Page 94 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
“I’m not playing with him,” Nia huffed. “I’m just…”
“Scared?”
“Out of my mind. And don’t look at me like that,” Nia huffed.
Reign chuckled. “I’m not looking at you like anything. I knew that tough exterior was a front. You soft as cashmere.”
“So was that mute and unassuming one you had,” Nia replied, brow raised. “You got more heart than a lot of these niggas.”
“That wasn’t a front,” Reign spoke up with a shrug. “I hadn’t been safe for years. I wanted to make sure that was the case.”
Nia smiled softly. “Funny how there are similarities here.”
Nia paused and huffed. She was burdened. “Cyn can’t get that. She didn’t grow up like me and Money, or even Svyn and the other two idiots. She can’t get why I’m guarded. Or why these streets in this life and all of its danger are okay with me.”
“I understand,” Reign shared. “This life comes with a lot, and when you have had your heart tattered, you have to be careful. But I’m learning that when it comes to the right hands, you don’t need the guard. Suddenly, danger isn’t front and center anymore.”
“Not you let Money in and you’re getting deep on me,” Nia joked. “I feel you, though.”
“I think Svyn loves you. He knows how to talk to you past your guard,” Reign assured Nia’s silent thoughts with a smile.
Nia looked down at her hands and smiled. “He does. He has, for a long time, I just tried to avoid it at all costs. Like you did in the beginning. That shit is warm, isn’t it? Has Money even been back to his spot?”
“Mm mm, actually no,” Reign shared. “Every night like clockwork in the kitchen with food and demands.”
“I told you,” Nia said with a smile. “You did something to him. He loves you.”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Reign refuted the statement with a wave of her hand. She was refusing to even let her mind run off on that tangent. “A girls’ lunch with Aunt G and Cyn isn’t invited, what’s that about? Is this issue with Cyn that deep?”
“It’s that deep, along with the fact that Aunt G can’t stand her. It’s a consensus between my aunts and Ms. O. They feel like Cyn is a weak link.”
“What do you feel about it?” Reign asked, leaving her personal feelings or the lack thereof about Cyn out of it.
“I feel like up until now I knew my best friend. Now, I’m not sure if I ever knew her at all. What I hate the most is that if I’m right, I’ve exposed all of us.”
“Is that what this lunch is about?” Reign quizzed.
“Yes and no. With the mayor out of the way, we need to control the next one, especially if Money is getting this pipeline,” Nia shared.
Reign’s brows fuse. “So I need to be there because?”
“You can sell a tree air,” Nia replied. “I’ve watched you with clients. Numbers don’t lie, and I’m not going to let you play small. You got a superpower. The only one who can’t see it yet is you. That, and also you love him.”
“I-”
“That’s between you two. I said that to say you’ll move with his best interest at heart, and I’ve learned what’s best for him is what’s best for all of us. And you’re a leader. There’s only so long you can be in the shadows. That brother of mine might have all the power, but you have vision, and he’s been blind for a long time. Fueled by rage. You calm his system, and you do it for nothing in return. So you’re in it.”
“Like in it?”
Nia smiled. “In it, deep.”
When the pair arrived at the restaurant, they were immediately greeted and escorted to Aunt G and her guest.
“Ladies,” Aunt G crooned, standing to greet Nia and Reign as the receptionist escorted them over to the crisp white linen-covered table where Aunt G and another woman were seated.
The Majestic Club was for the elite. It was where deals were made, laws were conjured up, and the city's movers and shakers came up with their next plans and pivots. For Aunt G to invite her niece and Reign here for lunch only meant she had something up her sleeve.
Nia hugged her first, and Reign followed suit.
