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Chapter One

Franklin 'Kilo' DeLuca

I’ve been home almost two years now and things have slowly gotten back into order.

I stepped back into my role at DeLuca Enterprises with my brothers by my side.

That’s the one thing that I changed. We were all CEOs.

I needed them to know that we were equal in this shit.

Our pops was still in the mix, but for the most part we handled everything.

Buck still handled the negotiations, though.

Nobody seemed to ever want to piss that nigga off, so negotiations always seemed to work in our favor.

He wanted to step back from enforcing, but he loved torturing muthafuckas too much for that shit.

When Stacks told me he burned a muthafucka and skinned them like a catfish, I knew then that nigga was deranged.

Stacks still did the brokering and was always down to get his hands dirty.

He seemed to have morphed into Buck’s psychotic ass over the years and at times I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

Since I’ve been home, I witnessed that nigga beat a valet because he said the nigga felt on Kasha’s ass.

I don’t know how true it was, but I can’t lie and say I wouldn’t do the same.

Since I’ve been home, both of my brothers managed to get married.

Kasha had my nephew, Jefferson, or Jet, as we called him, so they were over there with two kids.

She took a step back from the bar after having Jet since Stacks didn’t want him in daycare.

Buck had to end up hiring another manager.

He went with a man this time because Nic threatened to kill his ass if he hired another woman who wasn’t family.

He even replaced the chick he had over at Vault because he fucked on her, too.

Me and Mel weren’t married yet, since we had to follow prison protocol, but we were engaged, and she was pregnant with my son.

It’s crazy that we all have boys like our parents.

Maybe that’s all we could produce. I wasn’t mad about it one bit because I know I’d end right back in prison if I had a daughter.

I had a distro meeting this afternoon, so I had to hurry and get my ass out of here.

Mel’s pregnancy hormones had her on my dick twenty-four seven.

I wasn’t complaining one bit, but I still had business to take care of.

The dispensaries were doing well. I currently had shops in The Cove and the downtown area.

I’m working on getting on opened in The Peak.

Muthafuckas loved getting high out there in the woods and shit.

I stepped out the closet, pulling my shirt over my head in the process.

I noticed Mel was still sitting on the bed in just her bra and panties.

She looked radiant with her five-month belly on display.

My boy had his mama’s titties sitting nice and ass fatter than a memory foam pillow.

I had to shake my head to rid the thoughts I was formulating, or I’d never leave this fuckin’ house.

“Why you still sitting there like you’on want me to leave.” I leaned down and kissed her lips while palming her stomach. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Because I don’t.” She pouted. I looked into her sad eyes and almost rescheduled, but I couldn’t do that shit. I needed to show up because once she got closer to her due date and after she gave birth, my presence would be scarce.

“Baby, I can’t stay here with you all day, every day. I gotta work.” I kissed her lips. “Besides, I thought you were going to chill with your sister. That changed?”

“No, it didn’t change. I’m just being a brat.” She smirked.

I pulled her up so that her body was flush with mine. “You can get that though, mama.” I kissed her slow and deep, hands gripping her waist. Before I knew it, she was bent over the bed, and I was knee-deep again.

Mel moaned out my name as I gripped her hips, dragging her back onto me slow and deep. “Fuck, Kilo… you feel so good. Don’t stop, baby.”

Her moans echoed through the room as I picked up the pace, our skin smacking loud and wet. I leaned down, kissing the side of her neck, whispering in her ear. “Shit, you feel good, Mel.”

I reached around and gripped her throat lightly, pulling her back against me. She gasped, and that shit sent a jolt down my spine. Her back arched deeper, giving me even more of her.

“Ughn…shit…Kilo,” she cried out.

“That’s right. Let me hear you. Let this baby know who his daddy is.”

She fell forward, grabbing the sheets, her legs trembling as I kept drilling into her. Her walls clamped down, and I felt her come undone all over me, soaking me in the process.

“Shit, baby… you tryna make me late again,” I growled, hips still moving.

“Then be late… just don’t stop.”

I gave her a few more deep strokes before I was letting go with a hard grunt, kissing her back as I held her still. We stayed like that, breathing hard, hearts pounding, before I kissed her one last time and headed for a shower.

***

After another round in the shower, I redressed and peeled out before she caught a third wind. I pulled up to D.E. with about forty-five minutes to spare before it was time for my meeting.

When I got off the elevator, I ran into Buck’s ignorant ass. I knew he was about to start his shit.

“Well, look who decided to show the fuck up.” He smirked.

“Don’t start yo’ shit, Lincoln.” I pushed past his ass and headed to my office. I wasn’t gone be in here long. I just needed to grab my folder for the meeting.

“I’ain starting shit, but you were supposed to be here an hour ago. The fuck took you so long?”

“Damn, nigga. I’m here now, right? Fuck you asking all them questions for?” I frowned.

“Because he’s nosy as fuck. That’s why.” Stacks came waltzing in the room with a smirk of his own on his face.

“Fuck outta here. I’ain nosy. This nigga late.” He pointed at me.

“That man has a pregnant girl at home. We both know how that is.” Stacks gave Buck a knowing look, and this fool started grinning wider than The Joker.

“Thugga over there using you for your meat?” I couldn’t do shit but laugh at this ignorant ass fool.

“I told you to stop callin’ my girl that shit. Now if I tell her what you said, and she goes across yo’ shit, I’on wanna hear about it.”

“Her violent ass is the exact reason I call her ass Thugga. Tough ass girl.” We laughed at his stupid ass, because we knew he was serious.

“I’ma tell my sister you talkin’ ’bout her, too.” I looked up and Jace and Keenan were walking through my office door.

“Lil’ nigga, you nor your sister scare me. The fuck?” Buck frowned.

“Nic does though.” Keenan smirked, making Buck his charge his ass like he was a damn kid, but Keenan ducked. “Chill before I tell Nic you tried to body slam me.”

“Aye, chill.” I laughed. “Why y’all bad asses ain’t in school?” When I asked that, they both got a dumb look on their face, so I knew it was some bullshit. “Y’all don’t hear me?”

“Man, Unc. Our P.E. teacher was yelling in our faces like we were some punks, so I told him to back the fuck up,” Jace explained. I couldn’t do shit but shake my head.

“Shit, you ain’t wrong, nephew,” Buck input.

“And what you had to do wit’ that?” I asked Keenan.

“Y’all told us to stick together and look out for each other. When the teacher got in Jace’s face, I told him to back up ’fore I beat his old ass.” Keenan shrugged.

I couldn’t do shit but shake my head because for these boys to not have DeLuca blood running through their veins, they acted just like us.

“You lil’ niggas bad as fuck, but I’m proud of y’all.” Buck praised. “Y’all gone get fucked up, but I’m proud of y’all.”

“Man, Pops. You gone tell Ma?” Jace asked Stacks.

“She already knows, my boy. I’m just keeping you with me ’til she cools off.” Jace sucked his teeth and went to sit down on the couch that I had in here, with Keenan following suit.

“Come on, let’s go get ready for this meeting.” I stood up from my desk and headed out with my brothers. “Don’t y’all touch shit and stay in here. Don’t be wandering the halls and shit, either.” I warned.

Once we left my office and headed to the conference room, I burst into laughter. “Those lil’ niggas bad as shit. The fuck you gone do wit’ Jace?” I turned to Stacks, and he was laughing right along with me.

“Bust his ass when need be. He knows how far to take the shit. Muthafucka got in his face. He was supposed to check that, nigga.” He shrugged.

“And you think this nigga a better role model than me?” Buck instigated.

“Nigga, yo’ kid just turned three. The fuck he gone do beside tear some shit up?” Stack countered.

“We ain’t talking about my kid. We talking about Chucky and Dennis-the-fuckin-Menace back there. I know Ms. Keena gone fuck Keenan’s ass up when he goes home.”

“You’ll find out firsthand because you taking him.” Stacks smirked.

“The fuck you say. I’ain taking that lil’ nigga nowhere. You picked him up, so you take him home.”

“I already told his mama you were bringing him, so shut the fuck up and come on.” I left those two arguing while I went into the conference room. Our pops was already in there, as usual. When he heard the bickering, he shook his head because he knew exactly where it was coming from.

“What y’all fussing ’bout now?”

“Yo’ son volunteering me for some shit like I’m running an after school transportation service or some shit,” Buck fussed.

“What you talking about?” Pops laughed.

Stacks filled him in on what was going on, and even Pops had to laugh. He got a kick out of his grandsons. He said they reminded him of us growing up. Even though Keenan was Nic and Mel’s baby brother, he referred to him as his grandson as well.

“I’ll go talk to them when we’re done.” No sooner than he finished his sentence, Rachel was letting us know that H.O.T. was here. I usually dealt with Logic and Lucci, but Maverick was coming along today instead of Lucci.

“Wassup, fellas?” Logic spoke as he walked further inside the room.

Maverick followed suit, and we got right down to business.

I let them know I was expanding and that would mean I would need the product to do the same.

We talked numbers and Stacks let them know how the figures were already looking on this end.

I gave them the logistics of the area, and they were sold.

They knew I could make a hefty profit, that in turn would make them one.

After going over the details for a little over an hour, we wrapped the meeting up. Stacks scooped up Jace, while Buck damn near pushed Keenan’s bad ass out the door.

“You want me to take him?” I asked.

“Hell nah. I’m taking his ass to my house first so he can cut my damn grass. He can go home after that.” He smirked.

“You got me fu—”

“Say it so I can make them words come out ya ass.” Buck warned. “Get in the truck, bro.”

Shaking my head, I dapped my brother’s up and headed back to my girl. I missed her mean ass.

***

When I got back home, Mel was napping. That gave me time to go over some contracts before taking another shower.

By the time I lathered my body, I heard the bathroom door open and saw Mel sauntering inside.

I watched as she stripped and walk over to join me.

I slid the door back to help her inside.

As soon as she was close, I pulled her body into mine, as much as my son would allow.

“Why didn’t you wake me up when you got in?” She took the washcloth from my hand and started washing me up again.

“I know you needed your rest. My boy rarely lets you do that, so I didn’t want to disrupt that, not knowing how long you’ve been down.” She nodded and continued to wash me. She turned me around and washed my back. When she was done, I stepped under the showerhead and rinsed off.

“How was your day?” she asked as I took her loofah returning her gesture.

“It was straight. Got distro to increase my supply so that I’ll be able to cater to another location.” She nodded.

“That’s good, baby.” She smiled. This was the shit I loved about her. Yeah, she was rough around the edges, but with me she was on her soft girl shit…until her hormones kicked in.

“Yeah, it is. But, aye. You know Keenan got suspended today?” She laughed.

“Hell yeah. Kasha called me and Nic and told us that Stacks had to pick their bad asses up from school. They didn’t call mama because they knew Stacks was his uncle, so he was able to take him, too. Those damn boys bad as hell. I pray my baby doesn’t act like that.”

“It’s inevitable, baby. He’s a DeLuca. It’s in his genes.”

“Jace nor Keenan are DeLuca’s, so explain that.” She raised her arched brow and cocked her head to the side.

“They are, just not by blood. They’ve been exposed to Buck long enough to know the ropes.” We both laughed.

“My poor baby is doomed, ain’t it.”

“Unfortunately, sweetheart. He is. He’ll be straight, though. As long as he ain’t out here wildin’, I’ma let him rock out.”

We finished our shower and dressed, and were now lying in bed with Mel in between my legs, with me rubbing her stomach. It was shit like this that I couldn’t wait to come home to. Those few quick moments while I was locked down didn’t cut it, but it sufficed.

“You narrowed down a name yet?” We were going to keep the tradition going on with the old man names like Nic called it. We never thought about it like that, but I guess that’s what it was.

“Yeah. I narrowed it down to Andrew or Theodore.” I nodded.

“I can rock with either one,” I admitted. I didn’t care which name she chose as long as my son came here healthy.

We stayed home the rest of the night and ordered in, since she didn’t feel like going anywhere. I was fine with that because it was supposed to rain, and I didn’t want to be out in that shit. Sitting my ass in the house with my woman was just fine with me.