Chapter 10 #2
After some much-needed passion, Sage and Portia made their way back to the party.
"Oh my gosh–P!" a loud voice yelled in excitement. Portia was instantly embraced in a giant hug.
Recognizing the voice, she pulled back and began smiling from ear to ear.
She hadn't seen her cousin Liliana in years since she moved overseas.
Holding Liliana's hands, Portia took in her presence. They had been inseparable growing up, thick as thieves. Although Portia was an only child, Liliana was like a sister to her. They hadn’t seen each other since Liliana left two years ago to travel Europe full-time.
"Lili! How’ve you been, girl? Oh my gosh, how’s Paris?" Portia asked, her excitement bubbling over.
Sage smiled at their reunion. "Y’all catch up," she said, tapping the small of Portia’s back and kissing her cheek. "I’ma look for Pops."
Making her way through the crowd, Sage saw security rushing in Kannon's direction.
"What the hell?" she muttered, curious about their urgency. She quickly wove through the dancing crowd and approached Kannon. "What's going on, Pops?"
"I don’t know," Kannon said abruptly. "That’s what I’m trying to figure out."
"Sir," one of the security guards began. "There's a woman downstairs trying to get into the party. She’s not on the guest list but says you invited her."
"No such thing," Kannon scoffed. "Everyone on the guest list is here."
"Portia! Portia!" a loud voice shouted from the downstairs restaurant entrance.
Sage instantly recognized the voice. "I know that ain't who I think it is," she said, walking to the stair railing.
Kannon looked confused. "Who is it, Babygirl?" He followed her as she rushed to the railing on the top floor to see who it was.
"Mhm," Sage said, nodding. "Pops, don’t worry about it. I got it.”
"You sure?" Kannon asked.
"Yeah," Sage assured him. "We got unfinished business." She smirked as she nodded in her father's direction.
"Aight," Kannon agreed. "But be discreet. If you need to, take her out back."
Sage nodded and rushed to the stairs, making her way to the downstairs commotion. On her way, Portia stopped her, sensing something was up. She could feel Sage’s anger bubbling up from across the room.
"Hey," Portia whispered to Sage, her voice barely audible over the music. "What’s going on?" She could tell Sage was about to handle some business.
"Everything’s good, Princess," Sage said, kissing her lips. "I’ll be back."
"Don’t lie to me, Sage," Portia said, looking into her eyes. "Wha-"
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard her name being called from downstairs.
"P, where you at!? Let me in!" the voice grew louder.
"Oh, hell nah!" Portia said, recognizing the voice. "Don’t even worry about it," she said, grabbing Sage’s arm. "I got it."
"P, wait!" Sage said, trying to stop her, but Portia was already flying down the stairs.
Sage rushed down the stairs behind Portia, hoping to catch her before she reached the front door, but it was too late. Portia was face-to-face with Shy, whom security was holding back from entering the restaurant.
"P!" Shy shouted. "I’m sorry, baby! Come home!"
Portia snickered. "You can’t be serious.
" She was shocked at the level of delusion Shy had to think she’d give her the time of day after everything she put her through.
She wasn’t surprised Shy showed up; the girl was crazy.
She was more stunned by the audacity of her coming down here, begging for her to come back.
It was the same toxic merry-go-round she used to be on, and she was so damn happy she got off.
"Serious as a heart attack, baby," Shy said, trying to wiggle out of security’s grip. "I promise you I’ve changed."
"You can let her go," Portia instructed, nodding at security.
They continued holding Shy and looked to Sage as she approached. They only took direction from a Washington.
"What do you want us to do with her?" Huncho asked.
Sage trusted Portia to handle her own. As much as she wanted to fire off at Shy, she knew Portia needed to confront her abuser.
"You heard her," Sage said, backing Portia up. "Let her go."
They did as they were told, releasing Shy, who stumbled to the ground. She stood up and straightened her clothes. "Yeah, let me go!" she mocked.
Sage stepped back, allowing them to speak. She stood nearby in case Shy tried anything.
"You really think I'm going home with you, Shy?" Portia said, arms folded. "Look at you."
"Yeah, look at me, baby," Shy said, turning around. "You know you miss me. Come on." She reached out to grab Portia.
Sage sneered, placing her hand on her gun. Before she could move, Portia stepped back from Shy’s attempt.
"Don’t touch me," Portia said. "And stop calling me baby. We’re not together. I don’t know what it’ll take for you to get that through your thick skull."
“A bullet,” Sage muttered under her breath, but enough for Portia to hear.
"Come on, P," Shy whined. "I promise I’ve changed. I’ll do anything to get you back."
"You ain’t never gonna change–and that’s the sad part," Portia began. "You truly need help. Your ability to treat people the way you do and then blatantly lie is beyond me. You can’t seriously believe your own lies. But one truth you need to accept is that me and you will never be."
Shy was at a loss for words. She truly thought begging for Portia to take her back would work like it always had in the past, but she could finally see the old P was gone.
"This anxious attachment style does not look good on you, boo," Portia chuckled. "Now pick your mouth up–and get the fuck out of here."
"Aight, P. I get it," Shy said, holding her hands up in surrender. "But don’t come crying back to me when ol’ girl gets you caught up in some mafia shit. I heard about them." She snickered as she stepped backward to leave.
Sage stepped in front of Portia and fired off her gun. "That’s gonna be the last thing you hear if you don’t get your ass out of here."
Shy ducked, praying the bullet didn’t hit her. Sage placed the barrel of the gun under Shy’s chin, lifting her to her feet.
"You got lucky this time," Sage sneered. "Remember what I told you last time–‘cause there ain’t no more warnings after this."
Shy didn’t even make eye contact with Sage. She scurried off and Sage tucked her gun back in her pants and turned to embrace Portia.
"I’m proud of you, baby," Sage said, placing a kiss on Portia’s lips.
"I’m proud of me, too," Portia grinned. "Now, let's enjoy the rest of this night."
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Kannon said, holding up his glass. He looked down both sides of the long table as he sat at the head to see his wife, kids, and newfound family, Phoenix, Naomi, and Portia. Everyone raised their glasses, bringing their attention to Kannon.
“Since we started the blood operation, things have been a success, putting us right back where we need to be. Shit, two times better than what we used to be,” Kannon said. “So, I’d like to toast to the expansion of our territory. The operation will branch out to new regions in the fall.”
“Oh, shit!” Salem exclaimed.
“Damn!” Sage co-signed.
The entire table was in awe of the announcement.
Since Kannon and Phoenix kicked off the blood supply in Eastbourne, they have been receiving requests to branch out to the North, South, and West regions.
The operation extends beyond the needs of the vamps in Eastbourne and is needed throughout the entire population.
The Washington Cartel is now cutting business with the head elders of each region to provide them with the blood supply they need.
This has set them up for an entirely new venture beyond what Kannon imagined.
Everyone clinked their glasses in celebration.
“We all have Phoenix to thank for that!” Kannon insisted. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. With that being said, I’d like to offer you a new rank in our business as the Head of Operations to oversee distribution across all regions.”
“You know I got you brotha,” Phoenix responded, reaching across the table to dap up Kannon.
“Babygirl and Salem,” Kannon said, directing his attention to the twins. “I’ve got a big ask of you two.”
Sage and Salem nodded their heads for him to continue.
“I’d like to give you both your own regions to manage the operation on the ground. Sage, you’ll take Southbourne, and Salem you’ll take West,” Kannon said with his chest big as a proud father.
The twins looked at each other and smiled. They had been waiting for this moment.
“Won’t let you down, Pops,” Sage said.
“You know it,” Salem agreed.
Kannon smiled in agreement. “Now that we have our boy back,” Kannon said, placing a hand on KJ’s shoulder, we can get back in full swing.