Page 29 of Love’s Decree

I tried to laugh it off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Thank you,” Rory said.

“For what?”

“Sharing Yaya with me. For letting me into that part of your world, every part of your world. Thank you for being you,” she said. She caressed my beard as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“The day I asked you to come to the cigar lounge, I told Yaya about you. We had just met, but I knew our meeting was no coincidence. Every time I look at you, a wave of feelings that were once foreign to me come over me. I can’t help but let you into every part of my world, because it’s where you belong.”

Rory learned over as our lips locked in a kiss. When she broke our kiss, she laid her head back on my chest. I wrapped my arm tightly around her body as she started the show. Rory had been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. The way Yaya stayed on the phone with her only confirmed for me that she was the one.

17

AASIM

Isat at the head of the table, waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive. We were having church in a few to discuss my issue with Dez. I hated to leave Rory, but I was grateful that she wasn’t far. She got very little rest last night because, instead of sleeping, we made love all night long. We spent all day in bed wrapped up in each other. She deserved the day of rest. Today I would have to interrupt her peace after me and the crew finished this conversation.

The crew came in all at once and took their seats. Gavin was on my left, and Jaxx was on my right. I gave everyone a minute to talk their shit before I banged the gavel. Church was now in session.

“I appreciate y’all coming on short notice. I’m sure, by now, I have made you aware of the issue my ol’ lady and me are having with Dez. Dobbs and Curry have a location on him, and I’m going to handle him tonight. I want y’all to know you don’t have to ride with me. This is my issue. It has nothing to do with the crew. I’m fully prepared to take care of him alone.”

“Brick, you’re talking crazy. The minute he sent them people to your house, it became club business. If a dude felt bold enough to come to the house of our prez with guns blazing, we gotta put him to sleep,” Wiz, one of the younger club members, said.

A series of ‘yups’ and head nods came from everyone else.

“I appreciate that, Wiz, but still. He’s after Rory, and I can’t have that. If y’all wanna ride, you can, but if you wanna sit this one out, I’m cool with that. No hard feelings.”

I folded my hands together and sat back in my seat. After a few minutes, not one soul moved from the table. My brothers made their decision to ride with me to handle Dez without uttering a single word. Their decision made me proud to wear the patch and even prouder to be their leader.

Gavin took over the rest of the meeting, filling everyone in on our plan. Dobbs slept with the baby’s mother of some dude in Dez’s crew. During some pillow talk, he learned they were going to the strip club tonight. He and Curry had been keeping tabs on him for the past few days. Based on the way he moved, tonight was the best opportunity to get at him. That was fine with me. He and whoever he was with could get it.

An hour later, church was over. We all agreed to meet back up at seven. According to the chick Dobbs smashed, Dez and his crew were meeting around eight. Gavin sent some of our people over to the club to talk to the owner. I gave them a bag of my money to give to the owner. For this to work, we needed the element of surprise. The only way to do that was with the owner’s help. We also needed to know every inch of the club.

I was the last one to leave the room because I dreaded telling Rory about my plans for tonight. My feet dragged toward the room as I tried to get my words together. Just the idea of having to tell someone about my next move was foreign to me. Rory was the first woman I ever cared enough about to share so much with. When I opened the door, Rory was sitting in bed watching television. She stopped pressing buttons on the remote and smiled at me.

“There you are. Where did you go?” she asked.

“We had church to discuss our plans for tonight.”

“Oh, are we going somewhere?”

“Nah, sweetheart. You’re staying here. I’m going out with the crew to go take care of our problem,” I explained.

Rory wore a look of worry on her face. I sat next to her on the bed and took her hands in mine.

“I need you to trust me. I’m leaving some guys here with you. I know you’re worried, but you have to trust I’m doing this to protect you. I won’t have you living in fear of the what ifs.”

The room was eerily quiet while we stared blankly at each other. Rory opened her mouth more than once to say something but stopped herself.

A faint smile spread across her lips before she said, “Men like you don’t come around often.”

“What kind of man am I?” I asked.

“When people talk about real men, you’re the epitome of one. You’re a man of your word, willing to risk your freedom for the people you care about. You’re fearless, caring, and a leader. I want you to go take care of this so we can move on with our future. I expect to be on a white, sandy beach real soon. When you get back, I’ll be waiting for you to do exactly what you did last night—lie in bed next to me, wrap your arms around me, and put all of my worries to bed. That is how I want us to end all our nights from now until the end of our days.”

Our eyes remained locked on each other as we locked lips. To hear Rory speak life into me confirmed what I felt. I’d fallen in love with this woman.

I broke our kiss, then said, “I knew you were exactly what I needed the moment I laid eyes on you. I promise to come back to you. In a few days, we’ll be on that white, sandy beach you keep talking about. Say a prayer for me, sweetheart.” I placed a series of pecks on her lips before pulling her in for a hug.