by Eden Fortae
To help shake herself of that ill feeling, Kya started jogging with the cart, swerving it while race car sounds and infectious laughter renewed her smile. Both of them broke into a fit of laughter by the time she came to a hard stop.
“That was fun! Can we do it again?”
“If no one is in the aisle on our way to the register we can. Maybe you can push me.” She was clearly joking but still, his eyes lit up, and his little head bobbed up and down excitedly.
“Yeah! You have to sound like a race car, though. A girly, pink, race car.”
“What does a girly, pink, race car sound like?”
“Like this, ‘vooom vooom’!” The sounds were high-pitched. The same that most males resorted to when mocking a feminine voice. That alone was amusing, but the way he moved his head and hands failing to be prissy, really broke her.
“Kid, you are something else.”
“And very handsome, too.” The thin brunette was back and now, bold enough to finally say something.
“Thank you.” Kya reacted accordingly, hand clenching the cart. The woman’s hair was neatly cut in a long bob, blue eyes so light they looked as fake as her tan.
She waved off the gratitude and continued to smile, “He yours?”
Kya almost said yes. For some reason, she felt like it would have been a mistake to say that he was her kid and went with her gut on it.
“My nephew, yes.”
“Oh ok. I don’t mean any disrespect, but if you had said he was yours, I would have apologized for the man that got on your nerves your entire pregnancy, because there is no resemblance at all.” She giggled all by herself. Kya just stared, waiting for the humor to hit her. “Has anyone ever told you how much he looks like Antonio Cortes?”
“Really?! You think I look like Uncle Tony? Yes! I told Mommy I had to have long hair, too! Yes!”
Anthony was now kneeling in the cart doing some kind of dance that would have been funny if Kya were not so busy studying the change in that woman’s face after his little reveal. The woman knew Antonio but not enough to know who Anthony was. No woman would randomly approach another and bring up a seemingly unattainable man and look so irritated after she got her answer. If she knew Anthony or knew of him, the dumb act would have been last on her list. Women were catty. They always wanted their position known. Rather than asking questions, she would have walked up to the little boy and spoke to him by name.
“I thought you looked familiar, too. You said you’re his Aunt, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“So you and Antonio…”
“Hug and hold hands and kiss all the time like, ‘muah muah muah’!” His lip smacking, kissing sounds caught the attention of other shoppers. One looked embarrassed, and two others smiled. Kya bit back her own, loving the kid more and more at that moment for the way he got under that woman’s skin. She could not show it right then and there, but as soon as they walked away, she planned to high-five him and buy whatever other sources of junk food he wanted. Until then, she had to be an adult.
Playfully, she tapped Anthony’s hand to symbolize scolding and gave him a look, to which he laughed. Quickly, she grabbed some packs of shredded cheese and gave them to Anthony to occupy a few seconds of his time.
“We’ll be going, now. Nice talking to you…” She was already walking away as she said that. A clear indication that she did not care for the woman’s name, but the woman mumbled it through her teeth, and Kya still heard her. She stopped and turned back to her with a beautiful smile.
“Nice talking to you, Liliana.”
Antonio was in a foul mood when Kya and Anthony walked out of the store. Seconds before, he ended the call he was on with a harsh finger on his screen and the strong desire to throw it through the windshield. However, his woman and his nephew did nothing to deserve that reaction, so he did his best to tamp down his anger and got out to help them with the bags.
Both of them were all smiles. From the time they got back into the truck until the moment, Antonio watched them in his kitchen washing their hands together. The sight of Kya standing behind Anthony with her hand over his as they rolled out pizza dough was his cooling agent. Nothing could take him from one-hundred to zero, but those two managed a solid forty.
Thinking that joining them would better with his mood, Antonio washed his hands intending to help, only to have Anthony give him a look that said he was intruding on their bonding time. Kya noticed, too, and laughed.
“Oh, so you don’t want me to help, gemelo?” He faked hurt going as far as to throw his hand over his heart.
“No. We got it.”
Kya laughed again, “We’re going to need Uncle Tony to punch the dough for us a few times. Can he do that at least?”
Anthony seemed reluctant, but he agreed. Antonio had not missed Kya’s meaning, and as soon as she looked up at him, again, he motioned toward the hall.
“I’ll be right back, Anthony. Keep kneading the dough just like that until I come back.” She followed him to a space just outside of the kitchen. A spot where they could both see, but could not be heard.
“Everything ok?” Kya went to caress his cheek. Upon seeing the flour and small pieces of dough on it, she pressed up on her toes and placed a kiss there instead. How much she cared, that very second caused Antonio’s heart to do strange things. Strange and unwanted things he was beginning to crave.
“I’m as good as I can be, right now. That call I got in the car was Donny. The man that put me on in my drug business has requested a meeting at six. We were set to discuss our departure Tuesday evening, and the fact that he moved things up is not a good sign. I know I said the three of us were going to spend time together but—”
“I understand. Do you know how long the meeting might take?” She said she understood, but the disappointment was in her eyes.
“A few hours or so. I should be back before my competition in there,” he jerked his head toward Anthony, “goes to bed. If not, I’ll make it up to the both of you. We can do something tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow I have to get ready for my interview with the magazine.”
“I’ll make it up to you, Kya.”
“Tony, don’t worry about it. It’s not like you planned to spend the day with us and forgot you had something to do already. Something came up. Anthony and I will be fine. He’s going to teach me how to play his games, we’re going to stuff ourselves, and probably jump on your bed.”
Still, Antonio could tell that Kya wanted him to be with them and only said that to make him feel better about it. That was the sole reason he did not do relationships. If a woman was special enough to be someone he dedicated himself to, she was special enough to not have to deal with shit like plans being ruined. Yet, here they were, dealing with it without a relationship.
For the simple fact that she was trying, Antonio leaned down and kissed her sweetly. So quickly, the kiss morphed into something more profound that made his having to leave even harder.
“Are you going to tell him you have to go?”
“Yes, but I doubt he’ll care considering he’ll have you all to himself.”
“Jealous?”
“Hell yeah.”
He reeled in her laughter before she pressed up and kissed him once more. No sooner than she pulled away, the doorbell rang. The reason behind that and the meeting, taking him back to one-hundred.
“Kya has your house smelling like a home, I see.” Donny started as they pulled off. “It smelled good as hell in there. Here I thought she had voodoo magic in her chocha. Turns out she’s fucking you with that and food. You stand no chance, brother.”
Antonio grunted. Not in the mood for the funny shit.
“Where’s everybody? I asked you this before, but you were too busy taste testing to answer.”
“Sorry. Kya asked. Who am I to turn down the one chance I’ll get to eat something that wasn’t precooked, this week? Jay and Chris are meeting us there. Rina is sick or something, and you know how Chris
is when it comes to her. Kash didn’t pick up or respond to my texts.”
Antonio grunted again. Kash was really beginning to piss him off. First, he was speaking out of turn and disrespecting Kya. Now, he was ignoring them?
“What do you think is going on with him?”
“I don’t know, but he better get himself in check, or I’ll check him and make sure none of you are there to stop me.”
“Seriously, I’m not going to stop you. He’s been acting differently for a while now and over little shit. Blaming Kya was bullshit.”
Damned right it was bullshit. Although Antonio knew he had been doing a lot of things differently when it came to Kya’s place in his world, nothing changed. Not really. Since she entered his life, what he felt and the things he did had nothing to do with his boys. If he had changed or whatever Kash was trying to imply, why was he the only one speaking up?
“You never answered.” Antonio glanced over at his cousin. “When he said everyone saw it, but me, Jay and Chris reacted as if he didn’t speak for them, but you said nothing.”
Donny took a deep breath and blew it out while running his hand through his hair, “I didn’t say anything, because I don’t know anymore. In the beginning, I was worried that she was going to play you or fuck everything up for you, but the more I see her, I realize that she calms you. I can see that. If she had not been in your life and Kash came at you like that, you wouldn’t have stopped with one punch. Friend or not, Tonito, your tolerance for disrespect is non-existent. I feel like she makes you think more and I don’t consider that a bad thing.”
Out of everything, Antonio latched onto what was between those lines. Kya was changing him. She was slowly taking him from a vicious animal you did not want to cross paths with to a dormant beast with the threat level of a kitten.
While the plan was to walk away from the drug life, he had no intention of losing his credibility or allowing people to think he was someone they no longer had to fear. If Donny and Kash saw that, how many others did too? No, that number didn’t matter. He could and would assert his authority. He could and would show everyone that he’d kill at the drop of a dime and was not to be fucked with.
When they reached the outer gate of Arturo’s home, Jay and Chris were right behind them. As they passed through security, they saw Kash’s silver truck already parked and the man nowhere in sight.
Then and only then, did Antonio realized what was going on, why the meeting had been bumped up by a few days, and why Kash wasn’t picking up.
He was the reason. He had gone over his head to talk to the big boss. He was challenging him for his position.
TWENTY THREE
Donny was talking, said something along the lines of a question that Antonio was too angry to hear. His vision blurred as his eyes narrowed on the silver truck parked ahead of his own. Christian and Jermaine were standing by the gate when he finally zoned back in, but he still saw red. As he absently exited his truck, the questions continued amongst his boys, and yet he remained silent.
Arturo’s home was set up like a palace, guarded like a prison. Armed men sat within a booth monitoring the gate. As always, one approached with a gun visibly on his hip. He glanced over them, signaling to the other to open the gate. Security clearance was normal for entry. Arturo took no chances, and it showed through the extreme requirements to gain access to his home.
Upon crossing the threshold of the front door, shoes, shirts, and jewelry were removed while pockets were turned inside out and each man was patted down. Once cleared, they were given back their shoes and shirts, but everything else had to remain with security.
During most visits, Antonio understood and respected the precautions. Today, he was too irritated, and it showed through his rush to redress and his storming by their escort. His men followed as did the young woman that was undoubtedly warming Arturo’s bed.
Cigar smoke filled the air. From somewhere else in the house, women laughed and chatted joyously. Allowing the scent to guide him, it led Antonio to the large room just off of the kitchen, decorated in gold, royal blue, and cherry wood.
Hailing from Mexico but residing in New York for somewhere close to thirty years had Americanized Arturo. So much so that his deep sun-kissed skin and slight hints of an accent were the only ties to his heritage. His home was the same. Not a single trace of his native land outside of small things that most would overlook.
Both Kash and Arturo looked up as he entered their line of sight. The older man wearing a tailored, ash grey suit, smiled as his so-called friend’s stone face paled.
“My boys,” Arturo held out the arm that was not wrapped around the waist of young, Spanish woman, “I believe you are early.”
“You never were keen on lateness. Besides, this entire meeting is early.” Antonio’s eyes narrowed on Kash, who had since diverted his own. The bastard could look away all he wanted, but the contempt and venom in his tone would not be ignored.
“This is true. Sit. There is much to discuss.”
“With all due respect to you and your home, Art, it is best that I stay where I am.” With each word, his eyes stayed on Kash, lowered into angry slits, his hands flexed into tight fists. If he could tear his sharp gaze away from his friend long enough to look at his boys he would have noticed how they immediately straightened their backs behind him, also deciding to stand.
Arturo eyed them with a raised brow and pulled the cigar away from his lips. A quick glance to the guards he kept with him , and he merely shrugged. “As you wish.”
With a gentle tap on her thigh, the woman excused herself and did so without a word. As soon as she passed through the same hallway that Antonio had stormed down, Arturo sat back with his arms resting against the back of his seat.
“Gentleman, as you are aware, we had a meeting set for Tuesday. Antonio asked for that day to discuss an important matter. However, the circumstances surrounding that meeting have been brought to me ahead of schedule, and I felt it necessary to discuss things sooner. I am told that you,” he looked to Antonio first then the others, “all of you, want out.”
The three men looked at each other, while Antonio’s eyes were still pinning Kash. Something like a cobra ready to lash out at the right moment for a kill shot. He was so focused, so thirsty for blood that he failed to answer Arturo in the timely fashion he was accustomed to.
“Not all of us. Just me.” Antonio finally managed to look away. To have not done so before that point could have been considered a sign of disrespect, but again, his anger was at a careless point. “I merely suggested that we all take that step while we have the chance. As a long time player in this game, you know what the chances are of making it out of this life with your life. You’re a rare case. Being that these are my brothers behind me, my first instincts were to try and spare them, as well.”
Arturo nodded, bringing one of his hands to his thick, grey beard as he glanced between Antonio and Kash.
“I see. So, this change of heart has nothing to do with some hidden involvement with the police since you are fucking the daughter of one?”
Antonio’s jaw tightened. A dark veil clouded his vision, and all sound was drowned out. Living in a dangerous world, one of the biggest mistakes you could make was to allow your dirty connections to know any part of your personal life. Most of the men surrounding Antonio and his empire knew of his mother and sisters because of his father. That was bad enough, but never an issue thanks to Arturo’s loyalty to Javier. He protected those women and, in a sense, Antonio, too. Kya was not a part of that. In fact, her name being affiliated with the law put her at risk for retaliation against both him and the law if need be.
Cops took care of their own. Cops took the events and happenings of each other’s families personally. For Kash to bring her up was exposing a weakness, a vulnerability that could be exploited to hurt a wide range of people at any time. Especially Antonio. On top of that, associating someone so high up in the ranks with the authorities was equivalent to calling
him an informant. Without action to prove himself, suspicions would rise. He and his men would be viewed as rats. That branded them as threats in need of possible extermination. Maybe not by the boss, himself, but the men standing guard behind them.
In a world of drugs, money, and murder, there was always a backstabber looking to climb the ladder of the ranks. At the moment, Antonio was staring at his.
“You’ve known me longer than I’ve known myself, Art. My hands are just as bloody if not more than yours. I took a bullet for you and allowed someone to put me back together in a basement, just to avoid the law looking your way. So, you should know where my loyalty is no matter who I fuck.”
Arturo seemed unbothered by the hardness in Antonio’s tone and quietly watched him before speaking. “Pussy will make you do stupid things, son. Foolish things. But, I hear you. A man can speak of his loyalty, but to see it is to believe it. And, I have seen yours. Not just to me, but to your family, the men behind you, and even the one beside me.”
Sitting forward, he stubbed out his cigar and, then sat back like the boss that he was. “Before your arrival, I was asked to consider Kash as your replacement. Now, I was and still am very surprised by this proposal because I worked with you directly and it is only through you that I have accepted your guys.” As he paused, he stroked his beard casually. “I have seen many enter this trade. I have witnessed many caged over it, and many bled dry for it. Not once has a man simply walked away. Not without having to look over his shoulder for the rest of his days. But, I like you guys. You make me lots of money with no noise. I lose if you leave me. Why should I consider that?”
“For the very reason, you started with. Because I’m fucking the daughter of a cop.” Those words shocked the hell out of everyone including Arturo. “Kash came to you putting this bug in your ear that I must be siding with the pigs, but obviously failed to tell you whose daughter I’m with.” Rather than saying the name, Antonio gave the boss a look that seemed to immediately register.