Chapter 8 #3
We’d parked in front of a huge building, in a park reserved for “Her” according to the sign.
Dasani leaned back in her seat, slightly turning her body to face me.
I saw her flick her tongue across her teeth before smearing her lips together.
She was so perfect looking that I struggled not to be subconscious in her presence, even now as officially one of the mob wives.
“Why did you agree to marry Tunan, Glow?”
I choked on air. “Hunh?” The question had caught me off guard, and I didn’t have a prepared answer.
“I said, why did you agree to marry Shio’s brother?”
“I… I…”
“You agreed because you see the lifestyle.”
I huffed, my shoulders falling in defeat. “Dasani—”
“No. It’s cool. You see the lifestyle. The way we live. The way these men love on us. How we’re able to get up and do what the fuck we want when the fuck we want to. You wanted to be a part of that. I get it…” Dasani cocked her head. “Excluding you was never on no “mean girl” shit, Glow.”
“I know—”
“Nah. You don’t know. You’re cool, and I fuck with you the long way, but when it comes to Demise Rinaldi, I’m forever guarding him.
“You’re best friends with my sister-in-law, and by default, that made you get an in.
What our men do may look glamorous on the surface, but this shit gets dark, twisted, and deadly underneath it all.
I wasn’t risking mine nor my daughter’s life for a bitch that could walk away with all our secrets whenever she felt like it or one that may or may not have been pillow-talking to another nigga. ”
I sighed because she was right. I may have been desperate to be officially in with the women, but I wasn’t that green to the parameters. Being an affiliate versus being a wife to a cartel member was like the difference between $99 and a big face—close, but not equal.
“I get it…”
“This shit… This mob shit? I know you didn’t want in because of the money. Nah, you’re an internet sensation. You got your own bread. You wanted in because you felt like you were missing out. You had FOMO. Just thinking you were missing the core parts of this mob shit.
“Now imagine your sister. Sheltered, at college, seeing what everyone else was doing and feeling like she needed to do the same or she wouldn’t belong.
The same way I saw you get the long face every time we excluded you, and didn’t judge your ass, is the same way you should be with your sister.
Now, I’m not telling you how to sister, because I wish a bitch would tell me about mine…
” She chuckled as if she’d just told a joke.
“But what I will say is… Give Glee some slack.
“She is still the college girl. She’s still the young woman she was when she left for Cove City.
All of her dreams can and will still come true.
When you have a disagreement with your sister, don’t ever let it get you out of your body, especially in the company of muthafuckas you want to be down with.
Had I not known you, I would’ve been ready to fuck you up myself for how you was acting in our hospital. ”
Dasani reached above her head, pressed into the roof, and a compartment popped out. She grabbed oversized BVLGARI shades and placed them on her face. I’d seen the shades in Saks Fifth and knew the cost was in the four-digits. They weren’t my style, but they looked badass on Dasani.
“I like you, Glow… I really do. I don’t know what you and Tunan got going, but we won’t have to wait too long until we figure it out. Especially with the passion I saw displayed at the hospital… Um. My girl, you in trouble.”
Dasani wriggled her eyebrows, and I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped my lips.
I’d told Tunan that we couldn’t have sex again the last time he was over.
After that conversation, I didn’t leave my room for days.
It was reassuring to know that he could follow directions and let me be.
He needed a wife, and I wanted in. Now that we’d both gotten what we wanted, the shit didn’t feel as rewarding as I thought it would.
“What I will say is all the shit that you fantasize about when it comes to being one of us—a lame nigga ain’t got a finger in it.
Stop wishing green dick on your sister. I don’t know Glee’s business, but I do know real niggas sniff out innocent bitches like bloodhounds.
Glee ain’t had a baby just by anybody. And with the way she be watching our pages, she’s taken some notes, I’m sure. ”
Dasani winked, put on her shades, and hopped out of the truck. Turning around before she closed the door, she leaned in. “Oh, and Glow… Welcome to the Rinaldi Mob. We all have a job to do. It’s about time you chat with your husband and find out what yours is.”
When I realized Dasani wasn’t waiting for me after she slammed the car door, I rushed out, making sure my shoes didn’t cause me to slip.
I wasn’t sure where we were, but as always, Dasani strutted confidently across the short distance to the double doors.
I took a moment to scan the lot, seeing that the valet line at Demise’s elaborate parties was currently present.
Six-figure cars were plentiful, but with no signage or obvious labeling, I was still lost on where we were.
Keeping pace with Dasani, I walked right past the giant troll guarding the entrance.
Once the door shut behind us, the dark, moody atmosphere put me on alert.
Dasani continued her stroll, stopping at the elevator and pressing a button.
It opened with a ding, and I stepped in behind her.
The descent was short and quiet; only the elevator’s hum could be heard.
The elevator opened to a large space that mimicked a luxury hotel lobby with another set of double doors in front of us, with the same guard standing in front of it that we’d just passed on the ground floor.
I learned early on not to question things, so I kept following Dasani.
When the guard opened the door for us, the buzzing, ringing, and rattling of machines filled the air instantly.
A young, pretty girl switched by who looked to be no older than Glee, but I knew she was because the mob didn’t play games when it came to the youth. Dasani stopped her with a genuine smile on her face.
“Hi, Mrs. Rinaldi.”
“Hi, Mottie. Can you have my favorite bartender make me and all the wives an array of cocktails?”
She nodded. “Will that be all?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
Dasani reached into her rose pink, ostrich-skinned Hermès Birkin 25, pulled out three one-hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to the waitress. She smiled at both of us after thanking Dasani.
Continuing behind Dasani, I was trying my hardest to focus forward instead of on all the buzzing around me.
This was very much an underground casino, and I was floored that I’d never been invited here.
Marble floors, printed carpets, wood grain surfaces, skimpy waitresses, rich niggas, Kush-filled air, and expensive alcohol blended throughout the open space that housed every machine and table you’d find in Las Vegas.
The way Dasani spoke to the waitress and how she hadn’t been checked or questioned by the guards, I automatically knew this was her husband’s business.
There was just so much happening down here that I couldn’t stop looking around.
I wasn’t much of a gambler, but the machines were so loud and pretty that they were inviting.
Men of all nationalities and backgrounds filled the space.
I had even spotted a rapper when we first came in when Dasani stopped the waitress.
I could have sworn I saw the governor, too, and with the way Jagoda Bay hid their scandals, his being underground was on brand.
Street guys, CEOs, and law enforcement all under one roof was unheard of.
However, people of different sectors were mingling, but for the most part, everyone was doing their respective gambling, making Demise even richer.
It would also mean jail time for many, affecting hundreds of lives.
I’d never compromise those around me. I didn’t even like cheese like that.
This place was a gold mine for content. If my viewers only knew where I was right now, they would want a tour, some interviews, and some food reviews. With the size of the venue and the goal being to get people to stay and gamble, I knew this place probably had some amazing food.
“Look who I dragged from the house.”
I was expecting to be reunited with the women, but what I didn’t expect was for everyone to be sitting in their husbands’ laps.
The whole inner circle was here, except for Vello and Discover.
Three men had empty laps; well, two, since Demise had reached for Dasani’s hand and pulled her onto him.
That left Tunan and Shio as the unoccupied seating choices.
All eyes were on me, and the ladies didn’t look too happy to see me. Missy was the only one who offered me a small smile as she sipped her drink while Essex squeezed her thighs.
Demise looked from Tunan to Shio, who sat next to each other.
This area was arranged almost like a VIP section, with an extra-long, curved sectional that fit everyone.
It was also roped off, but it was positioned so that not many could see over a small wall, yet Demise could see everything from his spot in the middle of the comfortable sectional.
“You messy as hell…” Demise told his wife with a chuckle and a kiss on her lips.
“I get it from you, Messy Boots.”
“Hi everyone.” I simpered.