Page 3 of His Aries Heiress
Marcellus chuckled. Nobody knew him better than Grim. He tried to focus his thoughts as King Ro closed out the meeting.
“See y’all next month,” King Ro said, dismissing everyone.
Those words were like music to Marcellus’s ears. He was the first out of his seat at the large round table. Pop, who sat two chairs down from him, twitched slightly at Marcellus’s sudden movement. Marcellus peeped it, though most probably didn’t. He’d learned when they were kids that Pop didn’t like sudden movements. It made his trigger finger itch, even when they were young. The nigga was born a certified killer. A certified nut too. Marcellus didn’t have any issues with him, but because Marcellus had a few screws loose, too, he learned to keep Pop at a distance. Peso, on the other hand, Marcellus could kick it with all day. They rarely did outside of business, but Peso kept a cooler head than his brother. What was crazy was that Peso was the deadlier of the two.
“Quit all that jumpin’ ’round, nigga,” Pop grumbled.
Marcellus rose his brows at him. He didn’t really like another nigga telling him what to do too much. “Or what?”
Marcellus peeped Peso placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, which caused Marcellus to chuckle as he walked by. Peso knew what was up. Again, there was no beef with anyonein this room. It was the reason the council stood strong. If there was ever any indifference, they handled it like civilized people for the sake of the operation. Nothing came above their positions and the integrity of their work.Nothing. That was the only reason Marcellus felt comfortable enough to give his back to Pop as he adjusted his locs so they hung down the middle of his back. Whatever confrontation might have taken place would have been petty. Marcellus didn’t have time for it. He was antsy to get out of there and back to the sanctuary of his home.
He passed by Nyx, also known as the chemist. She was in charge of the formula for all drugs moving in the country. He nodded at her, and she smiled and offered him a little wave. She was new to the council. Only been in this life for a few years, brought in by King Ro himself.
Before he could reach the door, he heard a gasp behind him and then movement as people murmured. He whirled around, the gun tucked in his waist already in his hand, when he spotted Karma, crouched over a body. She was who they considered their vice boss and was a professional gambler not all that long ago. Now, she owned the most lucrative casino in Ellwood and a couple of underground clubs. She also ran a few brothels and betting houses. If a person had a vice that could fuck up their life, Karma was right there to egg them on.
Marcellus made his way over to the crowd, and his heart dropped when he noticed Grim on the ground, looking like he struggled to breathe.
Rage immediately overtook him as he elbowed people out of the way and shouted, “The fuck y’all do to him?”
“Nothing.” Karma cut her eyes at him as she propped Grim’s head in her lap. “He stood up and then collapsed.”
Marcellus wasn’t trying to hear that though. In his head, mothafuckas didn’t just collapse just because. Rational thinking had completely left him, and he was ready to allow his rage thechance to do the talking. It was a defense mechanism. While Grim was on the ground struggling, he couldn’t even look at him. He’d much rather filter his feelings into the one that felt most comfortable: anger.
Before he could do anything stupid, King Ro stepped in and placed a large hand on Marcellus’s shoulder. King Ro spoke to Nyx while he grounded Marcellus. “Call 911. Everyone else, get out of here. We’re in a clean spot with legitimate papers, but a bunch of well-dressed niggas gon’ make them suspicious.”
Nobody needed to be told twice. Marcellus breathed deeply as everyone left the room aside from Marcellus, Karma, Nyx, and King Ro.
“It’s okay, Grim. Breathe. That’s it,” Karma coached.
Marcellus kept his back turned. Deep down, he was terrified. Grim was his backbone holding him together. He needed more time with him. Marcellus had noticed his mentor slowing down in the past few months, but he thought it was due to old age. His mind went back to every single time Grim seemed fatigued or winded, and he kicked himself for not prying. It was a pride thing. Most men had it. They didn’t want to be questioned. Marcellus was definitely one of those men, so he respected those lines with others, but now he wished he hadn’t.
His mind wandered to Tato as Nyx spoke quickly on the phone. Everything happened so quickly while Marcellus felt like he moved in slow motion while he thought about his son. His son. Octavio, also known as Tato, was Marcellus’s son, but only one other person alive knew that, and he was on the floor gasping for breath.
If someone were to ask seven-year-old Tato right now who his father was, the answer would be simple. He’d point right to Grim and call him pops. Marcellus’s heart ached as he thought about all the things he needed to take care of before Grim couldtransition, and he suddenly whirled around and dropped to his knees.
“Aye, look at me, old man.” Marcellus’s voice cracked as he spoke. “You ain’t done yet, you hear me? Think about Tato.” Grim’s eyes widened, and he grasped Marcellus’s T-shirt. Marcellus clenched his jaw and looked down at Grim. His features were aged, though he was only about sixty years old. A head full of thick Dominican salt and pepper hair filled his head, and his brown eyes misted over as he tried to communicate with Marcellus without words. Marcellus shook his head. “Nah, man. I ain’t doin’ this without you. I need you. We need you. Tato don’t even know . . . We haven’t told him . . .”
Grim’s grasp tightened on Marcellus’s T-shirt.
Nyx’s soft voice interrupted them. “The ambulance is on the way. Karma, you can go if you want. You too, King. I can stay since I’m the one that talked to them.”
“Karma, you go ’head. I’ma stay,” King Ro said. And that was why he was a good leader. They all were. They knew when to take orders and when to give them. They stuck together and made sure they assessed any given situation accurately and correctly the first time so nothing came back to bite them. Marcellus knew King Ro understood that Marcellus was a hothead, so he opted to stay to make sure shit went smoothly.
Marcellus felt a soft squeeze to his shoulder before he heard the sound of Karma’s steps retreat from the room. He appreciated the gesture. It wasn’t often he got affection, but his mind was too warped to bask in it. The only thing he could focus on was breathing deeply, willing Grim to do the same.
It must have worked because only a few more minutes passed before a couple of paramedics entered the room and quickly got to work on Grim. Marcellus backed away and found himself sitting on the floor with his back to the corner of the room, watching them intently. His hardened gaze seemed to make theparamedics nervous, but he didn’t care. In his mind, they should be nervous because if anything happened to Grim on their watch, they’d pay with their lives.
“We’re taking him to United Hospital downtown. Does anyone want to ride with him?”
“Yeah.” Marcellus’s deep voice commanded attention, and everyone turned to look at him as he stood. His hulking frame dwarfed the paramedics, but to their credit, they simply rushed past him with Grim lying on the gurney.
Before Marcellus could leave the conference room, King Ro said, “Call me if anything happens. You need me to call anyone for you?”
Marcellus halted as he thought about it. He struggled for a moment because he wasn’t sure if he should allow Tato to come to the hospital. He knew he would regret it if something happened to Grim and Tato didn’t get the chance to see him first, so he caved. “Yeah. You know Ronny?”
King Ro nodded. Ronny was Marcellus’s right-hand man, and everyone knew they rocked together. Ronny was never invited to the council meetings, but he had his hands in almost everything else Marcellus had going on.
“Call him. Tell him to get Tato from Nicole’s house and bring him to the hospital.”
