The Meeting
JO?O
J ardel refused to move the gathering to my home. He had the biggest backyard, so we pulled out more chairs when Moses and Pedro arrived. My message to LaSalle had been succinct. I sent him the address and asked him to meet me about the Club.
This ended tonight.
Gisele sat still next to me as I stood with my hand on her shoulder, her face serene as we all awaited in strained silence.
Joaquim attempted to crack a few jokes but the vibe had changed.
Knox paced in one corner of the backyard, unwilling to leave, wanting to offer support to ensure his woman would not be accosted again.
“Are you good?”
“Yes, of course. Listen, there are things about my Dad that I don’t talk about, but…well…”
The air grew still as the sliding door whooshed open and Jardel escorted Leon LaSalle and that same man that accompanied him everywhere he went.
LaSalle’s presence loomed over everyone, a quiet menace that seeped into the air.
His easy smile made you doubt your instincts, maybe doubt that he was as dangerous as he first appeared, but that was how he got people to lower their guard.
His bodyguard surveyed the space, realizing there were more of us than them, his face impassive.
Sal stared at the two men before she zeroed in on the man next to LaSalle, then back to me with a confused frown. Whatever was on her mind was not as important as she shook her head when our gazes met.
Now the leap of faith.
“LaSalle, I asked you here tonight to talk. These people here all have vested interest in my club, so they have asked to be present in this conversation.”
Gisele sat still, waiting for my sign.
“I see. Well, I don’t mind the audience, especially if they are to become my club members in the future.
” LaSalle grabbed a chair and sat in the middle of the backyard, acting as the king of this domain.
All tactics to unnerve. If I wasn’t Pai’s son, it might have bothered me, but LaSalle, although dangerous and wily, had nothing on the hate that had lived in Pai’s heart.
LaSalle seemed like a man with a code, and that I could work with.
Trusting my heart and my woman, I sat on the chair next to her, and we all settled with the exception of the bodyguard. His face flashed in the back of my mind, tickling something long forgotten…
“Leon, why are you troubling my man?”
Leon?
Attuned to her, I fed off of her calm, my surprise at her words settling into mild curiosity.
I trusted her.
“Shit, I hadn’t realized it was you, Gis! What you doin’ here, sis?”
“Sis?!” Sal exclaimed, and Devon whispered something in her ear, enough to calm her down.
For now.
Everyone’s gaze zeroed in on my face while I stared at my woman, who serenely stood up, the true queen of the Dark Tower. The future Queen of the Club. The Queen of my heart.
“Daddy wouldn’t like to know that you were trying to press my man and his business. Now I might not have always gotten involved with business, but if there’s something Daddy taught me, it’s that bloodlines were not crossed.”
“Very true, and you know that if you ever did want to get involved in the business, I would give you what is rightfully yours.”
“I know, but I don’t want that. I like my life; crime doesn’t suit me.
But that don’t mean I won’t leverage my power as the daughter of your mentor.
Leon, you’d have nothing if it wasn’t for Daddy.
He raised us as siblings, so this is me asking you kindly to step aside and stop trying to get my man’s club.
He has other ways to stop you, but I’m a civil woman and I think this gentle approach will be the best for you. Do you understand?”
Gisele’s words filtered through the backyard, deceptively gentle, but they carried weight—a warning.Chairs creaked as backs straightened, eyes flicking toward her, then away. She smiled easily, but something darker shimmered just beneath. A bright soul, Gisele had her shadows.
Her father.
“Your Dad is Isaac Washington. He had all of this territory and more before it got split in the early 2000s when he passed. He left most of his territory to Leon here. The fuck? How are you dating the Isaac Washington’s daughter and not know it?” Sal asked, a little hysteria escaping her.
“See, and y’all were worried she was too churchy for Jo?o. All along she a criminal like half of the famil— Shit, Nevaeh, that hurt!” Jonathon gestured around as Nevaeh popped him on the head.
“We were not worried she was too churchy, we were worried that Jo?o would corrupt her,” Sal deadpanned, and I could feel the threads of this conversation unraveling. Leon and Gisele’s gazes were locked in until Leon released her from his hold, nodding once.
“Okay, little sis, for old times’ sake, I’ll declare this neutral territory as it was before y’all’s father passed. Do y’all know that your father made sure none of us messed with the club?”
Leon stood up, brushing imaginary dust from his shirt.
He moved around, facing each of us as if he was telling us a story.
“He had us all on notice, and we didn’t need the crooked DEA in our shit, so we complied.
And now y’all have another angel and protector—my lil sis.
” Leon pointed at Gisele and threw his head back in laughter.
His amusement settled into a head shake and he paced toward me.
“Isaac raised me when no one cared for me, and I owe him my life. So Gisele here…she’s always safe with me. And anyone that’s with her is also safe. But if you fuck around and hurt her, you’ll have hell to pay, Santos.”
Rising to my feet, I never dropped my gaze. Whatever danger Leon LaSalle could bring would never match the pain I would put myself through if I ever hurt Gisele. Because I was Pai’s son and I had tendencies to be aware of, but never would I allow my emotions to get the best of me.
“You better do it, and make sure you kill me because if I hurt her, I deserve to be dead. But I won’t do that. She is safe with me.” I pressed my open palm to my chest, locking eyes with Gisele.
Her eyes crinkled in the corners.
“This means you please me, boa menina. Thank you.”
“Thank you for trusting me, Master.”
“Jabari, go get the car. Our business here is done.”
“But sir, I shouldn’t leave you on your own,” the bodyguard’s deep voice rumbled, and again, Sal stared at me.
“Nah, same as I protect my lil sis, she got my back. Right?” LaSalle asked Gisele.
“As long as you don’t mess with my Master.” Gisele’s sweet grin made my skin burn and my dick brick up.
“Your hour is up, Paraiso. I love you,” I whispered in her ear as LaSalle departed Jardel’s house. I pressed my hand to the middle of my chest. “And this is how I tell you I love you via our special signs.”
“Oh…Master. Eu te amo.”
And my peace and I went home.