Page 41 of Nocturnal Sins
I felt my heart stutter in my chest a little. Keeping our relationship under wraps would be harder than I thought. I wanted to touch her and hold her no matter who was around. Pop included.
No other woman ever made me feel so strongly before.
“What’s up, Pop? I told her silly ass to stop playing,” I chuckled, tossing a glance at Sammie. She grinned and shrugged her shoulders before heading to the kitchen. Pop wasn’t pleased. He shook his head and motioned for me to follow him into the den. At least he didn’t press the issue about the door. Clearly, his mind was elsewhere.
“Since you were selling drugs way before I knew about it, I have to ask…do you know how to shoot?” He sparked a cigarette and sat on the couch.
“I know how to shoot but I’m not the best,” I admitted. Even though I was only running petty drugs around campus, the guy I got my shit from made sure I was protected and could at least hit my target at close range.
“You need to be the best, Santana. I’m bringing you in deeper now. You’ve been shadowing me for a month and I’ve let you make some decisions. They’ve played out well. I like the way you rerouted the guys downtown and I like the way you commanded the room when you talked about our new move on the campuses in-state.
You know your shit. You bring new, fresh blood to the scene.” He stopped to stroke his chin thoughtfully before breathing in the smoke from his cigarette. It rushed from his mouth creating a gray veil in front of his face. The smell would always remind me of him.
“I think I want you to take Dom’s place as my right hand.” His words were bombs falling high from fighter jets. I stared at him silently in response. It was all that I could do. I didn’t know what to say.
“You’re always in your head, Santana. Rarely does an uncalculated word leave your mouth. I love and hate that about you. See, I like to get inside of people’s heads and someone like you is hard to tap into.
That’s why you were able to get away with so much shit when you were little and hell, even now. You probably have secrets I’ll never know. At the same time, that’s why you’re so valuable.
I saw the way you smoothed Dom over in the office. You have a hunch about him more than just the fucked up way he’s eyeing your sister, don’t you?” I could never deny Pop’s wit. He was sharper than a knife. He was a sword.
I gave him a nod and began to explain why he couldn’t trust Dom. I said, “He wants to fuck Sam. That’s a huge fucking no-no. You can’t trust a man that would do that to you. It’s not like he’s in love with her and he’s been harboring silent feelings.” I thought of myself and shook the visions of Sammie’s perfect smiling face from my head. “He’s a goddamn predator,” I said.
“Who’s a goddamn predator?” Sammie asked, carrying a bowl of ice cream in her hands.
“Dios mio,” Pop groaned, rubbing his forehead. “Samira, go upstairs. Go to sleep. Do something with yourself besides being in here while Santana and I talk business.”
Did she listen?
Nope.
She plopped her cute ass right beside me and fed me a spoonful of ice cream that I took gladly. Pop eyed us curiously for a second and shook his head. “He’s why you won’t ever be able to keep a boyfriend. Not that I’m complaining…”
“What does that mean?” Sammie asked, tossing her head back to laugh. She was beautiful when she laughed. It took every fiber of control in my body not to kiss her neck while it was exposed.
“It means Santana was your first love. Most little girls love their Papa first but you, Princess, you loved Santana. No boy will ever be good enough or better than your big brother in your eyes. His eyes too,” he muttered that last part as he took in the casual way Sammie’s legs were draped over mine.
I rubbed the soles of her dainty feet because I had to touch her in some kind of way. My fingers would have burned to dust if I didn’t. Pop stared at us for a few beats and I saw his wheels turning.
I wondered if we were transparent.
“Nobody’s ever gonna live up to Santana,” Sammie practically purred while she stared at me and I felt a swell of pride in my chest. I had to tone it down though.
“I’m the shit,” I shrugged.
“You two…” Pop pointed and shook his head.
“So, who’s a goddamn predator?” Sammie asked again with a bright smile.
“Dom,” I answered because I knew Pop wouldn’t.
“Oh, yeah no fucking doubt about it. I swear if he touches me one more fucking time I’m going to knee him in the nuts.” Pop blinked at Sammie then shook his head again before lighting another cigarette.
“You two are gonna be the death of me. I still can’t adjust to hearing my princess curse like a grown man. Listen, I know Dom has been inappropriate and there’s no excuse for it. I agree with Santana. I can’t have a man like that in my circle.
To sit in my fucking face and stare at my daughter like she’s a bitch on the street is unacceptable. So, he’s done.” It was as simple as that. Pop tapped the ashes of his cigarette into an ashtray and stood to his feet, looking at us through the haze of smoke.
“Tomorrow, after work, meet me at the supply warehouse, Santana.”
