Either way, he wasn’t about to let her walk away, especially if that was his baby she was carrying. He was on his way to yell just that when he got an alert on his phone. It was a message from the homie, Nickel, also one of his lieutenants.
Nickel: Fire got hit. He’s gone.
“The fuck?” Sipes muttered, looking up and catching Coast pulling off into traffic.
“What you doing out here?” Kong stepped outside near the pool where Moose sat on the edge of a lounge chair, drink in hand, eyes glossy as fuck as they bounced off the blue water.
The lieutenant meeting ended over an hour ago, and he and Mozzi had arrived back at the estate. He’d planned on goinghome, but when he got the text from Inari, the shit kind of blew him. After a few lines, he grabbed a drink and stepped outside to get some fresh air.
“Nothing. Just had some shit on my mind.” He tipped his glass back and swallowed the respado tequila.
Kong pinched the blunt between his fingers and brought it to his lips. Taking a seat in the empty chair beside him, he peeped Moose’s rigid demeanor and how he rocked anxiously back and forth in his chair.
“What’s up with you and Ayla?” His brother turned and questioned.
“Pssh. Nothing.” Kong sparked his blunt and took a tug. “It can’t be anything because of all the other shit I got going on. She doesn’t deserve to be part of that. What about you and Inari?”
“She just blew me off through text,” Moose declared with a scoff before shaking his head. “Trying to figure out what the fuck happened or what I did?”
“Maybe you didn’t do anything. She might just be going through some shit.” Kong shrugged.
“Shit was good earlier, though. We was in a good place and made plans to hook up tonight. Then she basically text me on some ghost shit. Blocked me and everything.” Moose voiced.
Kong took a few more puffs before extending his arm with the blunt. Once Moose gripped it, Kong leaned all the way back and stared up at the sky with his arms draped over his abs, watching a plane fly overhead, blending in with the stars shining on them.
“I think with all the shit we got going on, it’s best to keep our distance. We have a business to protect, and right now that is priority. Ayla and Inari are liabilities to us. That’s why I decided to marry Nayelli,” Kong revealed.
Moose nearly killed himself choking on weed smoke. He slammed his fist into his chest a few times before he gave up and passed the za back to his brother.
“The fuck you mean marry her?” he croaked, finally able to speak.
“I’ve thought about it. I have to keep Nay close. This shit that happened to her was because of me.”
“Ain’t like you set that shit in motion with intentions of hurting her, bruh. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been anybody.”
“But it wasn’t,” Kong rebutted. “And all I keep thinking about is what if it was Ayla? What if she had my kids with her?”
“So, it’s okay to put Nayelli in the path of destruction, but not her?”
“Nayelli is safe. For me. Shit might not sound ideal?—”
“Nah, what it sounds is fucked up,” Moose divulged.
“If something happened to her, yeah, it would be fucked up, but it wouldn’t devastate me. It’s different with Ayla. She reminds me of Jane, and Twyla sometimes too.”
“I can see that,” Moose muttered.
“Like I said. Safe.” Kong continued to smoke.
“How you think that shit went with our crew?” Moose wanted to change the subject from matters of the heart.
He’d never been good with that shit, and dwelling on it too long put him in a position where he was ready to do something to somebody, and that wasn’t going to help things. He’d never been in the business of chasing a bitch. Maybe shit was happening with Inari like it was supposed to. Ever since the heist at her job, he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering when it would fracture things between them.
“Hard to say. I think everyone is on edge waiting on some shit to happen. So, we stay on point. Between the shit at the tower, Nickel, Mozzi provoking Sipes over Coast, and what justhappened to Fire… I think it’s safe to assume some shit will hit the fan. We just don’t know when.”
Audiemar lingered near the French doors of his home, sipping Bourbon and listening to his sons share their woes before interrupting.
“Although unfortunate that you have to cut Inari and Ayla out of your lives, it’s for the best. I’m glad you’re both able to see that, even if you don’t like it.” Audiemar stood near the pool, burgundy silk robe tied around his black, two-piece pajama set. “Not just for the two of you, but for them as well.”
