Page 46 of Hale's Pawn
Mikonos glares at me for a minute and then I see the change in his eyes before he comes over and hugs me. He hugs me tight and I nestle in his arms. “Forever?” I ask him.
“Infinity, baby,” he replies to me.
“Fucking right,” I respond and he laughs. “Okay, let me go, because you’ve scarred me for life and I cannot unsee what I saw earlier.”
Mikonos lets me go and grins. “Sucks to be you, really. I mean me and Esr—.”
I put my hand up, stopping him, “I’m not interested at all. Thanks. It is not my business and the less I know, the less I have to think about it.”
Mikonos snickers. “Whatever, asshole. Anyway, there’s someone here to see you.”
“Who?” I ask.
“You can come in now, dipshit.”
I look towards the kitchen archway and my favorite person in the entire world comes in. My cousin, Ajedi Bishops, wiggles his brows. “Hey, babycakes.”
I drop what I’m doing and scream as I run to him. See, usually, I wouldn’t even have this many people in here, let alone be in the damn bakery, but thankfully it’s closed for brunch. “Baby!!!” I scream as soon as I jump into his arms.
Ajedi catches me and spins me around. “I missed you! I can’t believe you got married and I missed it,” he says.
After what seems like forever, we finally let go of each other. I take a good look at my cousin; he looks good. He grew his hair out and he has it in a low bun. Ajedi Bishops is my father’s younger brother’s kid. Antonio Bishops wanted his own territory, so he left Founder’s and took Pennsylvania over on the State side. Antonio stuck with the typical Bishops rule of marrying outside his race. He, a Puerto Rican-black man married a Korean woman. Aera Bishops, the sweetest, yet most lethal woman when it comes to her mouth. She raised Ajedi to know the life, experience the life, and still keep all his culture, both hers and her husband’s. Ajedi doesn’t have the full-on signature Bishops’ eye color, but his light gray with brown flecks is still very much present. He is dressed just like the right-hand man of Antonio Bishops would be dressed. He looks good in the light blue fitted suit with the white dress shirt underneath and shoes that shine, yet I know he’d kill someone in a heartbeat in them. Ajedi only wears one skull ring on his right middle finger. He’s had that ring for as long as I can remember.
I whistle. “You clean up nice, my boy.”
Ajedi grin and his deep dimples pop out. It fits him from his heart shaped face, the bushy yet arched brows, his medium bulb nose, to his balbo facial hair style. “Thanks, babycakes. Now, let's go meet this husband of yours. I heard you married fucking Oran Hale? How? You two barely speak to each other, or, well, spoke...What happened to the simple choice… Jagger, ‘cause Oran is the one that’s out of his mind.”
I snort. “The fuck? So that I could kill him where he sleeps? You should’ve warned me about Oran ahead of time. Too late now.” I smile.
Ajedi scoffs. “Oh, come on, think about it, your marriage would never have a dull moment.”
“It doesn’t,” Mikonos answers for me.
I glare at him. “Shut up.”
“You don’t see her baking fucking chocolate chip muffins for the fucker?” Mikonos teases.
Ajedi smiles. “Never said it was gonna be dull with Oran either. He looks like the type to make her work for it.”
“Are you saying Jagger is easy?” I tease.
Ajedi snickers. “How would I know, I’m not his girl.”
“I hate you,” I tease and he laughs.
“I love you even more,” he answers.
“I know damn well you see me, little shit,” Luci says to Ajedi.
He rolls his eyes, the biggest smile on his face. “You see me too. Crazy ass.”
“Don’t die while you’re here,” she says as she brushes by him.
Ajedi laughs. “I missed this damn island.” He claps his hands. “Hurry the fuck up, baby cakes. Grab those muffins and let’s go have a formal introduction.” He shoves me back towards the table I was prepping the muffins at.
“Don’t rush me!” I glare at him, but I can’t stop smiling. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Ajedi winks at me. “Happy to be here, Ains. So happy.”
