by J. L Rose
“Actually . . . ,” Natalie said, leaning forward beside Dante to look over to Alinna. “This is my mother and father’s house. We will be staying in Scottsdale. That’s actually in the southwest area and east of Phoenix. It’s kind of like the country a little, but it’s nice. You’ll like it, Alinna.”
Once the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the mansion, and the door was opened by the armed driver, Carmen was first to step out, followed by Natalie and the others.
“This is nice,” Harmony said as she stood looking around the place.
“Why don’t all of you come with me,” Carmen spoke up, motioning for everyone to follow her. “I’ll show everyone around while Dante speaks with my husband. You do remember where to find Dominic, right Dante?”
“I’ll see you guys in a minute,” Dante said, first kissing Alinna and then Natalie before turning and walking up the steps to the front door, where the butler stood holding open the door.
“Welcome back, Mr. Blackwell,” the butler told Dante with a welcoming smile as Dante walked past him, nodded his response, and entered the mansion.
Inside the mansion, Dante headed straight to Dominic’s office. He knocked twice, opened the door, and walked in, catching Dominic talking on his phone seated behind his desk.
Watching Dominic’s eyes widen and his expression quickly change once he looked up and locked eyes with him, Dante continued watching. Dominic’s expression quickly turned from surprise and fear to anger.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Dominic yelled angrily, slamming down the telephone and staring hard directly at Dante.
Ignoring the yelling and even the mean-mugging, Dante calmly closed the office door behind him and then walked over to the two-cushioned couch in front of Dominic’s desk. He sat down but continued to stare straight back at the Dominican drug lord.
“You plan on answering my question or just sitting there staring at me like you’ve forgotten how to speak?” Dominic asked with much anger.
“I’m actually reminding myself why I haven’t ended your worthless life already!” Dante told the drug lord with a calm and coldness that caused Dominic to sit back with fear easily noticeable on his face. “I won’t discuss what you did to my family while I was locked up and how you treated Natalie when she decided to come to Miami to support me. This visit to Phoenix this time is at the request of your wife, Carmen . . .”
“What the hell does . . . !”
“As of right now, you will give up you connects as well as your buyers!” Dante continued after being cut off, only to cut Dominic back off. “I’m fully aware that you’re no longer on the Council’s seat. I will be taking over that position as well. Also, from this very moment, Carmen will now have full control over the money, businesses, this house, and even the cars. She has full control of everything, and this isn’t a request. Now tell me . . . when did you notice the FBI was watching you?”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Dominic yelled, jumping up from his desk chair and pointing his finger at Dante. “You storm into my office demanding that I tell you my connects and my buyers . . . and demanding that I give full control of everything I own over to my wife. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“Sit down, Dominic,” Dante calmly told the drug lord.
“Get the hell out . . . !”
“Sit the fuck down, Dominic!” Dante repeated a little more forcefully while opening his leather jacket and showing both his bangers. “I won’t ask again.”
Staring at Dante a moment, Dominic slowly sat down behind his desk, allowing thoughts of going for the .38 revolver that was inside his top desk drawer, but he quickly gave up on the thought, remembering exactly what the young man seated in front of him was capable of doing to a person.
19
M eeting with both Alinna and Natalie in the guest house, in which he once lived, Dante caught both women in the middle of a conversation while seated at the breakfast counter drinking a pink drink. Alinna saw him walk through the front door first.
“How’d the meeting go with Dominic?” Alinna asked Dante as he walked up between the two women at the breakfast bar.
“Alright,” Dante answered, taking Alinna’s glass of fruit juice from the counter and taking a drink. After setting the glass back down, he asked, “Where are the others?”
“Carmen took Tony T to meet the other security team and introduce him. Harmony went with ’im just to look around the place some more,” Alinna explained.
“Baby, I was thinking,” Natalie spoke up. “If you’re making Tony T the head of security, he should be close to mother and father, right?”
“Carmen’s my concern, but you’re right!” Dante agreed, catching the quick flash of sadness that shot across Natalie’s face before she spoke up again.
“I’m going to call my real estate agent and have her find a place for Tony T and Harmony close to here, but they can stay here in the guest house until everything is settled. What do you think?” Natalie asked, smiling at Dante.
“Handle it!” Dante told Natalie, who then looked over to Alinna and asked, “Where’s Kerri at?”
“Talking with the real estate agent!” Alinna told Dante with a grin, nodding toward the back door that led out to the pool.
Shaking his head and smirking, Dante said, “Well, since you two got all that figured out, can we get something to eat now? We never did get breakfast.”
“We can go to Antonio’s,” Natalie told Dante, standing up from her seat at the counter. “They serve lunch and dinner, and Mari owns the place.”
“I’m with it!” Dante agreed as Alinna stood up beside him.
“Who’s Mari?” Alinna asked Dante in a lowered voice.
“Mari is Natalie’s best friend . . . and also has a thing for James,” Dante told her, smirking at the thought of James and Mari.
***
Dante had lunch with Natalie, Alinna, James, and Kerri, and he met Mari again, who was more excited to see him than he expected her to be. He then introduced both Alinna and Kerri to Mari, and then sat back and watched James play it cool as Mari boldly and openly flirted with the bodyguard.
They spent longer than they expected at the restaurant, leaving once Carmen called and explained that it was time for the meeting. Natalie agreed for everyone that they would all go out sometime soon.
Back inside Dante’s old Benz that Carmen and Dominic gave to him when he first agreed to work for Dominic, Dante gave James the address to where the meeting would be held. But he then looked back to Alinna, hearing her ask, “So what are you planning, Dante?”
“This is basically our introduction to the Council’s remaining two members, and then we’re going to establish our position,” Dante broke down, explaining to the others.
“Establish . . . huh?” Alinna said, smirking at Dante from her seat in the back.
Winking his eyes at her and smirking, Dante turned back around in his front seat to allow himself some thinking time before they reached the meeting location.
***
Staring out the back window of the Mercedes up at the tall building made mostly of straight glass, Alinna waited until James parked the Benz and Dante opened her door for her. She then climbed out from the car and looked up at the building.
“Let’s get this over with,” Dante said, leading the others through the front entrance of the building.
Alinna noticed the security as soon as they entered the building, but she continued to follow Dante, who acted as if he didn’t even see them or the woman who sat behind the front desk. The secretary quickly snatched up her desk phone and stared at them. Alinna looked at Natalie as both women saw the serious expression the secretary had on her face, which made Alinna smile in approval.
They took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor and then followed Dante once they got off. They noticed James shifting his position over beside her. Alinna then saw two suit-wearing white men who were posted outside of the oak wood door to which Dante was
heading at the end of the hall.
“Who are you?” one of the men asked, looking Dante over before looking over at Alinna on his right.
“I’m here for the meeting, and they’re with me,” Dante told the guy, nodding to the others. “I’m Dante Blackwell.”
Once of the suited guys pulled out a walkie-talkie announcing that Dante was there for the meeting. Alinna started to step inside the room. However, the guy immediately went to stop her from entering, with a hand against her chest.
“Only . . .”
Immediately, the one man went flying inside the office, barely noticing Dante’s quick movement before his fist smashed into his throat. Alinna shifted her eyes to the right, just in time to see James connect an elbow to the second man’s chest, dropping him immediately.
Smirking as she entered the office, she stepped around the suit who was laid out on the floor holding his throat and trying to breathe. Alinna instantly laid eyes on Carmen, who was seated at a long, glass, six-chair table. Carmen smiled and stared at Alinna.
“Gentlemen . . . ,” Carmen spoke up, still smiling. “Allow me to introduce my son-in-law, Dante Blackwell, and his wife Alinna. You all know my daughter, Natalie, right?”
“Was any of this really necessary, Mr. Blackwell?” aa slim, middle-aged white man with long black hair in a ponytail asked while motioning to the security still lying on the floor.
“He needs to learn to keep his hands to himself when dealing with either Mrs. Blackwells,” Dante stated as he followed behind Alinna and Natalie over to two open seats on each side of Carmen. He then nodded slightly to Tony T, who stood directly behind Carmen against the wall. Dante stood to the left of Carmen, staring first at the white guy who spoke up, before shifting his eyes over to the heavy-set white man wearing glasses. He stared directly at him and said, “Which one of you is Fredrick Roosevelt?”
“He is!” the ponytailed guy answered, nodding over to the heavy-set man.
Slowly nodding his head while still staring at the heavy-set white man, Dante smirked slightly. But then he began to speak: “I’m sure Carmen has already informed the both of you that since Mr. Saldana has been expelled as a member of the Council’s Covenant for his violation against a fellow member of the Council due to this major issue, I will be assuming the position as head of the Council . . .”
“Now wait just a God damn minute!” Fredrick Roosevelt yelled, cutting off Dante in the middle of what he was saying. “You can’t just walk in here and demand control of anything. Who the hell do you think you are?”
Dante simply glanced over at Roosevelt but ignored him. He then continued what he was saying as if Fredrick Roosevelt never spoke up: “As Carmen explained to the both of you, I’m sure, I will be filling in the seat as head. But first thing as head, I am releasing my position over to my wife, Alinna Blackwell, and I will simply become an active member . . .”
“This is bullshit!” Fredrick Roosevelt yelled, slamming his fist down onto the table. “I will not stand for this! This street thug . . . !”
“Leave!” Dante said loud enough to cut off the man.
“What did you say?” Fredrick asked, staring hard at Dante, not sure he heard him correctly.
“I said leave!” Dante repeated, but then added, “Whoever doesn’t agree with the change that’s happening can leave now!”
“This is complete bullshit!” Fredrick said as he sat staring hard and completely pissed off at Dante.
“Seeing that you’re still sitting, I’ll take it that you agree with what’s happening then, Mr. Roosevelt,” Dante told him, but then added, “And understand . . . that if you open your mouth one more time while anyone is speaking, you will not only leave this meeting, but you will no longer be a member of the Council.”
Staring at Fredrick a moment and holding the fat man’s gaze, Dante slowly shifted his eyes over to Samuel Atlas and said, “Mr. Atlas, do you agree with what’s happening, or are you in disagreement with what I’ve just stated?”
“If Carmen wants the two of you seated as the head of the Council, I will not go against her wishes. I actually trust her judgment,” Samuel told Dante as he nodded his head toward Carmen.
Shifting his head toward Carmen, he caught a small smile she allowed to show, and Dante had a quick thought. But he ignored it for the moment as he continued, “Now that we are all in agreement, I’ll let Mrs. Blackwell speak with you.”
Remaining in her seat and staring at the two drug lords across the table from her a few seconds, Alinna finally began, “Okay, gentlemen . . . I understand this is all new for the both of you, but I have some ideas that will not only make us more money but also build business to another level . . .”
“This is bullshit!” Fredrick Roosevelt again said in a low voice, shaking his head.
Continuing what she was saying and ignoring Roosevelt’s comments, Alinna caught Dante from the corner of her eye. While she continued to speak, she followed his movement across the room.
“What is this? Get your hands off of me, you son of a bitch!” Fredrick yelled, trying to pull away from Dante, who was now dragging him from his seat toward the door.
Waiting until Dante escorted Roosevelt out of the room and was back standing at her right shoulder and to Carmen’s left, Alinna started to speak. However, she paused when Mr. Atlas spoke up saying, “Excuse me, but, Carmen, where did you find Mr. Blackwell? I truly like the way he handles business, and he is truly a man of his word as seen.”
Smiling proudly as she cut her eyes over to Dante, Carmen looked back to Atlas and gently said, “He is my son-in-law, Samuel.”
***
“Dante . . . do you think that was a wise decision with expelling Fredrick from the Council at a time like this?” Carmen asked him as they stood together outside and in front of her limousine after the meeting was completed.
“Roosevelt’s a problem, and I can see him becoming an even bigger one,” Dante replied, cutting his eyes over to where Alinna and Kerri stood talking with Samuel Atlas, with James just a few feet away.
“I agree with you about Fredrick. But don’t you think that, since you’ve not only expelled him but also humiliated him in front of everyone, maybe we now have an enemy?” Carmen asked, sounding slightly worried.
“He was already an enemy, Carmen,” Dante told her. “The only difference between now and before is that instead of having the enemy on the inside, he’s now on the outside trying to figure out what’s going on inside.”
“Are we able to handle this?” Carmen asked. “Fredrick has a great deal of power and can become a big problem, Dante.”
“I’ll handle it,” Dante told Carmen, receiving a small smile and a nod of the head just as Samuel Atlas called to both of them waving his goodbye, “There’s something you wanna tell him, Carmen?”
Looking back to Dante, Carmen said, “Maybe later. But how about telling me how you plan on filling in all the open seats on the Council, Dante?”
“I have three people in mind,” Dante told her, winking his eye at his mother-in-law, which caused her to smile and shake her head.
20
A linna was deep in thought, wondering where the hell Dante had gone off to without telling her or Natalie. However, she lost her train of thought when an excited Natalie grabbed her arm and called her name. Alinna then turned her attention to Natalie but noticed the huge mansion that Carmen’s driver was pulling up to. As he stopped in front of an iron gate, Alinna noticed the brick wall that surrounded the entire estate.
“Who the hell lives here?” Alinna asked, staring out the window.
“We do!” Natalie answered her as the gate opened and the limousine pulled inside the estate.
“You gotta be joking!” Alinna mumbled as the limo pulled to a stop at what looked like the main house to the estate.
“Alinna . . . come on in!” Natalie cried excitedly, pulling her from the limo as soon as the driver opened the back door.
“How big is this place?” Alinna a
sked, looking around.
“It’s 26,862 square feet, and we’re sitting on 4.5 acres of land,” Natalie told Alinna with a smile as she unlocked and opened the oil-shined, dark brown, thick wooden front door. “It’s composed of four separate buildings. There’s the main house . . .what we’re in now. There’s also the pool cabana, guest house, and a detached garage.”
Following Natalie through the mansion, Alinna saw all eleven bedrooms and seventeen bathrooms, and then noticed the handcrafted wood paneling and solid walnut doors that Natalie pointed out. There were elaborate beamed and hand-painted ceilings, ancient stone floors, exotic wood-paneled walls, authentic Italian lighting, and even an imported hand-carved stone fireplace. Alinna then followed Natalie from the state-of-the-art chef-style kitchen outside, where a still excited Natalie showed her the 3,000+-square-foot pool where Carmen was talking to a middle-aged white woman.
Natalie introduced Alinna to Emmy Jones, the house servant. Alinna had a few words with the woman before Natalie was pulling her off to see the water features in the pool. While standing under the gazebo, Natalie pointed out the terraced gardens, olive orchard, and the private jogging trail that surrounded the entire estate.
“Does Dante like basketball?” Natalie asked as she and Alinna stopped at the sunken court.
“He talks about it a lot with Tony T and Dre back home,” Alinna replied, staring at the nicely built basketball court.
“Well, now Dante and Tony T have some place to play sometime,” Natalie said with a smile. “Let’s go back to the main house.”
Following alongside Natalie and listening to the other women explain more about the house, Alinna noticed James standing at the pool watching her, with Kerri alongside him. Looking around, Alinna steered Natalie in James and Kerri’s direction.
“Dante’s here!” James told Alinna once she and Natalie stopped in front of them.
