17. London

"You a nasty motherfucker." Meechie grinned as I returned from the private plane bathroom.

"You a nosy motherfucker!" I shot back, slapping him on his head as I walked past him to my seat. I removed myself when I saw Monroe's name flash across my screen. I didn't want Meechie to take over my phone call. He was obsessed with his new sister-in-law. It was cute, and Meechie was my boy, but his ass talked way too much. The way I'd been missing Monroe, I needed her all to myself. I hadn't planned on coaching her through an orgasm, but the need for sexual pleasure was heavy in her voice the moment I said hello.

"Don't touch me with yo' sweaty dick hands, nigga. I heard you in there beating yo' meat."

I stared at his stupid ass for a minute. I wasn't jacking off because it did nothing for me. I needed a woman's touch. Plus, I had my headphones in when I was talking to Monroe, so it was no way he heard her beautiful moans.

"You a fool, you know that!" I shot back as we both shared a laugh. "Mind yo' fucking business."

"Yo' business is my business, nigga. You know that already."

"Since when?" I questioned as I moved my mouth to mimic his answer.

"Since diapers, nigga."

He'd been saying that same thing since we were kids.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved him off.

"So, you and sis already fucking, huh?"

I couldn't tell if he was asking a question or making a statement. So, I ignored him. I wasn't about to discuss Monroe like some random ho. She was more to me than that.

"I could tell by yo' silence something don' popped off," he said just as the flight attendant announced our flight was landing.

"I'm invested." I offered that as I buckled my seat belt to prepare for landing.

"You falling for her, ain't you? Y'all gon' make this shit official?"

That time, he was posing a question. One that had been floating through my brain a thousand times. If I talked about my feelings for Monroe with anybody, it would be to Meechie. Like he'd said, he had been in my business since diapers.

"Falling, nigga… Nah, I'm on the floor." I admitted, and a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

"So y'all gon' like take this marriage shit for real?" I shook my head. "Why not? What's the holdup?" He threw his hands in the air.

"Monroe ain't never had the opportunity to be free—make her own choices. She needs to heal. She doesn't need another man forcing some shit upon her." That's exactly what I would be doing if I pursued her in that manner. Sex was one thing but pursuing her was another.

"Yeah, but what if she needs everything that you are?"

I turned my head to stare at him as our plane touched down in Bristol. I was trying to figure out where my best friend had gone.

"Nigga, when did you start making sense?"

"I always make sense." He laughed.

"I just don't want to force her into anything. This is about her more than it"s about me."

"If you say so, nigga. You know I'm riding either way."

"You got the recording?" I asked. Meechie nodded.

"Sending it to yo' phone now," he replied. I smirked. Kashus Grant was easy to catch up. All it took was a few light-skinned big booty strippers to get him on a recording talking foul about Monroe and snorting cocaine up his nose. He planned to get her strung out on drugs after he took over her father"s business. I already had plans to fuck him up, but now I was going to put two in his head. You ready to go talk to her pops?" Meechie asked just as the flight attendants opened the door.

"Let"s go!" I growled. I had never been afraid to talk to anybody, but this impromptu meeting with Monroe's dad had me a little bothered. It didn't have anything to do with him, but I knew after I secured her freedom, she would be free to leave. The thought of Monroe out there in the world without me was scary, but like I said… This wasn't about me. It was about Monroe and had been since day one.

The Iris estatewas exactly how I'd pictured it to be. It reminded me a lot of my childhood home. It was big and flashy with security guards posted all around. It was the life to be had for everyone on the outside looking in, but for people like me and Monroe, it had been our prison. I got out of the car and handed my keys to the valet before walking up the stairs. Meechie was right on the side of me. Before we could reach the front door, we were swarmed by security. We knew the deal. It was a standard greeting for a meeting of this caliber. I threw my hands up, removing the gun that I kept tucked at my waist. Meechie did the same.

"Be careful with her. That's my baby!" I handed my favorite gun to security. I wasn't afraid to go in without protection. Jacob Iris wasn't foolish enough to start a war by taking me and Meechie out. I was certain he didn't want to spend his last days alive at war with the London Cartel.

"Weapons will be returned to you upon leaving," one of the guards informed us as he allowed us to enter.

Another man instructed, "Take them to Iris." We were led down a long hallway. I scanned the walls for pictures or any sign of Monroe's childhood but found nothing. The walls were bare except for the expensive paintings and art plastered around. The guard led us to the back of the house and into a back room I assumed to be Mr. Iris's office.

"Sir, your visitors are here."

"Only Royale enters." His voice sailed through the air, and the guard put his body between me and the door, blocking Meechie from entering.

"You good with that, Ro?" Meechie shouted over the guard.

I nodded as I stepped further inside the room. Mr. Iris was standing in the window behind his desk. Even from behind, I could tell the toll the cancer was taking on him.

"Royale London." Mr. Iris greeted me as I entered the room. "I was confused when this meeting was requested, so I did some digging. You kidnapped my daughter and married her without my permission."

He'd done his research. I wasn't surprised.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you where you stand." He turned around, gun pointed at my head. I took in his appearance. He looked tired, no doubt, from the cancer. It had to have been months since Monroe had seen her father because if she had seen him like this, she would have known he was sick.

Still, even in his ailing state, he exuded power. He reminded me a lot of my father.

"For the record, I didn't kidnap her. She came willingly." I walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat. His having a gun pointed at me didn't scare me one bit. Just like him, I had been raised for this. I had my first gun placed in my face at seven. I wasn't easily intimidated. "Killing me would make your daughter a widow."

"Huh, I don't see the problem in that. I kill you, and she goes on to marry Kashus as planned. Problem solved." He snarled.

"The only problem is you don't want Kashus to run your business. Your daughter has been missing for a week, and he hasn't told you anything. He's been hanging out in strip clubs over him finding your daughter." I looked him directly in his eyes as I spoke. He didn't say anything… just kept his pistol on me.

"I know your delicate situation. You need an heir. Monroe can't be because she's a woman, and the mafia won't allow it. Your unborn son is too late. Monroe marrying Kashus is… was your only choice no matter the cost, huh? You wagered her body. Taught her to be a doormat to a bum ass nigga that treats her like nothing." I could see his hand twitching in anger.

"Many women before her have done it. My mother included," he replied, causing me to stare at him as if he was insane. This was exactly why I was here to get Monroe away from his ass. His ideologies about women were old and outdated.

"Saying that others have endured is not a good enough reason."

"My daughter, my business!" he yelled.

"Wrong, my wife, my business." I smirked. "Look, I'm here as a courtesy. I have taken Monroe as my wife. That means she is now under my protection. You will allow Monroe to live free of her family duties."

He lowered the gun down, banging the metal against his wooden desk.

"I looked into you—son of Malcom London. I grew up with your father. Our fathers did business together long ago. That's the only reason why I'll give grace for your stupidity." He folded his hands together. "You abandoned your family duties, and now you come here asking for my daughter to do the same."

"We are supposed to give up our lives—our freedom of choice—because someone decided on this lifestyle long before we existed. Nah!" My voice was laced with anger.

"To whom much is given, much is required. We didn't get to choose this life, and the sacrifices we have to make for it aren't pretty, but we don't get to abandon it, damn it! It made us who we are!" His voice thundered, and I saw flashes of my father. Monroe's father, just like mine, was stuck in his ways. He didn't care if I was stating facts. He'd made up his mind and didn't want to change it.

"Frankly, I don't care what you think of my choice to leave the cartel. Like I said, Monroe is my wife now. She is not your bargaining chip. Make your moves accordingly."

"Where is my daughter?" His jaw clenched.

"Safe," was all I offered. It was all he needed to know. Mr. Iris sat back in his chair, biting down on his jaw. He wasn't used to someone standing their ground against him. I wasn't here to be friendly. Fake marriage or not, Monroe was mine to protect. I'd promised to be her bodyguard, and I was never going back on my word.

"I'm only going to offer this one time. Annul the marriage and return my daughter to her rightful fiancé."

I chuckled at the way he thought he was in control.

"I can't do that. I promised my wife a better life, and I don't break my promises." I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone to play the recording of Kashus.

"What's this?" Mr. Iris leaned forward.

"Were you aware that the nigga you chose for your heir and your daughter"s husband is a coke head?" I pressed play on the video and slid it closer to him. Mr. Iris's eyes bulged as Kashus came into view, lowering his nose to the table in front of him. He inhaled a white substance up his nose.

"The nigga you picked as heir to your precious family business is a fucking bob head." I shook my head.

"Huh!" He snorted, a smirk crossing over his face. "Everybody has tried a little coke. Haven't you?" He reached down into his drawer and pulled out a clear zip-lock bag with a white substance. A lot of shit didn't surprise me, but watching Jacob Iris snort coke up his nose wasn't on my bingo card for today.

"It is impossible to live in this life and not indulge a time or two." He snorted. I shook my head. There are plenty of people who got caught up in this lifestyle and become addicted to their own supply. My heart broke for Monroe again. She never mentioned her father being on drugs, so I assumed this was also something she was in the dark about too.

"Monroe knows about this?" I questioned. Jacob finished snorting the line of coke he had out on the table.

"Why would Monroe know? She knows only what she needs to." He slid the razor over to me.

"Nah, I'm good." I shook my head. This nigga was crazier than I thought if he thought I was about to join him in congesting that poison in my body.

"Return my daughter. You are not fit to be her husband." He rubbed his hand across his nose. He really must have been out of his fucking mind if he thought I was going to return Monroe to two coked-out motherfuckers.

"I can't do that. Like I said, start making other plans. If you or Kashus come for Monroe, you'll be inciting a war you can't win. It's over. Let her go." I could keep Monroe hidden away until her father died, but who knew how long that would be? Being in hiding and having to look over your shoulder every day was no way to live. Monroe deserved better than that. I needed her father and ex-fiancé to leave her be.

"You can keep Monroe. I'll take care of Kashus if you replace me as head of my organization." He was still using Monroe as a bargaining tool for his own benefit.

"I'm gon' keep Monroe regardless. That's my wife, and she"s no longer your bargaining tool." I stood, giving one last glance at Jacob Iris.

"Monroe is my daughter, damn it!" His voice thundered.

"Move accordingly. She's no longer anyone's property." I opened the door to his office.

"You don't want to go to war with me. You are not a member of the cartel. There"s no protection for you!" he shouted as he tapped the gun on his desk. I glanced at Meechie, who was approaching the door. What Mr. Iris said was true. I didn't have full cartel support. What I had was the support of my best friend who just so happened to control the cartel.

"I guess we'll find out," I replied as I walked out of the door.

"Let's go." I shot in Meechie's direction as I walked down the hall.

"Dr. London!" a voice called out from behind me. I turned as Contessa approached me. I'd had seen her on a video call the day of Monroe's and my wedding but never in person. She was a pretty girl, but she looked much older than Monroe. I would have never guessed they were only a few years apart.

"This is for you," she whispered discreetly as she slipped a balled-up piece of paper into my hand and disappeared down the hallway. The look in her eyes worried me, and I knew whatever she had just handed me was serious. I eyed Meechie as security returned our guns and walked us out of the house.

"What she give you?" Meechie asked as he placed his gun back in his jeans.

"I don't know. Let's get out of here and check it out." I tucked the paper in my pocket. We walked down the front stairs of Monroe's old home and to the car.

"Iris a geeker," I blurted, causing Meechie's mouth to drop.

"Damn, no wonder he chose Kashus to fill his shoes." He shook his head in disbelief. My mouth opened to agree with what he'd just said, but I was cut off by the vibration of my phone. Unknown Caller flashed on the screen, and I knew automatically it was my father calling me from his burner phone. He didn't call me unless he needed something or wanted to tell me how much of a disappointment I was to him. The timing of his call was telling me it had something to do with Monroe. I swiped to answer the call.

"Royale." His voice barreled into the car speakers.

"Yeah, Pop," I answered him.

"Return the girl," he ordered. His voice was calm and menacing, as always. My father thought everyone was supposed to bend to his demands, which was exactly how he spoke.

"That girl you speak of is my wife. So, you can see why I can't do that." My father didn't scare me. I was no longer the little boy that listened and obeyed. I was my own man.

"A wife that you unlawfully obtained, Royale."

"I didn't know stealing a nigga girl was an unlawful crime," I joked, knowing it was pissing him off.

"It's a law of the streets. You know the code you turned your back on."

"I didn't turn my back on anything, Pop. I'm doing exactly what you raised me to do, be a man. I'm carving my path and standing on my own two feet." It was a time when my father"s disapproval of my choices got to me, but I'd stopped seeking his approval long ago. I accepted that his opinion of me didn't matter because his values and goals weren't aligned with mine, and they would never be.

"Standing on your own two feet and hiding behind the cartel support. Something is not adding up." He laughed.

"Is this why you called?" I was done with this conversation. It was pointless. Monroe wasn't going anywhere.

"The cartel is not going to support you through no war over a girl!"

"Last I checked, Pop, that wasn't your decision," I said before hanging up the phone. I didn't have anything else to discuss with my father. He was still controlling the cartel, but Meechie was the acting boss. He didn't need my father's approval. He took his orders out of respect, not obligation.

"Yo' wars are my wars, bro." Meechie turned to face me as he pulled out of the Iris estate. "Is that what he wants?"

"His offer was his heir or go to war." I unballed the piece of paper that Contessa had handed me. It was a handwritten note that appeared to be written in a hurry. The words caused me to still in my seat. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I processed the words.

They know where she is.

"Shit, the meeting was a decoy. They going for Monroe." I turned the note for Meechie to read. His head dropped before his jaw clenched.

"How the fuck do they know where to find her?" He was just as stunned as me. That was exactly what I was asking myself. Nobody knew where my safe house was located. My flights to and from the island weren't reported. Tessa could have told, but she'd alerted me, so that couldn't be it. Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"It was Pop! Fuck!" My voice thundered. My father knew about the safe house—he'd had it built. He knew all its secrets. I pulled up Monroe's contact information and dialed her number. Maybe Tessa had alerted her already, and she was safe.

"I'll have them get the plane ready," Meechie informed me as he typed on his phone.

"Hey, London." Monroe picked up the phone.

"They know where you are. You not safe in the house." I rushed out. I didn't know how long she had before they had reached her. I cursed myself for not having security watch her. I truly thought she was safe in the house. It was a rookie mistake, and I fucking knew better.

"What?" I could hear her breathing increase.

"You have to go to Aunt Vanessa's. She'll be able—"

"There's a noise at the door," she interrupted me. Hearing how afraid she was threatened to tear my heart right out of my chest.

"Get to the shelter!" I demanded. I was hoping my father wasn't expecting Monroe to know about it. It was a long shot, but it was all I had. "Go now! You know the one I showed you in the greenhouse. I'm locking the house down now. When I do that, everyone inside with you will be locked inside." It was a fail-safe mechanism. Nobody in and nobody out. It would buy time until I could alert the local authorities. If Kashus had someone there, the police should be able to take care of it.

"Aye, if he breaks a bunch of air traffic laws, Jake said he could get us there in an hour and forty minutes," Meechie said. The tunnel under the house led to the other side of town. It would take Monroe about an hour to make it to the bunker. I would have the local authorities meet her there. It was all beginning to make sense. Meechie and I had walked right into a damn trap. This was why they'd set the meeting up in Bristol City instead of coming to Miami or meeting in a mutual location. They knew it would take me too long to get to her from here. I dropped my head as Monroe moved around the house. I could hear her rapid breathing through the phone.

"Monroe," I called her name. I needed to make sure she was listening.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Once you are in the safe shelter, this call will drop. You will have no phone service. Follow the tunnel, it's about an hour's walk. It will lead to a bunker. I will have a Cuban officer there to meet you. He will take you somewhere safe until I get to you."

"Okay, I'm in the greenhouse now," she whispered. "I heard voices at the front door." She was scared, and I couldn't even fake the shit. I was too. I ain't know what her father or Kashus would do to her if she were back in their possession.

"Move fast; the door automatically closes and locks behind you."

The phone fell quiet, and all that could be heard was her heavy breathing. My head was spinning. Meechie was swerving through the streets like a bat out of hell, and my heart was breaking. I had fallen for Monroe a long time ago, but now I could honestly say I loved her. The thought of being without her or not being able to protect her was too much to bear.

"Chocolate."

"Yes?"

"I love you. I love you, and I'm going handle this shit."

"I love y—" The call dropped, and so did a nigga fucking heart.

"If something happens to Monroe, I'm gon' unretire and be the savage I was born to be." I grunted. Meechie sighed.

"She gon' be good; we gon' get there." He assured me.