Chapter 21

21

K arrington

A low whistle escaped me as I looked at the damage Dallas and Malaysia had done on Zara and Mia. Apparently, Faith felt some type of way about it and was holding Eyela responsible. Eyela had nothing to do with the ass whupping they got, but that didn’t seem to matter to Faith. More than anything, I believed it was a wakeup call to her. A wakeup call to the fact that, now that Eyela was my wife, she wouldn’t be disrespected in any way. They were lucky I let my sisters handle it instead of any of the women in the organization. Had I sent them, Mia and Zara would be dead.

Tina said she understood but I wasn’t sure. She was still going to be cool with them, and in my opinion, Eyela didn’t need to be associated with anyone who felt like the way they’d been treating her lately was okay. I was going to let her choose for herself though. My hope was that after spending time with real women she’d build a sisterhood with them and cut Tina and Faith off too.

One Month Later

What started as a beautiful wedding for Bully and Innvy ended abruptly. We weren’t sure what transpired between Bully and PJ, but after PJ left, Bully went to talk to Innvy before he left too. The wedding had been called off, and all the women were consoling a very pregnant and distraught Innvy while me and the crew looked for Bully. Usually we shared our location with each other, but he’d cut his off. I was trying not to get too worried because he could handle himself, but I wouldn’t be at peace until we found him.

“This just doesn’t make any sense,” Beethoven said. “PJ works for Rocco and Bully said he was done with the lifestyle.”

“I know,” I replied. “That’s why I asked him to join me. If I knew he still worked under Rocco, I wouldn’t have disrespected in that way.”

“I don’t think he does,” Asylum reasoned. “If he did, he wouldn’t have said yes to you. He’s never wanted us to know about his dealings with Rocco, but when he said he was done with him, I believed him.”

“Is there a possibility Rocco found out he would soon be under you?” Merc asked. “Is that breaking some kind of code?”

My mouth twisted to the side as my head shook. “If he was still connected to Rocco, yes, it would be considered betrayal. Since he isn’t related to Rocco, if he left, he’s free to join a different organization.”

“That’s only if he was just a soldier,” Beethoven added, and I nodded my agreement.

“That’s correct,” I said. “If he had a higher rank and was inducted in, it would be for life, which would explain why they came after him.”

“But that can’t be it.” Asylum stood and began to pace. “I know my brother. He wouldn’t put himself in jeopardy like that or you. Hell, or his wife. That would have made everyone attached to him a target. It has to be something else.”

Silently, we all ruminated on what it could be. Finally, after what felt like forever, a key jingled in Bully’s door. We all shot to our feet.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, charging over to him.

“I can’t talk about it.” He brushed past us all, and we followed him to his bedroom.

“Fuck you mean you can’t talk about it?” Beethoven repeated.

“Exactly what I said. I can’t talk about it.”

“Aight, everybody calm down,” Asylum said. “Are you in danger?”

Bully’s head shook as he grabbed his duffel bag. “No, not really. It’s a long story and I don’t really have time to discuss it. I owe Rocco a favor and he’s calling it in. If I don’t do it, then he will come after me and my family, and y’all know I’m not going to let that happen.”

“What about the wedding?” Merc asked.

Bully’s shoulders slouched. His head shook as he grabbed clothes out of his drawers. “She called it off.”

“Until when?” I asked, because I knew how things could play out when your woman found out about a lifestyle you tried to hide from her. Me and Luna Ray were proof of that.

He shrugged. “Until she can get over what I told her earlier. That might not ever happen, and I can’t think about it right now. I have to make sure she and my baby will be safe. After I do this favor, I can try and salvage our relationship.”

We all remained silent as he packed. I don’t think any of us knew what to say. As he headed out, I asked, “What can I do? Maybe I can go to Rocco on your behalf for a sit down.”

“Stay out of it, brother. I got myself into this, and I’m going to get myself out.” His hand covered the doorknob, and he looked back at us. “Y’all look after my girl. I’m going to try and be back before she goes into labor but if I’m not…”

“We got you,” Asylum assured him quickly.

We all gave him brotherly hugs before he left. Moments of silence passed before Merc asked, “What the fuck just happened?”

One Week Later

Days before the Ceremony…

We’d finally heard the baby’s heartbeat today. She was twelve weeks pregnant, and I was excited about the journey ahead. Eyela wasn’t really showing. More than anything, her stomach was harder. That didn’t stop me from keeping my hands on her belly. I couldn’t believe we actually had a baby in there. As happy as I was about our future, I was concerned about my brother.

Innvy would be going into labor soon. We were going to be there for her, but she wanted her man, and I understood that. Regardless of if she called the wedding off or not, Innvy wanted Bully, and I felt like a failure because I couldn’t bring him back to her. Regardless of how many times Eyela and Ma told me that wasn’t my responsibility, it didn’t matter.

The ceremony was in just a few days, and Bully wasn’t here. I had no intentions of replacing him. If that meant I wouldn’t have an underboss temporarily, so be it. A part of me considered bringing Beethoven in as a temporary replacement, but that felt like I was giving up on Bully, and I couldn’t do that. Even without the details, I trusted he knew what he was doing and that he’d come back home soon.

We still had no leads on who ordered the hit on Pops, but I was at peace. We had so many enemies it could have been anyone. On a brighter side, when Cocaine’s father found out who was responsible for his son’s death and why, he made the right call to not retaliate. The last thing he wanted was a war with my family and Eyela’s. Caesar was old school and would do whatever it took to protect his daughter, especially now that she was pregnant.

Cocaine’s brother apparently didn’t get the message and tried to handle things himself. He wasn’t able to even pull his piece and aim it at me before Blaze had taken him out, proving that I’d made the right call choosing him as my new enforcer.

When my team was in place, things would be crazy for a little while because of the adjustments but then they’d mellow out. When they did, I wouldn’t have to be active at all. It would then be my duty to make decisions, find new business endeavors, and ensure all teams ran smoothly. The timing would be perfect since Eyela was pregnant. By the time she gave birth, things should be running a bit more smoothly.

“Aye, Boss!” Adam called. “Your people are coming through.”

Since I wasn’t expecting anyone, I sat up. When Uncle Pete and Bosco rounded the corner, I immediately pulled Eyela behind me. It was sad that I didn’t trust my own family, but with how things ended the last time we saw each other, I didn’t trust the random pop up visit.

“Wassup, cuz?” Bosco spoke with a grin.

“Why are you hiding your wife? I haven’t seen her pretty little self since the wedding.”

“Because I don’t trust you. What are y’all doing here?”

Uncle Pete’s face covered with what looked like genuine concern. “Wow, I’m insulted, nephew. We stopped by because we heard the ceremony is this week. With how things ended the last time we saw each other, we wanted to see if we could work something out.”

“I’m not discussing this in my home or around my wife, but we can meet somewhere else and talk. However, if you’re expecting my answer to change about replacing you, we don’t have to waste our time.”

Pete’s head tilted. “I will accept you replacing me. All I ask is that you let it be my son. I heard Bully is MIA. You need a new underboss anyway. Be fair. Give that title to who it belongs to.” He slapped his son’s back and gripped his shoulder. “Your cousin. He needs to be underboss.”

Releasing a long sigh, I gripped Eyela’s thigh as she scooted forward and pressed her body into me. Her hands dug into the sides of my shirt.

“We can talk about this outside of my home.”

“So that’s a no?” Bosco confirmed.

“Yeah, it’s a no,” I said as I stood, prepared to escort them out. As I turned to tell Eyela to stay here, Uncle Pete said…

“Damn. I got rid of my brother, now I have to get rid of my nephew too.”

My head jerked in his direction, in complete disbelief of what he’d said. Before I could even process it, he pulled his gun and shot. I didn’t give a damn about myself, so I jumped on top of Eyela to shield her. As soon as the bullets pierced my back and side I groaned. Her screams pierced my ears as she tried to shift herself to cover me.

“Stay down,” I gritted, hearing the heavy footsteps of my men entering the room.

As gun fire rang out, I felt my body weaken and grow heavier at the same time. The hot holes leaked like crazy, and as my vision blurred, my eyes stayed on Eyela who was now covered in my blood. I tried to do as she said and stay alert, to keep looking at her, but that was getting harder and harder.

Loki and two guards laid me on the ground. My ears sounded like they were filled with water as I tried to make out what Loki was saying. I looked down at saw Pete and Bosco’s lifeless bodies. For some reason, that didn’t give me peace. I wanted him to suffer and tell me why he killed my father, his own brother, before he died. It didn’t look like that would happen, and as I lost consciousness, all I could do was hope I wasn’t joining them in hell… no matter how much I wanted to ask him.

The Next Day

The sound of beeping filled my ears. My eyes fluttered open and landed on a white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant instantly invaded my nostrils. A chill shot through me because it was so cold, and that feeling was immediately replaced with pain. Shifting slightly, I groaned.

Ma immediately hopped out of her seat and rushed over to my bedside.

“Where am I?” I asked groggily. “They didn’t take me to a hospital, did they?”

Her head shook as tears immediately fell. “No. They brought you to Kyrese’s clinic.”

That gave me some relief since Kyrese was a doctor who worked for us.

“What happened?”

Everyone made their way around my bed. In the sea of my brothers, a face was missing—my wife’s.

“Pete killed your father,” Loki said.

“I know that, but why?”

“Apparently Gio told him about his retiring and the changes you wanted to make,” he added. “He didn’t agree with them. Clearly.”

“Claire said he wanted your father’s place and for Bosco to have his,” Ma said. “When your father told Pete you would be his replacement, he devised the plan to kill your father. He thought if he did it before he retired, he would automatically become boss, but since so many people already knew he wanted you as his replacement, it didn’t work that way. Pete didn’t know Gio had already gone to the council.”

“So let me get this straight.” I tried to sit up, but pain shot straight through me. “He killed his brother to take his place, and then planned to kill me too when that didn’t work?”

“Unfortunately,” Ma said.

“And they’re both dead?” I confirmed. “I think I saw that but—”

“Yeah,” Loki confirmed. “We handled it. And I’m sorry we weren’t there sooner. We didn’t think your own blood would be a threat.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I didn’t either. Something felt off, which was why I wanted to get them out the house. Where’s my wife?”

Loki and Ma looked at each other. When they remained silent, Beethoven spoke up.

“She’s stable but she’s here in her own room. After everything went down, she passed out.”

My heart monitor beat rapidly as I fought through the pain and sat up. “Why didn’t y’all say that sooner?” I ripped the stickers from my chest and IVs out of my arms before getting out of bed. Ignoring them all reaching for me and telling me to lay back down, I started my search for my wife.