“I told him to buzz off and every time threatened to get the campus security on him, but the man laughed. The man was a sick fuck. Every day on the campus I would turn him down. It wasn’t until the second week that he brought another person along. And the more I turned him down, the threats kept coming. I don’t know why they were after me,” he turns his attention to me, “You know what I’ve been through, the shit I grew up with, Teach, you know I kept my nose clean.”
“I know sweetheart, you did all that work.” I soothe his hand. It takes a certain amount of strength to tell a room full of pressing, judgmental eyes to turn their thoughts, their perspective. Smoke fills the room, or rather the stench.
“So what made you finally say yes?” D.R presses from the corner.
Cedric focuses on him, “They said if I don’t, they’d start killing off a student on campus everyday I turned them down, and if I continued then, it would bleed into ‘the little shelter that I go work at’, they’d come to the foundation and turn into a bloodbath. At one point I even tried to fight them off. But obviously,” he pulls down his collar, revealing a large scar, “That was a stupid decision. Couldn’t run to Lottie, they already threatened once, I wasn’t going to find out what happens when they follow suit with their threats. So, I listened and was roped into doing something that I never wanted to be in.”
“Tell us how they ran the drugs?” Rawlings requests.
“I was the recruiter, they wanted young people. After a week of not recruiting someone, they had someone bring a name with someone to fill the role. I was to bring them under their wing, and show them. When the first one was a kid from another city, I was hoping that they’d stick to out of town, but then they brought up Marcus’ name.” He drops his eyes.
“Marcus is the original student that sparked the chaos when he had gone missing. The school suspected drugs within the school.” I relay the story.
“The only reason why they did was because my plan didn’t work to get him out of it. I planted his drugs somewhere else, somewhere that it wouldn’t tie back to him. But obviously, someone beat me to it,” he explains.
“That still doesn’t explain their operation. We need to know their operation to stop them.” Joaquin chimes in.
“How about y’all give him some room to tell the story and you’ll get your answers. I swear y’all have no patience,” Tessa growls.
“Easy, darlin’” Jackson warns her.
“No, Alexander. You think he’s going to keep talking when y’all snap at him,” she snarls again.
“Kid, there’s a bus coming your way, you can either be on it or thrown under it and be roadkill.” Memphis chirps in. Keola has stayed silent, what’s going on in that head of his?
Cedric huffs out a breath. “Their operation is simple. Their shipment comes in. Once they delivered the shipment, myself and the students would pick it up at the front business. They divide up the product and give instructions to distribute. What they didn’t know is that the kids had other orders.” This is what he was trying to say yesterday.I tried. I tried.
“Which was?” I ask.
With a deep breath, his truth comes out, “They would hand it all over to me, allowing me to do their runs. I would rather it be me than them running into the cops. But soon, the Falcons caught wind what I was doing, and soon it showed. They retaliated.”
“Marcus,” it’s all making sense. Cedric points his finger, nodding his head. Then another realization, “He didn’t want to out you.”
Cedric nods.
“The Falcons remained uninvolved, but they pulled the strings.” Cedric confirms. The Falcons wanted the kids to be the runners, leaving them out of the business. If the businesses got busted, it wouldn’t come back to that club, it would fall on the kids, Cedric.
The Grim Wolves just nod their head as if they knew this was going to happen or could happen. I turned to Keola, “You already connected the dots, didn’t you?”
“I had my suspicions that they were using the businesses as a front.”
“And couldn’t have clued me in?” I say, anger and bile rising. He’s still holding out.
“Didn’t have enough to explain what I thought,” he shrugs.
He shrugs.
The bastard shrugs at the unmentioned information. I’ll remember that the next time he wants to bend me over and make me his. I won't storm out of here, I’m going to suggest something to end everything.
“I promise Cedric, we will end this before anyone else gets hurt.” I promise him and I’ll uphold my promise.
Something devious enough that no one will ever see coming. Not even the wolves will suspect it, nor plan it especially when a tall, pain in my ass will disapprove and forbid it. Good thing I don’t fucking care.
I fold my hands on the table, “I propose you send me. Cedric will bring me in and I’ll trade myself for the kids, and then we rip everything from underneath them. Sound like a plan? Okay. Cool.” I lean back.
The fireworks are only just the beginning.
Chapter 39
