Mia looked at Twist and shook her head. She sipped on her Sprite and placed it back down on the counter. “That’s my shooter with the vest.”
Twist looked at her and smiled.
“It’s three-fifty inside the bag, right?”
Twist nodded, and then Mia instructed him to take the car key that was sitting on the counter.
“Walk out front, and in the second row you’ll see a gray Volvo. Check the trunk.”
Twist was expecting to handle everything inside the hotel room, but he knew that if he wanted the deal to go through, he had to play by Mia’s rules or he’d run the risk of having her think that he was a cop.
“I ain’t going nowhere,” Mia told him.
Twist took the key and made his way to the Volvo. He checked the trunk and saw what was inside the Louis Vuitton bag. A smile flashed across his face, his white teeth contrasting with his blue-black skin.
“You think your girl will like the bag?” Mia asked after he’d returned to the ba
r.
Twist smiled. “She’ll love it.”
“That’s what’s up.”
Mia placed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter, knelt down and scooped up the black knapsack, and headed out of the bar. She tried to walk as normal as possible, but she felt like she was going to shit on herself. It seemed as if every step took the equivalent of two minutes. She was praying that federal agents didn’t swarm her and slam her to the ground and arrest her.
When she made it to Nico’s rental car, Nico moved to the passenger’s seat, and she got in the driver’s seat. Mia put the car in drive, and she and Nico drove off. She reached over and kissed him on the cheek.
“I told you I got you, baby,” she said.
Nico looked inside the black knapsack and smiled.
Four
Nico had a lot on his mind. He had an uneasy feeling that Bebo was planning to take him out, and he constantly looked over his shoulder. Not only did he feel that his life was in danger, he could also sense that he was close to being indicted. He just didn’t know how close. His lawyer had warned him to be careful over the next couple of weeks and to avoid talking on the phone.
Despite the warning, Nico reached out to Jasmine on his way back from Connecticut.
Jasmine picked up on the first ring.
“Jasmine.”
Jasmine broke the silence when that anger she felt when she was left stranded at the federal building instantly returned.
“Nico, how the fuck could you just leave me stranded in Manhattan like that with no money or nothing, after you told me you was on your way to come get me?”
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m in the house!”
Nico was quiet.
“So are you going to tell me what happened or what?”
“I might pass through later on tonight, but I’m not sure. I got some moves I gotta make.” Just as Nico said that, the prepaid phone he had recently purchased began vibrating. He saw it was his right-hand man BJ.
“Yo, let me hit you back,” he said to Jasmine.
“Nico, don’t hang up this phone!”