Power (Romantic Suspense) (4 page)

“Yeah. That’s your best one right there.” Fuji clapped again.

“I know right?” She giggled. “But, for some reason that joke just doesn’t go well in most audiences.”

“Oh, fuck them!” Fuji exclaimed. “Some people get too hung up on racism.”

He clapped some more and I chose that moment to join his clapping while stepping into the living room. Fuji paused his clapping and even decided to stand his fat ass up, when he’d been lounging on the couch with a goddamned bowl of popcorn on my Italian coffee table.

No smile or hint of joy evident on my face, but I continued my loud clap. “Hey. Why’d you stop clapping, Fuji? She’s funny, right?”

I concentrated on the vixen who had my main bodyguard distracted from his job. Her bag sat next to my Buddha statue.
Well, at least she didn’t hang the damn thing around his neck.
Mary Jane stood in front of my television screen. The thing was bigger than her. Even with that mop of kinky curls dominating her head, she still barely reached the top. But then, I’d purchased the biggest screen I could find.

Again my heart started to pick up its pace, booming loudly in my ears.

What the fuck is wrong with me today? I was about to cry over fucking Rasheed and now this chick is making me feel stupid. Fuck this.

“Go ahead, big guy.” I gestured to the couch. “Why don’t you sit back down and enjoy that bowl of popcorn on my beautiful table.”

“I didn’t eat any, boss.” Fuji made no move to sit or walk off. “She said she was hungry.”

“Of course she was.” I nodded.

The man dug into his jeans, waddled over, and handed me her phone. “I got the cell like you asked me too.”

I put the phone in my back pocket. “Should I be celebrating that you at least did this?”

“No.” Fuji concentrated on the ground. “And I’m sorry about the popcorn. I just thought it would be good to give her a snack.”

“And since this is a slumber party, one could only whip up a bowl of fun snacks.” Then something hit me. “Wait a minute. I don’t have junk food in my kitchen? Where did you get the popcorn?”

She raised her hand. “I brought my own microwavable stuff. And popcorn isn’t junk food. It’s part of the vegetable group.”

I shook my head. “Technically, it depends on when the corn is harvested. When it’s early some consider it a fruit—later, they call it a grain or vegetable.”

She stared at me with her mouth open. “O-kay. You really know your food groups.”

I’m the weird one?

“Never mind.” I pointed to the bowl. “You carry around packets of popcorn?”

“Of course. Doesn’t everybody?” She shrugged. “I keep a few with me, just in case. You just never know when you could get hungry or. . .I should be quiet. You look angry.”

“Oh, no.” I signaled for her to continue. “Feel free to talk. I’m here for you. This is your moment.”

She shut her mouth and turned to Fuji.

What? You think he’s going to help you? Do you not know who I am?

Anger boiled in my veins and my damn heart stuttered a bit in between beats. Never, in all these years, had anyone ever looked away from me and sought another for safety. My eyes ran too cold to turn away. And no one was stupid enough to think that another man could stop me.

Even though Domingo had escaped, I knew for a fact that his sleep tonight wouldn’t come easy. He was smart. He feared me like everyone else. He’d be jumping at every sound, checking his window anytime a car drove by, and screaming at his men anytime they startled him.

Fuji’s words came out shaky. “Boss, I’m sorry.”

“No.” Mary Jane waved his comment away. “This is my fault. Give me the blame. I got scared at the gunshots and just started telling jokes. . .it’s just what I do when I’m super nervous. He laughed and the next thing I knew, I was doing a whole show.”

“No.” Fuji stood his fat ass up straighter, as if he was preparing himself for the worst. “I knew better. I messed up.”

Mary Jane jumped in, “No, I did—”

Jesus!

“Both of you, shut up.” Pain throbbed on the sides of my forehead. I closed my eyes for a minute to get control of myself. Part of the reason why I meditated so much was to stop all of the crazy shit from tornadoing around in my brain. Now with Domingo’s escape and this chick’s presence, I would get no rest.

What am I going to do with her?

And then something caught my eye from the coffee table. Someone had dumped a bunch of skittles on it. Candy was on my table. Not on a plate or in a bowl, but just sticking and staining the clean surface. And even odder, the skittles were divided into five piles based on color—red, yellow, green, orange, and purple.

I gestured to them. “What the fuck is that?”

Fuji cursed under his breath.

Mary Jane mumbled, “Skittles.”

“Why are they on my table? And why did you divide them?”

“That’s how I eat them. I take them out of the bag, sort them by color, and then eat one pile at a time, making sure I don’t mix them up.”

“Are you OCD or something?” I asked.

“I’m not OCD. I just do things completely right and in perfect order.”

“Sounds like OCD to me.”

“I’m not really. I just have odd habits. Like sometimes, I go into people’s medicine cabinets and alphabetically rearrange everything in it. It’s called organization.” She winked at me.

Jesus. What am I going to do with her?

Her damn voice sliced through my only peaceful moment. “So, you’re a healthy eater?”

I said nothing.

“I see you have the whole Buddha statue.” She gestured to it. “And then, it looks like there’s a mat. So, do you get your yoga on, too or just meditate?”

More silence.

“I think it’s dope that you’re not just a scary guy. You have character. You’re working on yourself.” She gave me a thumbs up. “You’re like working on reaching a higher state of consciousness. Peace and prosperity. I’ve been thinking of meditating, too.”

She was a goddamned anomaly.

How long is she going to talk?

Her next words cracked a little. “Can I go?”

Rage built in me.

“Fuji, go outside and guard the door.” I stalked over to Mary Jane.

“Umm.” She backed up.

I stood directly in front of her. So close. Her scent hit me first—something with flowers and a subtle hint of vanilla. Her breasts appeared even bigger close up. Even more soft. Plump and firm. I might’ve stared at them longer than I should have. I might’ve considered how good my cock would feel, slipping between those melons and disappearing.

Her caramel skin had to be soft too. It had a glow that made me think of silk sheets. And those damn eyes. I bet that’s what had Fuji acting so stupidly. She looked so innocent and sweet. She had those big, old doe eyes that probably made most men want to get lost in them.

How many guys have been lost in you?

Fuji disrupted my thoughts. “Boss? I can handle her. I swear.”

Look at the fat man. He’s trying to protect her. What the hell did you do to my soldier, Mary Jane?

I didn’t look away from her. “Why are you still in here, Fuji?”

He might’ve been stupid, but not dumb enough to say anything else. What had gotten to him? Why couldn’t he handle this damn woman? In fact, she never should’ve gotten in the club. My men were soft on women. If Mary Jane had been a guy, we’d be burying his ass in the woods on Proctor Road.

What am I going to do with her?

I kept my focus on Mary Jane, inhaling her fragrance even though I knew I shouldn’t. There was no need to check over my shoulder to see if Fuji had left. Her face told me that he’d gone.

Fear flooded her eyes and her bottom lip shuddered. She guided her view over me. “Please, don’t kill me.”

I leaned my head to the side. “What should I do, then?”

“Let me go.” She jumped when the front door slammed close. “Please, I won’t say anything.”

“How do I know that?”

“I could. . .I could sign a contract. I could do a blood promise. You could take down my address and threaten to come back to kill me or something.”

“You said you heard gunshots.”

“Did I? I don’t remember that.”

“Interesting. It must be your amnesia blocking out that memory.” I walked in a circle around her. Part of it was a scare tactic. The other part wondered if her ass was as big as I thought it was.
What the hell am I doing? I don’t have time for this.
But still I got behind her and just stood there, drinking that soft cushion in.

Yeah. I bet she had to get a moving permit for that ass.

She didn’t turn around. “Please, don’t kill me. I just turned twenty-one yesterday. Do you know how long I’ve waited to buy liquor legally? And now I get to go into clubs.”

Her bottom was so nice I almost grabbed it, but that wasn’t me. I never had to fondle a woman that didn’t beg me to do it first.

So young.

“You just turned twenty-one?” Shaking my head, I walked back to the front of her.

“Yes.”

“So what you’re saying is that I should wait, until you’re twenty-two to kill you?”

She shrugged. “That’s a better option than murdering me right now.”

I stood there and stared at this feminine puzzle. I couldn’t kill her. What had she really done, but stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time? She was too innocent. Too goddamned adorable to take from this shitty world. No. Already, too many had died, including innocent children. When I woke up this morning, I’d promised that no one else, outside of the game, would be murdered in my city.

Does that include her or should I start this promise tomorrow? How bad would it be if she said something? Fuck. Pretty damned bad. She’s a witness. The cops aren’t taking my bribe money until I stop this stupid war. The good cops would be happy to have Mary Jane’s account of what went down tonight. She didn’t know much, but she could land me behind bars.

Mary Jane disrupted my thoughts. “You’re squinting your eyes.”

Her comment caught me off guard.

“What?” I asked.

“You must think really hard or something, when you squint your eyes.” She gazed at me, analyzing my movements.

“You should be quiet and let me squint as I think.”

“Sorry, I thought you were hurting your eyes.”

I groaned and moved so close to her, barely a half an inch remained between us. “You talk too fucking much.”

She shut her mouth.

Backing away from her and that scent, I raked my hair and wondered what the hell I would do with her.

“Do you want to hear a joke?” she asked.

“I’m not Fuji. You better be careful with me.” I got back in front of her, but this time she didn’t back away.

She frowned and blinked those damned doe eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You apologize a lot, too.”

“Maybe you should meditate. You look stressed.”

“Gunshots and quirky little, curly-haired witnesses do that to me.”

“I’m not a witness to anything. Blind and an amnesiac. Remember?” She frowned. “Wait a minute. Quirky? Did you just call me
quirky
?”

“You want a better word?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned with saving yourself?”

“I’m not quirky,” she muttered.

“Jesus! Will you ever be quiet?”

She jumped back.

What the fuck am I even doing talking to her? I need to put all of my focus on Domingo. If anything, she’s the easiest problem. Maybe.

I looked back at her. “Go ahead.”

She widened her eyes. “What? I can leave?”

“No.” I backed up some more and crossed my arms over my chest. “Go ahead and tell me a joke.”

“Okay.” She breathed in and out and tossed me a nervous smile. “In the hood, what’s the difference between a bullet and a dirty cop?”

I thought about it for a minute and gave her my answer. “One is made of metal. The other is a human.”

She shook her head. “No—”

“That is a difference!” I declared.

“Yes, but that’s not the joke.”

I frowned. “Then, it’s a bad one, because I gave you the correct answer.”

“Oh, my god.” She rolled her eyes. “You have no sense of humor, just like my dad.”

I laughed.

“What?” she asked. “Why are you laughing? I didn’t even finish the joke.”

“You just rolled your eyes at me.”

“Okay? How is that funny?”

“No one’s done that in fifteen years.” I chuckled again. “I see why Fuji fell off his game with you. You’re as cute as a little puppy.”

“A
puppy
? Excuse me?” She had the nerve to frown at me again and when she put her hands on her hips, her lush breasts jiggled a little. Warmth hit my cock.

Damn. Do that again.