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“You don’t think you could find a person you wouldn’t have to change for?”
She shrugged. “People love you the way you are until they don’t.” She looked at me sideways. “Seriously, where’s this coming from?”
“You’re my woman and I wanted to know where your head was at.”
“It’s not too early for that?”
“No.”
“Well, I hope you don’t have a ring picked out, ‘cause I’d hate to disappoint you,” she said before popping a fry in her mouth.
Not even a maybe was crazy, considering how good things were between us. But I was working on an accelerated timeline that she didn’t know about.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled when I saw it was Pops’ security detail.
“Mr. Montague,” Davis greeted. He was the head of my father’s security and had been with him for the past twenty years. “There’s been an incident at Jerome’s, sir. Your father…he’s been hit. They’re transporting him now.”
My chest tightened. “How bad is it?”
“He was stable when they got him into the ambulance. We’ve got our guys trying to locate the shooter now.”
“What hospital are they taking him to?”
“Presbyterian.”
“I’m on my way,” I said and hung up.
The phone rang again before I could gather my fucking thoughts.
“Not now, Yomi—”
“Dez, the shipment from Jean-Pierre got hit.”
“Fuck you mean?” I wanted to throw my phone. “How?”
“It was an ambush. The port crew’s dead. Whoever did it knew when the container was coming through.”
“Fuck!” I yelled. A few people looked at me nervously. I inhaled deeply trying to calm down. “Get Priest with you on the port. I’ma have to get Lorelei on damage control. This about to be a whole shit show.”
“On it.”
I quickly shot off a text to Lorelei and stood outside the restaurant. I needed a moment to collect myself before going back to Belle. My hand gripped the phone so tight the case started to crack. This nigga Solomon was behind this. Everyone knew Jerome’s was Orlando’s spot. He went there a few times a week for as long as I could remember. And if Solomon had been as close to him as he said, then he’d know that too.
I sucked in a deep breath and walked back inside. Belle was looking at her phone, but her head popped up the second she saw me coming.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I need to get you home.” I threw a wad of cash on the table. “I have a family emergency and gotta get back to the city.”
She nodded, grabbed her bag, and followed me to the car.
“Drop me at the Manhasset station,” she said as I pulled out of the lot. “I can take the LIRR back to the city, that way you can go straight to wherever you need to go instead of driving me home first.”
“No.”
“Dez, it’ll save you like forty—”
“I’m dropping you off.”
