Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

been seven years since Gloria had moved away to Florida and started her restaurant franchise.
    Gloria objected to the idea immediately. “My doctors, husband and business are all here.” Yarni knew her mother and could sense that there was something she wasn’t telling her.
    “We have doctors here, and Sam can come with you. With all the technology at hand, he can work from anywhere. And as far as your business, you have people in place that can run the restaurants.”
    Gloria was adamant, not willing to budge.
    “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be just fine, baby. Don’t worry.”
    “Mom, this is crazy for you to have to go through alone.”
    “I’m not alone. Sam’s here.”
    “I mean, without me. You shouldn’t be going through this without me.”
    “I’m trying to figure out who needs who more here,” Gloria sighed, “with everything going on in your life.”
    “I do need you, Mom, which is why I want to make sure you’re here on Earth for as long as possible.”
    Usually Yarni told Gloria everything. She wanted to share what was going on in her and Des’s life with the robbery and all, but this one time she kept her own problems to herself.
    Just then the bedroom intercom came to life with Des’s voice. “Baby girl, I need you to come down here.”
    Yarni responded, “I’ll be down in a minute.”
    “Go see what your husband needs. I’ll be fine. Baby, don’t worry, everything will be okay.” Gloria tried to sound convincing, but Yarni could hear the uncertainty in her mother’s voice. “We can finish this debate later. Go check on Des.”
    Yarni didn’t want to hang up, but before she could protest, her mother had already told her that she loved her and said good-bye. Gloria had hung up the phone.
    Yarni was devastated about her mother’s biopsy results. It’s all she thought about as she walked down the stairs to be by her man’s side.
    “It’s called covering my ass,” Des explained to Slim as Yarni walked into the great room. “I plan on the po-po not givin’ a fuck and doing nothing. But if somewhere down the line I have to rubber-band a cat and they find him stretched out, I can say I was in fear for my life. And to better my defense, I would have already created the paper trail to back me up when I’m facing those twelve on the jury.” Des turned and winked at Yarni, letting her know that he’s paid attention to her work.
    Yarni rolled her eyes. Des was always finding a way to makethings work in his favor. His own favor, mind you. This had nothing to do with the favor of God.
    Putting dirt in the face of the person responsible would come naturally, Des thought, but first they had to find out who the person or people were who were fucking with his life and livelihood. It was like trying to figure out when a prostitute contracted HIV: the possibilities were endless.
    Des had put his hands on over a million dollars before his eighteenth birthday. Being from the hood in the eighties with that type of cake behind a man’s mitt brings lots of enemies. And the list didn’t end with his foes. If Yarni wouldn’t have run across the paperwork naming his boy, Rico, as a federal witness against Des in a CCE case, Des never would have believed it. Rico was his street brother, loyalty bound by blood. Betrayal of that loyalty cost Rico his life. Could Rico’s Colombian family be out for retribution? They definitely had the money and the resources. And everyone knows that on the streets, the desire for revenge often never goes away. Like a family gene, it’s passed on from one generation to the next.
    “I’ma get a shower and some rest,” Des said to Slim. “Think about this shit some more. Hit me if something comes up before morning, a’ight? Besides, I think Yarni and I need some alone time.”
    Slim understood. He gave Des a pound and a brotherly hug and hugged Yarni before leaving.
    Yarni and Des, worn out both physically and mentally from the past days’ events, retreated