Unexpected.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando sighed as he looked across at Lyla, he had wanted to avoid this. "No, that's not it." He countered. "I didn't come home last night because I passed out when they were working on me and I didn't want to come home at three in the morning." He paused. "No I didn't want you to know, but you should know I'm not someone to just run and hide from my problems." He told her sternly. Of course Orlando didn't want Lyla to know he was shot, she would worry. But he wasn't hiding it from her. "I just don't want you to worry about me." he said quietly, staring down at his hands.

Orlando shook his head, then stopped and shrugged. "I guess at its base, yes, I didn't want you to worry, so I didn't want you to know. But it's more than that. Like I said I was out. When I woke up I was talking to the guys, checking on those who also got hurt. I'm sorry." He murmured. Orlando felt bad. "I don't like telling you things, I don't think it's lying. I just don't want you to worry or t be endangered with the information I give you." he told her. "Plus. Its safer if you don't know things, you can't go against me. Only married spouses have the privilege of not testifying against each other." Orlando stood and walked into the living room, he looked at his shoulder in the mirror, chuckling to himself. "These idiots had a free shot at me and they fucking missed babe." Orlando laughed again as he told her. This was one reason he believed himself and his gang to be superior, Orlando didn't miss.

@ BadStreetBoys
“I am always going to worry about you. I worry every time you walk out that door because I don’t know what’s going to happen to you,” Lyla told him. She ran a hand through her hair, “I know you don’t hide from your problems.” Lyla was trying to think of what to say next carefully, she didn’t want to know the details of what he was doing. The only thing that mattered to her was that Orlando was coming home in one piece. “I’m not asking you to tell me everything that happens every time you go out, but I don’t want you to hide it from me if you end up getting hurt like this,” she said softly.

Hearing him from the living room, Lyla shook her head. “Well it’s a good thing they missed,” Lyla said more to herself than to Orlando. She sat down at the table and placed a hand on her belly. Lyla knew it was just the way Orlando was as he laughed. She couldn’t understand it though, if they hadn’t missed, Lyla would have ended up raising their baby alone. Shaking the thought from her head, she got up and went to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, not wanting to think about what could have happened.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando nodded, he understood where Lyla was coming from. It was how his mother had been with his father. She worried, she wanted to know, but she didn't need the dirty details. "Yes dear." he murmured and smiled at Lyla. "I promise I will tell you when something happens to me." He reassured her. Orlando headed back into the kitchen as she was grabbing her cereal. He noticed the expression on Lyla's face, Orlando frowned. "Babe, don't worry. I'm okay. I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing about that." He said quietly.

Orlando stood behind Lyla as she sat at the table, wrapping his good arm around her, the other just rested on her shoulder. "I love you. I am a big boy. i can take care of myself. Trust me, these guys would have to do a lot worse to take out Orlando Burton." He paused, kissing her head. Orlando moved and sat across the table. "Being a badass runs in my blood honey. You won't get rid of me that easily," he said cheekily. Orlando was just trying to lighten the mood. He didn't want Lyla worrying about him. But he had never been good at cutting the tension when it came to his gang involvement and Lyla. "I'm all stiched up and good, it'll heal in a few weeks. In the meantime I'll just have to knock heads around one handed." He said and grinned.

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla shook her head as she put the cereal away, “It’s fine. It’s just how you are. I love how confident you are, even though sometimes it comes off as being cocky, I still love it.” She took her cereal and sat down at the table, “It’s behind us, we can move on now.” Lyla instantly relaxed when he wrapped his arm around her, she felt so much better. “I love you too and I know you’re a big boy and can take care of yourself, but that doesn’t change anything,” she said.

She watched as he moved to the other side of the table. Lyla couldn’t stop herself from laughing softly at his last comment, “Alright, you’ve got me smiling and laughing.” She knew he was trying to lighten the mood and she appreciated that. “So, what are you doing today?” Lyla asked.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando grinned when she said she liked his confidence. “Hey when you can back it up, why not be cocky.” He said and smirked, flexing his good arm.” Orlando nodded in agreement when she said they should move on. He wanted to. He didn’t want to dwell in failures. He wanted to focus on securing his territory, and securing a good life with Lyla.

Orlando smiled when Lyla finally was easing up, laughing and smiling with him. He knew as long as he could continue to get her laughing and smiling that they were gonna be okay. “Probably just gonna check up on some guys, see what kind of police presence is around the dock, collect cash.” He said and shrugged. “Not getting myself in harms way today.” He said grinning across at her. “What about you my love?” Orlando got up and started the coffee maker. He didn’t drink it often but he felt like he needed to today. “You should send a picture of the ultrasound to your mum. I’m sure she’ll be happy for you.” He said, only slightly sarcastically. He had nothing against Judith and everything against Dave.

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla nodded as she listened to what he was going to do today. “Not too much, I’m looking at my best options for going to school part time and then I’ll probably start going through my stuff to see what I can get rid of,” she said as she finished her cereal and took care of her dishes. Lyla already had a pretty good idea of what she was going to get rid of, but she also wanted to downsize on some of her clothes that she didn’t wear anymore. She knew within the next few months she would need more clothes as her pregnancy progressed.

Hearing Orlando mention her mother, Lyla was surprised. She hadn’t even thought about sending a picture to her mom. Lyla felt a bit guilty for not thinking of it, but after their encounter yesterday she was trying to avoid both of her parents. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m sure she would like to see it,” Lyla smiled slightly as she grabbed her phone and took a picture before sending it to her mom.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando nodded with a smile. He liked the thought of Lyla going through things because that meant they were getting closer to moving in together. Orlando had called some friends to help them move when they were ready, as well as a couple contractors to renovate his house so it was better suited for a family. Orlando paused for a second and pulled out his wallet, sliding it over to Lyla. “Here, take whatever you need for cash. For clothes or baby stuff or whatever.” He said and smiled. Orlando had no problem giving cash to Lyla, she had a legitimate job that she could claim was paying her more. He had to be more careful with his money so not to draw attention by the IRS.

Orlando smiled as she sent the photo to her mother. He was so proud of what they had created already. He wanted to show everyone. While Lyla sent it to her mother, Orlando sent it to his father and brother. Orlando poured himself a cup of coffee with sugar and sat down again. “I know you want to avoid your father but stay in touch just a little to see if you get wind of him trying to get me arrested. That way I can prepare.” He said looking somewhat on edge about the situation. Orlando loved Lyla, and he knew he wanted to spend his life with her. He bit his lip as he thought about proposing. He knew it was probably too soon. But he also knew it would be safer for both of them, especially legally.

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla was slightly surprised when Orlando gave her his wallet. Hearing him mention baby stuff, she nodded, “Okay. I might go out and do some shopping then.” She took some cash from his wallet before giving it back to him, “I might call my sister to go with me. I haven’t had a chance to spend time with her lately.” Lyla was close with her older sister, Jen. It was nice for them to spend time together because Jen didn’t know what Orlando did for work and she didn’t pressure Lyla to tell her.

“I’ll keep in touch with him, you know if he finds anything he’ll tell me right away,” Lyla knew it was her father’s biggest flaw. He assumed that Lyla wouldn’t warn Orlando, it seemed like he was more worried about changing Lyla’s opinion than actually catching a criminal. “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this, we always do and we always will,” Lyla said as she smiled at him.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando smiled when she mentioned her sister, Orlando had never met Jen, so he wasn’t sure if she would like him or hate him. But seeing how happy she made Lyla made him happy. “Let me know if you need anymore money. I need to hide this shit somewhere.” He said with a laugh. Orlando didn’t trust banks because they reported to the IRS. He had cash everywhere. Was it safe? Hell no. But it was safer than being caught red handed. “you’d think as Someone who makes a lot of money illegally I would have a money laundering business by now.” He said and shrugged. “You wanna start a business baby? You can run a real business and I’ll just use it to cover my tracks.” Orlando didn’t expect her to accept, it was more of a hope than anything. But he new as time got closer to having the baby he would need to do something.

Orlando grinned, he loved how much she loved him. He knew she was loyal when she would take care of him like this rather than letting him go to jail. “Thank you love.” He told her before kissing Lyla’s forehead. “Yes we will.” Orlando rubbed her shoulder and leaned down to kiss Lyla. “I’m gonna head out, tonight I will definitely be back. If you have time could you grab stuff to make burgers and fries tonight?” He asked as he grabbed his mug off coffee and headed towards the door. “I love you baby, have a good day!”

@ BadStreetBoys
“Oh I’ll let you know,” Lyla laughed softly. She was thinking of everything she could get right away. Hearing him ask if she wanted to start a business, she laughed, “I’ll get right on that.” She had no idea how much money Orlando was bringing in, but she knew they had never struggled since they got together. He had always been more than generous when it came to his money. There had been times when Lyla’s hours at work had been cut and she was running short to pay her rent and bills and Orlando gave her money to catch up and then some.

She smiled as he kissed her forehead, “You’re welcome.” Lyla would never throw him under the bus, she loved him too much. Lyla kissed him back, “You better. I’ll stop and pick it up on my way home.” She watched as he moved toward the door, “I love you too, see you later.” Once he left, Lyla went to get dressed.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando grinned as she laughed. “I mean, love. If you wanna start a business one day we can.” Be paused and shrugged. “If not its all good, I just gotta find a way to hide all this.” He said. Orlando smiled and waved goodbye as he headed out. He definitely wanted to make it home on tome. Orlando loved when Lyla cooked for them and her burgers were to die for.

Orlando went out to the car and headed down to the warehouse. Once inside he went into his small office of sorts. It’s where he collected money and met with guys he had to knock sense into. He checked his phone for who was coming around today, calling them in one by one. A couple guys were short and Orlando had to squeeze the money out of them. Even with a bad arm not many people wanted to fuck with him. And most of those who tried to short him were new and didn’t realize this was the real thing. You paid up whether or not you sold. Orlando had made a point that he was never shorted, if you let it happen once it would happen all the time. By the time he was done Orlando had nearly $100k in cash. When that was done he made calls regarding the shooting yesterday. Asking who was there, what happened, if anyone was arrested. He made sure he had his guys there b it also made sure to stay out of the way of patrols.

@ BadStreetBoys
Once Lyla was dressed, she went downstairs and grabbed her things before going out to her car. She drove to Jen’s house and smiled as she walked up the steps. Lyla knocked a couple times before opening the door, “Hello??” She called out. Her smile grew as she heard the tiny footsteps of her niece coming towards her. Picking the toddler up in her arms, Lyla kissed her cheek before putting her down as Jen came to the door,. “Are we ready to go?” Lyla asked her sister.

Jen nodded, “I’m ready, Gracie is staying here with mom, who is bragging about her unborn grandchild to anyone that will listen.” The two made their way out to Lyla’s car and she drove to one of the baby stores. “Orlando gave me money, I’m trying to decide what to get. I don’t want to get anything gender specific until we know what we’re having.”

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando grabbed the backpack full of money he acquired and headed out of his office, he had people to pay, people who weren’t inside the gang but on their payroll such as the doctors. Hell, Orlando even had a few cops on the payroll. He drove around town meeting with people, paying those he needed to. Orlando decided to head back to his house and see how things were going. He parked on the street out front, looking up at his house. The house was navy blue with white trim, and older model house, but kept in fairly good shape on the outside.

Orlando walked up the stairs and went inside. The inside was a mess right now, both due to Orlando and due to the men working inside. The sound of power tools was heard throughout as he was walking around checking on how things were going. He also was making note of what furniture he should get rid of and use Lyla’s instead. Orlando have a few nods of approval before he went back out to his car. He wasn’t sure if Lyla would be back yet but he wanted to go home. His shoulder hurt like a bitch and he had done enough today. Orlando headed back to Lyla’s apartment, letting himself in when they got there. When he got inside, Orlando grabbed a glass of water, taking two painkillers. He moved into the living room, laying across the couch. Orlando had brought in his backpack full of money. He figured that if they were going to be living together and having a family that he should be honest about his income. As Orlando waited for Lyla to return he fell asleep on the couch, one arm dangling over the side and hanging onto the backpack.

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla couldn’t believe everything she had found in the store. She was trying to only look at gender neutral things. Jen pointed out a few things she wouldn’t have thought of. By the time they were checking out, Lyla had picked out a crib, car seat and stroller set, and a few other things. Lyla took what they could in her car and was paying extra for them to deliver the bigger stuff to her apartment.

Once they left the store, Lyla took Jen home and made her way back to the apartment. Seeing Orlando’s car in the parking lot, she smiled. Going up to the door, she walked in and went over to Orlando. Leaning down and kissing his cheek, she started putting away the little stuff she bought.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando rustled slightly at the sound of Lyla coming and coming near him, but stayed asleep for a little while longer. When he woke up he heard Lyla in the kitchen and grinned. Orlando got up and stretched out before he headed into the kitchen carrying the backpack. “Hey babe, how was spending time with your sister?” He asked, walking over and kissing her forehead.

Orlando moves back towards the table and placed the backpack full on cash on it. He wanted to be upfront with Lyla, honest. “Can you come here for a second?” He asked and waited until Lyla came over. “So I figure since we are going to be living together that you should know more about what I do.” He paused. “I know you don’t want details but this is an important one.” Orlando opened the backpack and pushed it across the table to her. “This is $80k in cash. From just today. This cash came from only half of my dealers at the street level. And this is after I paid off some of the people I needed to.” Be shrugged and looked across at her. “I’m bringing in a lot honey. And it’s alMost all at my house.” He explained. “We don’t have to worry about anything financially. We are set for a while. As long as we can figure out a way to keep this money legal.” He explained to her.

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla smiled as Orlando came in and kissed her forehead, “It was good. She helped me pick a lot of stuff out. I brought in the little stuff, baby towels, wash cloths, some little toys. I bought a crib, car seat, and stroller that’s being delivered in a little while.” She watched as Orlando went over to the table with his backpack. Lyla raised an eyebrow as she walked over and watched as he unzipped the bag and slid it across the table to her.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the cash inside, “You have that much on you and there’s more at your house.” Lyla wasn’t asking, she was repeating it and letting it sink in. She nodded as it made sense, “Okay, so how do we keep the money legal?”

Orlando laughed at her reaction. “Yea, and that’s not even a lot. Like I said this is only the money I got from half my drug dealers. There’s all sorts of other nefarious actions we take that make money. So I have a lot.” He paused and rubbed his hands together. “Well we have to launder it,” he told her. “I was serious when I said we should start a business and you’ll be in charge.” Orlando grabbed a pen and paper off the counter. “Basically my plan is to talk to my bookie friend. He runs a casino and is fine with making a fake loss. Which will say how I got a big chunk of money. We will pay taxes on that and seem all good. Then we use that money to set up a business. Whatever you want. Clothing store, car wash, flower shop. Whatever. Then we run the business as usual. But, what we do is change the numbers in accounting. Say a customer buys a $5 item.” As Orlando explains he is writing things down and drawing them out. “We have it registered as being sold for say $8. Then the $3 of my illegal money is run through the system and becomes legal. It will take a while to get everything I have to be legal. But while we are running a business we can use the money and not worry. I can also gamble some more and get more “gains” that way.” He explained to her.

Orlando have the paper to Lyla and smiled. He knew it was a lot but he was sick of hiding all his cash assets from fear of the IRS. He knew with a baby on the way they needed full access to it for baby items and medical bills. Orlando walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer from it, he sat down and cracked the csn, taking a sip from it. “What do you think?”

@ BadStreetBoys
Lyla listened closely to everything Orlando was explaining. “We could do that, I’d be okay opening a clothing store,” she told him. “So, basically what you do is make it look like you charged more than what you actually did so little bits of money go into the system?” She nodded, looking at what he wrote down. “I think it’s a good idea. We’re going to need any bit of money we can for the baby and once the baby’s born, I might have to take a few weeks off to recover and I don’t want that to mess us up,” Lyla told him.

Truthfully, Lyla had thought about running her own business before, but she didn’t think it would ever really be possible. A small smile crossed her face, “I could open up my own little boutique, clothes and jewelry, stuff like that.” She was getting excited about being able to do what she really enjoyed.

@ foREVerYours.
Orlando nodded as she asked questions. “Yup. I have both a lawyer and accountant on my payroll, both of whom know my business and how to make it run. The accountant will help you with the books and money laundering obviously. The lawyer well, he’s in case we get caught. But also there to help me with other negations activities.” He explained. Orlando knew this was a lot to throw at Lyla at once.

Orlando grinned when she smiled. He loved making Lyla happy. “Yea definitely take as much time as you need to recover. If the business is up and running well by then we can just have the regular employees run it.” Orlando smiled again at Lyla. “I’ll help you achieve your dreams baby. Don’t you worry. I think you’d be a great shop owner.” Orlando felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders by revealing more of his shaded past.

@ BadStreetBoys
“Okay, that sounds like a plan to me,” Lyla smiled as she agreed with him. It made her a little nervous thinking about the possibility of being caught. It seemed like Orlando had the system figured out, at least well enough that everything would be covered. It was a lot to take in, but Lyla had been working to prepare herself for learning more about what Orlando did. Seeing the money in front of her was a surprise, but not enough for her to really be shocked.

Before she had a chance to say anything else, there was a knock at the door, “It’s the crib and stroller.” Lyla walked to the door and looked through the peephole. She opened the door and thanked the man before pulling the boxes inside and closing the door behind her.