Free No Greater Loyalty by S. K. Hardy

until now, but could feel himself crashing hard.
    He stood up and dug in his pocket for his keys as he walked towards the door. "Look, I think I'm gonna head out. Keisha's probably still at Darrell and Jerra's house with Nikki so I'm on my way there to get her and the kids then going home."
    Dom paused and glanced over his shoulder at Angel and Oscar. "Hey, I...I didn't mean to bite your heads off, it's just that..."
    "Don't worry about it," Angel cut in. "Go home, get some rest. You look like crap."
    "Thanks," Dom answered in a voice full of sarcasm, but he smiled and gave them a wave. "Talk to you soon."
    When Dom opened the door, Angel's lieutenant, a man by the name of Carlo Lewis was walking up. Carlo was the type of man one might pass on the street and not even notice. He blended in without calling attention to himself, but was actually one of the most dangerous men in Angel's operation and would kill without hesitation.
    Carlo was also fiercely loyal to Angel and had worked his way up in the ranks from a foot soldier to his current position. He reported directly to Angel and Oscar. Carlo accepted no excuses from anyone in his crew because poor performance from his men reflected badly on him. If someone fucked up Angel looked to him for an explanation. The best thing to do was to make sure no fuck ups happened at all, because if they did, heads would roll.
    Looking at Dom, Carlo shook his hand then stepped aside to let him by. "How's it going, Dom? You alright?"
    "Hey, Carlo, yeah, I'm good."
    "We gonna bring ya ’ li’l man home. It's as good as done."
    "I already know. Thanks, man."
    "No thanks necessary. He's family. Family takes care of family, yo."
    Dominick nodded and slapped Carlo on the back before walking off.
    Carlo looked at Oscar then Angel. "Okay to come in, Boss?"
    Angel waved him in, but his attention was on Oscar. He'd been preoccupied ever since he came in. "What's wrong with you, old man? If you're worried about Dominick, he'll be fine. You know I won't let anything happen to him."
    Oscar sighed. "That's part of it. I don't like this, Angel. If he finds out what I did all those years ago, he’ll think I betrayed him."
    "You did what was best at the time and I agreed with it. There was no reason for him to know then and he doesn't need to know now."
    "What if Melania decides otherwise?"
    "Fuck Melania. She's living on borrowed time, and I'm about to collect. She crossed the line when she began throwing around threats as if she's forgotten what I'm capable of. Her fate was sealed before I walked out of that hotel room the other night. Believe me, Melania Cruz is an inconvenience I'll be ridding myself of very soon."
    "Which brings me to our next issue."
    Something in Oscar's tone told Angel that he wasn't going to like what came next. Still swiveling casually in his chair, Angel ’s attention switched to Carlo, who was standing beside his desk with his hands clasped respectfully in front of him. Just the fact that he was here meant something was up other than this business with Melania. 
    Angel lifted his brow questionably and said to Oscar, "Okay. And what issue might that be?"
    "It seems several members of the Alliance are in disagreement with the decision you've made regarding Melania. They've called a meeting later this evening to discuss it."
    The motion of Angel' s chair stilled. "What do you mean ‘they’ve called a meeting’? His eyes turned dark and ominous. “On whose authority because it sure the hell wasn’t mine.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 10
     
     
    Angel’s question shot forward like a bullet leaving a chamber. He’d gotten everyone together this morning via videoconference and cued them in on what he was planning as far as Melania Cruz was concerned. He'd done so as a courtesy...not because he was obligated to do it.
    “ The meeting was called by whom?” he asked Oscar again.
    "Well, apparently, more than one person is questioning the wisdom