by B. Love
The little sweet shit he tried to do for her, though she appreciated it, was always pushed away. Jax continued to do it because he knew she did it because she wasn’t used to it. She wasn’t used to how it made her feel. How he made her feel. So he was prepared for her to see it, crack a joke, give him a hug, then ask to play the game.
About forty-five minutes later, she was calling his phone to see where he was in the house. Instead of telling her, he went to the dining room to pay the masseuse and see her out then led Maria to his room. Since the door was closed, he leaned against it and looked down at her in silence for a few seconds as he held her hands.
“What?” she asked softly before chuckling.
“You know you can be soft with me, right?” With a roll of her eyes, Maria tried to remove her hands from his, but he kept them. “You can let your guards down with me. Consistently. Not just when you’re mad or sad or shit ain’t going your way.”
Her shoulders slouched slightly as her head shook. “I want to, to be able to get some of this weight off of me, but I don’t know how to do that. All the men I’ve trusted outside of my family were on some business shit, and I had to be tough with them. That’s the only way I know how to be.”
“Do I have your permission to introduce you to a side of yourself that you’re not used to?”
Maria inhaled a deep breath before nodding. “Is what’s in this room going to make me cry?”
Jax chuckled as he released her hand and turned his doorknob. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t.”
“Good, because if you make me cry, I’m going to be mad.”
Chuckling quietly, Jax nodded and opened the door. He stepped off to the side and allowed her entrance, watching her face to see her reaction. As she took in what he’d done for her, Maria’s eyes widened then relaxed. She pouted before giggling and moaning quietly. Turning to the side, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. As she squeezed him tightly, she released a content sigh.
“No one’s ever done anything like this for me,” she confessed, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him. “Thank you, Jax… for making me feel like a lady.”
Smiling softly, Jax caressed her cheek with his thumb and placed a kiss to the center of her forehead. He’d purchased damn near twenty bouquets of flowers because he didn’t know which one she’d like, had a tray of chocolate covered fruit along with champagne, lit candles, providing a dim light to his master bedroom, and a low old school 90s R&B playlist queued up in the background.
“Let me know which one of these is your favorite.”
Maria walked around every corner of his room, running her fingers around the petals of the flowers. Smelling each. A few she smiled extra hard over. By the time she made it to the last one, her head was shaking as she shrugged and giggled again. That was a first – he’d never gotten two, light giggles out of her in one day. True, he’d make her blush and smile, but she’d cover her mouth and stuff those giggles back down.
“I honestly can’t choose, Jax. But I think the lilacs maybe. I think those are my favorite.”
Covering her face, Maria shook her head. Jax slowly made his way over to her and gently pulled her hands from her face.
“Let me see that smile. A nigga worked hard as hell to get it.”
Maria’s smile widened as she stepped closer to him, allowing him to release her hands and wrap his arms around her.
“You’re dangerous, Jax Diesel.”
“How so?”
Maria let a few seconds pass as she circled her pointer finger around the center of his chest. “I think you’re gonna get some love out of me.”
Jax mirrored her smile. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
Her head shook as she licked her lips and took the time to really think over his question. “No. Not anymore.”
Chapter 11
Them
When Evelyn called for a family meeting, Christian, Leigh, and Maria prepared for the worst. So much so that their moods were somber as soon as they arrived at their grandmother’s home. Ever’s days shifted between good and bad. Most days were good, but the bad were really bad. Alternating between grandchildren who could watch her was becoming a bit of a hassle because not all of them were equipped for the responsibility.
It wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be, and only a few could handle spending hours with Ever on her bad days.
“I know it’s a lot asking you all to meet with me here, but I don’t like having to have this conversation more than once,” Evelyn started.
Even though all of Ever’s family wasn’t in attendance, the main ones who truly fucked with her and appreciated everything she’d done for them over the years were there. There were so many bodies in the living room and attached dining room that the space had already begun to get hotter and more humid than it was outside.
“Things with Ma are getting worse. My siblings and I are considering putting her in a nursing home so that she can receive around the clock care.”
“No,” Sonny spoke up immediately, who was a grandchild from one of Ricky’s siblings. “She doesn’t need around the clock care yet. If we give up on her she will give up on herself. All she needs is someone to keep an eye on her when she’s having a bad day.”
“That’s funny of you to say, Sonny.” April sneered. “You haven’t been here not one day.”
“And? It’s not because I don’t want to be. I’m a doctor, a husband and a father, so my schedule is full.”
“Which is why you have no say,” Pressure spoke up, and silence covered the room. He nodded at Evelyn, giving her the floor again.
“None of us want her to have to be put in a home, but none of us have the time to spend with her twenty-four-seven. We can’t lock doors and windows from the inside out because it would be a hazard if she tried to get out by any means. Now unless some of you are willing to be here around the clock without sleeping when she’s having a spell, we don’t have any other choice.”
One by one, they began to volunteer. As hopeful as Leigh wanted to be, she knew this shit wouldn’t last. The night owls worked nights and wouldn’t be able to stay, so the ones who were volunteering would probably be changing their minds after staying a few nights. After letting Evelyn know when she’d be able to stay, Leigh headed outside and waited for Christian and Maria to come out.
As she waited, Leigh resisted the urge to call Ransom. Seeing him with Taylor made his moving on from her real. Though she couldn’t blame him, a part of her wished he would have considered giving them a chance again. Either way, she would be okay. Leigh had come to peace with never having him again, but Lord knows she would have been grateful if she could. Baby or not, Ransom Castillo was of a rare breed, and Leigh was foolish as hell to let him slip away.
When Christian and Maria came outside, Pressure, Donovan, and Drecco weren’t too far behind.
“What y’all about to get into?” Maria asked, eyes glued to her phone.
“I’m about to meet up with Jax and Ransom. There’s a new connect they want us to consider running through if shit doesn’t get resolved with Money soon.”
“Jax is cool with that? I know how important it was that he always be in control of his shipments.”
Christian shrugged. “I guess so. I mean… they are logical and level headed. They look towards the end goal and bigger picture. If it were up to me, I would’ve been made a move, but they are trying to handle this the right way. So if that means Ransom and I have to get our supply through this Houston nigga to throw Money off our trail… so be it.”
“Wait… Houston?” Leigh twisted to the side and grabbed Christian’s wrist. “Houston Meyers?”
“Yea. You know him?”
Leigh chuckled as her hand dropped. “Listen. If Houston Meyers is doing business with y’all…” Her head shook as she stepped back.
“What y’all talking about?” Audré asked, popping her gum and grabbing her thirty-six-inch-high ponytail.
“Houston Meyers,” Maria answered. “Whoever the fuck that is.”
Christian chuckled as Leigh grinned. “Listen, all you need to know about that nigga is his flex is quiet but that dick will ruin your fuckin’ life.”
“Well you whores are taken so hook me up,” Audré requested, pulling her phone out. “Is he on IG or Facebook? What he look like? He got money?”
Her sisters laughed even though she looked from one to another with a serious expression on her face. Money, good looks, and a big dick made the perfect combination of a new trick for Audré but she had no idea… Houston Meyers was nothing to fuck with.
After Christian gave her leftovers to her widowed neighbor, she headed out to meet with Donovan, Drecco, and Pressure. Someone, more than likely Audré, had spilled the beans on what was happening with Money and the trio of brother’s had summoned her presence.
While she knew Audré had her best interest at heart and understood why she thought telling them was necessary, she was hoping they would be able to handle it without them finding out. Out of all of her brothers, the three she was headed to meet were the most dangerous. And the most protective. There was no way in hell she’d be able to handle this on her own. Even if they agreed to let her handle it, Christian knew they would still try to make something shake on her behalf.
When she pulled into her favorite parking spot at Pressure’s restaurant, she called Audré. It took her a while to answer, and Christian pictured her staring at the phone trying to decide if she should answer on her.
“Hey, sis.”
“Don’t hey sis me.” Audré chuckled. “Which one of your brothers did you tell about Money?”
“Huh?”
“Audré.”
Audré sighed into the phone. “Why you think I told them anything?”
“Because all three of them called me yelling in the phone demanding that I meet them so we can talk, and I know it’s because of Money. And I know Leigh and Maria didn’t tell one of their crazy asses, so it had to be you.”
She giggled, making Christian smile as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Okay, okay. It was me.” Christian rolled her eyes and chuckled with a shake of her head. “But it wasn’t on purpose, sissy. I was at the studio with Drecco and he asked me what was going on with y’all and it just slipped out because I got mad thinking about that old ass nigga popping up like he can’t get fucked up out here.”
Releasing a hard breath, Christian opened her door and stepped out of the car.
“Ransom wants us to play this smart, which is why I didn’t want your crazy ass brothers to know.”
“Donovan can keep them cool.”
“Not when it pertains to me!”
“Yea… that’s true.” Audré paused briefly. “Oh well! Let them handle that shit, sis. Call me after you leave and let me know how much trouble you got in.”
The sound of her laughter made Christian smile. “Get off my phone, bruh.”
“One.”
“One.”
Disconnecting the call, Christian opened the door and scanned the restaurant for her brothers. They were seated at a booth in the back talking amongst themselves. Donovan was the first to spot her, tilting his head in her direction. Pressure and Drecco looked her way, and the sight of the frown covering Drecco’s face made her grumble under her breath as they stood.
“Let’s go somewhere private so we can talk,” Pressure suggested, wrapping his arm around her neck and turning in the direction she’d just come from.
“What is this about?”
“You know what the fuck this is about,” Drecco gritted.
“Chill out nigga,” Donovan ordered, stepping between the two.
“Fuck you mean chill out? She got niggas threatening to put a price on her head and she ain’t saying shit, and you telling me to chill out!”
Nobody replied, because if they did, Drecco would only get louder. They all went back to Pressure’s office. Christian was the only one to sit down while the rest of them hovered over her.
“Y’all gon’ have to get up out my space,” she ordered, pushing Donovan back slightly since he was the closest.
“What’s this shit going on with you and Money?” Pressure asked.
Sitting back in her seat, Christian inhaled a deep breath before starting from the beginning.
“A little while ago he found out about my edibles and that Ransom and Jax were my suppliers. He doesn’t want us doing business in Memphis. Originally, he took one of their shipments to send a message, but that didn’t do anything but increase demand for their product. After that he tried to get Maria to take a second shipment, but she didn’t.”
The sight of Pressure’s nostrils flaring had her turning her attention to Donovan. Pressure cared about all of his sisters, but there was a softer spot in his heart for Maria. Maybe it was because she was small, or maybe it was because of what she’d lost through Malibu, or maybe it was because of how she made the bulk of her money and he felt she needed the most protection. Whatever it was… Pressure didn’t play when it came to Maria.
“So after that, he put a price of Ransom’s head on the Head Hunters site. Leigh took the bid as soon as she saw it and tried to convince him to let it slide. He gave her a month to convince me to stop selling and Ransom to retire, otherwise he was going to put a price on my head too. Besides that, the only other option was to give him a cut of my profit, and I’m never doing that.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Christian looked from one brother to the other, waiting for one of them to say something.
“I’m offended that you didn’t come to me about this,” Donovan confessed.
Her head tilted as she looked in his direction. “Why would I tell any of you?”
“Fuck you mean why would you tell any of us?” Drecco questioned. “You our sister. It’s our job to protect you.”
She chuckled and sat up in her seat. “I don’t need your protection. Ransom and Nash are going to handle it.”
“Ransom and Nash?” Pressure repeated as Drecco scoffed. As always, Donovan was quiet and observing. Thinking. While Drecco reacted and Pressure pressed. “Is that supposed to help us sleep at night? Them niggas nice but they ain’t your brothers…”
“And they ain’t got shit on us,” Drecco added, pushing himself off the wall he was leaned against. “I’m putting guards on you until I find Money and handle this shit.”
“No.” Christian stood as Pressure shook his head and ran his hand across his face. “I don’t need any of you to help me with this. I’m good.”
“Clearly you not, Gucci. He felt comfortable enough to come to your bakery. He obviously doesn’t consider you to be a threat.”
“He doesn’t have to consider me one for me to be one.”
Donovan wrapped his hand around her arm and turned her in his attention. “What’s going on with you, Gucci?” Clenching her jaw, she tugged her ear gently and looked away from his eyes. Donovan’s voice softened when he added, “With us?”
“Nothing,” she lied, trying to free herself from his grip unsuccessfully.
“Then why didn’t you tell us about this? You do understand why we’re upset right?”
“Quite frankly I don’t.” Christian jerked her arm away from him.
“Money is nothing to fuck with,” Pressure reminded her. “We can handle him, but he needs to be contained. We can’t do that if you don’t let us know you have a problem with him.”
“Y’all don’t give a fuck,” she roared, clapping her hands. “Y’all don’t care about what happens to me in these streets! If you did you wouldn’t have turned me away!”
“We did that to protect you,” Pressure reasoned, calmly.
“You made me an outsider and put a target on my back! Look at me now!”
Her chest was heaving, and Christian knew if she didn’t reel her emotions in things would get ugly. Dropping her head, she slicked her hand across her low ponytail. Seeing her hair in its natural state drove Nash crazy, so she
’d worn it out for a week straight to please him. Today, she’d applied water and mousse and pulled it back into a low ponytail. Even with shrinkage, it came to the middle of her back.
“Gucci,” Pressure called quietly.
With a pout and watery eyes, she looked up at him as she tried to regulate her breathing. “We love you, baby.” Sealing her eyes shut, she shook her head. “We didn’t want you in this business – period. So when we denied you, it was because we thought that would keep you legit.”
“But you’ve proven that you can handle this lifestyle,” Donovan started, causing her to slowly open her eyes and look at him. “And we might not say it often, but we’re proud of you. It fucks with us every day to not have guards and shit on you, but we know we have to stand down because we rejected you.”
“But just because we rejected you, that don’t mean we don’t care about what’s going on with you,” Drecco clarified. “If you ever have an issue, I don’t give a fuck who outside the family you trust to handle it, you need to always come to your brothers. You hear me?”
Christian nodded softly and licked her lips. Blinking back tears, she inhaled a deep breath. This was the first time either of them had either said they were proud of her for the way she handled herself in the streets, and it meant the world to her. She wouldn’t cry about it in front of them, but she was damn sure going to shed some big ass cry baby thug tears when she got out to her car.
“I appreciate this, and I appreciate the concern, but I’m good.”
“At least give us your word that if shit gets to be more than you can wholeheartedly trust them to handle, you’ll call one of us,” Donovan requested.
“I give you my word.”
With a smile, he pulled Christian into his arms and gave her a deep hug. Pressure did the same. And Drecco stubbornly slung her into his arms, causing her to laugh as he rocked her from side to side.
