“Downsize it.” King walked back into the room with his phone still in hand. “We’re among friends, not having a sit down or doing business negotiations.”
“Friends might be a stretch.” I slid a hand into my pocket.
“Yeah, well, they definitely won’t be our friends if we walk into their damn wedding with enough security to start a hostile takeover and honestly, which one of us really needs security anyway?” King snickered. “You think Rook or Knight or Xavia need someone to protect them?”
“You don’t know what you need until you don’t have it,” I said seriously. “But I’ll cut it for you.”
“Thank you.” King looked between us. “Let’s move.”
He clapped his hands then yanked the door open. We filed out one by one with me picking up the rear and speaking to our security detail to update them on how many people we were actually going to take with us.
Rook, Knight, and I climbed in a car together with a driver and a member of our security team while King and Xavia climbed in with two guards and a driver and we took off. I kept my phone unlocked and in my hand, making sure I was constantly available if anyone on our team had questions or needed clarification about what was expected.
When we got to the mansion where the wedding was taking place, we all split up to schmooze just like we were expected to do and I morphed from the Bishop that I was when I headed our security to the Bishop I was when I had to play politics, smooth and constantly smiling, shrinking myself to not intimidate any of the people around us.
Rook and I stayed together. King and Xavia headed one way. Knight went off on his own.
We moved around the room, talking to the people we knew and allowing them to introduce us to those we didn’t. I wasdiplomatic. Rook made jokes. We moved around the room easily.
We were an hour into our attendance when Rook excused himself from my side to go grab our first drinks.
I stayed back with a long time friend of the family, Leo Claudio and his body guard and best friend KO, the three of us catching up with what they had going on since it was always something over there.
The Claudio family dealt in the deep underground of illegal work. They were a well off family which was interesting considering they didn’t deal with money for real. They dealt in secrets. If you needed information, they’d give it to you but the only price they listed was a secret of your own. Those secrets were usually world shattering and you gave them up with the knowledge someone else could get it off them for their own shit. It was insane that they were somehow still in business, lurking the shadows of the rich and famous as well as the people like us, the criminals who worked among the upper class. They were good people to remain friends with though and despite what they did, our family definitely considered them friends.
KO had personally taught my sister-in-law, Casmi, some self defense and had even given us a freebie when it came to some information, something no one had ever heard of them doing before.
Shit was solid between us and whatever they needed, we would give them.
I paused mid conversation the second I heard a woman scream. My head jerked in the direction of the noise and I saw my twin look directly at me. I lifted an eyebrow. He shrugged. I shook my head and looked back at Leo whose eyebrows knitted together.
“Ay,” he nudged his head back toward Rook and I glanced back in his direction and paused when I saw that some nigga was standing in front of him, all in his space and face.
Body language told me shit was about to go left.
“Go ahead and clear out,” I dapped Leo up.
“Y’all good?” KO asked.
“Yeah. We good.” I pulled my phone out my pocket with my eyes still on my twin and started to make my way toward him.
“Rook!” I called out to him before I even made it to him. I reached for his shoulder the second I was close enough but his eyes were focused on the man in front of him. “Leave it alone,” I said. “Whatever it was, wasn’t that deep.”
“Rook,” the man repeated as he looked my twin up and down. “So, that must mean you’re Bishop.” His eyes drifted to me. He chuckled and shook his head. “Man, get the fuck out of here.” He nudged his head toward the door.
“Watch who the fuck you talking to,” Rook grit.
“Leave it alone,” I repeated.
“Yeah.” The man smiled smugly. “You heard your lil fruitcake ass brother.”
I knew what was going to happen before it happened but it still didn’t make me fast enough to stop it. Rook’s fist met his mouth before I could even process it.
Rook wasn’t somebody that let motha’fucaks insult me and while I appreciated that he gave a fuck, I hated that the shit caused so much more attention to be put on my sexuality and always led to some stupid shit that wasn’t worth the trouble. I hated being the centerpiece of fighting and feeling like me being with a man was cause for our family’s shame. If it wasn’t shameful, Rook wouldn’t react the way he would about people throwing it out there, even if he didn’t mean to.
Everybody knew exactly how to get under his skin and it bothered me that I was his weak point.
Rook hit the man a second time and chaos immediately ensued around us. My head flew to the side when I saw someone making a beeline for Rook. I slid beside my brother and knocked that niggas head back before he could lay a hand on him. Being Rook’s shadow meant being ready for whatever bullshit came at any time and I did just that. I popped the man on the side of his head just right to slump him then turned back to my brother.
