“Careful?” Winston laughed—short, sharp, dismissive. “You’re the one who needs to be careful. You’re crossing lines you shouldn’t be crossing. Getting involved with a woman who’s being paid to do a job. That’s weakness, son. And weakness gets you killed in our world.”
“She’s not just a woman being paid to do a job.”
The words came out before I could stop them.
Winston’s eyes narrowed. “Then what is she?”
“She’s mine.”
Silence.
Winston stared at me.
I stared back.
“Yours,” he repeated slowly.
“That’s right.”
“You’ve known her for what—two weeks? And you’re already claiming her like she’s?—”
“Like she’s what?” I stepped forward. “Like she’s important? Like she’s going to carry my child and deserves to be protected? Like she’s more than just a fucking transaction?”
Winston’s jaw tightened. “You’re making a mistake.”
“The only mistake I made was letting you and Mama baby Kaisen for years while he fucked up everything he touched.”
“Don’t bring your brother into this.”
“Why not?” My voice was rising now. “If Kaisen hadn’t been such a fuck up, I wouldn’t be in this situation. If he hadn’t been drunk that night—if he’d done his fucking job—I wouldn’t need a surrogate at all.”
“That was an accident?—”
“It wasn’t anaccident.” I was in his face now. “It was negligence. It was Kaisen being high and careless and thinking the rules didn’t apply to him because you and Mama spent his entire life telling him he was special. Telling him he was worth something despite every failure. Making excuses for him. Protecting him.”
Winston’s face was stone. “We did what we had to do to keep this family together.”
“You broke him. And now you want to do the same thing to Truth—intrude, judge, make her feel small for being part of this arrangement. But I won’t let you.”
“You won’tletme?” Winston’s voice dropped to something dangerous. “You forget who you’re talking to, boy.”
“I know exactly who I’m talking to.” I didn’t back down. “I’m talking to a man who thinks control is the same thing as love. Who thinks fear is the same thing as respect. Who thinks he can walk into my house and tell me how to handle my business.”
“Your business?” Winston stepped closer. “Everything you have, I gave you. Every connection. Every territory. Every lesson. You think you built this empire on your own?”
“I think I built itdespiteyou.”
His hand moved.
Fast.
But I was faster.
I caught his wrist before his fist connected with my jaw.
We stood there, locked together, breathing hard.
“Don’t,” I said quietly. “Don’t make me do something we’ll both regret.”
