Tied to a Boss 3

by J. L Rose

  “Who!” Dre said, holding up his right hand to stop the conversation. “D . . . don’t ya soon-to-be father-in-law run that shit up there in Phoenix?”

  Taking his turn at making a shot at the table after Tony T missed, Dante began explaining. He first started talking about the Council’s Covenant, which consisted of four drug bosses that ran different parts of Arizona and other locations. He continued about Dominic once holding a seat with the Council until his decision to go up against and then murder one of the four bosses. After he was ousted from his position, there were only two remaining bosses.

  “What exactly are you planning, Dante?” Vanessa asked, knowing Dante well enough to know that he wasn’t telling them everything.

  Meeting and holding Vanessa’s eyes, Dante said, “I’m taking Dominic’s position with the Council’s Covenant.”

  “And you really think you’ll be allowed to sit in one of those seats with those guys, Dante?” Harmony asked.

  “Who said anything about me sitting in one of their seats?” Dante responded, smirking at Harmony. He then nodded his head at Alinna and said, “Alinna will be taking a Council seat.”

  “Wait a minute!” Amber said with a confused look on her face. “You just said that you’re taking this Dominic guy’s spot on this Council Covenant, but now you’re saying that Alinna will take control of the seat or position. Explain that better, Dante.”

  “Maybe I can explain it better,” Carmen said, drawing everyone’s attention as she and Natalie entered the room. She walked over to stand beside Dante and then began to address the others: “I will be speaking on behalf of Dante to the members of the Council. I was the reason Dominic was in the position he was in while still with the Council’s Covenant. My father was the founder of the Council Covenant, and after he died, the head position was left to me, but by that time I was married and Natalie had been born. I had Dominic placed in my position. But by his violation of murder of a council member, he was then automatically expelled from the Covenant.”

  “So you’re going to put Dante . . . I mean Alinna . . . in the open seat?” Vanessa asked.

  Dre added, “You really think these dudes gonna let Alinna, who’s an outsider, just come and take up a position in their group?”

  “Well, first, I’ve been thinking of having Dante and Alinna take over the two open seats. Alinna is well-educated in her field, and from what I’ve witnessed, she is queenpin/drug lord by right. And as for Dante, he is an extremely smart young man, and he has a very sharp and quick mind. I trust his judgment and his decision-making. With both Alinna and Dante on the Council, I’m sure things will change for the better,” Carmen broke down, explaining to the family.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Dre told Carmen. “What makes you think the last two members will accept Dante and Alinna into their little group?”

  Slowly smiling at Dre, Carmen looked to Dante and met his eyes. She then said, “I trust that Dante knows how to change their minds very easily and quickly.”

  ***

  Dante finished up the family meeting a little bit later. He expressed to the family that both Dre and Vanessa would be taking control over things in Miami, with backup from Amber and Wesley. He, Alinna, Harmony, and Tony T would head to Phoenix.

  Pulling both Dre and Vanessa to the side with him and Alinna, Dante explained that they both would be at the meeting tonight at Club Hypnotic when he announced to the heads of the other families that while he and Alinna were away, both Dre and Vanessa would take control of the family.

  “Dante, can I talk to you?” Natalie asked, walking up beside him.

  “What’s up, beautiful?” Dante asked as he and Natalie left the others and ended up outside walking the grounds.

  “Dante, I understand you’re dealing with a lot of things right now, and I won’t get in your way . . . but what about us?” Natalie asked, lifting her head to look up into his eyes. “You’ve set plans for everything, but what about you and me getting married? We can have a wedding some other time, but I want to be your wife, Dante. We can fly in my jet to the Dominican Republic tonight and be back before we have to fly to Phoenix tomorrow.”

  Seeing the look on Natalie’s face but also thinking about the time line he was playing with flying all over the place, Dante looked back down into her hopeful eyes. He sighed deeply and said, “Alright, Natalie. We can leave after the meeting tonight at the club.”

  Natalie jumped up and screamed. She then wrapped her arms around Dante’s neck, kissed him on the lips, and then said, “Dante, I love you so much.”

  ***

  Dressed alike, Dante wore a Kenneth Cole suit and white button-up with no tie, while Alinna wore a black and light gray Dolce & Gabbana full-length dress that hugged her frame perfectly. It showed off her perky breasts pressed in the top. Alinna led Dante from their bedroom, and downstairs, where Natalie, Dre, and Vanessa were all waiting and talking inside the den.

  “Where’s everybody?” Dante asked as he and Alinna entered the den together.

  “Tony T and the others went ahead to the club,” Vanessa answered, with Natalie adding, “Mother asked me to let you know that she would see us once we arrive in Phoenix tomorrow. My father sent a jet for her a few hours ago.”

  Nodding his head in understanding, Dante turned and started toward the front door, with both Alinna and Natalie right with him while Dre and Vanessa trailed behind them.

  “We ready to roll?” James asked as soon as Dante stepped out onto the front porch sitting area, where he and Gomez stood talking.

  “Yeah,” Dante replied, touching his fist with James’s and nodding to Gomez, who was now standing next to Natalie.

  Following James out to the stretch Mercedes-Benz truck limousine, Dante nodded to Alinna’s armed personal driver, who stood holding open the back door. He stepped to the side, allowing Alinna, Natalie, and then Vanessa to climb inside the limo before he and Dre got in behind the ladies.

  “Dante, where are Gomez and James going?” Natalie asked once both bodyguards walked off after James closed the back door to the limo.

  “They’re going to follow with security, Natalie,” Alinna answered as she pulled out her ringing cell phone from inside her bag, only to see Greg Wilson calling. “Yeah, Greg.”

  “Good evening, Mrs. Blackwell. I’m calling to let you know that I was able to get in contact with a very close friend of mine in Phoenix. I’ve already spoken to the person about you and Mr. Blackwell, and they’ll be waiting to hear from you all.”

  “Tell me about him, Greg.”

  “It’s a she, Mrs. Blackwell.”

  Looking at Dante as he sat talking to Natalie, Alinna focused back on the phone call. “Greg, listen to me clearly. Tell whoever this friend is that she deals with me . . . and me alone, at all times. Are we clear, Greg?”

  “I’ll tell Reed what you said,” Greg told Alinna. “Do you want me to have her call you?”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea,” Alinna agreed before hanging up the phone.

  “You plan on telling me about that phone call?” Dante whispered over into Alinna’s ear as soon as she hung up her phone.

  Turning her head and meeting Dante’s eyes, Alinna simply answered, “There’s nothing to explain, Dante. Period!”

  Nodding his head and smirking, Dante said nothing more as he pulled out his cell phone, sent a text message, and then slid the phone back into his pocket.

  ***

  They pulled up onto the strip along South Beach and watched the crowd as the limousine pulled up in front of Club Hypnotic. They were surprised at how huge the crowd was, stretching two blocks and still growing. Dante spotted Tony T and Wesley as soon as they walked out the front doors of the club.

  Climbing from the limousine once the back door was opened, Dante met both Tony T and Wesley as both brothers walked up.

  “What’s up, fam?” Tony T said, embracing Dante. As soon as Dante and Wesley embraced, Tony T continued, “Both the Haitians and
the Hispanics are here already. I got ’em up in the owner’s box.”

  “Dante,” Alinna called out, touching him on his arm to get his attention. “We’ve got guests.”

  Looking in the direction suggested by Alinna, Dante stood staring at the two Range Rovers and the BMW that was between both Range Rovers just pulling up. He looked at Wesley and heard the brother say, “Relax brethren . . . Them the Rastaman there.”

  Shifting his attention back to the two Range Rovers and the BMW just as a slim, dark-skinned Jamaican with waist-length dreads climbed out of the back of the car, Dante whispered over to Alinna, “Why didn’t you mention you brought on Jamaicans with the family?”

  “It . . .” Alinna was unable to finish her sentence, as Dante walked off with Wesley, Dre, and Tony T to meet Rafael, the head of the Jamaican family. Alinna noticed his facial expression, only to hear Vanessa ask, “Alinna, what’s wrong with Dante?”

  “Nothing,” Alinna answered, staring at Dante a moment before turning to start toward the front door. “Come on, ladies. Let’s get inside.”

  They entered the club with no problems at all, since their people were manning the front door. Alinna led her girls into the loud and completely packed nightclub, with people everywhere, standing shoulder to shoulder.

  “This is nice, Alinna,” Natalie yelled over the music and bass, looking around and smiling.

  “Yeah, it is . . .”

  “Damn! What do we have here?” a dark-skinned guy yelled as he and two other guys walked up on Alinna, Natalie, and Vanessa. “Please tell me you three ain’t here with nobody.”

  “Move on, homeboy,” James said as he appeared out of nowhere, stepping between Alinna and the other two while facing the three guys.

  “Who the fuck is you, white boy?” the dark-skinned guy asked, looking James over with a disrespectful smile on his face.

  “Last time! Move on!” James repeated, staring at the guy.

  “Get the fuck outta here,” the guy said as he went to push James out of the way, only to find his arm bent backward, causing a scream to rip from his throat.

  Watching as both friends rushed at James, Alinna slowly smiled as James connected one kick to one friend’s face, sending him stumbling backward, only to follow up with a roundhouse kick that sent the other stumbling into Gomez’s fist, which immediately dropped the guy out cold.

  Alinna was very impressed at how quickly her security responded, swarming around her and the other ladies. Other security rushed over to help James and Gomez when the three men caused the scene. Alinna smiled at James as he walked up on her and the others, and then said, “You almost reminded me of your boy Dante just now. Where’d you come from?”

  “Look!” James told her, nodding his head behind Alinna, Natalie, and Vanessa.

  Alinna was not surprised to see Dante a few feet away when she turned around to see what James was talking about. She met his eyes a moment until Dante nodded his head and motioned her and the others over as he began walking through the packed club.

  Catching up with Dante and seeing both Tony T and Dre with him, Alinna took Dante’s hand in hers, causing him to look down to meet her eyes. He winked at her after a second, which caused her to smile.

  Once they were upstairs and entered the owner’s box, Tony T pulled Dante back out into the hall and nodded for his brother to follow him. He led him two doors down the hall to a room with a sign that read “Owner” on the door.

  He knocked twice and then opened the door. As they walked into the office, they saw Curtis seated behind his desk talking on the phone. Tony T looked back toward Dante as his brother walked up beside him.

  “Dante Blackwell,” Curtis called out, smiling as he hung up his desk phone and quickly standing up from behind the desk. He walked over to Dante with his hand out for a handshake.

  “Dante, this is the white guy I told you about,” Tony T started. “Curtis Michael.”

  “Please . . . Let’s all sit and talk,” Curtis said, motioning for Dante and Tony T to have a seat on the couch across the office, against the wall.

  “We can’t stay long, Curtis,” Tony T told the business owner as the three of them all sat down. “Dante still has to meet with some business friends down the hall.”

  “I’ll make this fast then,” Curtis began. “Mr. Blackwell, I’ll tell you like I’ve told Tony T. I understand what’s being said about you and your family, as you are all known. But I honestly thank you for giving me this chance with this business. There may be bad things being said about the family, but I’ve heard even greater things about all of you . . . and if there is anything I can do for the family in any way, please let me know.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Dante told him before continuing, “I’m not sure if Tony T informed you, but in a few hours, a few of the members of the family and I will be leaving the state on business for a little while. Tony T will introduce you to Andre and Vanessa. They will be filling in for me and my wife, Alinna, until we return.”

  “Will Tony T be leaving as well?” Curtis asked, looking over at Tony T and then back to Dante.

  “He’ll be back and forth between the states. But if you need to reach Tony T or myself, just let Andre or Vanessa know. They will let us know, and we will contact you,” Dante explained, watching the business partner nodding his head in understanding.

  ***

  Dante left Curtis Michael’s office with Tony T and walked back to the owner’s box. As they walked inside, the room immediately went silent, and each of the faces inside the room turned to stare at him.

  Walking around to the head of the table where Alinna was seated, Dante shook his head when Alinna started to stand. He sat inside the open seat beside her at the end of the table with six chairs.

  “Where’s Natalie?” Dante softly asked Alinna.

  “She’s with Amber and Harmony in the VIP room,” Alinna told him, adding, “Both James and Gomez are with her.”

  Nodding his head in response, Dante said, “Continue what you were just discussing with the group.”

  Nodding her head, Alinna turned back to the group and continued, “As I was saying before Dante walked in the room, business will continue as is. But as of tonight and until further notice, Dre and Vanessa will be running the Blackwell family.”

  Alinna continued making her points to the group, even as she noticed Dante stand up and walk around the table over to the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the club below. She made sure each of the heads of each family knew that if anyone of them needed to contact her and Dante, they could let Dre or Vanessa know, and they would get in touch with them.

  “Dante!” Alinna called out to him.

  “I’m listening,” he replied while still staring out the window.

  “You have anything you want to add to what I’ve been talking about?” she asked.

  Slowly shaking his head, Dante turned back to face the group and said, “Alinna explained everything. She’s the head of the Blackwell family business, so I have nothing to say on what she’s already discussed. Her word is law . . . but I do have something to add on a different subject. This is for everyone in this room. Let it be known that I’m putting up $50,000 each on the whereabouts of Rob Bell and the out-of-towner called Fish Man. The money will be upon delivery.”

  Dante noticed a few phones being pulled out as he looked back toward Alinna and nodded his head. He was just about to turn around and look out the window again, when the door opened and Wesley and Tony T walked in . . . followed by Monica.

  Dante looked at both Wesley and Tony T, and then nodded for both of them to leave. He then motioned Monica over to him just as Alinna hopped up from her seat, which caused Vanessa to jump up as well. Both women rushed over and stood in front of Dante, with burners already gripped tightly in their hands.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Alinna asked, sounding more like she was growling out her words.

  “Alinna, relax . . . ,” Dante told her as he then looked
over at Vanessa and said, “Take Alinna back to her seat.”

  Looking back at Dante and meeting his eyes for a few seconds, Vanessa sighed and grabbed Alinna’s hand, forcefully pulling her out of the way.

  “Why the hell did you call me here?” Monica asked with an attitude before turning her angry stare from Alinna over to meet Dante’s eyes.

  “This meeting is over,” Dante called out, dismissing everyone from the room while holding Monica’s stare.

  After the others left the room, Alinna and Vanessa stared hard at Monica. Dante ignored both of them, instead speaking directly to Monica: “Last time we met was inside of a nightclub this same way. You offered two choices that time, and I chose one.”

  “What the hell are you getting at, Dante?” Monica asked nastily.

  “I’m offering you two choices now,” Dante explained, using a calm voice while still locking eyes with her. “I know you’re back with the DEA, so you can either get a transfer from the Miami office and move out to Phoenix and work for me, or I can erase you and your whole family from this world. And I mean your grandmother and father who live in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Also, your Godmother and her three middle-aged kids who live in Salt Lake City. I also know about your best friend, Sherry Williams, whose house you was hiding at down south. So tell me, Agent Monica Martin. What’s your decision?”

  ***

  “You wanna tell me how the hell you knew all that stuff about her family?” Alinna asked as soon as Vanessa escorted Monica from the owner’s box. She continued before Dante could respond, “And when the fuck was you planning on telling me you decided on taking this bitch with us to Phoenix, Dante?”

  “You finish yet?” he asked Alinna in a calm voice.

  “Nigga . . . don’t play with me!” Alinna said, walking up in Dante’s face. “You better answer my question, or I promise you, we will be tearing this shit up in here, Dante. Please don’t play with me.”

  “Relax, Alinna,” Dante answered, stepping around her to walk away, only for Alinna to grab his arm and snatch him back around to face her.