8. Dominic Royal
T he food on the passenger seat was still warm covered in foil, and tucked tight, with oxtail juice damn near smellin’ like I was still home in my parent’s house. I told Ma I was bringin’ it to ‘somebody important’ and she ain’t ask no questions, she just packed the plate full and kissed me on the cheek like she used to when I was a shorty with scraped knees and shit. She was like that though, ‘cause back in the day she was busy on that pole, but Pop, being that he was in the streets, he’s the one who called us out on everything. It was hard tryin’ to get past him.
The streets were quiet as I pulled up to the safe house, and a little too quiet if you asked me. Whenever it was too quiet it made me feel like shit was about to pop off. Like the city knew somethin' was about to crack. I stepped out the truck, with my Glock tucked in the small of my back and one on my waist as I swaggered toward the entrance with the plate in my hand. Two of my people, Roman and Dre stood on alert all heavily tattooed just like me. My entire army came from the trenches, except for the geeks that watched the accounts, and everybody played a major role.
One of my hittas, Roman, was one I met in the slums years ago. Hell, at least forty five percent of my camp were made up of real hittas who I’d crossed paths with committing’ some type of crime while on the come up. “Sup Boss,” Roman nodded my way covered with facial tattoos and gold teeth. Roman looked like a straight up demon, but the ladies went crazy for dude.
“Sup, what’s the status?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Shit been quiet, ain’t really been no movement since you left. We rotated the camera feed loop ‘bout an hour ago and scrubbed the signal interference on the roof and shit.”
Dre added, “We been seein’ a lotta foreign whips cruisin’ real slow two blocks over. It could just be nosy ass neighbors.”
“Hell, it might not,” I replied. “Keep watchin’, don’t get too comfortable.”
After I finished with them, I walked inside and as soon as the second that door closed behind me, I felt the energy shift once again. Shit felt like pressure I couldn’t see but could feel settlin' on my damn chest. Victoria was on the couch in the living room, barefoot, with a hoodie on and her legs curled up beneath her. She looked up soon as I entered like she wasn’t expecting me.
“I brought food,” I said, placin’ the plate on the small side table.
Her face lit up, but it wasn’t really a smile, instead she had a soft look in her eyes for me. I shook my head, tried to tell this fuckin’ girl this ain’t what she want, I thought to myself.
“You cooked?” she asked in a surprised tone.
“I’ma monster, but that don’t mean I’ma let you starve. It don’t matter who cooked, just eat.”
She stood and walked over, liftin’ the foil. The steam rose up and she slowly inhaled as her eyes fluttered for a second like the smell took her to a different place… maybe anywhere she wanted to be but here. “Thank you,” she said.
I watched the way her ass jiggled when she got up to grab a fork and dig in, and for the first time, she almost looked human to me instead of just a fuckin’ mission and not a favor. She was just a female caught in shit she ain’t sign up for and ain’t know shit about.
She chewed slow while glancin’ at me between bites. “You don’t sit down much, do you?”
“Too many people tryin’ to put me down,” I said. “Gotta stay ready.”
She smirked. “My uncle says the same fucking thing.”
That’s when it hit me, and the shit hit me hard. My mind started piecin’ together everything in seconds from the drone that circled the safe house. The way he was too fuckin’ urgent ‘bout keepin’ Victoria near me. The way El Blanca insisted I be the one to ‘protect’ her, to take hereverywhere.
Victoria was never the muhfuckin’ target, I was, and this whole time, El Blanca had used her like a fuckin’ pawn. She was the bait, and I was the lion they were tryin’ to lure into the pen. I turned away with my breath slightly caught in my throat, as my jaws tightened while I walked onto the balcony to get my thoughts together. I squeezed the bridge of my nose and held my head back tryin’ to control my anger. It made sense now… all of it.
I pulled out the burner and told Tone to meet me on the balcony on the east side of the house. It only took him a few seconds to appear with his usual joint in his hand lookin’ at me all crazy. “Man, you want me on the roof scopin’ shit out or on the balcony bondin’ with you and shit?” He joked until he saw the look on my face. He went from playful to ready to armor up immediately if he needed to. “Talk to me… who need to die today?”
“I figured this shit out Tone. El Blanca ain’t just callin' shots, he’s testin' my reach, seein' how far I’d bend. Muhfucka seein' if I’d crumble under the weight of protectin’ his blood… but it’s deeper than that. He knows the Royal Cartel is growin' too strong and too powerful. We’re too connected now, and we aren’t just movin’ cars and product, we buildin’ legit real estate. We got politicians in our pocket, routes locked in overseas, and we don’t really need him like we used to.” I explained.
Tone took a pull from the blunt with a perplexed look on his face before passin’ me the joint. “You got my attention…”
I continued, “So, what does a man like El Blanca do? He makes the problem disappear, but he don’t get his own hands dirty, he lets the world believe the El Dorado Cartel wants Victoria. He sends her to me knowin’ them muhfuckas won’t touch her, because they know, she’s off-limits. So, what happens when she’s with me, and a hit goes down? Exactly what he wants….collateral damage.”
Tone nodded his head finally gettin’ it. “Muhfucka gets to say, ‘Dom died protectin’ my niece’.”
“Exactly,” I replied watchin’ the thick cloud of smoke swirl around us.
“Fuck that pussy ass nigga,” Tone groaned. “Whatever you wanna do, you know I’m wit’ it.”
I never had to question Tone’s loyalty, so I knew he was with me just like the rest of my army. If I was being honest, El Blanca’s plan was actually heroic, tragic, convenient and quite fuckin’ genius if I wasn’t the one being played. I dapped Tone up and sent him on his way so I could gather my thoughts.
“Keep yo’ eyes open. Victoria has no clue what’s goin’ on, and I don’t need her doin’ no goofy shit compromisin’ us,” I warned.
“Say less,” Tone replied before swaggerin’ off.
I stayed out back, lightin' another joint I didn’t even really want, just to calm down. I watched the sunset across the skyline. I made a promise to myself. I’m gon’ kill ‘em… just not with bullets yet. I was gon’ beat him with patience and silence. El Blanca ain’t know I knew what time it was, and that’s gon’ be his biggest mistake.
I finished my joint and walked back inside. Victoria was sittin' at the table, with half the plate gone and her elbows propped on the table with her chin in her palm. Just like before, when she looked up at me, she gave me her undivided attention.
“You okay?” she asked allowin’ her eyes to search mine.
For a second, I almost told her, her uncle was sellin’ me out. Almost told her she was being used like a chess piece on a board, but I didn’t, ‘cause she didn’t know and that’s the only reason I ain’t hate her ass yet.
I nodded once. “Yeah, I’m cool…just tired.”
She gave me a small smile. "You hide it well."
I wanted to tell her I’d been hidin' for years, but instead, I just looked at her and shook my head at the pawn; the piece of someone else's game and felt a sense of pity, which I didn’t expect to feel. It was a bitter feelin’ you get when you realized someone else’s blood is being played like yours once was played. She ain’t deserve it but she was already too deep in it just like the rest of us… so fuck it.
Before I could respond, I received a call from Carmen while Victoria watched my every move. “Carmen…”
“Dom…” She replied soundin’ all cordial and shit like a few hours ago my dick wasn’t just deep in her guts. She could play it of all she wanted, but I still smelled her sweet scent all over my body mixed in with my cologne.
“You okay?” I asked.
She sighed. “I’ve had better nights, just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m leavin’ from my current location, and I’ll call you back when I reach the next.”
“No! Don’t call me, I’ll call you instead. I’ll be working.”
I raised a brow, but didn’t question it. As of now, I had no reason to question her loyalty, but she ain’t never told me not to call. There was a long pause before I responded with a simple, “Alright.”
I ended the call and focused back on Victoria. “Hope you made yo’ self-comfortable, ‘cause I won’t be back until tomorrow. Remember, if you need me, call me.”
She simply nodded her head as she chewed on her bottom lip to refrain from sayin’ some slick ass shit. I didn’t stick around to wait for a response. After I made sure everything was secured and my people were positioned in their designated areas, I left and headed to the Penthouse.
* * *
The city lights was flickerin’ off the black glass walls of my penthouse by the time I stepped through the door. I ain’t pour a drink, and didn’t even lock the door behind me right away. I just stood for a second just as still as the fuckin’ silence. So much shit was goin’ on in my head, that even the walls felt like they was closin’ in tryin’ to hear it. I finally walked to the bathroom and ran the shower water hot as hell until the steam fogged the glass, while the heat from the water rinsed my skin. I pressed my palms against the marble and just the water plummet down on me.
El Blanca was playin' a deadly game and now it was time for a savage like me to reshuffle the deck. After fifteen minutes, I stepped out, threw on some black sweatpants, slid a chain around my neck, and grabbed my phone. I opened the FaceTime group and hit call. O’Shynn picked up first with the screen tilted all wild as club lights flashed red and purple behind her. She was in some private VIP room at Club Siren, with her hair slicked back, wearin’ a velvet two-piece with stilettos… she didn’t look shit like a few hours ago at our parents’ house.
"‘Bout damn time," she said, puffin’ on a hookah hose. “You good?”
“I’m cool,” I said, with my brows slightly furrowed. “Where the fuck you at?” I asked. She shifted the camera, but I caught it before she turned and caught a glimpse of a mirror-lined wall and what looked like red leather straps hangin’ from it. I squinted. “Yo... what room is that?”
She smirked and turned the camera toward her face fast as hell. “Ain’t important, focus King.”
I narrowed my eyes but let the shit go for now. Sometimes I ain’t know about O’Shynn. She was sharp in the books and the streets and was mean as hell with numbers when it came to the business, but her personal life was somethin’ she tried to hide from us. That way that room looked, seems like it was some real freak shit goin’ down in there.
Dique answered next and the sound of music was in his background. He was in the Bentley, ridin’ down I-95 with a blunt in one hand and his gold watch gleamin’. “Daaaamn, Dom, it’s FaceTime hours now? You bet not be naked, bro. This better be life or death 'cause I’m on my way to see this lil chick I met on South Beach a few months ago when we was kickin’ it.”
“Dique,” I said cutting him off. He could tell from the tone of my voice this shit was business.
He went silent for a second as his eyes shifted with that deadly look in them. “Oh, aight…. you gotthatvoice slime. What’s up?”
I sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know when you headin’ back to the West Coast, but tomorrow we need to meet…. just the three of us for now at the meet up spot. Turn the fuckin’ phones off and don’t bring no outsiders.”
“What’s goin’ on?” O’Shynn asked. All that playfulness a few seconds ago was gone from her voice now.
“I’ll tell you everything face-to-face,” I said. “But just know… El Blanca’s not who he used to be.”
Dique’s jaw slightly dropped and O’Shynn just stared with her lips pursed.
“Tomorrow,” I repeated again. “We gon’ tighten the circle, lock the gates, and start movin’ like what we are since muhfuckas wanna play on our top.”
“And what’s that?” Dique asked dead serious.
I looked right into the screen. “An empire too big to fall, but strong enough to burn any muhfucka who tries.”
It was silence on all ends before O’Shynn broke it. She nodded. “Say less.”
Dique exhaled. “Damn, guess I’m cancelin’ this chick, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And tell that bitch why too… let her know the boss called and you had to go build a kingdom.”
We all smirked for a second, then I hung up. I grabbed a pre-rolled joint and stood starin’ out the window before placing my Glock on the nightstand. I went to the app that pulled up the camera at Carmen’s Penthouse hopin’ to catch her ass puttin’ on another show, only this time she was pacing back and forth with an anticipating look on her face. What the fuck she up to? I wondered.