“I hear you. But this is my life, not yours. I said she good, so she’s good until I say otherwise.”
“I saw how you looked at her. Like you wanted to take her home.” His mouth went hard. “She’s not a socialite you can wine and dine. She’s a witness to a murder. You know what we do with witnesses.”
“Yeah,” I said, meeting his eyes. “But we’re not handling her like that. I said leave it alone.”
His jaw tightened, hand smoothing down his tie. “One wrong word and everything we built dies with her testimony. No loose ends, Lesley. Rule number one. Always has been.”
I leaned in just enough. “And now I’m the one writing the rules. I hear you, Pops—but this? I’ll handle it my way.”
I walked off as he continued. I wasn’t listening to shit he had to say. He could repeat himself all he wanted. I’d made my mind up for the night. She was safe.Mine.And possibly my first order of business as the head of this family.
I should’ve been heading to Club Velvet, celebrating the ascension, raising a glass to the crown I’d just inherited. Instead, I stood there replaying the way her plush lip poked out as if I was the issue. Her perfume still clinging to the doorway like it had a lease in my head.
Taiwan appeared at my elbow, jacket already off, chain swinging. “Nigga let's turn up tonight. Club Velvet, your section, your city. We celebrating.”
“Yeah,” I said it without moving.
He followed my eyes to the street, then looked back at me. “You standing outside watching taillights on the best night of your life.”
“One last night, because we gotta tighten up nigga.”
“Heard. We can figure this shit out another night.”
Instead of getting lost in my thoughts and ruining the celebration for my niggas, I pulled off, lying to myself about figuring it out another night, pretending I could forget. But forgetting Colecion Outlaw was already impossible.
The Next Morning
The phone yanked me out of restless sleep at 9:30 in the morning. I hadn’t really slept anyway. I’d gotten back from Club Velvet after three, showered, lain down, and stared at the ceiling thinking about how the combination of cherry and almond had scrambled my thoughts.
So when Malice called, I was already tight. I silenced it at first.
The bedroom was quiet, exactly how I preferred it. Blackout shades covered my large window overlooking the city. I’d retreated to my penthouse downtown instead of my home in Vireaux Pointe. Gray light was creeping in, reminding me how early it was. I rose from the bed, grabbing my chain from the nightstand before putting it on. If Malice was calling, that meantI needed to start moving. The Glock was peeking from under my pillow, so I grabbed it before heading to the bathroom. My suit pants were folded on the chair because even when I was careless, I stayed organized. I could still smell the cigars and weed from last night.
My phone rang again.
“This better be important,” I growled, stepping to the sink. I tossed the phone down and placed it on speaker. I started to take care of my hygiene so I could get my day started. I was up now and probably wouldn’t see sleep again until the next morning.
“Boss, we got a situation.” Malice’s voice was calm, professional. “That lady from last night? The event planner?”
My father’s voice crept into my head. I could hear his“I told you so”coming. He’d said no loose ends. Handle it the first time, or it’ll handle you. I was raised on that principle and lived by it until Colecion Outlaw showed up. Now I had two problems: the business, and the woman who made business look insignificant.
I picked my phone up, immediately alert. “What about her?”
“I’ve been watching her crib like you asked. About an hour ago, some dude showed up. He’s still here with her now. At first, I thought it was a delivery person, but it’s been a minute.”
“What the fuck, Malice? An hour ago?” I was already up, reaching for clothes. “Why the hell didn’t you call me immediately?”
“Boss, I... it’s not the feds or anything dangerous. Just some regular dude. Tall, he’s clean-cut, driving a nice Lexus. Poindexter type nigga. Looks like he belongs in her world. No funny shit.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he looks like or what he drives, nigga!” I snapped. “When I tell you to watch someone and report back, that means everything. Every person who walks up to her door, every car that parks outside her building. She sneezes toohard. I want to know. Everything! Especially a nigga that looks too comfortable.”
There was a pause on the other end. Malice didn’t understand, and he obviously wasn’t catching the hint. Now I was even more upset that she had me moving like a sucker.
“Boss, are you... I mean, this is just her boyfriend or whatever. Not a threat to business.”
“Just stay on the situation. I’m on my way.”
“You’re coming here? For her boyfriend?”
