Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (40 page)

“You really gonna marry him, Cinn?
”
Pillbox asks handing me the celery.

“I am,
”
I smile. “Is that okay with you?”

“Just wanna see you happy,
”
he shrugs. “We still gonna be welcome around here?”

So that’s what was bothering him. This was easy enough to fix. Setting the knife down, I pull him into a hug and set his mind at ease. “We’re a family, Philip,
”
I whisper using his given name. “Family is forever.”

“Never had one, Cinn,
”
he says squeezing me.

“Me either.”

“Got you something for your wedding,
”
he says releasing me.

“Gimme,
”
I say sticking my hand out.

Reaching in his pocket, he pulls out a sparkling hair pin with blue stones encrusted all around it. Dropping it in my palm, I inspect it thoroughly finding it flawless, like me. “Is it stolen?
”
I ask turning it over.

“Yeah,
”
he says embarrassed.

“Good,
”
I smile. “How’s it go? Something old, something new, something stolen, something blue?”

Pillbox, I decided, had a beautiful smile.

While Monarch ran off to save me from a threat that no longer exists, I took a second to reflect on my time with the girls. Camo had asked me why I felt so guilty over a situation I didn’t invite into my life. I started out by explaining the Greeks and the Romans, the wars they fought yet never knowing peace. How they lived in a violent environment never knowing when their time was up so they lived fast and they lived hard. Most unfortunately also died young.

When both their eyes glazed over I summed it up. “The boys never knew easy. I never wanted this life for them but they took to it so I tried my best to keep them safe. I wanted them to have the chance to grow old, to know a life outside of war. They died because of a war
I
caused.”

“They died doing what they believed in,” Kandace said hugging me. “I bet they’d do it again too. How many of us can say that?”

“I can,
”
Camo said raising her hand.

“No one likes a show off,
”
Kandace mumbled.

“I’m still prettier than you,
”
I said with a small smile.

“Jury’s out on that one, your highness,
”
she said rolling her eyes. “Those boys knew they were loved, Cinn. I promise you, when their time was up, they held onto that.
”
I liked thinking that they did, so I decided to hold on to that too.

The grief would not abate overnight. It would be a long difficult process and I was willing to accept that. I was also accepting my part in it. Leaving Monarch wasn’t the solution and thankfully the itch to run fled when the girls reminded me that in any war there are casualties, even your heart.

But if I could do it all over
…

“Mo chuisle,
”
he says snapping me from my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“You sounded certain you had some money coming to you.”

“Because,
I do
.”

“If we traveled the world and only fucked behind closed doors, you’d be cool with that?”

“Yes?”

“Good because we’re going to need that money to buy us a lot privacy.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No,
”
he says coming to sit next to me and taking my hand. “I’m planning our future.”

“We’re fine financially because hello, I’m not just gorgeous I’m also really good with promises made. And I’d like to point out you promised we’d fuck all over the world, are you reneging?”

“We’ll just two rent houses,
”
he says absently.

“Eros,
”
I growl. “What happened between there and here?”

“We did.”

Looking up I see Sam, Pillbox, Jones and Dopey smiling at me from the door.

“We going on vacation?
”
Jones asks.

“I vote for a nudey beach,
”
Pillbox says high fiving the group.

“Bro, I can’t swim,
”
Dopey says dropping his shoulders.

But it was Sam who broke me from my state of shock. “Don’t matter where we go,
”
he says softly. “Long as Cinn cooks, because we don’t.”

“You’re real,
”
I shriek flying from my chair and pulling them all in for a hug.

“We’re a unit,
”
Dopey says kissing my cheek. “Gonna take more than a fucking car bomb to break up this party.”

“A car bomb?
”
I gasp.

“Just a little one,
”
Jones insists.

“Hardly any damage,
”
Pillbox coughs in his hand.

“The truck can be replaced,
”
Monarch says tagging my neck. “You boys can’t.”

“Where have you been!
”
I demand slapping each of them. “I thought you were dead!”

“Ease up, Cinn,
”
Sam says hugging me again. “We were just laying low. Been watching the place. Saw you two had company earlier and figured it was clear to come back.”

“I thought…”

“Mo chuisle,
”
he whispers in my ear. “The universe is telling you to calm the fuck down.”

“Oh it is not!”

“Fine, then I’m telling you to calm the fuck down. They’re here and they’re whole,
”
he says softly. “You boys hungry?”
Rounds of fuck yeah bounced off the walls before they hauled ass to the kitchen. “Is my queen up for cooking a meal?”

“Yes,
”
I smile through the tears.

“I’m going to give you a minute to sort your shit out,
”
he says kissing me. “Looks to me as if my queen is happy again.”

Smiling, I wipe my eyes and do my best to compose myself before hitting the kitchen. When I did, I was expecting to find them around the table demanding food using their silverware as instruments. I was not expecting to enter the kitchen to find the boys and Monarch on their knees in front of me.

“Long live the queen,
”
Monarch booms.

And when the boys followed suit they were even louder.

“That never gets old,
”
I smile while doing my best queen wave.

Half way through boiling the noodles for spaghetti, I stood back and watched my man interact with our boys like he’s known them forever. I knew deep down to my soul if that day came and the universe saw fit to give it to me, Monarch would make a wonderful father.

But when Sam sauntered up to me and said, “For the record, you should know I’m two years older than you.”

I chucked my spatula and yelled, “Oh for fucks sake!
”
like the queen I was.

When the laughter died down and I served my family, I decided motherhood could wait. I had some shit to do first and so did they. They, being the boys, who were ordered to do dishes while Monarch rubbed my feet. Really as far as futures go, ours was looking up.

“Mo chuisle,
”
I groan when I enter the garage. “What the fuck?”

“What’d I do?
”
she giggles looking over at her boys who were going ape shit.

“Shoulda never gave you Lex’s fucking number,
”
I say hiding my grin.

“Like that would have stopped me,
”
she says falling into my arms. Running my fingers over the ink on her chest, I felt her heartbeat and as usual, fucking gave in.

“Boys happy?
”
I ask her.

“Boys?
”
she calls out. “Are you happy?”

To answer they each started honking their horns. Fuck yeah they were happy. Cinn dropped close to a mill on their asses. My queen wanted her boys safe and really fucking tricked out.

One month later…

My queen was a lot of things.

A royal pain in the ass was one of them.

But I loved her, worshipped her. Which was the only reason I was even at this strip club. Tonight was her bachelorette party. Cinn and her crew of chaos chose this place. The boys found out and decided to stop in for some action. Only when they got here it was to witness the women starting a war with the talent.

And who was at the front?

Cinn.

Dialing the men, I kept it short and neat. Not one was surprised or pissed. I suppose they’ve had more time to get adjusted to this kind of shit. For me, it was still new. Cinn has no filter, lines did not exist for her and if you didn’t know her, you’d think she was a narcissist. Fine, she
was
a narcissist but she had that shit on lock. She did not lie about it. She didn’t need to. Cinn
was
the most beautiful woman in any room. Her body defied every law, even the motherfuckers yet to be invented. My queen did not look real. She was too perfect, too proportioned and too fucking smart for her own good. She was happy, in love with me and since leaving the game, our lives have blended with a new group of people. They were loyal, mostly honest and mildly dirty, like us. They were also partners in a new club Cinn and I were opening. This made them family.

“Never a dull moment,
”
Max says leaning against the pillar. “Better here than my club for once, less mess. I can’t wait until they destroy yours.”

“Your boys ain’t helping the cause,
”
Rogan points out. This was true. They were egging Cinn on, not that she needed much prompting. My queen loved to flaunt and remind others they were beneath her.

“So much skin,
”
Rafe says scanning the place. “Hey Monarch, how much did Cinn’s tits cost?”

“Her tits,
”
I growl. “Are not enhanced.”

“Fuck you,
”
he laughs. “Those fun bags are bought and paid for.”

“Rafe,
”
Tony says coming to his side. “If I were you and thank God I’m not, I’d shut my mouth.”

“It’s just boobs,
”
he shrugs. “How much were Lina’s? Because that shit ain’t natural, no chance. Wait, what am I even asking you for? I should ask the human lie detector.”

“Did you just ask me about
my
wife’s tits?
”
he asks incredulously.

“Let’s just put this to rest once and for all,
”
Rome says trying to tamp down the tension. “Show of hands if your woman has fake tits.
”
When no one lifted a finger, Rafe zeroed in on Gage who had stayed out of the conversation. “Bro,
”
he says slapping his shoulder. “Camo is like this big, but her tits are like
this
big. Not real, no fucking way. Who’s her doctor? Not that Macy needs tits ‘cuz hers are perfect.”

Tapping him on the shoulder, Rafe looks down at Camo and says, “Hey half liter, we were just talking about you.”

“I know,
”
she smiles then quickly pops her top giving Rafe an eyeful. All of us, minus Rafe, who was struck dumb, turned away in respect. Gage pulled her shirt back down, spanks her ass and squeaking in delight she trots back over to the group and winks at me in passing.
Crazy bitch
…

“Big step, taking the vows,
”
Gage says to me and all of them nod in agreement. Fuck yes it was a big step but it was a step I could not wait to take. I’d fucking leap if she asked me to.

“I have to lock it down,
”
I say watching Cinn wave her hands up and down her body showing the talent what perfection looked like.

“That ring looks more like a boulder than a diamond,
”
Rafe says. “Someone is overestimating,
”
he points subtly at me.

“It makes a statement,
”
I shrug ignoring his verbal fuck up.

“Yeah,
”
he snorts. “It says roll me, I like the attention.”

“Rafe,
”
Max says giving him the look. “Shut the fuck up.”

Flipping him off, Rogan mutters, “Finally.”

As for me, I stopped listening when I saw my woman draw back and land the first punch. Her crew joined in and it became a mess of hair, swearing and ended with the talent crying on the floor. For once I did not feel the need to intervene and neither did the others. Instead we watched our women, each one capable in their own right, continue whooping ass. Then the fucking cops showed up and my woman was excited to wave them over. The second they spotted her they were even more excited than she was. Fuck me, my woman would never lack male attention that’s for damn sure.

“Here we go again,
”
Gage laughs.

“His woman started it,
”
Rome smiles and I could not deny this. Cinn not only started it, but finished it too, like a queen should. “Did you see Kandace?
”
he says grinning. “Totally getting some tonight.
”
And yeah, his bitch could fight. Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch Cinn fix her hair before blowing me a kiss and facing the heat.

This woman was going to be my wife.

Legally.

I’d go through hell all over again to be where I was right now.

In heaven.