The Block Read Free

disappeared from his father’s driveway.

Chapter 2
    Tone pulled up in front of the New Yorker Hotel and let his engine die. “Fuck!” he said out loud as he grabbed the folder and took out the woman’s picture to examine it. He tossed the picture back in the folder and leaned his head back against the headrest and waited patiently for his prey to either come in or exit the hotel.
    Five hours later he saw the woman exit the hotel. “Damn!” He thought she was much prettier in person. The woman resembled the singer Keri Hilson, except for her hair that came down to the middle of her back. Her tall black boots made her calves and legs look toned and sexy. Just from looking at her, Tone could tell that she was stuck-up and used to the finer things in life.
    He quickly made the engine of his Benz come to life with one turn of his key when his mark hopped in a yellow cab. He pulled out of his parking spot and followed the cab. After a short drive, the cab stopped at Forty-Second Street. Tone continued to follow the woman and watched her walk into Applebee’s. He quickly pulled off and found a parking garage around the corner, where he parked his car, and headed over to Applebee’s.
    He walked inside the restaurant and saw his mark sitting over in a booth by the window looking through the menu.
    â€œJust one?” the waitress politely asked him.
    â€œYeah.” Tone followed the waitress over to a booth on the other side of the restaurant. “Excuse me, but is it possible for me to sit over there with that woman?” he asked.
    â€œWell, sir, that’s up to her,” the waitress said, a confused look on her face.
    â€œA’ight.” Tone walked over and slid in the opposite side of the booth his mark was sitting at.
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    Serena sat in the booth over in the corner looking over her menu. She was starving and ready to eat. So far she’d been enjoying her vacation in New York. Her father always made sure she had the best of everything, and this time was no different. Once she decided what she wanted to eat, she looked up for the waitress. That’s when she saw a handsome man heading over in her direction. He favored the singer Trey Songz but was a little rough around the edges. Serena watched as the man slid in her booth and sat opposite her.
    â€œCan I help you?” she asked in a snotty tone.
    â€œOh, what’s up?” Tone asked as he picked up the menu and began looking inside.
    â€œUmm, can I help you?” Serena said, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, this is my table.”
    â€œI’m just tryin’a get something to eat and didn’t wanna eat by myself.” Tone paused. “And I saw a beautiful lady over here eating alone, so I thought, why not eat together?” He shrugged his shoulders.
    Serena rolled her eyes. “How you know I wasn’t waiting for someone?”
    â€œAre you waiting for somebody?”
    â€œThat ain’t the point,” she said with a smile.
    Tone returned her smile. “Nah, but for real, I had to come over here and talk to you. I’ve yet to see a woman as beautiful as you in my life. You must be from out of town, ’cause ain’t no chicks out here that look like you.”
    â€œYeah, I am from out of town, but beauty is only skin deep,” Serena said in her West Coast accent.
    The waitress walked up to the table, interrupting the conversation. “Are y’all ready to order?”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” Tone said politely. “Can I have a steak, some French fries, and some rice, please?” he said as he handed the waitress back the menu.
    The waitress looked at Serena. “And you, ma’am?”
    â€œYes, can I have some chicken fingers and some fries, please?”
    â€œAnd to drink?”
    Before Serena could say a word, Tone quickly replied, “Two Long Island ice teas please.”
    â€œComing right up.” The waitress smiled as she