Seconds later, East kneeled beside Reg, gripped his face hard, and forced Reg to look at him through damn near swollen shut eyes. “The only reason you get to walk away from this is because I want you alive, knowing you’re indebted to me. I own your life. If you ever so much as look at Joi again, I’m killing your entire fucking family. I want you out here in the world knowing she’s happy and it’s all because of me. Killing you isn’tpunishment enough but living each day knowing you can’t do shit without my approval is. As long as you’re in my city, you won’t be able to do a gotdamn thing without approval moving through me, and trust me, I have the authority to make sure that’s possible.”
“I…I…don’t…” Reg paused and wheezed heavily before finding the strength to finish. His body was experiencing more pain than he ever dreamed possible, and as much as his ego pushed him to retaliate, he knew better. He understood that he was being given a pass and he was damn sure going to take it. Karma had hit him with a vengeance and proxied East to be the person who delivered it. “I don’t want no prob…problems.”
Chuck laughed from across the room and East shot him a warning look to chill out before he addressed Reg again.
“Nah, you don’t, so every time you think about doing some dumb shit, you remember who I am. I’m not the one you want to fuck with and now that Joi is under my watch, you don’t want to fuck with her either. Are we clear?”
Nodding slowly, Reg agreed to the only terms that would allow him to live to see another day. He hadn’t always made the best decisions, but he knew better than to chance it with this one. He had a baby on the way. One he wasn’t expecting but it was happening, and as fucked up of a person as he was, he wanted to be there for his kid. Even if he hated the woman carrying it. He had always imagined it would be Joi but that wasn’t an option, so he had to deal with the hand he was dealt.
East left things as they were and made his way to the side entrance to leave. Chuck was right behind him and didn’t speak until East reached his car and leaned against it.
“Make sure you get him out of here soon.”
“Got you. You’re really about to make him miserable. After a few months when he can open his eyes again and feel his face, he’s about to be sitting around crying and shit.” Chuck laughed,shaking his head. “You beat his ass, took his girl, and you ’bout to make it hard for him to eat.”
Unbothered by any of it, East shrugged. He wasn’t moved by the future of Reg’s existence one way or another because he really didn’t give a fuck. “I can’t respect a man who puts his hands on a woman. He better be glad I’m leaving it like this.”
“Nah, I think this gon’ be worse than if you had killed him. He ’bout to feel that shit daily for the rest of his life. You pretty much set him up to get your approval just to take a shit.” Chuck exaggerated but laughed at the thought. East shook his head, exposing a smile as well.
“He fucked with the wrong one. You know I don’t play that shit but I’m out. You good, you need anything?”
“Nah, I’m straight but we’re getting low. You have everything set up?”
East nodded then considered the conversation he had with Cabo. “Yeah we’re good but I think I want to put you at the table soon. The two of you need to meet. I want a clean break and no transition period. When I walk, I just want to let that shit go.”
“Shit, I’m ready.” Chuck grinned like a kid. The possibilities had him excited. There was no doubt he made good money working for East but to take over would damn near triple that. He already consumed the risk since East excluded himself from the day to day, but Chuck respected East. He had no issues accepting his role under him. From day one East promised that when he stepped down, he would hand over his position to Chuck as long as he handled the job and played his role. Chuck had done just that and was inching closer to the day when he would be in East’s position. At twenty-two years old, he would have never accomplished it on his own, so Chuck was grateful for East.
“Aight, I’ma set it up. I’m out. Be easy.”
East offered a nod to Chuck before pulling his door open. It wasn’t until then that Chuck remembered one last thing.
“Ay, what about card night? Everyone is hitting me up. It’s been a little minute. We doing it or what?”
East gave it a moment of thought before he looked over at Chuck. “I’ll get with you. I have a few things to tie up before we do.” Patterson had to be handled before it happened so East needed to decide on his next move. Until then, everyone would have to wait. Chuck only nodded and left it alone. He never questioned East because it wasn’t necessary. Since the day the two men linked up, they had an understanding, and it wouldn’t change.
When East madeit to his house, the sight of Joi’s car parked in his driveway had him shaking his head and exposing a slight grin. There was a time when he didn’t even want a woman knowing where he lived and now here he was at peace with handing over a key and the code to his alarm to give Joi the freedom to come and go as she pleased. After locking up and climbing the stairs to reach his bedroom, he leaned against the doorframe, watching Joi propped up in the center of his bed, surrounded by pillows and snacks with her eyes glued to the TV. She was so into what she was watching that she hadn’t noticed him until she heard his voice, which startled her.
“The fuck you jumping for?”
Joi rolled her eyes then smiled at the sight of East leaning against the doorframe. She could never get enough of him, even if she tried. Joi admired his physique, tracing the outline of his chest down to his lower half covered in a pair of Championjoggers. The fit was just right and a smile creased her lips before she lifted her eyes to his face.
The snide grin he wore matched hers. “You’re real comfortable in here.” East pulled his body from the doorframe and entered his sacred space. One that now seemed to belong to both of them.
“You said I should make myself at home, so that’s what I did.” Joi shrugged, lifting the remote and pausing the show so she could admire East. He had just pulled his shirt over his head and was in the process of kicking off his shoes. When he turned his back to her to enter his closet, she followed his path, smiling at the sight of his muscular, ink-filled back and waistline exposing the navy waistband of his briefs.
“I see you took that shit in a literal sense,” he called out from the closet, returning seconds later in only his briefs. “Eating snacks and shit in my bed. You better not be leaving crumbs everywhere.”
“I’m not a messy eater,” Joi’s eyes rolled playfully while East made his way over to the side of his bed, pressing his fist into the mattress to reach Joi. After a peck on the cheek, he left her there to go shower. It was just after nine and he was ready to climb in bed and between Joi’s legs. That had become his new addiction, but the more he thought about his situation, the more he realized everything about Joi had become a need for him. Even something as simple as coming home to her comfortable in his bed.
By the time East finished in the bathroom, Joi had removed the bags of chips from around her, placed them on the nightstand, and eased into what she now claimed as her side of East’s bed. He chuckled at her attempt to make room for him in his own shit. Before he joined her, he went back to the closet and removed both of his phones from his joggers, plugging them in before he found his way next to her.
Like the magnet she was to him, Joi eased into his side while his body relaxed into his pillow top.
“How did it go?”
The past couple weeks had been stressful for East, so he appreciated moments like this. His eyes were already closed and his mind was settled.
“How did what go?”
