Page 30 of Dom 4
Tone leaned down and kissed her forehead while whispering something only she needed to hear. After he cut the cord, they placed the baby in her arms. Tone covered both of them with his body like nothing in the world could touch them and I stood there… the hard one, the violent one, and the one who never let his guard down with my hands in my pockets and my throat tight in a way that felt unfamiliar and real to me. That was family I was looking at, and not the name, and not the empire or the money. What I was looking at was beautiful. Tone had his junior, I had another nephew, and our legacy was growing.
The mansion looked different now that we were officially in it. My touches were finally in place, and the marble floors were warm instead of cold now. The black and gold accents complimented the cream drapes and lush green coloring that gave the mansion a richer look. The living room opened wide into the terrace, and the glass was stacked back so it looked like the house poured into the backyard. Out there was where everything was happening.
The chef was outside working the grill with smoke rising slowly from slabs of marinated ribs, jerk chicken, thick steaks seasoned to the bone, and lobster tails split open with garlic butter melting into it. The old-school Miami classics played through the outdoor speakers filling the air with Trick, Trina, and then a little Frankie Beverly… the type of music that made you dance and sing even when you didn’t want to.
Dom stood near the grill with his shirt off and his sweats hanging low on his waist with his Cuban chain glistening andcatching the sunlight every time he moved. His gun rested on the table near him because even on family day, the world did not stop being the world although we were officially on Star Island and well protected. Dique was here too, posted up with Amour sitting on his shoulders and her tiny hands gripping his braids while she giggled at everything. She had on a little Jordan set that matched his and was too cute for her own good. Underneath her outfit she had on a cute little bathing suit.
Keondra was in the pool letting the sun hit her back. She wasn’t doing too much for the most part she was just chilling and growth looked good on her. Candy D, my mother-in-law, was set up on a fancy lounge chair with her legs crossed, iced tea in one hand, and watching everything like she was making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. Pops was quiet as usual sitting beside her with the grill tongs in hand but not actually cooking if anything he was just supervising like men his age did when they thought they were the only ones who knew how to grill.
Tone wasn’t here yet because he was still at the hospital with Shona and the baby, but Dom had already ordered a case of champagne ready for when he came home. And everyone celebrated. I stood near the terrace doorway with one hand on my growing stomach without even thinking about it anymore because it just came natural. I was twenty-two weeks on the head and loving every kick and cramp. I was so hesitant about finding out the sex and every time the doctor would inquire I’d just keep holding it off. Even at my last appointment I made sure to tell the doctor I didn’t want to know yet and Dom was okay with that.
Dom’s eyes slid over to me like he always knew where I was without looking. That connection wasn’t forced when it came to him by now it was instinct. He came over, placed his hand overmine and kissed the side of my jaw and then leaned down and did the same to my belly.
“You good wifey?” he asked placing his kiss on my lips now.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “It feels good when everyone is together. I makes me miss what I didn’t have in Trinidad.” I admitted.
“It do,” he nodded agreeing with his eyes scanning the massive yard again. “But don’t let the sunshine fool you because we still have shit to handle. I feel like I can’t rest until I know who was behind that shooting.” He told me, as his voice went a little lower in his own thoughts.
Rell and two shadows were positioned along the perimeter trying to be obvious and all in the way, but they weren’t trying to be invisible either. They blended with the architecture, the palms, trees and the shade just watching like they always did. Dom tapped the table twice and Rell approached him.
“Make sure they still keep close ears to the streets. I want to know who the fuck was bold enough to try some shit like that the other day and anybody braggin’, anybody whisperin’, and anybody movin’ different, I want that info.” His voice was calm but stern, which was worse than rage when it came to him.
Rell nodded. “Already in motion.”
Dom sat down and leaned back in his seat and exhaled slow. “Good. I’m reacting, yet without the facts. I’m collecting right now but once I know who did it, I’m putting that shit in the dirt. It doesn’t matter if it was for O, Carmen, Keondra, Malik, or the fucking waiter who was serving they food somebody gon’ bleed for that message especially shooting at my fuckin’ family.”
Pops gave him the fatherly look that didn’t really need words to understand but Dom didn’t break eye contact with him either because they understood each other. My phone rang just then with a call from Kilo, so I stepped aside near the glass railing overlooking the water before I answered.
“Mr. Watkins.”
He breathed hard like he’d been pacing or was actually pacing at this very moment. “These niggas think I’m sweet cause I’m fightin’ this case. They online talkin’ crazy, slidin’ through blocks like they lookin’ for me. I swear to God…”
“Kilo.” My voice stayed calm but meant business. I didn’t raise it because I didn’t have to and I didn’t match his energy but instead I just anchored him. “You’re not dumb. Don’t let them bait you. They want you to react so they can use it in court. If you move now, you hand the DA the conviction wrapped with a bowtie.” I explained; he got quiet, but I could still hear him heavily breathing. “They want to see if you fold,” I continued. “So, don’t… you let them talk, you let them laugh, and you let them get real comfortable thinking you’ve softened up. When we beat this case, you get to answer however you want. But right now? You’re not jeopardizing what we’re building or else I will remove myself from this case.”
There was a long pause. Then he exhaled. “Yeah… you right, boss lady. You right…. You, always right.”
“I know,” I smirked. “Now go lay low or something and stop answering every call. You don’t owe any explanations.”
“Bet. I appreciate you taking my call. I have to have the rest of your money wired tomorrow and I’ll see you at court.”
“That’s what I love to hear, take care.” I told him. When I hung up, I looked out at my family watching Dom laughing at something Amour did. Candy D was fussing at Pops about the grill heat and Keondra was floating in the diamond shaped pool with peace on her face… a peace like one she’d never had. I knew she was still adapting but she couldn’t say for the most part she didn’t enjoy it, especially when she was set for life now. The music was still going, and love was everywhere no matter the violence that came with it. This was what we were protecting. This was the price and the war with reward.
I walked slow across the patio with my eyes scanning the table where fruit had been arranged for everyone, while casually bobbing my head listening to the music and the laughter behind the sound of it. I also watched O’Shynn off way to the other side of the pool, laid on her backside underneath the cabana with her shades covering her eyes in her own world. I was still smiling when all of a sudden it hit me like a sharp pain. That shooting wasn’t cartel and Dom confirmed it. We all said it in the penthouse when he put it all on the table. The shots had been messy in the way people do messy when they are emotional, in the way a man who wants to hurt somebody personal chooses to terrorize instead of strategizing. Whoever rolled up and fired didn’t come with codes or signatures exactly like we said, they came to make noise.
Kilo’s trial had been on every channel for weeks since it started. I had been on TV by default, on blogs, in the mornings and the nights because the headlines loved a criminal lawyer with a kingpin husband. I had worn my pregnancy into the banner of scandal just as proud as people were to rock some designer and I wasn’t hiding it plus all the blogs looking for clickbait loved it. If somebody wanted to get to Kilo… if somebody wanted to ruffle his feathers in this moment when his freedom relied so much on my work, then hitting at the edges of my life would be a tactic. Shoot up an area where I move, scare my people, put my client under pressure to make mistakes, bait the prosecutor into saying we were flustered and in connection.
The thought kept growing, making me feel like I couldn’t breathe for a second. Kilo’s enemies would want to cut his defense down to pieces if they could. If they kicked the hornet’s nest and I swatted it, would it be me they came for next? If they hurt Kilo’s people would the heat come back to me because of proximity? I could already see the prosecutor’s face in my headtwisting the narrative saying that my connections made me part of the problem and not the solution.
I pictured headlines and the damn subpoenas. I pictured blood that would not wash off anybody’s hands without more blood being shed first and the worst of it all was if I said what I suspected and I was wrong, if I sent men after ghosts and we broke somebody who had nothing to do with it, then everything I live for would be stained with blame. Or worse, if I said nothing and they were right and the next shot killed somebody I loved, I would never forgive myself.
Dom caught the look on my face from across the yard and for a second, I saw him look like his eyes were narrowing, like a predator deciding if he wanted to come be curious or not. However, he didn’t come over. He trusted me to tell him whatever I was thinking if it was something intense. He knew the weight I carried, and he knew how I carried it. I let the image of the shooter replay in my head a few times searching for the clue that pulled this back into business and out of fear, but I couldn’t really see the shooters. The pieces wanted to click into perspective so bad, but I didn’t want to entertain anything that wasn’t correct but at the same time I needed to make things make sense. Maybe Kilo’s opps wanted to fuck with me so Kilo would snap. Maybe it was an angry associate caught up on the headlines. Maybe it was a message to the Royals masked as a random act. The options spread wide but narrow at the same time.
I pushed the thoughts away briefly trying to snap out of it. I would hold this thought like a fragile thing and not show it yet but not like this. The men in my life reacted in ways that added more bodies to the ledger before the ink could dry good from the last and I knew that. I also knew the way the public moved as well and a hint in the wrong direction and the cameras will eat you alive. The lawyers would file motions just to make noise, andmen who want trouble will smell blood in the water and come like some damn sharks. For now, I would let it sit in the back of my mind while I kept my eyes open. I would beat Kilo’s case like it was the last case I’d ever fight.
The chef called that the plates were ready and it was right on time because everybody had been ready to eat. Candy D insisted that I sit down and let her fuss over me, while Dique was already acting like he was frolicking with the damn grill to see if anything else needed flipping. I adjusted my dress and let my smile come back slow because business had its own face and family had another; the last thing I wanted was for anyone to assume something was wrong or try to invade and get in my thoughts. I would keep the thoughts tucked tight inside me for now only wanting facts first and action after the confirmation. This was the law of my life, and this was how I had always survived.
I took a breath and let the afternoon light glow over me as I placed my hand in Dom’s hand for a second with a smile on my face before we ate. While the chef fixed plates, Tone finally showed up all smiles as everyone congratulated him and he showed pictures of his junior, even to the shadows. Keondra and Dique started arguing about him answering his phone every time one of his women called and Candy D had to step in and straighten them both.
