Chapter 18
“Domino”
“Fuck you, Marcos, fuck that Dom nigga, and fuck this job!”
Ajori's voice sliced through the stillness, raw with emotion. My jaw tensed at her outburst, the frustration in her words barely contained.
The real gut punch came next, catching me off guard:
“Or hell… kill me! But wait until I give my brother his heart first!”
That shit punched me in a place I didn’t like admitting existed, simply because I put her in a position to see the truth.
I shut my eyes, absorbing the weight of her desperation.
Damn.
Ajori loved her brother so much that she’d rather die than fail him.
Most people boasted about their willingness to die for someone, but very few could actually claim that kind of devotion... but she could.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my thumb along my jawline.
The favor I’d asked the client for was simple: grill Ajori, intimidate her just enough to offer her a reason to quit.
I wanted her to walk away from this life—a life I believed she deserved better than.
She had finally earned enough money for her brother’s surgery.
And once Alejandro put me over the mules, I had the authority to free whoever I deemed necessary, as long as I replaced them.
Just then, my phone rang. I didn’t even need to check the caller.
“Yeah, Marcos?” I answered, ready for the conversation.
He exhaled heavily on the other end, his tone low. “You heard that?”
“Yeah… and I saw everything too. Even if I hadn’t heard a word, her body language told the entire story.
“So you gon’ let her go?”
“Yeah,” I replied, my decision firm. “But before you say anything to her, I want to run it by Alejandro first. It's still too soon after her start date. I don't want him thinking I can’t manage my position well.”
Marcos hummed in agreement. “Makes sense.”
“And it’s not about me being soft,” I cleared up, my voice sharp and clear. “It’s about placing people where they belong… and she doesn’t belong in this hellhole. She did her job, she earned her money, and she survived. That's enough for me.”
After our call ended, I stood up and made my way down the hall to find Alejandro. It was time to explain why I had to let go of one of our best mules, and how that was not a failure on my part.
Although I had made the decision long before she even knew I existed.
I knocked once on Alejandro’s office door and walked in without waiting for an invitation. Alejandro was seated behind his desk, elbows resting on a pile of paperwork, glasses low on his nose. He looked up immediately as I entered, curiosity flickering across his face.
“It’s done,” I announced. “The girl completed the run.”
Alejandro leaned back in his seat slowly, satisfaction spreading across his face. “Well, I’ll be damned. She actually pulled it off.”
A chuckle escaped him, but the humor faded as quickly as it arrived. “And she delivered all that to him too,” he added, his tone laced with unmistakable disgust.
“Yup.” I nodded.
“That bastard and I go way back. We were in business together long before you joined the scene.”
Alejandro shook his head, remembering something he clearly wished he didn’t.
“We didn’t part ways because of any disloyalty. If it were that simple, I would’ve buried his ass, not worked with him again. No, we split because he’s hard-headed, reckless, and impossible to negotiate with. He always wanted things his way, even when it was obviously not the smartest choice.”
He let out a humorless laugh as he continued. “I’ll give him this… he’s clean, efficient, and never late with a payment or short on a shipment. That’s the only reason I tolerate him and decided to go into business with him again.”
I nodded, taking it all in, then shifted gears. “I want to discuss the mule I hired for that run.”
But Alejandro raised a hand, cutting me off. “Hold that thought… because so do I.”
He straightened forward, eyes sharpening with interest.
“I want to meet this superstar who has transported millions of dollars’ worth of product in a few damn weeks with zero slip-ups.
You and I both know that’s nearly unheard of.
Usually, we’re busy cleaning up a disaster by week one.
But this girl?” He smiled, a hint of admiration creeping into his expression.
“She’s moving like a pro. And you know what’s more astonishing?
I don’t even know who the hell she is. What’s her name? How does she look?”
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, located Ajori’s photo from my gallery, and flipped the screen toward him.
“This her,” I pointed out.
Alejandro leaned in to inspect the image, and I immediately noticed his entire demeanor had shifted. The color drained from his face, his breathing became rapid and shallow, and his jaw locked so tightly that I could hear the grinding of his teeth.
I frowned. “You good?”
He didn’t answer. His voice came out strangled, quiet, like he had to force each word out between his teeth.
“What’s this girl’s name?”
“Ajori,” I answered slowly, sensing something was off.
His eyes darkened with a newfound intensity, and not the typical cartel darkness but something much more personal.
“And she’s the one who’s been doing these runs? She’s the mule?”
I blinked, thrown off by the tone. “Yeah. Why? What’s wrong? You know her or something?”
Alejandro didn’t respond. Instead, he pushed back from his desk and ripped off his jacket mid-step. Before I could process what was happening, he grabbed the front of my shirt, yanked me up, and slammed me against the wall with such force that the frame behind me rattled.
“Motherfucker! That’s my daughter!” he spat, as he shook me, catching me entirely off guard.
Daughter? The fuck?
“You’ve been having my daughter risk her life hauling drugs across the state and being surrounded by men who would kill her without a second thought! Tell me you didn’t know this shit, Domino! Tell me!” he roared.
I stared at him, dumbfounded, mind racing. “Your… your daughter?! I didn’t even know you had a daughter, Alejandro!”
He shoved me harder, anger radiating from him. “That’s because I don’t speak on my family!” he snarled, spit flying with each syllable. “But that’s beside the point! You—You didn’t do a damn background check?!”
It clicked.
Fuck… Ajori’s father missing details.
On some real shit, I thought she had a deadbeat… a runaway… hell, a ghost as a father. I damn sure didn’t think Alejandro Reyes, the man who whose name carried weight across borders, and not just streets, was related to her.
“Answer me!” he barked, shoving me again, his voice a potent mix of fury and fear.
“Me and Marcos did look into her!” I shot back, breathing hard.
“But she kept the father section blank. I figured she had a bum-ass daddy. I didn’t think the nigga was you!
And no one forced her!” I snapped, pushing his wrists away from my body.
“Even if I had known the truth, she probably still would’ve chosen to go through with it!
She did it for her brother! He needs a heart, and from the way she talks, it sounds like he doesn’t have much time left. "
Alejandro staggered back like I shot him, then braced a hand on the desk, chest rising and falling fast.
“This… this is all my fault,” he muttered. “All of it.”
I frowned, genuinely confused now. “What the hell is going on, Alejandro? I feel like I’m missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.”
He dragged both hands down his face in frustration, pacing back and forth like a caged animal, before finally collapsing into his chair with a heavy exhale that echoed his defeat.
“Domino…” His voice cracked, just barely. “I apologize for roughing you up. That revelation just…” He shook his head, struggling to find the right words. “It was unexpected.”
I took a moment to adjust my posture, still tense but now holding a fragile understanding of his violent reaction.
“But a daughter? Her?” I questioned.
Alejandro released a long, exhausted sigh, the sound filled with years of regret. “Look, I know you want answers, but it’s a long story… one I owe you. But I can’t give you the full story until I talk to her first.”
When he finally glanced up, his eyes were clouded by something I’d never seen in him before—shame.
“Ajori deserves to hear it from me… not from you, not from Marcos, not from anyone.”
I nodded.
He cleared his throat. “So what was it you wanted to tell me about her?”
I sat down across from him. “She wants out. She cursed Marcos out, cursed me out, hell, cursed the whole damn organization out. She’s done. I’m willing to let her go, and now that you know she’s your daughter, I’m pretty sure you’ll back that decision.”
Without pausing to consider it, his response came swift and firm.
“Without a doubt. Today was her official last day. Effective immediately.” He jabbed a finger at the desk, his voice rising, filled with a fierce conviction.
“No daughter of mine will be out there dodging federales, getting guns shoved in her face, risking her life to deliver product I wouldn’t even let half my men touch.
” He shook his head vigorously. “I don’t care who you have to get to replace her.
Hell, I’ll do the routes myself if necessary! ”
His fist slammed against the desk.
“But my daughter will not be in that line of fire another damn day!”
He stood up again; that time not pacing but standing with a newfound determination.
“That being said…” His voice lowered, thick with emotion. “I want to see her… I need to see her. Get her here… soon. I’m done watching my daughter from a distance.”
He swallowed hard, his fingers nervously fixing his suit jacket, the tremor in his hands betraying the calm facade he tried to maintain.
“She can’t spend another year thinking she doesn’t have a father.”
Of all the shit I expected today? That was not on the list. Today didn’t just take a turn; it spun the whole damn block, crashed the car, and set the street on fire with a reckless truth that would change everything.