I pulled off my ski mask and leaned in. “Let me ask you something, Daemon. How the fuck did you think this was gonna go?”
His eyes went wide when he saw my face.
“You had to have known that, whether I lived or died, someone was coming for you.”
“You dumped Rahmel’s body on my mama’s porch!” he spat.
“Yeah, well, your cousin was a thief. Did you know that?” I asked, watching his face tighten. “I see. Let me guess—he told you he’d put the family onto whatever bullshit he was building on the side?”
“Fuck you.”
Jelani and Fontaine came back upstairs, lugging two heavy duffle bags each.
I sucked my teeth. “Look at you. About to go join that nigga in hell.”
Jelani stood over him. “Yo, how you got your baby mom and your kid in this shit?”
“Don’t touch my girl!” Daemon yelled, his eyes welling up.
Why was it that these niggas only seemed to remember their families at the end? Not when they were stealing shit from me. Not when they were lighting up a block party full of kids.
“Ain’t no one touching her, bruh. I’m not that heartless,” I said. “You see, Toya got a nice life insurance payout. The least I can do is make sure your girl is straight for a year. But from now on, the Eastland Crew works for BC. And when you see Rahmel? Tell him I said ‘fuck you’.”
I fired two shots to his head and watched his lifeless body slump back, eyes still open.
“The rest of you niggas get the fuck out!” I roared.
Slim was already dumping gasoline everywhere, soaking the couch and curtains. The others damn near tripped over each other scrambling to the door.
I grabbed a lighter off the coffee table and sparked it, setting one of the cheap curtains on fire. Flames licked up the fabric, smoke quickly filling up the room.
“Money, we out,” Slim called, tossing the empty can on the ground. The house was basically a tinderbox, and the flames spread fast. Fontaine slammed the trunk shut, loading the last bag, just as the windows exploded—glass raining onto the pavement.
A sick sense of satisfaction filled me, reigniting that old hunger I’d buried for years.
“That shit’s gonna blow any second,” Jelani said, getting in the car. The house groaned as flames and black smoke filled the sky. In the distance, the wail of sirens grew louder.
My phone buzzed.
Future Wife: Did you delete the dating apps off my phone??
Why would you need apps when you have me?
Future Wife: Something is really wrong with you, Cash.
Jelani shoved me. “Fuck you cheesing about? Twelve ‘bout to be on our ass.”
I laughed, tossing the phone on the console. Slim climbed in last, slamming the door as I peeled off. Red and blue lights flashed past us, racing in the opposite direction towards the fire.
This was just the beginning. Nairobi was still working Kyree. It was time to dig out the rot threatening my crew next. No way in hell I was letting these niggas ruin the legacy my pops built.
CHAPTER10
JASMINE MILLER
“Doyou think you’ll come home after your contract ends?” my mother asked hopefully.
Her phone was propped up on the kitchen counter, giving me a full view of her washing dishes. This was our weekly FaceTime date—our way of putting physical eyes on each other, even though we talked almost daily.
