Chapter 8 Bishop #2
King hadn’t settled down until his marriage. Whether he said it or not, Knight and I both knew he was hoping Rook getting married would settle him down too.
“You’re not the family’s disappointment, Rook,” I assured him.
“Feels like it.”
“Well.” I shrugged and climbed to my feet. “King hasn’t gotten wind of me cheating on my wife with a man just yet.”
“Nigga, what?” He snickered.
“Asante and I haven’t exactly discussed what’s going to happen once I get married, but if I don’t have to give him up, I’m not going to.
” I straightened my tie. “Word is that King is switching up the way wives are chosen. He’s going to show us the top three picks made by him, Mom, and Dad and we’ll get to choose from there.
If I see one of the women I know for a fact cares more about getting our last name than getting a happy marriage, I’m signing on the dotted line.
I can handle a business marriage. I’ll see Asante and she’ll see whoever she sees and when it comes time to have babies, we’ll do what needs to be done. ”
“That sounds fucking horrible, Bishop.”
“Yeah, well that’s life.” I pushed my glasses up with one hand and hit Rook’s shoulder with the other. “Get up. I was just supposed to tell you that it’s time to go.”
“Yeah, alright.”
Rook grabbed his questionnaire, folded it up, and tucked it into his suit jacket.
My brothers and I had been invited to an important wedding and had agreed to go together, the four of us and Xavia.
Rook and I headed to the front door where Knight and Xavia were already waiting for us.
“I was starting to think you got lost,” Xavia teased.
“King stepped out to take a phone call,” Knight offered.
“Yeah. Well I’m going to step outside and make sure the security detail is prepped,” I offered.
“How many are we taking?” Rook asked.
“Six.”
“Damn. Six?” Knight whistled.
“One for the four of us each and two for Xavia,” I explained.
“Downsize it.” King walked back into the room with his phone still in hand. “We’re among friends, not having a sit down or doing business negotiations.”
“Friends might be a stretch.” I slid a hand into my pocket.
“Yeah, well, they definitely won’t be our friends if we walk into their damn wedding with enough security to start a hostile takeover and honestly, which one of us really needs security anyway?” King snickered. “You think Rook or Knight or Xavia need someone to protect them?”
“You don’t know what you need until you don’t have it,” I said seriously. “But I’ll cut it for you.”
“Thank you.” King looked between us. “Let’s move.”
He clapped his hands then yanked the door open. We filed out one by one with me picking up the rear and speaking to our security detail to update them on how many people we were actually going to take with us.
Rook, Knight, and I climbed in a car together with a driver and a member of our security team while King and Xavia climbed in with two guards and a driver and we took off.
I kept my phone unlocked and in my hand, making sure I was constantly available if anyone on our team had questions or needed clarification about what was expected.
When we got to the mansion where the wedding was taking place, we all split up to schmooze just like we were expected to do and I morphed from the Bishop that I was when I headed our security to the Bishop I was when I had to play politics, smooth and constantly smiling, shrinking myself to not intimidate any of the people around us.
Rook and I stayed together. King and Xavia headed one way. Knight went off on his own.
We moved around the room, talking to the people we knew and allowing them to introduce us to those we didn’t. I was diplomatic. Rook made jokes. We moved around the room easily.
We were an hour into our attendance when Rook excused himself from my side to go grab our first drinks.
I stayed back with a long time friend of the family, Leo Claudio and his body guard and best friend KO, the three of us catching up with what they had going on since it was always something over there.
The Claudio family dealt in the deep underground of illegal work.
They were a well off family which was interesting considering they didn’t deal with money for real.
They dealt in secrets. If you needed information, they’d give it to you but the only price they listed was a secret of your own.
Those secrets were usually world shattering and you gave them up with the knowledge someone else could get it off them for their own shit.
It was insane that they were somehow still in business, lurking the shadows of the rich and famous as well as the people like us, the criminals who worked among the upper class.
They were good people to remain friends with though and despite what they did, our family definitely considered them friends.
KO had personally taught my sister-in-law, Casmi, some self defense and had even given us a freebie when it came to some information, something no one had ever heard of them doing before.
Shit was solid between us and whatever they needed, we would give them.
I paused mid conversation the second I heard a woman scream. My head jerked in the direction of the noise and I saw my twin look directly at me. I lifted an eyebrow. He shrugged. I shook my head and looked back at Leo whose eyebrows knitted together.
“Ay,” he nudged his head back toward Rook and I glanced back in his direction and paused when I saw that some nigga was standing in front of him, all in his space and face.
Body language told me shit was about to go left.
“Go ahead and clear out,” I dapped Leo up.
“Y’all good?” KO asked.
“Yeah. We good.” I pulled my phone out my pocket with my eyes still on my twin and started to make my way toward him.
“Rook!” I called out to him before I even made it to him. I reached for his shoulder the second I was close enough but his eyes were focused on the man in front of him. “Leave it alone,” I said. “Whatever it was, wasn’t that deep.”
“Rook,” the man repeated as he looked my twin up and down. “So, that must mean you’re Bishop.” His eyes drifted to me. He chuckled and shook his head. “Man, get the fuck out of here.” He nudged his head toward the door.
“Watch who the fuck you talking to,” Rook grit.
“Leave it alone,” I repeated.
“Yeah.” The man smiled smugly. “You heard your lil fruitcake ass brother.”
I knew what was going to happen before it happened but it still didn’t make me fast enough to stop it. Rook’s fist met his mouth before I could even process it.
Rook wasn’t somebody that let motha’fucaks insult me and while I appreciated that he gave a fuck, I hated that the shit caused so much more attention to be put on my sexuality and always led to some stupid shit that wasn’t worth the trouble.
I hated being the centerpiece of fighting and feeling like me being with a man was cause for our family’s shame.
If it wasn’t shameful, Rook wouldn’t react the way he would about people throwing it out there, even if he didn’t mean to.
Everybody knew exactly how to get under his skin and it bothered me that I was his weak point.
Rook hit the man a second time and chaos immediately ensued around us.
My head flew to the side when I saw someone making a beeline for Rook.
I slid beside my brother and knocked that niggas head back before he could lay a hand on him.
Being Rook’s shadow meant being ready for whatever bullshit came at any time and I did just that.
I popped the man on the side of his head just right to slump him then turned back to my brother.
He’d started to beat the shit out of the man beneath him who was still conscious and doing his best to fend off Rook’s fist but he wasn’t doing too much.
Another bodyguard ran up and I hit him too, the two of us circling each other while two other guards grabbed Rook and jerked him back.
I scanned the room quickly. I saw Knight and King heading toward us and shit seemed to move in slow motion when the dude Rook had been fighting reached back for his gun.
I went to reach back for mine and slipped my safety off as I drew it but a shot went off before I could even aim for real.
One shot to the head sent the man back to the ground and screaming echoed throughout the mansion. Everybody took off running. The guard near me headed toward the newly dead body and I rushed toward my twin, grabbed him by his shoulder and spun him around.
King and Knight had headed away from us and were shielding Xavia, their bodyguards shielding them.
I slipped through the crowd with Rook right behind me for only a few steps before I felt him shift and I looked back and paused. He’d been snatched back and was on the ground, rolled on his back. A man in all black pulled a gun and I aimed my own at his head.
“Drop it,” I instructed. “Right now.”
“You’re not in any position to make demands.” The man answered me without taking his eyes off Rook.
“Bishop!” Rook yelled my name but was a second too slow.
I felt the barrel of a gun get pressed to the back of my head and clenched my jaw. I closed my eyes and did my best to run through every possibility I needed to. I didn’t move to lower my gun though. I stayed perfectly still.
All around us people were still rushing for the exit. It didn’t take long for the place to clear out.
Once it did, a few other men gathered around us.
They got Rook to his feet and King, Xavia, and Knight were led over to us at gunpoint, our security right behind them, their own guns in their hands in case shit went left.
I knew that King must have given them the order to stand down until further notice and that shit made it clear that there wouldn’t be a shootout.