Chapter 1

Joaquin strolled out the jail facility, dressed in the same shit he was in when he was arrested. He wore a smile across his lips, as he looked up at the beaming sun, listening to the afternoon traffic and the birds chirping. He took a deep breath and exhaled. A moment later, he saw a black on black Navigator limousine on twenty-eight-inch chrome rims and tires. The car drove close up. The driver's door opened, and the chauffeur stepped out. He made his way around the enormous SUV and stepped upon the curb, where Joaquin could see him in his entirety. The chauffeur, who also acted as a bodyguard, was a six-foot-two Mexican cat, wearing black sunglasses. He had a monstrous tattooed head and a massive body covered in muscles. The South American man was dressed in a black blazer, black jeans and snakeskin cowboy boots, with silver skulls on the tips of them.

"Are you Mr. Torres?" the bodyguard asked with a smile, revealing a mouth full of silver teeth, which gleamed from the rays of the sun.

"Yeah, but chu can call me Joaquin," Joaquin replied.

"I'm Hugo, Joaquin." Hugo extended his hand, which Joaquin shook. Joaquin noticed he was wearing a silver skull ring, which matched the skulls on his boots. "My boss, Mr. Alvaro, sent me to pick you up. He gave me orders to take you wherever you'd like to go. He also told me to give you this-" he pulled a fat ass envelope out of his blazer and presented it to Joaquin. When Joaquin opened it, he saw it was loaded with blue face one hundred dollar bills. "He wants you to get reacquainted with the outside world for the day. Go shopping, buy yourself some things, and enjoy some festivities. Afterwards, he'd like for you to come out and see em, whenever you're ready-no rush."

"Okay, Hugo," Joaquin began, sliding the envelope inside his blazer. "The first thing I needa get my hands on is a gun. A clean one-preferably with a silencer."

"Oh, I can get that for you. No problem."

"Good."

"Where would you like to go first?"

"I'm hungry as a hostage. I'd like some really good Mexican food." Joaquin rubbed his stomach. "I'm talking real Mexican food. Not that Americanized shit that Del Taco and Taco Bell keeps poisoning our bellies with. That shit is god-fucking-awful!"

"I know just the place," Hugo said. "Shall we leave?" He motioned to the Navigator with his massive hand.

"Yeah, let's get outta here. If I stay out here any longer, these gringos may wanna lock me back up." Joaquin glanced back at the facility he'd just exited, as he unbuttoned his blazer and stepped off the curb. Hugo held open the back door for Joaquin. Joaquin was about to get in, until two beautiful Afro-Brazilian women stuck their heads out of the door. They were dressed in skimpy bikinis that showed off their voluptuous bodies. The women smiled sexily at Joaquin and flicked their tongues against each other's. They then sucked each other's tongues and kissed sensually.

Joaquin's forehead wrinkled. He looked from the enticing women to Hugo, wondering what the big idea was. "What's this?" he asked of the women that were obviously meant for him.

"This," Hugo smiled and motioned to the Brazilian beauties, "is your festivities." He produced a row of six gold-foil-wrapped lubricated condoms, and passed them to Joaquin. Joaquin smiled, took the condoms, and slid into the back seat of the stretch Navigator. Once he slammed the door behind him, Hugo walked around to the driver's side and hopped in. He cranked up the enormous SUV and pulled into traffic, driving off.

***

That night

God, Billie and the girls sat on the couch, under a blanket, eating popcorn and laughing at Frozen 2. The doorbell chimed and stole God and Billie's attention. They looked at the door, then back at each other.

"Pizza," God and Billie said in unison.

"Mommy, we're all outta popcorn," Annabelle told her mother and flashed the big empty bowl, with popcorn residue in it.

Billie took the bowl and looked to God. "I'll get the popcorn while you get the pizza, deal?" She extended her fist toward him.

"Deal." God dapped her up. They then kissed, threw the blankets off them and went separate ways. Billie went to the kitchen and God went to the front door.

The doorbell chimed once again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! God said, as he approached the door, pulling a knot of one hundred dollar bills from out of his pocket.

"Bae!" Billie called out to God from inside of the kitchen.

"What's up?" God asked, preparing to move the chain from the front door.

"Don't forget the Pepsi."

"Okay," he responded, removing the chain from the door and unlocking the lock. He twisted the knob and pulled open the door. His eyes doubled in size, his mouth hanging open, when he saw Joaquin standing on the other side.

Joaquin smiled at him wickedly while holding his right hand behind his back. Suddenly, his eyebrows arched and his nose scrunched up, a vein on his temple bulged. He brought his right hand up and pointed a SIG Sauer P226 with a silencer in God's face.

"I told you to stay the fuck away from my family, or I'd kill you, didn't I?"

"Mommy, is that daddy?" Annabelle asked her mother. She couldn't see Joaquin clearly, and the gun he was pointing wasn't visible to her.

"Joaquin?" Billie inquired. She sounded like it was hard for her to believe that her daughter's father was at her door.

"Lucky motherfucker," Joaquin said while mad-dogging God. A smile spread across his face, and he held his SIG Sauer P226 behind his back.

"It is my daddy! Annabelle said jovially. "Daddyyyyyy!"

Annabelle hopped off of the couch and took off, running toward Joaquin. He scooped her up in one arm and she hugged him around his neck, kissing him all over his face sweetly. Joaquin smiled, enjoying the warm affection he received from his daughter.

"Joaquin, when did you get out?" Billie asked, as she approached the door. She was about to pop the popcorn when she heard Joaquin was at the door. Upon hearing that, she hurried out of the kitchen and stood beside God, with Charity holding her arm around her neck.

"Earlier today," Joaquin replied, kissing Annabelle up and down her cheek, causing her to laugh and giggle.

"You're so silly, daddy." Annabelle smiled happily, laying the side of her head against his and hugging his neck.

"Well, why didn't you call me?" Billie said. "I woulda picked you up."

"It's all good, baby mama, a friend of mine sent his chauffeur to give me a lift."

"Oh, okay."

Joaquin discretely tucked his gun into the small of his back, without anyone noticing him. "Now, are you going to leave me out here in the cold, or are you gonna invite me in?"

"My bad,-um, excuse my manners-Please come in," Billie said and nudged God. He opened the door wider so Joaquin could come inside.

Joaquin crossed the threshold, giving God an evil glare, looking him up and down like he wasn't shit. God did the same. Billie and Charity noticed the hostility and tension between them, but Billie didn't comment on it.

"Lemme introduce you to everyone," Billie said. "You already know the love of my life and my fiancé, Kyree."

"Yeah, I know 'em. What's up, nigga?" Joaquin said. He switched arms with Annabelle and extended his hand toward God.

God mad-dogged Joaquin and clenched his teeth tightly, showcasing the bones in his jaws. His stare was so intense he could have burned a hole through Joaquin for the stunt he'd pulled.

The audacity of this punk mothafucka to come up in my lady's crib and shove a fucking gun in my face. He must don't think fat meat greasy, but he's gonna find out! Oh, yeah, he's definitely gone find out! God thought, as he reluctantly shook Joaquin's hand.

Joaquin and Billie had broken up while he was fighting an attempted murder case in jail. One night, while they were out at a very popular club, Billie had caught Joaquin fucking some skeezer in the women's rest room. Billie lost it and whipped homegirl's ass before returning to the dance floor. The girl's girlfriends came to her aid inside the rest room and called the police. When Joaquin came out of the club, looking for Billie so they could split before Los Angeles' Finest showed up, he found her flirting with a handsome young man by the name of Antoine. Enraged, Joaquin grabbed his gun out of his car and started licking shots at him. He winded up wounding old boy, but he hadn't been successful in killing him.

The Boys in Blue came after Joaquin and he fled, ditching his gun inside a trash bin in an alley. He made his return to the public, acting like everything was fine and dandy. Unfortunately for him, the cops snatched him up and threw his black ass in jail. Joaquin was looking at some time, but he came up with a plan that could get his ass out of the fire. He had Joel Murtaugh-a corrections officer he'd formed a bond with while incarcerated-pay off Antoine so he wouldn't come to court and testify against him. It all worked out in Joaquin's favor; so here he was now-a free man.

Before Joaquin had gotten his walking papers, God had come up to see him while he was locked up. He wanted him to know that he and Billie would be getting married. Jealous and...