Chapter 16
I was in the first truck with Mars and Namier and four shooters. Seven shooters in the second truck. Seven more in the third.
"Go," I said.
The first truck cut them off. Before the other side could react, we were out and moving.
Mars put two shots through the driver's window. The SUV went dead. Namier rushed the passenger side. He let off two more shots. The door swung open and the body dropped.
Second SUV tried to reverse. Didn't matter because it was already too damn late. Our second truck was already blocking the exit.
Five men jumped out shooting. We returned fire without hesitation. Four of them went down in the street. The fifth one made it ten feet before a bullet caught him in the back.
"Get the work NOW & load up," I yelled.
Our crew pulled the crates out the warehouse in under two minutes. No hesitation. No wasted movement.
"Load it, and let’s roll out," Mars said.
We were back in the trucks and moving before the first police sirens hit the distance.
Clean. Simple. No complications.
By 3:45 pm, we were at the safe house.
All of our men walked out, but every one of Brick Boyz soldiers stayed in that warehouse parking lot. Gone. A memory.
This shit damn near ain’t feel real. It was too easy. Muthafuckas thought they was sending a message and just ain’t know who the fuck I was for real.
—
The adrenaline was still pumping as we pulled away from the warehouse.
My hands were steady on the wheel but my mind was racing. Six bodies. Clean exit. And I had a clear message sent.
Namier was in the passenger seat checking his gun. After a minute, he looked over at me.
"What's on your mind? It’s more than what just went down.” he asked.
I didn't answer right away. Just kept driving.
"For real though," Namier said. "You been quiet since we got in the truck."
I let out a breath.
"If I'm being real," I said, "I've been getting real close to Tattiana. And this whole arrangement... it don't feel right no more."
"What you mean?" he asked.
"I mean when I think about what it really is, I ain’t never had to force a bitch to do shit,” I said.
"And I'm forcing her. That ain't sitting right with me.
I think about how I'd feel if somebody was making decisions for me. If I was forced to be with a muthafucka and I wasn’t the one benefiting from the shit. That shit would be hell."
Namier was quiet for a second.
"So what you gonna do?" he asked.
"I know this might sound crazy," I said, "but I want to buy her a ring and ask her to marry me. Give her the option. Let her decide if she really wants to do this or not. Then go from there."
Namier looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"So you gonna let her leave if she says no?" he asked.
"Hell nah, nigga.” I said. "But from then on, I'll know how to treat her. I won't be getting close to her on no personal level once I find out that this shit ain't what she wants."
Namier laughed.
"Man, you really catching feelings," he said. “You might as well do the shit tonight," he continued. "Let's stop and get a ring after we unload all this work."
He was joking. I could tell. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.
"That's actually a good idea, lil brudda.” I said.
"Wait, for real?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "For real."
“Man, I’ve seen and heard it all. I thought it was a lie when I heard you beat a nigga damn near to death behind her, but I see that shit was real.
Man, don’t let the parents get wind of that shit either while you falling in love, being reckless and shit.
” he spat, making me remember that I still needed to get that shit cleared up and out the media.
---
After we unloaded everything at the safe house, we headed downtown to the jeweler.
The owner knew me. So he allowed me to peep at some exclusive shit that he hadn’t put on the floor yet. Thirty minutes later, I was walking out with a custom, platinum, teardrop diamond ring. Three carats. Simple. Elegant.
While Namier was handling some last-minute business on his phone, I called my chef.
"I need dinner ready by 8pm," I said. "Something nice, lamb chops or some shit."
"Understood," she said.
I told Mars to have one of the guards tell Tattiana to be ready by 8pm for dinner. No details. Just that she needed to be ready and dressed.
When I got back in the truck with Namier, he was already smiling.
"So you really doing this?" he asked.
"Helll Yeah," I said.
"What you gonna say to her?" he asked.
"I don't know yet. Hopefully the shit will just come to me.” I said.
"Just keep it real with her," Namier said. "If it's meant to be, it will be. And it's not like you're gonna let her go anyway, so just do what you're gonna do."
He was right. Her ass wasn’t going nowhere regardless. I’d never put myself out there for a woman to reject me, so I was hoping that everything went right. If not, I did not know how I would react.
---
When we pulled up to the compound, Namier stopped before he got out.
"Aye," he said. "I want to get to know Nyla. Get her number for me."
I looked at him and frowned up.
"Namier, don't play games with that girl," I said. "I don't need whatever you do with her to mess up my situation with Tattiana."
"It ain't nothing to worry about," he said. "I don't plan on being on no bullshit with her. I'm serious."
I nodded. "I'll text you her number later."
"Appreciate it," he said.
I went inside and went straight to my room.
The ring was in my pocket. The dinner was being prepared. By 8pm, she'd know. And then I’d know how to move with her.
—
I knocked on her door at 7:50pm.
She opened it already dressed. Brown dress that fit her curves like it was made just for her. Her hair was down and curled. She smelled like something floral but expensive as hell. She was smelling almost as good as she looked.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Ready for what?" she asked, but she was already taking my hand.
I didn't answer. Just led her down the hallway toward the dining area.
"Damn, you look good," I said as we walked. "Smell good too."
I knew that I needed to work on complimenting her out loud and not just in my head. Women liked that shit. They wanted reassurance sometime.
She smiled but didn't say anything.
When we got to the dining room, I was about to sit down, but then I stopped. I walked over and pulled her chair out for her.
She looked at me like I'd just done something crazy.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said, sitting down. "That was just... nice."
This wasn't me. Pulling out chairs. Being thoughtful like that. But I was teaching myself to do it. Training myself. Because she deserved that shit. After getting to know her, I felt like she deserved nothing but good shit. She’s had some fucked up people in her life and ain’t even know it.
The chef brought out the first course. We started eating and I asked her about her day even though this shit felt weird.
She told me about the spa. The massages. The facials. Then she held up her hand to show me her nails.
Her nails were done perfect. Long and shaped right. A baby pink color with a white tip that looked good on her skin.
"Real nice," I said.
"You can see my feet later," she said casually.
My whole body went tight.
I immediately imagined her folded up like a pretzel, her feet in the air, those nails visible while I was deep inside her. The image hit me so hard I had to shake my head and look away.
"You good?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said. "I'm good."
We finished eating and the chef brought out dessert. Chocolate cake with fresh berries.
I reached over and grabbed her hand before she could touch her plate.
"I don't know what the fuck I'm doing," I said, and I meant it. "But I gotta do this."
She looked at me confused.
"There's something about you I'm not used to feeling," I continued. "I'm not a lovey-dovey ass nigga. Never have been. But when I'm around you, I almost want to be."
She didn't move. Just listened.
"These past couple days, I couldn't even imagine going to sleep without you being next to me," I said. "And that's never happened in my twenty-eight years of living. Not once."
I paused, making sure she was really hearing this.
"I don't want to take away your choice," I said. "If we're gonna do this, if we're gonna get married, I want it to be an equal agreement. Yeah, I need you right now. And I want you to say yes. But the choice is ultimately yours."
Her eyes were locked on mine.
"I can promise you a life full of everything you've ever wanted," I said.
"I'll be the provider and the protector.
I'm really gonna try to stick to our marriage.
And I will even try not to step outside of it.
But eventually, if we're gonna make this work, it's gotta be more than an arrangement.
Because I'm a man with needs. But if me having hoes is gonna bother you, then I won't do it. "
I stood up and got down on one knee in front of her.
"Do this because you want to do it," I said. "Not because you're being forced to. Will you marry me and give me a chance to try to be what you need me to be?"
For a minute, she didn't say anything. Just sat there looking at me. Looking at the ring in my hand.
My heart was pounding. I thought she was about to say no, and I was gone have to crash out in this muthafucka. She was too damn quiet for too long.
Then she spoke.
"I don't know why," she said slowly, "but I'm going to give you a chance. I'm not one of those people that should be played with. If we're going to do this, we're doing it right and I expect you to stand on everything you've told me. Yes. I'll marry you."
I slid the ring on her finger. It fit perfect.
"Damn," I said, looking at her hand. "Should we kiss or some?"
She laughed hard, and leaned down and kissed me.
The second her lips touched mine, my dick got hard. Immediately. Like her touch was all it took.
I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She tasted like chocolate and something sweet. I wanted more.
When she pulled back, she was smiling.