I let that threat hang as I looked at them.
“I’m sure y’all heard about Rahmel,” I went on, pacing slowly. “At first, I thought it was some small shit—someone who just got a little greedy and needed to be handled. But now?” I scoffed. “We got bigger problems. Niggas think they can come at me… my brother.” I pointed at Jelani. “Y’all trying to come take the thing Ricardo Banks built.”
“That shit’s wild to me,” I said, slapping my chest.“‘Cause I make sure every single one of y’all eats.”
Jelani stood, crossing his arms as he moved to stand at my side. “If anyone got issues with how shit’s being run—speak up.” His voice was calm, but the message was loud and clear.
The room stayed quiet for a moment before Grizz stood. “Yo, Money. No disrespect, but what the fuck are you talking about?”
My eyes snapped to him. He was one of the ones Nairobi said was at the meetup with Kyree and Marcus. I purposely invited him here, knowing he was moving foul. Like I said, a loose end that needed to be taken care of.
“Loyalty,” I deadpanned.
He frowned, looking around. “You just said everyone here’s vetted. You know we ridin’ with you, so why the threats?”
“Because apparently some of y’all think I’ve gotten too comfortable,” I said, stepping forward. “Like I wouldn’t figure out what’s going on in my own house. It’s like folks forgot what happened after my pops died.”
Grizz tried to sit back down like the conversation was over.
“Nah. Stay up,” Jelani said. “Since you wanna be the voice of reason.”
“I’m good, Jelani,” Grizz muttered, hands up. He looked around for backup, but the silence in the room spoke volumes.
I caught Nairobi’s eye and nodded. She slid her sunglasses up and strolled to the front, hips switching seductively. Every head followed her like they had just realized she was there.
She handed me the burner, smirking. “Hey, Big Grizz,” she purred. “We had fun the other night, didn’t we?”
“I—I didn’t,” he stammered.
I held up my hand while I unlocked the phone and hit play on the video.
Kyree’s voice filled the room:“We know where all the stash houses are, so it’s an easy in. With your backing and us knowing everything about BC, we’ll be able to snuff them out easy.”
Some girl giggled in the background.
“Hell yeah!”Grizz’s voice came in crystal clear.“I’m ready to get this money wit’ y’all, man. I’m tired of running them damn trucks. It’s time to get in the field and make some real bread. Money thinks he’s running shit with his soft ass?—”
I cut the video off.
“How much he make, Slim?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Grizz.
Grizz looked shook. If he wasn’t brown-skinned, I swear he’d be as pale as a ghost.
“Last I checked,” Slim said behind me, “$350,000 a year. Not counting bonuses.”
I nodded. “Shaun,” I called another lieutenant.
His eyes got wide at the sound of his name. “Yeah?”
“How much you make running the Eastside?”
“Shit.” He scratched the back of his head. “Maybe like $250k? Give or take.”
“Slim?”
“Yeah, he’s right.”
I turned back to Shaun. “You want a promotion? You can take trucking off Grizz’s hands—since he thinks he can make real money being a traitor.”
