“It’s exactly what this is about.” I stayed even. “You’ve been in this family long enough to know the rules better than anybody in that room. You know what it means when the head speaks. You know what respect looks like. And you sat in my father’s house, at my table, and said what you said anyway.” I took one step closer.
Tommy looked at my father. Legend met his eyes and said nothing.
The silence from my father was its own verdict, and Tommy felt it. He swore he had a poker face, but I saw right through that shit. Always had. He picked up his glass, took a slow sip, andwhen he looked back at me, his voice had changed. Still smooth. But the warmth was performance now, and we both knew it.
“You have my respect, nephew. And your wife has mine.” A small nod. “That’s my word.”
I looked at him a moment longer. “Good.”
I turned to my father. “Walk me out.”
Outside, the Kentucky morning was gray and cool, dew still on the grass, birds chirping. We walked to the edge of the driveway before either of us spoke.
“He heard you,” Pops said.
“He better had, and that’s on granny. I’d hate to make Auntie a widow.” I kept my voice low.
“Les,” he warned, but I wasn’t hearing it.
“That nigga has been a problem for a long time. Raylin was his. Bones moves through his connections. St. Louis didn’t happen because some random niggas got ambitious; it happened because somebody let it.” I looked at my father. “Tell me I’m lying.”
Pops was quiet for a long moment. He looked out at the property, the manicured grounds, the kind of thing that got built over decades of loyalty and ruthlessness in equal measure. “I hear you, kid. You ain’t never been wrong. But…”
“He's moving foul.”
“What ain’t you telling me?”
“Pops, watch your back. That nigga is a snake. Between you and me, I think he's working with the alphabet boys.”
“He’s a Don, son. Be careful with your accusations.”
“I know what he is.” I turned to face him.
“How they know about the basement? To approach my wife?”
“Shit, I’ll look into it. Why you just now telling me?”
“I needed more proof.”
He remained silent; I gave him that. I couldn’t imagine the place he was in. This was his blood brother who could be snaking him and about to get us hemmed up.
“I’m telling you, Pops. If he touches Coco, if he goes anywhere near her, if he so much as breathes in her direction with bad intentions, I’m going to lay him down. Blood or not.”
My father looked at me for a long time. He’d heard me make promises before, but this one landed differently, and we both knew it. Family loyalty had a ceiling now. I wasn’t tryna hear that family shit. Anyone who crossed me would be dealt with.
He kissed his teeth and shook his head. I couldn’t read his face all the way and that was rare. My father was usually an open book to me.
“She got to you that bad, huh?” he asked.
“It ain’t about that.” I waved him off.
He nodded once. His eyes went back to the house. “Son, a lie don’t care who tell it. Is she worth it?”
“I’m figuring that out.”
He clapped my shoulder once and said. “I’ll check into this shit with Tommy. But you gotta get hard facts. Do that, and I’ll put a bullet between his eyes myself.”
I nodded and stood there alone for a minute. I thought about my father’s question,‘Was she worth it?’All I could say was I hoped so, but I hadn’t been wrong about shit in a while. With a fair shot, we could be a power couple, a real storybook romance type shit. I needed to get back first.
