Page 14 of Dom
“Oh shit…” He said in a low tone. “Don’t tell me I’m somebody daddy.”
I ignored his comment. Now wasn’t the time to tell him he’d be dealing with Keondra for the rest of his life. “Twenty-four hours, Dique. Don’t make me come get you.”
Dique must’ve felt it in his gut ‘cause he hung up. He was probably sweating bullets right now. I made a call to Keondra next, and the phone rang twice before she picked up with that familiar ghetto fabulous voice.
“I didn’t do shit this time Dom!”
“I’ma keep this simple Ke. You bet not hit Dique with them results. Don’t call him, don’t text him, don’t tag him in no memes… I mean that shit.”
“I wasn’t even about to…”
I cut her off. “I said, you don’t say shit. I’ll tell him when it’s time. You remember that cease and desist?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
“Good. You wanna keep eatin’? Play yo’ part.” I could sense an attitude coming, but she knew better. “And tell me somethin’ else, Keondra. Who the fuck that baby look like? ‘Cause it ain’t us, but DNA don’t lie.”
She sighed long and hard. “She look like my great grandaddy, okay? Everybody says that shit. He was light skinned, big eyes, them strong ass features. What you want me to do… it ain’t my damn fault but I always knew Dique was her daddy. I’m ghetto, not a ho, I know who I lay down with.”
I shook my head, chuckling under my breath. “Yeah whatever. I’ll be in touch soon.” I hung up. It wasn’t shit else to talk about as far as I was concerned. Dique fucked up, but it was now our duty to make sure that Keondra and my niece were taken care of. Dique having a kid out there for real was scary,‘cause and that meant any child with the Royal blood would always have to be protected. Having a niece scared me just like me having my own child did. If the enemy knew your weakness, they knew what to attack. I needed to have a talk with him when it was time, and now wasn’t it.
Carmen hadn’t said a word during either call. Instead, she stood there beside me in her all-black travel fit… it was sleek leggings, a fitted cropped jacket, Hermes slides, and the dark-ass Chanel shades that hid her eyes, but they damn sure didn’t hide her mood.
“You good?” I asked her.
She slid those big ass shades down just enough for me to see her pretty eyes. “Always,” she said. “Let’s go.”
I wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t just beside me, she was with me watching everything around us like my third eye. She knew when to stand down and let me handle my business without doing much talking. We hopped into the lead truck. I sat shotgun, and she slid in the back. As soon as the doors shut, the convoy of trucks pulled off looking like some shit out of a movie like we always did. We moved through the city fast as the bright sun hit the tinted windows. People were turning their heads when they saw us glide by in awe wondering who was behind the tints of the trucks. Of course they didn’t know, however, the way we moved screamed power and importance.
By the time we arrived at the penthouse, the valet was already waiting to park the trucks as soon as we entered the private garage. We didn’t have time for shit else besides to get inside. The building staff snapped to attention the moment they saw who stepped out. Upstairs, the penthouse door opened and that familiar Royal scent hit me… it was a mix of expensive cologne, leather, and Cuban cigars. I took a slow breath as I stepped inside lowkey glad to be back home. Carmen followed behind, unzipping her jacket as she kicked off her slides at thefront door. Everything was in place, the same as I’d left it and the security cameras were blinking, meaning that they were doing their jobs. My backup guns were still stashed in key spots, the bulletproofed windows still crystal clear, showing off the Miami skyline like a damn painting. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows for a second, watching the city.
Carmen came up behind me and spoke in a calm tone as she folded her arms across her chest. “What’s the next move?”
I looked down at her, with a hard gaze. “You know how we do… and we start by makin’ sure El Blanca knows... I ain’t the one to be played with. Get the Mayor on the phone when you can. He needs to know his city is about to be bleedin’, and he needs to do what he’s paid to do, stay the fuck out of the way.”
She nodded. “Will do.”
The moment we stepped off that jet and slid into the convoy of blacked-out trucks, I felt the new energy and reality set in that paradise was officially over. The air was just different and full of tension, and I knew that shit was back in motion. Dom’s jaws were tight when he stepped off. His soldiers were already posted on the strip wearing black hoodies, dreads tucked in fitted tightly, and gold chains peeking from beneath their crewnecks. They wasn’t smiling either and everybody looked like they were ready to slide if he gave the word.
By the time we got to the penthouse, the calmness I felt in the Bahamas was long gone. My slides hardly made a noise against the floor as I glided inside. By the time Dom and I exchanged a few words and turned around, Victoria was already sitting on the couch, with her left arm wrapped and bandaged. Her eyes were red and full of jealousy or betrayal, but nobody had betrayed her besides her uncle. Tone rounded the corner and stood nearby with his arms folded, watching it all play out with that look thatsaid he was tired of everybody’s shit. Her eyes were focused on us and her mouth popped off like we owed her something.
“While I was taking a bullet, you were out in paradise somewhere? I overheard you were out of town, and you’re supposed to be watching me. Because you weren’t, I got shot!” she spat at Dom.
Dom looked at her like she was annoying and an inconvenience, but he still had that dangerous look in his eyes. His face said, ‘who the fuck she thinks she’s talking to’ and that slow burn in the way the intensity in his eyes grew would make anybody fold if they knew any better. I stayed quiet, but I felt myself flinch just a little. She didn’t know who she was talking to. Dom didn’t say a word, so she continued.
“You think this is funny?” Victoria snapped again. “I’m under fire and your people have to call in a fucking emergency in to get me treated and you were somewhere in swim trunks. This isn’t fair.”
I didn’t give her the satisfaction of raising my voice; it wasn’t my style. She may have been a brat with El Blanca, but in Miami, that shit would never work. I slowly stepped forward making sure my tone was cool as ice. “You might want to watch your tone, sweetheart.”
Victoria turned to me next with a distasteful, yet arrogant look on her face. “And you… what are you? The assistant? You go everywhere he goes, huh?”
Dom’s hand went up and he slowly licked his lips trying to remain cool. It wasn’t in a threatening way; it was just enough to stop the madness before it got ugly. He wasn’t trying to hear that shit. His voice was deep when he spoke. “She not the assistant,” he said dryly. “She my fuckin’ wife. So while you in my crib, under my roof, protected by my crew, you gon’ speak on her name with respect.”
Victoria blinked a few times, and I watched the color drain from her face. Whatever come back she had was long gone and she was shocked. “W-wife?” she stammered trying to get it out.
“Mrs. Royal,” Dom repeated, staring her dead in her eyes.
The entire room fell silent almost like she was hesitating or thinking about what to say. I didn’t smirk or throw it in her face. Instead, I just stood tall and let my presence speak for itself. Victoria slowly sat back and was quiet now. Her mouth may have been closed but her eyes were full of confusion. I didn’t hate her, she didn’t know I was his wife, but now she did. Once she pulled herself together, Dom gave her the floor. “Tell me exactly what was said between you and El Blanca before the hit.”
