Rahsaan.
He stepped out of the shadows to Victor’s left, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Winston stopped walking.
“You brought him?” Winston’s voice was deadly quiet.
Victor shrugged. “Business makes strange bedfellows.”
“You teamed up with my opps,” Winston said, his voice rising. “You stole from me. And now you’re standing here with the man who’s been trying to kill my family for years?”
“Trying?” Rahsaan’s smile widened. “I’d say I’ve been pretty successful.”
My hand moved toward my gun, but Winston shot me a look that said, not yet.
“Where’s our money, Victor?” Winston’s voice was ice.
“Safe.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Victor tilted his head. “You want an answer? Here’s one: I took your money because you’re no longer trustworthy partners. You’ve been sloppy. Reckless. And your sons—” he glanced at me, “—have been making decisions with their dicks instead of their brains.”
“You’re the only untrustworthy muthafucka in this room,” Winston said, stepping closer. “You’re jealous, Victor. Always have been. Your empire—and I use that word loosely—is a fuckin’ joke. The only reason you’ve stayed relevant is that you attached your worthless daughter to my son.”
Victor’s expression didn’t change, but I saw the muscle in his jaw twitch.
“And speaking of Yahmaria,” Winston continued, his voice dripping with venom, “that bitch made the Landry name look bad with all her hoeing and carrying on. Lil’ pussy ain’t worth the body it’s attached to. You should be paying us for the damage she caused. Even you don’t give a fuck that we got her locked away, doing only God knows what to her.”
Rahsaan laughed—low and dark.
“You Landrys always did have a way with words,” Rahsaan said, his eyes locking on mine. “But words don’t mean shit when you can’t back them up.”
“Try me,” I said quietly.
Rahsaan’s smile faded.
And then he said the words that changed everything.
“I killed your brothers.”
The world stopped.
“What?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Elias and Silas.” Rahsaan’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “I put bullets in both their heads. Watched them bleed out on that warehouse floor while they begged for their lives.”
My vision tunneled.
“It’s been hard,” Rahsaan continued, his voice almost conversational. “Keeping that to myself all these years. Wanting nothing more than to rub it in your face. But I’m patient. Had to see the bigger picture. Play the long game.”
He stepped closer, his smile returning.
“Knowing I took the lives of the baby Landrys was enough to tie me over.”
Something inside me snapped.
I didn’t think.