Black Rose (The Life of Bliss Book 1) Read online

  “You want to use my clients?”

  “Many of them own yachts, including Rome McIntyre.”

  Bliss’ eyes narrowed. “You want him to move cocaine for J.P. Morgan?”

  “It’s not like he’s never done it before.”

  “Why would I put him at risk in that way?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Come now, Bliss. We both know why we’re here...money is the ultimate motivation.”

  “I could go to the authorities right now with what you’ve told me.”

  “But you won’t, because you won’t expose your investors to further scrutiny,” Brad shrugged. “Especially Mr. McIntyre. That’s why you should never get involved with clients.”

  Bliss sat while he looked her over.

  “Especially when you have better options…” he finished.

  She frowned. “And if I decide to do this?”

  “We all benefit…”

  “You’d have to meet with Mr. McIntyre to get his approval.” Bliss informed him.

  “I have no problems with that.”

  Bliss looked around the office. “Not here.”

  “I don’t have cameras or microphones in this office.” He supplied.

  “How is that?” Bliss questioned.

  Brad smiled. “Because of the nature of my business here…”

  Bliss looked confused.

  “See, while you work your ass off to live in that high rise...I make my money in a different way.”

  “An illegal way.”

  He shrugged. “Only if you get caught.”

  “You’ll meet with Mr. McIntyre on his yacht.” Bliss told him firmly.

  “Sure, I’m not concerned.”

  Staring at him, she asked, “So if you’re making all this money, why the outward jealousy towards my achievements?”

  “All a part of the presentation…”

  Bliss waited for him to continue.

  “My role here is the hard working white guy at the prestigious firm, who blames the token employee for my perceived lack of total success. It’s so accepted that no one questions or suspects my activities and I can get around all the rules.” Brad smirked.

  “That must be nice.”

  “Now what would be nice is to have some of what Rome McIntyre is enjoying regularly at your apartment…” Brad stared at her.

  “No, that would be impossible.” Bliss said flatly.

  He smiled. “We’ll see.”

  “Who all knows what you’re doing with these shipments?” Bliss got back to business. “I need to know how to handle myself around here.”

  “No one in your department.”

  “People at the top?”

  Brad nodded. “None that you’d be interacting with on a daily basis, so don’t worry about it. Just keep your mouth shut, like you’ve been doing and everything will go smoothly.”

  Bliss stood. “Fine. I’ll set the meeting with Mr. McIntyre.”

  “And then the rest of the list…”

  “Yes, and then the rest.”

  ******

  Rome ended the call with Bliss, then turned to the man sitting in his office.

  “What did she say?” Laz asked.

  Rome sighed. “Her intuition and investigation proved correct.”

  “So this Brad guy is into some shit?”

  “He’s involved with J.P. Morgan moving all that coke.” Rome told him. “And he wants to use my yacht to move more…”

  “The one billion that was seized?”

  Rome nodded. “Yeah, and so I’m sure they have a lot more stashed that needs to be delivered...and they’ve made a lot of people unhappy with the exposure.”

  “So we’re back in the game or what?” Laz asked.

  Rome looked at the man who’d been in the trenches with him, and had been loyal to this day.

  “This could solve all my problems.” Rome commented.

  “Do you trust Bliss in all this?” Laz questioned.

  Leaning back, Rome looked at his ally. “I love her, and if she were to betray me...shit, my life would already be over.”

  “She’s risking a lot, too.” Laz pointed out.

  “Nothing’s going to touch her,” Rome said assuredly. “And I’ve made plans that if anything happens to me, Bliss will be taken care of and she won’t need anybody.”

  “Damn…”

  “I was given three months and I’ve spent them falling in love with a woman who now means everything to me.” Rome explained. “So whatever I’ve got to do to keep my promises to her, then I’m going to do it.”

  Laz nodded. “I’ve got you.”

  “I know. You always have…”

  “When is the meeting with this Brad?”

  Rome’s face turned angry. “Tomorrow.”

  “Where?”

  “On my yacht.” Rome answered.

  “Let’s get it.”

  “On everything I love...this will be the last time I’m involved in some shit like this…” Rome said, shaking his head.

  That evening, Rome opened the door to the beautiful woman waiting on the other side. Taking her into his arms, he hugged her close.

  “Hello, Bliss…” he pulled back and looked down into her face.

  “Hello, Romeo…”

  Smiling, he kissed her gently, then led her inside. At the sofa, Bliss dropped her designer bag and climbed into his lap.

  “How was the rest of your day?” Rome asked.

  “Easy compared to the start,” Bliss answered. “But now we have some answers…”

  He frowned. “What else did he say to you?”

  “Talking shit about having some of what you’re getting at my apartment…”

  Rome lifted a brow. “That’s what the fuck he said?”

  “I told him that would be impossible.”

  “Okay…okay.” Rome nodded.

  “Rome, let’s stay with the plan we have in place. We need Brad’s information.”

  “No, Brad needs to get his ass beat.”

  Bliss touched his face. “Please, let’s not mess this up.”

  Looking into her eyes, Rome thought about what this woman meant to him.

  “I won’t.” He promised.

  “Thank you.” Bliss said holding his gaze. “I know it infuriates you, but now isn’t the time to focus on that.”

  “Just the thought of another man touching you…”

  She kissed his full lips. “I don’t want any other man. I only want you…”

  Rome pulled her closer in his arms and held her lovingly.

  “Bliss Marshall, baby, I’m so in love with you.” Rome whispered. “Not because of what you’ve done, but because of who you are.”

  Bliss felt both his touch and his words surround her with deep feelings of love and comfort.

  “You are my true bliss...in every way.” He told her softly.

  Smiling, Bliss whispered, “I love you too, Romeo McIntyre...and I won’t ever let you leave me.”

  “There’s nowhere else I want to be…”

  Their mouths met in a passionate kiss, that had them both desiring more. Rome’s hands began moving over her body igniting a fire deep inside of her.

  “When this is over, I want to take you far away and have you all to myself.” He said, caressing her ass with a large hand.

  “We’ll take the yacht?” Bliss asked, reaching for his shirt.

  “Yeah, since you liked it so much the first time we went on there.”

  Bliss laughed softly. “It wasn’t necessarily the boat that impressed me…”

  Rome lifted Bliss’ blouse over her head and tossed it aside.

  “What was it then?” He asked, lowering his head to her breasts.

  “Mmmm...it’s what you did to me on that boat…” Bliss breathed.

  Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes. “Like I’m about to do to you right now?”

  She smiled sexily. “I hope so…”

  ******

  The next day, Rome
stood at the entrance of the yacht next to Laz. Both men had weapons on their waists and were prepared for whatever, as Brad walked up. Seeing the two big back men standing on the boat, he paused for a moment, then plastered a smile on his face.

  “Mr. McIntyre.” Brad approached them.

  “Brad…” Rome said shortly. “Come aboard.”

  “I didn’t know that we’d have company.” He looked at Laz, who simply stared at him.

  “This is my advisor.”

  Brad looked at the gun on Laz, when he reached the deck. “Advisor…”

  “Follow me,” Rome told him, then turned and walked away.

  Brad complied and trailed Rome to a lower area. Once there, Rome took a seat and looked at him.

  “May I sit?” Brad asked.

  “There are chairs.”

  Brad took one of the seats and started to talk.

  “Mr. McIntyre, thank you…”

  Rome put up a hand and Brad stopped.

  “Before you go into this,” Rome told him. “What you’ve said to Bliss, and how you’ve approached her won’t go unnoticed.”

  Brad turned beet red.

  “I’ll apologize to her.” He offered.

  Rome shrugged. “Doesn’t matter…”

  “What are you saying?” Brad asked confused. “What do you want?”

  “At this point, I simply want to conclude my business with you.” Rome told him. “Now, finish what you came here to say.”

  Startled, Brad gathered himself to continue.

  “I was going to say, thank you for meeting with me.” Brad began again. “I’ve done some digging into your past and I know that you can manage this job with no problems.”

  “See, the key word there was...past.” Rome told him. “I’m not in that business anymore.”

  “And you don’t have to return to the business.” Brad assured him. “This is a one time drop...unless you decide that it’s something you want on a more permanent basis.”

  “It’s not.”

  Brad nodded. “Okay...since I’m in a bind and I need to move fast, I’m willing to work on your terms.”

  “Ditto…” Rome said. “When is the pickup?”

  “Tonight.”

  Rome frowned. “Tonight?”

  “Yes, that doesn’t leave you time to organize and trip me up.” Brad told him. “If that’s what you and Bliss were planning.”

  “Where’s the location?” Rome questioned.

  Brad looked at his watch. “If you leave right after this meeting, you’ll make it there in time.”

  “You aren’t taking any chances.”

  “I can’t afford to…” Brad replied. “Especially after the last seizure…”

  Rome looked at him. “I’m not working with the Feds.”

  “You never know.” Brad returned. “You make a complete life change...turning your back on everything you knew and building a highly successful business.”

  “And?” Rome prompted.

  “That’s pretty hard to do without someone backing you...like the government.”

  Rome laughed. “So you think I’m a snitch?”

  “I didn’t say that, but I’m also not ruling out the possibility.”

  “Of the two people in this room, you’re the one currently involved in criminal activity, Brad.” Rome told him, staring into his face. “Don’t get it twisted.”

  “Like I’ve told Bliss, it’s only illegal if you get caught...and even then if you’re me, you can beat the charges.” Brad boasted.

  “We’ve all seen that.” Rome said with a frown.

  “So, if you and Bliss are plotting on me, just know that you’ll be ruined and she’d never work in the investment industry again.” Brad threatened. “So let’s all play nice and make this money.”

  “Fine.” Rome stood. “Get me the information I need, so I can get this done.”

  Brad got to his feet with a smile and held out a hand.

  “It’s going to be a pleasure working with you.” He told Rome.

  Staring at the hand, Rome shook his head and walked away.

  “Get me the damn information.”

  ******

  “Rome, where are you?” Bliss asked into the phone.

  “On my way to the pickup point.”

  “What?”

  Rome explained. “Your boy Brad doesn’t trust us, so the pick up was scheduled for tonight and I had to leave right after I put his ass off the yacht.”

  “Do you think he’s setting us up?” Bliss questioned.

  “I would’ve questioned that too, if there hadn’t been a real bust of J.P. Morgan moving cocaine. It makes sense that they still have more that needs to be moved. And, it makes sense that they don’t want to use boats registered to them.” Rome explained.

  “We’ll know soon enough, I guess.” Bliss said quietly. “Please be safe.”

  “I’ve got Laz with me.”

  Bliss went silent, biting her lip.

  “Bliss, don’t worry.” Rome said assuringly.

  “The deal that’s in place will stand, right?” she asked cautiously.

  “If everything goes according to plan...yes.”

  She looked out of her office window. “Okay…”

  “I’ll call you when it’s done.” Rome promised. “But, if you don’t hear from me…cover your ass.”

  “I’ll hear from you.”

  Rome smiled. “I love your confidence.”

  “I love you.” She whispered, taking a breath. “And this is all worth it...”

  “Hell yeah, it’s worth it.” He agreed.

  “After this, we can start taking over industries…” Bliss told him.

  “And building our own generational wealth...”

  She smiled. “Becoming that perfect combination.”

  “Smart and savvy…”

  “Don’t let your guard down out there,” Bliss reminded him.

  “I may not be a part of that life, but I still know how to operate.” He told her confidently.

  Bliss saw Nikki at her door and waved her inside.

  “Nikki’s here.” She told Rome.

  “Let me know if there’s a problem.”

  “I will..”

  Bliss ended the call and looked at her assistant.

  “What’s up?”

  “I took care of things on our end.”

  “Everything good?”

  NIkki nodded. “Yes...everything good on his end?”

  “I hope so...there was a change in plans and things had to be expedited.”

  “Expedited?”

  Bliss nodded. “So today is the day.”

  Nikki looked nervous. “Is he alone?”

  “No, he’s not. Thank the Universe.”

  “So we just wait?”

  Looking at her phone, Bliss said, “I’ve never anticipated a call so much in my life.”

  ******

  Brad stood in his apartment staring out the window, while on a phone call.

  “He’s on his way to the pickup spot.” He told the person on the other end.

  “If you fuck this up…”

  Brad ran a hand through his hair. “He’s good. He won’t do anything stupid...and we need to get this shipment into the city, after that debacle on the ship headed to Philadelphia.”

  “What are you doing about the rest of the shipments?”

  “After this run, I’ll have a better idea of how to schedule the others.” Brad told him.

  “Call me when the drop is done.” The man said firmly.

  Nodding, he replied, “I will.”

  Brad hung up and wiped his nose. Turning toward his door, he waited for his bell to ring with the scheduled delivery.

  At the sound, he rushed over and threw the door open.

  “You got it?” Brad asked.

  “Double your usual?”

  Brad reached into his pocket. “Yeah, I’m celebrating.”

  The man handed him a package and Brad reached into his pocket f
or a wad of large bills.

  “There’s going to be much more where that came from,” Brad told hm with a smile.

  “You know where to find me.”

  Brad nodded. “Yeah, I know where to get the best.”

  Closing the door, Brad hurried over to the coffee table and set up his delivery.

  “I need to take this fucking edge off…” he said, then sniffed the white powder up his nostril.

  Chapter 9

  Rome and Laz stood on the deck of his yacht under the brightening sky.

  “It’s been a long ass night.” Laz said.

  “One of the longest.” Rome agreed.

  Laz turned to him. “Are you ready for this drop?”

  “Yeah...let’s get in and out as fast as we can.”

  “I’ll be looking out for official twelves and Feds.” Laz informed him.

  “I’ll be making sure this shit is off my boat and out of my possession.” Rome told him.

  “Good thing this shipment wasn’t that large.”

  Rome stared out at the water. “This was a test. He thinks he’s going to ask for more.”

  “He should think again.” Laz commented.

  “Right.”

  “Have you checked in with Bliss?”

  Rome smiled as his phone buzzed and he looked at the screen.

  “You spoke her up.” Rome told him.

  “Nah, you wanted to hear from her.” Laz said, then gave him some privacy.

  “Bliss…”

  She began speaking quickly. “Rome, I know you said you’d call but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  “I’m on my way back.” Rome replied. “I was going to call when we docked.”

  “Everything went okay?”

  He leaned on the rail. “So far, so good.”

  “I know that you didn’t want to do this…” Bliss said softly.

  “It wasn’t my first choice, but it was the best choice.” Rome told her. “For both of our lives…”

  “How much longer?”

  “Another hour or so,” Rome answered. “Then an hour for unloading at the spot.”

  He heard her sigh.

  “You know I’ve done this many times?” he reminded her. “Moving product…”

  “Not for a major corporation who just got busted by the U.S. Government…” Bliss pointed out.

  Rome smiled. “It’s okay, baby.”

  “Okay...I’ll wait to see you.”

  “When am I going to see you?” He asked.