Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Armond Davis
I ARRIVED AT MY brOTHER’S estate well into the afternoon.
My brunch with Brandy went longer than I'd expected but it was well worth it.
I got to know my baby a little more and understand the dynamic between her and Jeffery.
It didn't take long to receive the information she didn't know about him and there would be nothing more satisfying than ridding the world of one less ignorant bastard.
His rap sheet was long and disgusting. It was clearly made up to make him look like he wasn’t an undercover cop and it stuck. Also finding out he was the one who shot his partner didn’t sit well either. Snatching him up was best for everyone.
The second I stepped out of the truck, my brother walked out of the front door and raised his arms with a glass of liquor in one of his hands. He was all smiles and that let me know our last ties to the attempted heist were dealt with and no longer a burden.
“Brother!” He wrapped his arms around me for a hug and I laughed because he was drunk as hell and stumbled right into me. I took the drink from his hand and tossed it back so he wouldn't even consider sipping another drop.
“You started the celebration without me?”
“Maybe just a little.”
“Well, fuck you for that. Let's get inside. Where's Mum?”
“Oh, she went out with Mrs. Teena to some concert. Pedro and Bucky are with them. No worries.”
“No wonder you're up to your eyeballs in liquor.”
“Damn straight. You know how hard it is to be around the woman who shuns everything but wine itself? She slapped a blunt out of my hand and I almost hissed at her.”
I laughed as we made our way inside. Though my father always made us fight each other coming up, it built an unbreakable bond between me and Arlando.
We trained endless hours together and my father thought he was building enemies like he and his brother were, but we were completely opposite.
We tended to each other's wounds and talked through every adversity.
That's why he was my partner in everything I did without question.
There was no other person on earth I trusted more than him.
“How's the dating life treating yuh?” he slurred. I watched him plop down onto the sofa and click on the television before I said a word.
“It's going well. I'm infatuated with this woman.”
“Oh yeah? She must be sent from God himself then cuz you don't like anyone.” He laughed.
“She might just be. Brandy is…” I smirked and lost my train of thought.
She was everything. It was hard to put into words the essence of her beauty or the unique way she did things like twirling her pasta with a spoon and fork. There were too many things to say about her that I got caught up and couldn't say anything at all.
“Oh, man. You love her. I can see it all over that ugly face. What she do to you? She must have platinum kitty, huh?”
“Lando, shut up. I haven't gone there with her yet. She's special. That's it.”
“You mean to tell me she got your nose wide open and you ain't even sniffed it yet?” He laughed and all I could do was shake my head. I wasn't about to keep appeasing this fool. My private life was now off limits.
“You took care of Avery?” I asked, becoming serious. His smile faded and he nodded once. That was all I needed to see.
“Good. Did Father know this was our shipment?”
“From my understanding, no. He wasn't even aware of who he was getting it from. False names and since he never saw them before he wouldn't have known any better. And if I'm not mistaken, he wasn't the one to link up with them either. It was Roderick.” That pompous bastard.”
“That sounds about right. Always sending someone else to do his dirty work.”
“Oh, for sure. He's kicking it in Moscow with that Philomena chick. He hasn't done any real work in months. You'd think he was retired. Bastard.”
“Speaking of bastards, why have you been letting Mum stay with you lately? She got tired of her other family?”
“I hate to admit that I missed her dusty ass.”
“That's real, brother. I respect that. She met your girl yet?”
“No. We're trying to plan something special where she can finally meet the family. Bring us all together instead of separate links. Less stress.”
“You've been seeing her for a long time. This should've been happened. What has really taken you so long?”
“I had to make sure, man. Ease up. Our life is crazy. I had to make sure she was here for the long haul.”
“Anything longer than three months should've shown you that. You just needed to make sure you were done being a playboy so Mum wouldn't beat your ass for playing with her.”
Arlando punched my arm and we both laughed.
He knew I was right. Before his girl Chardonnay came along, there wasn't a woman on earth he didn't play with.
They were all come and please, then please go.
The minute he saw her, that was it. He shut those side pieces down and committed to her.
If that wasn't enough for her to meet our mum, I didn’t know what would've been. Two years was bananas to me.
“As long as y'all are happy together then I'm with it. Just tell me when and I'll make sure to be in attendance.”
“Yeah, and you can bring your wife too.”
“Wife?”
“Oh, you thought I didn't see that purchase at the jeweler’s in Puerto Rico. No way it was anything other than a ring. You know any large transaction through our accounts pops up for each other. Of course I peeped that.”
“You think you know me, Arlando?”
“Better than anyone on this planet.”
I chuckled and nodded. He was right about that. I didn't walk into the jeweler with the intention of getting a ring. I was sold on a diamond necklace I saw when I bought my watch a few days prior. Meeting Brandy reminded me of it and I wanted to get it for her.
I saw the diamond ring beside it and couldn't draw my eyes away. They were a perfect combination and I bought a tennis bracelet to finish the look. She just happened to get the ring first. It was so sudden that I forgot all about the other pieces. I would just give it to her later.
“See, look at you. Ain't heard a word I said thinking about Brandy,” he said, taking me out of my reverie.
“What?”
“I said monkeys ass cheeks rub together and sound like leather pants peeling off a sweaty hog.” He smiled and I shook my head, trying to withhold my laughter.
What part of that statement made any kind of sense?
He stared at me seriously and I fell right into it.
The laughter poured out of me and he laughed even harder.
“You're a fool.”
“Ah you love it. What I said was that we have some buyers in London. We need to make the trip tomorrow to ensure we have everything they are requesting. It's military.”
“Really now?”
“They must’ve taken a real liking to those long-range sniper rifles. They've been trying to make an appointment ever since. This is their allotted time slot. We are to meet with them in three days.”
“Sounds good. Do we need to take anything from our inventory in Paris?”
“Nope. That's all been handled. You know I got this, brother.”
“Of course. Of course. You do very well. Speaking of, how's training with Gino and Carlo? You've been showing them the ropes?”
“Absolutely. They're solid. Learn fast and proficiently. They already knew quite a bit but learning our methods hasn't been too much for them.”
“That is a bonus to hear. I don't plan on doing this much longer and you made a promise to Chardonnay. This dinner shows me you are taking the necessary steps toward retirement as seriously as me. You are making good progress, Arlando.”
“Thank you, brother. That means a lot coming from you. They are good men and we've made the right decision in choosing them to go through this journey. We can move on trusting that it will be in good hands.”
“No doubt. Tell me this, when will I gain a niece or nephew? It's getting boring around here.”
I smiled and waited for him to respond with a slick expression. His head tilted to the side and he nodded slightly, as if truly considering it this time. That was surprising to me because he said he'd never have kids and I believed him.
“Yeah, naw. That's still a no for me right now but Chardonnay is the one who makes me reconsider. We'd make some fly kids.”
“Indeed, you would. She seems like a great woman.”
“Oh yeah.” He grew excited. “She has a good head on her shoulders.
She's a businesswoman. Master’s degree from Xavier University.
Another culinary degree and she caters for events around the state.
She just did one for this non-profit organization.
Some ball for these really dope orphan kids.
The way they lit up eating her food, bro, I'd give anything to see that shit daily.
“She did meal prep for them for the week and even promised to cook for them every week for free.
She's amazing, bro. I'm going to make sure she always has what she needs to provide for them.
Oh, and since you're here, you down to donating some new beds and things to spruce up their rooms? Maybe some dividers and all that. They are a good bunch.”
“You had me at, orphanage, brother. Let's do it.” I smiled and we dapped up.
I was always down for helping anyone in need. This world was ugly. We made our money through some messed up ways, but we always made sure those around us who needed something always had it.
Any way to help we did. We respected everyone until given a reason not to.
Solid proof every single time. We cherished our loved ones and made sure we lived abundantly.
No one was greater than the next. We all had roles in life and business didn't interfere with the love and respect we shared with each other.
Nobody had it like us coming up. Didn't matter if we were beaten and forced to fight each other in the name of bossing up and becoming a man. Our father took his frustration from our mother cheating and moving on with his brother out on us. He was the man of the house and it was law.
Arlando and I swore to each other that we would never be like him, never even considered a milli-fraction of a second of being someone so vile.
I was the same little boy sitting on the curb in the rain crying my soul out because I had to get away.
I couldn't handle all of the fighting. I finally got away from being punished but had to deal with the slander he spewed about my mother. I understood why he didn't love her like my brother and I did. She didn’t feel any remorse when it blew up in her face. He didn’t cheat on her until that point.
It shifted my view and love for her as well because she also changed.
Her laughter used to fill me up. Her songs made me relax and feel comfortable.
Her eyes were always stern but full of love.
Nobody looked at me like she did, but after she got caught, that all stopped.
Now she looked at me just like she did him.
Ultimately, she was scared. With a man like my father, once that trust was broken, it was all she wrote. He crashed out over her and she did what she thought was best, though it was the very worst move she ever made.
I sighed as I reeled myself back in and listened to my brother's plans for this dinner. I was beside myself and I couldn't understand where I went for that moment. I went from pure excitement to a dark tunnel. Why?
My phone buzzed in my pocket. When I pulled it out, I was relieved to see Brandy calling. I looked at my brother and he nodded and turned toward the television. I answered the line then walked off to gain some privacy.
“What's good, mama?”
“I just wanted to let you know that you've excited me and have brought pleasure to my day,” she responded.
Her voice instantly soothed me. Her words were right on time even without understanding why she said it. She grabbed my intrigue.
“How am I so blessed to have done so, honeybee?”
“You exist in my world. There's nothing more that needs to be added.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” she said shyly.
I smirked and knew she was about to say something cunning, but her words were simple. She regarded me in such a way that my heart pounded damn loud in my chest. Who was this woman?
“I'm pleased to bring you such comfort to where you consider me worthy. How are you doing, love?”
“I just hopped out of the shower. Just wanted to hear your voice. I don't know why you got me like this,” she expressed.
“You're getting ready for me and you don't know why? Who are you fooling?”
“Okay maybe, but this is super crazy, right?”
“Only if you allow it to be but you like rolling with it so I don't understand the problem?”
“Armond…”
“Tell me you don't?” I interrupted.
She grew silent and I knew I had her. She was just as obsessed with me as I was with her.
“I'll see you sooner?” she murmured, getting all soft on me to get her way. That would work every damn time.
“Sooner.”
I disconnected the call then walked back into the living area. The second I rounded the corner, Arlando stared at me with a wide smile on his face.
“What fool?”
“You're in love, my boy! Two calls within an hour! Oh shit.”
“Man, shut the hell up. You're right but don't make a big deal out of it.”
When you know you know because I didn't understand the feelings I had for Brandy either. Our connection was intense. It didn't make sense, but it felt embedded into the deepest parts of me and I was certain that she would be my baby for life.
“I'm cleaning up then heading out.”
I kept it short, walking off before he could reply. I had places to be.