Jeffrey was going over the surveillance photos of the Morales HQ again, as usual. Nothing different. He sat at his desk, combing over them again and again until something stood out. In many of the photos there was the same girl leaving and entering the house many times over. She had straight hair, shades and designer clothes which included the tightest jeans and highest heeled boots many of those times. He had seen this girl many times without noticing her, dismissing her as Teto's main girl. She was dressed better than all of the other girls and carried herself in a way that exuded confidence and smug authority. He had seen her type before, so it never resonated with him why she was so familiar to him now.

Then he remembered the gala. There was a girl in shades, he noticed the caramel brown girl among the sea of mostly white faces. She stood way in the back, trying to seem inconspicuous wearing all black, her hair in her face.

He stared at the pictures for a long time. "Same girl?" he thought to himself and then confirmed it, "Shit, same fucking girl."

Who was this girl? Why would a girl who was associated with Teto, come and check him out? Was she a spy? Did Teto know that he was the one leading the investigation, had he sent someone to possibly harm him, stake him out or members of his family?

That seemed too far fetched to Jeffrey, so he tried to find another connection.

Meanwhile, Wicks sat at a bar downing scotch. It was a couple weeks later and he was still kicking himself for letting herself go once again. As dumb as he was, he found out nothing about her whereabouts or anything else about her. He let his emotions cloud everything. How could she take him seriously if he couldn't control his body around her? Maybe she was right, maybe men only thought about one thing. He wanted to be her friend so bad but he just couldn't help wanting her the way he did. He was a fool to think Leese could possibly distinguish sex from love. He somehow thought, after that first night with her, that maybe she could.

As Wicks sat thinking and as Jeffrey sat thinking it was almost as if the same light bulb had gone off over both of their heads. They finally thought they had it figured out. It was so obvious that it wasn't obvious.

Wicks took out his cell phone and dialed Jeffrey who picked up immediately. "It's funny that you call Wicks. I didn't think you would." he said, "I was just thinking about Leese."

"Really? Me too."

Meanwhile the girl was at home, going through her usual routine. Teto hadn't gotten back from overseas yet and a million thoughts whizzed through her head, though none of them were of the two men who were plotting a way to save her from the storm that was about to happen, and all the rain that would fall.

There were several reasons why neither Wicks nor Jeffrey could straight up go to Leese and warn her that Teto Morales and everyone in his camp was going down, and hard. In Wicks' case, he couldn't leave her a message or even text her because Teto monitored her closely. He also couldn't just show up where she lived—he would stand out like a sore thumb. And if Leese were caught just talking to another man that Teto didn't know she could suffer severe consequences. Once he had figured out that "Teto" was the guy taking care of her, he knew how dangerous the situation was for her.

In Jeffrey's case, well, he was a cop—a well known cop at that. His presence near the HQ would be quite conspicuous in any case, and even if he managed to meet her far away from where she stayed, he never knew who was watching. If people found out Leese was associated with a cop, let alone the cop who was leading the investigation against Teto at that, it would mean trouble for her.

Wicks used the code he told her he would use when calling her. He'd call her private twice in a row, letting it ring two times each and hanging up before another ring could happen. That's how she'd know it was him calling. She called him back once but he couldn't get to the phone in time. Besides that time she kept avoiding him like the plague. He had to try and talk to her, and soon.

Meanwhile Leese had been patiently waiting for Teto to return. It was in the middle of the night when she heard his bedroom door creak open down the hall. She had left her door open just for this reason, as she was only pretending to be sleep. She knew he'd come here before he'd go to his real home.

She pulled on her silk robe and crept barefooted to his bedroom. He was already in bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, having collapsed on top of all of the covers. She slipped her robe off and lay down next to him. He said something sweet in Spanish and pulled her close to him.

She whispered in his ear, "Teto?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's my brother?"

"Your who?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"You ain't got no brother."

She didn't say anything, just stared at him intently in the dark with a glazed over look that crept him out. Finally, he had to speak:" You asking me about that motherfucker again?" He sucked his teeth, "I told you he just dipped out."

She pushed herself away from him, and in a swift movement, rolled her body on top of him, straddling his torso. He was smiling but she wasn't. This wasn't a joke to her.

"Turn on the light." She commanded. Puzzled he did as he was told, reaching over toward the nightstand until he found the switch on the lamp. Once he did, she stared him directly in the eyes, her straight hair falling down onto his chest. She wanted him to see her face clearly, and how deadly serious she was.

"Querida, what's wrong with you?"

"I already know you took some seventeen year old little bitch with you on your little trip." She said. "But don't worry, I don't care. I just want you to know that I know."

He tried not to look surprised but it wasn't quite working.

"I know a lot of things Teto. Things you try to hide from me. Let me tell you, as much as you don't like being lied to.neither do I." Her anger was slowly welling up inside of her, she was shaking, so angry that she would take this chance, be this bold.

"You think you're crazy?" she laughed. "All the shit you put me through you think it didn't do nothing to my mind?" She shook her head, "If my brother is gone then that means I don't have anything left. Nothing to live for. Nobody."

"You got me," he said nervously, "Me, who took you from the gutter, raised you up? Huh? Don't you forget that."

"You don't love me," she said softly stroking his hair covered face. " And if he's gone, I'll officially have nothing to live for, you understand? Nothing's gonna matter much to me. Nothing's gonna put fear in my heart the way it used to."

He tried to feign disinterest, coolness, but she could tell, that even with no weapon in her hands, with nothing but the cold dead look in her eyes that she was frightening him. To other people what she was doing right now wouldn't be anything to be frightened of, but she knew what to say, how to look at him, and what words to use to get inside of his mind and to exploit his own insecurities. This was a dangerous thing, but she didn't care right now.

"You used to tell me, ever since I was a little girl.a real little girl, barely developed tits or hips, damn near didn't have all of my grown up teeth yet. You used to tell me, as you touched me, as you used me up, that this is what I was meant for." She scoffed, "If you know my destiny so well how come you don't see yours? You walking around carefree like everything is all good, like nothing will ever stop you."

"What the fuck are you talking about Leese?" he growled.

"You think everybody you try to play won't figure it out sooner or later?" She asked. "They will. You think you're protected? You believe you can go around doing whatever you want, whenever you want, no consequences? You've had a semi-charmed life sweety, even for a dope hustler, a pussy peddler. You haven't been in a vulnerable position in your life for a long time because you haven't taken the real risks. You haven't done what it takes to make real money. To build a real empire. You think you really doing something up in here don't you?" She shook her head, "One day a real hustler is going to take over your blocks, and your women, and even this HQ, and it's going to be so easy. And before that day even comes another one will, when someone out of all the people you fucked over, says 'enough is enough' and then does something about it. It's all gonna come crashing down Idin." She traced the outline of his lips, having never touched him so affectionately, which was confusing him and frightening him all at once.

"Don't get me wrong," she said "I'm not threatening you myself." She bent down and kissed him dryly on the lips, leaving him in a daze when she pulled away. "You're all I have right now."

He gulped, "I thought you said you had nothing?"

She smiled, dismounting him and getting up off of the bed. "Goodnight." She said turning the lights off and closing his door.

He stared up at the ceiling in the dark, finding it hard to sleep. Thoughts buzzed around in his head. The thinking is what was killing him the most. What did this all mean?

She smiled as she sauntered back to her room, knowing what she had just done to his mind was punishment enough. For now. For all she knew he could get up right now and slit her throat in anger. She'd be ready for whatever he had in store, because she meant what she said. She had nothing and no one to live for, not anymore.

The next morning he came into her bedroom bearing a sharp combat knife. Leese's eyes widened when she saw the glint the light made from sunshine streaming into the window on the cold metal. He stood, bare-chested and in boxers as he turned the knife over and over in his hands. "You're up?" he asked facetiously. "Good, good."

She tried to control the fear building inside of her. She was ready for whatever. She knew her talk must've gotten to him last night. She was just that good at getting into his head. He pulled off her covers until her body was exposed. She wore a short red silk nighty with matching panties. He sat down on the bed next to her as she covered herself with her arms protectively. He slipped the tip of the blade inside of her panties, where her inner-thigh met the fabric, and in a swift motion cut through the silk, making it snap away from, her body. She shuddered, feeling the cold metal against her skin, watching him intently with her eyes, not moving as he did this to the other side of her panties also. Now her mound, covered with a layer of sparse brown hair was exposed.

He then slid the blade against her stomach, up and up under the thin material of the nighty. He moved the blade all the way up until his arm was tight underneath it struggling for space as he held the knife, his fist pressed against her clavicle. He moved the tip of the blade all the way up to her neck. She threw her head back and shivered as he pressed the tip right beneath her chin, her carotid artery only inches away. He poked until he could see her face squeeze in pain and a droplet of blood ooze from her skin. Satisfied he laughed and pulled the knife away from her in a swift motion, ripping her nighty off completely. She lay exposed, bleeding from her chin, the remains of what she wore only silky remnants surrounding her.

He stuck his tongue out and licked the knife. She winced when she saw him taste her blood. She was disgusted.

He stood up. "Remember, all you got is me mama." he unbuckled his pants and pulled his dick out, "And I ain't letting you go nowhere. You stay with me, whether things crumble to the fucking ground or not, understand? You suffer bitch. You suffer until I say your time is up. And when it is, it'll be by my hands. You won't be walking out of here."

He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up on the bed until she sat, legs hanging over the side. He stood in front of her, shoving his dick into her mouth. She knew the drill. She looked up into his eyes and slowly sucked him off just the way that he liked, blood still dripping down her chin. She watched him, the gaze in her eyes alternating between fear and coldness as she sucked on the tip, tonguing the hole and squeezing his balls just the way he liked.

He grunted as he pulled her face further and further on to his cock making her rapidly bob back and forth on his dick. There were tears in Leese's eyes as her gag mechanism began to act out. He had began thrusting his hips and pushing himself deeper and deeper into her mouth, trying to force his tip into her throat. He had never done this before. She tried to control her nausea as he fucked her face deeply, chocking her, blocking her throat with his meaty cock. Drool fell from her mouth as she tried to breath and suck him off at the same time. She didn't want to gasp or vomit, this was a game she was going to win. A test of wills. She squeezed his balls tight and began to suck at his shaft with ferocity, working her lips to make the tightest suction, caressing his balls and rolling them around in her little palm.

Soon she was back in control as he got lost in his own pleasure. He pulled out of her throat and she was sucking him off now, only taking as much in as she could handle. Suddenly, she pulled him out of her mouth with a plop and then bent down to take his smoothly shaven balls into her mouth. She had heard about this but had never done it before now. She let her tongue play with the round balls inside of his tightening sack as his hard dick rested on top of her head. Surprised at this move she pulled, he only hissed in pleasure as she sucked and hummed on his balls, the vibration sending waves of pleasure from the base of his cock all the way to the tip.

"Shit," he grunted. He could see his dick, slick with her spit, twitch as it rested comfortably on top of her head. The veins throbbed as she sucked and swirled her tongue around his sack. He almost couldn't take it.

Finally, she spit the balls out of her mouth and went to work on his dick again. She sucked the shaft, slurping at his hardness, reveling the fact that she was in control right now, and that she could still shock and awe him even now. Voluntarily, she inched his dick further and further into her mouth until the tip was nearly entering her throat. She relaxed her body and breathed slow as she tried to get him as deep into her face as possible. The look on his face was worth it as he stood still, breathing deeply as he enjoyed the visual of her trying not to gag on his cock. She still managed to suck on him, all the while still looking into his eyes intently.

Soon, he felt his balls become tighter knowing that he was about to come. When he did, he filled her mouth with his seed until it dribbled out of the corners and down her chin.

When he left, she spit him out right then and there, getting the mess of her saliva and his cum everywhere.



On Christmas Eve, Leese went to Shamika's door again, assisted by Fat Lucy with a bunch of presents and a ready-to-eat dinner she purchased from a good Soul food restaurant across town. She knocked on the door, wanting so desperately to be let in this time. She could hear the scrape of the metal disk of the peephole against the door and knew who was looking at her.

"Please Shamika, can I see them? Five minutes?"

After a while Shamika opened the door, "She somebody who knows Teto?"

Leese looked at Lucy, "Wait out here, I won't be long." Leese began handing some stuff to Shamika and grabbed some things herself before she came inside. Once in, she saw that they had a tiny little Christmas tree, and it wasn't even real. There were no presents under the tree either.

"They're sleep." Shamika said of the children as she placed the presents around the tiny tree. It looked absurd, many of them were bigger than the tree itself.

"Can I just look at them?" Leese begged.

Shamika nodded in the direction of the bedrooms, but Leese found her way. In one of the bedrooms a night light was on. The little boy slept quietly in the crib that Leese sent over when she first found out of his existence. She was delighted to know that Shamika used it. She leaned over into the crib and kissed his cheek. He was dark like Shamika, but Leese could tell he was going to look like Nino. He was beautiful.

Leese saw Shay-Shay sleeping in her little bed. She went over to the girl and touched her finely braided hair, kissing her also.

Shamika came into the room to see what Leese was up to, but found the girl kneeling at her daughter's bed, head in her hands as her shoulders shook. She knew that Leese was crying. Shamika didn't want to see this right now. It was okay when no one else was crying too, that was when she could trick herself into feeling like things were okay. But they weren't.

She cleared her throat and blinked away the water in her eyes. "You don't have to keep doing this."

Leese looked up with a wet face, a tiny band aid right beneath her chin, "I love them."

Shamika shook her head, "You don't know them."

Leese whispered as she stroked the young girl's hair, "I know them alright. They are of Nino. That's all I need to know."

"I used to be jealous of you," Shamika said, "I thought he was fucking you back in the day. But he told me y'all was just like brother and sister. I believed him, but I was still jealous. I don't think he loved me the way he loved you."

Leese looked up at the pretty brown woman and said, "I guarantee you he did."

Before she left she got one of Teto's goons to go out for a tree, a tree of decent size which wouldn't be overshadowed by the size of the gifts. Lucy was allowed in the apartment and Shamika offered them the same food they brought her while they decorated the tree. While Leese refused, Fat Lucy couldn't help but have some fried chicken. The irony was not lost on Leese but she didn't laugh. She liked Lucy.

As she got up to leave she told Shamika, "Tell them Santa came and brought them all of this."

Shamika shook her head, "I don't fill their head with all that Santa nonsense. I'm gonna tell them the truth."

Leese frowned a little as she waited to hear Shamika's response.

"Their Aunty Leese brought them Christmas. I'll tell them that."

The holiday spirit was alive at the HQ. Leese had a large dinner catered for everyone, all of the dopeboys, the street girls, the goons, runners and burros.everyone Teto employed. She made sure everyone got a gift. It was either expensive cologne or perfume, or a pair of boots or sneakers along with gift cards to a department store downtown. They went crazy. Not only were they impressed with things that cost a lot of money but most of them hadn't ever had a Christmas gift in their whole entire lives. They knew all this was because of Leese. Last year and even the year before when Teto had just begun his employee turnover—bringing in lots of people too new to be tired of his shit—he had never given them anything on Christmas. He only rubbed it in that he had a nice home in the suburbs to go to and a wife and kids. But Lisa, Lisa had given them Christmas.

Teto said to her, "I knew you were too soft.look at this shit." he said as the happy people sat around the table opening their gifts and eating. "Bullshit." Leese ignored him but took notice when he accepted credit for all of the thanks he got. She knew that they knew who really was to thank, but she didn't care.

Later on that night, before Teto was to leave to his "real" home, he came to Leese's door. She lay in bed, depressed and lonely, her eyes closed to feign sleep. He nudged her and she said something about being too tired. She really wasn't in the mood to fuck right now.

"I don't wanna fuck." He said, "I just want you to kiss me."

Her back faced him so he couldn't see her eyes pop open in amazement and disgust. She could tell he had been drinking.

"How come you won't love me the way you love them?" He asked.

"Love who?"

"Everybody else." He said flopping down on the bed next to her. "You always treat them like special."

"You mean, like human beings?"

"How come you won't love me?"

"Because you don't love me."

"Yes I do." He said, his voice softening. She turned around to face him telling him to go home to his wife and children.

"I do though!"

"You don't." She said calmly. "You just want me to love you so you can feel like some big man. If you loved me, I wouldn't even be here right now. You would've let me go when I was thirteen."

"You wanted to stay."

"You should've known better." She said. "If you loved me, you would've done the right thing. You don't love nobody but yourself Teto."

"You think they care about you though?" he spat the question. "Huh? They don't. I treat 'em the way I do because they stupid. Stupid savages. They don't know no better and don't have no heart."

"They don't have a choice. They're stuck here on these six blocks you got 'em working. In this building. Nobody ever tried to help them, tried to love them, show them right from wrong, give them any opportunities.so how you expect them to act? They gotta take and take and take because no one ever gives. Their unloved, just like me."

"They not like you." he shook his head, "And you was never like them. You're good. A very good girl."

"But me and them, we got something in common though," she said. "You took everything from us so alls we got is you. And you got everything Teto." She turned back over on her side, "Go home to those people who love you. They really do love you."

"Not until you kiss me—"

She grunted in frustration and popped up from the covers, grabbing his face in one swift motion and sticking her tongue in his mouth. She kissed him hard, sucking on his tongue the way Wicks would do to her. It was the first time she ever kissed Teto, and hopefully it would be her last. She felt nothing but bile build up in her throat when she kissed him. It was disgusting. There was nothing sensual or comforting in this.

He on the other hand, loved it. He reached for her, groping and calling her name. She pushed him away, panting. "You said that's all you wanted." She said coldly. "Merry fucking Christmas. Go home."

"I know you liked that," he said getting up off of the bed, "You loooove me Leese." He laughed, "It's okay, I like it when you play hard to get."

She grabbed her other pillow and pulled it over her head to drown out the sound of his voice. Soon, he was gone. "Fucking psycho." she muttered before finally drifting off to sleep. A few hours later, she was stirred awake by acute noise, she heard the girls squealing, doors slamming, and yelling commanding people to get on the floor. The first thing she thought was "stick-up". No one knew that Teto didn't keep the bulk of his money at this location, but that didn't stop people from dreaming about robbing him blind anyway that they could. Leese threw on a robe and reached beneath her bed for the Glock handgun she knew was there. Teto kept guns around the house, he was adamant about keeping it anyplace he had happened to sleep.

She grabbed the cold metal, and hid inside of the walk in closet with the light off, sitting down on a fabric covered stool with her gun pointed toward the door as she panted excitedly.

She heard them barge into her room. She stood and aimed her gun for the door, cocking back the trigger. She was prepared to blast anyone who came through until she heard his voice: "Send 'em 'round the back, Marshall, get the wagons ready."

Her heart skipped a beat. This wasn't a robbery.it was a raid. And Jeffrey was heading it up? She had no idea that this was no coincidence.

She still held her gun up just in case they'd shoot first and ask questions later. She hoped that they didn't find her in the closet, not because she just didn't want to get caught there, she just didn't want Jeffrey to find her there. Little did she know, he already knew she was somewhere in the house. She heard him say, "Hold on Marshall." before he yelled, "Is there anybody here?"

Someone kept telling him to check the closet to which he responded, "you think I don't know that you idiot?" He ignored this person and continued to ask if anyone was here. "We're coming in that closet, if you're in there we're coming in."

Suddenly the closet slowly creaked open. Leese had opened the door as she held the gun. Two other men besides Jeffrey raised their rifles.

"Easy now guys," he said to his men. "Fall back. This is nothing. I've got this." He told her to put down her weapon. Even now, it was hard not to obey him. She did as she was told and dropped her hands at her side.

"All the way down," someone else yelled at her. She didn't listen to him though, he wasn't her father. She still held her gun.

They reluctantly put down their weapons and Jeffrey had managed to say things and give them orders that convinced them to leave him alone with her. She was nobody, just like one of these chicks they'd found squealing in their underwear in the middle of the night right? They followed the Commish's orders and went to another part of the house.

When they left he asked her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, "I thought you hated Teto."

"I do." She said. "But he's what I deserve."

Jeffrey sucked his teeth and shook his head, "That's bullshit and you know it. You know what's just the worst part? You left us, to come to this. Look at what you've got yourself into now Leese."

She shrugged, "He's not here."

"We know, but that don't stop everybody from going down."

"Including me?"

He sighed and loosened in his stance. He almost didn't want to believe she was here although he was tacitly glad she was because at least he knew that she was still alive. He had told no one, not even Rita that he worried about her ever since she left. He tried to play it cool because he was so hurt that she'd just go like that. But was it really his fault that she left and turned up here?

He looked at her outline in the dark. She had gotten thinner. Everything about her was off. Her hair wasn't the same, her face, those silky things she wore. That wasn't Leese, not his Leese. And now, would it be his Leese going to jail? Once Teto finds out that they are related he's going to think Leese was in on the whole thing, and even if he knows that she wasn't, he's going to start dropping her name for things she didn't even have a hand in. She could be one of the people he gives up in a plea-bargain. Jeffrey had known this ever since he found out who the mysterious girl in the shades was, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He started this case as a way of punishing Teto for what he did to his daughter. It was personal. But little did he know his daughter was right here in the thick of things, doing God knows what for the punk. If he could just go back in time and not even get so aggressive with trying to bring him down, this could've been averted. He knew he didn't have much on Teto to send him away for a long time. There was circumstantial evidence that he was involved in ordering a few murders, and of course some serious drug and prostitution charges but he didn't know if they'd stick. Jeffrey had just wanted to shake up his organization so much that it fell apart, leaving the man with nothing and no one to come back to once he did get his legal troubles settled. He didn't know that his attempt to avenge Leese could be the very thing that brought her down.

"It's all over for me isn't it?" Leese said, still holding the gun at her side.

"Why did you do this?" Jeffrey asked. They still stood far apart cautiously. "Why'd you come back to him? Don't you know what he did to Nino?"

Her face froze solid as she tilted her head just so to the left. He could tell that her eyes were filled with questions, but that look passed and she only said "So it's true, he's gone isn't he?"

Jeffrey breathed in deeply and nodded his head.

She gave a little scoff and dropped down to her knees, all color draining from her face.

"Shit," he muttered. "Leese, are you okay?" He could feel the tension rising in his body, from his spine to his neck. The air smelled differently as he looked into her face. She had a dead eyed stare that he'd never seen before. He was frightened.

"I didn't know until a few weeks ago," she said staring emptily into space.

"I'm sorry Leese. I know he was important to you."

"Important?" She shook her head, still not making eye contact with him. "He's all I had. And I never even got the chance to say goodbye. I was running around in the suburbs trying to fit in somewhere I didn't belong. I just should've stayed here. Stayed, where I belonged."

"You don't belong here Leese."

"This is where I grew up.I belong here. This is all I know. And he was my only family. We weren't even blood. I miss him so much.I've been trying to fight it but I miss him so much." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Leese, get up, come with me, we'll work this out." He said becoming nervous as he looked at the Glock still in her hand. He watched her raise it, instinctively raising his gun too. But she pressed it to her temple, tears streaming down her face. A feeling of dread washed over him as he shouted, "No! Leese listen to me."

"He's all I had." she murmured over and over again.

"Leese, put it down! Put the gun down!" He heard his voice crack as sweat poured from his forehead, "He is not all you had. He is not."

"Yes. And it's all over for me right?" She scoffed, "It's definitely all over for him." She shook her head.

He saw her finger hug the trigger a little tighter.

"Maybe I could see him again, that's not too crazy right? Me seeing him again?"

"It's lunacy Leese! Please." he said still holding up his gun. He cursed inwardly at himself. One more thing he couldn't protect her from.all this pain. It was enough to make him not want to feel anything for her, because in the end everything that hurt her would up hurting him almost as much. It hurts too much when you can't do anything about a person's pain, a person who you love but barely know. He tried to convince himself before, when thinking of all she went through, that he didn't know her anyway, so why be burdened and feel guilty about her pain? Why? Because it was his pain. He knew he was crying now, tears running down his face and mucous down his lip. But he couldn't be weak. He had to be strong.

"Greene. Imagine if only one person in this world loved you. No conditions. No lies. No trying to change you or wishing you were somebody else, and not because they could get something from you. Imagine that? It's perfect. And I never even saw it before right now." She bowed her head, staring at her knees, "And now, that one person is gone."

He was frustrated now, knowing he was losing her, "Leese why the fuck did you have to come back here right now! Huh?" He asked her this as if hearing the answer would make everything better. If she were home, back at his home, things would be different. She wouldn't be holding this gun to her head.

She shook her head, "I told you already Greene. Besides, where else was I supposed to go?"

"You could've stayed."

"I can't stay with someone who doesn't believe in me." Her eyes glittered as she finally looked into his.

"I've always believed in you Leese! Even from the beginning with Rita giving me shit about you—"

"You didn't believe me!" she cut him off, "Why didn't you believe me!" She said raising her voice cautiously. "Plus, you didn't tell me the truth about Mil-Ar-Tel."

"Because I was being.I was just.plain 'ole stupid Leese. What more could I have said?"

"You could've said sorry." Her chest was heaving now, her heart beating so fast that she was almost light headed.

"I could've said a lot of things. But I didn't."

"Like what?"

"Like." he rolled his neck around, it always got stiff during tense moments, "I'm proud of you. I swear I am. And I love you. And no matter how stupid I get, I don't want you to leave me."

Her face changed, the light from the hallway filtering in and showing him her confused countenance. "What?"

"Yeah." he gulped. It was hard for him to fight back tears.

"You mean that?" she said in a whisper.

"I don't lie to you. I might not tell you everything that I'm supposed to but I don't lie."

"You love me?" she sobbed.

"Why are you so surprised?" He asked, having to choke back sobs of his own.

She gave him a look of disbelief.

"Truth is I knew I loved you the first time you told me you were my daughter even if I didn't believe you at first. Ever since I found out, I've been asking myself, 'how do you love someone that you don't even know'?" He shook his head, "Not logical."

She knew this feeling first hand. While she fought what she felt for Jeffrey, she embraced it with Nino's children. They were innocent, only babies. She couldn't see them forming judgments about her just yet so she loved them without fear because there was little to no chance that they would reject her love. Suddenly, she understood where Jeffrey was coming from. There's always a fear of things you don't know, of things you are not used to. He was not used to her, and not used to loving and accepting someone whom he had no part in raising or shaping. And she was not used to anything except depending on people who weren't worth even knowing. She never thought that someone like Jeffrey could love her. He was the opposite of everything she expected from a man. He was a stand up, do right, no nonsense guy who'd rather die than be dishonorable. How could he love her?

"Why didn't you just tell me?" she sniffled.

He half shrugged as he answered, "I didn't think you felt the same way about me."

She frowned, "Are you kidding me?"

"What was I supposed to say? Rita kept saying that.that you did love me but it was hard to believe her. I don't know why."

She remembered the times Rita would tell her that Jeffrey truly cared about her. It was hard for her to believe this too. She didn't know what he had going on inside of that head of his. She couldn't read him.how could she have really known?

And then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She stared into his eyes and said, "There are some things you keep questioning.you're too afraid you might be wrong so you just accept the bad over the good.like a defense. Just in case it turns out your gut was wrong. Just in case it turns out you were thinking with your heart instead of your head."

The air was heavy with tension and silence until he said softly, "I thought you would've figured it out by now Leese."

"I was afraid—"

"You don't have to be afraid ever again," he interrupted, " I mean, let' s make a deal. You don't have to be afraid, and I won't either. But we gotta get through this.so you need to just put it down."

She pulled the gun away from her head and looked at it longingly before she asked, "You're not just saying this so I can not blow my brains out?" she asked, "'Cause I ain't no punk. I'll still do it."

He laughed as she slowly put the gun down on the floor.

When the other two officers had come back into the room they drew their weapons. He commanded them to stand down. Leese held her hands up and stood saying that she had nothing on her, no weapons. Jeffrey confirmed this. One of them proceeded with the cuffs, reading her the Miranda rights.

Jeffrey wanted to stop them, but he couldn't. This was the procedure. "Not too tight," he said of the cuffs. He walked over to the girl as he put his gun away and grabbed her by one of the wrists cuffed in front of her. "Come on, I got her."

They walked out of the house, grim looks on their faces. Jeffrey wished that she hadn't pulled a stunt like that. It would've given him more time to think, to think of a way to keep her out of jail for at least tonight. She had done too much suffering as it was, and he didn't want to think of her going through another thing that he had no control over. He wanted to protect her, like real fathers do. But he couldn't even hug her right now. It was impossible All he said was "Leese?"

"Yeah?"

"You do that again, I'll kill you before you can even pull the trigger."



Hours later on Christmas Day he came alone to post her bail. Rita had sent with him some clothes for her to wear, choosing to stay home with the sleeping children and pow wow on the phone with other lawyers she knew. Teto was singing like a canary, and out of spite, just as everyone predicted, he had implicated Leese in tons of illegal charges. Whether she'd be brought up on them and convicted remained to be seen at this point. Only one thing was for sure: she was the Commissioner's daughter and whatever happened would cause a huge scandal. It was nothing Jeffrey couldn't handle though. He'd rather have everyone know who she was rather than have her be some anonymous girl who just got caught up in the streets. As someone who wasn't anonymous she had a better chance of beating the charges if it came down to the jury just believing her word against Teto's.

The guards let her change into the clothes he had brought her and soon she had emerged wearing a short sleeved white tee over a long sleeved one, and broken in denim jeans that hadn't quite clung to her hips the way they used to because of the weight she lost. She wore clean white sneakers and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. There was no makeup, no glamour, nothing but Leese. She grinned when she saw him, hastily making her way over to him, nearly running into his arms. He lifted her up and squeezed back laughing, "Merry Christmas Elise."

She held on to him for dear life, sobbing into his neck. He patted her back and tried to soothe her, trying to control his own emotions as he held her for the first time ever. His daughter. His baby. She was safe in his arms. He could protect her now.

"I love you daddy," she whispered into his ear. As maudlin as it seemed, she was sincere, and to him, it was like opening up a gift of his own right then and there.

"I love you too," he said. "Let's go home."

When he brought Leese into the house all havoc ensued. The girls were already excited because they were told they couldn't open any of the gifts until their father got home. Little did they know he would be bringing them another gift.

The girls bum rushed Leese almost toppling her to the floor. There were hugs and kisses and tears from Rita and the girls. It was a bit overwhelming for Leese, but she maintained her composure. She was content with watching the girls open their gifts and then sitting down to the food she had missed out on for months when the family ate breakfast. Hours ago she had seriously considered putting a bullet through her head. Now she was glad that she was still here. Thank God she was still here.

She was tired but couldn't sleep during the day, and now that it was night time Leese stood out back on the patio. The girls were upstairs playing with their toys before they went to bed, and Rita and Jeffrey were in the den on the phone and the computer trying to use all of their contacts and resources to see what they could do for her. And Leese was alone. The pool was beautiful, it's lights illuminating the water from beneath the surface, a heavenly white glow. The tiny pool house was perfect. She had wanted to go and explore but decided against it for some reason. She had wanted to just sit and soak everything in, not move too fast. She wanted to think. Tears came to her eyes as she finally came to terms with the fact that Nino was no more. She was also sad because there was no way she could stroll back into the neighborhood and see his children again. Everyone for sure knew she was a cop's daughter who had been playing house with Teto. Even the people who worked for Teto and liked her probably thought she had snitched on them all. She had to find a way to reach Tony and Shayleese; she couldn't just not ever see them again.

Then she thought about Wicks. Another wave of sadness washed over her. It was the better of the other sadnesses because it was just a selfish sadness that she could relish in, not the sadness that couldn't bring her "brother" back or couldn't get her any closer to his children.

She heard the doorbell ring, wondering who it was when Rita walked back to get her, telling her there was someone there to see her.

Cautiously Leese climbed off of the wooden picnic table that sat on the patio, trying to tell herself that not Jeffrey nor Rita would let someone through who would put her in harm's way. When she got to the front of the house, she was surprised to see none other than Oliver Wicks. He stood, his hands jammed deep in the pockets of his jacket as he smiled sheepishly. "Merry Christmas Harmond."

Jeffrey sat off to the side of the room watching them both carefully. From the corner of her eye she could see Rita try to pull him away but he didn't budge.

Leese scratched her scalp, "Hey, Merry Christmas."

He looked at her, took her all in, "You look good."

"You too." She said matter of factly.

"I have something for you," he said fishing out a little gilded foil covered box from his pocket. "I was hoping we could have some privacy but."

"Just say what you need to say Wicks. They know everything anyways." She said almost flushing red as she looked at the little gold box. "No point in being modest now."

He sighed and nodded, "Fine." He tried handing her the box but she didn't take it.

"I don't want anything from you Wicks." She looked up at him and shook her head.

He looked crushed, "But Leese, just take it, I got it for you, I want you to have it."

She took the box reluctantly. She didn't know if she wanted to open it up in front of everyone despite her own statement that privacy was not needed. She held on to it tightly in the palm of her hand.

"What do you expect this to do?" She asked, looking up into his eyes.

"I just want you to have it, is all." He looked down at his feet, "I'm just hoping we could be friends again, more than anything else. I'm really glad your safe."

"Well I'm fine." She said, "Thanks for your concern." She stuck the box into her pocket and told him, "Thanks for stopping by." She gave him a weak smile and turned away from him, walking out of the room.

When she opened the box in the privacy of her own room she found it was a chunky silver charm bracelet. The "charms" turned out to be small lockets. There were a few of them, all empty. She thought the bracelet was truly beautiful and thoughtful, but she couldn't get swept up into any idealistic feelings about Wicks. If he had given this to her a few weeks ago she would've jumped into his arms and kissed him no matter how angry she was with him. Now, it wasn't merely a question of anger, but of self-protection. She couldn't keep leaving herself open and vulnerable with him. She couldn't survive it.

Life was ironic, she thought as she placed the bracelet on her dresser before she went to bed. Jeffrey had loved her all along and she couldn't say or show him how she felt. But with Wicks, she'd go all the way, to extremes she's never been to just to show him and tell him how she felt. The only reason she lay herself bare like that is because she thought he would cover her, protect her, love her too. She wasn't a good judge of who really loved her or not, of who would protect her. After all, Nino was gone now, and he had always loved her. It wasn't until she realized she would never see him again in this life that she appreciated this.

As happy as she was to be home, as much as she loved being apart of her newfound family, there was a hole in her heart tonight. Tears moistened her pillow as she got under the covers. She tried to think of the good things, only the good things, as she drifted off to sleep.



In the weeks that came soon after Christmas people weren't as hard on Jeffrey as he thought they would be once they knew the whole story. There were no repercussions to his job or reputation—no one looked at him differently or believed that he was connected in any way to Teto Morales based on his kinship with Leese. The worst of was front page coverage by the tabloid newspapers, but overall, it didn't amount to much. Leese hated the attention, but it was her bed and she had to lie in it.

Jeffrey accompanied Leese to her court dates, the last of which cleared her of all charges. Teto got six years in prison, but none of them were for any of the murders he allegedly ordered—there was just not enough proof. As Leese left the courtroom with Jeffrey, gripping his forearm tightly as cameras snapped and people stuck microphones in her face she saw him. Wicks. He was walking out of the courthouse, crossing the street. He had been to a couple of the dates. She'd seen him sitting there with all the other curious public, but ignored him. Right now, she couldn't help noticing him walk toward a tall blonde woman who hugged him and gave him a kiss before they both got into his car.

Leese stood stock still as she watched, making Jeffrey stop abruptly too as he wondered what was wrong. That's when he saw it too. He tugged on her arm and said, "Come on."

They got into the car and were quiet for awhile as Jeffrey merged his car onto the busy street. The sullen look on her face drove him mad until he finally had to say something: "You know Leese, if a man tells you he's no good for you, that's usually the first sign that he's no good for you It also means that he's probably a good man, because he's honest when it counts."

She frowned when she heard him say this, but didn't question. She couldn't even fathom why he was defending Wicks when she thought he had hated him more than even she did. She just didn't want to talk about it.

Later when they had gotten home, she realized her bracelet was not on her dresser. She didn't bother looking for it. She kicked off her shoes and sat Indian-legged on her bed, looking around the room that was now hers for as long as she wanted it. But that would probably change temporarily by this evening. She was going to meet her grandmother—Jeffrey's mom—who would probably stay in her room while she slept on the couch or in the pool house. She was nervous and could hardly wait, hoping that the woman liked her enough. Rita and the girls had gone to get her at the airport. Leese shook herself out of her reverie and began tidying up her room in preparation.

Hours later Izzy burst into her room and shouted, "She's here! She's here!" Leese put down her book and followed the little girl out of the room and down the stairs.

When she first saw her, she could hardly find the words to speak. Leese could've sworn she recognized her nose and lips on the woman, whose smooth supple skin was a warm mahogany brown. She was youthful with big brown eyes and salt and pepper hair that fell in a fluff down to her shoulders. Her smile was bright and wide as she laid eyes on Leese. She was so beautiful to Leese that the young girl just couldn't stop staring.

"My word." Jessica Greene said in a hushed tone as Leese stood in front of her awkwardly, "Look at her! She's Manny all over!"

Jeffrey kind of squinted and looked at her, "Hey, she does look a lot like Dad!"

"I told you," Rita said, punching him in the arm.

Jessica pulled the young girl in and hugged her tightly. How good her grandmother smelled, how comforting were her arms. Leese smiled as she hugged the woman who said, "You're just so beautiful!"

After dinner it was decided that Leese would sleep in the den. She hunkered down on the sofa, ready to sleep for the night when she noticed something shiny that caught her eye on the end table. She sat up among the covers that had been lovingly fixed on the couch by her Grandma Jessica and saw her bracelet, clear as day. She crawled over to the table and picked it up. What was it doing down here?

One of the lockets had been opened. Leese was about to push it close when she saw a picture inside. Inside she saw two little girls smiling as they held each other, their little shining faces the only thing you could see in the picture. Leese gasped. Her sisters! Izzy and Chrissy!

Something told her to open up another locket, and inside she found a picture of her father and Rita. It was fairly recent she could tell, but not taken any time during her presence in the household. They looked so happy. Finally she opened the last locket. Her heart nearly dropped down to her stomach when she saw the two beautiful faces inside. It was Shayleese and Anthony Jr.

"How?" she asked herself out loud as she put the bracelet on hurriedly, admiring it on her wrist, taking the time to pop open and close each little pretty star shaped charm. It was beautiful, her most prized possession. She knew who made the bracelet finally mean something to her but she had to remember that she had initially received it from Wicks.

She'd wear this forever whether she liked Wicks or not. And thinking about it, she really did believe now that Wicks had wanted to forget Natalie, much in the same way she now wanted to forget him. And though she wanted to forget him she never once threw the gift he had given her back into his face while telling him to never speak to her again. She didn't say or do those things, the same way he didn't say or do anything about Natalie still wearing his ring and calling him her fiancé.

That got Leese thinking as she twirled the bracelet around her wrist. Would she have the strength or desire to tell someone everything or even anything about Wicks who didn't already know about him? If someone asked why she wore his bracelet but would not speak to him would she spill her guts to that person or just try hard to avoid the subject altogether because it hurt too much? Would she want to just forget, to put Wicks out of her mind altogether so that it could be easy to never mention him again if she didn't have to?

She found her father sitting out on a bench in front of the warmly lit pool. The backyard was beautiful now, landscaping had turned the yard into some little hidden lagoon, far away from the rest of the world. She stood for a minute taking it all it, the stone paths, flowers, bushes and small trees and iridescent lighting. It reminded her so much of the setting of her first date. She smiled at the coincidence, closing her eyes. Soon she was transported back to her first kiss, and the first time she knew she was in love. If memories were also like the prized possession dangling from her wrist, how empty could she really feel without him? And more importantly, how could she ever forget?

Slowly and quietly she crept down the steps of the patio and into the yard. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around her father, kissing him on the temple. He could see the heavy bracelet dangling off of her dainty wrist as she said, "Thanks daddy."

And he could've said what exactly was in his heart at that moment. He could've said, "You're welcome daughter. I will never leave you daughter. I'd do anything for you daughter." But he didn't. There were so many things that he didn't say sometimes, the words choking him, sticking in his throat, unable to fall from his lips.

However, by the time the wave of choking emotion had ebbed she was gone—her hips swaying slightly as she walked up the stairs of the patio and into the house with purpose. Little did he know, she had made a decision.

She had picked up the phone in the den and dialed tentatively, her heart beating fast, as she listened to the phone ringing. And then, suddenly, she heard his voice.

"Hello Wicks," she said as she fingered a small charm on her bracelet. "I just wanted to say thank you."

The End