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I manuevered confidently throughout the club scene. I entered in a short champagne wrap dress that sported a low V shaped neckline. My nude pumps and golden hoops were a suitable match to the whole ensemble. After I few minutes of roaming I saw Dom drinking a beer by one of the pool tables. I made eye contact with and he quickly maneuvered through the crowd towards me. As I watched Dom stride towards me my eyes landed on a another familiar face. Brian.
"What are you doing here?" He asked over the pounding music.
"It's a party. You really think you and the 5-0 were the only ones invited?" I nodded my head towards Brian and Dom gave a quick exhale before looking back at the table where Brian was playing. He gave me a disapproving look but I ignored it.
"What's he doing here Dom?"
"One of Bragas drivers got arrested for something. Dealing meth."
I crossed my arms over my chest, "Really? What a coincidence that is?" I spat sarcastically before turning away from him. He grabbed ahold of my forearm and turned me back around to face him, "I don't want you doing anything reckless. Got it?"
"Oh, like what? Bumping him off again?!"
"Thats enough." He ordered sternly trying not to say anything to loud that would draw unwanted attention to us but I wasn't anywhere near finished with this argument.
"You aren't even the slightest bit concerned about the fact that I could have wrecked are you?"
He gave me a puzzled look, "What are you talking about?"
"He almost made me spin out Dom! When rear ended me I could have had my hood embedded in some building but you don't even give a damn."
"Look I told him to bump you if need be!"
My mouth went agape slightly before tightening shut, "You did what?" I questioned really wanting to not believe what I just heard.
"I know you Angel. I know how you are, how cocky you get, and how much you don't want him here." His words came out soft and slow. I shook my head back and forth a few times,
"You sick bastard."
"Listen." He quipped back immediately before I could say anything else let alone walk away.
"If you fight about this, fight about it with me at home. Because We're not doing this here or now. If you have that much of a problem with how we're running things, you can go home."
I looked at him coldly not wanting to reply.
"It's your choice." He concluded holding both arms out for a minute as he waited for my reply. I glanced back over to the pool tables and saw Brian watching us intently. The anger I had for him fused together with the pain I felt with loosing Letty. They say in life that there are times where you have to pick your battles. You can't win them all and I found myself at one of those crossroads. A position I'd avoided facing this whole time. I had to decide which battle I was going to fight in. The one against Brian or the one to avenge Letty. I'd been lying to myself this whole time saying that I could handle and balance both but I couldn't. I didn't know why it was hitting me now.
"I just want to find her." My eyes shifted from the floor and up towards Dom reluctantly. Warmth swept over the darkness of his black/brown eyes. He reached his hand up and stroked my cheek with his thumb, "So do I. And we will." I nodded a few times as he smiled at me more warmly.
"Come on." He added while putting an arm over my shoulder as he guided me to where Brian was. Dom left me by the table after a few moments and went to grab two more Coronas from the bar.
"A real shame about Dwight." I said to Brian as he lined up a corner pocket shot.
"Yeah it is." He added after knocking the ball in directly, "To have your house raided in the middle of the night like that. Real shame." He quickly raised his brows and cocked a grin before taking a sip of his own beer. I shook my head a few times at his sarcasm, "You really believe that whatever you did will stick on him."
"Don't need it too." He shrugged while coming around my side of the table for his next shot, "I just needed it to get me in here."
"Yeah, because you almost got canned."
"Almost." He repeated while taking his next shot, "I always find a way in."
"Even if it means cheating by running somebody else of the road?" I raised a brow questionably before drumming my nails along the side of the table.
"I didn't know there were any rules." He smirked back calmly.
"I think you've been hanging around Dom to much." He gave an amused snort before adding chalk to the end of his pool-stick.
"Yeah, you think you're real smooth with your whole 'driving backwards' routine but your not. I still smoked your ass."
"Yeah," he smirked while giving me a nod, "And how'd you do that?"
"Because yours driving shit. It's not hard." I spat out bluntly.
"You know I don't remember you being this sarcastic before."
"That's because you didn't get to know the real me. People change over time."
"Well, I'm glad I'm getting to now." I let out a slight exhale as a wave of discomfort came over me. His blues eyes deepening their gaze at me. I could see their intensity from my peripheral vision as I starred down at the red table.
"You play?" He asked while nodding towards the table after a few moments of silence between us.
"Yeah, it's just been a while." He offered me a stick and I gave a light shrug before accepting it. What the hell. I didn't mind showing him up twice in a row. It been a while since I played but whenever I did I usually won.
"Look I am sorry about running into you." He said after a few moments of me lining up and taking my first shot in our game.
"Don't be. I'd have done the same thing." He gave a light nod after I took my shot and hit a solid in.
"Just don't let happen again." I reinforced while lining up and shooting two more times. Knocking another ball in. He gave a slight chuckle as he took a sip of his beer. He got three shots in a row before it was my turn again. I maneuvered around the table to stand beside him for my next shot. I could feel his eyes drifting over me, up and down.
"You look..."he started to say as I hit my mark perfectly and stood back up to align my next shot. I gave him an emotionless expression as I moved over to the end of the table for my next shot. "Yes." I dryly acknowledged as I lined up and shot my next ball into a side pocket.
"Beautiful....by the way."
"Thanks." I said while chalking the end of my stick. I stood directly in front of him for my third shot.
"Just be careful about where your looking." I stated as I bent down over the table and made my third shot perfectly. He gave a slight grin, "I'll keep that in mind."
I circled around him as I maneuvered over to the other side of the table again, "It wasn't a suggestion." I whispered as I walked past him. I made a quick shot to break up a cluster off pool balls.
"We got company. Campos is here." Dom nodded towards us as he approached the table with two beers in one hand. Campos was the name of the man we met previously that was in charge of scouting runners for Braga. Brian nodded a few times before turning back to the pool table, figuring out how to get a good shot it.
"My advice quit while you're ahead." Dom nodded to Brian as he set the beers of the side of the table.
"I'm going to need something stronger than this to handle that fool again." I rolled my eyes at the thought of continuing to take passes from half the men in this establishment.
"Why I got you this?" Dom stated as he handed me a double shot of tequila
"Oh my hero." I beamed quickly before taking it all back in one shot.
"He wants to see us." Dom glanced between me and Brian who had given up on making a reasonable shot.
"I'm sure he does." I mumbled through the leftover sting the alcohol left in the back of my throat.
"We should go meet him then. Figure out more about the run." Brian agreed as he took a final sip of his Corona.
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We met with Campos near the bar and from there he guided us into a separate section of the club where we all could. Dom and I sat on the couch across from Brian while Campos set on the side sofa.
"How's your car?" Campos asked Brian as we all sat down. Dom instinctively put his arm over the back of the sofa when a few random guys walked us and began to smile at me.
"It took a nasty bump." Campos continued before signaling a waiter to come and serve us all drinks.
"It'll be ready." Brian affirmed confidently.
"I also heard you just got out of county." Campos added before taking a beer of the tray the waiter brought around.
Dom gave a smirk as he grabbed a Corona a took a sip of it, "Yeah, you know a guy named Jim Garcia?"
"Nah, " Brian gave a slight shrug, "Big place. Lots of faces and names."
Dom smirked again as he nodded, "Uh huh."
"And you, you're wanted by a lot of people homes." Campos nodded towards Dom observingly.
"Yeah, that kind of heat can't be good for business." Brian retaliated with a slight nod in Doms direction.
So far these two were doing a pretty poor job at acting like they didn't know each other. Relationships made us more suspicious so Dom wanted to avoid extra personal connections but I guess that was out of the plan now.
"Among other things." Campos added to Brians comment as his eyes shifted over from Dom and too myself.
"I don't put my family at risk." Dom stated firmly to Campos before giving Brian a stern glance.
"Oh of course not. I can see you are a man of principals." Campos nodded his gaze shifting between Dom and I.
"Yeah," Dom nodded at Campos slightly before he turned his attention back to Brian, "It also depends on how you look at it. When I go down, I do time. Real time. I don't know about your other drivers but when I see flashing lights in my mirror. I don't stop."
Brian gave an amused scoff before taking a sip of his beer.
Campos smiled and gave Dominic and intriguing smirk before turning his head to Brian. He leaned forward in his seat as his eyes drifted over Brian curiously. As Campos leaned before against the seat he proposed, "You two must know each other."
My eyes shifted down and too the floor when Dom turned his head to look at me. Dom leaned forward holding his drink with both hands, "He used to date my sister." Dom said matter of factly.
Campos tilted his head curiously, "So you are blood?"
"Blood doesn't always mean family." Dom nodded towards Campos before putting his arm over my shoulders.
"And family doesn't end at blood." I added before giving Dom a quick smile.
"That's beautiful." Campos beamed. There was something devious behind his pearly grin, "And a beautiful one she is at that. Especially her eyes. You tell a lot about a person by looking in their eyes."
"I can agree with that." I gave a slight smirk before taking a sip of my own beer, "You can tell when they can't take the heat. When they aren't ready to commit and complete the job at hand." My gaze shifted over towards Brian as I spoke. I saw his jaw clench tightly as his eyes quickly shifted to the ground and back up towards me.
"A wise woman we have here gentleman." Campos praised while gesturing towards me.
"You're a lucky man." He quickly turned and pointed at Brian.
"Yeah, how's that?" Brian asked after taking a heavy drink, his eyes holding firmly on the table in front of us before shifting up to Campos.
"She's a raging fire and your lucky you didn't get burned. Plus you're still breathing."
Brian looked down at the table again, his blue eyes slowly rising up and meeting my green toned ones. I turned my gaze away immediately and looked out to the room of people as I took a drink of my beer.
"To the woman we've loved and lost." Campos raised a beer and toasted with Brian and Dom. I gave a slight smirk at them before leaning forward and directing my flirtatious smile at campos, "So what's Braga about?"
He gave me a bright smile as he took a sip of his beer, his eyes temporarily glancing at my exposed cleavage. "He's like us. Born on the street. Now he's a shot caller. The boss of bosses. You see these cats in here? Anyone of them would die for Braga."
"Including you?" Brian intercepted the conversation.
"Especially me." Campos nodded at Brian before leaning back in his seat. Suddenly a random man came around and whispered something in Campos ear,
"If you'll excuse my friends, business calls. Please enjoy whatever you want. Booze, Broads you are welcome to whatever you desire. Have fun." He walked past Dom but stopped when he came towards me, "But perhaps not to much fun." He smiled at both the guys before giving me a wink. I gave small smile back.
"Hermosa." He said while taking my hand and giving it a light kiss. With that Campos departed.
"Braga is mine." Brian began immediately after Campos left, "I'm taking the whole organization down."
"Yeah, well good luck with that." Dom gave a slight scoff before smiling at two blondes that began to approach us. One sat on the other side of Dom while they other stood behind him. Each of them hand a drink in their hand.
"Sell it to someone else sister." I snapped immediately. I grabbed ahold of Doms arm and pulled him up off the couch as I stood up.
"Come on. I need another drink and it's obvious you have had enough." I told him as I began pulling him towards the bar. The girls gave me a smug look before going over to sit by Brian. I rolled my eyes at them as Dom smirked his hand on my hip.
"Take a load of O'Connor." He smirked again before proceeding to walk with me to the bar.
Brians eyes stayed on me as the girls leaned in towards him but I pretended not to notice.
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Hope everyone enjoyed! I'm glad this chapter was more a bit more lengthy. I'll be having my surgery at the end of July so I'm going to try an update and progress as much as possible before then. Please comment your opinions on this chapter or shoot me a message about what you think!!
-Nyx 🤍🖤

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