Tied to a Boss 4

by J. L Rose

  “Where’s everybody at?”

  “Mr. Bell and the other others out back, Dante,” Natalie told him. “They’re barbecuing.”

  “Baby, why don’t you go on out back with the others,” Brenda told her son with a smile. “And try to relax.”

  Dante smiled at his mother and kissed her cheek as he walked past her. Every woman in the house stared at him as he walked toward the screen door to the backyard.

  * * *

  Dante saw Floyd Jr. standing with Dre, Dwayne, Tony T, Floyd Sr., and a few of the crew members. Dante noticed that Kyree was standing off to the side a few feet talking on his cell phone, nodding to the young hustler after catching his eye.

  “Floyd, let me holla at you real quick, youngin’!” Dante told his cousin.

  He then nodded to Dwayne to let him know he would be right back.

  Dante stepped away from the others a few feet and got straight to the point: “My mom told me you hustle out in New Jersey. That true? You know a guy named Fish Man?”

  “I know the name, and I’ve heard about the dude, but I’ve never met him. I’ve seen the dude a few times out at this club in Brooklyn. He’s known for going there almost every Saturday, but why don’t you get at that nigga Eddie? He fucks with them Jersey niggas, fam!”

  “Do me a favor! Go get that nigga for me!”

  Dante watched as Floyd walked back inside the house, and Dre and Tony T walked up beside him.

  “What the play, bruh?” Tony T asked as he stood on Dante’s right while Dre was on his left.

  “Supposedly, this dude Eddie deals with Fish Man over in Newark,” Dante explained.

  “Here comes the nigga now, fam!” Dre announced, nodding to the back door as Floyd Jr. and Eddie stepped out of the house and headed in their direction.

  “What’s up, Dante?” Eddie said as he and Floyd walked up, stopping in front of Dante and his boys. “You wanna get at me?”

  “I hear you fuck with some niggas over in Newark. That true?” Dante asked the boy, staring directly into his eyes.

  “Yeah!” Eddie replied. But after seeing the look on Dante’s and his boys’ faces, he asked, “What’s good?”

  “You know a nigga named Fish Man?” Tony T asked him.

  “Who doesn’t?” Eddie answered. “Dude’s supposedly from y’all’s way, but moved up here a few months ago and blew up with the coke game. Word is he’s fucking with some Cuban dude that’s got the nigga Fish Man flooding the streets.”

  “Flooding the streets, huh?” Dante repeated with a smirk on his face.

  Dante looked over to Floyd who was texting and said, “Uh, yo, cuzo!”

  Floyd looked up from his phone at Dante and answered, “What’s up, fam?”

  “You in the streets, right?”

  “I’m doing a little something. Why?”

  “How would you like to step your game up to some boss shit?” Dante asked him. “We family, so since you out here I’ma front you whatever you want: weed, heroin, coke, whatever! You interested?”

  “What? Hell yeah!” Floyd cried out, hyped up at what he was hearing.

  “All right! This is what we gonna do!” Dante began. “I’ma deal with this Fish Man, but now I’m seeing a different plan. We about to take over Newark and put New York in a headlock. We gonna end up chilling out here a lot longer than we actually planned. But I’ma get you set up out here before we leave. Can you handle what I’m about to bless you with?”

  “No doubt, fam!”

  Dante nodded his head and said, “All right. Get your team together and bring ’em by my hotel. But don’t bring nobody you can’t trust with your life. If I feel the muthafucka is fake, I’ma body him myself, so be sure who you bring to see me!”

  “I’m all over it, fam!” Floyd said, dapping up with Dante.

  “Yo, Dante!” Eddie called out. “I know we not family, but I’m trying to get with the team. Put the boy on, done!”

  Dante stared at Eddie for a few moments, and then shifted his eyes over to Floyd and said, “It’s your call, cuzo. You know dude better than I do, but understand you’re responsible for homeboy if you bring him on. What’s your decision?”

  Floyd looked at Eddie a few minutes, and considering that what Dante had just told him was actually a warning, he slowly nodded his head, looked back toward Dante, and said, “Yeah, I’ll fuck with him, fam!”

  EIGHTEEN

  DANTE LEFT HIS MOTHER’S house a little after 11:00 p.m., kissing her goodbye but promising to stop by in the morning for breakfast. He then hugged his Auntie Gina and Uncle Floyd, and dealt with a clinging Lisa who wanted to be walked out to Eddie’s Navigator, only to make him promise to go out with her before leaving to return to Miami.

  “You staying with Mama or you coming with us?” Dante asked Melody once he walked back over to stand with the others beside the limo.

  “I’ma stay with Mama and Dwayne tonight,” she answered, smiling as she stepped into Dante and hugged him. “I’ll see you in the morning, right?”

  Nodding his head and smiling, Dante turned to Dwayne, shook his hand, and said, “You’re all right, Dwayne! My mom looks happy, and as long as she stays that way, we’ll be cool!”

  “Dante!” Brenda said, giving him a look and placing her hands on her hips.

  “What I say?” Dante asked, raising both his hands up in surrender, only to cause his mother to break down a smile before hugging him again.

  “It was good meeting you three,” Brenda said, pulling away from Dante and turning to face Alinna, Yasmine, and Natalie.

  Dante turned to Floyd Jr. while his mother said her goodbyes to the girls. He then said a few quick words to Floyd, who nodded his head in understanding.

  Once inside the Escalade limo, the car barely moved more than five feet when Alinna spoke up, “What are you planning, Dante?”

  Looking from his window to Alinna, Dante simply said, “There’s a change of plans!”

  “What type of change?”

  Dante began to explain to the whole family, since they were already inside the limo and staring at him and waiting for an answer. He began by breaking down the conversation he had with Floyd Jr. earlier, and he then further explained the benefits of his plan.

  “So let me understand something,” Alinna began as soon as Dante finished talking. “So you’re not only interested in getting rid of Fish Man, but now you want to take over not only New Jersey but New York as well, Dante?”

  “Pretty much!” he answered, but then said, “I was thinking that since Amber and Wesley are already in Phoenix holding things down, Harmony and Tony T can head back to Miami and hold things down there. Dre and Vanessa can control New Jersey, and we’ll maintain control out here in New York.”

  “And how long is this supposed to go on for?” Alinna asked him.

  “Once Fish Man is dealt with, both Vanessa and Dre can get settled in Jersey, and Harmony and Tony T can fly back home. And just until shit gets settled out her, everybody can stay where they’re at.”

  “How long, Dante?”

  “A few months.”

  Alinna stared at her husband and understood Dante’s real reason for wanting to remain in Syracuse.

  She shook her head as she looked around at the others, and said, “What do you guys think? How do you all feel about this?”

  “I’m with whatever my brother says!” Dre answered.

  “Wherever my man is, is where I’ma be at!” Vanessa replied.

  “We’re with it too!” Tony T spoke up, looking over at Harmony, who shook her head in agreement.

  “Yasmine! Natalie! What do you all think?” Alinna asked them.

  “I go where Dante goes!” Yasmine replied, staring directly at her husband.

  “I don’t mind. But I would want to fly home to see my parents and let Damian see his grandparents,” Natalie explained.

  Alinna nodded her head and then looked at Dante and said, “There’s no need to ask James and Gage since the two of them won
’t leave your side anyway. So I guess we have work to do.”

  Dante slowly smirked at Alinna, and then he began breaking down what little of the plan he had put together so far inside his head.

  * * *

  Dante reached the hotel at which Alinna had rented out the entire top two floors for the family and security. Dante then led Alinna, Natalie, Yasmine, Rose, and Emmy up to the penthouse suite. They would all be staying together until they decided to either buy or rent a house.

  Dante handed a sleeping Mya off to Emmy and watched and she and Rose led the kids off to the back room. He then turned and walked over to the sliding glass door that led out onto a terrace while the three women were changing.

  “What time is Floyd and them supposed to get here?” Alinna asked, after closing the glass door and then stepping up next to Dante, who was leaning against the metal rail.

  Dante lifted up his wrist and checked the time on his Mickey Mouse, diamond-bezeled Cartier watch.

  “They should be here in twenty minutes,” he answered.

  Alinna leaned against Dante, only to have him wrap his arm around her.

  She hugged his waist and after a silent moment said, “Are you sure about this whole thing with your cousin Floyd, Dante?”

  Dante nodded his head, even though Alinna wasn’t paying attention.

  “There’s something about him. I think my mom sent me to him for this reason,” Dante replied.

  “Brenda sent you at Floyd?”

  “Yeah!” Dante answered. He then explained how his mother suggested he speak with Floyd, since he was already on the streets.

  “So this Cuban guy that’s backing Fish Man. What are we going to do if we have to war with him about Fish Man?”

  “I’ve already been thinking about that,” Dante admitted. “I’ma ask Floyd about this guy. I want a name, and then I’ma see if Monica and Nash Johnson—!”

  “Dante!” Yasmine interrupted as she slid open the door. “The front desk just called up to let you know that Floyd Brown is here. I told them to let him up.”

  Dante nodded his head in response and took another pull on his Black. He then put out his cigar, blew out the smoke, and then pushed off the rail. He released Alinna as he turned and walked back into the room, with Alinna following him.

  Once the knock sounded on the front door, Yasmine went to answer it, letting the two guards stationed there know that Floyd and his four friends were okay to visit. She then stepped back to allow Floyd and company to enter.

  “What’s good, fam?” Floyd said, dapping up with Dante as he stood beside Alinna, who sat inside a tall back-cushioned chair with her legs crossed.

  He nodded to her and received a nod in return.

  Floyd began by making introductions with the only girl in the group, “Fam, this is my shorty, Nicole, but everybody calls her Nina. The black-as-hell stocky one is Beast, and the twins are Kaos and Corrupt.”

  “Kaos and Corrupt, huh?” Dante repeated with a smile as he looked from one light-brown skinned man to the other.

  Dante then nodded to Floyd, who stepped back within his team.

  “I’m pretty sure my cousin explained to each of you what you all are here for tonight. And seeing as the four of you still came with Floyd answers if any of you want to become a part of what’s about to happen. Correct?” Dante said.

  “No doubt, boss man!” Beast answered. “Who doesn’t wanna fuck with the realist gangster walking and breathing?”

  Dante nodded to the big man, and then introduced Alinna and Yasmine to the group.

  “Each of you knows who I am, but you all have to understand that I’m not the sole power behind this family. Meet my wife and the other half of the Blackwell family: Alinna Blackwell.”

  After hearing whispers coming mostly from Nina and Beast, Dante continued, “And behind you is my third wife, Yasmine Kim! These two are among six others who are part of this family. You all will meet them at a later time.”

  “You said the Asian chick is your third wife?” Nina interrupted. “How many wives do you even have? I mean, you fine as hell and all, but damn, nigga!”

  Dante chose to ignore Nina’s comments, looked over at Alinna, and then said, “They’re all yours!”

  * * *

  Dante spent the next two-and-a-half hours listening to Alinna break down important things to Floyd and his crew, and she even explained exactly how the family handled their business. Dante answered a few questions concerning wars that were possibly going to happen once they began their takeover through New Jersey and New York. Finally, Yasmine even added a few words concerning security and wars that they were facing. Dante ended the discussion with a few more things concerning areas that were the strongest and weakest.

  He then directed his next question to Floyd: “Floyd, tell me something. Who’s the Cuban who’s backing Fish Man?”

  “I just hear it’s some Cuban named Garcia,” Floyd answered. “But then I just remembered something, fam! If you’re really trying to find out some real information about both Fish Man and that Garcia dude, I know somebody who can help you out.”

  “I’m listening!” Dante said.

  “I ain’t sure how you’re gonna feel about this dude, but he’s known for working for the money.”

  “Floyd!” Alinna spoke up. “Dante doesn’t like repeating himself, so it’s best to just say what you’re gonna say!”

  Floyd looked back at his cousin and saw the seriousness in his eyes. “Dude’s with the NYPD. His name is Aaron Howard, and he’s a lieutenant detective,” Floyd said.

  “Yasmine!” Dante called, seeing his wife quickly step forward. “Tell Kerri that I want her to find out whatever she can on a Lieutenant Aaron Howard.”

  Dante received a slight bow in reply from Yasmine.

  He then focused back on Floyd and his crew and stated, “If there are no more questions, then remember what was said here and be ready for work when the time comes.”

  * * *

  After Floyd and his crew left the hotel, Dante took a trip to the suite where Diamond, Meline, and Mari were staying, to discuss his plans.

  “Hey, sexy!” Diamond said, smiling after answering the door and seeing Dante.

  She stepped back and allowed her dream husband to enter the suite.

  “Where’s Meline and Mari?” Dante asked as he walked further into the room and looked around.

  “Mari’s with her man!” Diamond answered, walking past Dante in a pair of tight-ass-hugging booty shorts and a man’s wifebeater that was cut in half to show her stomach and belly ring.

  “And Meline?” he asked as he leaned back against the dresser beside the television, watching Diamond try to put on a show.

  “You come to see me or her?” Diamond asked with an attitude, placing her hands on her hips.

  “I came to discuss business!” Dante replied, ignoring Diamond’s attitude, only to hear a door open up.

  Dante shifted his eyes to the hallway to see Mari’s light-skinned brother/sister walk in wearing Hello Kitty booty shorts and a white-and-pink matching top that was too small for the D cup implants she had.

  “Hey, papi! What are you doing here?” Meline cried out happily as she rushed over to kiss Dante’s cheek.

  “I wanna talk to both you and Diamond,” Dante told her while catching and ignoring the look that Diamond was giving him.

  “So, what’s up, papi?” Meline asked, sitting down on the sofa and folding her feet under her as Diamond walked past, noticing her attitude.

  “All right! I want you to listen up clearly, because starting early tomorrow morning, you two are going to start things off with Fish Man,” Dante began, looking from Meline to Diamond. “Diamond, when you call Fish Man and let him know that you’re here in New Jersey, I also want you to introduce him to Meline. Make him think that you two are best friends.”

  “His ho-ish ass probably just gonna try to fuck her too!” Diamond stated angrily.

  “That’s the plan!” Dante stat
ed. “I want you both to seduce him, but not too fast or too soon. Make him choose the two of you first, but I want you two to also try and get as much information out of him as you can about where his spots are located and where he’s getting his work from.”

  “And who’s going to protect us if something happens, Dante?” Diamond asked him.

  “Don’t worry! You’ll have someone close by if you need him; and if you just want to contact me, you’ll have a number to reach me at. But only use it if it’s an emergency!”

  “Damn!” Diamond cried. “Why’d you look at me like that when you said that, Dante?”

  Dante ignored Diamond’s question and began to say something else, when the front door swung open and a screaming Mari was carried into the suite in James’s arms. Dante sat looking over the whole scene and noticed that Mari’s clothes were ripped and her lip was bleeding.

  “Allow James to deal with his woman!” Dante said as he pushed off the dresser once James had Mari locked inside the back bedroom.

  Dante then left the suite, with both Diamond and Meline seated on the sofa.

  * * *

  Dante arrived back at his own suite and was not surprised when he barely walked through the door and could hear Maxine yelling. He then saw her and Keisha, Alinna, Vanessa, Harmony, and Yasmine all in the front room.

  “Dante!” Maxine yelled as soon as she laid eyes on him.

  Dante shut the door, only to have it pushed back open by Kerri, who rushed past carrying a clear plastic bag of ice. Dante shut the door again and then started toward his bedroom, only for Maxine to cut him off.

  “Dante, you either gonna do something, or I swear I’ma kill that bitch about my man!” Maxine spit out at Dante.

  “What exactly do you expect me to do, Maxine?” Dante asked her. “This is between you, James, and Mari. You three gotta handle that.”

  “Naw. That bitch is about to get bodied!” Keisha said from across the room.

  “I’ma say this once!” Dante said, looking from Keisha back to Maxine. “Nobody is to step to Mari unless it’s a fight between Maxine and Mari. If anybody pulls any kind of weapon out on Mari or if she’s jumped, then I promise I’ll get involved! Are we clear?”