The domino effect, p.1
The Domino Effect, page 1
The Domino Effect
The Savage Kings Series, Book 1
Jade Royal
Copyright © 2021 by Jade Royal
www.authorjaderoyal.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Playlist The Domino Effect
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
13. Bonus Chapter 1
14. Bonus Chapter 2
Saint or Sinner
The Surrender
Savage Kings Empire
Acknowledgments
About the Author
New Releases
Also by Jade Royal
I always use music to fuel my stories. Because the list keeps growing, I’m going to give you the link to my Spotify playlist to listen to. Usually, I list the titles of the songs in a playlist but thought that giving you the direct link would be better. Don’t worry about whether you have Spotify or not. They’ll still let you listen to the tunes at no cost as long as you follow the link.
You can always send me a email at jaderoyalnews@gmail.com to let me know what you think. Enjoy the playlist as you read, I know I have a few times.
Cheers,
Jade Royal
He’s a Savage…
Domino
Running the streets of California, nothing comes in or out that I don’t know about. Things are booming, and this connection in Morocco is going to move my shipments incognito. A trip there was to be quick. Instead, I wound up in jail, cheated, and married. Was it a setup, and my new wife was part of the con? I hoped not because it would be a shame to destroy someone so beautiful, but I would.
Yasmine
My husband is a Foxworth, the king of everything moving in California. I know what he does, but he can’t find out my secret. It would ruin everything. It was a simple arrangement without emotion, but why did I care about him and his twins? And why was he such a bully? Could Domino, the babies, and his family prove to be too much to walk away from? Or would they break me when this was over?
Domino
I had a lot riding on this deal in Morocco. My family, the Foxworths, ran the Savage Kings Mafia. I was the head of both—the bloodline and also the first king of seven in our crime family. I needed the security of the port at Casablanca to move my merchandise—drugs.
Yohan Majidi was in the Assembly of Councillors and in charge of all things that moved in the waters into and out of Casablanca. He wasn’t bought so easily. In exchange, he was taking fifty percent of my bottom line.
Getting anything through Casablanca was tough, so there was no way I could afford to say no. I’d rework the deal later when I had a better lay of the land and more control. All that mattered was getting my foot in the door.
“Did you read over the information I gave you about this deal?” Aaron asked.
Aaron was my legal counsel and would be needed once I arrived in Morocco. So were the other ten men accompanying me. Guards. This deal could go bad real fast, and I needed guns on my side. I only wanted to be there for a few hours before I was back into the air and safely in my homeland.
Dealing with a government associate was always tricky. One this high up? Almost suicide. I took this chance because of the reward. I had a few tricks up my sleeves, anyway.
“I did. All things I already know.” He hadn’t annoyed me. I just hated it when people tried to tell me what to do.
I raised my eyebrow while looking at him. He went back to his laptop, taking the hint.
“You’ve made note of their customs? I don’t want you to get over here and screw up the deal because you didn’t. I know you. You’ll get pissed if you do. We can’t have that,” Aaron said.
“We’re good. I don’t plan to be there longer than I need to be. I want to sign this document and get the hell out of dodge.”
“Don’t you mean Morocco?”
“Dodge.” I needed a nap. My nerves were in bundles knotted into intangible parts.
I stood, and went to the back and closed off my room.
“It’s about time that you made it back here,” Lily said like I was expecting her.
“How did you get in here?” And where had she come from?
“The guys let me back.”
Lily sat down on the bed, inviting me to take her. I locked the door behind me and took her up on her offer, losing myself inside her for the rest of the ride.
Once we landed, I left Lily to sleep. Our arrangement was simple. She kept to herself unless I needed her. Every once in a while, if it’d been too long, she’d make an appearance to get her fix. That was all we were to one another. Nothing more.
It was early. 7 a.m., and I needed to get to this meeting while the plane was refueled. Everybody was aware of how quickly I needed this turned around. I wanted to be there for the least amount of time possible. Everything on my plane, including the people, was clean: no drugs, no alcohol, clean identities, and no large amounts of cash.
“Ready?” Aaron asked.
“Fuck yeah. My skin is already crawling.”
Aaron smirked, and we climbed into the car. The time had finally come, and I was ready. All I needed was the black ink from his pen onto my legal documents. On paper, it would say that I could use Casablanca for the sale of goods. In reality, those goods would be a cover-up for the actual product. Drugs.
“Did we get word on Paula?” I asked.
“We did. And the plan is being executed now. We should have answers for you when we depart. She’s been released from the hospital though.”
“And the accommodations?” I asked not wanting to tip off the driver if he was working for Yohan.
“Also ready. I’ve got you. And I’ve got eyes everywhere.”
I hoped he was right because I didn’t need any errors with Paula. I didn’t trust her and playing her games wasn’t on my list. I wished that I would have known what kind of girl she was before I spent a few nights with her. I’d planned on a one-night stand, but the girl had skills that kept me coming back. It didn’t take long to grow tired of her and it won out over the sex. It surprised me when she showed up a few months ago to tell me she was six months pregnant. I’d kept my eyes on her ever since.
“Do you need to go over what we’re after?”
“No. I want Casablanca.”
“Whatever you do, don’t offend the man.”
“Offend? I don’t want to be here long enough for the offense to be possible. I told you we go in and come out.”
Aaron nodded, but something in his eye doubted that things would go that easily.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I lost my cool before reason could sound. What kind of agreement was this? Was he fucking insane? “I won’t. The only way that I’ll agree with this
‘arrangement’ is if I get to have insurance as well. You give me what I want and I’ll give you what you need. You want 50%. I’m giving you that. THIS? This is ridiculous. We don’t do things like this in America.”
“Arranged marriages occur all the time in many places, including America. I need to make sure that my family is safe and you can provide that. You’ll wed Yasmine and agree to keep her safe. I’ll allow your shipments and ensure that they’ll be safe.”
“Plus 50 percent.”
He shrugged slowly as if it made all the sense in the world. “A small price to pay for added security.”
“Before you respond, I need you to calm down. In and out, remember?” Aaron whispered into my ear. “He is the government around here and you’ve offended the man.” Aaron reasoned.
My blood was pumping wildly. I came to agree about drugs, money, and transport. He came to negotiate his daughter’s safety and fucking virginity. He’d even told me she was untouched. What kind of man negotiates his child as if she were property?
Everything about Yohan was subtle. His looks, clothes, posture, and even how he spoke. He hid the money in front of your own eyes. It appeared in his grooming, though. His hair was trimmed much too neatly. His nails were manicured. His facial hair was immaculate. The material of his garment was high quality but still met the usual Islamic standards. He stood in front of his guards, though they flocked around him strategically. Every single last one of them had a vantage point.
I counted to twenty over and over until the flow of blood seemed to slow, no longer boiling. If I told him no, the deal was off. If I said yes, I was giving in to his demands and taking a wife which wasn’t something I wanted to do by force. Besides, no woman should be bargained for. And no woman should have exposure to the life that I lived.
The men behind me were mine and just as ready to pull the trigger if things went south. Though I had half the count of his, my men had more heart. The government hadn’t trained them; they learned by the streets. Coldhearted men that wouldn’t question why I wanted them to kill. They’d just do it.
“50 percent and Casablanca. That’s the deal.” I stated, reminding him why we were here.
“No marriage. No Casablanca. That’s the deal.”
“W
“Would you have come?” The half-smile on his face stirred the anger I'd worked down to a controlled emotion.
Fuck no, and he knew it. Everything about this felt like a set-up. Maybe it wasn’t badges and guns, cuffs and laws, but it was still a bullshit move that wouldn’t help me. It fucked me. There was no way to move the weight I needed to without using the port. Air was too tricky. I’d already mapped out the pros and cons. This was my key to getting into Casablanca.
“Yohan, I think we should reconvene at another time. Maybe now isn’t the time for us to do business.” Yup, I was backing out. This was his last chance to salvage this deal.
“Maybe right now isn’t the time. Motivators aren’t strong enough to set things in motion. We’ll meet again, Dominic.” The all-knowing look on his face warned me that he was up to something. I just didn’t know what the fuck it was.
I held back the cringe at the mention of my name. “Farewell, Yohan.”
Looking at Aaron would only irritate me further. He’d want me to close the deal. Even with the marriage thing in place. No, it was time to go home.
As we exited, Aaron’s phone rang, and he answered the call.
“Are you sure?... What happened?... When can we?... Speak to somebody in charge and call me back!... Why?!... You had one job! One fucking job, Sal!” Aaron hung up the phone, but I waited ‘til we were in the car before I asked.
“What?” I searched his face but he was tense all over. Whatever it was, it had to be bad.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Aaron, what? I just lost this deal, it can’t get too much fucking worse than this.” I was just ready to leave at this point. I’d wasted time and money messing around with this shit.
“It can. And I have a feeling that Yohan had something to do with it.”
“What?” For fucksakes. What now?
“He suspended our flight. We don’t have the okay to take off. They said that we can try to do so tomorrow.”
Laughter erupted, and I didn’t even try to hide it. As much as I wanted to be home with my children, they were in safe hands. This needed to be settled and somehow I knew that call had something to do with Yohan. He’d mentioned motivators, this sounded exactly like that. It wasn’t going to work though.
“This guy…” I shook my head before picking up the phone to dial up my assistant, Abigail.
“Hey, boss,” She chimed in cheerfully.
“You’re in a much better mood today. All that moping you’ve been doing the past few days, I thought somebody died.” I teased.
Aaron stared at me, questioning me with his eyes. Shrugging, I didn’t know what was going on with her. She sounded better now though.
“I wasn't moping. I think it was jetlag.” She said. Whatever was going on with her, she'd tell me when she was ready.
“Yeah, tell that lie to someone else. I have something more pressing though. Can you book us a hotel here in Morocco? I need someplace where I can unwind for the next two days.” I admitted.
Aaron’s eyebrows furrowed. “Two days?”
“Two days? I thought you guys were coming right back.” The chipperness left her voice, and disappointment replaced it.
“If you two think this asshole will let us go tomorrow, you don’t see how important this deal is to him.” I did. He’d mentioned keeping his daughter safe, something was wrong.
Aaron snickered and leaned back. We would play this game out no matter how long it took and until Yohan came to his senses. We would wait for his next move.
Domino
There was a loud boom, and several cops filled my hotel room. I jumped up, shocked by the noise. What in the hell was going on? I blinked to wash away the sleep from my eyes, but my thoughts were groggy.
They said a lot in Arabic, none of which I understood. I moved to call the concierge, but guns were drawn and pointed in my direction. What in the hell was going on?
“Okay. What’s this about?” I asked, hoping somebody spoke English.
More things were said, and none of them were any closer to making me understand what was going on here. Aaron’s room was on the other side of the hotel and reaching for my phone put them on guard.
“I do not understand what you’re saying,” I shouted at them.
“They want you to get up slowly with your hands up.” Shocked at the voice coming from next to me, I looked over to see a man lying on the other side of the bed. Where were his clothes?
What the fuck?
Last night, I’d spent the night in the lounge relaxing. I’d met a girl, chatted, but left on my own. I couldn’t remember anything after getting into the elevator, but I know that I’d never seen this man before. He was too big to be her. She was petite, and he was… a man.
I knew that I had no clothes on underneath the sheets. Standing up would not be a win in my direction. A bunch of men pointing guns at me and some strange man in my bed. Nothing about this situation was ideal. Especially, when even I knew what this looked like from the outside looking in. I also knew that homosexual behavior was a serious crime in Morocco. What in the fuck was going on here?
“Who are you?” I screamed in his direction.
“Uh, this isn’t the time to be talking about that.” He rolled his eyes toward the direction of the cops and then looked at me. “It’s illegal to do what we did last night.” He whispered.
“What did we do…? You’re crazy! I would never fuck another man.” While I didn’t care about what other people preferred sexually, I knew that I wasn’t attracted to men. And there was no way that he was the girl from last night.
“Who said that you were the one doing the fucking?” He blew a kiss my way and I jumped to beat the fuck out of him. I was nobody’s bitch.
The cops moved in and that’s when things got ugly. They forced me to the ground, handcuffed me, and put pants on me that were the closest in my direction. The officers checked the pockets to make sure they were clean before I could get dressed. After they carted me away, threw me into a cell, and I was told I’d broken the law by exhibiting homosexual behavior. The man that I was in bed with was a paid prostitute that I’d ‘picked up’ and slept with last night. Lies. I needed to get a message to Aaron. He’d seen me being taken, so he knew where I was, but he needed to get me out. There was no way I could go to jail while I was here. That was suicide.
I was facing up to fifteen years in jail for something I hadn’t done. And the coke that they’d found in my room wasn’t mine either. If this was a joke, it was the worst one ever. This was a serious crime in a country that didn’t take any of my potential charges lightly. My only saving grace was Aaron, and I hoped that he was doing everything possible to get me out of here.
This place wasn’t anything like an American jail. I needed out quickly or I may very well just lose my damn mind in here. Fuck!
Domino
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Looking up from the floor, I watched as Yohan Majidi walked in. What in the fuck did he want?
“Looks like we’re at a crossroads, Dominic. We both have something that the other person wants. Only one of us is in the predicament to do anything about it. And now you need two things from me. You’ve committed a serious crime, you know?”
He did have the upper hand. I would not admit it, though. Was he in on this?
“I’m waiting for my attorney to get here.” I ignored his disrespectful behavior. He’d called me by my first name and that was a no-go. Stalking into here like we were friendly, wasn’t okay either.
“I could have this case buried for years. This is easy, the solution, you see. You marry my daughter and I’ll get you out of this. You’ll owe me another favor, but I’ll let you have Casablanca.”
