9
Arjen
Aweek had passed, and I had hardly seen Mecca. She wasn’t coming home some nights, so admittedly I was curious to see what she did all day. She had enough to keep her busy because of the vast territory the Black Saints covered and the hundreds of people who worked for her. Therefore, I didn’t doubt she was busy. However busy my wife was, it didn’t stop me from wanting to spy on her.
I’d had guards following Mecca before we were engaged since she was initially set to marry Khane. The information the guards conveyed was usually a disjointed mess. The men were afraid to be on the detail that required guarding her because they were convinced that she flirted with danger, and often entered neighborhoods that banned the word safe.
We found out the hard way that the guards’ concerns were warranted after one had returned from being missing for three days. The guard notified me along with his request to quit, that he had spent three days trapped in a neighborhood he was convinced she led him into on purpose.
He had followed Mecca into the Highland Park neighborhood and had gotten trapped there and hunted. His military background was all that had saved him from becoming a statistical example of who shouldn’t enter certain areas. As a result, I’d had to hire African-American guards for her detail who weren’t afraid to enter neighborhoods that the devil himself had disowned.
Today, I had decided to ride along with Dean, a guard assigned to Mecca’s detail so that I could spy on her daily activities. What I was finding out had me impressed with her work ethic.
She had made stops at her three businesses: a car dealership with an impressive amount of high-end inventory, a reputable four-star hotel that could accommodate over a hundred guests, and a tire and rim shop connected to a large automotive service station.
She had met up with several of her workers to discuss business inside the lobby of her hotel, and a second meeting inside the dining area of one of her men’s restaurants. The men that worked for her were all dressed in suits and ties, so to any outside eyes, they were having a legit business meeting.
She and her men weren’t your average street dealers. I found that most were legit business owners using drug sales as the core source of extending their profit margins.
Mecca was fully aware that I had a guard following her and often appeared not to care as long as he stayed out of her way. She had even managed to cook up a batch of coke with one of her cooks and tested the strength to ensure they were putting out high-grade product.
After she had entered what I was made aware was one of their trap houses, I’d had Dean risk his life to knock on the door and check on her. He informed me that she had answered the door and gave him the briefest details of what she was doing.
Her actions were proof that she knew the ins-and-outs of the business and didn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty if she needed to. She went about her day, conducting random checks on houses they owned and people and businesses that they associated with. It was nearly 4 p.m., and she had yet to slow down long enough to eat anything and was still going strong.
“Does she go like this all the time?” I asked Dean.
“Yes, Loud,” he said, calling me by my nickname. “Some days it’s worse if there are problems because, she’ll stay until she figures out a solution to whatever problem is interfering with her sales. She doesn’t leave anything undone. Works really hard.” he stated, sounding proud, which caused me to lift a brow.
The serious glare I flashed at Dean caused him to shrink into his seat to avoid getting stung by it. Dean had grown up in the syndicate like me. We had known each other since I took control from my father, and this was the first time I’d glared at him with murder in my eyes.
“I don’t like other men giving my wife praise. Praise means interest, and interest means a bullet in the fucking head if they try anything outside of protecting her.”
Dean kept his eyes focused straight ahead. “No disrespect, Loud. I just meant that she was hardworking.”
There was no need to render a reply because rest assured that Dean would warn the rest of the guards to keep their mouth’s closed where it concerned Mecca.
It was my job now to notice every detail about my wife. Was I going to have to have a talk with my guards?