Page 74 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

In the last few years of my mother’s life, she wasn’t the woman who birthed and raised me. While she became someone I no longer recognize, my love for her never faded. I often wondered when Rosier would come and tell me she was dead, but he didn’t have to. The cops showed up at my grandparents’ door, saying she’d been found dead in a rundown hotel from an apparent suicide. Jules confirmed because he always had eyes on her. I don’t know what was going through her head in her final days, and I never would. We never got around to speaking again before she died, but I made peace with it. I’m just glad my grandparents were able to put her away like they wanted.

“Let’s just hope this one here has a little bit more sense than his daddy,” my grandfather said as he rubbed AJ’s little fingers, side-eyeing me. “I’m yet praying for you, boy.”

“Where would I be without those prayers?” I chuckled as I bent down and kissed both of their heads. “I love y’all.”

“We love you too, baby,” Sweets cooed as she nuzzled AJ. “Can you give me one more?”

“Huh, Jules?” I called out, pretending I heard him say my name. “Here I come.”

Hearing them laugh at my back, I walked off and went to mingle with my people. Today is a beautiful day, and I want to enjoy it with my family. Looking around the yard, I can say the mission was accomplished as everyone was decked out in green and white.

“Did I ever tell you I was proud of you, baby?” My Aunt Ros approached and pulled me into a hug. “First Rosier, then Jules, and now you…” She smiled as her eyes misted. “You all have made me so proud!”

“Thank you, Auntie.” I kissed her and wiped away her tears. “I appreciate you.”

“Maybe Mimi will find happiness soon.” She sighed and glanced over at her daughter, who was laughing and talking to the ladies. “Anyway, let me go in here and finish this potato salad. I thought Jules was a mess when it came to eating. That damn Adrian is worse.”

Laughing at her frown, I agreed as she wandered back inside the house. Over the past year and some change, my family has grown extremely close to the Mills. Skip and I are closer than the rest of his brothers and me were, but they’re all good people. I invited them here today because even though they weren’t my blood, they operated as if they were whenever I was in Milly Grove for business or with Denim.

“Y’all good over here,” I asked as I walked up to the tent with the fellas. Wild and Luca were playing spades against Jules and Trench. “Y’all need anything?”

“Look at this nigga being the perfect host.” Jules chuckled as he threw down the ace of spades hard as fuck. “Eat that shit, bitch!”

“Nah, you eat this muthafucka!” Wild stood and slapped down the baby joker. “Get your sorry ass up from the table!”

With his mouth wide open, Jules sat in shock as he and Trench lost their second game in a row. When that stupid-ass grin came across his face, I knew then it was time for me to go. I was not up for witnessing any hocus pocus shit today.

“Trench, you’re sorry as fuck! I should have never sat at this table with you.” Slowly, he turned his head toward Luca and Wild. Pulling a small vial from his pocket, he placed it on the table. “You niggas ever wanted to be a turtle?”

Flipping the table and chairs, we all scrambled and ran, getting away from that nigga. Although I’m half Haitian like him, I don’t fuck around with the fuck around. Running straight to my grandfather, I tried my best to hide behind him.

“Pop, I need you to gather all the saints and tell them it’s a code red. That nigga about to lose his mind again over a card game.”

Falling into a fit of laughs, I mugged them all as if I wasn’t in distress. Seeing Jules cool as a cucumber, kissing all over his pregnant wife, didn’t help the situation or calm my nerves.

“I’m tired of y’all upsetting my man.” Bridgette pouted as she rubbed the back of his head as he lay on her shoulders. “Don’t make me go get my bag!”

“She’s just as crazy as he is,” Wild said, panting as he caught his breath. “Where is Rosier?” He looked around the yard and found my brother. “I’m about to see if I can steal some ribs and take my ass home. I’d rather be ducking bullets in the Grove than for a nigga to be out here calling me Franklin.”

Bent over, I all but cried in laughter at how serious he was. This is all I wanted in life: to be surrounded by my family and to be at peace. We may not be good people according to the rules of society, but we’re loyal to each other and have each other’s back consistently. We might joke with you here and there, but we never allowed anyone to play with us.

“Unk, tell Briley she can’t have a boyfriend until she’s thirty.” RJ’s badass ran up to me with a pouting Bri on his heels. Those two clicked instantly when they met each other, even though they were constantly bickering. He was only two years older than her, but swore he was the boss. “She’s about to make me mad.”

“Man, what the hell are y’all talking about?” I crossed my arms and mugged them both. “Bri, what do you know about a boyfriend?”

Briley had officially deemed me her father, and I had seamlessly stepped into that title. Her bitch-ass father didn’t deserve the honor, but she knew nothing of his wicked ways, and if it was left up to me, she never would. Sharing the same DNA wouldn’t make me love her more than I do right now, so if she wanted me to be her father, I was more than willing.

“I told him when I get big, I want someone like you. You love me and are nice to me, AJ, and Mommy.” She pouted before mugging RJ. “You’s a hater.”

“Man, y’all go play.” I laughed and patted them both on the head. “I don’t want to hear y’all fussing either.” Bri ran off, but I called out to RJ before he could. “Beat up all the lil’ niggas that ever look her way.”

He nodded with a sparkle in his eye from being coached to hit other people. The boy was Zoo’s child through and through.

"You got this shit set up nice out here,” Skip greeted me with a dap, followed by Uno. “Shit was like a maze coming through this bitch, though. I started to turn my ass the fuck around.”

Waving him off, I thanked them for coming as I made my way over to Rosier. He and Uno had business to handle back home, so they were a little late getting into town.

“Where’s my girl, Harley?” I asked Uno as I handed him a beer. “She told me we were going shot for shot today.”

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