// 2 days later, December 5th //
Reese's POV
Eva turned 7 months old last week and I had to see her via FaceTime with the new iPhone I purchased just for that purpose. Here I am without my husband, away from my child, and in charge of an immortal army. This is straight out of a crappy SyFy movie. It's been a little over a week since I lost Dominic and I've become numb to the pain that comes whenever I think about the last moment I saw him.
This immortal shit is for the birds.
But I've introduce dozens of people to this life though and I can't just abandon them no matter how much I want to go back to life the way it was. They're partially my responsibility now and I need to figure out what our next move is before they wander off on their own with these new capabilities and wreak havoc on a world that doesn't even know they exist.
"There's this man standing on my porch, white as a piece of paper," Wanda whispers, her eyes darting towards the screen door. I frown and get up from my place at the dining table where I'd been staring at a blank document on my laptop for hours.
Through the mesh screen I can see the outline of a suit on what can be confirmed as a white man. I chuckle a bit as I fully comprehend what Wanda said, white as a piece of paper.
"Ms. Baker?"
My eyebrows come together in confusion, that can't be who I think it is
"It's James Deruch, Dominic introduced us a while back."
I approach the screen door and open it slowly, "What in the world are you doing here?"
"Lee came to me."
Wanda comes from the back of the house at the sound of her man's name, we haven't seen or heard from Lee in a couple of days.
"Where is he?"
By this time I've gestured him into the house and we all take a seat in the living room.
James frowns, "He didn't tell me he was going anywhere, he just came to me about Reese and then left."
Wanda looks deflated, worried even, which is new for her. I reach over and squeeze her hand, "I'm sure he's fine."
She nods, her face becoming emotionless, "Why did he come to you about Reese?"
James sighs, "He seems to think that I can be of value in this issue with Damien..."
*thirty minutes later*
"I refuse to be someone else's lackey. Damien wanted me to do something similar and failed to mention the prostitution aspect, I'm not going to even put myself in that situation."
James spits up the water Wanda had given him a few minutes ago, "Prostitution?! I assure you Reese, while quite a bit of my associates might dabble in that industry I don't plan on involving you with them. Those individuals don't see a bigger cause, they don't care about the people, they're only working to get to their next big check. I'm aiming for individuals like your husband, myself, people in charge of perfectly legitimate businesses on top of everything else. Those are the people that will do what's necessary to keep their businesses afloat."
"You're counting on drug pushers and gang affiliated thugs to have a moral compass?"
James chuckles,"They have their own twisted moral compass. For instance, I know a pill pusher that investigates each customer before dealing. No kids, no mothers. They gotta hustle but they have their boundaries."
I scoff, "Great, we're counting on boundaries and conditional moral compasses."
James adjusts on the couch, sitting up to face me directly on the couch beside him, "It's all we have. Take it or leave it."
My head begins to throb, "I can't believe it's come down to this."
He doesn't reply, staring intently at me still, waiting.
This is risky. But so was Dominic's lifestyle. And look where it got us. Look where it got him.
I think of Eva, my little angel back in Arizona with his mother, the moments I'm missing, the bonding I'm not doing that's so crucial in such an early stage of her life. If doing this is what's necessary to get back to my baby....
"Let's do it."
// The Next Day //
Back in the heart of LA, back on Dominic's stomping ground. I'd been staying with Wanda for so long out in this hills that I forgot about the various sights that can serve as a painful reminder of the time we spent together.
Selam High where we first met, the skating rink where we had our first date, his first restauraunt Delight, where he proposed.
I remember that day like it was yesterday.
I tugged at the slim fitting burgundy dress, poked at my stomach pudge, and fiddled with the straps. Dominic told me he loved the way this dress looks on me, that it was perfect for the job he had tonight.
I had a surprise planned for him, a romantic day in bed, but when he woke me up this morning and sent me to get pampered I knew I could forget it.
"This will be the last job for about a month or two baby, then we'll have time to ourselves," Dominic said, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
I rolled my eyes, "If you say so."
He turned me around to face him, cupping my face gently, "Listen Reese's Pieces, we're in this together right? Ride or die? Without the dying."
I laughed, "Yeah, without the dying."
He smiled widely, one of the things about him that drew me in, "Ride for me once again, let me show you off, seal this deal, and then we can go anywhere you want. Just the two of us, no business."
"No business?"
"None."
I sighed in resignation, "Let's get this done."
Imagine my surprise when he pulled up to Delight. He usually never did his business this close to home, what is he thinking?
He comes around to the passenger door of the sleek black Range Rover he just bought and opens it for me, reaching out to take my hand and help me down.
We're face to face and I sigh, "What's the profile for this guy?"
He chuckles, "Straight to business huh?"
"I'm just ready to get you to myself, the quicker we can work through this the quicker I can decide where we're going to be ducked off," I reply, straightening my dress once again and adjusting my stance in my black pumps.
Dominic smiles, "You're right. Profile. This one is cocky, sure of himself, smooth, flirty. He doesn't take no for an answer and wants agreeable, cooperative. Something I know is hard for you."
I smack his arm, "Just because I won't do everything you say doesn't mean I'm not agreeable. What sane person do you know that wants 7 kids back to back on purpose?"
This has been and issue with us since we got together, Dominic wants a huge family, something he never really got to experience as an only child living with just his mom. He says I'm being ridiculous when I ask if he could settle for two.
Dominic rolls his eyes, "We'll finish that conversation later. Anyways, strut in there like you own the place, confidence is key with this one, go straight to the middle of the room, the table is set and he should be arriving shortly. Tell him I'll be in soon, warm him up a bit before I come in."
I nod in understanding, accepting the sweet kiss on the forehead before turning to face the entrance to the restaurant. Confidence, shoulders back, head up, a little swish in my hips. Check. I smirk as I walk through the double doors of the establishment.
To my surprise there are rose petals on the floor, the length and width of a red carpet. I frown, all this for a business transaction?
I shake off the confusion and fix my face back to the smirk, sauntering past the hostess podium and towards the center of the room.
There's no center table.
As a matter of fact I notice there aren't any tables at all as I look around the room. What the hell?
Footsteps behind me put me on alert and I whirl around, ready.
"Good to know all that late night defense training comes to you quickly in unfamiliar circumstances."
"Dominic, what the hell is all this? Where's the guy we're supposed to be meeting?"
"Well, the guy YOU'RE supposed to be meeting is right in front of you," he says smoothly, walking forward until he's a couple of feet away from me.
"What are you talking about Dominic?"
"You see, I'm the cocky, smooth, individual you're supposed to be meeting today. A transaction of sorts needs to go down between us. And I need you to be agreeable about it."
"Listen, if this is about the 7 kids--"
He laughs loudly, "No baby, no it's not. This is something a little less extreme."
He takes a deep breath, looking down at his feet and stuffing his hands in the pocket of his slacks. If it has Dominic nervous I feel I should be concerned as well. But I don't say anything to fill the tense silence, I just wait.
"You see, you've been down for me for longer than I ever expected. The day I was released from jail I honestly expected to find you had moved on, forgotten about me, chunked me up as a lost cause. But you were still in the same apartment, the key in the same place, for me. It probably wasn't intentional but, I took it as a sign. I had to jump at the chance to keep you in my life, in any way possible. For you to ride for me for so long, with minimal complaint, it's incredible. So many times I expected to wake up and find you gone, or for you to come to me and say you were done. But you've stuck through it all. The warehouse explosion in Chicago, the three day interrogation you went through in Miami, everything. You've been down for me. And it's time I repay you, completing the transaction."
He crouches, adjusting so he's on one knee. Oh. My. God.
"Reese Monae Baker.....will you marry me?"
I snap out of the memory as James drives over some railroad tracks, knocking me around a bit in my seat.
"You okay?"
I nod, choosing not to speak as I brush away the tears rolling down my face.
**
I chose to wait a couple more days and make the chapter a bit longer with the flashback and whatnot.
Super excited for feedback, super sorry about the space between these updates. (always saying sorry I feel smh lol).
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