor clapped his hands together while Vladimir rolled his eyes at his father's enthusiasm. "Well isn't this lovely? One big happy family. Vlad, you can even be friends with Cheetah. Show her around and help her get used to her new life and what not."

Vladimir screwed his face in disgust. "Ew. She's a baby and a girl. I don't want to hang out with her."

Suddenly, a box of pens flew across the room, hitting Vlad in the middle of his forehead, making him yelp in pain.

Everyone looked at the direction it came from.

"I am not a baby." Cheetah crossed her arms, making Igor's smile grow on his face, not caring about the red mark forming on his sons' head.

"Yes, yes, yes! Just what I was looking for." He made sure his eyes were level with Cheetah. She was confused but the man continued on. "You are going to fit in just fine little Cheetah. I am sure of it." He stood up straight and addressed the room. "Well, I have to leave now, Harry come, Vlad, stay and help Poppy get Cheetah situated at her new home."

"But-" Vlad tried to protest but his father was already out the room. He turned to the females in the room with his arms crossed. "This isn't fair." Poppy had to hold her eye roll, seeing the attitude of his father in the 9-year-old. "I'm going to hate this."

Cheetah rolled her eyes, giving attitude straight back. "Someone's being a baby."

Poppy snickered as she watched the boy turn red, obviously embarrassed about his strop and being told off by a younger girl. She looked between the two who were glaring at each other and grinned. As much as they disliked each other now, it wasn't going to last long. She knew it.

---

And just as her mother said, it didn't.

Cheetah moved into the Bell's small apartment the same day and everything changed in a blink of an eye. It didn't take long for her to slowly be exposed to what she was being brought into. A gang. Something the little girl eventually adapted to but that wasn't until nearly two years later.

Harry was very cold towards her in the beginning, barely speaking a word to her within the first month but he eventually warmed up to her. His tall and muscular self was really a sweetheart behind closed doors. After five years and still no memory, Cheetah decided to make a big decision all call Poppy and Harry ma and pops which they were over the moon about. Cheetah loved her little family. They did the best they could to raise her but what she remembered a lot from her childhood and even going into being a teen was Igor's involvement.

Till this day, she never understood why Igor took such a liking to her, from the very moment he met her. She always got special treatment from him. She would put it down to him being the one that saved her but she felt it was more than that. When Vlad would get special training away from the other few gang members children, Cheetah was right next to him too. If Igor had to go away on a business trip and Vlad could go, Harry, being the right hand, would bring her. She never fully understood but eventually didn't care. She liked the attention. She knew she was different. Being 1 of 10 ethnic minority at the time, she knew she was different and Poppy at some point tried to help with the identity crisis part but it didn't really last long. Cheetah found who she was herself.

Anyway, Vladimir disliked Cheetah for unknown reasons for a good few years. She would always say it was because his father would treat a child that belonged to no one like how he treated his actual son. The dislike for her continued until she hit full puberty. That's when everything flipped.

She was 15, he was 19. She didn't know any better and everyone even thought it was great that they were together. She did too. They dove in head first and got in a relationship with Vlad only for it to become very toxic. They were together for a total of 12 years but she could probably say that a total of 4 years was good. He cheated so she would cheat back, he apologised, she's apologised, they had sex. They argued, things would get thrown and said, they had sex. A repetitive cycle. They went through the same problems too many times. Her name got thrown around in a different type of context a lot during that time.

She even knew he wanted to put his hands on her so many times but he had too much respect for her father so would shout at her instead and throw things around her when they were angry at each other. Cheetah knew another reason was because he knew she would fuck him up if he ever laid a hand on her. She wished she didn't waste 12 years of her life dealing with Vlad. They were better friends but it was too late. They already crossed the line.

Years after their break up, he would still pursue her every now and then, trying to see if she would let him back in but she had burned that bridge. She wasn't going back. She didn't need his negativity in her love life, it was bad enough they were still around each other this much but he needed her to help with the gang so she stayed.

She stepped out the shower, not wanting to think anymore of her deep history. She walked back into her room and instantly grabbed her knife that was on the dressing table before putting it back down.

"It's about time you got out the shower, I have been waiting a long time for you."

She rolled her eyes. "What do you want Vlad?"

"I came to see you of course." He slowly stood from the other side of the bed and turned, walking towards where she was standing. He licked his lips as he watched the water droplets stroll down her freshly cleaned body.

"Get out. If you needed me, you would've called or text and then I would've met you at your office, like always."

He sighed. "But this is more fun. I miss seeing you like this. I can't stop thinking about you, about u-"

She held up her hand, stopping him. "Let's not."

"Oh come on! That was years ago, we can start again. I promise I will stop cheating."

She moved in front of her dresser, about to take out underwear to put on. "No we cannot."

A gush of wind ran across Cheetah's body, making her shiver since she was set damp from her shower. Vladimir had managed to rip off her towel and throw her on the bed before she could react. He had a large smirk on his face for many reasons. One being that he managed to get her on the bed before she could fight back and that he was able to see her naked body again.

Cheetah rolled her eyes but stayed where she was on the bed, annoyed.

Vlad traced the scar on her abdomen before looking up to her eyes. "You know, I always found this scar sexy."

"I don't even know how I got it."

"It doesn't matter, it's still sexy." He reached down and kissed it. She was so distracted from his lips, she didn't even notice his hands were very close to her bottom set of lips. She bit her lip to stop her gasp but he already knew she was trying to hold back. "Don't you miss this? Don't you miss me touching you here?"

Before he could move inside of her, she slammed her legs shut. He tried to move his hand further up but her legs were staying closed firmly. She glared at him, telling him what to do with her eyes. He sighed and removed his hand but stayed on top of her. "Why are you fighting so hard?"

"Because I have moved on Vlad. Us together was a mistake. You and I both know that."

"But I know you miss when I made your cum everywhere."

She rolled her eyes once again. "Look, I hate to tell you this but I have cummed with other guys too. Which reminds me." She punched him in the arm hard. "That's for killing Jeremy. How you going to kill a guy just because we fucked?"

"He owed me money." He shrugged. She could see straight through his lie.

"No he didn't and I know that for a fact. Stop lying to me." She told him.

He sighed. "Fine fine. I saved you from getting bad dick anyway. No one can compare to me. You're welcome."

Cheetah pushed Vladimir off her and got off the bed. She decided there was no point in covering up so she just went to her drawer, grabbed on oversized t-shirt and threw it on. "Now now. You had good dick, he had gooooood dick." She smirked, satisfied as she watched his face crumble. "Forget it. You've already embarrassed yourself enough tonight. You can leave now. I'll get back to whatever trouble you want me to cause the Panther's tomorrow. Today, I need rest."

He huffed in frustration, irritated he didn't get no action. "Fine but you're missing out. I'll give some to Natasha." He tried to make her jealous but it did not work.

"Good thing I didn't fuck, I would've received an std." She laughed. "Goodbye Vlad. Have fun with your play thing." She waved at him as he walked out the room.

"This isn't over!" He declared before turning down the hallway.

She sighed and locked the door then got into her bed. "Just very delusional..." She snuggled into her bed and drifted off into a deep sleep.

For some reason that night, she couldn't get a certain large afro out her dream but like many people, she wouldn't even remember in the morning.

---

Well, that was interesting. Just to reiterate, I changed Gianna name to Jencia because as I was writing about what happened to her, I didn't like the similarities to Gianna Byrant so I changed her name out of respect. I hope it wasn't too confusing for you. I'm going through the last few chapters and checking everything, I won't upload until I fix my mistakes because you guys don't deserve that.

But now we got to hear the full story about what happened to Carmen and Jencia Freeman. Sad, I know. What do you think is going to happy now that the secret is out? What do you think is going to happen when Riley and Royalty go to talk to Nike or when Jazmine talks to Jayden? Stay tuned.

Thank you for all your reviews as always. Sorry! At first, I wasn't going to make Riley the father but he needed a little kick up his ass and this certainly is it. I am glad you like the dates, trying to experience at least one of those smh but there will be more cute moments between the couple throughout the madness and drama.

I can't believe I managed to put out two chapters in a month. It has been so long since I have been able to do that.

Until next time,

-TBG