domestic abuse situations, so she had me on speed dial whenever she was met with an aggressive husband, or boyfriend that decided to show up to threaten her or one of her clients.
The list of women I called friends was a small one, but Patrena was at the top of it. She wasn’t catty, didn’t run her mouth, and her name never came up in any type of shit. She was the kind of person that was there when you needed her. It had taken years for her to get there, but she had become one of a few people I would go to hell for.
She had even been caught up in a deadly episode when she and Desiree were at the spa of all places. Patrena had been modest in the telling, but Desiree shared how well she had handled coming to terms with the type of chaos that went hand and hand with being an Evans and a Vallin.
“You look lovely. See you in a little bit,” she offered before stepping out to go and take her place. She and the two other women I called friends, would start the wedding march. The three and Desiree were the only ones I wanted in my wedding. I didn’t even carry a bouquet. I carried a single baby blue rose.
Desiree laid her warm cheek with a delicate touch against mine as we embraced so that she wouldn’t mess up the excellent make-up job she had blessed me with. For someone that hardly wore make-up, Desiree had skills that could transform anyone into a superstar. I believed her being an artist played into her knack of transforming and sculpting objects into beauty.
Despite the kind of work I did, I didn’t skimp on maintaining a respectable level of class where it concerned my femininity and presentation to the world. If I had to die, dammit, I was determined to go out looking my best.
I didn’t dress myself down with tight hip-hugging low-cut dresses. The go-to outfits I chose were usually designer slacks and expensive blouses, power suits, and jumpsuits that dripped enough class that you would know that I ran a multimillion-dollar corporation.
My particular corporation wasn’t a legal one, but the operations and managing processes were the same. The world, even the illegal one, took you more seriously when you presented a smart appearance and a take-charge attitude.
Desiree stood and ran an appreciative glance over me, her eyes scanning from head to toe. “I’ve got a feeling this marriage is going to go from arranged to real in no time once Arjen gets a look at you. You look so beautiful.” Her eyes were starting to glaze.
“Child, please. You know damn well I don’t do white chocolate. He is merely a step in the pathway to greatness I’m about to climb.”
Talking shit was my thing. Some was straight bullshit, however, more often than not, the shit I talked, I believed, because I usually strived to make the truth come from my mouth.
As far as Arjen was concerned, I didn’t even care about getting to know him on a personal level. We were using each other, so my mind was keyed in on what his name and resources could do for my organization.
Once the Black Saints was back up and running at full strength, it would make us and the Vallins one hell of a strong alliance. I could already picture my name in the dictionary, replacing the word untouchable and forming a compound word with danger.
Desiree cast me a skeptical look before she went up on her already elevated toes and reached across my shoulders before she lifted and draped my veil over my head.
“Love you, Mecca.”
“Love you too,” I replied without hesitation.
A lingering stare kept us in place before she turned and linked her arm with mine. The expression she had left me with before taking my arm was one I couldn’t figure out. I had always been able to read my cousin because we were like sisters. But not this time, and not that particular expression.
If not for Desiree, I would probably be an empty, emotionless vessel, incapable of forming or giving true affection. My father died when I was too young to remember him, and my dead crackhead mother remained a nameless soul that my uncle refused to talk about in detail.
I had never gotten the soft hugs and sweet kisses little girls were supposed to get. I was taught to fight, to survive, to protect, and to dish