Page 4 of Safest With You
“Honestly, I would love that. Please? I need to be able to sleep tonight. I gotta be up at three in the morning for this early ass flight.”
“Bet. I got you. Sis, I love you. You gon’ be alright. And maybe in Puerto Rico you’ll have a great time and forget all about his dusty ass. Oh! And I’m sending someone there to pack up all your shit so you might as well kiss that condo goodbye. Love youuuu,” she said, then disconnected the call before I could respond.
I sighed because there was no fighting her on this and quite honestly, I wasn’t about to. As long as there was something for me to lay on when I got home, she could pack all this shit up. I needed to get away from Jeffrey, and if this was how I had to do it, then so be it. This trip to Puerto Rico couldn’t come fast enough.
TWO
Armond Davis
THE SOUND OF THE OCEAN woke me up before the buzz of my cell. The soft clash of the water against the land brought peace that was quickly replaced by the rattle against my dresser. I shifted around the silk sheets and instantly grew irritated knowing this level of comfort would be left behind as soon as I answered the call.
I peered over at the digital clock on the nightstand and found my irritation growing by the second. It was well into the early morning and I wasn’t to be disturbed unless I was already in the streets. Everyone knew this.
Once the call ended then started again, I threw the sheets from over me and put on my slides before crossing the hotel room to my cell I had plugged up away from me on purpose. I rarely got sleep, so once I was able, I took full advantage and wanted no interruptions.
I looked at the moon dancing against the ocean then slid my thumb across the screen to answer. I didn’t care who it was. They knew they’d be hearing it if this wasn’t worth the disturbance.
“Ciao.”
“Bro…” He sighed. He didn’t say anything after that and it was rare that my brother Arlando didn’t jump into the conversation, so I knew something wasn’t right. I just needed to know what so I could dismantle whoever intruded upon my flow of operations.
“Arlando, what’s good, man? You’re taking forever when you can just say it.”
“My bad. I’m frustrated as hell right now. DiMarco.”
“I take it the tradeoff didn’t go as planned?”
“No. Not at all. And not because of Guardo. Everything went smoothly until DiMarco decided he wanted to be bold.”
“Quanto?” I sighed.
I hadn’t dealt with bullshit like this in years and I knew the minute I got comfortable things were going to hit the fan. Though I was hardly comfortable, I thought I could breathe for a weekend without any mishaps.
“More like how many. Ten military grade rifles, a case of grenades, a rocket launcher, and a series of Glocks, Nines, and Eagles.”
“How?”
“Between transporting from the warehouse to the link up. Made it look like he was being robbed just to be seen meeting up with the same vehicle across town an hour later. I still got eyes on him. Just wanted to see how you wanted to go about it.”
“Where?”
“He’s staying at our resort.”
I chuckled. This fool.
“No further action needs to be taken when it comes to DiMarco. I’ll handle him. As far as our shipment goes, get it back by any means.”
“Already in progress, Boss.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Bet.”
The call ended and I sighed. Idiots tended to roam closely and if he were smart, or simply paid attention, he would know his boss owned and was staying at the same resort where he was hiding. I would find pleasure in taking this task on because the minute it was complete, I could go back to relaxing like I planned to do this weekend.
I was in search of a spiritual cleanse. Needed my body worked on to knock some of these kinks out and I might even do some yoga and other exercises to get back in tune with myself. I wasn’t above taking care of every facet of my being. I couldn’t perform well if I didn’t.
How would I look as a leader if my workers only saw me drinking, smoking, and out of breath when it came to taking care of business? That wasn’t me. Though I smoked and drank, it didn’t keep me moving. It did what it was supposed to—give me temporary relief. Help me unwind for that moment. Like I was about to do now.
