“Watch your next words,” Jackson growls out.
“Now, kids. Play nicely. We’re all grown ups, we can play nicely with each other.” Tavers stares directly at Rawlings waiting for his next move.
“The issue at hand is that you haven't honored the territory boundaries.” Rawlings interrupts, knowing we all don’t want to be there any longer than we have to. The compound is on lock down, we’re not stupid or naive. You think we wouldn’t take extra precautions knowing the slime of a club we’re up against.
“We’ve done nothing wrong. We haven’t stepped foot in any territory. Including your little foundation.” He taunts us. He mimics that nothing has been broken or dishonored.
I can feel the tension behind it as Charlotte badly wants to speak, but holds her tongue. She wants to speak her mind and raise a flag of battle. The epitome of strength.
“When you involving children, barely teenagers from our territory, it counts.” Jackson speaks up. Charlotte releases one of my shoulders, her hand now draping over my chest. I place my own hand over hers, showing an ounce of possession.
“I don’t see where it says anything about that,” Benny remarks.
“Then how about snaking through our business dealings with others? You thought we wouldn’t trace back the dealings you had with others?” Rawlings includes.
The other side stills, “Is that why one of them came crawling back to us after you attacked them?”
“It got the message across,” I say, staring down at them. The cowards are playing dumb, thinking we wouldn’t find out.
Tavers snuffs out the cigarette, folds his hands. “Well, it seems we have multiple disagreements,” he says.
“Pull out of the city, stop taking the kids as your runners, and call off the search for Cedric,” I say.
Tavers looks at Benny and Richard, and then shakes his head. “Don’t think we can do that, as we’ve already said, we haven’t set foot in your domain and we haven’t done anything with the kids or the foundation.”
“Fucking liar.” Charlotte spits out.
“She speaks. I was wondering how much longer she was going to last. Have to give it to you Johnson, she must be one hell of a woman to submit to you,” Benny laughs.
The blood boils, ready to stick a knife through his throat and watch the blood spill onto the floor. Her hands flattens on my chest, keeping me in place.
“She does speak,” she hisses out, “And from what’s already been told, your extension to the kids and to the foundation has gone against spoken rules. Like he says, pull out of the domain, leave my kids be, and call the fucking search off on Cedric, clearly he doesn’t want to be found,” she reiterates.
“Women don’t speak on things they don’t need to concern their heads with.” Tavers says with a tinge of anger. “Especially get themselves involved with something that they shouldn’t. Your boss did the same thing and look where she ended up.”
“Standing beside a man with enough power to do anything for her,” Tessa sneers out.
“And yet you and your little purple friend got yourself wrapped up in something that you shouldn’t. Be wise and walk away, only good for one thing,” Tavers says.
“Here’s the thing Tavers, you forgot one thing of the agreement, part of the domain extends to ‘ol ladies. When you make an attempt on an ‘ol lady’s life, which we know you did as someone of ours left a trail.” Rawlings throws a curve. Something we had discussed on the way here.
“We haven’t attempted on anyone’s ‘ol lady,” Tavers calls our bluff.
Charlotte connects the pieces, “Yes, you have,” I turn to see her, lower her sweater revealing my mark.That’s my angel.“I’ve had this mark for well over a week and so. Someone tried to kill me and my nephew three days ago. A bomb to be exact.”
Tavers and his men stay silent.Checkmate.They didn’t know. I promised Charlotte that this offered them protection, how much protection they’ll never fully understand.
Tavers shakes his head in frustration, then straightens up, smiles grimly, “You don’t know it’s us. It could have been someone else. Whether they knew or not that it was your ‘ol lady.”
Rawlings brushes him off, halting his hand in front of Tavers, “Joaquin can show you.” Joaquin stalks around the corner and beside the table. He remains silent. Tapping on his tablet, then placing it on the table, as he presses play, a video of a Falcon scurrying away from the Bronco, after placing something underneath.
It doesn’t take a genius to know what that is. Joaquin has been relentless after him and Coda felt like they were bested by the Falcons, they felt insulted enough to keep working and improving, which they have.
What the Falcons don’t know is that the security system and cameras were Coda and Joaquin’s control, they were just under the impression that a third party handled it all.
“I see,” Tavers says, pushing away the tablet. “What do you want?”
“What no apologies?” Tessa shouts out.
