Page 30 of Dom 3
“You driving or you want me to send somebody?”
“The drivers are taking us,” she said. “O’Shynn already told him to gas up the Maybach, and she said don’t have your mama start dinner without us.”
I shook my head. “Man, y’all talk to Ma, like she the damn cookout committee. We ate already. Too late.”
“She basically is,” Carmen said. “You know that nobody is saying no to Ma’s cooking. Now go back in the house before she thinks you’re running a cartel meeting on her porch.”
“Iamrunning one.” I muttered. “Ain’t no secret.”
She chuckled again, then her tone softened up. “You some rest, Dom. You been moving nonstop for a long time and I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’m good, baby,” I told her. “Long as you and that baby straight.” It was crazy how that shit just eased off of my tongue, that’s how I knew it was real.
“We are,” she cooed. “The doctor will confirm that too.”
“Yeah,” I said, looking back through the window at my family gathered in the dining room. “Yeah, tomorrow.”
When she ended the call, I slid the phone back in my pocket and headed inside where the noise swallowed me back up.
The driver had the Maybach gliding real smooth down the causeway as the city lights flickered across the windshield. Miami always looked like the place to be, and it was too damn beautiful to be so damn cruel. People loved this place but if they only knew what went on in the underworld as well as the hood, they might not view it the same anymore. It was too damn beautiful for its own good. I sat in the backseat with my laptop open, and eyes half on the screen, while half on the reflection of my face in the glass. O’Shynn sat next to me, scrolling her phone with one hand and sipping a drink with the other like she was born for this life.
She had her hair down tonight, with dark bouncing curls, and huge gold hoops in her ears. Her nails matched the royal blue crop jacket she wore, but O’Shynn usually always dressed like her personality based off ow she felt day by day.
“Girl, you still working?” she asked, leaning over to peek at my screen. “You been on that laptop for hours.”
“Somebody gotta make sure this family don’t end up on the Fed’s dinner menu,” I told her, typing another string of codes into one of the encrypted accounts. “El Blanca’s death shook the system a little. I’ve been double checking every payroll transfer, making sure all the shell wires land where they supposed to. Too much heat in the city right now for loose ends.”
O’Shynn whistled loudly. “You really be living in spreadsheets baby… the goat.”
I smiled feeling tired but proud. “And that’s exactly why Dom trusts me with this part. I make sure the streets stay clean on paper. It’s not the glam life people think it is.”
She laughed while flipping her hair. “Girl, please. You act like you don’t like being the cartel lawyer and queen all in one. You eat that power up. You have an advantage right now that most women will never get the chance to experience.”
“I like the control,” I admitted. “I like the order too because when the worlds on fire, at least I can make the flames look legal.”
O’Shynn grinned, leaning her head back. “You sound like Dom.”
“Don’t insult me,” I teased, finally closing the laptop.
We both laughed as the music filled the speakers inside of the car with Afrobeats on the radio station. O’Shynn was vibing to it, tapping her nails against her thigh, lost in her own world. I studied her for a second. She’d been moving different lately, quieter, and more distant. The club used to be her playground, but I could tell her mind wasn’t on that lately.
“You okay O’Shynn?” I asked. “You’ve been quiet lately.”
She shrugged. “Just tired I guess. Been up all night dealing with invoices and shipments like I usually am and sometimes I wish I could disappear for a week.”
“You sound like me,” I retorted. “But you know we don’t get that luxury a lot.”
We rode in silence for a moment before she turned her head to look at me. “So, you and Dom… y’all good? You been around each other a lot lately and I’m seeing the difference.”
I smirked. “We’re good.”
“Mmhmm.” She eyed me suspiciously. “That’s your lawyer answer.”
I laughed, looking out the window to hide my smile. “You always notice too much O’Shynn.”
“That’s my job,” she said, still watching me. “You act different lately too. Like a little softer and not in a bad way either. You’ve even been turning down drinks. What’s that about?”
The car got quieter, the music seemed like it was fading in the background. I turned my head to meet her eyes. “You really wanna know?”
