No Greater Loyalty

by S. K. Hardy

  Yes, he'd done his time under Angel's protection, but it hadn't been an automatic guarantee that he wouldn't be tested by some lifer who had nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what happened. But Dominick had never backed away from a fight. He'd witnessed firsthand the cruel atrocities that had taken place there, especially if you were perceived to be scared or weak. He'd learned to attack as if fighting to the death...as if his very life depended it on it, because it had.

  He had never talked to Keisha about the years he'd served behind bars, not really. He hadn't wanted that to be a part of his life with her. The only man he wanted her to know and love was the one she'd married...not the one he'd been back then. However, because of the circumstances facing them now, it looked as if he didn't have a choice.

  "Baby, sit down." He nodded towards the couch, and once she'd done as he requested, Dom pulled the matching ottoman in front of her and sat down. "What you're asking me, Keisha, there's no straightforward answers, but I'll do my best to tell you what you want to know, okay?"

  Keisha nodded, nervously clasping her hands together in her lap to stop them from trembling as Dom continued.

  "You and I, we never spoke about my time in prison. Not in length, anyway."

  "No." Keisha knew Dom had wanted to leave that part of his life in the past, so she'd respected that.

  "You ask me how I met Isabella. To be honest, in the beginning, she was just a means to an end. We had a common goal in mind and used each other to achieve it."

  "What goal?"

  "She was involved with one of the prisoners there, Julio Garcia. Before he was convicted, Garcia had been a high-ranking member of the Ñetas, a street gang tied to everything from kidnapping and robbery to murder. But their main source of income was distributing drugs. Garcia was convicted of murder and sentenced to life, but after about six years, he managed to be moved to the minimum-security prison where I was sent after I turned eighteen. Garcia didn't like me from the beginning and he went out of his way to make that known."

  "Oh my God," Keisha whispered.

  "The Ñetas originated in the L.A. area, but eventually began spreading out to other cities. When they first migrated to Vegas, they tried to move in on a stretch of Angel's territory the same way they had other areas, but Angel shut them down. My brother doesn't indulge in street corner 'turf wars'. He quickly made the boundaries clear. Suffice it to say, he crushed the Ñetas' movements before they had time to take root."

  "But wouldn't that have made them more determined to come after you, knowing you were Angel's brother?"

  "It could have, but, Keisha..." Dom paused. He looked at his wife, saw her eyes stretched wide and full of fear for the young boy he'd been and the situation he'd been in. Trying to think of the simplest way to explain what he was trying to say without getting too deep into it, Dom chose his words carefully. "Angel's reach is so much wider than just Vegas. I don't know what was said or what Angel did, but a message came down to the Ñetas prison gang from the top."

  "From the members in Los Angeles?"

  Dominick shook his head. "Nah, it had to come much higher than that. The Ñetas originated in Mexico where there's an ongoing fight to control the drug war. Gangs are used as reinforcement. The Ñetas are one of the gangs affiliated with them. Even though they're here in the United States, the cartel more or less pulls the strings."

  Frowning, Keisha shifted on the couch. "So in prison they were ordered to stay away from you. Because of Angel."

  "Right."

  "And Isabella, she was involved with this Julio Garcia?"

  Dom nodded.

  "But I don't understand. If Garcia had been ordered to keep his distance then..."

  Dom's square jaw hardened and he looked away.

  Keisha's lips parted. She felt, rather than saw the invisible wall that came down to shield Dom's thoughts from her. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it." Not knowing what else to say, Keisha remained silent.

  Dom stood up and walked a couple steps away, keeping his back to her. Finally he resumed the conversation. "Garcia knew he couldn't come after me, so he came after someone in my circle to get to me."

  "Who?"

  Dominick shrugged and tried to interject a tone of distance in his voice, but the tense set of his body betrayed him. "My cellmate. A young kid who should've never been there in the first place. Tech was sixteen years old and had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer. The public defender he had did a half ass job, more than likely working with the police to railroad this kid into spending the rest of his life in prison."

  Eyes squinting, Dominick thought about how brilliant Tech had been, a genius when it came to computers. "I never told him, but I planned on trying to help him when I got out, maybe hiring a lawyer who gave a damn to look into his case. I don't know if it would've helped, but I was willing to try."

  "What happened to him?"

  "He committed suicide. Hung himself in our cell."

  Keisha gasped. "Oh no. That poor kid."

  "I won't go into what Garcia did to him, but he was responsible, even bragged about it, knowing it would get back to me." Dom turned back to Keisha, his features a mask of anger, even now. "I only had six months left, but I knew that before I was released from that shit hole, I would make sure Garcia paid with his life for what he did."

  "And...you used Isabella to do it?"

  "We used each other. I would see her on days she visited Garcia, and it just didn't fit. Why the hell would someone like her be with a piece of garbage like Garcia? Later on, I found out that she became involved with him when she was a teenager growing up in South Central."

  "But...I thought Melania and the rest of her family lived in Mexico?"

  "Keisha, I don't know. I'd never heard of Melania Cruz before, and even if I had, Cruz is a common Hispanic name. I doubt if I would've even put two and two together. I'm in the dark about that as much as you. How Isabella ended up growing up in the worst neighborhood in South Central and getting involved with someone like Julio Garcia, I can’t answer that. I don't know."

  "You said the two of you had a common goal. Obviously Garcia is the link that brought you together. You wanted him to pay for Tech's death. What was Isabella's reason for agreeing to help you?"

  "Fear. The promise of freedom. She was scared to death of him. Even though he was locked away in prison, he was determined to make her do the time on the outside. Every move she made, Garcia knew about it. He told her he would have her killed before he ever set her free."

  "I assume you took care of him."

  Dominick's expression seemed far away, as if reliving everything all over again. "Yeah. He got what was coming to him." He blinked and looked at Keisha. "Being the violent offender that he was, convicted on three murders, known gang banger, I always wondered how he ended up in a minimum security prison. I had Oscar do some digging for me. It took a while, but I found out the reason."

  "What was it?"

  "He was a snitch for the feds. An informant. Garcia was pretty high ranked on the outside. He supplied the FBI with inside information on the cartel that the Ñetas ran drugs for, was able to give them names of several connects that resulted in several arrests here in the United States as well as in Mexico. In exchange for that information, the government made a deal with him to let him serve out his time in minimum security. Even though he had a life sentence, minimum lock up was a relatively easy bid compared to San Quentin where he'd been."

  "The fact that he was able to make a deal like that is pathetic."

  "It happens all the time."

  "What did you do with information?"

  "I passed it on to the Ñetas brotherhood along with proof. He lasted about a week after that. I'm sure they would've killed him sooner, but they paraded him around like the bitch they'd turned him into first, humiliated him, and tortured him. They wanted to make sure a message was sent out that disloyalty wasn't tolerated."

&nbs
p; Seeing Keisha staring at him with her mouth agape, Dom's mouth twisted in a grim smirk. "Shocked?"

  Keisha gave her head a little shake. "I...yes...no...maybe a little. It’s just that while you were telling me this story, you didn't seem like yourself."

  Keisha struggled to reconcile the man Dom was then to the man he was now. How could she not know this side of her husband? She always wondered at the fact that he and Angel were so different to say they were brothers, but now she realized a part of Dominick wasn't so different at all. The life he'd been thrown into forced him to adapt in order to survive. Looking at the talented architect and businessman he was now, the doting father and loving husband he was...it was just hard to believe he'd lived through something so horrible.

  "Why didn't you ever tell me this, Dominick?"

  "For what reason? You say I seemed like a different person? Well I was back then. I realized last night that that man is still part of me and I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

  Keisha stood up and walked over to him. "That person, that man, did what the circumstances he was in called for."

  "Does that scare you?"

  "No," Keisha shook her head. "Not at all."

  A flicker of relief fleetingly surfaced in Dom's eyes before his lashes swept down to hide it, and when they lifted, it was gone.

  "You said I could ask you anything," Keisha said with hesitance.

  Dom nodded. "I did."

  Keisha licked her lips and swallowed before she forged on. "When...when did you and Isabella become...involved? Sexually, I mean?"

  "The first day I met her."

  Keisha's eyebrows lifted. "Oh."

  Her eyes bounced around the room before they came back to light on him. A higher power must have known she was getting ready to venture into territory best left undisturbed, because before she could ask the next question, her cell phone vibrated.

  CHAPTER 17

  Keisha’s face drew up tight. If this was Elena calling her again...

  Ready to curse her ass out at this point, she hissed impatiently and grabbed her phone, but the name on the screen caused her face to light up and forget everything else.

  "It's Leesh. Addy isn't supposed to be released until tomorrow, but I think Marcus was going to pull some strings so that she could come home this evening." She looked up at Dom with excitement crackling from her eyes as she mentioned Aleesha's baby. "Maybe they're home."

  "It's okay, take it. Give her my love. I know they're trying to get settled in, but I'll give Marcus a call later."

  Dom watched as Keisha, grinning from ear to ear, brought the phone to her ear. He smiled when from Keisha's end it seemed as if Marcus had been able to come through. His man's little princess was home; hopefully his son wouldn't be far behind.

  As Keisha and Aleesha talked, Dom walked across the room to look out the window. He slipped his hand in his pocket as he gazed out into the darkness. His thoughts were on Isabella.

  The conversation with Keisha had raised questions he’d been trying to wrap his head around since this whole mess came out. Isabella had told him that she thought she would finally be free of Garcia when he was transferred from Cali to the minimum-security prison in Vegas. He had demanded she move as well. She'd tried to refuse, but he threatened to bring harm to her family, which included her mother, younger brother, and sister.

  Dom's expression turned thoughtful. Her mother...

  It sounded as if Isabella and Melania had different mothers. Melania's mother lived in Mexico. Had Isabella been the product of an affair between Melania's father and her mother? Had Melania and Isabella known about each other the entire time or had they met later on? And if Bella had other family, how did their son come to be with Melania?

  "Dom. Dominick..."

  He turned around to look at Keisha when he heard her call his name. "Hey. I assume Aleesha and Marcus brought the baby home?"

  "Yes, they did," Keisha smiled. "I can't wait to go over tomorrow to see her. Oh, and Aleesha and Marcus, too," she laughed.

  The corner of Dom's mouth curved upward. It was no use suggesting that Keisha give them a couple of days to settle in; hell Aleesha would be hurt if her girls didn't come by. They were all just that close.

  "You didn't mention anything about what's going on, did you? I don't want them to worry about it and ruin their first night home."

  "I agree. I didn't for that exact reason."

  "Good." Dom covered his mouth as a huge yawn he'd been suppressing finally burst through. "Excuse me," he mumbled, feeling the last of his energy reserves draining away.

  "You really do look exhausted, Dom. Why don't you take a shower then go to bed."

  Dom rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, maybe I’ll do that."

  Keisha gave him a quick smile, wanting him to kiss her, touch her, anything to show her that they were okay, but Dom only nodded before heading to the door.

  Keisha took a deep cleansing breath, determined to keep the doubt or negativity trying to seep its way into her thoughts far, far away. She and Dominick loved each other. They would get through this and come out stronger than ever.

  She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together. Please, God. Please keep Dominick safe. Keep our entire family safe from this crazy, maniacal, bi-

  "Keisha."

  Thinking he was gone, Keisha turned in surprise to find Dominick standing in the doorway staring at her. "Yes?"

  He held a hand out and waited. "Come on."

  The tight smile she wore now tremulous, Keisha hurried to his side and slipped her hand in his. As they walked upstairs, she looked towards the ceiling and silently mouthed two heartfelt words: Thank you.

  Dom didn't release her hand until they got to the bedroom. Not a word was spoken between them as they undressed. Dominick went to the shower to turn the water on, but paused to look at her. "Shower or bath?"

  In the act of pinning her hair atop her head, Keisha looked at him over her shoulder, running her eyes over his muscular frame. Her attention lingered on his thick manhood, that even now, only semi-erect, was an impressive sight to behold.

  "Keish?" Dominick's mouth twitched as he waited for her eyes to come up and meet his.

  "Huh?" For the life of her, Keisha couldn't remember what the hell he had asked her.

  "Shower...or bath?"

  Keisha hesitated. She wanted to say 'dick', but since that wasn't one of the choices, she told him that a shower would be fine. Smiling to herself, she turned back to the mirror and snapped the clip in her hair.

  "What's so funny?" Dom's eyes met hers in the mirror. His lips tilted up in reaction, as he adjusted the temperature of the water.

  "Nothing," Keisha replied, half-laughing. Besides, he really did look tired. Her horny ass hormones would have to wait.

  Stepping into the large stall behind him. She reached for the bath sponge and squeezed a generous amount of soap on it, then slowly began bathing him from head to toe. Dom closed his eyes and dropped his head back, letting out a groan of satisfaction. He turned when Keisha indicated for him to do so and placed his hands on the shower wall.

  As he rinsed off, Keisha quickly bathed herself, aware of him watching her with a heavy lidded hunger in his eyes. "Down, boy," she smiled. "Sleep first. You're going to need every bit of your strength for later."

  Dominick laughed, but opened the shower door and stepped out while she rinsed off. When she was ready, he had a towel spread open waiting for her, and after patting her dry Dominick took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

  Keisha started taking the mountain of pillows off the bed and stacking them on a nearby chair. She watched Dominick get a pair of sweats out of his drawer and pull them on then go to the closet.

  "What are you doing?" she asked, frowning. But when she saw him come back with the glock he kept in a locked box on top of the closet shelf, her hand stilled on the bedding she was pulling back. Keisha stared at the gun then at him.

  Dom checked the clip then snapped it
back into place. "I'm gonna check the house one last time and check in with Russ and Benny before we turn in," he said, moving to the door.

  Before he walked out, Dom looked at her over his shoulder, his expression softening. Exhaling, he came to Keisha and wrapped his free hand loosely around her neck then lowered his lips to hers. "I'll be right back, okay?"

  Dom’s eyes stayed on her until Keisha nodded. She had tried to to hide how shaken she was at the sight of him with the gun, but knew she hadn't been successful. It was just that the reality of their situation and the danger involved had come flooding back like a bucket of ice water thrown in her face.

  Keisha stood in the same spot for a solid minute after Dom left. Turning the bed down, she grabbed a robe and padded over to the window, carefully parting the curtains to look down at Dom standing at the window of the black SUV talking to the bodyguards. She released a breath of relief when she saw him nod to them and turn around to come back into the house.

  Letting the curtain drop back into place, she pulled the robe off and tossed it on the chair on top of the pillows. Climbing into bed, she got under the covers naked, fluffed the pillow under her head and waited on Dominick, or at least that was her intention. Yawning, she glanced at the clock before closing her eyes.

  She must have dozed off, though, because the next thing she knew, the covers on Dom's side were being pulled down. Seconds later, he slipped into bed and curved his arm around her waist.

  Lying on her side, Keisha snuggled back until her bottom rested in the cradle of his pelvis. "What took you so long?" she asked, her voice thick from sleep.

  Dominick chuckled softly while nuzzling Keisha’s neck. "I was only gone fifteen minutes. Guess you were more tired than you thought, huh?"

  A delicious shiver ran through Keisha's body as Dom lightly bit her shoulder. "Mmm. I guess I was."

  "Too tired for me?"

  CHAPTER 18