Chapter 14
“Domino”
That Spanish? Yeah… I wasn’t expecting that.
I’d been around Alejandro long enough to know the language like the back of my hand, but hearing Ajori say those words—clean, confident, and livid—hit different.
I was proud of her, but I hated what she was doing.
She wasn’t supposed to be touched by this world.
Not in my head… not with that face… and not with a brother depending on her every breath.
And then there was Dino.
The second I heard what he said to her, I damn near slammed my fist into the desk. If I’m being honest, though… I didn’t know if I was more pissed at the fact that he told her she was a mule or that he flirted with her. Flirting with a mule was prohibited in our organization, but flirting with that mule was suicidal.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw, fighting the urge to break something.
He’d get handled, but not until Alejandro got back.
I couldn’t leave the Mexico right at that exact moment. Since Alejandro left me in charge while he was gone, that meant myass had to stay planted there until further notice. And even as underboss, I needed clearance before touching Dino since he was tied to one of Alejandro’s supply lines, and that came with politics, but the second I got the green light, I was gone.
***
Alejandro walked into the office, fresh off his trip, sunglasses still on. When he removed them, the first thing I noticed was that he looked a little paler around the edges.
Not enough for anyone else to catch, but I knew him too well.
“Welcome back,” I greeted him, closing out a file. “Trip go alright?”
He sank into the chair across from me with a long, weary exhale that seemed to release all the tension he had been carrying.
“Exhausting… informative… but peaceful, too, in a strange, ‘I-finally-got-to-breathe way’.”
Alejandro offered a small smirk; one that hinted at the mixed emotions he had experienced.
“I didn’t realize how overwhelmingly loud this operation is until I stepped away from it. My phone didn’t buzz every ten minutes; my name wasn’t being shouted across three different states. It was peaceful as hell… until the jet lag kicked my ass.”
I huffed a laugh. “Good to know you didn’t die.”
“You can’t get rid of me that fast,” he winked. “But enough about me. What’d I miss?”
I leaned back in my chair, organizing my thoughts. “I need to handle Dino.”
Alejandro raised an eyebrow and leaned back. “Dino? Why?”
“He crossed a line. He got too flirty with the new mule… talking slick… asking questions he shouldn’t have been comfortable asking.”
A twitch appeared at the corner of Alejandro's mouth before he let out a quiet chuckle. “Sounds a little personal,hermano.”
“It’s not personal,” I shut that shit down fast, lying. “It’s structure. If niggas think they can blur lines with people tied to us, it gets messy fast. Boundaries slip… information leaks… and discipline weakens. And when discipline goes, operations fall apart. I’m not letting that happen.”
Alejandro studied me, like he saw more than I said, but nodded. “You’re right. Give him a warning he’ll remember.”
He pointed an authoritative finger at me.
“Butdon’tkill him. Last thing we need is heat on that pipeline.”