Chapter 14
“Domino”
That Spanish? Yeah… I wasn’t expecting that.
I’d been around Alejandro long enough to know the language like the back of my hand, but hearing Ajori say those words—clean, confident, and livid—hit different.
I was proud of her, but I hated what she was doing.
She wasn’t supposed to be touched by this world.
Not in my head… not with that face… and not with a brother depending on her every breath.
And then there was Dino.
The second I heard what he said to her, I damn near slammed my fist into the desk.
If I’m being honest, though… I didn’t know if I was more pissed at the fact that he told her she was a mule or that he flirted with her.
Flirting with a mule was prohibited in our organization, but flirting with that mule was suicidal.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw, fighting the urge to break something.
He’d get handled, but not until Alejandro got back.
I couldn’t leave the Mexico right at that exact moment.
Since Alejandro left me in charge while he was gone, that meant my ass had to stay planted there until further notice.
And even as underboss, I needed clearance before touching Dino since he was tied to one of Alejandro’s supply lines, and that came with politics, but the second I got the green light, I was gone.
***
Alejandro walked into the office, fresh off his trip, sunglasses still on. When he removed them, the first thing I noticed was that he looked a little paler around the edges.
Not enough for anyone else to catch, but I knew him too well.
“Welcome back,” I greeted him, closing out a file. “Trip go alright?”
He sank into the chair across from me with a long, weary exhale that seemed to release all the tension he had been carrying.
“Exhausting… informative… but peaceful, too, in a strange, ‘I-finally-got-to-breathe way’.”
Alejandro offered a small smirk; one that hinted at the mixed emotions he had experienced.
“I didn’t realize how overwhelmingly loud this operation is until I stepped away from it. My phone didn’t buzz every ten minutes; my name wasn’t being shouted across three different states. It was peaceful as hell… until the jet lag kicked my ass.”
I huffed a laugh. “Good to know you didn’t die.”
“You can’t get rid of me that fast,” he winked. “But enough about me. What’d I miss?”
I leaned back in my chair, organizing my thoughts. “I need to handle Dino.”
Alejandro raised an eyebrow and leaned back. “Dino? Why?”
“He crossed a line. He got too flirty with the new mule… talking slick… asking questions he shouldn’t have been comfortable asking.”
A twitch appeared at the corner of Alejandro's mouth before he let out a quiet chuckle. “Sounds a little personal, hermano.”
“It’s not personal,” I shut that shit down fast, lying. “It’s structure. If niggas think they can blur lines with people tied to us, it gets messy fast. Boundaries slip… information leaks… and discipline weakens. And when discipline goes, operations fall apart. I’m not letting that happen.”
Alejandro studied me, like he saw more than I said, but nodded. “You’re right. Give him a warning he’ll remember.”
He pointed an authoritative finger at me.
“But don’t kill him. Last thing we need is heat on that pipeline.”
“I know. But I wasn’t planning to.”
Alejandro stretched his legs out. “Now… this new girl. I meant to ask… how did she do on her first run?”
Pride rose in my chest before I could stop it. “She exceeded expectations,” I replied too quickly… and too proudly.
I cleared my throat, forcing my tone back to a more professional level.
“She’s been on three more since then—no mistakes, no panic. She’s picking up the rhythm faster than anyone we’ve had in years.”
Alejandro tugged at the tiny hairs on his chin, seemingly impressed. “Good. We need reliable people right now. Anything else I need to know about?”
“There was a small situation in Spartanburg,” I told him. “One of the distributors thought he could skim off the top and blame it on transport delays. I handled it, though. He won’t make that mistake again.”
Alejandro chuckled lightly. “Of course you did.”
He stood up, stretched, and brushed off his pants.
“Handle Dino before the week is out. I’ll be around if you need me."
I nodded.
As soon as he walked out, I pulled out my phone and booked a seat on our jet to pay Dino a visit. He was about to learn the difference between a warning and me.
***
Dino’s stash spot smelled like smoke, sweat, and bullshit.
He grinned when he saw me walk in. “Domino? Shit, man. What you doing out here?”
I looked around the room, counting bodies and guns.
“Clear the room,” I ordered.
Every head snapped toward me.
Dino’s smile drained right along with his people. “Say what now?”
“I said… everybody out.”
Dino scoffed, throwing out his chest. “Hell nah!” he barked. “This my spot. Ain’t none of my men gotta go nowhere. You want privacy? You ask nicer, nigga.”
He stepped closer, chin high.
“And don’t walk up in here on some authoritative shit,” he added, jabbing a thumb toward the floor.
“You run shit in Mexico, not here, nigga. This my city… my building… my people. Ain’t nobody clearing out ‘cause you snapped yo’ fingers.
And last I checked, we ain’t in no debt to y’all.
So, unless you came here to drop off more product or renegotiate numbers, I don’t know why the fuck you even here. ”
Dino stood there puffed up, talking reckless, acting like his name had the same weight as mine. That nigga had no clue that he’d just signed up for a dental realignment without insurance, a nasal reconstruction, a black eye package, and a week of breathing through his mouth… courtesy of me.
No deductible… no co-pay… just pain.
I laughed, quietly and dangerously. “That’s cute… real cute. You done, though?”
Dino opened his mouth to keep running it, but I didn’t give him the chance.
I snapped my fingers, not loud, just sharp.
On cue, my men poured in through the side door, dead silent, carrying high-grade weapons with suppressors and laser sights; equipment Dino’s whole crew couldn’t afford even if they pooled their tax returns.
Dino’s eyes jumped from one rifle to the next, then back to me. That was the exact second he realized his mouth had written a check his face was about to cash.
I tilted my head, wearing a slight smirk. “Still your spot?”
Dino flicked his nose in frustration and embarrassment, then gave his boys a tight nod. They dipped fast, like they were grateful for the excuse.
I gave my men the same gesture.
Now it was just us.
The room felt smaller with only two heartbeats in it.
I shut the door, slid the bolt, and started shrugging off my coat.
Dino tried to soften immediately, hands half-raised as if we were negotiating instead of disciplining.
“Domino, man… look,” he started, voice shaky. “I ain’t mean no—”
I held up a hand, silencing him as I slid my coat over a chair, rolled up my sleeves, and pulled the brass knuckles from my pocket.
“Man… hold up! Dom—Domino… what’s this about?”
“It’s about you swerving into lanes you don’t belong in.”
I stepped close… very close.
“You talk a lot for somebody with a nose that fragile. Lucky for you, I’m about to reinforce it.”
I watched the bravado leave and fear crawl into his eyes.
“Don’t worry,” I added, leaning in just enough for him to smell the danger. “The first visit is free.”
My fist connected with his nose in one clean, vicious, and merciless hit.
CRACK.
Dino’s whole face snapped back, a spray of blood hitting the table behind him. He screamed—high, sharp, and ugly—and dropped to one knee, hands cupping his face like he was trying to hold it together. Blood poured through his fingers.
“The fuck, Domino!”
I walked toward him slowly, then wiped my knuckles on his shirt like it was a napkin.
“That,” I said calmly, “was for the disrespect.”
He whimpered something that might’ve been “sorry,” but honestly? Who cared.
“You knew better than to talk slick to me. But you wanna know why I’m really here?”
I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him upright just enough so he could see my face clearly.
“You opened your mouth to a girl who wasn’t supposed to hear certain things yet! You told Ajori she was a mule! Not to mention, you flirted when you should’ve shut the fuck up. That alone earns you this ass-whooping!”
Dino's eyes widened right before I hit him again, not the nose that time, but right under his eye.
Another clean shot… another crack… another scream.
He collapsed forward, coughing, shaking, nose crooked, and eye already ballooning.
“Damn,” I taunted, hands on my hips. “Two hits and you look like you lost a title fight… didn’t even make it out the first round.”
He whined through bloody teeth. “Domino, please—”
“No, no, no… don’t go soft now. You was real loud five minutes ago. Talking about this, your spot, your building, your people. Where all that energy at now?”
Dino wiped some blood from his mouth, shaking. “I—I didn’t know she didn’t know! Marcos ain’t tell me shit! I swear, Domino, if I knew, I would’ve never said shit! You know I don’t move reckless like that!”
I stared at him, jaw tight.
On some real shit, I wasn’t even beating his ass for that. Nah, I was beating his ass because he looked at Ajori like she was some cute lil’ runner he could bag.
I shoved him back. “But what pissed me off the most? You flirting.”
His eyes went wide. “What? I wasn’t—”
I grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to mine. “You did! But a little FYI… you don’t flirt with any of my girls… especially her.”
Confusion flickered across Dino’s bloody face, but he knew better than to question me.
I didn’t explain it, didn’t need to, and damn sure wouldn’t.
“Ajori’s off-limits… a hundred miles off-limits. You don’t speak to her unless she speaks first. You don’t look at her too long. Nigga, don’t even breathe in her direction unless it’s necessary.”
I leaned in, letting my shadow swallow his.
“And let’s get something straight. My mules and the people we supply? They don’t mix… ever. That shit breeds jealousy, sloppy ties, and split loyalty,” I explained to him in the same way I did to Alejandro.
I tapped his forehead.
“If you fuck around with a mule, and something happens to her,” I tapped my own chest, “it lands on me. And if one of my mules starts thinking her protection comes from some street clown instead of from me, that breaks the chain. And when chains break in my world, people start disappearing. Understand?”
I tightened my grip.
“No more warnings, Dino. Next time, we’re done… completely. No more product… no more supply… no more business.”
I didn’t even need to threaten him physically after that. See, Dino needed us. Without our product, he’d crumble in a month… if that. So cutting him off would kill his operation faster than any bullet could. So yeah, I knew he’d abide by my new rules.
“Aight, Domino. I hear you!”
I punched him again, but that time, in his mouth.
I crouched down in front of him, brass knuckles still on. “You open your mouth where it doesn’t belong, and I break what you use to open it. Simple math.”
Dino looked up from the floor, glaring at me with the kind of expression a man makes right before swinging on somebody he knows he can’t beat.
I stood, dusted off my knuckles, and reset my sleeves.
“Good talk,” I said, stepping over him. “Clean yourself up. And put some ice on your face… or your ego… whichever one hurts more.”
I reached the door, grabbed the knob, then paused. “And Dino? If I have to come back out here concerning Ajori, I’ll break more than your face.”
He growled under his breath, and I could hear it.
Good… that meant the lesson landed.
I didn’t wait for another response. I walked out, letting the door swing shut behind me.
Once outside, the adrenaline started settling, and the truth crept in.
I’d just defended a girl who didn’t even know I was defending her.
A girl who wasn’t mine… yet.
A girl who had no idea she was changing the way I moved.
I scoffed at myself.
Yeah… she definitely had to end up being my girl… or at least give me some pussy one damn time, because clearly I was already acting territorial over her ass.