“I don’t trust easily,” he added. “But the ones standing in this room with me tonight? They’d die before they betray me.”
There wasn’t arrogance in his tone. Just facts. He looked beautiful to La’Nova, standing in front of her explaining his hostile takeover like it was an overdue correction in the universe. His features remained soft but there was steel threaded through every word he spoke.
“Tonight was initiation night for you with him. You failed but passed with the new head of the Reyes Mafia,” he assured her.
Slowly, La’Nova’s eyes dragged away from blue eyes to Lennox’s lifeless body. His body laid twisted slightly to the side, thick blood oozed out of every wounded hole on his body into a puddle metallic smelling puddle beneath him.
“You did me a favor,” La’Nova stated mindlessly.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of Lennox, it was as if she was stuck in a trance. All the evil he committed, death seemed to be too easy and kind for him. She also realized that she hadn’t felt this way when she looked Dontrell in the eyes and pulled the trigger. La’Nova felt a small ounce of empathy for The Don and didn’t understand why.
Now she knew the reason. Dontrell and Lennox might have been brothers by blood, but they were two different men. Granted, Dontrell killed her father. It was a part of a business deal gone bad. One shot to the head from Dontrell and La’Nova’s fatherwas dead. Lennox, on the other hand ,did not give La’Nova’s mother the same so-called justice.
Lennox brutally raped and killed La’Nova’s mother then climbed the stairs to axe her in the middle of her forehead.
“You did me a favor as well.” Blue eyes smirked sinisterly before continuing.
“My name is Baleni Reyes,” his soft voice deepened.
“I am the rightful heir of the Reyes Mafia. Tonight, I come to clean house and take back what is mine. In seconds, this place will turn into a warzone. It’ll be all over the news for weeks to come,” he boasted proudly.
“What about me?” La’Nova got to the point no really caring about getting to know Baleni.
“Are you going to kill me or let me walk?” she asked flatly.
“I’m going to let you walk.” He smirked. “My men already went through several hidden safes around here. I think it adds up to a couple million. You can have it to start over.” He shrugged nonchalantly like it was nothing.
La’Nova’s throat tightened. After everything she had gone through, a stranger came in like Spiderman, saving her and giving her what she wanted from the very beginning… freedom. In order to have that freedom, she needed the money to start over somewhere fresh. Still, she thought about the other victims that roamed around wishing for their own freedom. They probably went through worse than her.
“W-what about the other victims here?” La’Nova stuttered in disbelief.
“If they survive what’s about to go down in a couple of minutes… my men will take care of them and get them to their families with pain and suffering packages as well,” Balani stated calmly.
It still bothered him that a lot of Lennox’s victims refused his helping hand. Most of them left, but the ones that were brainwashed still offered him their bodies. They begged to stay, too scared to go back out in the real world and really live.
The room didn’t feel the same to La’Nova anymore. The power that Lennox had over it vanished. La’Nova slowly stood, her chest rose and fell slowly. She turned around to glance at Lennox again. From the first time she laid eyes on him until now, he looked small. He was no longer the man that haunted her dreams.
“It feels good to conquer what tried to destroy you,” Balani said lowly behind her.
La’Nova stared blankly at Balani. His presence didn’t clash with the chaos that was about to surround them. He was beautiful in a way that felt unnatural. His soft features, smooth skin and blue eyes didn’t match the men that stood around him waiting on his commands.
“He destroyed me.” A tear fell down her cheek landing on her chest.
Loud footsteps could be heard outside the bedroom door. Balani’s men got in position, naked and all. Again, they all pulled weapons from their butt cheeks. The same man that La’Nova assumed to be Balani’s lover stepped close to him and handed him a gun.
“So, all your men be stashing guns in their asses?” La’Nova asked seriously.
All the men around her snickered with amused looks on their faces.
“La’Nova,” Balani’s voice was void of any emotion.
He was used to people being surprised by him and his sexuality. There was nothing that Balani had to hide about it. Right now, things were about to take a turn, and he had no time to entertain La’Nova’s amusement by his men pulling hidden weapons out of their asses.
Outside, the sound of movement grew louder. Balani could hear the building waking up in the worse way.
“You’re free to go,” He waved at her to get her attention off of his men surrounding her. “My men are about to clean this place out… Everything Lennox built, dies tonight,” he continued, voice steady.
“There’s a passage,” Balani added smoothly, he nodded his head toward the far wall in the room. “Behind that panel it’ll take you out before things get bad.” He gestured.
