Page 18 of Dom 4
I chuckled and slid the phone back inside of my pocket. Behind me, one of my shadows spoke low so his voice didn’t carry in the house since it wasn’t furnished yet, so the slightest sound made it seem like an echo, or it was louder than it really was.
“Perimeter is clear and the cameras are synced. You got full visuals from your phone.” He told me.
I nodded my head one time. This wasn’t about luxury; this was the place where nobody would ever get close to my woman or my child without going through me, first. She had always been protected but this was different.
I walked the long corridor and entire mansion again. I checked the back patio, looked at where the pool met the ocean like the water didn’t know where one stopped and the other started as they combined into one. The sun was beginning to settle, casting pink and gold colors in the sky. This was that soft Miami dusk that always made shit feel like something big was about to happen whether it was or wasn’t this was the place to be. I didn’t necessarily feel at peace. Instead, I felt like I was ready and when you’ve lived the life I’ve lived, that’s the closest thing to peace you get.
I now stood in the middle of the living room with the ocean sitting wide behind me like a wall made of blue coloring. The mansion was quiet enough that I could hear my own pulse thumping. I pulled my phone out, hit FaceTime, and waited. Carmen answered on the second ring. She had her hair pulled back in a messy bun; the kind women did when they were focused and didn’t give a fuck about being cute but somehow looked even finer. Sweat glistened on her face on down to her collarbone. She still had her gym fit on wearing black leggings and a cropped tee that showed just enough of that small round bump to remind me that she was carrying my child. She was even glowing too.
She tilted the phone to the side as she grabbed her bag and wiped her face with a small towel. “Okay. I’m leaving the gym now. The driver said Star Island. Is something going on over there?”
I shook my head. “Why you saying it like that? Not every time I send for you something gotta be wrong.”
“Because when you say ‘meet me,’ it’s either business or some cartel business,” she replied truthfully, sliding her sunglasses on. “And I really just wanted to shower and take a nap today. Trial kicked my ass earlier. Kilo...” she shook her head. “He’s a mess, but he’s innocent and that’s why I’m trying my best.”
Her voice had that tiredness in it when she spoke. She’d been moving all week between meetings, cases, and making sure paper trails were closed tight. She didn’t complain though cause Carmen wasn’t a complainer… she just got shit done with an iron fist, she just stated facts like she could survive anything thrown her way and she did.
“You can nap after,” I said. “And you ain’t supposed to be pushing yourself like that anyway. All that training is doing too much.”
She rolled her eyes with a half-smile “Husband, I work out and I’m pregnant, not fragile. This is how I stay sane and fine. Now if I get all out of shape, you wouldn’t even look at me.”
“I don’t care about sane, and I don’t care about fine when it comes to you, I know what I got.” I said. “I care about safe.”
She took a little pause letting me know she heard me. Her tone softened a little bit. “I know.”
My eyes dropped to her stomach again. It wasn’t huge yet, it was just enough to let you know she was definitely carrying.
“You ate yet?” I asked.
“Just a protein shake,” she replied.
“That’s not eatin’ wifey.”
She laughed. “We can eat when I get there.”
“Hurry up.”
She started walking toward the exit of the gym. The driver opened the door of the Escalade and she slid in. The security in the front seat gave me a quick nod through the camera and I did the same back.
“Dom…” she said in a voice sweeter than I’d ever heard coming from her while she looked at me with googly eyes and shit.
“Yeah.”
She looked at me for a second and this time she wasn’t smiling. “I love you,” she told me. The way she said it, it came from the deepest parts of her heart and that hit different because I knew it was real and certain. My jaw flexed because feelings always had me feeling sideways, but I was doing better, that’s why I didn’t shy away.
“I love you too,” I replied without fear or hesitation. I knew exactly how I felt and it remained the same, I’d die about that pussy. Carmen could never fuck with no other man even when I was dead and gone.
She exhaled like that meant truly meant something to her almost like my words landed on her heart where she needed them too so she could tuck them deep and lock them up with a key.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
When we hung up, I lowered the phone and tucked it back into my pocket. The shadow near the hallway didn’t say one word, but I felt the energy of somebody witnessing something serious, and something he’d never seen in me before because he’d been around long enough. Yeah, I needed everyone to notice this was my wife, this was my family, this was mine, because she was way more than just my attorney. I turned back towards the window and watched the water again waiting for Carmen to arrive to our forever home.
The door cracked open slowly, like it was scared to interrupt something because she didn’t know what to expect. Carmen stepped in, looking all the way gone in her head. The driver stayed by the ride, and the security just faded out and kept itmoving to where they needed to post making sure all angles were covered but right now, she didn’t even peep them because her mind was somewhere else. The sunlight came blasting in, taking up the whole foyer. The marble on the floor was tan with some wild lines running through it, the ceilings were way up above us, and the whole back wall was straight glass with the ocean sparkling behind it. The mansion still had that new paint smell too.
She stopped for a second just standing there. Her gym bag slid off her shoulder and hit the floor soft, causing a light thud. I didn’t even have to tell her this was hers because it’s like she just knew. She put her hand over her mouth in disbelief like she was trying to stop something from slipping out of her mouth. Her eyes got wide as saucers at first and then that was replaced with a softness. She stepped up slow allowing her fingers to slide across the marble table and down the wall touching the door frame like she had to feel it to believe it was real.
