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“So, what are we doing about it?” I looked between them.
“I’m going to send a little ‘thanks for fucking with us’ party to go say hi. Then we’re going to see what happens next. If we’re right, they’ll go away for a bit and return with a new plan. If they don’t, we’re going to Plan B.” Domino folded his hands in front of him.
“What’s that?”
“I’ll just blow everything until something shakes down. I prefer Plan A, but sometimes, you don’t get a say in which plan works out the best.” Domino stood up. “You make sure that no more dead bodies show up here. If they do, you need to deal with it quietly.” He gave me an assessing stare. “I don’t need the cops sniffing around anything we do. Legit or not. They’re bad for all of our businesses.”
I understood and nodded back to him. “No problems from here on out,” I reassured him.
“Good. I’ll see you, fellas, later. I have a doctor’s appointment to get to. Time to see how big my babies are getting.” Domino smiled and walked out. Family life looked good on him.
Honestly, I was jealous. I’d seen how happy they were, and I wanted something like it for myself. Until then, I needed to control myself. Especially if Sam wasn’t ready for a relationship, if she had wanted nothing before us, I didn’t want to pressure her into things now. I just wanted her safe and doing well. I'd keep my distance until I could control my need to fuck her into submission. We were all better off if I did. She could figure out what she wanted, and we could get her out of our system. I had bigger things to work on, like keeping dead bodies from surfacing.
Sam was a distraction I didn’t need. She could take her sweet ass home while I learned to cope with the withdrawal symptoms I will surely have. I looked down and saw the text from Torin and a vacuum sucked all the air out of the room. He’d signed that damn marriage decree to his ex. That blew this entire plan of getting him to like Sam out the fucking water and into the scorching fire.
Tonight at the bar went well. No incidents and I increased security at the entrances. The pat downs were more intense since they knew what they were looking for. Ward didn’t allow drugs inside at all. So either smoke what we offered or get lost. The day still weighed heavily on me. I knew the risks in what we did, but the good thing about washing money was that you didn’t have to worry about the drugs. They never mixed. Now, things are changing. It kept me guarded and my eyes everywhere. Let’s not talk about that fucking text from Torin either.
I walked inside the house, greeted by silence. Though I’d wanted Sam to surface and kiss away the heaviness, I knew it was best that she didn’t. Going to work off some of the steam, I went to one of my favorite rooms in the house. Inside hung a punching bag I wanted to take a go at. I stripped down to my boxers and put on my sneakers from the corner of the room. Prepping my hands for the gloves, I let the music pounding in my ears motivate my actions, pumping me up to do damage.
Stretching my neck, I took my first hit. Adrenaline soared inside, making more blows land against the bag. Left, right. Right, right, left. Uppercut, side swings, face shot, body. I roared when I zoned out everything that wasn’t in this room. I swung until my hands hurt, my body dripped in sweat, and the fog cleared from my head. Still charged, I jumped in place, bouncing that energy around. I imagined a rope was in my hands while I jumped. When exhaustion kicked in, I slowed, winding down. I stretched my tired limbs out and enjoyed the sounds in my ear.
A tap on my shoulder had me about to kick ass until I saw Sam standing there trembling. I’d stop my fist from connecting with her face right on time. Shit! I took the earbuds from my ear and put them on the bench.
“What in the fuck were you doing in here?” I shouted. “I could have hurt you!”
“And that’s enough reason for you to shift the blame on me! Hot and cold! I’m sick of this with you. Why can’t you own your shit like a normal person instead of berating other people? I came in here because I heard you shouting while I was in the kitchen. If you want us not to hear it, how about closing the damn door next time!” She spun around and stormed out of the room.
I counted in my head so that I wouldn’t go chasing after her. The plan was to stay away from her, not to get wrapped up in her even more. I wouldn’t run through my house to explain to her why I’d done things my way in my house. As far as almost hitting her, I hadn’t meant that, but she hadn’t exactly given me time to apologize.
I put my earbuds back on the charger and took a protein drink from the refrigerator. Drinking it, I peered up to see Tavi charging into the room like something was on fire.
“What’s your problem?” He demanded in my face. “You say you want this. Said that you wanted her. But then you turn around and almost knock her head off and blame her for it? What the fuck, Caesar?”
“First off, it was an accident. Why don’t you ask questions before you accuse?”
“Did you yell at her about it being her fault that you almost hit her?”
“I asked her why she was in here.”
“You’ve been shouting and going on here like the rest of us can’t hear it with the door open. You soundproofed it. That means we won’t hear it if you close the door. You left it open because you wanted to be found. Don’t give me your shit about blaming her for your shortcomings. All she asked of us was to prove that we were serious about a relationship. Instead, you do the exact opposite. You should have just been honest about what you wanted. With her and with me.” Tavi squinted at me while he waited for an answer. When I didn’t bother, he sucked his teeth at me and walked away.
“That makes for two of y’all jumping to conclusions.” I scoffed at the situation and wished that I had the energy to go for a run. He acted like he hadn’t received the same very text message that I had.
Going to my shower, I took a long one and let the heat relax me. I didn’t bother going to talk to them. I let them simmer on the other side of the house while I stayed here. Eventually, sleep won, but it didn’t come easy.
We have to let her go before anything even gets started.
It was in my mind on repeat. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d wanted this to work. So why was the universe working against us?
I got up early and made breakfast. She’d wanted pancakes, and because we’d chosen sex, I hadn’t gotten around to it the other day. Eggs, sausage, and bacon were served with it. I went to retrieve them, only to find Sam’s room empty and Tavi asleep alone in his bed.
“Where’s Sam?” I asked him.
“What do you mean?” He sat up.
“She’s not in her room.”
“I wouldn't be either if you’d talked to me the way you talked to her.” Tavi got up wearing PJ bottoms and a wife beater.
