Page 84 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
“Who is that? Why is he running up on me?” Reign asked, trying to get her brain to settle down.
She could hear the rev of Nia’s engine approach and her tires screech to a halt.
Fuego looked at Reign and grimaced. None of them were supposed to be this close to her. They were supposed to watch. G slipping past them meant that when Markus touched down, there would be a problem for all of them.
“What the fuck happened?” Nia roared, whisking into the salon and locking the door behind her. “How the fuck did he get in here? What part of keep your fuckin’ eyes on her didn’t you get?”
“Nia, I don’t know,” Reign rasped, knowing Nia wasn’t talking to her. “Kay-Dee was the last one here she told me she locked up. What the fuck is this?”
Nia’s eyes darted to Fuego and Bullet. “Get him off the floor before his blood stains the tile.”
She grabbed the visibly shaken Reign and maneuvered her into the back to assist with washing the blood off her hands. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” Reign muttered, looking behind her at the men doing as they were told. “Kay-Dee was talking shit earlier, and I just thought that was it. She let him in here.”
Nia groaned. “That’s the thing, Kay-Dee is a no-brain ass bitch and so is that dead ass nigga. Someone told them to come. I’ll find out. We’re going to shut the shop down until Money gets back.”
“No! We can’t stop business every time someone rolls up on me, Nia. We can’t-”
Nia stopped scrubbing Reign’s hands to look her in the eyes. “You don’t get it yet, do you?”
“Get what?” Reign asked as if Nia was going to tell her something new.
“You did something to him. I haven’t seen this version of my brother in years. If he tells his men that no one so much as touches a hair on your head or breathes in your direction, he means that. He’ll go to war for you. And now that people know his weakness, they’re going to step to you just to try their luck. The shop is shut down until Money gets back.”
Reign watched Nia scrub her hands while her mind played her trauma on a loop. Abuse started before Javier. Mentaland emotional manipulation, the breakdown of her confidence. Years of being the sad girl. Now she was tired of that narrative. Yes, she had Markus, and she was thankful for him and Nia, but she had herself, and gone were the days niggas did whatever they wanted and got away with it.
This unlocked something in her. She was finally coming into her own.
“Okay. I hear you.”
It felt like hours before the pair returned to Reign’s. Both were sitting in silence on the couch, staring into space. The tea Nia made for Reign still had steam dancing on the surface.
“You did good, Reign,” Nia stated.
“I never took someone’s life before,” Reign mumbled, swiping a tear. “I’ve thought about. Dreamt about it.”
“Your abuser?” Nia softly asked, and Reign nodded.
“I refuse to be in that space again. Now, it’s them or me.”
“Money!”Javier’s voice echoed throughout the gawdy mansion.
Markus looked up toward the bloated, average-height man floating down the stairs in his designer robe. The sight disgusted him. The naked women lying around, the drugs readily available, and the men in his camp were all a direct reflection of the leader. The leader was a joke, which meant the operation was a joke.
“Look at this muhfucka,” Svyn grumbled.
“A fuckin’ joke,” Markus muttered back.
“What’s the play?” Svyn quizzed.
“Get his pipeline, get rid of him. Shit is simple, his security is weak, and he’s coked up. Look at him,” Markus said before throwing a nod in Javier’s direction. “Javier.”
Javier moved closer to the men. “You look hot. Weren’t prepared for the weather in The Port?”
“Nah, Majestic Heights is having the correct season,” Markus spoke jokingly, but was serious. “Thanks for meeting us.”
“Considering everyone in Majestic Heights is dropping around you like flies, you were the only one left to get my product. Luciano was my first choice,” Javier spoke, trying to test Markus’s ego.
