Page 19 of Finding My Bodyguard

Aunt Vanessa sat back on the couch. Her fingers strummed her face.

“Do we know this family? Who’s her father?”

“Jacob Iris, they’re out of—”

“Bristol City.” She finished my sentence, causing my head to spin in her direction.

“You know him?’ I questioned.

“Yes, your father does, too.” She said it calmly as if this revelation didn’t have my head spinning.

“What? How?”

“There weren’t that many black crime families back in the day. We liked to keep track of one another. Your father and I grew up with Jacob. I had a crush on him at one point, chile.” She giggled at the last part before continuing. “Jacob was always so serious about his duty to his family business. It was honorable until it wasn’t. The man didn’t care who you were. If you went against the beliefs of the mafia, he would have you handled.”

I listened to her speak about Monroe’s father. I would have never guessed that she’d known him. This may have been the inside information I needed.

“If Monroe is his daughter, nephew, I hope you have a plan. That man will rage a war over tradition.” Aunt Vanessa touched me on the knee.

“I had a plan, but the more I get to know Monroe, the less I want to go through with it.” I dropped my head into my hands.

“What is it, Royale?” she asked. I wasn’t scared of a lot of shit, but telling Aunt Vanessa what I had planned had me as nervous as a stripper on Easter Sunday. I stood from the couch putting a good distance between us. What I was about to say was no doubt about to get me slapped across the back of the head.

“The plan is to marry her,” I blurted.

“Marry?” She stood from the couch.

“Yes, she can’t be in an arranged marriage if she’s already married.”

Aunt Vanessa didn’t say anything. She just stared at me dumbfounded.

“Are you sleeping with the girl?” That wasn’t what I was expecting her to ask. I shook my head.

“No, but I ain’t gon’ sugarcoat it. I’m very attracted to her.” She didn’t need to know about me wrapping Monroe’s thick thighs around my neck the day when I got her.

“Royale,” was all she said as she rubbed her hand across her face.

“I know it’s a lot, Auntie… but I can’t let her go back to those people. I’ve never felt the urge to protect somebody so strongly before.”

Aunt Vanessa approached me, placing her hand on my back.

“Aw, baby. You're smitten with her.” She was smiling. I didn’t know if smitten was the right word, but Monroe had a nigga head gone. Every second I was around her, I contradicted myself. I couldn’t fall for her, but she was mine. I wanted her to have her freedom but didn’t want to let her out of my sight. It was fucked up, and I found myself being something I never thought I would be… a wishy-washy ass nigga.

“I guess you can say that. It’s why I can’t marry her.”

“And why you must,” Aunt Vanessa mumbled. She was speaking just above a whisper, but I heard every word.

“Royale!” Drake, one of the kids from the shelter, ran inside. “Are you going to come play with us?” he questioned. I glanced back at Aunt Vanessa. I knew better than to leave a conversation with her before I was dismissed.

“Go ahead, baby. We don’t have much more to discuss. I fully support you.” She waved me off.

“Thank you, Auntie.” I kissed her on the cheek before running outside with Drake. Her support meant a lot to me. If this was truly a fucked-up idea, she would have let me know.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I approached Monroe as she sat by the beach. She’d been watching the tide for a few hours now. Since we’d been here, it was something that she did often. Usually, I let her be, but tonight, something compelled me to join her.

“It’s so peaceful. I could stare out at the water all day.” She looked up at me as I joined her in the sand.

“Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of time here just looking at the water. It helped me settle my mind a time or two.” I gazed between her and the ocean.

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