Chapter 22
“Domino”
Ipushed my chair back and excused myself, muttering something about needing a minute .
Nobody questioned it… not when I carried myself the way I did.
Truth was, I was going after Ajori.
I stepped out into the hallway, following the direction she’d taken, my pace unhurried but intentional. The faint echo of her footsteps had already faded, but I didn’t need noise to track her.
I found Ajori on the balcony, standing near the edge, arms folded, staring out into the evening sky like she was trying to breathe through everything that just hit her at once.
I leaned against the doorway. “You always leave dinner this early?” I teased.
Ajori turned, startled for half a second before she caught herself. “Guess I’m not hungry,” she muttered.
“Shame,” I said, I pushing off the door and stepping closer. “Food in there’s worth staying for.”
She let out a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah, well… my appetite’s shot.”
I stopped a few feet from her; close enough to feel her presence, not close enough to crowd it.
We stood there in silence for a moment before she tilted her head slightly, studying me.
“So you’re the guy with the intimidating voice on the call.”
My brow furrowed. “What call?”
“I was around Marcos one day when you called. Deep voice… talkin’ ‘bout someone being late on their drop. You sounded like you were ready to bury them in the desert.”
One corner of my mouth lifted. “And that makes me the scary, intimidating man?”
She folded her arms. “If the bullet fits.”
A low chuckle left my chest. “I remember that call,” I acknowledged. “And yeah… that was me. But I’m only like that when I have to be.”
Her eyes drifted away from mine, settling on the pool below where the water moved in slow, quiet ripples.
“Seems like everyone around here has to be.”
“Your father’s a good man, Ajori.”
Ajori looked back at me immediately, skepticism written all over her face.
“He probably made some bad choices,” I added. “Hell, we all have. But he’s always been solid where it counts.”
She gave me a look that said she wasn’t buying any of it. “You expect me to believe that after hearing what I just did?”
“I expect you to talk to him,” I countered, tone firm but even.
Ajori scoffed softly. “You expect? Or is that coming from him being your boss?”
I exhaled through my nose, shaking my head once. “Aight… that came out wrong.”
I took a step closer, voice lower now, and less forceful.
”Look, don’t confuse what I’m saying with orders. I’m just telling you not to shut something down you don’t fully understand,” I made clearer. “You got questions, he got answers. I just think you both deserve that conversation. Whatever you think you know, it’s probably not the full story.”
Her lips pressed together, tension building again. “Why do you care?”
That question sat between us for a second.
I kept my eyes on those hazel eyes of hers that had no business being that damn distracting at a time like that, studying them longer than I should’ve.
I let the silence stretch, not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I wasn’t ready to look away.
“Let’s just say…” I began slowly, “I don’t like seeing two people who clearly belong in each other’s lives standing on opposite sides of a locked door.”
Ajori studied me for a moment, then she let out a quiet breath. “Sometimes the door isn’t locked; it’s been shut for so long you learn how to live without what’s on the other side.”
Damn.
Ajori didn’t wait for a response. She turned and walked past me, her scent lingering just long enough to be distracting.
And just like that, she was gone.