Page 21

I lit the joint as the flame from my lighter flickered against the tinted glass of the Escalade as I leaned back in the seat, watching the condo come into view.

Victoria was in the truck behind me with two of my hittas, and her bags were packed and ready too.

She was about to get her own place. It wasn’t gon’ be no more hovering around my damn penthouse like a lost lil’ puppy with too much lip and not enough experience.

Carmen was already inside waiting to pass off the documents that would make Victoria a new woman on paper.

That was the only way she could survive in Miami now.

El Blanca had made her a target the second he disowned her.

When I stepped out the truck, I adjusted my chain, tucked the strap at my waist, and walked up to the condo lobby.

My face stayed stone cold. Carmen held the folder in one hand and her other hand was holding a tote bag as she leaned against the marble front desk.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and even in her chill fit, she looked like money.

Victoria stepped in behind me, with her eyes scanning the place.

The lobby was bougie with plush velvet seats, designer art, and a scent of fresh lavender lingering in the air.

Carmen handed over the documents and gave Victoria a quick rundown of her new name, new social, and new ID.

“Don’t flash it unless you have to and if anyone asks, you were born in Denver and, moved down here. ”

Victoria took it all in, but I caught the hesitation behind her eyes with that fear of uncertainty. She was finally standing on her own two feet, and the reality of what that meant was written all over her pretty face. She was afraid, and I knew the look.

“What’s wrong, you good?” I asked her.

“I will be,” she replied in a soft voice.

Carmen turned to me then to her and her expression was a little off. I could see it all in her eyes, she was tired and might’ve been overworked. She moved like a machine and her brain never rested.

“How you feelin’ wifey?” I asked her, stepping into her space. I slid my hand around her waist.

She gave a weak smile, shaking her head. “I’m just... not feeling too well. I think I’m coming down with something. I’m heading home after this to lie down.”

I kissed her on the lips right in front of Victoria…

tongue and all. I ain’t have shit to hide from her.

That was all me and I didn’t give a fuck if it made Victoria uncomfortable.

This wasn’t a show. This was real life….

my life, and Carmen had earned more respect from me with her position at my side tenfold.

Victoria looked away, clutching the folder, looking awkward as hell, but she didn’t say nothing.

Once Carmen dipped, I walked Victoria through the condo.

It was modern, clean, and minimal, just enough for her.

It was two bedrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, luxury kitchen, and it was fully secured.

I had my people already assigned. Two would be on the roof, one in the garage, and another on the hallway surveillance rotation.

“It’s yours,” I told her. “But listen, you don’t leave outta here unless it’s work related. And even then, you’ll be with a shadow. This ain’t a vacation. You fuck around and get comfortable, you gon’ end up dead. Ain’t nobody gon’ cry over that but you.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“Good.” I turned to walk out but paused before I hit-the-door. “And Victoria... you do good, I’ll move you up. But one wrong move and I’ll know about it. You’re not untouchable. Don’t forget that.”

I hit the button for the elevator and pulled out my phone when I got the call from one of my soldiers. “Yo, King. It’s the shipment.”

My heart slightly dropped. “What shipment?” I asked with a raised brow.

“The overseas whip drop to the Miami port. We saved half, but El Blanca’s crew got the rest. The estimated value of what we lost... was a lil over a mil.”

I clenched my jaw as I pinched the bridge of my nose. The whole damn shipment was worth ten million. We salvaged maybe five, but it still burned my fuckin’ chest. “Anybody dead?” I asked.

“Nah... but they was ready. We got ‘em back, and lit they side up.”

“Alright,” I said in a calm voice. “Time to push the next hit forward then. I want El Blanca bleedin’ more than money.

I want him to feel it in his fuckin’ soul.

” I hung up and dialed Carmen next, but she didn’t answer.

I knew she was probably knocked out at home.

I stared at the screen for a minute before calling another number.

“Dom,” he snarled when he answered.

“El Blanca…” I said in a cool ass unfazed tone.

“You’ve got balls calling me, perro. What, do you want, more bodies in your street?”

I smirked as I paced in front of the condo entrance. “Just wanted to hear you cry about that lil’ hit I put on yo’ port. You losin’ money fast, old man.”

“You think this is over?”

“I think you better pick which casket you wanna die in muhfucka,” I said coldly. “You turned yo’ back on yo’ own blood. That tells me all I need to know.”

“Victoria is dead to me.”

I didn’t say shit else. I enjoyed taunting his bitch ass.

He started this shit and I damn sure was gon’ finish it.

He was worried about me having too much power, and now he left me no choice but to show him that power.

We could’ve continued to eat together but no, just like a snake he wanted me out the game.

El Blanca hated to see a black man in the cartel having grown more powerful, richer, and respected day by day.

I slid my phone back in my pocket. Before I left the condo, I reached in my jacket and pulled out two phones.

One was a black iPhone fresh out the box with a new SIM and a number only my people would know.

The other was an encrypted cartel burner with a GPS override, backdoor message mirroring, and signal clocking.

My tech guys made sure of that just so I could see her every move, her every text, or call.

I set them both on the counter in front of Victoria.

“This one…” I said tapping the iPhone, “is for business and basic shit. This other one... is for emergency contact only. If it rings, you answer. Don’t lose it, and don’t fuck with it and most importantly don’t ask no questions about it.”

She blinked started at them before picking them up. It wasn’t shit she hadn’t seen before. “Thank you, Dom.”

The way she said my name, all soft and drawn sounded out, like she was tasting it, I could already feel the heat in her stare.

She still wanted me and that’s the only part that wasn’t new about all of this, but it wasn’t her want that caught me off guard, it was her need.

It was loud as hell in her eyes. She needed something, and someone to hold on to and right now, I was the only thing familiar in her upside-down world.

“Keep the phones locked at all times and use face ID only. If you change anything, I’ll know.

” I told her. She nodded her head letting me know she understood and then I continued.

“I’m settin’ you up at the spa front desk.

You’ll be trained with a legit paper trail under yo’ new identity.

Ain’t no more Victoria Blanca. That name don’t exist in this city no more. ”

She looked up at me again. “You didn’t have to do all this…”

“I didn’t,” I said, stepping closer. “But I did… so don’t make me regret it.”

I could tell she wanted to say something else, maybe some sweet shit, maybe another thank you, but I had already read between the lines, and her gratitude wasn’t just about the phones or the job…

. it was for me. It was for not turning my back on her like her own blood did.

I could feel her desire for me the way her energy bounced, and she fought her suppressed thoughts.

I didn’t let that shit faze me, because the truth was.

.. Victoria ain’t got shit to offer me right now but a pretty face and some wet pussy and I got more than enough of both swimming in my city.

Until she learned how to stand on her own two feet, she wasn’t nothing but a body with a past and a name that couldn’t be said out loud.

Fuck no, I didn’t have time for that shit.

She looked back at me with them soft brown eyes, trying to keep it clean, but I knew that look.

Victoria was bad and her face card never declined.

Her waist was small, and her body was stacked like her ass should’ve come with a warning label.

However, wanting me and being worth me were two different conversations.

Right now, all she had to offer was a body and a pretty face.

She ain’t had shit to give herself yet, let alone me or anyone else but I wasn’t heartless and if she stayed in her lane, I might just help her build something and not for me but for her damn self.

I just looked at her a second longer before I turned to go.

Two of my shadows nodded at me as I walked past the elevators.

They’d be posted outside her condo twenty-four-seven.

Victoria wasn’t moving without one of my people shadowing her, even if she didn’t know it. I didn’t trust her… not yet at least.

Once I got back in the truck, I exhaled hard.

My mind was already somewhere else… on Carmen.

She said she hadn’t been feeling right, and she was going to lie down.

I could hear the exhaustion in her voice and something about that didn’t sit right with me.

Carmen didn’t get sick like that for as long as I could remember.

I told the driver, “Take me to the crib,” but before we even hit the next light, my other phone vibrated with Keondra’s name on the screen.

I already knew this wasn’t gon’ be a smooth convo. I answered on speaker. “What’s up?”

Her voice came through all loud. “What’s up is Dique trippin’… talking ‘bout I gotta move! Dom, I pay two hundred in rent on my voucher… two hundred! You know what type of come up that is? Y’all not finna uproot me like I don’t got no say.”

I exhaled once again, then nodded at the driver. “Change of plans. Take me to the hood.”

I let her keep talking while we rolled through the streets heading to the city.

When we got in her area, the kids were playing barefoot in the dirt patch out in front of the corner store bringing back memories of the kind of shit we did when we were little in the hood, we made our own fun.

This was Keondra’s world, this shit was her whole kingdom, wrapped in Section 8 paper.

When I pulled up to her duplex, she was standing on the porch with a bonnet on.

She was still on the phone when I stepped out of the truck, with the phone pressed to her ear until she realized I was right in front of her.

“Dom…” she blinked, lowering the phone. “Oh fuck, you really pulled up?”

I walked up slowly, not on no rah-rah shit, but she could feel the heat. “You lucky I did.”

She sucked her teeth and crossed her arms. “So, I’m just supposed to pack up and go like I ain’t got history here? All my peoples are here.”

“You got history,” I said, “but you ain’t got no future here.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off with a look.

“I’ll make this real clear,” I said, stepping closer to her so she could look deep in my eyes and understand how serious I was.

“You got a child that’s connected to my family now…

to the Royal name. That makes you part of somethin’ bigger whether you like it or not.

This hood? This two-hundred-dollar setup?

Man, that’s over. Dique don’t want his kid growin’ up on these corners, around them rats and broke niggas that hang on porches…

and I don’t either.” I explained the most direct way I could.

She stared at me, trying to match energy, but I could see the gears turning and she knew not to say shit.

I continued, “I’m givin’ you a way out for a better life.

You should be grateful, because the other option…

?” I paused and then spoke again. “Keep poppin’ off, I’ll make you disappear and keep the child. Ain’t nobody gon’ miss a loudmouth.”

I could see the way her energy shifted as she processed what I said knowing that I wasn’t bullshitting while she tried to weigh her options of pride or survival. “Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll go.”

“Good,” I said, stepping back toward the truck.

“Your new spot gon’ be secured and you’ll be watched.

If you act right, you’ll be taken care of.

Act stupid… you’ll regret it.” I got back in the Escalade and the driver pulled off.

The second we turned the corner; my mind went back to Carmen.

She was the only woman I cared about in a real way right now.

I had to make sure she was straight, so I told the driver, “Take me to my wife.” And that’s exactly what the fuck I meant.