Chapter 16 Kwame Mensah #2
Kojo was already outside when I walked up, a glass in his hand, standing with that calm confidence that always set him apart from the rest of us.
He was my oldest brother, the one who had always gone first. He was the first into success, first into war and first into decisions that changed all our lives.
Kojo had seen more than he ever spoke on, and that quiet in him wasn’t softness.
It was experience. He had survived things that would have broken lesser men, and every scar he carried was worn with purpose.
When he looked at me, there was history there.
It was blood, loyalty and the kind of understanding you only have with someone who has stood beside you when the world was trying to tear everything you built apart.
Asa stood beside him, laughing loud about something I had missed, his voice carrying across the patio.
Asa had always been like that. He was the kind of man who could make light out of darkness without ever losing his edge.
People thought he was all jokes until they learned the hard way that Asa was just as dangerous as the rest of us.
He had fought beside us, bled beside us, and buried secrets beside us.
That humor of his wasn’t carelessness. It was how he survived.
Asa watched everything around him even while laughing, his eyes always scanning, always ready, because men like us never truly relaxed.
Not after everything we had been through together.
Being here with my brothers, I felt the weight of decades press against my chest. We had come up together. We had defended each other’s families, protected each other’s names, and built something that people outside our circle could never fully understand.
Treasure stepped out behind me and wrapped her arm through mine, her hand squeezing gently like she could already feel the tension rolling off me.
Nyori came out a second later, smiling wide as she walked toward us, her energy warm and welcoming.
She kissed Treasure’s cheek and hugged her like family because that’s exactly what we were.
Abeni emerged last, dressed effortlessly elegant, her posture straight and her expression calm, but I knew her well enough to recognize the fire behind her eyes. Abeni never walked into a room without control. She didn’t need to raise her voice or command attention. It came to her naturally.
“About time,” Asa said, clapping his hands together. “I was about to start drinking without y’all.”
Kojo smirked and lifted his glass. “I already did.”
We laughed as we moved inside. Once we settled around the long dining table, the staff moved like they already knew the rhythm, sliding crystal glasses into place and pouring dark liquor that cost more than most people made in a year.
Bottles were uncorked without labels needing to be shown because we all knew what was being poured, aged cognac, rare whiskey, and wine pulled from cellars most people would never step foot in.
The food followed right behind it, plated clean and intentional.
Grilled lamb cut so tender it fell apart under the fork, lobster tails brushed with butter and herbs that filled the room with a rich, savory smell, and small dishes of seared tuna, truffle rice, and roasted vegetables seasoned just right.
This wasn’t a stiff dinner where everyone sat upright and polite.
It was loud voices, hands moving as we talked, glasses clinking together, and that rare comfort you only feel when you’re sitting with people who knew your past and still chose to sit at the same table with you.
These were the moments we allowed ourselves to breathe, even knowing that danger, war, and unfinished business were always waiting just outside the gate.
Asa leaned back in his chair and took a long sip. “So,” he said, dragging the word out. “I hear Kay’Lo done went and got married.”
Treasure smiled softly. “He did.”
I felt my jaw tighten but I kept my face neutral. I had promised myself I would not turn tonight into a battlefield.
Asa grinned and looked right at me. “You look like you about to say something.”
Kojo chuckled and shook his head. “Leave him alone. You know he don’t play about his son.”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it,” Asa replied, laughing. “Kay’Lo always been hard-headed. Just like you.”
I looked over at Kojo and he met my eyes with a knowing look. “He was worse when he met Treasure,” Kojo said calmly. “Didn’t nobody tell you what to do with her. You remember that.”
Treasure laughed under her breath. “He was impossible.”
I let out a breath and finally allowed a small smile. “I knew what I wanted.”
“And Kay’Lo does too,” Kojo said, lifting his glass slightly toward me. “You raised him to stand on his own. You can’t be mad when he does exactly that.”
Asa nodded slowly, his smile crooked as he lifted his glass. “Facts. The same way Renza move. The boy loud, reckless, and hard-headed as hell. That boy got it honest.”
Nyori sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms with that familiar look that said she’d heard this a hundred times before. “I know y’all are not about to put all that on my son like he didn’t learn half that mess from watchin’ y’all,” she said, shaking her head.
Asa laughed and reached over, tapping the side of her glass with his own. “You helped raised him. Remember that.”
Nyori smirked despite herself. “I raised him to be good. Everything else, he picked up from this family.”
Kojo chuckled under his breath, and even I couldn’t help but agree. Renza didn’t just come from Asa. He came from all of us.
The table erupted in laughter, and for a moment, it felt good. It felt light. It felt like we were just parents again, not leaders, not strategists, not men who had buried bodies and signed deals that changed the world.
But Abeni had been quiet, and when she finally spoke, the shift was immediate.
“I’ve been receiving emails,” she said calmly, setting her glass down.
The laughter faded.
Kojo took a slow sip of his drink, his expression unchanged because none of this was new information to him. “Been getting messages since that boy went down. I told you when it happened that somebody was going to try you. I just felt it.”
Asa leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table. “And I said the same thing. People get loud when they feel like they lost control.”
Abeni’s mouth curved into a faint smile. “They can get as loud as they want. It doesn’t change anything.”
Kojo set his glass down with calm certainty. “Anybody who think sending emails gon’ scare this family don’t know who the fuck they dealing with. They can watch, threaten, and hide behind screens all they want. When it’s time, we’ll handle it.”
“Threatening ones,” she replied. “Anonymous, and detailed enough to let me know whoever is sending them is aware of things they should not be aware of.”
Asa leaned forward slightly. “You think it’s about that last hit?”
Abeni nodded once. “I do.”
Kojo’s jaw tightened, and the room felt smaller. “Whoever it is,” he said, “they picked the wrong family.”
“That’s what I told her,” Asa said. “We’ve been through worse.”
Abeni finally took a sip of her drink, her eyes steady as ever. “I am not worried,” she said. “I am prepared.”
I studied her then, seeing the layers beneath the composure. Abeni had always been calculated, strategic and unapologetic. But tonight, there was something else there. It was something that seemed unresolved.
“And where is the child?” Nyori asked.
Abeni glanced at Treasure before answering. “He is safe.”
The silence that followed was heavy but not shocked. It made sense in a way that only time and truth could make things make sense.
After a while the tension eased after that, the drinks refilled, and the night slowly shifted back into laughter and stories. Asa told jokes that had us all shaking our heads. Nyori laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes. Treasure relaxed into my side, her warmth grounding me.
Even with a war looming, even with secrets layered on secrets, we knew one thing.
We stood together…
And whoever thought they could threaten us had no idea what kind of family they were dealing with because the Mensahs had always protected their own.
No matter the cost…