Chapter 26 Titan
TWO WEEKS LATER
Paris, France
I stepped off the private jet with my wife in tow.
For a moment, both of us just stood there.
It had been four long months since we’d been in the city.
The last time we were here, tragedy struck.
This time, there was going to be destruction.
Mr. James and Senior already have everything set up for us over here.
Clearance. A house. A warehouse. Everything.
We just had to get to work.
I looked over at Mia. She wore an unreadable expression. Whenever she was in a mood, that was always the case. She became eerily calm, her eyes grew dark, and she was extremely quiet. That was the menace in her rising to the surface. All hell was about to break loose.
“You good, mamas?” I asked.
She simply nodded and slipped her hand into mine.
Behind us, everybody else filed out of the two jets as the fleet of blacked out Escalades pulled up to take us to the house we rented for our time here.
The place was big enough to fit all of us under one roof, which was probably for the best. That house was about to be locked down tighter than Fort Knox.
We piled into the cars while our luggage was being loaded.
From the mirror, I could see them loading the weapons we brought with us.
Nothing but guns, ammo, and some other shit Smoke brought from his warehouse.
Knowing that man, it could be anything. As long as it brought the demise I wanted, I didn’t care what it was.
I was never sure how Senior managed to get away with transporting enough weapons to equip a small army, but he did it every time. The man had pull. I guess government contracts and years of being in this game gave him leverage to move how he needed to, when he needed to.
We pulled off from the private airstrip and headed for the house in the hills. It took a good forty-five minutes to reach our destination. When we got there, a man was waiting out front with a white van.
“Who is that?” I asked, reaching for my gun.
“Relax,” Quaid said. “That’s my guy.”
I relaxed as the car came to a stop. He hopped out first to greet the man and probably ensure nobody shot him. I looked to see my father-in-law walking over to the man as well. Mia sat next to me, her leg bouncing anxiously. I rested my hand on her knee, and it stilled.
“Hey,” I said, turning her face to mine. “We’re good, mamas. I promise.”
She simply nodded.
“Give me a kiss.”
She was quiet as she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. When she tried to pull back, I palmed the back of her head and kissed her deeper. I forgot all about my parents being in the back seat until my father cleared his throat.
“All right, son, damn. Let the girl breathe.”
A smirk spread across Mia’s face as our lips parted. It was the closest thing I’d seen to a smile in days.
I turned to my father. “Did you forget you and Ma ran me out the house a while back because y’all were making out like teenagers? If I’d stayed around any longer, I would have seen all your business and be scarred for life.”
“Shut up, Titan,” Mama said, waving me off.
Pops laughed. “Mind you, we were in our house.”
“That’s my house too. You said I was always welcome home, and I felt very unwelcome at that point.”
“Son, part of being welcomed is knowing when to leave. Your mama and I just gave you a little incentive.”
I shook my head. “Get out would have sufficed.”
They both laughed as we opened the car doors. We filed out and came to a stop in front of the house.
Quaid turned to address the group. “Everybody, this is Nolan. He’s the guy I was telling you all about.”
Everyone spoke or gave him a head nod.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m glad I could be of service.
I’ve already got a home base set up inside.
” He patted the truck. “And we’re mobile.
I’ve been working heavily with Quaid and Ms. Jaeda for the last couple of weeks, and I think I’ve pretty much gotten Mr. DuPont’s schedule down to a science.
He seems to have become pretty routine lately.
He makes the same stops, calls the same numbers.
I’ve accessed his calendar so I can see every meeting and event he has scheduled. ”
“What about Jazmine Franco?” Mia asked. “I need her whereabouts tonight.”
“I can get that for you.”
My father cleared his throat. “Baby, we just got off a long flight. I think you need to rest first.”
“No, Daddy. I tried to help that bitch, and she flipped on me. She’s the first person to go.”
He sighed. “I understand that. But you need to get some rest. That’s not a request, it’s an order.”
She started to say something, but I threw her a look.
“I’ll make sure she takes a nap,” I said.
Mia’s head snapped in my direction.
“We said we were doing this the right way,” I reminded her. “Let’s go take a nap, and we can handle her tonight.”
Her jaw twitched as she stared at me. “Fine.”
She walked past everybody and headed for the front door. I blew a breath, feeling all eyes on me. When I turned my head, I was right.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s your wife,” Deuce said. “Hardheaded as a muthafucka.”
“She’s my hardheaded muthafucka,” I said, walking off toward the house.
I didn’t bother taking a tour of the place. I followed Mia’s scent until I found her in one of the bedrooms. She was standing on the balcony, overlooking the backyard. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
She leaned into me, and I kissed her temple.
“You know your dad is right. You need to rest a little.”
“I know. I’m just anxious. I remember my promise to do this right this time and I’ll keep my word.”
“Good. The last thing we need is to be at odds with anybody.”
She sighed. “I need Bleu. I should have brought her.”
“We can call her.”
We’d decided to leave Bleu with Jaeda. Those kids would have run her crazy if we left her anywhere else. I pulled out my phone and sent Jaeda a FaceTime request. It was late over there, but I was sure she was awake, waiting on Quaid to call.
She answered groggily. “Y’all made it?”
“Just got to the house,” I said.
“Is she okay?”
“I’m fine, sis,” Mia answered. “I just need to see Bleu.”
Jaeda giggled. “Your baby is fine, Mia.”
“Please, Jaeda. I’m feeling anxious and I should have brought her with me.”
“Hold on. Give me a minute to roll this belly over.”
A few seconds went by before the dim light came on. She came back into view as Bleu snuggled into her neck.
“Bleu Bleu, look who’s on the phone.”
Most people wouldn’t believe how alert Bleu was. She was very attentive. When Jaeda moved the phone in her line of sight, her ears perked up.
“Hey, Bleu Baby,” Mia said with a smile.
Bleu’s head turned from side to side.
“How did they get in there?” Jaeda asked her in a baby voice. “Say I miss you.”
“We miss you too, baby,” Mia said, sniffling. “I could really use some of her love right now.”
Jaeda stuck her head in the camera. “Awww, sissy. Everything’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna handle business and come back to your girl. I mean, I might let her leave. She gives good cuddles.”
Mia chuckled. “She does.”
“You call her feet in my face good cuddles?” I asked.
On the rare occasion she slept with us, Bleu damn near shoved her feet in my mouth. She just had to sleep with her face in Mia’s neck, and her body on my pillow. Many times, I’d woken up with her big ass foot pressed against my lips. I’d almost tossed her little ass off the bed.
“She’s clingy,” Mia said. “You just wanna be up under Mommy and Daddy, don’t you, Bleu Bleu?”
Bleu started whining and sniffing the phone.
“Awww, I think she gave you kisses. That’s so sweet!”
“I know y’all ain’t come up here to call that damn ankle biter.”
We looked back to see Smoke standing in the door with our bags.
“Leave them alone, Devin!” Jaeda fussed.
Smoke put the bags down and came over, sticking his face in the camera.
“Girl, hush. Why you ain’t sleep?”
“I’m waiting on my husband to call.”
“Awww, you miss Dexter, Dee Dee?”
“Fuck you, Smoke.”
Smoke chuckled. Bleu looked into the camera, and when she saw him, she growled. That made us laugh.
“Even across the world, she still doesn’t like you,” Mia said. “That says a lot.”
“Hush.” Smoke mushed my head, and Bleu barked at him.
“She gon’ fuck you up when we get home,” I said.
“I ain’t worried about that baby seal. I’m going to check on my wife and kids and take me a nap. Y’all better do the same before Pops gets in your ass.”
He kissed Mia’s cheek before leaving the room. We talked to Jaeda and Bleu for a few more minutes before she told us she had to go because Quaid was calling. We said our goodbyes before heading back into the bedroom and kicking off our shoes. I climbed into bed, and Mia snuggled up next to me.
Even though she said she didn’t want to take a nap, within five minutes, she was knocked out.