“Something comfortable, not flashy,” I continued. “And tell one of your girls to grab anything else a woman like her might need to stay put up for a couple days.”
He gave a short nod, already planning his first stop. “Food?”
“Yeah. Tell Chef to plate something up.” He nodded, dapped me up, then headed out. I made my way up the stairs, phone buzzing.
I let it ring twice, then answered. “About damn time.”
“You done made a big mistake, boy.” Zeke’s voice was all tight and shit.
I smiled and dropped into my chair, feet going up on the desk. “Did I? ‘Cause from where I’m sitting, looks like you’re the one who fucked up.”
He didn’t say anything, but I could hear him breathing. Shit was heavy as hell. “You took my daughter, Nyce. You’ve gone too far. Her fiancé is...”
“Fuck that nigga,” I cut in, smooth. “I can’t even believe you’d sell her off like she’s some damn prize goat. Yeah, I know all about the arrangement.”
“You don’t know shit, so watch your fucking mouth.”
I smirked. “Or what, preach?”
“I don’t have time for games, Nyce,” he snapped, trying to sound like the man in charge again. “Put her back where you found her, and we’ll settle this like men.”
I laughed, full and sharp. “Like men? You mean like the man who took two and a half M’s from me and been ghosting on payments like I’m some weak-ass loan shark?”
“I was handling it.”
“Sure you were.” After a pause, I lowered my voice. “You owe me two and a half mil. You don’t get to stall with me.”
“You think taking Princess is gonna scare me into paying you?”
“Nah,” I said. “I think it’s gonnaremindyou what real fear feels like.”
That shut his ass up. I could hear the way he was gripping that phone. I could almost hear his teeth grinding. “If you hurt my daughter,” he said slowly, “Iwillmake sure you regret it.”
“You don’t make the threats, preach. I do. You have seventy-two hours. I want my muthafucking money or Princess and I will discuss other payment options.”
I didn’t wait for a reply. I hung up and sat back, reaching for the blunt I didn’t finish smoking earlier. This shit wasn’t personal. It was business. But damn if the girl upstairs wasn’t making it a little more interesting than I planned.
