Page 2 of Vito DeLuca

Meanwhile, Lucia just cut me off like yesterday’s news after word got out that I had been arrested. I wanted my girl back. I dialed her number, and she greeted me with, “Vito, are you still selling drugs?”

“So, you don’t lead with a hello?”

“I don’t say hello to drug dealers.”

“I miss you, Lucia. I need to come to see you so I can clear my mind.”

She huffed into the phone. “Like I said, I don’t talk to drug dealers, and I definitely don’t sleep with them, so you can clear your mind with someone else.”

This little act was sentimental, but seriously, how did she think I could afford to drive a foreign car and live in a condo that costs more than most people make in five years? She knew what was going on.

I glanced around the warehouse filled with containers of drugs and shrugged. “Didn’t I tell you I’m not a fucking drug dealer?”

Okay, I would never tell Lucia the truth because that’s not what she wanted to hear. She wanted me to keep up appearances that I was a good guy. Meanwhile, I didn’t accept being named a drug dealer. I was doing what I had to do at the moment, but my current hustle didn’t define me. I was more than a street thug hustling drugs. I had an enterprise, hustling weapons and high-end merchandise and electronics.

Lucia kissed her teeth. “Tell me this then, Mr. Not a Drug Dealer. Where do you work?”

“Work?” I questioned.

The shrilling sound of nothingness sent me spiraling out of control. She had hung up. I slammed the phone down on a crate and breathed a raspy sigh. Lucia didn’t respect what I did for a living, so she cut me off. At times like this, being a one woman’s man sucked. I needed to relieve this frustration, and I needed to do it with my woman.

It was time to take at least one bit of my father’s advice and not focus on a relationship. Maybe I was meant to forget about love and be coldblooded in these streets and the sheets.

I made several more calls to ensure everything was set up for the next morning. Then, I headed home to change and go to my condo’s gym to burn off the swirling energy from wanting to murder Tae and fuck Lucia, neither of which would happen tonight.

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