by B. Love
She couldn’t blame Duke for not coming. Clearly she wasn’t a priority to him anymore. Who knows what he had to do today, and it wasn’t realistic of her to expect him to change his plans for her – especially after she’d cut him off for a whole month. When her eyes finally zeroed in on her family, her pout was replaced with a smile.
Before she was able to make it over to them fully, a strong arm wrapped around her. The moment she looked down and saw those veins and tattoos Ai melted into his chest. Her eyes closed as she grinned and inhaled his scent. Duke lowered himself and buried his face in her neck before whispering, “Congratulations, beautiful. I’m so proud of you.”
Ai turned quickly in his arms and buried her face in his chest, thankful she decided not to wear makeup. Something told her her emotions would be all over the place, so she opted for individual lashes and lip gloss instead.
“I didn’t see you. I thought you didn’t come,” she whined, trying to hold back her tears unsuccessfully.
“Look at me,” he commanded, cupping her cheeks and pulling her face from his chest. “I will always show up for you, Ai. Always.”
It didn’t do any good that he wiped her tears away because more fell. “I missed you so much, Duke. I’m so happy to see you.”
With a smile, Duke pulled her back into his arms. “I missed you too, baby. And I will show you how happy I am to see you when you come home with me.”
Though the thought crossed her mind, Ai didn’t even bother playing hard to get or as if she wanted to go another night without being in his arms.
“Aight, aight. That’s enough,” Cassius decided, ripping the reunited lovers apart and pulling Ai into his arms as she laughed. “Congratulations, baby sis. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, brother.”
When he released her, the rest of her family members took turns hugging her. Afterwards, they headed to J. Alexander’s for food, though that wasn’t her first pick for liquor. Her original thought was to go to a bar or club to turn up, but now that she had Duke at her side, all she wanted to do was go back home with him. Especially after he told her not to get too full because of the surprise he had for her.
Like the hood niggas they were, Chief and Cassius pulled out bottles of D’USEÉ and rotated them around, daring anyone in the restaurant to check them about it. Ai ended up ordering her usual – chicken tenders, fries, and macaroni and cheese. Her side of the table shared spinach artichoke dip as well. Even though this was her absolute favorite place to eat, Ai made sure she saved room for whatever Duke had in store for her.
The vibe had been amazing. Everyone was all jokes and smiles. Hell, they had even welcomed Xi in warmly. But the vibe of the restaurant changed drastically when James showed up.
“The fuck are you doing here?” Ai asked, to which Duke grabbed her hand and kissed it to calm her nerves.
“Your mother invited me. May I speak with you?”
Ai’s head shook as she stood. “No. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Don’t come around me again, James, or I swear to God I’ll have Duke do what your sons are too damn loyal to do.”
Duke stood and wrapped his arm around her before leading her out of the restaurant.
“You good? I could have made him leave so you could enjoy your family, baby girl.”
Her head shook as her nostrils flared. “No. My mood would have been shot. That D’USSÉ makes me real mean. I’m ready to be alone with you anyway.”
Okay with her choice, Duke said nothing else about it. On their way to his place, they caught each other up on what had been happening in their lives and made small talk. Truth of the matter was, Ai wasn’t as present as she should have been mentally to have a real conversation. Seeing Duke after a month made her heart light. Seeing James after a month made her heart palpitate.
All of the spiritual work that she’d been doing for the past month felt like it had flew out of the window at the sight of James. Now, the desire to see him perish was just as strong as it was the day everything went down.
In the garage, Duke told her not to come inside until he came to get her. Ai closed her eyes and smiled, trying to rid herself of the negative energy that had filled her. She took a few deep breaths and reminded herself that she was the only person in control of her emotions.
When he came back out, Duke took her hand and led her into his home. Everything appeared normal, but when they made it to the living room, that changed. There were gift bags everywhere, lit candles, a fruit and cheese tray, and champagne. As Ai took in everything he’d done for her, Duke started some music.
“Bae, you so didn’t have to get me anything.” Ai walked over to the table and snagged a white chocolate covered grape.
“The fact that you really feel that way is proof of why you deserve everything.”
When Ai turned and saw the intense, passionate look in his eyes… she knew he was the best gift she could have gotten. If this past month away from him had taught her anything, it was that she didn’t want to go another day of her life without him.
Chapter 39
Diem never thought they would get to this point. Hell, none of them did. Having to have a meeting about James without James was something she never would have expected. Unfortunately, though, this was what it had come to. Ai’s graduation dinner last night was the first time they’d seen him since everything went down. For the most part, he’d been trying to handle business through other members of the team via phone. That was cool with Diem and Cassius, because it gave them time to fix a lot of the things that were broken within their system of handling things.
If James would have been there, he would have rejected the changes immediately.
“Y’all know why y’all here,” Cassius started, looking everyone seated at the round table in the eye. All of their advisors and leaders were in attendance. Whispers had been buzzing around. People were wondering what would be the next move. “James has become a cancer to the family, and if this situation isn’t handled, we run the risk of losing money, power, respect, our freedom, and our lives.”
“James started this company, that we will never deny,” Diem picked up. “But he did not do it alone. He did it with Trevor, some that have died, and all of you seated at this table. If we ban together, we can remove him from the mafia with eleven votes.”
Cassius stood and leaned against the table with his palms resting against it. “If he is removed, we can continue on with our changes to turn this into the most prosperous cartel the south has ever seen.”
“We’re talking two million a month in revenue, new streams with guns and knives, plus the black wall street we’ve already discussed to help the community out. But we can’t do this if James is still in control.”
“Who’s ready to vote?” Everyone raised their hands. “All in favor of James being removed?”
Diem counted the raised hands one by one as a slow smile spread across the left side of her mouth. Thirteen hands were raised.
“And those who want him to stay?”
Two hands raised.
“Alright. He’s out,” Diem declared, sitting back in her seat with a full smile. “Bring him in.”
Charles, the guard at the door, turned and exited. When he returned, James was walking in behind him. The evil glare that was on his face made Diem chuckle. In the beginning, it was hard for her to even consider her father could do something so callous to Trevor of all people. They may have shared women, true, but Trevor was the best friend James had ever had. Hell, Trevor was the best friend of anyone he came in contact with.
Every time she thought of James’ ability to take the most genuine person in her life away from her, Diem lost a little more love and respect for her father.
“If y’all ever have me waiting outside of a meeting for my business again, I’m going to forget y’all are my children and treat you like two suckas on the street.”
“This is no longer your business,” Cassius replied casually.
“You’
ve been voted out,” Diem added.
James laughed. First, it started out really low and slow. Then, it turned into something loud and hard. The longer he laughed the more irritated Diem grew.
“What you say to me?”
“I didn’t stutter.”
Diem looked over at Cassius, not wanting him to get too upset. What worked in their favor was showing that they were the complete opposite of James. If Cassius spazzed out, he would look just as reckless as their father.
James tried to walk over to them, but Charles stopped him. Jerking away, James spit in their direction, and that was the last straw for Cassius. Before anyone could stop him, he was leaping over the table and knocking James onto the ground. It took five men to pull Cassius off of James, and the entire time James was carried out he spewed threat after threat their way.
“You good?” Cassius asked, straightening his torn shirt. James must have grabbed it when Cassius damn near tackled him.
“Yea. Dismiss this shit so I can go.”
He did, and Diem wasted no time heading out to her car. Cassius told Charles to go with her and trail her home, but Diem didn’t believe her father would do anything to her. Still, she didn’t want Cassius to worry about her, so she didn’t protest to Charles trailing her.
Once she was settled into her car, Diem called Deacon and connected it to her Bluetooth. Things had been flowing between them beautifully. So far, Deacon had seen Brensen three times, but they haven’t shared that he was his real father yet. His grandmother wanted to make sure he would be comfortable around him first. Diem still had her moments where she challenged his lead, but now, she was able to stop herself and quickly correct it.
“How did it go?” Deacon asked, and his concern put an immediate smile on her face.
“Crazy ass hell. When James found out that he’d been voted out he tried to spit on us, so Cassius beat his ass again.”
Deacon chuckled. “Are you okay? He’s been on some foul shit, but that’s your father at the end of the day.”
Her smile wavered as she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “It fucked with me, I can’t lie. And the fact that he threatened me…” Diem shook her head and bit down on her trembling lip. “A part of me wants to say he will definitely try Cash and not me… but the look in his eyes today… I can’t even say.”
“Well that’s one thing you will never have to worry about; I ain’t letting him or anyone else hurt you physically or emotionally. I got you, baby.”
Diem’s smile returned. Normally she would question a man saying something like that, sure it would be a promise he couldn’t keep. But with Deacon, Diem relished in how good it felt to surrender and trust a man to have her front, back, and side.
Chapter 40
This – this was the moment Cassius had been waiting for, for over a month. Treasure had finally worked up the nerve to take a pregnancy test. Three actually. As they waited for the results, they stared intently into each other’s eyes. Either way it went, Cassius was secure in the bond they had.
When he first arrived, he walked in on her pacing, anxiously waiting for his arrival. He hadn’t even had time to tell her about how things went down with James. How… his child would never get to meet his grandfather or the man who was like a father to Cassius. He wouldn’t be able to talk to his father about the ins and outs of parenthood, and the only sibling that had a child wasn’t even the baby’s father. The more Cassius thought about his past and current situations, the less excited he grew about having a baby.
The last thing he wanted to do was fuck a child up the way he’d been fucked up. Even though he’d turned out fairly decent with minor issues, that wasn’t always the case. Cassius couldn’t bear to look himself in the mirror if he screwed up his child.
Standing, he began to pace just as Treasure was doing when he arrived. She chuckled quietly and grabbed his hand when he passed her. Standing, Treasure placed her hands in the center of his chest.
“You’re not drowning in your thoughts are you?”
There was no denying it, and Cassius didn’t bother trying as he released a loud exhale.
“I just don’t want to fuck our baby up. Whether you’re pregnant now or we wait a few years… I can’t fuck this baby up, Treasure.”
Her head tilted as she smiled. Treasure placed his hand on top of her stomach.
“I would not have shared my body with you if I didn’t think you were capable of being a good father. You know how I know you will be?” His head shook. “Because you saw what not to do in James and what to do in Trevor. We are going to fuck up and make mistakes, but we’re going to love our children with everything within us and learn things along the way together. I got you, you got me, and we’re going to have this baby if I’m pregnant. Okay?”
Cassius nodded and kissed her forehead before lowering his lips to hers, in no rush to pull away even though the timer on her phone vibrated. When Treasure pulled away, her smile was wide as she softly jumped up and down and asked if he was ready. Her excitement began to radiate within him, causing him to smile as he said yes. They made their way to the bathroom, and Treasure was the first to step inside.
Cassius watched as she took a deep breath. Her eyes closed, then opened and looked down at the tests on the counter. With wrinkled eyebrows and partly opened lips, Treasure picked the tests up one by one. By the time she finally looked at him, her eyes were watery. Swallowing hard, she allowed the stick to drop before covering her face and sobbing.
Cassius walked over to her and grabbed one of the tests from the floor. Squatting down, he read the results. He blinked rapidly, refusing to believe what he was seeing. After picking up the other two tests and finding that they all said the same thing, Cassius stood, embracing the fact that he was about to be a father.
“Baby,” he whispered, picking her up and spinning her around softly as her cries turned into giggles. “Fuck, Treasure. We’re about to have a baby.”
“I know. Can you believe it?”
“I can. You know what else I can believe?” Cassius placed her on her feet, then kneeled on one knee. “That you’re it for me.”
“Cash…”
He took her hands into his. “You’re my dream girl. And now that my reality is that you’re my woman and you’re carrying my seed… I refuse to wait any longer. I’ll get you a ring and propose in front of our family and friends in a way that will honor you, but I have to know this before another day passes in our lives. Will you be my treasure for life? Will you be my wife?”
Treasure’s head nodded rapidly as she laughed through her tears.
“Yes,” she whispered, pulling him up from his knee.
Cassius kissed her ring finger, then picked her up bridal style. He carried her to his room, to their room, to celebrate their engagement… and it was a good thing that she was pregnant… because how Cassius was feeling, she would for sure end up full of his seeds by the end of the night.
Chapter 41
As he lay there, with blood spilling from the hot, fresh holes piercing his skin, James Salzano’s karma had finally caught up with him. Over the years, he became hypnotized by hate. Worse, it was hate for his own best friend. Truth – James had agreed to sharing Estella with him only because he felt like that was the only way he wouldn’t lose her to Trevor. Having Estella, the only woman Trevor had ever really wanted, was supposed to be the ultimate win.
Year after year, James rubbed his relationship with Estella in Trevor’s face. But he didn’t seem to care. Not only was his relationship with Estella secure, but his relationship with their children was as well. It didn’t help that everyone in the business respected him – even their enemies. The bitterness that began to consume James caused him to start looking at Trevor a different way. What was once a genuine friendship had become fake love and genuine hate.
Trevor had to have felt the shift, but he was such a stand up guy that he didn’t even mention it.
And things between James and Trevor would h
ave still been cool… if only Trevor would have stayed in his place. It was bad enough that the FBI and DEA had an open file on James and the Salzano family; but James also had to deal with Trevor’s desire to leave the business, take his family, and go legit.
Refusing to let that happen, James made the decision to do something he never thought he would have to do… kill his best friend. Kill his brother.
Every day that passed of James holding in that secret felt like it was rotting his soul. Honestly, James was relieved when Duke told the truth. It felt as if a weight was lifted off his shoulder.
But now… as he stared at the barrel of the smoking gun… James wished that he would have tried harder to keep anyone from finding out.
Blood began to seep from his mouth, and as his heart beats began to slow even further, James knew he was nearing the end. He opened his mouth further, trying to say something before he left… but the bullet that shot through his mouth made it clear that they were ready for him to be silenced.
She’d driven three hours to discard of the gun in the river, and as she tossed it over the railing, the peace that consumed her let her know it was worth it. She was probably the last person anyone expected to kill James, and that was exactly why she knew she had to be the one. Leaning against the railing, Estella inhaled a deep breath as she looked out into the setting sun. A part of her felt partially responsible for James’ reign of terror because she chose to lie down with him and have his children.
Have his soul tied to hers.
Have his demons try their hardest to overpower the good and grace that was within her.
For quite some time, Estella had no problem living life through an unhappy marriage. She’d already made her bed when she agreed to having an open relationship instead of standing her ground and choosing the man she truly loved. But all of that was about to change. Her and Trevor were finally about to choose and put themselves first, and James just had to fuck it up.
