Page 7

Brice

I turned my head to look over my shoulder.

I couldn’t help but feel that someone was watching me, even following me.

It felt familiar, as if it were someone I knew.

However, when I turned around, I saw only a nerdy-looking woman with her face down, studying a clipboard.

I couldn’t tell how old she was because she wouldn’t look up, and the glasses with the pearl lanyard threw me off. It was just something about her.

Nah, Brice, it couldn’t be.

Today was chillier than usual, especially with the cold wind blowing off the water.

It was approaching spring, but the weather in NC was up and down.

The tall shipping container rows only made it worse, blocking the sun’s warmth.

I’d come to the docks during the day because I knew the night shift handled all our shipments.

There would be no one here to catch me double-checking their work.

Back in the office, I discreetly rummaged through the files, being sure not to leave any traces that anyone was there .

Last year, Sincere Wright, who worked at my LA docks, asked for a transfer. I granted his wish, but it always felt like his request had come out of left field. I was paying him more than his worth in LA. Once he left, I knew he was someone I needed to keep an eye on.

Rats always go for the cheese, even if it’s in a damn trap.

Up until this point, I hadn’t found anything.

I found several shipping manifests with stops and departures on routes I hadn’t sanctioned today, all with Sincere’s signature.

He’d hidden them all in a desk drawer with a false bottom and lock I’d picked in seconds.

I made copies and returned them to their prior location.

The containers were leaving Mexico and heading to Italy, where I believed an exchange was taking place.

I knew this because the weights changed once the container reached its destination.

This should have been costing us money because the travel time cost was astronomically more expensive than that spent on the short destination of Mexico.

However, the money wasn’t coming up short, which is why I’d immediately left the office to find out what the fuck was in these damn containers.

As I checked the location of the containers one last time, I turned back to look again.

The woman whom I had been sure was following me was gone.

I pushed her to the back of my mind and continued to my destination.

Once I reached it, I checked the container number to ensure it was one of ours.

We had a total of twenty-five containers.

Four were traveling outside their usual destination .

I looked at all the multicolored containers that had undergone years of photodegradation and elemental damage to find the one closest to the ground. I typed in the code to unlock it. I checked my surroundings once more to ensure I was alone before opening it.

The metal doors creaked loudly as I peeled them back.

Inside were five rows of shipping crates.

Some of which were stacked to the ceiling of the container.

I slid one of the crates away from the stack and tried to wiggle it open.

It wasn’t budging. Then I reached for my pocketknife, hoping it would provide enough leverage to pry it open.

The wood splintered beneath the knife's pressure as I wedged the nails that held the top in place. Finally, I removed it, lifted the top, and shifted the padding.

What the fuck? This nigga got me all the way fucked up!

I quickly slid another crate before me, wedging it in with my knife like I had with the other.

Inside, instead of our drugs, I found military-grade MP5 machine guns.

I quickly counted the weapons inside, and there were fifteen in each box.

This container held one hundred crates. I did the math and found that the four shipping containers held approximately six thousand weapons.

“Fuck,” I shouted into the container. My voice echoed off the walls. Then I heard footsteps behind me. Someone walked in, placing a gun to the side of my head. I thought it was dock security until he spoke.

“Hey, what in the fuck are you doing in here, do you know who you’re trying to steal from you pezzo di merda.” The final part of his speech was spoken in Italian. I slowly raised my hands and turned to face him in a non-threatening manner.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said as my hand approached the gun barrel.

“Shut the fu…,” he started before I quickly wrapped my left hand around his wrist, pushing the gun towards the floor.

With my right hand, I used all my force and threw my elbow up and into his head.

He stumbled enough for me to disarm him.

I took his gun, pointed it at him, and now he was the one with his hands up.

I was so pissed I let off two shots to his chest and one to his head.

“Do I know who I’m stealing from? No motherfucker, do you know who you’re stealing from? Fuck!” I yelled into the container. Not only was I pissed at the guy I’d just taken out but it wasn’t our MO to not get answers first. I took out my encrypted phone and texted Rock.

We have a fucking problem.

Rock

Sin?

Yep, I’ll be there in thirty minutes. While I’m en route, send cleanup to the docks. I’m dropping the location on the container.

I spent the next five minutes quickly returning the tops of the crates and hammering them back down with the butt of my knife. I then returned the crates to the positions and places I’d found them. After the cleanup, I didn’t need anyone else to know anything had been tampered with.

As I exited, I peeked around the large door of the container.

Once satisfied that no one was around, I closed the doors and re-engaged the lock.

I started a quick jog back to the Malibu I had chosen to come here.

As I neared my destination, my stride slowed because a black 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS was parked three cars down from where I had parked.

My mind immediately went to Tayla because she loved old-school muscle cars and had one just like it.

I continued to the car and looked, giving one last glance before I pulled out of the lot.

I had twenty minutes to switch cars and meet Rock at his office.

If I were late, he would flip, and I didn’t feel like hearing his damn mouth.

Punctual ass!

I pulled onto the Rockwell Security lot with only a few minutes to spare. Since I’d decided on the way that I wanted to get him back for fucking with me a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take my time. I slowly exited my car and continued at an unrushed pace into the building.

When I came in, Talia was at the desk. Ever since Jourdan had come into Steph’s life, he’d changed all his businesses.

His usually dull office had been updated with a sleek new logo on the stark white wall behind the modern black receptionist desk, which also adorned his logo.

The lobby had modern dark walnut wood tables and black leather seating.

Whoever Talia was on the phone with had her full attention. I leaned onto the counter with my elbows, crouching down to look into her face. She immediately blushed.

“Hey, let me call you back. Someone just walked in,” she said before hanging up the phone.

“Brice,” she cooed.

“Hey, Stephon, back there?” I said, then licked my lips. She shifted in her seat.

“Yeah, he’s back there,” she said as she crossed her legs, drawing my attention to her thighs. I flipped my hair back and winked, knocking on the desk before I turned to walk off.

“Thank you, Sweetheart,” I said. She giggled behind me. Stephon always kept his door open, but when I walked in and closed the door, we coded into our alters. That would change again the moment I opened the door back up.

“You’re fucking late, Ice,” Rock said. I smirked and shrugged. Maybe I liked pissing big bro off more than I cared to admit.

“Talk nigga since you want to come in here late, wasting my damn time.” This time, I laughed full-on because I was one minute late. He smirked, but then I finally started to talk.

“Sin finally fucked up. It’s pissing me off because since I’ve been here, I’ve been calm. I haven’t had to show off. These motherfuckers don’t want me to show off Rock.” He sat up in his chair, giving me his undivided attention .

“I decided to go down to the docks during the day. I snooped around and found this.” I sat up, pulled the folder tucked in the back of my pants, and threw it on his desk. Rock picked it up and thumbed through it as I explained further.

“Those four shipping containers have been going to Italy, and instead of returning with our product, they’re returning with guns. Heavy shit too.”

“Fuck,” he bellowed out.

“I said the same shit because if the fucking Cartel finds out about this shit…” I said and took a breath.

“They won’t because we’re going to handle the shit,” Rock spoke.

“We gotta find out who Sin is working for because I know his ass isn’t doing the shit alone. He ain’t got it like that! However, I think it’s the Italian Mafia. The motherfucker I put down spoke Italian and then there’s Italian guns. Now all this could be a big fucking coincidence but…”

“We don’t believe in those,” he finished.

“I’m gonna put P on him for a few days,” Rock said. I nodded.

“Let me know what you find, but I already know I’m going to have to snatch and grab his ass. My hands are idle right now, and you know what that means.”

“Agreed,” Rock said. I stood and rounded the chair to leave. Just before I opened the door, Rock spoke again.

“Leave Talia’s ass alone; the last thing I need is P crashing out,”

“Oh, that’s P. Fuck that nigga!” I said as I fully opened the door. I could hear Stephon’s loud laugh behind me .

“Steph, before I leave. How’s my sister really doing with all this Tayla shit?” He sighed before he spoke.

“Man, honestly, I think the shit is fucking with her, but she won’t openly speak on it.

I wanted to bring it up a couple of nights ago, but I really don’t want her back on that shit she was on before,” He said as the worry lines creased his forehead.

I nodded because I understood more than he knew.

It was the main reason I’d initially pushed them together.

“I don’t know Steph. Something seems off about the whole thing. I fucking know Tayla, but I would never go against JoJo,” I said, letting the breath I inhaled slowly seep out in a deep sigh.

“I’m in the same boat as you because I wanted to get to know her.

That asshole aside and with the shit that happened with…

.,” He looked up and frowned. He was speaking about the fact that he’d unknowingly killed his brother.

Even though he kept telling himself that he was an only child, I knew that fucked with him.

I didn’t know what to say because it couldn’t be fixed.

So, I decided to lighten the heavy mood that filled the room.

“You got me now, though. I plan to do all the little brother shit that I know you hate to get on your last damn nerve with your New York country ass,” I said and smiled.

His laugh replaced the heaviness. Steph didn’t like to think so, but his ass had converted.

I didn’t care how many yerrs and deadasses he said.

“Love you, Bro,” he finally said when he sobered.

“Love you too, Steph. I’m about to see if Talia wants to join me for the rest of my day off,” I said as I left.

I could hear him laughing again behind me.

However, when I reached the front, I nodded at her and headed straight out the door.

I didn’t have time to kick P’s ass, nor for a woman right now anyway.

Let the bullshit begin!