Page 20 of DOM: The Miami King

He went silent for a second as his eyes shifted with that deadly look in them. “Oh, aight…. you gotthatvoice slime. What’s up?”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know when you headin’ back to the West Coast, but tomorrow we need to meet…. just the three of us for now at the meet up spot. Turn the fuckin’ phones off and don’t bring no outsiders.”

“What’s goin’ on?” O’Shynn asked. All that playfulness a few seconds ago was gone from her voice now.

“I’ll tell you everything face-to-face,” I said. “But just know… El Blanca’s not who he used to be.”

Dique’s jaw slightly dropped and O’Shynn just stared with her lips pursed.

“Tomorrow,” I repeated again. “We gon’ tighten the circle, lock the gates, and start movin’ like what we are since muhfuckas wanna play on our top.”

“And what’s that?” Dique asked dead serious.

I looked right into the screen. “An empire too big to fall, but strong enough to burn any muhfucka who tries.”

It was silence on all ends before O’Shynn broke it. She nodded. “Say less.”

Dique exhaled. “Damn, guess I’m cancelin’ this chick, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said. “And tell that bitch why too… let her know the boss called and you had to go build a kingdom.”

We all smirked for a second, then I hung up. I grabbed a pre-rolled joint and stood starin’ out the window before placing my Glock on the nightstand. I went to the app that pulled up the camera at Carmen’s Penthouse hopin’ to catch her ass puttin’ on another show, only this time she was pacing back and forth with an anticipating look on her face.What the fuck she up to?I wondered.

The heel of my boots clicked against the marble as I paced back and forth. I’d been pacing in my penthouse for over an hour, with my mind spinning like I was tryna outwit a fucking ghost. Jit was true, Janine knew too much, and she wasn’t even trying to but the fact that she saw those files, it made her a liability. I had two choices, I could eliminate her… or erase her and if there was one thing Dom taught me, a very valuable lesson that still echoed in my mind, it was this,‘loose ends don’t livelong. Tie ‘em up… or cut ‘em off’.

I pulled out my second phone and not my law firm number, and not my personal. It was another one of my ‘in-between’ burner lines. I typed the message:Meet me at 3… don’t bring nothing. Storage 11C.I stared at the screen for a second and then I walked to the mirror and looked at myself. Yeah, I had the same full lips, the same bold eyes, same gold chain with the small cross that I never liked to take off because it was the last memory of my mother. But right now, there was a killer hiding behind the makeup if needed.

I pulled up my storage unit downtown Miami. It had everything I needed to make someone disappear. It had fake IDs, birth certificates, socials, and duffel bags full of cash in small bills. I had burner phones, prepaid passports, and new lives printed in folders like it was just another file in my legal cabinet. By the time Janine showed up, I was already inside. She stepped in slowly, and a little hesitant. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses and her hair was in a low bun. She looked tired and scared at the same time, almost like she knew she stepped into something she couldn’t unsee.

“Close the door,” I said without turning around.

She did as she was told. “Carmen…” she said, in a low voice. “I didn't say anything to anyone, I swear… I just… when I saw the file…”

I finally turned around slowly and walked over to her handing her a folder. “That’s a new identity. Your name is now Mariah Cortez. You’re from Fresno, California. You work remotely in online marketing. You’re allergic to strawberries and your blood type is AB negative. That envelope has fifty stacks. Use it to get wherever you need to go, cash only. Listen, don’t use a debit card or a credit card nor are you to stop at any ATM machines until you’re out the state.”

Her eyes welled with tears. “You… you’re serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Her voice started shaking. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you made a mistake opening that file, Janine, although I believe you didn’t mean to. You panicked, and you did the right thing by calling me.” I stepped closer and spoke with my voice low. “And if it were up to Dom, you’d be gone already.”

She began to quickly nod her head as the tears rolled down her eyes. I continued. “You’re not cut for this, Janine. You weren’t supposed to be involved. I gave you a way out because I don’t think you’re stupid enough to test me, and because I do actually like you.” I grabbed the envelope of cash and shoved it in her hands. “But if you ever speak on this or eventhinkabout reaching out to anyone, your mama, your cousins, your ex, and anyone else you love… I promise you, I will make one phone call, and you and everybody you love will vanish before the sun comes up.”

She nodded fast, while clutching everything. “I-I won’t say anything,” she whispered. “I swear.”

I reached into my jacket pocket and slid her a phone. “It’s prepaid… use it once to activate the ID and then toss it. If I ever hear your real name again, it’s already too late.”

Janine looked at me with tears still burning her red eyes, but I could tell she trusted me, and I was doing this for her own good. There was also that look of belief, that I wasn’t just threatening her, I was saving her from something she might’ve never saw coming. She walked out without another word.

I stood in the unit for another five minutes watching from the camera allowing the silence to sing. Then I dialed another number. “Hey, it's me. The girl’s new name is Mariah Cortez now. Trail her, but don’t give any contact unless she slips. If she ever steps foot back in Dade County,” I paused before continuing, “turn her ass into dust.” I abruptly ended the call. On the outside, I felt bad for Janine because she was the best assistant and deep down inside, I knew she would keep her mouth closed, however, had I not gotten rid of her, Dom would’ve killed her anyway.

The life I lived wasn’t for the weak, and neither was my life before this one. I came to the states running from my life back in Trinidad after my parents abandoned me. They sold me off to get the money they needed when I was just fifteen years old. I lived from pillar to post with different families in pure hell, because everyone was broke, until I turned eighteen and fled to the States. When I finally got my temporary visa, I thought I was safe, especially since I was working and not bothering anyone but when it expired, I wanted to kill myself when I thought they were going to send me back, until Dom came at me with his proposition of marrying me so I could stay. I did it, because I vowed to do whatever it took to stay away, but the truth was, I loved Dom since the day I laid eyes on him. I blinked tears away thinking about it all. Before the heels, before the courtroom, and before the title “Mrs. Royal” ever hit my name… there was Trinidad.

It washot and loud, yet beautiful.And when I say beautiful, I meant in the way a trap could be if you didn’t know any better because for all the color and culture that tourists came to snap pictures of, I knew therealTrinidad. The Trinidad where broken homes weren’t really just another sad story, like everywhere else, it was normal.

It just wasn’t normal for me because I was the fifteen-year-old girl that got sold and nobody looked my way to try and save the little skinny, nerdy, smart girl who ran around barefoot most days.I used to think my parents loved me until the day they handed me off to a man more than twice my age for ‘help with the family bills’without so much as a warning and no choice at all. They sent me on with a small suitcase and dared me to speak my mind.

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