28. A Tense Conversation
Chapter twenty-eight
A Tense Conversation
Lei
As I began to walk towards Monique, each step seemed heavier than the last. My palms were sweaty and I felt an odd mixture of tension and excitement coursing through my veins.
Uncle Song, probably sensing my apprehension, stepped away from Monique’s side. His voice was gentle but firm as he spoke. “From now on, keep her close to you, nephew.”
I was well aware of the rough path that lay ahead of me, but I also knew Monique would be my beacon, guiding me through these dark times. Monique wasn’t just a companion she was my lifeboat in this turbulent sea of uncertainties.
Carefully, I reached out and took her hand in mine. Her warmth seeped into my fingers and wrapped me in comfort.
“Are you okay?” I gently squeezed her hand, my voice barely more than a whisper, trying to reassure her while also seeking reassurance for myself.
“I’m fine.” Her words were calm, but her eyes betrayed her. She appeared nervous for some reason.
I turned towards Uncle Song and offered him a respectful nod. “Thank you for bringing her here.”
“Of course, Mountain Master.” Uncle Song walked towards Chen. Once there, they engaged in a whispered exchange.
Sighing, I led Monique away from the gathering. “Let’s go for a walk.”
She scanned the space, taking in the massive camp around us.
We walked in silence for a while. The only sound was the crunching of leaves under our feet.
I glanced up at the sparring area. Hu and the rest of my men watched us with curious gazes.
I turned away and continued to lead her in the opposite direction.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was warm on our faces. But my mind was anything but peaceful.
My voice went rough. “What happened, Monique?”
She bit her lip, looking up at me with those big, beautiful eyes of hers. “I would say Banks and Duck had a dick measuring contest in the hotel lobby, and I don’t think anyone won. I’m just sure somebody’s getting a big bill for all the damages.”
I gritted my teeth. “Duck’s main priority should have been keeping you safe and bringing you back to me.”
“Banks had a gun in Duck’s face, and I’m sure Duck really didn’t appreciate that. Once Banks moved the gun, Duck attacked.”
I rolled my eyes. “It goes deeper than that.”
She eyed me. “It does?”
“They have had an age-old vendetta that started with them both dating a woman named Jade.”
“Hmmm.” Monique widened her eyes. “I think I remember Banks dating someone named Jade.”
“Around five years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Well, At the same time, Duck was dating her too.”
“Oh damn. If I know my cousin, Banks is not backing down from a competition over a woman.”
“Duck feels like Banks stole Jade from him. When he approached Banks about it, your cousin nodded, agreed that he stole her, and added that it was probably due to the fact that he had way more inches than him.”
“Inches?” Monique sucked her teeth. “Then, back to the dick measuring contest.”
“Yes.” I shook my head. “It’s ridiculous. This feud has gone on for years, and it’s only getting worse. Meanwhile, Jade ended up cheating on the both of them with some guy in the North. She’s now married with kids. They need to get over it.”
The silence returned as we walked.
It was so strange to me for Monique to be quiet like this.
Something is definitely wrong.
Monique’s expression turned worried. “So. . .I have a lot of questions.”
For some reason, that statement shoved me on edge.
I led her further away from the curious eyes of my fighters. “What questions do you have?”
“You rule a gang called the Four Aces?”
I stiffened. “I wouldn’t call us a gang. We are a family.”
“But you all deal with. . .gangster shit?”
“We do.” I studied her and tightened my grip on her hand. “How do you feel about that?”
“I’m not stupid. With all the guns and everything, I knew you all were dangerous, but. . .”
“Now it is hard to ignore?”
“Yes.” She let out a long sigh. “Honestly, what you do is none of my business. I’m more pissed that Banks and Marcy are still up to criminal bullshit.”
I snickered. “Marcy.”
She paused and scowled at me. “Do not call him that. Duck did and I’m sure it didn’t help things.”
“You do not understand, Monique.” I gave her a sad smile. “Marcelo annoys the shit out of all of us. Calling him Marcy would be sweet revenge.”
That scowl grew intense. “But you will not call him that.”
I stifled my groan of annoyance and nodded. “For you, I will make sure I don’t call him that.”
“Could you order Duck to not call him that either.”
The line of my jaw twitched. “I can do that too.”
“Thank you, Mountain Master.”
I quirked my brows.
“So. . .can you tell me why they call you Mountain Master, or is that a secret part of the Four Aces?”
I chuckled. “It isn’t a secret.”
“Okay. Then, why are you called that?”
“Mountains are often used as symbols of strength, stability, and authority.”
“Alright.”
“For us, the metaphorical mountain is the Four Aces itself, and I am the master. The one who controls everything. The highest point.”
“Wow.” She parted her lips.
We walked deeper into the camp and passed the western edge that housed the cooking area. This was marked by a large open-air kitchen with several wood-fired stoves and ovens. Copper pots and pans hung above long granite countertops. Steam rose from huge woks where several chefs busied themselves with preparing lunch. Mouthwatering aromas wafted through the camp.
I moved my gaze back to Monique. Under the brilliance of the noon sun, her brown skin glowed.
She’s so damn breathtaking.
I licked my lips.
She caught me watching her, blushed, and put her view back in front of her. “I will have to talk to Banks today and explain what is going on.”
I frowned.
She continued, “With the way everything played out today, I already know he doesn’t want me with you all.”
I didn’t like where this was going.
“But. . .” She cleared her throat. “Banks couldn’t stop me from being around you.”
My body stilled.
“Plus, I made a promise that I would have your back until you. . .fought your father.”
My nerves calmed.
We strolled down a pathway dotted with blue tents. Their flaps waved lightly in the mountain breeze.
Then, we entered the bathing area towards the east of the camp. A mountain stream had been ingeniously diverted to form a cascading waterfall that spilled into a large stone pool.
I stopped us there and drank in the peaceful view. Crystal water flowed continuously. This space always offered a refreshing retreat after any grueling day of training.
Monique faced me. “However, Lei. . .I need to know one thing.”
I gazed at her and got lost in those beautiful brown eyes again. There was an intensity there, a profound depth that spoke of her strength, her resilience, and her open heart.
For some reason, my body heated.
“Lei,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper, “do you have Chanel’s body?”
I blinked.
The question was so unexpected.
It shoved me off the edge.
Memories of Chanel, of my obsessive love for her and her untimely death, came rushing to my mind with a painful clarity. A knot tightened in my chest. The wound that had slowly begun to heal felt as if it had been ripped open anew.
I let go of Monique’s hand and edged away.
She observed my reaction.
In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to avoid answering this question.
In fact, I would have been happier with returning to Hu and his grueling sparring session. Let ten or even twenty men rush at me with knives, daggers, and swords. It would have been easier to knock them down one by one, then shatter Monique’s view of me.
Shit.
Fear seized my body. There was a chilling dread that the truth would send Monique away, that she wouldn’t be able to comprehend or accept it.
What do I say? What do I do?
I couldn’t lie. Not to Monique. Not when she had been so accepting with my possession of her. So compassionate with my struggle to battle my father.
Swallowing, I gazed into her eyes.
Fuck.
Then, another kind of panic surged through me.
I could not let her leave my side, not when she had provided me with so much comfort. Not when she had wrapped me into her healing heart.
I gritted my teeth.
Who fucking told her?
I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Monique, not after everything we had shared. I had already lost so much. This meant that if Monique decided she wanted to leave my side because I had Chanel’s body, I would make Monique stay anyway.
And that would not only destroy me, it would shatter the beauty of our situation.
My fingers itched to get the handcuffs.
She raised her eyebrows. “Lei, I need you to be completely honest with me.”
“I. . .” My voice went hoarse with emotion. I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
She leaned her head to the side.
“Yes.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I still have her body.”
The silence that followed was deafening. I held Monique’s gaze, my fear battling with my hope. I braced myself for her reaction, for her shock, for her next questions.
Monique said nothing and put her gaze on the rippling water. Her expression was unreadable.
Terror washed over my body.
What is going on in her mind?
She kept her view on the water. “Why did you take her body?”
“Because. . .if she was buried, if her body went into the ground. . .then she truly would be gone forever.” My eyes watered. A cold shiver sliced up my spine. “Because. . .since my father killed her, I’ve felt this. . .overwhelming sense of loss and despair. But, with her close by. . .I still feel connected to her. I can even pretend like. . .she’s not truly dead.”
“Do you. . .” Monique hugged herself. “Do you go to her body?”
Nervous, I ran my fingers through my hair. “I haven’t gone to her since I captured you.”
She looked at me. “But. . .when you go to her, what do you do?”
My heart constricted at the question.
I took a deep breath before answering. “I sit next to Chanel and talk to her. I tell her everything that’s going on. Sometimes I. . .”
Monique watched me.
Tears threatened to spill over my lids, but I fought them back and looked at the sky.
To my shock, two black crows glided on the currents of cool air and then began circling Mount Utopia’s peak.
Monique’s voice pulled me back to her. “Sometimes, you do what?”
I put my view back on her and a tear fell from my eye. “Sometimes, I brush Chanel’s hair and remind her of our memories, but I stopped a day ago because. . .strands started coming out of her scalp. . .”
“The body is decaying?”
“The funeral home embalmed her.” I wiped the tear away and put my view back on the sky. But the crows were no longer there. “Chen warned me that the fluids wouldn’t completely preserve her body. They would just delay decomposition.”
Monique continued to study me. “And?”
I eyed her. “And what?”
“Do you do. . .other things?”
I frowned. “Why does everyone think I am having sex with Chanel’s body?”
Monique widened her eyes. “Because it is bananas crazy to even have it, so all types of insane things would come to our minds.”
“You think that I would wait all of my life to save my virginity for Chanel, and then have my first time be with her corpse?”
“I just met you.”
I scowled. “Yet, you know me better than most.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
She placed her view back on the water. “Who did Chanel leave behind?”
“Her mother, younger sister, friends, and family.”
Monique shook her head. “Lei, you’re not only delaying your grieving of Chanel, but you may be holding them back from saying goodbye.”
Tension gathered in my shoulders as I saw her face cloud over with disappointment.
“It’s not right, Lei.”
Silence stretched between us once again, and the weight of it was suffocating.
Monique’s words echoed in my mind. I knew that she was right. But the thought of letting go of Chanel, even in death, felt unbearable.
Monique looked at me. “How are you going to fix this, Lei?”
The line of my jaw twitched.
“I don’t know a lot about the Diamond Syndicate, Four Aces, or even Rowe Street Mob. Fuck. I don’t know shit about a lot of stuff.” Monique shrugged. “But I do know that you are better than this, and if you are the Mountain Master, then you have to truly be an example to your men.”
My heart ached.
“When my mother passed, I would have loved to hold on to her body, too, but I had to say goodbye to her physical form.” Monique unfolded her arms and touched her chest. “Because in the end, she still lives in my heart. That part of my mother will never leave. That will be true for you too.”
Monique’s words hit me harder today than any of the men in the sparring session earlier.
She pointed at me. “I need you to promise to return Chanel’s body to her family.”
I wanted to glare or even growl, but I couldn’t. Had it been anyone else, I would have disregarded that demand.
Monique held out her hands. “I’m going to talk to Chen about giving my father’s body to Banks today. How about you let him make plans to give Chanel’s body to her family.”
Chanel would leave me today? No.
I couldn’t even speak. Instead, I shook my head.
“Then when, Lei?”
I spoke through clenched teeth, “The earliest I can do that is. . .after my father is gone. Once that happens, I want to sit next to Chanel’s body and tell her about it.”
“Her spirit would have already seen it. You don’t need to keep her corpse, Lei. Let her family bury her the right way.”
“This is what I want.”
“That’s not fair to her family, Lei. You’re being insane and selfish.”
“I don’t care.”
With a painful heaviness in her voice, Monique whispered, “Then. . .I’m sorry, but I can’t be by your side this week.”
Her words pierced through the air like poison-tipped darts.
My insides violently spun in turmoil.
She checked behind me. “Uncle Song is still here. I’ll ride back with him.”
Monique walked off.
Fast, I lunged forward.
She shrieked.
I caught her arm and pulled her back towards me, until her body warmed against mine.
She shivered against me, lifted her view, and widened her eyes. “Let me go.”
“I can’t do that either.”