Page 99 of Deuce

He laughed. “Your boyfriend is a common criminal. He and the likes of his father like the portray themselves as some sort of vigilantes. He’s nothing a contract killer, Ms. Navarro.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Oh, baby, I know alot. Your boyfriend and his family have alot of people in their back pocket because they do their dirty work for them.”

“And just what dirty work do you want him to do for you? Is that why you want those properties so bad? Because he won’t do your bidding?”

“Why I want them is of none of your concern. Now… I’ve made Deuce a very generous offer. Think of the ways this will benefit you.” He looked around at my bags. “I see he breaks you off a little something. Get him to sell and I’ll slide you some ends for your troubles. Think of it as money you don’t have to lie on your back for.”

I scoffed. “Excuse you?”

“That’s why you’re with him, right? That’s that hoodrat mentality. Get you a nigga with money and make a come up. Trust me, Ms. Navarro. You don’t want to me to get involved with you if you don’t honor my request.”

“If you don’t want him to get involved withyou, you better get your ass up from this table.”

“Listen, bitch?—”

“Bitch?” I stood from the table. “I’ve got your bitch, nigga.”

Grabbing my half-eaten plate of food, I threw it in his face along with my drink.

“You wait until I tell Deuce about this. You’re already on his shit list and now you’re on mine.”

I snatched up my bags and made my way out of the food court and toward the exit of the mall. He’d fucked up my day with that shit. Back in my car, I called Deuce only to have my call go to voicemail.

“Stanley, you and I are gonna have a problem if you don’t call me back!” I yelled into the receiver.

I hung up and tossed the phone into the passenger seat. With a frustrated sigh, I cranked up and headed for home.

“This muthafucka…” I mumbled.

When I finally made it back to my house, Deuce’s car was parked along the street. I quickly parked and got out, storming over to it. I could barely see inside through the dark tints, but if he was in there, he would have made himself visible. I stomped back over to my car and grabbed my things before heading inside. When I opened the door, I found Deuce and my mama sitting in the living room, both of them watching her soap operas.

He looked back at me with a grin.

“Hey, baby.”

“Don’t hey baby me. You didn’t see me calling you?”

“I did, but I wanted to surprise you.”

I scoffed as I marched off toward my room. I heard him say something to my mama before his footsteps began echoing behind me. He entered the room right behind me and closed the door. I tossed my bags on the bed and turned to him with a frown as I crossed my arms.

“Fix your face,” he said, cupping my chin.

“I don’t like being ignored.”

“I wasn’t ignoring you. I had business. You knew that.”

“You weren’t busy the whole time, Stanley.”

“No, I wasn’t, but I needed my head in the game. I couldn’t afford to get distracted and fuck up. Jaeda sent us another mark, so instead of waiting, we went to handle that one too.” He pulled me into his arms. “Did you miss me, baby?”

“Of course I missed you.”

He chuckled. “Spoiled ass.” He lifted me into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist. “Give me a kiss.”

Even though I was mad, I didn’t hesitate to kiss him. With our lips and tongues entangled, he carried me to an empty spot on the bed and climbed in with me. My back hit the mattress and his body rested on top of mine as we continued to kiss for what seemed like forever.

---