Page 29 of DOM: The Miami King

In the midst of lil mama thinkin’ she was meetin’ her daddy, Dique looked at the kid real close and frowned. “Yo….”

“What?” I asked, already knowin’ where he was goin’ with this. He saw the same thing we saw. When he looked at her, he didn’t see us.

“This baby got green eyes, a birthmark shaped like Florida on her neck, and she got freckles. Bro, I’m allergic to the sun, this shit don’t add up! I swear to God it don’t.” Dique had agitation all over his face. I didn’t have to kick him while he was down, but I ain’t feel sorry for his ass.

Keondra stomped over with one hand propped on her hip. That mean bowlegged walk was somethin’ serious and that’s probably what got Dique… she was thick and stacked in all the right places. “Don’t be disrespectin’ my baby!” she spat.

Dique looked at her like she was crazy. Even though she was talkin’ shit, her eyes said she really wanted Dique to be her man. “I’m not disrespectin’… I’m just sayin’, this baby built like her real daddy drive a FedEx truck and eat sunflower seeds for breakfast.”

I stepped in before it turned left. “Alright…. look, Keondra,” I said, in a calm but firm voice. “Dique gon’ take the test. But until then, this harassment gotta stop.”

“I ain’t harassin’!”

“You been blowin’ his phone up like a scam call center. Lie to me again, I’ma show you why I am who I am.” I retorted and then turned to Carmen. “Carmen… Come here.”

Carmen stepped forward, pullin’ her iPad out her tote like it was a damn weapon. “I’ll be emailing you a legal cease and desist. Whether this is Dique’s child or not, you cannot speak on the Royal family. You cannot tag Dique, or reference the Royal family in any post, group chat, or Facebook rant. That includes Facebook Lives in bonnets.”

Keondra caught the shade and stepped forward. “Bitch!”

Carmen cut her off as she rose a brow without so much as flinchin’. “You speak to me like a woman, or you don’t speak at all. I’m here to protect his legacy, not argue in a fucking stairwell.”

Keondra blinked a few times realizin’ she was trippin’. Even if she thought she was gon’ touch Carmen, I would’ve broken her wrist before she even knew what happened. She calmed herself down and then held out her phone with an attitude. “Here’s my email…”

Dique covered his face. “This my life now?” he mumbled. “Cease and desist on child support I probably don’t even owe?”

The little girl tugged his pants leg again. “Daddy, can I have ice cream?”

Dique looked at her, then at Keondra, then at me with the most disgusted look in his eyes. He didn’t want to be rude to the child, he just didn’t know what to do. “This ain’t even about the ice cream no more. This about‘the lie’Dom.”

It took a lot to make me laugh, but I fuckin’ lost it while Carmen damn near doubled over laughin’. Dique pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and slipped it in her tiny hand. He leaned down and told her, “you can have all the ice-cream you want sweetheart.” He said in a sarcastic tone.

Keondra rolled her eyes and snatched her daughter up. “Just wait for the results! And Ibetyou gon’ be buying uniforms come August!”

At that point, she was talkin’ to our backsides ‘cause it was time to go. I didn’t have time to entertain no more of the baby mama drama, especially when I didn’t have none of my own. We made it to the truck before Dique threw himself into the backseat and groaned so loud it echoed through the whip. Keondra stood on the balcony watchin’ until we pulled off.

I turned to Carmen. “Make that email priority,” I let her know. She nodded while typing already. I then looked at Dique. “And Dique?” I said. He looked up at me and I continued. “No distractions man, you gon’ be front and center when this shit kicks off and I can’t have you duckin’ bullets and baby mamas.”

Dique sighed. “I swear, if this baby ain’t mine, I’m suin’ for emotional distress.” Dique was dead serious once again and me and Carmen chuckled.

Once we pulled away from Keondra’s duplex, I reached across Carmen’s lap and turned the A/C up. “I want the test done by the end of the week,” I told her.

“I already texted my lab guy,” Carmen replied, tappin’ into her phone. “Dique will get swabbed at noon tomorrow and get the results in forty-eight hours.”

Dique was still in the backseat groanin’ like somebody just snatched his chain or somethin’. “I don’t even like swabs,” he mumbled. “Make me feel like I’m pledgin’ a fraternity I ain’t ask to join.”

I smirked but didn’t say shit. Carmen’s professional ass just kept typing. “And I already sent the cease and desist draft to her email. I included a clause that even if the child is his, she’s not allowed to mention your name in public or private social channels. If she violates it, we can bury her in court,” she informed.

Dique leaned up and placed a kiss on Carmen’s cheek. “God, I love you,” he chuckled. “Not even on some nasty shit ‘cause I’m not tryin’ to be nasty to the girl. I just love you on some protection-from-wild-ass-women shit.”

Carmen didn’t even blink, she kept workin’. I said somethin’ instead. “Good,” I replied. “Now let’s eat.”

We hit upVersailles, one of the lowkey Cuban spots I knew had solid security and a back booth with shadows thick enough to keep the real ones like us outta sight. We walked in together, with our eyes movin’ checkin’ every angle. Dique scanned left, I scanned right, and Carmen followed behind, with her clothes clingin’ to her curves, but her eyes were locked onto the exits, just the same as us. My hittas had been on standby since we left Brickell. I sent out a quick encrypted message:Trail us in two cars and stay low, but don’t fall behind.A simple ‘Seen’ popped up, and that was enough for me.

We slid into a booth in the far back with red leather seats. I ordered ropa vieja, maduros, and a café con leche. Carmen ordered grilled fish and rice. Dique went straight for the Cuban sandwich, with extra mustard, with a Jupina. We didn’t say much at first, we just watched and ate with our eyes on every damn thing. Then my phone buzzed breakin’ the silence. It wasn’t one of my regular phones. It was fromone of my older phones which I barely used. Only five females even had the number. I frowned when the screen flashed with a name I hadn’t seen in months. It was Katrina’s ass,one of my off-and-on flames with a big mouth and a bigger ego but she had some great sex. However, she was dangerous to keep around. I answered without thinkin’, still chewin’ my food, and hit speaker outta habit like I always did with this particular phone.

“Aye, wassup?”

Her voice came in low in a whispered tone.“Mmm, I been thinkin’ about that dick all week. Where you been, daddy? You know I miss that tongue.”

---