by J. L Rose
James looked over his shoulder and lost his train of thought after hearing Dante’s voice. Gage walked in behind Dante.
James looked back to Capri and said, “Naw! Just waiting on you!”
Dante walked around to stand beside James, stared down at the middle-aged man, and said, “So, this is the deadly Bruce Capri?”
“Who the hell are you people?” Capri yelled out in both anger and pain. Spit flew from his mouth as he stared hatefully up at the three men standing over him.
Dante slowly smirked while he continued to stare down at the drug boss.
He then decided to answer the man’s question before killing him, and said, “I’m pretty sure Samuel Randolph already warned you about me! I’m Dante Blackwell, son-in-law to Dominic Saldana!”
“You!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dante instantly ended both Bruce Capri’s and the woman’s lives while Bruce was in the middle of saying something. However, James completely erased the expression on his face. Dante turned and then started toward the bedroom, with both James and Gage following a few steps behind him.
* * *
Dante received calls from Dre and his team that Howard Hall was taken care of. He then got a phone call from Tony T and Wesley, and was told that Norise Booth was also taken care of; however, Wesley was hit in the left arm but was fine otherwise. Dante hung up with Tony T and called Dominic’s personal number.
“Saldana!”
“It’s handled!”
Dominic remained quiet for a moment after hearing what Dante just told him and was a little surprised at how fast everything was handled.
He then finally spoke up and said, “What about Edward and Samuel?”
“They’re both out of the state, but should be back the day after tomorrow,” Dante answered. “It’ll be taken care of!”
“And Victor Elijah?”
Dante was quiet for a moment before he stated, “He has a decision to make, and it depends on what he decides is his own fate!”
“I understand fully. Keep me posted.”
Dante hung up the phone with Dominic and then called Alinna. He looked out the passenger window while listening to the line ring until her voice came over the line: “You finished?”
“Not fully!” Dante answered. “Just one last thing and then we’ll be done out here. What’s up with you back there?”
“Well, Rob won’t be a problem anymore!”
“You handed that then?” Dante asked, only to end up listening as Alinna told him about Rob dying while the twins, Keisha and Maxine, were working on him.
He hated to hear that they still had no idea where the hell Fish Man was at, and they had no way of finding out how to find the bitch nigga.
“I’ll be there soon,” Dante told Alinna once she finished telling him what went on in Miami. “Gimme a few days and we’ll be home. I love you!”
“I love you too, Dante.”
THIRTEEN
ALINNA SPENT ANOTHER FOUR days in Miami doing everything she could to find out Fish Man’s location, but still turned up nothing. She allowed herself to fall back into business mode by getting more work out onto the streets and adding the heroin that she had Dante ship to her. The streets were becoming aware of the new Japanese heroin, and Alinna quickly saw the reactions to it and heard the talk that was spreading around Miami.
On the fifth day, Alinna was awoken by her ringing cell phone. She blindly reached over to the bedside table by her son, who was sound asleep beside her.
“What?” she said, eyes still closed.
“Is this Alinna Rodriguez?” the feminine voice asked.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Diamond!”
“Diamond?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Diamond replied, but then said something that got Alinna’s attention. “I hear you’re looking for Kyle Otis, but you may know him as Fish Man!”
Wide awake now, Alinna jerked upright in bed after hearing Fish Man’s name. She gripped the phone in her hand and pressed it to her ear. “Who is this?”
“Girl, I just told you. This is Diamond!”
“No! What’s your real name?”
“Honey, my name is Diamond Desirous! Now do you want to know where Kyle Otis is or not?”
“How do I know this isn’t some type of set up trick?”
“Child, pleeeease! Who’s crazy enough to really mess with Dante Blackwell’s woman!”
“All right. Where’s Fish Man at?”
“Not yet, honey!” Diamond replied. “I remember hearing that there was a reward for information on Kyle Otis, and if you want this information, we need to meet so I can get paid.”
“Okay! Where?” Alinna asked while listening to the time and place at which they would meet.
Alinna then hung up the phone after the conversation with the woman who had introduced herself as Diamond Desirous. She then instantly called Dante and was surprised when it went right to voice mail. She hung up and tried again.
Alinna left a message for Dante to call her back as soon as he received the message, explaining that it was gravely important. She then hung up the phone, climbed from her bed, and went to Vanessa’s room to let her know about the phone call she had just received.
* * *
Dante saw the stretch Mercedes-Benz limousine as it turned inside the front guarded gate. His men were now dressed like Edward Randolph’s guards who had been killed. Dante called out to James, Dre, and Gage, who all were asleep while he remained awake and staring out the bedroom window from the second-floor master.
“What’s up, family?” Dre asked as he sat up from where he was stretched out across a bed.
He stared at Dante, who was still looking out the window that faced the front of the mansion.
“He’s here,” Dante said, before turning away from the window and leaving out the bedroom door.
Dante walked up the long hallway and was in no rush. Dre, James, and Gage were right behind him. He made it to the top of the stairs and saw Wesley, Tony T, and a team of young killers already on point. He heard the shooting start up, and seconds later the front door flew open and Edward Randolph was rushed inside the mansion by a team of four guards who were quickly gunned down.
Dante then noticed a familiar face that stood beside Edward and was staring up at him with both fear and shock. Dante slowly smiled while taking his time making his way down the stairs.
Once he got downstairs and stood a few feet away from Edward and Samuel Randolph, Dante said, “I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming home, Edward, and then you walk through the door with gifts. How’s it going, Samuel?”
“How the fuck did you get into my house?” Edward Randolph asked in a calm voice while his anger showed on his face.
“Since you asked first how I entered your house, I’ll assume you know who I am already, correct?” Dante asked, but continued before Edward could attempt to say anything. “I won’t make this visit any longer than it already has been. We have other business to deal with, so at this point, gentlemen, this is a good—!”
Dante peeped the move that Samuel tried to make while he was speaking. Dante pulled out his banger with his right hand from his left-side holster, just as Samuel pulled out a chrome piece from inside his suit jacket.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pop! Pop!
Dante watched as Samuel Randolph stumbled backward, slamming into the wall behind him. Dante felt the two slugs that skimmed into his chest, which sent him staggering backward a step. He slowly dropped to a knee while grabbing his chest, barely aware of the sounds of automatic and semiautomatic guns going off around him before he fell back onto his ass.
* * *
After letting Vanessa, Yasmine, and the other girls know about the agreed-upon meeting spot with the caller who introduced herself as Diamond, Alinna sent Yasmine to check out the location where the meeting was supposed to take place. Even though Alinna was certain that the name wasn’t real, she c
alled Greg Wilson and had him check out Diamond Desirous just to make sure.
She next called Rafael to check up on Angela’s husband, Geno, to make sure that Rafael had not already murdered him.
Alinna tried Dante’s phone and was not surprised to get his voicemail, since he had told her that he was planning to finish up business in Phoenix. She left a quick message and let him know the time and place of the meeting.
Alinna then showered and dressed in a navy-blue Kenneth Cole pantsuit and a pair of open-toed stiletto heels. She ate breakfast with the kids and was just finishing when Yasmine returned, with both Keisha and Maxine with her.
“What’s it look like?” Alinna asked as she left the kitchen and entered the den with Yasmine and the twins following her.
“The diner is on a four-way street and sits on the corner of Main.”
“Diner?” Alinna asked, a little confused.
“Royal Castle,” Maxine answered.
“Wait!” Alinna said. “I thought they closed that down on 79th Street?”
“They was supposed to, but they didn’t!” Keisha told Alinna. “It’s still in the same spot.”
Alinna nodded her head in agreement as she pictured the area she knew well.
She looked at Yasmine and said, “I want each corner blocked off, and nobody is to enter the area or the diner after we’re inside.”
Yasmine bowed her head slightly, and then turned and left the den.
* * *
Alinna handled some business that morning that could have waited for a later date, but it killed some time until her meeting with Diamond. She then spent some time with her sister-in-law, Melody, and went to the post office and then out to lunch. Alinna found herself liking Dante’s baby sister as the two of them talked and got to know each other better, asking and answering questions.
Alinna tried Dante’s number again, and by 3:30 in the afternoon she got his voicemail again. She tried calling James, Tony T, and even Wesley, but she only received their voicemails. She began to worry a bit.
By the time 5:00 p.m. rolled around, everyone began to get dressed for the meeting. Alinna then sent Rose to get Kerri for her.
“Yeah, Alinna. What’s up?” Kerri asked a little while later, after entering the master bedroom and seeing Alinna dressed in a Dolce & Gabbana outfit and seated at the foot of the bed, where she was slipping on a pair of heels that matched the outfit perfectly.
“Kerri, I need you to get in contact with Dante,” Alinna told her assistant. “I’ve got some crazy feeling that something is not right. I’ve called Dante’s phone and even Dre, James, Wesley, and Tony T, and none of them are answering their phone. That’s not like them, Kerri.”
“I’ll find out what’s going on,” Kerri told her as she pulled out her cell phone and turned to leave the bedroom, just as Yasmine and Vanessa walked in.
“You ready?” Vanessa asked, seeing that Alinna was already dressed.
“Yeah!” she answered as she walked over to her dresser and looked into the mirror.
She then picked up her back holster that held her Glock .17 that Dante had given to her. She attached it to the back of her dress pants that were part of her Dolce & Gabbana suit, and then she picked up her purse, keys, and phone. Alinna then turned and faced Yasmine and Vanessa, and caught them talking to each other in a lowered voice.
“What’s with the whispering?” Alinna spoke up as she started from the bedroom door.
“We were just discussing security,” Yasmine told Alinna as she and Vanessa followed her from the bedroom.
Alinna met the rest of the girls inside the den, with Harmony smiling when she walked inside. Alinna winked at her and asked if they were all ready to go.
“We’re waiting on you, Gangster Mrs.!” Maxine playfully stated, earning a smile from Alinna.
Once they were all outside and saw the chauffeur standing at the back door to one of the Benz trucks, Alinna started to question about her car, only for Yasmine to beat her to it and explain, “We’ve decided that since your car is well-known, you wouldn’t ride in it tonight for the meeting. You’ll ride inside the Mercedes truck along with Vanessa and me.”
Alinna looked at Vanessa, who nodded her head in agreement to what Yasmine had just explained. Alinna said nothing in response, but started toward the truck as her personal driver opened up the back door and nodded a greeting to her.
FOURTEEN
THEY ARRIVED AT THE Royal Castle fifteen minutes after leaving the mansion.
Alinna watched as all four Escalades turned off and blocked each street as both Benz trucks turned into the parking lot. She stared out her window and saw a few cars, two SUVs, and a truck parked in the lot. She then shifted her eyes toward the diner, and she could see through the windows that there was a nice-sized crowd.
“You ready?” Vanessa asked from the front seat, looking back at Alinna.
Alinna nodded her head in response to Vanessa’s question. She then climbed out from the truck once the driver walked around and opened her door. She instantly spotted a team of four guards waiting for her.
Alinna then left the truck, with Vanessa and Yasmine alongside her. She walked into the middle of the four guards as one of them held open the front door to the diner for her. Yasmine walked in first, followed by Alinna, and then Vanessa bringing up the rear.
Alinna ignored the stares that she received from the other diners. She then watched as Amber, Har- mony, and the twins all walked inside. Kerri then walked in talking on her cell phone with her personal bodyguard. Alinna pointed over to the far side of the diner where two tables were open. She followed Yasmine while looking around the interior of the restaurant.
“How are we supposed to find out who this chick is we’re meeting?” Maxine asked as one of the guards pushed two open tables together for them.
Alinna sat down at one of the seats once the tables were pushed together.
“We’re looking for a dark-skinned female wearing a pink and white jacket and a pair of pink and white Lady Air Max,” she answered Maxine.
“She must be late!” Harmony announced. “I don’t see nobody in here dressed like that.”
Alinna looked down at her rose gold and diamond-bezeled Rolex watch. It was 6:04 p.m., the time at which they had agreed to meet. Alinna then looked to her far left on the other side of Yasmine, to where Kerri sat. She was texting on her phone, and Alinna was just about to call her assistant’s name when Harmony called out to her.
“And that’s who we’re waiting for?” Harmony asked, nodding toward the door that was marked for employees only.
An average-height, dark brown skinned, slim and nicely-built female with done corn rolls in her hair was headed in their direction.
“Ms. Alinna Rodriguez. I’m finally meeting the baddest bitch in Miami!” Diamond said, smiling as she walked up to the table where Alinna and her girls were sitting.
However, Diamond pulled to a sudden stop as the Asian guards stepped in front of her and blocked her way.
“Who are these rice-eating muthafuckas?” Diamond inquired.
“What’s your name?” Yasmine asked from her seat beside Alinna, who sat staring at the female who stood just a few feet in front of her.
“I’m supposed to be meeting with Ms. Rodriguez as we agreed. I’m Diamond Desirous.”
“What type of name is Diamond Desirous?” Maxine asked.
Amber immediately spoke up and stated, “That’s not his name, is it?”
“His?” Harmony and the twins all said at the same time, looking from Amber to the female.
Diamond slowly smiled at Amber and then said, “You’re right! But how did you know?”
“A friend of mine is just like you, and I’m used to seeing the change. But you’ve had work, haven’t you?” Amber asked.
Nodding her head, Diamond said, “I’ve almost completely finished the surgery.”
“Whoa!” Maxine said, holding up her hands to stop the conversation. “I ain’t the smartest
bitch in the world, but is this bitch really a nigga you’re talking to?”
“She’s transgender,” Amber corrected her, earning a smile from Diamond.
“You say you know where Fish Man is?” Alinna finally spoke up, drawing all the attention to her.
“Yes, honey! But first let’s discuss the money you promised me,” Diamond mentioned, folding her arms across her chest.
Alinna had Yasmine dismiss the guards, and she then looked over toward Vanessa on her right. Alinna nodded her head, which caused Vanessa to reach down and pick up the black briefcase that sat on the floor beside her right leg.
Alinna watched as Vanessa walked around the two tables to stand beside Diamond. She then laid down a briefcase on top of the table and opened it. Alinna sat watching Diamond, who slowly smiled when she stared down at the briefcase filled with money.
“Pull up a chair and sit down!” Alinna told her as Vanessa closed the briefcase back up and left it on the table.
Vanessa then returned to her seat as Diamond sat down and joined the table.
“So, you want to know where Kyle Otis got his ass at, huh?” Diamond said as she sat the briefcase on the floor on the right side of her.
Diamond was just about to continue, when Harmony cried out Alinna’s name and pointed over toward the front door, with a big smile on her face.
Alinna turned around to see what Harmony was talking about and stared in surprise and happiness as she saw Dante walk into the restaurant in a knee-length, white leather coat. Dre, James, Wesley, Tony T, and Gage walked in behind him, all dressed in black with leather jackets.
“Oh, sweet Jesus! Is that the fine-ass Dante Blackwell?” Diamond asked, smiling just as wide as Harmony.
Diamond sat watching the all-too-sexy and handsome Dante walk directly up between Alinna’s and the Asian woman’s chairs. He then leaned down and kissed Alinna’s lips and then turned his head and kissed Yasmine.
“Do I get one of those too, Mr. Sexy?” Diamond joked.
Dante barely glanced over at the woman, who was wearing almost too much pink, before he focused on Alinna and asked, “Did I miss anything?”
