Chapter 2
Damari “Domino” Ross
The room was quiet in the way only dangerous places ever were. There was no ticking clock, no music, and no distractions; just concrete walls, a single metal chair bolted to the floor, and the low hum of electricity overhead.
My boss, Alejandro, stood in front of one of our old mules like a priest preparing to deliver last rites. His hands were clasped firmly behind his back, posture relaxed to an unsettling degree, radiating a calm that made men fold under pressure and caused women to beg for mercy. I lingered by the door, arms crossed tightly over my chest, watching and listening, silent as always. I was trained to observe first and strike later. In my hometown and on bank statements, I was known as Damari Ross, but in places like that, I was simplyDomino—Alejandro’s underboss, his enforcer, and the reliable Mr. Fix-It when shit got ugly.
Iya sat trembling in the chair, her wrists bound tightly with zip ties, mascara streaked down her cheeks, her wide eyes darting back and forth between me and Alejandro, filled with desperation.
“What’s going on?! Can one of you just please tell me why I’m here?! Like this!” she demanded, yanking her bound wrists in a futile attempt to free herself.
Alejandro’s voice was smooth and calculated as he asked, “Iya, you know what disappoints me the most?"
He paused, letting the tension build.
“I trusted you. And I don’t give jobs to people I don’t believe in.”
I knew she was fucked up the moment Alejandro didn’t raise his voice. That calm meant he’d already decided that she was gonna die.
Iya shook her head frantically, her lips quivering like leaves in a gust of wind. “I believed in this! I did everything right!”
Alejandro halted his movement, taking a deliberate step closer to her, eyes narrowing.
“Everythingright?”
He then reached into the breast pocket of his tailored jacket, pulled out a thin, manila folder, and tossed it casually onto the table beside her. Photos spilled out, scattering across the surface, ranging from blurry surveillance shots bearing timestamps to her face appearing in places we’d never sent her.
“So you call meeting with people I’ve never authorizedright? You answering questions you were never supposed to hearright?” Alejandro mocked, circling her like a shark.
Iya couldn’t look at the photos. Instead, she stared up at him, wide-eyed and frightened, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Iya, you were seen, recorded, and confirmed,” Alejandro made known. “You were feeding information slowly… and carelessly. I’ll tell you one thing you did dowrong.You forgot who you worked for.”
“Please, Alejandro! You don’t understand! I was scared!” she pleaded. “That case from three years ago came back up! Theythreatened me! They said they’d lock me up for ten years and take my kids!”
You learn a lot about a person right before they die. Some cry, some pray, and some run their mouths, thinking they can talk their way out of anything.
“You should’ve come to me,” Alejandro said, his tone unchanging.
“I was going to!” she cried, her tears coming harder now, desperation leaking from every pore.
Alejandro scoffed. “You weregoing to? When, Iya? After they flipped on you? Or you flipped on us? Iya, when I met you, you were nothing but a homeless, hungry, and pathetic stray. I gave you a car, a house, and a lane. I put money in your pockets. And I did all of thatbeforeI even knew you hadtruepotential. And you had it… until you got sloppy.”
“I didn’t give them anything real! I kept them going in circles with lies! I did it for—” she paused, eyes cutting toward me.
Don’t. You. Fuckin’. Say. It.
I didn’t say it out loud, but one twitch of my eyebrow, and one slow tilt of my head was all the confirmation she needed. Iya swallowed that sentence like poison.
See, Iya wasn’t just a mule; she was also a chick I’d been fucking.
Not on no romantic tip. Hell nah.It was physical, convenient, and forgettable.
But that damn pause changed everything, because now Alejandro was watchingme, too.
“You did it forwhat, Iya? Orwho?” he questioned coolly, eyes shifting between the two of us.
“I did it formy kids.”