Page 10 of Domino
“Good doin’ business with you, holmes.”
“Yeah, you, too,” Cosmo says.
“Hope it ain’t the last time,” he says and looks over at me. “Be a damn shame, what with you just gettin’ your trainin’ wheels off and shit, carnal. You at least gotta stick around long enough to get that kutte dirty.”
A wry smile crosses my face. “I hear that.”
He gives us both a nod, and his expression grows serious. “Watch your asses, gringos. Those putos don’t fuck around.”
He turns and walks back to his bike. We watch him strap on his gloves and helmet, then fire it up. A moment later, he and Bala are leading their van out of the old parking lot and getting back on the road, bound for Fresno.
“Toss this in the lockbox in the van,” I tell Derek as I toss him the bag of money.
“Copy that.”
Technically speaking, the Pharaohs and the Warriors are rival MCs. But even rivals can do business together when its mutually beneficial. It helps that we don’t roll in the same territory either. They’ve got that Central Valley corridor, and we stick to the coast. Rivals or not, it’s good to know that they’ve at least got our backs enough to tip us off to the shitstorm that’s brewing on the horizon.
“We should hit it,” Cosmo says. “Prophet’s going to want to hear this.”
“This is gonna get bad, isn’t it?”
He smirks at me. “It ain’t gonna be sunshine and rainbows. But hey, you gotta get that kutte dirty one way or another, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I just didn’t want it covered in blood.”
He shrugs. “What we want is often not what we get in life.”
“Great. You sound like you’re quoting a goddamn fortune cookie to me,” I say as we walk to our bikes and mount up.
“Don’t discount the wisdom found in fortune cookies.”
I laugh softly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
We get ourselves back on the road, the thought of the cartel looming in my mind like a bank of black clouds on the horizon.
Chapter Five
Ashley
“When will you be back, do you think?” I ask.
We’re standing in the kitchen and Ryan regards me with his usual contempt but says nothing. It hasn’t been a very good morning and he’s angrier than usual. He pops one of his pills and washes it down with his coffee. I try to control the expression on my face, but I’m obviously not very successful at it.
“What? Do you have something to say, Ash?”
“I was just wondering whether or not it was wise to be taking those pills when you’re going to be handling firearms.”
He scoffs. “Why don’t you just worry about yourself? I’m fine.”
“If you’re fine, then why are you popping pills like candy?”
He closes the distance between us, forcing me back up against the refrigerator, his face hovering so close to mine, the tips of our noses are practically touching. His breath is sour, and I turn my head away, but he grabs hold of my face, his fingers pressing hard into my cheeks, and turns me back to face him.
“I’m gettin’ real tired of your shit, Ashley. I’m gettin’ real tired of you questionin’ everything I do. And that shit’s gonna stop. Right here and right now. Do you get me?”
Though I’m terrified and my heart is thundering inside of me, I do my best to stiffen my spine. Maggie and I have been planning my escape for the last couple of weeks and the day has finally arrived. It’s critical that I don’t act any different than I normally do, and if I suddenly start simpering and cowering to him, he might know something’s up. Predators know when the behavior of their prey changes. They can practically smell it. I lift my chin and stare back at him.
“You’re miserable, Ryan. We either need to go to couples counseling, or we should just go our own ways. Why are you resisting this idea? Don’t you want to be happy and live a life without things dragging you down?”
