The Queen’s Court
THE QUEEN'S COURT
ORI
Yacouba rubbed the back of his head the more I spoke like he didn’t have faith in me. “Ion’t know, bruh, maybe we need to reassign Smoke to this nigga for a minute.”
We were scattered around the area that had been designated as the smoker’s lounge and made everyone clear out so we could talk.
The room had been swept before any of us got comfortable so we knew that we could speak freely.
Besides, hearing us say something and having proof of it were two entirely different matters.
And anyone who tried to dig up dirt on us would find themselves buried in it before they found any proof.
“Reassign?” Smoke looked confused about why his name was the one in Couba’s mouth and I couldn’t deny I was right there with him.
None of us would put blunts in rotation because we weren’t those type of men.
I trusted my brothers but I didn’t want to have shit that came from their mouths into mine.
Especially since I was sure at least a few of them were out there eating ass.
The scent of weed and tobacco from the Cuban cigars that Alec had passed out before the ceremony filled the air.
The room’s ventilation system would kick in and sweep out the smoke every few minutes so it never built up too much.
“Smoke? Why zhe fuck would we need to reassign Smoke? Hell, I wasn’t even aware he was on assignment.
He just relaxin’ wizh Mir’s ass most days.
” Xerx was laid back with his ankle propped on one knee with a drink in his hand.
Of course, we had nothing here but liquor from Merrick distilleries so I knew the one glass he was allowing himself was premium.
Yacouba shook his head and blew out a cloud before he fixed his gaze back on me. “Do you not see how she be handling you?”
“Yeah.” He looked as though he expected me to say I was scared or some shit but I wasn’t.
“You’re zee one who told us she was a serial killer.
Called me like you were in a panic but now you’re tezered to her permanently and you have no worries?
” Xerxes’ wife was probably the mildest-tempered of all of ours, which wasn’t saying much since he told me that she’d put a bullet in someone a few months ago.
He was saying she wasn’t really like that and it was just pregnancy hormones but I needed this nigga to wake up and understand that he’d unleashed some shit in his sweet little realtor wife.
“I did and I don’t.”
“You’re saying it like it’s cool.”
“It is.”
Yacouba had his hand covering his mouth as he studied me. I wasn’t sure if he was too frustrated to speak or if he was about to swing on me. When he sat back instead of leaning forward I had my answer.
“O, my nigga, I don’t know if you know this or not, but it’s not okay for a woman to threaten your life so easily. Especially when you know she means it.”
“You think Jasmine is joking with you when she says she’s going to end your life?” I stared at him pointedly before glancing at the rest of our people who were happily attached. Their faces again held a mix of damn, he might be right and yeah this nigga ain’t got room to talk and neither did I.
He had the nerve to laugh as if her threats were cute while Asha’s were credible.
“I do not. But I also know that she loves me and she would rethink that shit because of that. She’d think about the loss of me, which would stop her from pulling the trigger.
” He pointed his blunt at me the way an old head would as he schooled a youngin’ and I clearly needed to remind Yacouba he couldn’t big brother me.
Not when it came to wives being in the trenches and okay with pulling triggers.
“Would it stop her from pulling the trigger or would it stop her from putting it in a spot that was fatal?” I sipped from the glass of Prism I’d been nursing, trying to keep myself from getting cross-faded.
Couba’s eyes furrowed before his face broke into a familiar smile. It was the one he wore whenever he thought about Jasmine and never left his face when she was in his presence. “That’s actually a good point. She’d definitely still pull the trigger.”
It was my turn to use my glass to point at his ass. “There you have it.”
“But again, you’ve just proved my point. Jazzy would fall back on the love she feels to make sure that I wasn’t dead. I might be harmed but she's not fucking with being the reason my son is fatherless. You don’t have that with your girl.”
“No, I don’t.” They didn’t need to know I had something better. Love could be fleeting but having Asha be vulnerable to me? For me to see her pain and for her to allow me to handle her the way I had? That was more than enough for me to know her feelings were already involved.
“So again. Do we need to pull this man off of light duty and have him watching your back?”
“Nope. I’m good.” I could tell they were studying me to see if my posture changed or if I was being deceptive. I wanted to laugh at how overprotective they were being but I knew that act would have them thinking I’d lost my mind. So I kept my face blank just to avoid any confusion.
“Is it cause you zhink Vega’s ass is gonna do a better job?” Xerxes sat his drink down, the glass not even halfway gone as he looked between me and Alec.
“Bruh, why you sound like you jealous?” I was laughing because all this was in good fun. They didn’t know Asha the way I did. Her motivations for all things were too altruistic for her to just up and decide she wanted to take me out. She needed a motive to kill and I refused to give her one.
“Xerxes, don’t drag me into the middle of y’all’s brotherly squabble. Ori knows I got him but he ain’t worried about Asha taking him out.”
Alec blew out a ring of smoke from his cigar looking just as relaxed as everyone else.
He’d been around us often enough for business that they had no issue with him being a part of the wedding party.
His family was one of mine’s biggest customers and we moved their product all over the Americas for them.
He also purchased weapons from Xerxes and used both Priest’s and Liam’s services from time to time.
His family was Afro-Cuban so they weren’t part of the massive influx of white Cubans who came in the 80s.
Alec’s family came later to help maintain the veneer of propriety so that the family’s empire could continue.
Hence the reason he ended up in the government with me.
His family needed someone on the inside they could trust and he was chosen for the job.
“Y’all are way too calm right now. Especially for a man who has a wife that does not like ‘im.” Liam was staring at me like he expected me to react differently and I couldn’t understand why. They knew that wasn’t how I moved.
“But she respects me.”
He huffed and finished the rest of his drink. “Great. She still looks like she would kill yoo.”
“Make no mistake about it she would.”
Liam pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as Yacouba just shook his head and took another pull of his blunt. “Yoo ‘ave to give us something to work with, Ori. We canna ‘elp but be concerned.”
“Li, how many bodies does Frankie have right now?” His face spread slowly into a sly grin and I didn’t bother to give him a chance to incriminate his wife. “Exactly. If I were afraid of what my wife was capable of she wouldn’t be here.
“I canna refute anythin’ yoo’re sayin’.”
“So you’re not afraid?” Jahmir had been keeping his opinion mainly to himself but that was just his way. He would sit back and study everything before he decided how he felt about a situation.
“Of Asha? Hell nah.”
“And you don’t want someone to come home with you?”
“I’m a newlywed why the fuck would I want that?
You think I want to add another one of y’all into the mix?
You must really be trying to get her to end my life.
” Jahmir smiled like he knew my desires were fueled more by lust than concern over my safety.
Seeing as he’d gotten blown up at his damn reception and couldn’t consummate his marriage for a minute, I was sure that’s where his mind had drifted.
“So consummation is going to happen?”
“Are you worrying behind my dick, Yacouba?”
He ashed his blunt and leaned back like he no longer gave a fuck. “Yo, when she ends this muthafucka I’m giving the eulogy at his funeral. And it’s just going to say, ‘we tried to warn this nigga but he got what he deserved’. And I’mma be a character witness at her trial.”
“Trial? You’d let it go that far?” I was just messing with him now because this entire conversation had been funny to me.
“I mean we couldn’t take her life cause that ain’t what we do. But we wouldn’t be letting shorty get away with killing our brother. Even if your punk ass drove her to it.”
“Asha is good. I promise.”
Xerxes’ eyes narrowed and he leaned forward as though something had just dawned on him. “Is zis.. Is zis how y’all flirt? This… combativeness is how you two get along?”
I scratched at my cheek ‘cause I hadn’t thought of it that way. Asha gave as good as she got and never backed down. And despite how much shit she talked, she never directly told me to move around. So…
“Uh… maybe?”
Half the men in the room threw their hands up and a few looked ready to throw something at me. Even Smoke’s ass had the nerve to have his face frowned up like he’d been invested in making sure I was good and was now pissed at the revelation.
“Bruh! This is a gotdamn mating ritual we're trying to get in between. The wooing of a nutcase by an asshole.” Couba was shaking his head and only Bhaltair and Angel were laughing.
“You calling my wife a nutcase?”
Yacouba glanced around the room mouthing, “Is this nigga serious,” before he turned to face me. “Yes! My nigga, keep up. Can you prove to me that she’s not?”
“Nah. She could beat just about any sanity test that you put in front of her.”