Chapter 18
“Domino”
“Fuck you, Marcos, fuck that Dom nigga, and fuck this job!”
Ajori's voice sliced through the stillness, raw with emotion. My jaw tensed at her outburst, the frustration in her words barely contained.
The real gut punch came next, catching me off guard:
“Or hell… kill me! But wait until I give my brother his heart first!”
That shit punched me in a place I didn’t like admitting existed, simply because I put her in a position to see the truth.
I shut my eyes, absorbing the weight of her desperation.
Damn.
Ajori loved her brother so much that she’d rather die than fail him.
Most people boasted about their willingness to die for someone, but very few could actually claim that kind of devotion... but she could.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my thumb along my jawline.
The favor I’d asked the client for was simple: grill Ajori, intimidate her just enough to offer her a reason to quit. I wanted her to walk away from this life—a life I believed she deserved better than. She had finally earned enough money for her brother’s surgery. And once Alejandro put me over the mules, I had the authority to free whoever I deemed necessary, as long as I replaced them.
Just then, my phone rang. I didn’t even need to check the caller.
“Yeah, Marcos?” I answered, ready for the conversation.
He exhaled heavily on the other end, his tone low. “You heard that?”
“Yeah… and I saw everything too. Even if I hadn’t heard a word, her body language told the entire story.
“So you gon’ let her go?”
“Yeah,” I replied, my decision firm. “But before you say anything to her, I want to run it by Alejandro first. It's still too soon after her start date. I don't want him thinking I can’t manage my position well.”
Marcos hummed in agreement. “Makes sense.”
“And it’s not about me being soft,” I cleared up, my voice sharp and clear. “It’s about placing people where they belong… and she doesn’t belong in this hellhole. She did her job, she earned her money, and she survived. That's enough for me.”
After our call ended, I stood up and made my way down the hall to find Alejandro. It was time to explain why I had to let go of one of our best mules, and how that was not a failure on my part.
Although I had made the decision long before she even knew I existed.
I knocked once on Alejandro’s office door and walked in without waiting for an invitation. Alejandro was seated behind his desk, elbows resting on a pile of paperwork, glasses lowon his nose. He looked up immediately as I entered, curiosity flickering across his face.
“It’s done,” I announced. “The girl completed the run.”
Alejandro leaned back in his seat slowly, satisfaction spreading across his face. “Well, I’ll be damned. She actually pulled it off.”
A chuckle escaped him, but the humor faded as quickly as it arrived. “And she delivered all that to him too,” he added, his tone laced with unmistakable disgust.
“Yup.” I nodded.
“That bastard and I go way back. We were in business together long before you joined the scene.”
Alejandro shook his head, remembering something he clearly wished he didn’t.