“You said it’s my decision, right?” she frowned.
“Yeah, it’s all you but I still want to know why.”
“Because the songs are about us, the stages of us, and when I wrote ‘Nothing and No One’ was when I decided I’m trusting you with me. Nothing and no one can break that unless I allow it to. That’s where we are, the space we’re currently in, so it should be last.” After her confession, she stared at Asao who didn’t speak right away which made her anxious. When his hand made it to her face and his thumb brushed over her cheek seconds before he kissed her, she relaxed. He spoke against her lips after the kiss.
“I already knew that shit. I just needed you to say it so you’ll stop getting in your own way.”
She grinned and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
Samari was accepting the man Asao wanted to be in her life while making a promise to give the same in return.
22
“You need us to ride?”Dom asked while Asao walked through the parking garage and hit the locks to his Charger. It had been a minute since he’d needed the switch, but for this, it was very necessary.
“I’m good on this solo. Just hitting you up so if shit goes left you know how to handle things.”
There wasn’t a chance in hell Asao was going to take a L with the plans he mentally mapped out but he also had to consider there was always a possibility of complications, even if rare. A late night studio session meant Dom was available andletting his boy know what his moves were would give them the opportunity to be first to pull up if he got caught slipping.
“And you’re sure this is the route you want to take? That muthafucker doesn’t have anything left. You took everything that matters.”
“He’s still breathing which means he’s gonna keep trying.” Asao’s tone was laced with irritation. When Cobra cornered one of the artists Track Killaz was vetting with promises of a fast track career and deep pockets, Asao made the decision to permanently put an end to things. He had very little patience for people who refused to know their place and his patience for Cobra had long expired.
Cut the head off the muthafuckin’ snake…
“I got you, but don’t let that shit go left, Sao. It’s been a minute. You still know how to handle that piece?” Dom’s tone was laced with amusement which had Asao exposing a cocky grin. A killer was always a killer…
“I’m a shooter. Not a damn thing’s changed.”
“We’re gunnin’, they’re runnin’,” Dom delivered with an arrogance that had Asao’s trigger finger twitching.
“I’m about to fall off the grid for a minute. Make sure Mari is covered.” For the past ten years, the number of people who were a priority in his world had remained the same—his boys and his parents—but Mari was now incorporated into that circle, taking the top spot from them all. She owned his heart and he owned the responsibility of making sure hers maintained a steady rhythm.
“Where she at?” Dom asked.
“Crescent Cove. She should be chillin’ until I get back.”
“Bet.”
Asao ended the call, put his phone in airplane mode, and placed it into the console.
It was two in the morning when Asao left the house, made the hour drive to his place, and switched his Jeep for the Charger.
He reached Cobra’s neighborhood and entered through the back of the gated community of Chandler Heights. To reach that point where the uneven ground was high enough to grant Asao proximity to make it over the iron gate on the perimeter of the property required a short hike through the woods and a ten-minute walk to Cobra’s house.
Asao made sure to move along the backyards of the houses he passed to avoid cameras pointed toward the street and pulled a balaclava over his head before he moved with long strides through Cobra’s property. Comfort made people sloppy, so he was granted access to the massive home by hitting the garage door opener inside the Bentley Cobra left unlocked in the driveway.
As soon as he stepped inside, balaclava in place, gloved hands and a thirst to kill, Asao examined the scene before him.
Darkness, an empty bottle of liquor, and a loaded gun pressed to Cobra’s temple…
A neutral expression eased onto Asao’s face as he removed the gun from the small of his back, quietly crossing the kitchen and covering Cobra’s hand with his at the same time he maneuvered his gun under the man’s chin.
“Look at you making this shit easy for me.” Asao’s arrogant tone made Cobra tense. The alcohol in his system had his mind cloudy and his thoughts scrambled, but he knew the voice and the fate that would be attached to it.
“You think I give a fuck that you’re here? I don’t have shit to live for. You made sure of that.” Cobra spoke through clenched teeth while Asao firmly gripped the hand that held the gun at Cobra’s temple.
“Nah muthafucker, that was all you but I didn’t come for a conversation. Let’s get this shit over with.” Asao didn’t need his ego stroked. He needed to see Cobra take his last breath.
