Coveted: An Alpha Male Romance (9 page)

Present day…

It was great being on that island with Baby, though under unfortunate circumstances. I hadn’t been able to take advantage of her sexually so much in a long time. After all this time, I still grew hard as steel just watching her, as if I was seeing her for the first time. That shit was amazing to me. I heard so many men complaining about their women; she no longer was attractive to him, she no longer turned him on. But Baby controlled the on/off switch to my body, and she took advantage of it every day that we were in the Dominican. And I let her. Any where she wanted it, Baby got it.

But it was time to head back home. The DNA results from the blood in the foyer when Baby got attacked had come back. It was time to take care of business. So, Gabe chartered the jet and we headed back to Chicago.

“His name is Robert Loren,” Gabe told me as we flew over the seas.

“Loren? Never heard of that family.”

“That’s because he is some homeless kid–“

“Homeless?”

“Yea. He’s been arrested a few times for petty crimes. He runs with a few runaways in the downtown area.”

“He’s not connected to a family?”

“Not to anyone’s knowledge.”

“Put a search out for him. Strict orders; don’t kill him. I need to talk to him first. I need to find out who gave him the orders.”

“Already done.”

I glanced over at Baby. She and Tanisha were engrossed in some girly conversations; mostly about me and Gabe’s dicks. I watched her discreetly, under my hat, wondering if she knew that I was about to go through great lengths to protect her.

I was once an emotionless man. Always had been. But after five years, I was still amazed at how being in her presence pulled at my heartstrings. She so easily brought so many emotions out of me that it was the only thing in this world that I feared. I didn’t fear losing her. I didn’t fear loving her too much. Sitting in that jet, I feared the harm that I would do to the person that was threatening her existence. It wasn’t just to protect her; it was for me. It was selfish. Somebody was trying to take her from me, or me from her, and my heart refused to let me lose her.

I heard Baby and Tanisha’s faint gasps as soon as they entered the house. I dropped the suitcases and rushed by them.

Gabe was right behind me.

“What the fuck?” Gabe barked as he took in the scene before our eyes.

I was quiet, taking it all in, as Baby and Tanisha lost their minds.

“Oh my God!” That was Baby.

“What the hell?!” That was Tanisha.

The house was trashed. Chandeliers were destroyed. Threats were spray painted on walls in red paint. From where I was standing, the damage in the kitchen could clearly be seen.

“Who is doing this?” The fear in Baby’s voice tore at my heart. I didn’t like this shit; not being able to protect her because I didn’t know who or what the fuck I was supposed to be shielding her from. Obviously these threats were against me, but Baby was in the midst of it, and more than my own life, I was here, I was put on this earth, to protect her.

The entire house was trashed. Our bedroom was ruined. Our bed, pissed on. “You’re going to die,” “Your days are numbered,” threat after threat was painted on the walls from the first floor to the second.

But nothing valuable was stolen. Not one safe had been tampered with.

“This shit is personal,” Gabe muttered, as we stared at the bedroom. “This has nothing to do with business.”

Now, that shit was plainly obvious.

“Have you hurt somebody?” I turned to see Baby looking at me like she hadn’t in a very long time; questionably. “Just tell me, Roc.”

I went to her. But what the fuck was I supposed to say? I hurt lots of people, but they all deserved it and no one would have the balls to retaliate. And besides, that was years ago when I was still proving my name. It hadn’t been necessary that I hurt someone in years. Anyone stupid enough to deserve to get hurt was too low on the totem pole to know who I was. Besides, my threat was mental. My threat was known. The physical was no longer necessary.

Until now.

“Baby, no, I told you, I don’t know who the fuck is doing this, but I’m getting to the bottom of it.”

I wrapped her in my arms. If I could keep her in there for the rest of her life, I would. That way I knew without a doubt that she was safe.

She tried to leave my embrace but I resisted, and she insisted, “I have to go see Madea before it gets too late. I promised her.”

Reluctantly, I allowed her out of my embrace. I looked at her sternly and she knew exactly what the fuck it meant.

“I’ll take Tanisha with me,” she ensured me, but that wasn’t enough. And she knew it. “And I’ll take the gun.”

Still wasn’t enough. I just stood there, with my arms folded and my eyes bearing down on her.

She knew, so she huffed and threw her hands in the air. “Fine! Send one of your goons to drive me. But they better hurry because I have to go.”

She waltzed off before I could say anything else. Funny, I was happy to watch that lovely ass walk away from me. That’s why that damn girl was my everything. Even in the midst of chaos, she had me panting like a fucking dog.

Gabe even noticed me ogling her. I ignored his slick ass smirk. “Tell Teddie to get over here and drive Baby and Tanisha out south.”

“Oh my goodness, Grandma. What is all of this?”

There was a complete spread of food on the island in my grandmother’s kitchen. It was a complete soul food meal that I totally was not expecting.

“I thought you just wanted me to come over so that you could hear about my trip.”

Tanisha wasted no time digging in. She had been to my grandmother’s house with me so many times over the years. They had even developed their own relationship. Tanisha sought her for spiritual counsel and prayer all the time. So, she grabbed a plate from the cabinets and went straight for the spaghetti and fried chicken.

“Well, me and your mama got to celebrate while you were gone–“

“Celebrate what?”

My God, that smile on her face was so bright that even Tanisha stopped piling her plate full of calories. I hadn’t seen that much life in my grandmother’s face in quite some time. Though she tried to smile through the pain, I could always see it.

Now, I didn’t.

She wrapped her arm around mine
as
she spoke through her happiness. “The doctor don’t see no more cancer.”

“What?!” Instantly, tears filled my eyes. I hugged her so tight that I feared I would fracture one of her fragile bones. “Oh my God, Madea! That’s great!”

“Ain’t God good?” She was forced to speak into my chest because I was still holding her tight.

“Yes, He is. He
sure
is.”

After about ten minutes of crying, Madea and I finally made a plate as well. Then we all sat at the dining room table. Tanisha and I told her all about the Dominican sun, the excursions, the white sand and perfectly blue water. We left out our freaky tales, of course, but evidence of them were on both of our faces as we attempted to talk around them.

“Oh, that sounds so nice,” Madea said with a smile. “Maybe you guys can get married over there and then I can get
two
things that I want.”

Oh Lord.

I didn’t need this, especially with Tanisha sitting at the table with us, who always had the same questions that I could feel were about to be asked by my grandmother.

“When is he going to marry you, baby?”

I tried to fight rolling my eyes into the back of my head. I was frustrated but not with her. Hell, I had the same question too.

“I want to know the same thing, Madea,” Tanisha chimed in.

My head fell into my hands.

“I don’t mean to pry, baby,” my grandmother told me as she lay a tender hand on my shoulder. “That man loves you. I know that he does. But it’s been five years. I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

Tanisha and I giggled.

“No, seriously,” she insisted with a laugh herself. “I’m supposed to walk you down the aisle. He has to hurry. I’m getting old, baby.”

I fought the regret bubbling in my chest. This was true. My grandmother was supposed to walk me down the aisle. I told her that when I was seven. My grandmother had taken the place of my father. She was the fatherly figure in my life, since I didn’t have one. My mother worked while my grandmother looked out for me. In the projects, she was ready to fight or pray. She had a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other.

Now, I was thirty–one and she was fighting with age and I didn’t know if she would make it to see the day. I honestly didn’t know why Roc refused to set a date. After asking twice, I left it alone. I honestly didn’t want to push him before, because for the past few years, Madea had been too weak to survive a wedding day. But now, she was cured and she was right. Though cancer-free, she was old and didn’t have much time left. But I trusted him. I knew that there had to be a legitimate reason, but what that reason was scared me. In the back of my mind, I knew that there was something holding him back.

He was loyal to me, but traditionally, I assumed that no matter how much he tried to fight it, he was more loyal to someone else.

“Roc has been acting weird.”

Without tearing her eyes away from the price tag, Tanisha chuckled. “Well, considering the fact that someone is obviously trying to kill him, I don’t blame him.”

“No, it’s not just that. Ever since I got home last night from Madea’s, he’s been acting so secretive.” I then picked up the same pair of jeans that Tanisha was eyeing, but in a different shade of denim. “He was having some hush-hush conversation in the den all night.”

“Well, Gabe told me that they got the DNA results on that blood. Maybe they were trying to figure out what to do next.”

All kinds of confusion was in my face as I stared at Tanisha. We were in Akira, so as usual, the music was pretty loud, but I was sure I had heard her correctly.

We were shopping. That was the only thing that I could do to occupy my time between teaching and wondering who in the hell was trying to kill my man.

Tired of me staring at her, Tanisha asked, “What?”

“So Gabe is pillow–talking with you about business now?”

Though she blushed, Tanisha waved her hand dismissively, as if I was the one talking crazy. “He mentioned it, probably on accident. He was drinking.”

I just looked at her. “Uh huh.”

“Seriously, he probably doesn’t even remember telling me.”

My taunting laugh was the response, as we scanned a table of skinny jeans. I could usually only shop for tops in stores like these, could never find jeans big enough to fit me. But a few months ago I squeezed into a size seventeen in this store and had been hooked ever since.

I still gave Tanisha that teasing smirk. “So is Gabe bringing you to Matalia’s birthday dinner on Sunday too?”

I actually wished that he was. I hated being around Roc’s father without the distraction of my friends. And since Sunday was Roc’s mother’s birthday dinner, I knew that every single member of the de Michele family would be there, even his God–awful sister and her tramp of a friend, Tia.

Tanisha sucked her teeth. “Absolutely…not! We don’t attend family events with one another.”

“Don’t try to downplay your relationship.”

“Relationship?” Tanisha looked disgusted. “It’s not a rel–“

“Anyway! Anyway!” Courtney chirped on the side of us. He too was looking for the perfect pair of skinny jeans. “Don’t nobody wanna hear Tanisha deny how much she is digging on Gabe. I got something to say.” Then he paused dramatically. “I gots me a man.”

“And?” I asked. “You always have a man.”

He did. Courtney was never lonely. He was really good at finding and keeping a man.

“But this one is
foine
!” he insisted, as he smiled dreamingly. “He looks like a mixture of Idris Alba and Denzel.”

Tanisha looked at him like he was crazy. “Come on now. That's humanly impossible.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Nobody is that fine. It's like a unicorn; it doesn’t exist.”

Courtney rolled his eyes. “Bitches.”

As he stormed away, towards the dressing room, Tanisha got right back on topic. “Seriously, do you have any idea who could be doing this or why?”

I slightly rolled my eyes as the thought gave me its usual migraine. I was comfortable with Roc. No matter his business dealings, I always felt safe. Even after we came home and the house was ransacked, by the time that I returned from dinner at Madea’s that evening, the house was immaculate, everything once destroyed had been fixed and there were two armed guards in place; one at the front door and one inside of the house.

Roc and I were like frick and frack. We did everything together and he never lied to me. However, he left me out of his business dealings as much as possible. It wasn’t out of secrecy. It was out of protection. Though many people knew that he was in a relationship, few had actually met me, fewer knew my name and we knew exactly the names of those that knew our home address.

So, I honestly had no freaking clue. But something was definitely going on. Roc had even sent Teddie to chauffeur me to Tanisha’s so that I could attend the shopping spree we were on. Though she and Courtney refused to ride with him, he followed close behind Courtney’s BMW, and I could see him walking back and forth past the Akira window.

“Honestly, I can’t say,” I told Tanisha. “When I first met him, it seemed like he was into a few dangerous things, but as the years went by, it was obvious that he had other men that got their hands dirty, if necessary. He runs a pretty tight ship. If there are any threats, robberies, or anything, he doesn’t tell me about it.” Then I sighed. “But he is Rocco de Michele. He’s rich and he’s feared. You don’t have to piss somebody off to make them want to get rid of someone like that.”