47 Blacktop Obsession
"Man, I thought that was about to be our asses with that big ass shotgun." Roman said quietly under his breath. "She's giving off major Verone vibes." Roman shook his head.
"Yeah, about that. I gotta talk to you guys about something since it's just the three of us." Brian said, looking a bit nervous as he looked around.
"Aw man, I knew your punk ass got us into some more shit, Brian." Roman began to pace nervously. "Come on, out wit it. What'd you do?" Roman asked.
"I'm gonna throw your ass to the sharks if you don't stop that pacing shit." Tej threatened. "You did that shit in the truck and you ain't gonna start that bullshit again." he promised.
"Ok, just hear me out…before the race wars I was at...Carter Verone came to me with a job." Brian said, running a hand through his hair.
"Aw hell no!" Roman rolled his eyes. "I am NOT working for Verone, Homie. You can hang that shit up on the damn wall." Roman said vehemently.
"It's work for him or have him come after us. I figure this way we getting paid instead of dying." Brian grinned.
"Okay, I am working for Verone. What's the job, O'Connor?" Roman asked, tapping his hands.
"He offered us a job and he proved to me that all that stuff the feds and customs were after him for, it was a setup. He was trying to clear his name much like we were but it went South and they started after him." Brian tried to explain. "Markum and Fuentes are behind this all and he's got all the agencies after Carter." Brian said, shaking his head.
"Brian, what did you get us into? What job man?" Roman asked impatiently. He sat down and put his head in his hands, shaking his head. "I don't like the sound of this." Roman groaned.
"Do you really think I found Kaidyn by accident?" He asked with a slight grin. "I was trailing her for a while trying to find a way to get to these girls." He admitted. Tej and Roman both looked at him now.
"What do these girls have to do with Verone?" Tej asked, looking confused. He didn't want them to know what he knew.
"I just happened to get lucky her tire popped when it did." he admitted. "I think these girls might be in trouble, that is all I am gonna say. We work on Carter's payroll and get paid and make sure they are okay." Brian explained.
"So do I wanna know what this job is? Or how you are so trusting of this guy after the last time he almost killed you both?" Tej asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, so the job is that we are to get these girls to Miami safely. The feds and customs are after them but they are trying to get to them to get to Verone." Brian explained.
"We are NOT delivering my BFF to Carter Verone!" Roman objected. "Are you fucking nuts?!" Roman asked, looking at Brian like he had lost his mind.
"He's going to get those girls one way or another, at least this way we can make sure they are safe." Brian shook his head.
"He has a point." Tej nodded, listening and intrigued at watching Roman freak out.
"So we just dropping them and running? We can't just dip on them. What if they are not safe? This is Verone we are talkin bout, Homie." Roman said, holding out his arms.
"I don't have it all figured out yet, but the pay is good." Brian nodded. "And we will have room and board." Brian explained.
"So let me get this straight, we gonna stay at Carter Verone's house, the guy you both put in prison and we are going to help these girls?" Tej asked, sounding confused.
"Damn it, Brian you always tryin to be the damn hero! You're gonna get us killed. He'll kill us like he wanted to after the last job!" Roman said, as Tej took off following Shayde who was now on the move with the boat.
"It's an easy job and it can be a permanent one, he won't kill us." Brian said, shaking his head.
"Permanent as in six feet under all right." Roman muttered, shaking his head. "This is the craziest shit you have come up with yet." Roman accused.
"All he is trying to do is keep these girls out of harm's way. They have been through some shit." Brian said, folding his arms. "You all know Shayde and Kaidyn deserve to have some help and we can help them." He nodded.
"You sure he won't hurt these girls? I rather like Shay and Kaidyn and I don't want them to get hurt." Tej asked for confirmation.
"He's not going to hurt them. You think I'd lead them to him if he was going to hurt them? Come on, I wouldn't do that." Brian shook his head.
"Ok, but that doesn't mean he won't kill us." Roman retorted, rolling his eyes.
"He wouldn't trust us with his family if he was gonna kill us. I have seen the files and I spoke with Bilkins. It's true." Brian said.
"This girl is going fast as hell. She can drive, damn." Tej commented, the boat swaying with the choppy waters from following behind her.
"Does Shadye know we're her hired babysitters? Because I highly doubt that girl is gonna want anyone babysitting her." Roman asked, hanging on the railing now. "You sure you can drive this thing, bruh?" He asked, getting a bit worried.
"Man, just sit your ass back and keep up with your 50 questions to Bullet. I got this." Tej promised him.
"No, she has no clue. That's the other thing. We can't mention a word of it to either of them. We can't even bring up his name to either one of them." Brian said, shaking his head. "Because he will kill us so no slip ups, Mr. Roman Pearce." Brian pointed to him.
"Forget Carter. Yo girl gonna kill us when she finds out you were hired to watch her." Roman said, more worried about Shayde.
"No, Shayde's cool." Brian disagreed. "She's not gonna find out but I doubt she'd kill us." He said, shaking his head.
"Brian, she finds out, that will be your ass. She will definitely kill you. I'm with him on this one." Tej shook his head. "Him, Roman. She'll kill him, not us." He laughed.
"Finally, Tej, we can agree on somethin." Roman fist bumped Tej.
"Funny. But seriously the deal is they can't find out. We answer to Carter but it's mainly to just make sure these girls are protected at all times. We can handle this, right?" Brian asked, looking at his two best friends.
"I'm in." Tej agreed, the wave hitting the boat and making Roman almost fall out of his seat. Tej laughed at that, making Roman flip him off.
"Tej, yo, you sure you got this? We're not gonna die in the ocean, right man?" Roman asked, opening a bag of potato chips and eating nervously.
"Damn, man. I need to put yo ass on some Xanax." Tej shook his head. "Let me call Jimmy for you so he can get yo ass settled." Tej said, shaking his head.
"So Roman, Carter wants to talk to you when we get to Miami. Maybe we'll meet him back at that club." Brian joked.
"What? Nah, I am good." Roman shook his head. "That man don't like me." He said.
"For real, he does want to talk to you. But too late, I accepted the job for us all." Brian laughed. "But he will kill us if we mention anything to either of them. So no slipping up." he pointed at Roman.
"Yeah, yeah I got it." Roman nodded. "But I am gonna let him know the boat wasn't my fault, that gate wasn't my fault and I didn't fucking shoot him. That was all you, white boy." Roman said, getting up to pace.
"Don't fall off the damn boat, Roman. I won't come save yo ass." Tej warned, still working to keep up at Shayde's pace.
"Yo, Roman, didn't you break out his window and tell him 'not to drop the soap' when he was heading to prison?" Tej asked. He had heard Roman brag about that story to many people at parties in his garage.
"Man, just drive the boat and shut up." Roman shook his head. "So, he's paying us to watch out for these girls. Makes you wonder why." Roman mused as he stared at the water.
"He's a damn good brother for what he's paying us." Brian said with a grin. Tej spit out his drink and started coughing.
"Yo, Bullet, just one question." Tej tried to talk. "Did he call them his sisters? What did he call them?" Tej asked, looking at Brian, folding his arms.
"He said his girls, why?" Brian asked, confused.
"Nothing, man." Tej looked at Roman, shaking his head.
"What, Tej? What are thinkin?" Brian asked, holding out his hands.
"Who do you think Kaidyn looks like?" Tej asked.
"Carter." Roman said at the same time Brian said "Shayde." Roman's mouth dropped.
"But do Shayde and Carter look alike?" Tej asked, making Roman get up and start pacing again.
"Brian!" Roman said, pacing. "BRIAN! What if Shayde and Carter aren't brother and sister?" He asked, his eyes wide.
"Bro, stop playing. I saw the paperwork for customs and the FBI. Don't be stupid. That would make no sense, cuz." Brian scoffed.
"And cops don't lie, Brian?" Tej asked, shaking his head. "Didn't you say they were setting him up? Wouldn't they have reason to lie?" Tej shook his head in disbelief at Brian.
"Don't start this cop hating crap again. Not all cops are bad. If it's in the files, it usually is correct. Unless there is something way bigger but who knows. What I do know is he is a guy who wants to take care of his family." Brian said, ending the questioning there.
"Okay, Bullet. I got you." Tej nodded. "But I need to tell you guys what Shay and I talked about." Tej explained.
"Oh you get to call her Shay? You giving up secrets?" Roman asked, looking at him.
"Secrets? Who has a secret?" Tej asked, looking confused as he looked at Brian and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you did just say what you and Shayde talked about." Brian laughed. "Spill the secrets." He grinned.
"Man, there ain't no secrets. I need to tell you what Shay asked me to tell you because she wouldn't have time because of Roman's never ending mouth." Tej said, looking at them both.
"I feel attacked." Roman admitted. "She said I have a never ending mouth?" He asked, grabbing a bottle of water.
"No, I added that last part." Tej grinned.
"Asshole." Roman rolled his eyes.
"Well, we about to play a game of chess." Tej disclosed.
"I don't know how to play chess." Roman admitted.
"Shut up and listen." Brian pushed Roman and looked at Tej.
"In Chess, you gotta make sure the king doesn't capture the queen. You gotta make calculated and careful moves. The first move is being made by Shay and she wants me to tell you that you guys gotta be careful here. There is over 200 mics and cameras and everything we do will be recorded." Tej explained.
"What the hell?" Roman asked, his mouth dropping open.
"I didn't ask questions and you shouldn't either. Just listen. Please. For once in your life." Tej begged.
"What else did she say?" Brian asked, his listening intent on hearing over the water's waves.
"She said that our cars are being shipped elsewhere and she put in some random cars of hers so ours doesn't get damaged. She said Kaidyn would be upset if your Skyline was damaged or had to be left behind if we had to leave." Tej advised.
"Extra cars?" Roman asked, being quiet and trying to listen. His hands fiddled with the water bottle and he stopped when Brian gave him a look.
"She didn't want us bringing our cars and getting them damaged but if they ask, those cars are ours so it looks legit. You never know, we may have to get up and leave or something. Just go with it." He said, tired of explaining to Roman already.
"Why do I feel like we are going to war?" Roman asked, looking at the guys.
"I don't know. Maybe we are. Maybe not. Not our business. We have a job to do and we focus on that." Brian shrugged.
"Roman, just watch yo mouth and your expressions. Remember how I taught you to play poker and to keep your faces straight? Same thing here, don't let your face give away anything." Tej advised. "You will be being watched. Even when it doesn't seem like it matters." He promised.
"That's creepy but sounds exactly like Verone." Roman nodded.
"Shayde say anything else?" Brian asked.
"She said our ultimate goal and hers to is to keep Kaidyn safe at all costs. So no matter what, keep that in mind. If she tells us to do something, we need to do it. No making moves without her. No questioning her. If we need help, she has Hector and Kaidyn's teacher." Tej informed them.
"Yeah, I want to meet this teacher." Brian nodded.
"Teacher? Kaidyn has a teacher? Why you want to meet her teacher?" Roman asked, looking confused.
"I don't know who it is but Kaidyn sure has some problems with the teacher so I just want to meet him." Brian explained.
"She has problems with him, huh?" Tej asked, covering his mouth with a fake yawn to hide his grin. "Kaidyn having problems with a teacher. Not shocking." He laughed.
"So she has two helpers with Kaidyn? Girl must be high maintenance." Roman laughed. "I am so proud of my lil Chaos." He grinned.
"Do not encourage her. She is feisty on her own merit. She does not need a cheerleading section. Poor Shayde has enough to deal with." Brian chided.
"Rah Rah motherfucker." Roman flipped Brian off with a grin.
"I can see you in a cheerleading skirt and some pigtails." Brain shot back jokingly.
"Rude ass white boy. You know I ain't got no hair." Roman rubbed his bald head, making them all laugh.
"Shit's gonna get crazy, you guys. You ready for this?" Brian asked after they were quiet for a bit.
"I'm always ready. We got this." Roman nodded.
"Yup, we in it now. No turning back now." Tej nodded.
"Verone doesn't know what he is up against." Brian laughed.
"He sure don't. Roman will eat him out of house and home." Tej grinned.
"When did we get on a boat? Where's Shayde?" Kaidyn came up the stairs, holding the stair rail with one hand and holding her head with the other.
"Hey! Sorry if it's a bit rough, babygirl." Tej said, still following Shayde at a high speed.
"It's cool. I am used to Shay's driving. I didn't know you could drive a boat." She said, trying to get to the chairs without falling.
"Come here, let me help you." Roman picked her up and carried her over to the seat.
"Thanks, I have a bit of a headache." She smiled gratefully.
"Shayde had to drive the other boat back, you doing okay?" Brian asked, sitting down beside her, staring at her face, still thinking about the conversation with the boys.
"Yeah, I am okay. My head just hurts. It's bright out here." Kaidyn said, squinting her eyes.
"Yeah, rough on the light eyes huh?" Brian asked, knowing her eyes were sensitive to the sun because her eyes were blue.
"Yes, I can't be out in the sun without sunglasses much." She admitted. "How long did I sleep for?" She asked, looking around at the water.
"Not too long. Shayde's on a different boat but we are following her. See, she's up ahead of us." Brian explained.
"I love the water so much. Shayde used to take me for a lot of boat rides. That's the only cool thing about Miami." She drew her knees up to her chin and looked out over the water, looking for any ocean life.
"There's lots of stuff in Miami we can show you. That's where we come from. Lots of fun stuff." Brian promised. "Tej has a garage here." He nodded.
"Sounds fun." She admitted. "Tej, can I drive?" She asked, getting up to go to the front so she could see more.
"Sorry babygirl, I gotta do what Shayde asked me to do." He said, wishing he could let her drive.
"Can I sit up here?" She asked, loving being in the front of the boat. It was the best place to be. The wind in her hair was the best feeling along with the smell of the salty ocean made it one of her favorite places to be.
"Sure." Tej started to get up but she sat on his lap before he could move. He looked at Roman as if to say 'I'm sorry'.
"You alright, Ro?" Brian asked, seeing what had taken place. He knew that Roman liked her and he thought maybe Tej did too but he wasn't sure.
"Oh yeah. His funeral, not mine. I ain't trying to die by getting involved with her." Roman shook his head, making Brian laugh. "She related to him. I can't do that. Nope, not planning on dying for that." Roman exclaimed. "I need zero reasons to give him an excuse to kill me." Roman admitted.
"Wow, that last run really fucked with you didn't it, cuz?" Brian laughed.
"Hey, I like my life, my freedom and my food. I am good. Besides, I think it's clear who she likes." Roman said with a laugh.
"I don't see her looking like Carter, do you?" Brian asked, his mind going back to the earlier conversation.
"I don't know, Homie, I think I see both in Kaidyn." Roman said, looking at Kaidyn looking at the water as Tej was driving.
"I was talking about Shayde." Brian rolled his eyes, punching Roman in the arm. "So you ready for this job? It's easy enough, right man?" He asked, leaning back and folding his arms.
"Yeah, guns, murderers, crooked cops, we were made for this. Round two lets go." Roman gave Brian a fist bump, making Brian grin.