Lisedi
My body stretched out against the soft silk sheets. I let out a yawn. My eyes still closed wanting to roll over and continue sleeping. Last night was such an adrenaline rush. Tons of energy exerted. Being mentally sharp and methodical took precision and effort. As soon as Aubrey and I got to our room, we passed out. I reached over for him. Empty space. Opening my eyes, I rolled over to see him standing in the doorway that led to our private balcony. A gentle wind rustled the curtains and blew in the smell of the blunt he was smoking. It was a wonderful view. Shirtless with the morning sun rising. Perfect.
I propped up on my elbow and continued to admire him. A feeling of anxious surged through my body. On our nightstand was a tape recording of everything from last night. Travis's confession. Our ticket home. A place I've longed to return to. I had to call my uncle first. There were nerves. I hadn't spoken to him since that day we arrested Aubrey. He made endless attempts to reach out to me as did the rest of my family. I couldn't respond. Not until today.
He looked back and smiled when he saw that I was awake. Turning back to look at the view, he took another hit and let the smoke slowly escape his lips.
I rolled out of bed and walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his perfectly carved physique. My head laid against his back.
"You know, this view is amazing. I've been looking at it for awhile now," he said, "but it doesn't compare to seeing you wake up in the morning."
I placed a couple kisses on his back. He brought me beside him and draped an arm over my shoulder, kissing the top of my head. I had to agree, watching sun rise over the crystal blue ocean and white sands was breathtaking.
"Last night went well," I said, "everything worked out perfectly."
He nodded, "I was impressed by you. The way you handled it and got what you needed from him."
"Well, he has what I want babe...what we want. The freedom to go home without shackles and cuffs."
"When are you calling your uncle?"
"To make sure this goes as planned...asap. Like right now. At least to get them here by tomorrow. He'd have to get the information to the Feds, they have to get warrants and send whoever over here to bring Travis back to Canada, extradition may come into play but my uncle has some pull to get it done rather quickly."
"Let's make that move then."
He let me go so I could go find my phone. It was hiding underneath one of the many pillows that decorated our bed.
I unlocked my screen and went to my contacts. Aubrey sat down beside me on the bed. Once I found his name, I was hesitant to press it. I looked over at Aubrey, who began to gently stroke my hair.
"I don't know what to expect when he hears my voice," I said.
There had been so many times I wanted to call him and say I'm okay and I'm sorry for everything. I felt horrible that they had no clue if I was dead or alive.
"I'm right here baby," he held my hand with a squeeze, "let's go home."
I gave him a small, heart filled smile. I looked down before nervously pressing his name.
Three rings before he picked up.
"Lizzy?" There was so much hope in his voice.
"Yea?" I began to frown. I wanted to cry just hearing my Uncle's voice. I haven't seen him in so long, I miss him so much.
"Oh my god, it's you," he sounded like he couldn't believe it.
"Yea," my eyes watered, "It's me."
Aubrey gently rubbed my back.
"Are... Are you okay? Thank God that you're alive."
"I'm fine. I know everyone is confused about what happened that night. And I know I've been gone for a some months now, and it's time I face you and everyone else."
"I'm listening."
"Okay. Um, first and foremost I am so sorry for the worry I caused everyone. I know you were all going crazy looking for me and Gis.. Gis is here with me. She's okay and-"
"Where are you?"
"In Colombia...," I looked down at my fingers.
"Colom... Lisedi, how?"
"I'll explain in a second. I also want to let you know that the man I drove away with... He's my boyfriend."
"Lis.." I could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"I didn't know he was a drug dealer. I found out the day we picked him up," I wiped tears that fell, "But I loved him. I still love him now, and he's here with me, too."
"How did this happen?"
"When he got into my car, I just wanted to talk to him. I was so mad at him for not telling me that he was a drug dealer. And then I got a call on my phone. It was a man who sounded scary.. He said he was Aubrey's boss. Basically the real kingpin. And he had us on the phone for so long, giving us orders and threats... That's why I couldn't answer nobodies calls."
"What orders? What did he threaten you with?"
"He didn't want Aubrey snitching. And now that I knew, he didn't want me snitching, either. He told us not to stop. To drive until he decided we were far enough. And if we didn't follow his orders, he had eyes on our families. He said he'd kill them all."
"What's his name?"
"Travis... He's here, too. I'm tired of him threatening me and Aubrey. So... I guess I'm snitching to you about him."
"One last question... How did Gissy get into this?"
"She knew Aubrey and Aubreys friends. They knew immediately and told her. She went against my wishes, and followed me here. She didn't want me here alone."
It was quiet for a second. My hands were shaking.
"Okay. There are warrants out for your and Aubrey's arrest. But, if this is a true story...."
I crossed my fingers.
"Then they won't stick."
My eyebrows shot up. I looked up at Aubrey and patted his leg. I gave him a thumbs up.
"Thank you. Thank you, so much. We wanna come home, so badly. But if we do, we can't get arrested when we land. We need a pardon to enter Canada. Please?" I said in my sweetest voice.
"Whatever my princess wants, she must have."
I smiled, "Thank you. I love you so much, Uncle Jet."
"I love you too. I hope there's some evidence. They're gonna want to bring you both in for questioning but if you have something concrete that supports what you're telling me I can work something out."
"Okay... Oh and Uncle Jet?"
"Yeah?"
"Keep this between us for right now. Don't let the family know. At least until we get home."
"Okay. You're mother and father are going to be so happy. This has been hard on them."
"I know...I miss them."
"I'll call you as soon as I know something, okay. Be safe."
"Okay. Bye Uncle. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye bye."
I sighed, feeling like a little weight was now off my shoulders. We got Travis to agree. I've called Uncle Jet and got the process started. Now all that's left is to get the okay to board a plane bound for Toronto.
I looked over at Aubrey. By the way his eyebrows furrowed creating wrinkles on his forehead I could tell he was in pensive thought.
"We're one step closer, babe," I rubbed his knee.
He shook his head and pointed to my phone, "I can't completely trust that."
"What do you mean ?"
"I don't trust them niggas in uniform. Never have. Your uncle can have the best intentions but that doesn't mean that's how it's gonna go down. It sounds good but we still need to stay a step ahead."
"Um okay...how do we do that?"
"We need to get married."
"What? Married? How is that going to-"
He stood up and paced as he rubbed his beard, "Spousal privilege. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, in a criminal case the prosecution cannot compel the defendant's spouse to testify against him. But it only applies if the defendant and the spouse witness are currently married at the time of the prosecution."
"Wait. So..."
"So if we're married and they decided to press charges and prosecute me they can't force you to testify against me. It also prevents communications between us during a marriage from being entered into evidence. And you'll have the right to object to presenting evidence of communications between us that happened during the course of our marriage."
"You think it'll turn around on us like that?"
He disappeared into the closet for less than a minute and came back.
"I don't know. But what I do know is that no matter what happens I want to ensure that you're safe and taken care of. Us being married not only allows spousal and marital privilege to protect you, but access to my homes and finances to support you and conjugal visits so that you can see when whenever you want."
"Conjugal visits? Aubrey you're not going to jail. I won't let them take you."
"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and this is not how I wanted to do this...I love you so much. More than any woman I've ever claimed to love before."
My stomach filled with butterflies when he got down on one knee and held out a black velvet box.
"I've wanted to propose to you for a while now. Not cause of the situation at hand but ...it's the way you love me unconditionally, the way you ride for me, the way you care for me. Like I told Chubbs, she kicks it with me like a homey, loves me like a wife should and takes care of me like a mother would. I'll honor and cherish that for all of my days. This isn't even the ring that I wanted for you. I'm having that made in Toronto right now as we speak. But I promise when we get back I'm going to make everything like you've dreamed of since you were a little girl. Lisedi Sofia Scott, will you marry me?"
I wanted to say yes but the words didn't want to come out. That's how excited I was. I repeatedly nodded my head, sticking out my left hand. I frowned in awe.
He slid the rose gold ring onto my finger. It was beautiful... How wasn't this the one that he meant to propose with? It looks perfect.
"I love you so much, Aubrey," I pulled him closer by his hand.
He got up, sitting next to me on the ledge of the bed, "And I know this wasn't the best way to propose to you, nor would there be a huge wedding right now. But I promise to give you the world once we're back in Toronto. I'm gonna do it all over again, the way you imagined in your dreams. I'll do it properly, I-"
"Oh, stop talking," I pressed my lips against his. My hands rested on the sides of his jaw.
He kissed back, giving a little tongue. I felt the love from him. It was so strong.
"You're perfect," I pecked his lips. Even in this fucked up situation, he's perfect. It wasn't the proposal of my dreams, but he did it. And I love him even more for it.
He planted a kiss on my cheek before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed a number.
"Serg?" He spoke into the phone.
I stroked his bare chest.
"I proposed to her, man, thank you for the connect with that ring. Listen, were ready to get married. Like now, we need those papers."
I got jittery inside just listening to him say those words. My fingers tugged at his waistband.
He gave me wide eyes as he talked on the phone, "We don't need a ceremony, we just need it to be official. We'll be doing all that stuff when we get back home."
I took his semi-hard length out and stroke it with my hand so it could get to its full potential. I watched as he listened to Serg talk to him about whatever dealing with the marriage certificates.
"Keep playing with me," he mouthed as he listened.
I raised an eyebrow. I straddled him as he was sitting up straight.
"No problem. That won't be too long, would it?" Aubrey said as he glared at me.
All I had on was a thong under my mini silk nightgown. I moved my panties to the side, and held his length against my slit. I started to grind on his member.
"Okay, that'll be perfectly fine," Aubrey said before biting his lip, "Fuck," he mouthed with his eyes closed.
I held his hard dick at my opening before sliding down on him. I held onto him as I start to grind on him, my hips in a circular motion.
His face was twisted in pleasure, "Thank you, I owe you, man. See you soon," Aubrey quickly hung up. He looked down at how I was moving on him. A small lick to his upper lip before looking back at me, "Where did this naughtiness come from?"
"You're going to be my husband in the next hour or so. I want to celebrate. For at least five minutes. So we can save all our real celebration for Toronto," I smirked.
"You got it then. That's one of the sexiest things you've ever done by the way," his hands planted on my hips. He hissed in pleasure.
"Is it?" I started to bounce instead of grind.
"Hell yea," he grabbed my ass tightly with one hand, "Just when I thought I couldn't love you more."
I laughed. We didn't play around for too long. A calming, soothing quickie. The first we've ever had. It was fun, not too loud, and spontaneous.
I followed Aubrey downstairs like a puppy for something to eat. Rosa was making a big breakfast as this was her last morning here with us. We're letting her go tonight.
We waited kindly, knowing Rosa didn't like people peeking when she was making her masterpieces in the kitchen. But to soothe our hunger, we both grabbed waters. We talked to the crew about what was going on. They were relieved. Definitely excited to be back in the real world soon. Gisela was a bit stand-offish, but was fine once she heard that we were going back. We also shared the lovely news of the proposal, and of course, the boys teased him for going from player to husband within a year. But nonetheless, they said congratulations to us and our relationship.
The doorbell rang. It was Serg, for sure. And with him, were our papers.
We offered him breakfast. It was cool to sit down and talk to him for a little while amongst the group. This was feeling like my family more and more as each day went by.
Once we finished, Serg brought Aubrey and I into the living room. He presented us with a paper to apply for a marriage license. We filled it out and signed our names at the bottom after providing him with copies of our identity in the form of a driver's licenses and passports. When that paperwork is submitted and approved, we would receive a marriage certificate and have to go down to the office of an official Colombian notary to have a civil ceremony performed. There was no hesitation. We were there with the next couple of hours making everything official. Chubbs and Gissy came along as our witnesses. We were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham in a small office by someone we had just became acquainted with. Either way, I was now his wife. He was my husband. The notary informed us that there is no legal requirement to notify the Canadian Embassy of the marriage, or that we register the marriage with the Canadian government. The documentation was submitted and approved by Aubrey connect in the Toronto probate court. The marriage would be recognized. We were good to go.
Aubrey
It was official. I'm a married man. It's something I've been thinking about. Now it's a done deal. I know it's not how she envisioned it happening, but I'd take care of that once we were home and free. As much as I wanted to love on and sex her for the remainder of the evening, I had to make sure Serg's guys were holding shit down. CJ, Chubbs and I rode by check things out. Travis, Ethan and the other five guys were still bound as we left them. Every part of the house was covered with armed men.
Ethan and I had made eye contact. It held for a moment. I had flashbacks of us growing up together. Grade school on up. He was at my college graduation. I never thought this nigga would switch up on me. Put me, my crew and my now wife's life in jeopardy. Then I became torn. His conversation with Lisedi replayed in my head just as she told me. He was remorseful. Forced to chose between me and the safety of his family. Not trusting me to protect him. But not allowing his new boys to kill me or Lizzy. Do I spare him before the authorities infiltrate or let him go out with who he betrayed me for?
Incoming Call: Lisedi
It was a habit for me to answer quickly.
"Yeah baby?"
"Hey where are you?"
"I had to go check on some shit. I'll be back in a little bit. Everything okay?"
"Yeah. I just got a call from my Uncle and the Canadian government has issued a warrant for Travis' arrest and had ordered for the Colombian authorities to apprehend him until they get someone over here to transport him to Toronto."
I could hear the excitement and relief in her voice.
"Okay, so what about us?"
"They're sending a plane for us that my uncle's friend and his partner will be on. They're detectives. Since they're still warrants out for us it protocol. We'll be fine though. Travis will be brought into interrogation as soon as we land, so will we. But when he confesses that he kidnapped us then those warrants are out the window, we're free to go and he has to deal with the justice system."
"Okay," I looked over at Ethan once again, "I'm on my way back now. Have everybody get their shit packed. I'm sure this is all going to happen before the night is over."
"Okay I will. I love you."
"I love you too."
I hung up and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
"Chubbs, CJ we gotta move," I said, "it's bout to get hot."
They understood my lingo and nodded. I looked at Travis and shook my head, smirking cause I knew this was a wrap for him.
I didn't say a word, but CJ came up and gave him a mean hook to his jaw. He slumped over with blood dripping from his mouth.
We followed Chubbs out. Ethan was closest by the door. Seeing him in my peripheral caused me to stop.
"Yo AG what are you doing? Let's go," CJ said.
I gripped my gun in my hand and walked over to Ethan. He was nervous. Probably having his life flashing before his eyes. I couldn't erase him
sparing my life. My hands somehow ended up on the rope and untied it.
"We ain't good," I looked him in his eyes, "I don't fuck with you, but I suggest you hurry up and get out of here."
"Dude what the fuck?" Chubbs said.
I guess he was shocked that I was letting him go. He just sat there looking at me as if I was crazy. So did Serg's guys, but I gave them a look of assurance to trust what I was doing.
I didn't utter another word. I hustled to the car ignoring Chubbs and CJ's questions. My focus was elsewhere at this point. Getting back to T Dot as a free man.