Chapter 24

A week had passed since Deuce’s lounge had been burned to the ground. I could tell he was on edge and his angering was beginning to fester. He was irritable and distracted. Last night, I literally had to make him turn his phone off so I could talk to him. His irritation was irritating me. We had our first real argument last night, and, of course, it was about Mirron and this damn detective.

I didn’t like that shit.

I mean, I knew our relationship wouldn’t be perfect. I knew we’d have ups and downs, especially given his line of work. I’d gotten used to the thrills, the passion, and the somewhat loving nature we had. I didn’t like fighting with him at all.

He’d left the apartment, returning an hour later to apologize.

When we woke up this morning, I could tell he was still a little irritated, but he put it aside to come with me. I had an appointment with my advisor about getting back into school to finish my program. I was only about six months shy of being finished when I had to leave, so she said there wouldn’t be a problem with getting me re-enrolled for the upcoming semester in a few weeks.

She had me fill out all the necessary paperwork and sent me to financial aid. The moment we sat down at the desk, Deuce asked that lady how much it was going to cost and that he would cover it. I tried to protest, but he basically told me to sit my ass back and let him handle business.

So I sat my ass back and let him handle it.

With enrollment taken care of, we left the school and headed to have lunch to celebrate.

“You know I’m gonna be on your ass, right?” he asked as I took a sip of my drink. “Ain’t no slacking.”

“Boy bye! I was a straight-A student when I attended before.”

“Okay, I see you. My baby has beauty, brains, and good as head, too.”

I playfully slapped his arm. “Shut up!”

“Seriously though. I’m proud of you, mama. I’m gonna throw you a graduation party when you finish. I hope there is enough seating because the fam will be rolling deep.”

I blushed. I was sure his family would show up too.

“What do you want as a graduation gift?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, you’ve given me everything I could possibly need.”

“That’s why I asked what you wanted . Your needs will always be taken care of. What does my baby desire?”

The way he looked at me when he said that sent chills up my spine. I loved the way he cared for me. He wasn’t one of these men that were afraid or ashamed to claim the woman they were with because it fucked up their street cred. Everybody around my old neighborhood knew I was his. The girls at the club knew it. Anywhere we went, it was clear that I was his, and he was mine. There was no faking the funk.

“Um….” I paused in my thoughts. “How about a nice vacation? Just the two of us.”

“You don’t want your bestie to come?”

“Oooo, a couple’s trip could be fun, even though, according to her, she and your brother aren’t a couple.”

He kissed his teeth. “Whatever. That nigga loves to talk about me, but every time I talk to his ass, she’s in the background.”

I giggled. “Same. I give a few months before they are claiming each other or threatening other people over each other.”

“Trust me, people see her with him all the time. They know what’s up.”

The server brought over our food and placed it in front of us.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked, eyeing Deuce a little longer than I liked.

She gave him a flirty smile as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“You can get the fuck away from this table,” I said, calmly yet with a tone full of seriousness.

She looked back at me and frowned.

“Did I stutter? The way you’re looking at my man in front of me almost earned your ass a slap.”

Deuce chuckled. “Take a walk, shawty.”

She scoffed as she stormed off.

“I like when you get aggressive,” Deuce said, licking his lips.

“That was disrespectful as hell. She saw me sitting here, yet she had the nerve to look at you like she wanted to whip your dick out and suck it. You better not leave that bitch a tip.”

He laughed. “I hear you, baby.”

“Good.”

I understood that my man was attractive. It was okay to look at him but flirting with him or giving him come fuck me eyes in my face would never fly with me.

We dug into our food while I told Deuce all about the business and hospitality program I was going back to complete. I told him about my dream of opening a lounge that would be a one stop venue space. He was the perfect person to help me get a business plan together, being that he already owned several lounges in the area.

It was different having a man that I could talk business with. Most guys I dated in the past loved to be in the damn streets. Granted, Deuce was in the streets too, but he was on a whole other level. He handled his business and made time to cuddle with me at the end of a long ass day.

There were several layers to him. He wasn’t just his last name or his job. He was caring and loving in his own aggressive ass way. He was a protector and a provider. Somehow, he’d become my other best friend. I was falling for him, and I just couldn’t help myself.

We’d gotten lost in conversation between me stealing fries from his plate when a man approached our table. Deuce looked up and the frown that appeared told me that this was someone he couldn’t stand.

“Mr. Dillinger,” the man said. I noticed the badge displayed on his hip.

“The fuck you want?”

“So hostile.” He looked over at me. “Detective Ian Pearson. You are?”

Deuce stood from his seat. “None of your fucking business. Why are you even still in town?”

“Just tying up some loose ends. You know, I found it very funny that the judge who signed off on your warrant ended up dead from an apparent suicide.”

“I guess that guilt got to him. Do you know what’s funnier? The fact that I heard it was you who blackmailed him into signing the warrant.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly. He tried to quickly composed himself, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Yeah, I’m on to you, muthafucka. You gon’ learn not to fucking play with me. Count your days and know that there ain’t a place you can hide that I won’t find you.”

“Do you know who I am? I know enough about you to put you away for life.”

“Is that what this is? You think you’re gonna make a name for yourself out here? Stop while you’re ahead. You have no idea the reach I have, my nigga. I know who sent for you and as soon as I get the information I need, it’s lights out for both of you. Now… I’m having a nice lunch with my lady. Show her some respect and get the fuck away from this table.”

The detective looked between the two of us but didn’t move. Deuce chuckled as he placed a hand on the back of the detective’s neck. I watched as he pressed his thumb into the pressure point, causing him to wince in pain.

“You’re making my trigger finger itch. I’d hate to cause a scene in this nice establishment. Get. The fuck. Out… Now.”

Deuce released him and the detective quickly walked off. He reclaimed his seat and leaned over to kiss me.

“You good?”

I nodded. “Can we please go?”

He sighed as he pulled his wallet out and placed a hundred-dollar bill on the table. He stood and reached for my hand. We walked out of the restaurant in silence and climbed into his car. Just as we were about to pull off, he got a call.

“Hey, Jae. What’s up?”

He was quiet for a moment as he listened to his sister.

“Say what now?”

His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Bet. I’m on my way.” He hung up and turned to me. “We have to go to Jaeda’s. She’s got some shit to show me.”

I nodded as I relaxed into the seat. I prayed that whatever she had to show him would bring him one step closer to ending this shit.

J aeda’s home on the compound was beautiful, but I expected nothing less. It was a gorgeous one-story farmhouse with a wrap-around porch. She was a total girly girl so there was an influx of flowers, and she had a garden.

The inside was spacious everything was in pristine condition. She led us from the front door and down the hall to a door that required handprint recognition to enter. When we stepped inside, it was like walking into a tech lover’s dream.

Sis was like the black Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds. She had several computers and mounted monitors. Pink file cabinets lined a single wall. Several degrees were displayed with her name on it. I knew she was smart, but she held degrees in computer science, information technology, data analysis and cybersecurity.

“Damn, girl,” I said, looking around.

She giggled. “I know. My looks don’t match my brains. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard that.”

She took a seat at her desk and pulled up several things on the monitors.

“What are we looking at?” Deuce asked.

“The connection between Pearson and Hayes.” She pointed at the screen. “Your detective is his illegitimate son.”

“Get the fuck out of here!”

“I’m so serious. It took alot for me to find it. Hayes wasn’t lying when he said he used to be in the streets. He and Uncle Blake were rivals at one point, but Unc made him sit his ass down.

“Pearson’s mother used to be one of his mules. He name is Cynthia Pearson. She got caught trying to bring cocaine across the border so she’s been serving an extensive sentence. She had him in prison and he was raised by her sister. Hayes sent the same payment amount to her every month for years. Not only that, he’s been keeping money on her books.”

“How did you find this out?” I asked curiously.

“Well, I find that the easiest way to catch somebody doing something is to establish a pattern of spending, so I accessed Hayes’s bank statements. He had three; a joint account with his wife along with his personal savings, and then there was a separate account in which he paid the sister and commissary.

“Once I identified the prisoner, he was sending money to, I cross-referenced that with the person he was paying and discovered it was her sister. That was a little weird to me, so I looked into her and found out she had a child that there was no record of her giving birth to. When I accessed his hospital records, I discovered Cynthia was his mother and Mirron is listed as the father on his birth certificate.”

Deuce shook his head. “This muthafucka. So why is he going through all this trouble to fuck with me about some property?”

“That’s where the story gets interesting. I’ve been accessing phone records, his airline miles, and all types of shit. Every month, like clockwork, he takes a trip to Colombia. He never stays more than two or three days. Why do most drug dealers go to Colombia?”

“To meet with their connect.”

“Exactly. I put a detail on him. He’s there right now.”

She switched to another computer and pulled up a series of photos of Mirron and another man.

“That’s Eduardo Castro,” Deuce said. “He used to supply Uncle Blake.”

“I was able to tap his camera so I could get his audio. Hayes never got out of the game. He’s been moving weight in different cities for years and he’s decided he wants to bring it back home, right under Uncle Blake’s nose. What do all the properties he wants from you have in common, Deuce?”

He thought for a moment. “They’re all on the water.” He slapped his hands together. “Now that shit makes sense. It would be the easiest way to slip that shit in.”

“Exactly. My guess is he’s trying to set you up to get you out of the way. My connect down at the station sent me the video from the night of the fire.”

Jaeda looked hesitant for a moment, and it told me something was wrong. I looked between her and her brother, sensing maybe I should give them some privacy.

“I can leave if you two need to talk in private,” I said.

Deuce shook his head. “Nah. Say what you need to say, Jaeda.”

She sighed. “The car that pulled away from the scene matches yours. Down the license plate.”

“That’s some fucking bullshit that will never stick so I ain’t worried about that. These muthafuckas are playing with the wrong nigga. As soon as Mirron brings his ass back stateside, I’m putting a bullet between his fucking eyes. Pearson is gonna get his too.”

“Baby, you can’t kill a federal agent!” I exclaimed.

“Watch me.”

“This is crazy!”

He turned to me and cupped my face. “You knew who I was before this. Don’t try to change me now.”

“I’m not. I’m just… I’m scared for you. If something happens to you?—”

“Ain’t nothing gon’ happen to me, a’ight? I’m gonna take care of this shit and that’s gonna be the end of it. My uncle can handle the street shit if it comes to it.”

I wanted to cry. I’d grown comfortable with life with him. The thought of somebody taking him from me terrified me. I’d already lost one man I cared for. I couldn’t go through that shit again.

We stayed at Jaeda’s about thirty minutes more while she went over all of her findings with Deuce. We then took the short ride to his house in silence. My thoughts were all over the place. and I just wanted to lay down for a little bit. I excused myself to his room.

After discarding my shoes and stripping down to my bra and panties, I crawled into his bed and curled up under the covers. A few tears slipped down my cheeks as thoughts of life without Deuce filled my head.

Somehow, this roughneck, aggressive, disrespectful yet caring man had stolen my heart. I care for him in ways that I didn’t fully understand considering I couldn’t stand him when we first met. Time changed things.

We grew closer.

We learned more about each other.

He became my best friend. Did I dare say… I loved him?

It wasn’t long before I heard the door open and he came in. I watched him in the mirror as he undressed down to his boxers. He approached the bed and climbed in, pulling me back against his chest. I relaxed as he kissed my temple. For a moment, I just laid there listening to the sound of our breathing. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I turned over in his arms.

For the longest time we stared at each other. He pulled me in closer to him.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“If something happens to you?—”

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Salima.”

“Listen to me!” I demanded.

He sighed. “I’m listening, baby.”

“If something happens to you… I want you know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my mama. I don’t care what people may call you. I see a side of you that they don’t.” I gently cupped his face. “I… I love you, Stanley.”

He looked at me for a moment before a grin broke out on his face.

“I told you I was gonna wear your ass down, didn’t I.”

I slapped his chest and pushed him away. “I’m being serious!”

Roughly, he pulled me back into his arms. “I’m just fucking with you, baby. I love you too, Salima.”

“Don’t say it just because I said it.”

He kissed his teeth. “This ain’t no competition, and when have you ever known me to say shit I don’t mean?”

“Never.”

“Okay, then. I love your big-headed, smart mouth ass, woman.”

“You could at least make it sound romantic.”

Without missing a beat, he rolled me over onto my back, resting his body between my legs. His lips found mine, and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me with lust, yet so much passion. Our lips and tongues intertwined in a sensual dance that forced lustful moans from my throat.

“Deuce…” I whispered, feeling his manhood growing against my mound.

He pulled away and peered down at me.

“I love you. You’re my woman and one of these days you’re gonna be my wife. You okay with that?”

I blushed as I nodded. “Yeah… I’m okay with that.”

“Good, cause you ain’t really had a choice.”

I laughed. “How did I not have a choice?”

“Either you gon’ be with me. I’m gon’ be with you. Or we gon’ be together.”

“I could very well be with another man, Stanley.”

“How are you gonna be with another nigga if they’re dead?”

He said that with so much seriousness that I had to laugh out loud.

“You are crazy,” I declared.

“About you, I’ll be fucking insane.” He leaned down and pecked my lips. “Now, I’m about to slide these panties to the side so you can wet my dick up. Show a nigga how much you really love him.”

He didn’t give me a chance to protest before my soaked thong was pulled aside, and he was breaching my walls. I gasped as he sank deep into me with ease, knowing that he was about to make a mess.

Damn, I loved this man.