here's the next update y'all


"Huey, you always know how to make me smile."

"Do I?"

Jazmine giggled at his words, "Yes Huey, of course." She playfully punched him in his shoulder, and Huey chuckled slightly, "I'm just making sure." he said smoothly. Jazmine gave him her award winning smile and laid back down next to him in his bed. It was a hot summer day in Woodcrest, and the two had spent the previous night and the morning laying in Huey's bed, sleeping and talking.

This was a weekend where Huey's granddad, Robert, was away on a date, which he took to staying in hotels rather than bringing his date home to his two noisy grandsons. Currently, Riley was out with Cindy; they were in an on-and-off relationship that had hit a rocky point, but had been able to work on their relationship and had improved it over the past few months.

Jazmine rolled over onto her left side, eyes level with Huey's, "How did you sleep last night?" she asked, running a hand over his face.

Huey reached up to grab her hand, and he kissed it, "I slept fine," he replied simply, evenly. Jazmine nodded, "I did too."

She then sat back up. She kicked her legs over the side of the bed and stood, walking towards Huey's door. Huey didn't bother to stop her, and she left the room silently. A few moments later, she returned. She resumed sitting on the bed, and Huey sat back up. She held a towel in her hand, and Huey placed one of his rough hands on one of her dainty ones, "Are you ready?" he asked. Jazmine nodded, but she chuckled, "I have to be, don't I?"

She pulled out a thin pregnancy test from the folds of the towel. Nodding at Huey, she forced herself to quickly look down.

Her head popped back up and she laughed loudly, to Huey's surprise, "It's negative." she sighed in relief, "God, it's negative."

Huey also had to sigh in relief, and he reached over to pull Jazmine into a loving embrace. "Well, that's good," he said, and Jazmine nodded, "Hell yes that's good. I can't get pregnant now, we're barely about to be seniors in high school!"

She pulled away and flopped back down onto Huey's bed, "I can't believe we just went through that." she admitted, staring up at the ceiling. Huey laid back down beside her, running a hand over her stomach, "What if it had been positive?" he asked.

Jazmine only shrugged, "I don't know," she replied quietly, "I…I just don't know." Huey nodded.

Gently, he leaned over Jazmine's face and placed a small, delicate kiss on her forehead. Jazmine breathed in the scent of his body wash, "I love you, Huey, you know that right?"

Huey nodded, "Of course Jazmine, you tell me almost every day."

Jazmine smiled up at him, "You think we'll get married?" she asked. "This is our senior year, our last year of high school."

Huey chuckled, "I'm aware of that, Jazmine," he replied, resting his head back down on his pillow, "but we're too young to talk about getting married right now."

Jazmine nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I know, but…for the future," she gave him a hopeful smile, "you think we'll get married?"

Huey grinned at her, "Well, we are still seventeen…," he seemed to be thinking, and Jazmine giggled at his 'thinking face' he made, "give me another ten years, and I'll ask you." he finished. Jazmine's face lit up, "Really? Only ten?"

"Yeah, we'll be 27 by then," he replied, "by then, we should be at least acting like adults and not dependent on living at home."

She giggled, "well, you might be an independent person by then…but you know I'd love to stay home for college." she mused. Huey rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, Jaz." But he smiled at her anyway.

"So ten years?" she smiled softly.

Huey kissed her soft lips, "Ten years."

The room was dark and hazy. There was no light coming in. The room was freezing, which was how it normally was, but that night it was getting real close to hitting 0 degrees. At least, that's how it felt. In the cold air, a pillow fell onto the floor, and then another.

Suddenly, Jazmine popped up from her bed, breathing hard. While it was dark, the room seemed even darker in her blurry vision. Sighing, Jazmine forced herself to turn on the lamp next to her bed. It lit up her area with a soft, white light, and now she could see a lot better than before.

Groggily, Jazmine now forced herself to stand. She slipped on a pair of purple slippers and pulled on a fuzzy grey robe and padded out of her bedroom. She made her way to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of water. She then returned to her bedroom and sat back down on her plush bed, glass in hand. She wanted to lay back down, but she didn't want to fall back asleep if it meant having those dreams again.

Jazmine rolled her eyes and mentally cursed herself. Those dreams she had were memories, and they were memories that she tried to forget. That particular memory happened eight years ago, when she and Huey had their one and only pregnancy scare the summer before their senior year. A part of her secretly wished that she had been pregnant, because at least if she'd been pregnant, Huey might've stayed, or at least taken her with him.

Jazmine groaned, "Jazmine Dubois, stop it," she scolded herself aloud, "you don't need to be thinking about that, you haven't dreamed like that in months."

It would be a lie if Jazmine said she never thought about Huey, because she did. She always did. He was always in the back of her mind, nagging her with endless memories that dated back to their first encounter at the age of ten. Jazmine had eight years worth of memories to think about, dream about, and try to forget about.

Jazmine hadn't dreamed about Huey in months…but seeing him for the first time in seven years at that club really sent her over the edge. A part of her was angry, beyond angry, but there was another part of her that was happy, glad, rejoiceful; this was the part of her that she kept locked away, the part of her that was still hopelessly, madly, and endlessly in love with Huey Freeman.

Huey had never mistreated her during their entire relationship. He was a gentleman, the perfect boyfriend. He took her out on dates, respected her, loved her, and so on. They were so close and so in love that they were planning a future together; Jazmine was going to become a veterinarian and he was going to become a lawyer. They would make money, buy a house somewhere in Woodcrest, have three kids and two dogs, and live comfortably for the rest of their lives. As she thought about this, Jazmine swirled the water in her glass absently, staring at the ground. A small smile crept onto her lips at the memory of her broken future with Huey, but she forced herself to frown.

Jazmine gave her all to Huey for years. She did nothing but love him and support him in everything he did, and this was her repayment? This was how she was thanked? It infuriated her to even think that, to even think about how much he hurt her, and how little he seemed to care.

Cindy needed answers, begged Jazmine to help her get them, and now Jazmine needed them too. Jazmine needed to know why they'd left, why Huey broke her heart, and then she could kill him.


Huey and Riley were grabbing lunch before making one last pit stop to see Ed before their flight later on that day. It was Sunday, and their flight wouldn't be leaving until five. Both boys were still trying to wrap their heads around what had transpired the night previous, and honestly, most of it was a blur. The club, the lights, the strippers, the drinks. The whole experience was hazy, but there was one thing that was forever burned into their minds: the sight of Jazmine and Cindy.

It was crazy to even think about the fact that Jazmine and Cindy were crime lords, but to realize that it was reality was insane. Both had to admit; the girls were pretty fierce and unstoppable. But to know that they had been willingly injecting themselves into crime was worrying, even though they both knew that they had no right to be worried at all.

Ed and Rummy had called them that morning to check on them, and Huey promised that they were okay. Ed was also pretty shocked about what Huey had done the night before - killing cops in cold blood - and was even more shocked to discover that neither Huey nor Riley were all too concerned about the incident. They agreed to meet up around one, and hopefully they'd have enough time to propose a business deal to Ed with the Valentinas before they needed to catch their flight.

At around noon, Huey and Riley left Robert in their hotel rooms to go on a food run. Huey wore a pair of grey Adidas joggers with a black Adidas hoodie and his Gucci slides with socks. Riley wore black sweatpants and a black zip-up hoodie from Nike, along with some black Nike Roshes. They stood in front of the hotel for ten minutes arguing over what to eat before finally deciding on Burger King. They hailed a taxi, and located the nearest one to the hotel. However, they were told that they would have to get off, so reluctantly, they did. They paid the taxi driver, and he took off.

"Damn, can't even give us a ride back?" Riley muttered, following Huey into the restaurant.

Huey shrugged, "He's not obligated to stay, although I would've paid him extra. It's his loss." They made their way inside and found themselves staring at a long line of people. There were at least nine people that looked like they were waiting in line, the rest were standing about idly, waiting for their orders. There were children sitting in tables and booths to the left, and were talking to each other and screaming. Riley whistled, "Damn,"he muttered, "do we really wanna wait?"

"We're already here, and we have no ride yet," Huey pointed out, "might as well just wait."

Riley groaned inwardly, but nodded. They made their way to the back of the line. Surprisingly, the line began to move quickly, and before they knew it, they were only behind three more people in front of them before it was their turn.

Huey felt someone bump into him from behind, and he heard a gasp. As soon as it happened, he could hear the person who'd run into him begin to apologize: "Oh, sorry there…," the voice said slowly.

Riley's ears twitched slightly; he recognized the voice. Turning around, he spotted the last person he'd ever thought they'd see.

"Tom?" Riley arched his brow. Now Huey turned around, his eyes growing wide, "To-err, Mr. Dubois?" Huey was staring into the eyes of a very tired looking Tom Dubois, and he couldn't believe that it was Tom. Huey's image of Tom from years ago was very different from this current one. The current Tom had graying hair already, and wrinkles had formed on his face. His eyes were dull and muddy, and he slouched over as he stood. He still wore a black suit, although it was wrinkled and faded. He eyed the two boys with little reaction.

"Huey? Riley?" He now arched his brow and stood up a little straighter, "When did you get here?"

Before they could answer, they were called up to order. After ordering and getting their drinks, they stepped aside and waited for Tom to order. Once he had, they silently followed him to a nearby table, where they sat; Tom on one side, and Huey and Riley on another. Huey awkwardly glanced around, nervous. He had no idea what to do or say, he hadn't expected to run into Tom at all.

"When did you get here?" Tom asked again.

Riley inhaled sharply, "Uh, Saturday. For Ruckus's funeral." he replied. Tom nodded, "Oh yes, I wasn't able to go to the funeral, but I did go to the reception."

Huey nodded, "We didn't get to stay for that part."

They sat there for a few seconds of more awkwardness, with Huey trying to avert his gaze every time Tom would stare at him. Finally, Riley spoke: "You know about Jazmine, right?" he asked stupidly.

At this, Tom's brow furrowed, and his jaw clenched, "Yes, I do." he said coldly, "I know what she is, and part of why she did it," his gaze averted to Huey for a split second before returning to meet Riley's gaze, "and no, I don't condone it. Why do you think Sarah and I divorced?"

"Wait, she said that y'all just didn't link up anymore." Riley said, and Tom scoffed, "Is that what she told you? Ugh, Sarah has become such a liar since finding out about Jazmine, and that's also one of the reasons why I divorced her; she wouldn't tell me the truth about my own daughter."

Huey cocked a brow, "What do you mean by that?"

Tom sighed, and he rubbed his eyes with a shaky hand, "After you and your brother left, Jazmine started going out…a lot." He got an uncomfortable look on his face, "Soon, she was sneaking out behind our backs, and I knew something was wrong. I knew about the breakup you two had, but that couldn't have been the sole reason she was acting out, it just couldn't. I thought that maybe it was because of her friend, Cindy. She was always one to get into trouble back then." He cracked his neck slightly, "Sarah and I didn't know what to do. I was working a lot when the crime wave hit, and Sarah took on hobbies and joined clubs because I was gone so much. Jazmine had the freedom to do whatever she wanted."

"Why did Sarah lie to you though?" Huey asked.

Tom grunted as he changed positions in his seat, "I didn't know the magnitude of Jazmine's trouble until I caught her sneaking a lot of money into the house. I told Sarah, and we reprimanded her as best as we could, but she kept doing it, only I didn't know about it." He shook his head, "I found out months later that Sarah was condoning it. She was basically letting Jazmine go out and rob banks and steal from people, because Jazmine would give her some of the cash. I was working too often to notice the new things Sarah and Jazmine would buy with the money she stole, and the only reason I found out about it was because the police came to our door to arrest Jazmine."

Huey and Riley gawked at Tom; they had no idea that Sarah had actually allowed Jazmine to participate in stuff like that. Then again, it did explain a lot. Tom continued; "Jazmine got out of jail on bail, and I filed for a divorce. Sarah didn't really seem too upset by it; she was more focused on Jazmine's new way of getting money. I couldn't get through to Jazmine, and I couldn't stay with Sarah any longer, so I left."

"Where did you go?" Riley asked. Tom shrugged, "I made good money, so I was able to get my own apartment. Sarah sold the house and moved across the city after Jazmine began making it big I guess, I just know she sold the house." He shook his head, "There was nothing I could do," he admitted, "Jazmine was doing this on a regular basis, and I couldn't just turn her in, she's my daughter."

"So you just walked away?" Huey asked in disbelief.

Tom hung his head, "Yes, I did. I walked away." he sighed, "I had hoped that after getting arrested a few times, Jazmine would realize that what she was doing was dangerous and would stop. But of course, she never did. I haven't seen Jazmine in months, but last time I met up with her, she was the leader of some kind of gang."

Huey's jaw dropped, "What the fuck," he cursed, and Riley elbowed him, and the two exchanged a glance that went unnoticed by Tom; they decided in that moment to not tell him about their own experience with the girls, not now, anyways. They instead sat there a moment, processing the information.

Finally, a worker came over and handed Huey and Riley their food. Together, they stood up, and Tom did as well, "Well, thank you for telling us something about what's been going on." He said sincerely, "We met Sarah Saturday, and she refused to tell us anything about Jazmine or Cindy."

Tom didn't look surprised, "Jazmine helps support Sarah. Sarah still works, I think, but Jazmine buys Sarah a lot of things because Sarah basically tells her that what she's doing is okay. I'm sure she lives somewhere pretty nice now, she may have become nervous that she would reveal Jazmine's secrets." Huey nodded. They shook hands, and the two boys left.

"Can you believe this shit?" Riley asked as they called up another taxi.

Huey shook his head, "No…I never even thought someone like Sarah would actually condone Jazmine's actions, you remember how straight laced she was?"

Riley nodded, "Yeah, I remember exactly who she...used to be." Neither said anything more after that. They had to wait a few minutes before another taxi pulled up. They climbed in, and the driver took off. In the backseat, the two boys began silently eating as their stomachs growled, and by the time they'd reached the hotel, they were almost done with their food.

Huey gave the guy money, and they hopped out of the car, the remaining food in their hands. Quickly, they made their way inside, past dozens of people and workers, before they jumped into an open elevator and punched their floor number. "I know what you're thinking." Huey said to Riley in the elevator. Riley shrugged, "What's that?"

"How did any of this happen?" Huey said grimly, and Riley had to chuckle softly, "Yeah, you right. But really, would it ever be any less?" he asked. Huey shook his head, "No, I suppose not."

They made it to their floor, "Now what?" Riley asked as they began walking.

Huey shrugged, "We meet up with Ed, get him on our good side, and go back to the Valentina's and get them off our backs."

Riley shook his head, "I thought when we'd come back, we'd have a chance to—," he was cut off as he ran into Huey, who had stopped dead in his tracks.

"Ow! Nigga, what the fuck…," but as he peered over Huey's shoulder while rubbing his nose, his eyes widened.

The door to their grandfather's room was cracked open slightly. Riley's breath caught in his throat as Huey approached cautiously, signaling Riley to follow. Riley complied, and they edged towards the door as quietly as they could. As soon as they had, Huey turned to look at Riley, and Riley nodded.

In one swift motion, Huey had pushed the door open and barged inside, tossing his bags to the floor. Riley followed him, and raised up his own fists in preparation for a fight. However, when they'd entered, it was eerily silent. The two glanced around as they slowly made their way further into the room, scanning their surroundings, "Granddad?" Riley called out. Huey made it to the bedroom portion first, and began searching the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Check around." Huey ordered Riley, "There has to be something here that will tell us something." As Huey searched through the closet and bed, Riley decided to head into their grandfather's bathroom. The lights were off, so as soon as he'd opened the door, he flipped them on.

Huey heard Riley nearly scream. Jolting up, Huey rushed over to the bathroom, "Riley? Riley what happ—," but he didn't get to finish his sentence. Once he'd made it to the bathroom, he pushed Riley aside and prepared to connect his fist with an intruder's face, but instead he was stopped dead in his tracks once again and was left speechless. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Riley backed away, eyes still wide in disbelief, "No fuckin' way…," he choked, shaking his head, "Huey, what the fuck is that?!"

There was nothing wrong with the bathroom itself, but there was something new—and familiar—on the wall across from the door. It was above the toilet, and as the two stared at it, it became more crazy looking.

It was a symbol smeared onto the once clean beige bathroom wall in a dark red paint, which they knew was supposed to resemble blood. The symbol was a snake woven around the letter A, fangs bared and ready to strike. Parts of the symbol were bleeding down the wall, turning the painting into a huge mess, but the boys had already gotten the message.

Huey turned around to Riley, who's face had grown pale; Huey imagined he looked worse, "Nigga…what the FUCK is that?" Riley demanded again, voice cracking, "They fuckin' found us! They been watching us this whole fuckin' time!"

Huey's eyes narrowed slightly, "Riley, calm down!"

Dazed, Riley stormed back into the bedroom area and began pacing frantically, "What the fuck...what we gonna do?"

"I told you...this wasn't a good idea." Huey mumbled to himself.

Riley heard him, though, and proceeded to panic, "Oh shit...we...we...," it sounded like he was stumbling to find the words to say, "We gotta go find him! Where the fuck...they couldn't have gone far nigga, lets go before-," he was about to leave the room when Huey grabbed his arm and yanked him back, "Riley, shut up!" he hissed, glancing around. There was a moment of silence before he spoke, "We have to leave."

"Leave? Leave where, Woodcrest?" Riley sounded shocked, but Huey shook his head, "No idiot, we have to leave this hotel!" he snapped. He turned around, "Pack yours and granddad's things while I get mine. We have to leave now."

"What about that?" Riley pointed to the bathroom, which was code for the symbol. Huey sighed, "It'll be too runny to be legible. No one will be able to tell what it is by the time we get outta here." And with that, he raced off into his own room.

Twenty minutes later, the two were hauling their things into the lobby area. Huey stopped at the front desk to return their keys, "Wait for me outside," he ordered Riley, "they should already be there."

Riley arched a brow, "Who?" But Huey only gestured for him to move along. Huffing, Riley picked up his and their grandfather's things and made his way outside…and was greeted by Ed.

Riley was more than relieved when he spotted a familiar face, "Ed," he breathed as he approached. He accidentally dropped a bag, and Ed rushed over to pick it up. "Came as soon as Huey called." he said, looking past Riley.

Riley turned around and was met by Huey, who nodded towards Ed's way, "Thank you, I had no idea who else to call."

"Of course," Ed nodded reassuringly, "you know we can help you. What did you say happened again?"

Huey felt his chest tighten at the question, "Our grandfather's missing." He replied, his voice wavering. However, his eyes narrowed, "And we know who took him."


"You sure we should go to them?" Riley asked. He and Huey sat in the back of Ed's new car. It had been thirty minutes since they were picked up, and it felt like Ed was buying time by circling around the city aimlessly.

Ed nodded, "It's the only thing we really can do right now." he replied.

"Thanks again," Huey said to Ed, "if it wasn't for y'all, I'd have to call the Valentinas for help, and they'd just stick us in more debt."

Ed nodded, "Don't worry," he assured the two, "we're gonna get him back." The two brothers sighed from the backseat, on edge; Huey was full of fear, just like Riley; they hadn't planned on asking Ed and Rummy for help like this, but they really had no one else to help them. Of course, both Ed and Rummy had decided to lead the two boys to the most influential people in Woodcrest crime: Jazmine and Cindy, aka Emerald and Crystal.

Ed drove the group to a building near the heart of Woodcrest, yet untouched by everyone and everything around it. This was where Jazmine and Cindy mainly operated, and saw out their endeavors.

They arrived at the building and parked in a parking garage right next door. Leaving their things in Ed's car, they were ushered into the building. On the outside, it looked like any common building; tall, black, large windows that were heavily tinted, and the main lobby looked no different than any other lobby. They approached a front desk, and after Ed had scanned some kind of ID, they were allowed to enter the main areas of the building, and board an elevator that would lead them to the upper levels.

As soon as they'd made it past the front desk, Huey and Riley began to see the differences that made this building illegal. For starters, they walked past an angry looking man in a silk purple suit and a fedora, who was in a heated argument with another man, this one in a darker purple suit and had gold chains around his neck. The first man cursed, "The fuck ya think you is?" He demanded from the second man.

The second man rolled his eyes, "Slickback, just keep yo bitches off of my track, my girls run those areas." he warned.

The first man, Slickback, scoffed, "Nigga I am a Pimp Named Slickback and I does what I wanna do and I go wherever the fuck I wanna go! And if my best bitch Cristal over here wants to walk that track then best believe she's gonna walk that track."

They walked away from the heated conversation, which was broken up by a man in a suit and tie. They headed to an elevator, and Ed punched in a floor number, "I told them y'all were comin', and Rummy came first to try and ease them into helping y'all." he informed the two.

Riley nodded, "Thanks," he mumbled. Truth be told, he was still in shock over what had just happened, and knew that if anything happened to his grandfather, he wouldn't know what to do anymore.

The elevator dinged, and they were let off. They entered a long hallway that was rather dark, with only a few lights here and there. They went a few doors down before Ed stopped in front of one of the doors, Huey and Riley behind him. He turned to look at the door, putting his hand on the knob, "Are you two ready?" he asked, giving the boys a concerned look.

They both nodded simultaneously. Ed gave the two a pinched expression before turning the knob and opening the door.

They were in some kind of meeting room. There was a long, black table with black chairs. The walls were a pale grey, and the floors were a dark hardwood color. The back wall was a large window. There were a few pictures and decorations here and there, but it mainly looked like a business office.

Standing by the window was Cindy, who turned around to glare at the two. She wore a pair of tight jeans and a yellow tube top with a pair of nude heels. Her blonde hair was pulled back into two familiar Dutch braids, and she wore makeup. She had sunglasses perched atop her head, and she popped a gum in her mouth.

Sitting at the head of the table was Jazmine, who paid the boys no mind as they entered. She wore a tan dress that reached just below her knees and was extremely tight. She had no sleeves, baring her shoulders for everyone to see. She had her afro loose atop her head, and she also wore makeup and heels, only hers were a darker color. She was sitting upright, and in front of her lay an unloaded gun.

Sitting at the table was Rummy, who looked very tired. He spotted the two and stood up, ready to walk to their side, but Ed shook his head, signaling him to sit back down. However, he had an uneasy look on his face, and he continued to glance from Jazmine to her gun and then back to the boys.

Huey and Riley stopped at the other end of the table, as far from Jazmine and Cindy as they could. There was an unbearable silence, before finally Ed spoke, "We just need some help," he addressed the two girls.

Cindy crossed her arms over her chest, "And why should we help?" she demanded.

Ed gulped, "Because someone innocent is going to get hurt if you don't."

Cindy glanced at Jazmine, who in turn inhaled sharply. She stood up, showing off her full figure and curves, "Fine, we'll help." A sly smile spread across her face, "However, this isn't going to be for free." She eyed the two boys across from her, particularly Huey, "A favor for a favor. We do this favor for the two of you, and then you will help us with something we need to do. Do we have an agreement?" She clicked her tongue, waiting for an answer.

Riley glanced at Huey, who looked at him for a split second before turning back to Jazmine. He sighed, and nodded, "Yes, Jazmine, we have a deal." He replied sharply, his voice low and deep.

Jazmine shivered once again and mentally cursed herself, remembering her dream from earlier that morning, "Great. Now tell me, who would want to kidnap your grandfather?" She leaned forwards, resting her hands on the table to support her. Riley glanced over at Huey and shrugged, as if telling him that he had no idea what to say. Huey rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of cooperation.

"We know who claims to have done it, but...we never thought this would've happened so soon." he shook his head. Jazmine sat back down, "Please, explain, Huey," she said his name as icily as she could, "we need to know what you know before pursuing this any further."

Cindy now took a seat beside Jazmine, and the two girls waited for the boys' response. Huey bit the inside of his cheek, shifting his weight uncomfortably, "Back in the day, Riley and I got into a bit of trouble." he began slowly. "It…it's why we left Woodcrest in the first place."

Both boys could see Jazmine's and Cindy's eyes darken. Jazmine clenched her jaw, and Cindy had placed her hands on the table and had balled them up into fists, obviously becoming angry at the mention of the past. Huey continued on, "We stumbled into something we shouldn't have…and he wanted us dead for it."

"Who?" Jazmine asked through gritted teeth.

Riley shrugged, "We never really knew his name, but we knew what his nickname was. He'd leave us signs wherever we went, like as a reminder," he licked his lips, "as a reminder that he was following us, watching us." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. Ed came over and took it from him and unfolded it. Arching his brow, he strode over to Jazmine and handed the paper to her.

She stared at it, "It's a symbol…," she said slowly, and Riley nodded, "Yeah, I sketched the one from the bathroom on the way over here," he explained, "but that's the symbol we would always see. He called himself Azurel." Both boys grimaced at the name, "He's been wanting us dead for years now. We weren't gonna come to Woodcrest at all, but Huey got us into some debt back in New York that we needed to pay off...and they sent us here."

"Who?" Jazmine prodded.

"They're the Valentina twins." Huey said.

Jazmine rolled her eyes, "Oh, I know who they are. Nicolas and Nicolette, right?" The brothers nodded, "What could you have asked of them that sent you into debt?"

Huey sighed, "A few months ago, I was finally able to scrounge some money together to hire this guy to help us find out what was going on. But, he's only a hitman, and my own research wasn't enough for him. At the time, I'd just started a business relationship of my own with the Valentinas, and I knew about the...other activities they're involved in. I was reluctant, but I asked them for help."

"You had the Valentinas find more information about this." Jazmine gestured to the picture.

Huey nodded, "During that time, my guy managed to take out one of the men that's been hounding us, but he didn't find anything that would lead us to the man behind this symbol. The Valentinas weren't much help, either, but since they'd already 'wasted' some of their resources on us, I was obligated to repay them."

"And it brought you back home." Cindy came over to stand beside Jazmine, eyeing the brothers. They weren't lying, at least it seemed like they weren't by their body language, but she was still on guard.

"So this man that your guy killed would leave these symbols?" Jazmine asked.

Huey nodded, "Yeah, always. Whenever we got one, we'd skip town, and it would be weeks or even months before we got another one." he sighed, "I thought that if we made a name for ourselves, and became more well known, this group would be unable to touch us without fear of a lot more repercussions. And I was right. We moved to New York because I found a chance," he rubbed the back of his head, "I got a chance to work with some of the business officials there, and after a while I got to create my own business with Riley. After we began making a name for ourselves, he seemed to…disappear. Like he knew that if he came for us in New York...it'd be difficult to get to us without causing panic."

"But now that you've left New York...they're making themselves known." Cindy furrowed her brow, but then she cracked a small smile, "You must've really pissed someone off for all this to happen. This is some professional ass shit."

"But, why?" Jazmine prodded, "Why you two? What did y'all do to attract the attention of trained killers?" She crossed her arms over her chest, "I know this isn't over y'all saying something stupid or even acting stupid. You did something to piss someone off so much that they've spent the past seven years trying to get at y'all, but over what?"

Riley and Huey exchanged glances, and Riley shrugged, "Aye man, that's your call," he said, raising up his hands, "I don't call the shots for these things."

Huey rolled his eyes, "Of course you don't." he murmured.

Huey turned back to Jazmine, who was waiting for her reply patiently with Cindy. However, he could tell that both girls were on edge, and Jazmine's hand slowly and carefully traced itself over to her gun, her fingertips grazing the trigger with a delicate, yet dangerous, touch. She continued to eye Huey and Riley maliciously, while Cindy looked more curious than anything. They were warning them; don't lie, or you'll die.

Just as Huey was about to speak again, the doors to the room burst open. A young man walked in, his eyes wide and his black hair askew, "Miss Emerald?" He addressed Jazmine, and she stood up, now gripping the gun in her hand, "What is it?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

The boy lowered his head slightly, "My apologies," he said quickly, "but we got word on the package."

Jazmine and Cindy looked at each other before Cindy took the drawing Riley had made and gave it to the boy, "We'll be right there. But for you, I want you to look for this symbol," she pointed to the picture, "look for anything that has this symbol somewhere, anywhere. No matter how big or small, just keep digging."

"Yes ma'am." The boy nodded, and he scurried away.

Jazmine and Cindy left the room in a rush, and Huey and Riley turned to look at each other in confusion. But Ed had grabbed onto them by their shoulders and pushed them out of the doors.


A sleek, black Lexus pulled up to an eloquent mansion. The mansion, situated in the northern Heights, was large and imposing. It was situated on nearly twenty acres of land, and had a large, gated fence surrounding the property. Upon entering, there was a large roundabout with a beautifully carved fountain in the center, and then proceeded towards the actual mansion.

The Lexus stopped in front of the mansion, and two workers came down the front steps from the front door and towards the right backseat door. The first worker was a tall African American man with dreads that were tied back and large brown eyes. He wore a simple suit with a bowtie, and shiny shoes. He approached the door and carefully opened it.

Extending his hand, a smaller, slender, and delicate hand reached out to grab him. On the other side of the car, the second worker, a shorter Mexican American man with jet black hair and dark brown eyes, took a hold of an equally delicate, yet slightly larger, hand, and pulled out the person attached to the hand. The first man also did the same.

The Mexican American pulled out a tall, beautiful young woman. She had long, sleek golden blonde hair and big blue eyes the color of a clear lake. Her fair skin was smooth looking and perfect, and she was rather tall, taller than the man who helped her out of the car. She wore a black dress that stopped mid thigh with a low-cut neckline and thin straps. She wore black strappy heels and carried a red Louis Vuitton purse, which matched her red lips. She scanned her surroundings, and then turned to her right.

The African American man helped out another young woman, this one younger than the tall blonde. This young woman had long platinum blonde hair and large, purplish eyes that glinted in the faint light. She was shorter than the tall blonde by a few inches, and had a smaller frame as well. She wore a dark green jumpsuit that had a square neckline with slightly thicker straps, nude heels, and carried a brown Louis Vuitton mini-purse, which was slung over her shoulders. The second girl turned to her left to eye the first, "Well, what do you think?" she asked.

The first girl smiled, "I think it's pretty nice." she mused, starting to walk forwards. The second girl followed, and the two workers went to the trunk of the car and began pulling out luggage, "Is your mother really inviting everyone from our family?" she then asked.

The second girl nodded, "Yes, unfortunately. All of our cousins, and the family from his side, will be here soon." She addressed the situation with a certain tone that made the first girl giggle, "What, you don't like him?" she asked.

The second girl sighed, "It's not that, he just doesn't get me, you know? He doesn't get us," she gestured to herself and the first girl, "and our lifestyle. He's always asking why I'm out shopping."

The first girl burst into laughter, "That's just something he'll have to get used to. You think he would be unbothered after a year of being married to your mother."

As soon as they approached the door, it flung open, and a woman smiled at them from inside the house, "Girls, you're here!" She squealed, reaching out to hug the two, "How is my daughter and niece? "she asked.

The tall blonde grunted as she was pulled down into the hug, "I'm fine, Aunt Val."

The woman, Valerie Greene, pulled away from the two girls. Her niece, twenty-five-year-old Veronica Lizero-Lacroft, gasped for air as she did so, "Mother, you act like I was gone for weeks!" The second girl, twenty-one-year-old Venus Greene, smoothed out a wrinkle in her jumpsuit.

Her mother laughed, "Darling, you were gone for a whole week!" she exclaimed. She ushered the two inside, and they were followed by the two workers, who now towed their belongings behind them.

Inside, the mansion was quite marvelous. It opened into a foyer, with a high ceiling and a crystal chandelier dangling down elegantly. The floors were polished marble, and there were two staircases on either side that led upwards. There were pictures on the walls and expensive decorations here and there that made the whole place look even more expensive. Valerie began walking further into the house, followed by Venus and Veronica.

"Your sister will be coming soon," Valerie went on, "she's bringing Vittoria with her as well. Jackson will be coming a day or two late, you know how busy he is with his work." She chuckled slightly at what she'd said, and continued on.

Veronica smiled, "I haven't seen Vera in a month," she commented, "have you heard that they want to have another child?"

"Oh yes, she spoke to me about that the other day on the phone." Valerie mused, "I hope they do, I want lots of grandchildren!" Venus rolled her eyes at this statement, and Veronica turned to give her a teasing look, "We're gonna go upstairs now mom." Venus said quickly, knowing full well that once her mother started talking about babies, she would never stop.

Valerie nodded, "Yes, yes, I need to go find Mary." And she began strutting away.

The two cousins turned around and raced for the stairs as fast as they could in heels, the two workers behind them with their luggage. After making it to the second story, they went down several winding halls before landing in front of a cream white door, out of breath. The two workers had followed them as quickly as they could, and readjusted themselves once they'd made it to their destination.

"Thank you both." Venus addressed the two after catching her breath, "We can take them from here."

"Of course." The African American man nodded. The Mexican American also nodded and scurried away as fast as he could, but the African American lingered. Veronica had opened the door to Venus's room and had stepped inside, but Venus hung back for a moment, her eyes on the remaining worker.

There was an awkward silence, and then it was broken, "I hope you had a nice trip, Miss Venus." The African American man smiled at her sweetly.

Venus nodded, "I did, Caesar, thank you."

Twenty-five-year-old Michael Caesar smiled, "You remembered," he commented, and Venus blushed slightly, "Well, of course, I know you'd rather be called Caesar, you told me before I left." He flashed her a heart pounding grin that made Venus almost swoon where she stood.

Caesar reached into his pocket and pulled something out of his pocket, "A welcome back gift for you." He said to Venus quietly, placing it in her hand. Venus smiled and took it, "Thank you so much, Caesar."

Caesar nodded, still smiling, his eyes never breaking away from her gaze. Then, he turned around and proceeded to stroll down the hallway slowly. Venus took this time to open the small gift he'd given her, wrapped in brown paper. She produced a golden necklace from inside, with the initial C as a pendant. Venus silently screamed in excitement as she looked at it, her face reddening quickly.

Veronica poked her head out of the room, and spotted the necklace. She rolled her eyes, "Did he buy that for you?" she asked.

Venus nodded quickly, rushing to put it on, "Yes! It's his initial!" she squealed.

Veronica rolled her eyes once more, and helped Venus put on the necklace as they simultaneously began walking into the room, and Venus pulled her hair up. As she began clasping it together, Veronica spoke: "When are you going to tell your mother that you've been seeing one of her workers?" she asked. "How long has this been going on, two months?"

Venus nodded, "Yes, only two months, but he's been working here four months," she added, "but isn't he just the best?"

Veronica finished clasping the necklace together, and Venus released her hair, letting it fall down her back. She situated the necklace until the pendant was perfectly aligned in between her collarbones, "I suppose," Veronica replied, "but…he's just a worker, Venus. Don't get so caught up with someone like him." She made a face; Veronica did not entirely approve of her younger cousin's decision to see one of the men that worked for the house. While he was a rather good looking man, he was just a worker, and he would not be approved of by their mother.

Venus sighed, "I know none of you will think highly of him since he doesn't come from the same background as us, but I think he's just amazing." She smiled as she visualized Caesar in her mind. Veronica rolled her eyes, and grabbed onto her luggage, forcing Venus to take hold of her own. Together, they clamored into Venus's room, and Venus knew exactly what she was going to talk about.

Meanwhile, outside of Venus's door, Caesar stood with his ear against the wall, smiling to himself. He had hidden himself as the two girls talked to each other outside of Venus's room, but had moved himself to outside of her door once they'd entered. He had overheard everything Venus had said to Veronica, and the whole conversation made him grin to himself. Caesar couldn't lie: he had fallen head over heels for Venus, the step daughter to the new mayor of Woodcrest. Caesar knew he shouldn't have, but...

He felt his phone vibrate softly in his pocket. Carefully, he tiptoed away from the door, careful to not make a sound. Once he was a good distance away, he pulled out his phone. Staring at the screen, his face instantly fell, and he snapped back to reality, his reality.

From Emerald: She's back in town?

Caesar sighed and replied: To Emerald: Yes.

From Emerald: Good. You know what to do.

Caesar clenched his jaw and his grip on his phone tightened. For a moment, he had felt normal. Being with Venus made him feel normal, made him feel like he was just an average guy in a whirlwind relationship with a girl he would've normally had no chance with. But every time he began feeling normal, he'd get a text or a call that reminded him that he wasn't normal, and that he'd never be normal again.

Blowing out some air, Caesar typed a quick reply.

To Emerald: Of course I do.


Including a few characters from another story in this one. R&R

xoxo, Queen