Chapter 33
Ajori
That evening, the vibe was chill as Marcos and I lounged by the pool, just enjoying the night long after everyone else had ducked inside. I could hear Kyrin and Lainey laughing in the background while they watched a movie, their giggles fading softly through the glass doors.
I swirled my drink, the ice clinking, and casually asked, “Why do they call Damari Domino? He told me bits and pieces, but you’ve known him longer—maybe you can fill in some details.”
Marcos turned to me so quickly that I almost laughed. “He told you hisrealname? Or did your father?”
“He did.”
Marcos leaned back in surprise, as if I had just said the sky was falling. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
I frowned. “What’s so shocking about that?”
“That nigga doesn’t tell anyone his real name,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not even people who’ve known him for years. He acts like his birth certificate is classified. You must be special or something,” he added with a smirk.
“Maybe I was for a moment,” I muttered.
“What does that mean?” he questioned.
I shook my head, brushing it off. “Nothing.”
Marcos scrutinized me for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, drink in hand. “You really want to know why they call him Domino?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
Marcos exhaled slowly. “Years ago, before he became the underboss, before people feared him like they do now, he was just Damari—dangerous, but nobody knew how dangerous yet. There was a crew that thought they could cut Alejandro out, take a shipment, and disappear. They thought they were slick.”
“What happened?”
Marcos’s mouth twitched. “Domino happened.” He took a sip, then continued. “He didn’t go after all of them at once. He found the weakest one first, pulled him in, made him talk… then let him go.”
I leaned forward slightly. “He let him go?”
“On purpose, so he’d run back scared and paranoid. And that’s exactly what he did. After that, Dom just started applying pressure. One got picked up, another lost his stash, another got caught slipping at his girl’s house.”
“Like… a chain reaction.”
Marcos nodded. “Exactly. By the time Dom showed up in person, they were already falling apart and turning on each other. One of them even took himself out. When it was done, five men were gone. The whole crew collapsed without a full-on war. Somebody said, ‘Man… he didn’t even have to touch them all. He just tipped one and watched the rest fall like dominoes.’ After that night, nobody called him Damari in the streets anymore. Alejandro promoted him the next day… said any man who could end a war without starting one deserved to be right at his side.”
“Damn,” I whistled, stunned by the whole story. “All that? From one move.”
“That’s his gift. He doesn’t rush or miss.”
I glanced down at my drink. “And I walked into all this thinking it was just a run.”
Marcos chuckled softly. “Yeah… nah.”
Then his tone shifted slightly. “But here’s the part you should really understand. Domino doesn’t move like that unless he has to. He isn’t cruel for fun. Everything he does has a purpose. If he ever turns that side on you, it’ll be because he thinks he’s protecting something… or someone.”
And I had a pretty good idea who that someone was.
Clearing my throat, I nudged the topic elsewhere. “And he’s never had a girlfriend?”
Marcos smirked immediately. “You sure you don’t have a thing for my boy? You’re asking some detailed questions.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “I’m just curious.”
