by J. L Rose
Alinna nodded her head yes. She understood why Vanessa and the other girls were surprised that Dante was allowing her to fly back to Miami without him being there.
She continued, “Dante and the rest of the guys are staying here to deal with what’s going on here while we head home to deal with problems that should have long been dealt with.”
“But isn’t that dangerous, Alinna?” Harmony asked. “We’re splitting the family in half to try and deal with two different problems. Everybody is here, but if we leave for Miami, then we’re taking half. Because even if Dante is allowing you to fly back to Miami, I’m willing to bet he sends half if not more than half the family with us for backup.”
“I may just be able to assist with that problem,” Yasmine spoke up, which drew everyone’s attention to her. “If security is an issue, then I can have fifty men here or in Miami to assist us with this problem you all spoke of.”
“You serious?” Amber asked Yasmine, who simply nodded her head yes.
Alinna heard the door open and saw Dante walk in followed by Dre, Tony T, Wesley, and Gage. She then looked over at Harmony, who happily cried out Dante’s name.
“How ya feeling, baby girl?” Dante asked as he stopped beside her bed, bent down, and kissed Harmony’s cheek as she tightly hugged his neck.
“Damn! I don’t get that kind of love when I show up, and I’m ya man!” Tony T playfully joked, which made everyone laugh and Harmony roll her eyes at him.
“How’s my nephew doing?” Dante asked, rubbing Harmony’s blanket-covered belly.
Harmony smiled when the baby responded to Dante’s touch that moved against her stomach. She then looked up to meet his eyes, and she was happy to see that he had one of his gorgeous smiles showing.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, God Daddy, but we’re having a girl.”
Harmony smiled, when all of her girls rushed the bed all talking at once. Harmony admitted that she and Tony T knew what sex the baby was and had decided not to mention it, explaining that she just wanted to let Dante know.
“So, I get another girl to take care of, huh?” Dante replied, rubbing Harmony’s stomach, which caused the baby to respond again.
“Well, I can see now that she knows her god daddy!” Harmony said, smiling up at Dante. “She just keeps kicking every time Dante rubs my stomach.”
“Damn! First my women, and now my daughter too!” Tony T commented, shaking his head and smiling.
“So, Dante!” Vanessa said, getting his attention. “Alinna was telling us about Zoe Papi calling and telling y’all what’s up about Rob.”
Dante nodded his head and slowly began to lose his smile at the thought of business.
He said, “Yeah! I want you, Alinna, and the rest of y’all to fly back to Miami and deal with Rob. I’m sending the crew back with y’all while me, Dre, Tony T, Wesley, and his cousin will deal with everything that’s going on up here.”
Alinna caught the look that Vanessa shot her and said, “Dante, Yasmine was just telling us that she’s going to help us. She’s going to have fifty men flown out to Miami to meet us there. I’m going to call ahead and have Greg Wilson have what we need set up for us.”
Dante looked over at Yasmine, who nodded her head in agreement to what Alinna just told him.
He then called out to James and said, “You’re flying back with them. You know what I need you to do. Protect Alinna and look after Yasmine.”
“Not a problem,” James answered.
“Mr. Blackwell?” Yasmine said.
“Dante, Yasmine. Call me Dante,” he told her.
Yasmine nodded her head in understanding and then said, “Dante, I am fully aware that James is Alinna’s personal bodyguard, but if I may request that he be released from his position and allow me to fill in the position as Alinna’s personal bodyguard. It will also allow us time to get to know one another.”
“Yasmine, I understand that you want to get to know Alinna, but James is trained to—!”
“No disrespect to Mr. Grant, but I do believe that I am better trained than he is, and I am more than capable of protecting Alinna!” Yasmine interrupted him.
Alinna then spoke up and added, “I agree! James, from now on your position is at Dante’s side along with Gage! Nothing at all should happen to my husband with the two of you protecting him, even though he is highly able to protect himself. Just make sure you both watch his back, and Yasmine will take over for you, James.”
James looked over at Dante for the final say as he saw the look on Dante’s face as he stared straight at Alinna.
“Bruh, what’s up? What you want me to do?” James asked.
Dante continued to stare straight into Alinna’s eyes and replied, “Do exactly what Alinna says.”
Alinna slowly smiled at Dante’s response. She then walked over to her husband and kissed him lightly on the lips and then whispered, “Thank you!”
TEN
DANTE DEALT WITH BOTH Natalie and Ha-rmony as they gave birth to their babies. Harmony gave Tony T a beautiful girl they agreed to name Crystal Truman, while Natalie gave birth to a son the next day. She and Dante agreed on the name Damian Blackwell, with the middle name of Saldana. Dante and the rest of the Council Covenant then dealt with the shipment that Mr. Kim had sent over three days after the birth of the babies.
One week after the shipment arrived, Alinna and the rest of the girls readied themselves to make the flight out to Miami to deal with unfinished business that was waiting. Dante and the guys rode out to the airstrip with the women.
“Call me when you get to Miami,” Dante told Alinna as the two of them stood outside in front of his new Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS, which was a twin to the Porsche Macan Turbo that he bought for Alinna—both cars armored.
“Relax, Dante!” Alinna told him, sensing the look on his face whenever he worried about her.
She was just about to say more when Mya ran over and pushed in between the two of them to get to her father.
Alinna shook her head and smiled as she stood watching Dante and his daughter. It still amazed her how Mya was able to bring the softness completely out of her husband and how Dante spoiled his daughter. Alinna looked to her right as Yasmine stepped beside her.
“This is a side of Dante that surprises me!” Yasmine stated as she stood watching Dante and his daughter talking to each other.
“Mya is the key to his heart, Yasmine,” Alinna told her, looking back to Dante and Mya. “He loves that little girl to death!”
Alinna watched as Mya rushed off to catch up with Dante Jr. and Andre Jr., who were following Vanessa and Amber to the jet along with Dre and Wesley. Alinna looked at Dante as he stepped up in front of her and Yasmine.
“Yasmine, I’m expecting you to make sure that security is tight once you all get to Miami,” Dante told her in all seriousness, but then added, “Alinna isn’t the only one I want protected. When I get to Miami, you two better be how I’m seeing you now!”
Yasmine smiled at his words, bowed her head slightly, and said, “I’ve spoken with Alinna, and we both have agreed that I will leave you the six guards my father assigned to me. They have their orders and will do as you order them. They are trained to handle deadly issues such as the one you are dealing with now.”
Dante shifted his eyes over toward the six Japanese guards that stood a few feet away at ease but were fully alert while still relaxed. Dante then looked back to Yasmine, meeting her dark eyes.
He nodded his head in acceptance and said, “I’ll see you two soon.”
Alinna kissed her husband after Yasmine hugged and kissed his cheek. Alinna then turned, and both she and Yasmine started toward the jet as Dre, Wesley, Tony T, and James walked out to join Dante.
Dre stopped in front of her and said, “You be safe. Don’t have me and Dante fly back to Miami and cause the whole city to get shut down behind something happening to you!”
Alinna smiled at Dre and hugged her brother.
She then h
ugged a smiling James, who whispered into her ear, “I’ll look after Dante. Just promise me you’ll stay safe until we get to Miami.”
“I promise, James,” she told him.
After kissing him on the cheek, she and Yasmine started again for the jet but stopped and called out to Dre.
“Yeah!”
“I forgot to tell Dante. Let him know that his sister made it safely to Syracuse, but that she called and told me that she’s meeting us in Miami.”
After receiving a nod of the head of understanding from Dre, Alinna turned and followed Yasmine up and onto the jet.
Once on the G4, Alinna took a seat beside Vanessa, who had her nephew, Dante Jr., in her lap and rubbing his curly hair. Yasmine sat directly across from her next to Maxine, who sat staring out the window. Alinna then looked out the window as well and saw Dre, Tony T, Gage, James, and Wesley crowded around Dante as he spoke to them.
“A, relax!” Harmony told Alinna, noticing the look on her sister’s face while holding her daughter, Crystal, after receiving her from Emmy. “Dante and them are gonna be fine! How many times have Tony T, Dre, and Dante left the state to handle their business and returned home the same way they left?”
“Think about it!” Vanessa added. “Now the three of them got both James and Wesley, and we all know how those two get down.”
“Dante also has Gage,” Amber added.
“What’s up with Gage?” Harmony asked, looking at Amber.
“Gage is out of the army,” Amber told her. “Both he and Wesley were born here in the States, but spent most of their childhood in Jamaica until they were brought here to live. Gage went into the army and became Special Forces while Wesley became a hustler.”
“So, Gage knows that stuff Dante knows then, huh?” Keisha asked.
“I’ve seen him fight, and he’s not as good as Dante, but he specializes with different types of guns and explosives,” Amber explained, smiling as she spoke, remembering the demonstrations that Gage put on for her and Wesley after he left the army.
Alinna heard her girls talking but really didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying, since her mind was heavy with thoughts of Dante for some reason. Alinna then tried to clear her mind of those thoughts, looking up only to meet Yasmine’s dark eyes as she sat watching her closely.
* * *
Dante sat in the front passenger seat of the Porsche while Gage drove and James sat in the back. Dante listened to Monica tell him a little of what she and Nash Johnson found on Edward Randolph as Gage had the Porsche flying away from the airstrip.
Dante hung up with Monica after agreeing to meet her back at the mansion. He then called Dominic’s personal number.
“Saldana!”
“Dominic, it’s Dante! I’ll be at the mansion later on. I’ve got to meet with somebody and handle something first.”
“That’s fine. I’ve also begun dealing with buyers and so forth.”
“Let both Roosevelt and Carmen know that I wanna speak with them too, when I get there.”
Dante spoke with Dominic a few moments longer before hanging up. He then called Mr. Goldmen and Mr. Sutter to check and make sure that their shipments were delivered to them.
Dante arrived back at the mansion and saw Monica’s Jaguar parked in front of the house. He was the first out of the Porsche once Gage parked the car, with James right behind him as they headed to the front door.
“Dante!” Natalie said, smiling at the sight of her husband as she was exiting the kitchen carrying baby Damian.
“Where’s Monica?” he asked after Natalie kissed him.
“Both Monica and that Nash Johnson guy are inside the den with Gomez,” Natalie replied.
As James was taking Damian out of her arms, she called to Dante as he began walking away.
“Yeah?”
“Me and mother were thinking. With everything that’s going on, maybe me and Damian should go and stay with her until you’re ready to leave for Miami.”
Dante remained quiet for a few moments thinking over what Natalie had suggested.
He then nodded his approval and said, “All right. Move with your parents, but make sure you call me if anything happens or you need me!”
Natalie smiled as she walked over to Dante, kissed his lips, and said, “I love you!”
Dante smirked while watching Natalie as she took the baby from Dre, who had taken the boy from James. Dante then turned away as his wife started toward the bedroom.
“That boy looks just like yo’ ass, fam!” Dre told Dante as he, Dante, and the rest of the men followed Dante into the den.
Once in the den, Dante saw Monica and Johnson talking. Gomez sat barely watching the television, since he was too busy watching Monica.
“Dante!” Monica said, seeing him and the other Blackwell men enter the den.
She took the file that she and Johnson had been looking over, handed it to him, and said, “Read this!”
Dante took the file and remained standing beside Monica’s seat on the couch. He then began reading through it and found that it belonged to a man named Victor Elijah. Dante continued to read the information, which was nothing more than the background history on a thirty-eight-year-old drug lord.
“Who’s this guy supposed to be, and why do I care?” Dante asked, looking up from the file and over toward Monica.
“Because,” Johnson began, drawing Dante’s attention to him. “Victor Elijah is a known associate of Edward Randolph. I figure since we’ve looked deep and long for whomever it is that ties in with Edward Randolph, only to turn up with nothing, you could maybe get Victor Elijah to tell you what we are trying to find out.”
“Basically what you’re saying is that we find this Victor guy and force the information outta him?” James asked.
“Not find!” Monica said as she pulled out a folded piece of yellow writing paper and handed it to Dante. “That’s Victor Elijah’s address to his mansion in eastern Arizona. So now all you gotta do is get the information we need!”
Dante looked down at the piece of paper that Monica had handed him. He studied the information on the paper and then pushed it over to James. He then looked back at Monica and Johnson.
Dante then stated, “Good work! But one more thing! We gonna need more fireworks to party with!”
“Not a problem,” Johnson replied, smiling at Dante while rubbing both his hands together.
ELEVEN
ALINNA ONLY SLEPT A few minutes on the flight from Phoenix to Miami. She watched as the G4 began its descent after the pilot announced that they were landing. She waited until the jet came to a halt and the hatch opened, before she stood from her seat with Dante Jr. asleep in her arms.
She saw Greg Wilson standing beside her Rolls-Royce Phantom as soon as she stepped off of the jet and began walking down the steps. Alinna then noticed four black Cadillac Escalades and the two Mercedes-Benz trucks parked on the other side of the Phantom.
“I see you and Dante made new friends,” Wilson said to Alinna as she and the group of women stopped in front of him.
He then nodded his head back toward the four Escalades and two Benz trucks and said, “I bought one of the Benz trucks as you asked, but the other five SUVs are filled with some Japanese dudes.”
“Yasmine!” Alinna called out.
As Alinna looked over at her, she received a bow of the head before Yasmine stepped away from the group and started toward the Escalades and Benz trucks.
“Who’s the Japanese woman?” Greg Wilson asked, staring hard at Yasmine’s five foot five, slim but toned and muscular, curvy, 34B-26-37 body.
“Careful, Wilson!” Alinna warned. “I’m sure Dante would feel some type of way about you staring at his wife like that!”
Wilson swung his head around to look at Alinna with an expression of disbelief on his face. He asked, “You’re joking, right? Dante has another wife?”
“You plan on giving us the keys to the truck, Wilson?” Alinna asked him while holding out
her hand and ignoring the question he asked her.
Wilson handed over the keys to the metallic-gray Benz truck.
He then handed an envelope to Alinna and said, “That’s for Dante. Tell him it’s a birthday gift.”
“What’s in it?” Alinna asked as Wilson started toward his pearl-white Cadillac Deville, only for the investigator to call back over his shoulder to Alinna: “It’s something he asked me about some time ago.”
Alinna first looked at Wilson as he climbed into his car, and then back down at the envelope.
She found herself wondering exactly what was inside, when from over her shoulder Amber asked, “You gonna open it, A-girl?”
“No, she’s not!” Vanessa answered for Alinna. “It’s a birthday gift for Dante.”
“I didn’t even know it was my boo’s birthday!” Harmony said with a smile. “I gotta get my baby a gift for his birthday.”
“Yeah! When is Dante’s birthday anyway?” Amber asked.
Alinna ignored all of them and handed the keys to the Benz truck to Vanessa, and called to Rose and Emmy, who had the kids. She then turned to her personal armed driver who flew with them, and nodded for him to open the back door of the Phantom for Rose and Emmy.
“We’ll drop off the kids, Rose, and Emmy at the house,” Alinna told the girls as both housekeepers climbed inside the Rolls-Royce. “Afterward, we’ll hook up with Zoe Papi and find out where Rob is at!”
“What about Rafael?”
“What about him?” Harmony asked as she handed Crystal over to Emmy.
“Isn’t he still holding Angela’s husband, Geno, for Dante?” Amber asked, looking over at Alinna.
Alinna had forgotten about Geno but stated, “I’ll call Dante and find out what he wants to do about Geno. Right now, we’ve got business to handle!”
* * *
Zoe Papi received a phone call from Alinna informing him that she was back in Miami. He agreed to meet with her at one of his trap houses out in Little Haiti. Zoe Papi left for the meeting and rode in his chauffeured Mercedes E-Class Benz with his lieutenant.