Xerxes
“WHO IS DEAD AND YOU DID NOT EVEN KNOW!” Ibriham screamed at his son as Karman’s brothers looked at him in disgust. My cousins weren’t going to be exempt from this because they were more than complicit in other behaviors. Having them on the throne would be like putting a spoiled child there and telling them to rule. They’d followed their father’s footsteps and hadn’t attempted to be more than their last name.
“Who cares about him? He vas zhere to do his job. Zhis is his failure.” Even on the brink of death, he was a child. Shrugging his shoulders indifferently and having no desire to atone.
“And yours will be zhe impetus of our death. Xerxes, pesar amoo . Zhere has to be somezing zhat we can do to make up for zhis. We did not know about zhe girl. Ve assumed she wanted to be zhere. You have been in zhe palace and see how zhey vie for attention. Even zhe girl who was selected for you has been happy to lose her virtue.” Farhad was speaking on Farah who they’d bought to my wedding but it seemed she’d become a toy for my cousins.
“Happy to lose it or feeling like she had no other choice now zhat I’m married?” They’d attempted to prove a point but solidified the fact that they consumed whoever they were in contact with.
“We gone let him get away with calling you cousin like that?” Midas’ irritated voice caused me to smile cause I knew he wanted a chance to get at the other side of my family especially because of what they’d done to my mama.
“You see I ignored zhat shit, right? Zhat’s my baba’s brozer’s boy. You’re zhe only pesar dayi I have.”
“My only brozers are standing next to me. Zhat’s just my sperm donor’s son.” Baba added fuel to the fire by denouncing all the men in his family who were only getting angrier by the second.
Laughter broke up the seriousness of the moment on at least our side and I could see that my grandfather was realizing there was nothing he could say that would appeal to our love of him because we didn’t have any.
“Zhe vorld vill vant to know vhat has happened to us. Zhey vill vant to investigate—” The king was blustering again, grasping for something that he could hold on to that would save his life.
“Investigate what? An accident? Zhat’s what zhis will look like. A tragic accident, as you all are heading to one of your many trips over zhe sea to engage in debauchery. One is on your schedule if I recall zhe information I gazered about your preference for blonde sex workers.” My hands went behind my back as I studied their faces. It was fascinating to watch the realization that we had been playing the long game for decades come over them.
“You are lying.” My grandfather’s words were little more than a whisper, the fear keeping him subdued.
“Dom, he’s saying zhat your intel is faulty.” I spoke over my shoulder to the genius who’d been lounging in the back.
“Don’t piss me off, Xerx. I’m trying to just be a casual observer and shit but the Blerd can get active at any moment.” His voice was flat and unbothered, but we all knew how this man could cut up.
Adam had been sitting back kicking his feet up cause he was gone always have Midas’ back. But insulting his ability to gather information was the quickest way for him to want to come from behind the screen and fuck somebody up. Unlike the man that supposedly ran Oz, Dom’s ass was a legit wizard with this shit.
“I trust my sources more zhan I trust you. Especially since Kamran was still stupid enough to send all zhe information to a man he hadn’t heard from in monzs.”
“Two quick text messages was all it took for y’all dumb asses to allow me access into all your phones. But you wanna play dumb like Xerx ain’t thorough wit’ his shit.” Adam scoffed before sitting his Aldis Hodge looking ass back down on the table he’d previously occupied.
“Well, now zhat we’ve spent all zhis time at least explaining why you’re going to die, we should get on with it. I’m still sick and I am ready to lay under my wife.” I clapped my hands and then rubbed them together to get my blood flowing.
“What yoo got in mind for the good people, Xerxes? Yoo ken my people love to tell stories. What will we learn today?” Liam rubbed his hands as he stood with Bhaltair next to him watching the festivities.
“Does anyone know zhe story of Xerxes? One zing he’s known for?”
“Being a king.” Yacouba’s ass was gone spot me exactly what I needed as I began to pull out the equipment that Sampson had trained me on only hours before. I hit the button, allowing the conveyor belt that was in the ceiling to crank up before I spoke again. The Mahdavis were all watching it with morbid curiosity ignoring what I had to say.
“Not just a king. He was known for invading Greece and losing, despite winning large portions. Only, unlike my namesake, I wouldn’t leave a man behind to fight my battles for me and my brothers in arms would never have me assassinated. But you bastards have tried many times.” The hook came to a stop in front of us and they kept their eyes on it in fear.
“We could’ve told them the attempts would be time and energy wasted. The anointed may stumble but they never fall. Witnessing the arrogance I’ve seen today, they would’ve kept on despite the warning.” Jahmir dropped his word while looking like he wanted to unleash the deepest part of Priest out to play. He was never escaping the nickname Venom because even now I could see the darkness start to creep up. The madness that could overtake him at any moment and then recede back leaving the man of God.
“As my brozer says, it is not my fault zhat I have favor. I have a praying mozer who does whatever she can to keep me protected so zhat no weapons formed against me shall prosper. Zhat and I was fine to play zhis game with you all until you came after my wife.” The machine lowered slightly and I turned to my family to see which one was going to speak up.
“Zhose bullets were meant for you. She would’ve been a fun consolation prize to take back home. Vhether you survived, knowing she was getting passed around zhe palace before being lost at one of our gazering as a favor would’ve killed you.” Ibriham spoke up, meaning he was going to be the first to feel me.
“Xerxes—” Ahmad’s voice was filled with warning because he was going to lose it.
I turned to him because I needed him to see how filled with disgust I was at their words. “Trust me, baradar (brother), I will ensure you are more zhan satisfied with zhe outcome of today.” My eyes went back to the offender that was going to meet his fate. “No, touching my wife would’ve killed you. Much faster zhan your current predicament.”
“You vould’ve gone against our entire army? For one voman.” Ibriham was laughing as though he and his guards hadn’t been taken down by a few men with guns and careful misdirection of his aircraft.
“I would’ve gazered every available man and woman I had access to in my country and yours to ensure she was safe and unharmed. Faced down a worzless king and his army zhat is nozing without zhe weapons I supplied zhem. Do you zhink I would’ve given you somezing I could not control? I have been spoon feeding you your death since I took over your finances from my mother a decade ago. Each handout came with a leash. Zhe invisible control that further proved your lives were in my hands. A king getting fed an allowance. Having his army supplied guns he didn’t oversee zhe manufacturing of. See, amoo , you were too happy to leave zhe actual work to zhose you felt were beneaz you. And now we know your government better zhan you. Our generals know Afshin as zheir leader because he is there to give more zhan useless commands. Zhey see me as zhe one who has trained zhem on zhe weaponry zhey use to ensure zhat zheir homes are not invaded and zhere are no random bombs being dropped on zheir family. My fazer has scholarship funds set up at every university in Iran in his name. Over two zhousand schools zhat have students zhat can speak to the caring nature of Bijan Mahdavi, shazadeh-ye gomshode. Zhe lost prince zhey hold in higher esteem than their king. ”
“Are you saying your weapons are faulty?” Babak looked like he was trying to find a way he could take a shot at me, but he should’ve known I didn’t give a fuck about his opinion.
“I’m saying my weapons have a built in command zhat if executed zhey won’t work. I could cripple you and your entire army wiz zhe push of a button. Not only do we have zheir loyalty, but the guns have a failsafe. Zhat means you couldn’t use zhem to come after us. Zhank you again for zhat, Dom.”
“Ain’t shit.”
“But zhe people we worked wiz didn’t use your weapons. Zhey had zheir own.”
My smile was arrogant, sinister and filled with the malice I wanted to inflict on them as Ibriham confirmed what he’d done. “Which is why zhey are all dead and we aren’t. Only zhe best are armed wiz what I provide and I don’t work with organizations zhat deal in anyzing zhat is untoward. You were smart to hire outsiders because any weapon of mine have tracking on zhem that is undetected.”
“How is zhat possible?”
“Vhy do you care? You’re going to die.” Baba’s patience was done as he snapped at his father and I could see the over fifty year wait for his revenge had him ready to act.
I pressed the button to start the motor back up before I turned to my uncle. “Ibriham, I’m sure it was you who encouraged the shah to remove my father from the line of succession. Just like I’m sure he knows that those brothers between you and my father were met with accidents caused by you.”
“Vhat does he mean?” Mohammed turned to look at his heir like he was truly surprised at this news.
“You raised zhis man to be selfish and you wonder why he hasn’t turned out better. You had son after son met fatal ends so young. Zhat never bozered you? You never questioned why you were so unlucky wiz your sons for so long? Blame your heir for zhe blood of the Mahdavis zhat has been lost.”
“Ibriham, tell me zhat isn’t true.” The look of betrayal on my grandfather’s face at hearing my father’s information would’ve been sad if he wasn’t such a terrible human being. My grandfather was pulling at the ties on his hands as though he wanted to get at his son.
I wasn’t going to waste anymore time because this had lingered too long already. “Tell me, amu . The story of Xerxes, what is the one thing he is famous for?”
Ibriham smirked before he gave me his answer. “Being a loser.”
I wagged my finger at him and chuckled at his weak joke. “Zhat’s funny. If I weren’t going to kill you zhat would’ve been enough of an insult. But no, zhe great X?ayār?ā had something even better. When a man begged for his eldest son, his favorite, to be excused, what did Xerxes do, baba?”
“He cut him in half, placed him on each side of the road and marched his army through the halves.” I looked back at Ahmad who’d answered before my father completely impressed and he just smirked. “My nigga, your name is Xerxes, you think I wasn’t about to look that shit up?”
“Oh, these muthafuckas gone be fun to hang with.” Nate was rubbing his hands together and I saw the looks on my cousin, my friends’ and family’s faces at my words.
“Since you have always zhought to lift one child on zhe backs of zhe others. It seems only fitting he should be waiting for you on zhe ozer side first.”
Ibriham stepped back as I walked to stand in front of him and hooked the chain to him. “Xerxes, you cannot mean—”
“Cannot mean what? Are you not zhe man who grinned at zhe zhought of my agony had your men taken zhe woman I love? Found joy in zhe zhought of terrorizing her. Raping her and passing her around for your pleasure and calling her a consolation prize! Zhose were your words weren’t zhey?” I spat my words angrily at him, my composure no longer necessary.
“Nephew—”
I hooked off on him then unable to keep my anger at bay at the way he’d spoken about and fantasized about hurting my Vanya. His head snapped back from the blow and I grabbed him up to ensure that he heard every word I said.
My teeth were clenched and I stared at the fear in his eyes, allowing it to feed me and the madness I was getting ready to unleash. “Fuck you, you son of a bitch! Your mozer should’ve choked on you before swallowing you into her stomach and saved me zhe trouble. Sampson, handle zhat bitch zhe way you see fit. Let zhe favorite son watch his favorite son die before he meets zhe same fate.”
“Bet.”
I doubled checked the hook of the machine to ensure he couldn’t unlatch it. There was a locking mechanism installed on the front so that the rope wouldn’t slip off.
“What are you doing?” My uncle’s panicked eyes watched me as I checked his restraints.
The sound of boots on the ground caused me to grin as the opening shots of the war were fired. “Me? I’m giving you zhe view you deserve before you die.”
I turned and pressed the button on the controller I had in my hand so I could watch the work that the Chisholm-Loves were putting in. Inch by inch, my uncle’s arms begin to raise in the air. He tried to fight, but I didn’t stop the machine until he was several inches off the ground.
Sampson led the attack grabbing Kamran by his throat and squeezing his neck. Kamran tried to push him off of him with his cuffed hands, but it didn’t do any good. Sampson was a man who spent his time wrangling multi-hundred pound animals. If he wasn’t roping steer or riding horses, he helped his cousin who ran this part of the business in moving cattle in and out for processing. My cousin, whose only exercise was using his voice to order people around and his thumbs to scroll social media, wasn’t going to fend off a man with that kind of grip strength. Sampson was smiling as he choked the life out of Kamran and my uncle was kicking and screaming about his son. My brothers had eyes on my cousins watching them to ensure they didn’t make a wrong move. My father’s eyes were glued to the king’s relishing in his pain.
“You thought that a man like me was going to let somebody come on his land and try to take his woman?”
Sampson released Kamran who doubled over trying to catch his breath only to be kicked in the face by Nate’s boot.
“Stand up, bitch! Die like a fuckin’ man. Talkin’ all dat shit.” Nate’s Texas accent was thick despite how deep his voice was and I wanted to laugh at the way they were taunting Kamran.
“Nate, you know bitches like him do what they do cause they ain’t got shit else goin’ for ‘em. Stealin’ women cause they couldn’t pull one without it. Especially not my Black.” Sampson grabbed Kamran by the back of his neck like a lion would his cub and shook him to rouse him.
“Do somezing! Surely you cannot stand by and watch zhem brutalize him like zhis, Xerxes! Ve are your blood!” Ibriham was shaking trying to get himself off of the hook but all he would do was dislocate his shoulders.
Mir didn’t bother to look up at my uncle and was instead still engaged in watching the Chisholm-Loves beat Kamran’s ass. “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. The bonds that are formed when you make a pledge to God are far stronger because it is done of your own free will. You tried to disrupt that. For multiple generations. Take your penance in peace.”
“Zhank you, Mir. Always good to have a word.”
I turned back to my uncle as I heard an almost wet whack echo in the room. I turned to the only action and saw how bloody Kamran’s face was now that the brothers were taking turns using him as a punching bag. I’d seen the damage that Sampson could do and although he was less broad than his brother, Nate was no slouch. Blood poured from Kamran’s mouth as Nate uppercut him and several teeth dislodged.
“Please! Zhat is my son! Baba, stop zhis. Babak, fight for your brozer!” Ibriham was firing out orders like they could actually get their brother out of his well-deserved comeuppance.
“He is zhe reason we are here! Lined up to die like cattle!” Babak stood up for his father far too late but at least I gained a tinch of respect for him. Wouldn’t keep him alive though.
My uncle struggled again, but abruptly cried out as Kamran dropped to the floor unmoving. Sampson and Nate both stood over him waiting for him to move.
Nate playfully hit Sampson on his chest with the back of his hand. “We should’ve let sis come so she could send him to hell without his dick like the last one.”
“Damn, she doing it like that?” Yacouba was nodding his head in approval and I knew he was thinking about Jasmine making a new friend in Yzabel.
“Yeah, she don’t play.” Sampson’s chest was puffed out so proudly I felt like he just might hop in his truck and go get his wife so she could come put a bullet in Kamran’s head.
Liam was grinning as he playfully hit Bhaltair on the shoulder. “She’d fit right in.” Bhal grinned and nodded eagerly because his wife was just as wild.
“Nah. We going back to being regular people after this shit. I just wasn’t going to leave this business unfinished.” Sampson turned and looked down at Kamran before he raised his massive foot and brought it down on his head. That was a talent that few possessed. You could break your leg or a bone in your foot if you didn’t stomp on someone’s head in just the right spot. But judging by the way the bones in his face collapsed and the smile on Sampson’s face widened, he was fine.
“You good?” I moved closer to where they were and put my hand on his shoulder. His body was far more relaxed than I expected it to be after killing a man.
“I am. Thank you for being a man of your word.” He stuck his hand out and I shook it happily.
“Anyzing less and I couldn’t call myself a man.”
“Xerxes, this is nae fair. I didnae get to use my sgian dubh yet. Yoo are lettin’ yoor new friends ‘ave all the fun. We’ve ‘ated ‘ese fookers fo’ years wit’ yoo.”
I cut my eyes at Liam’s spoiled ass and he was grinning along with his brown skinned, green-eyed cousin. I had expected for Ori and Yacouba to act up, but leave it to the Scots to want to cause mayhem.
“I don’t remember being able to jump in when you were swinging your broadsword.”
“‘at was different. Remember when ‘ose two fools ‘arassed our women? I distinctly remember yoo bein’ able to swing ‘at bejeweled scimitar around.”
He had a point because he gave me the opportunity to avenge Vanya against the man who dared touch her. It had been a fun time so I couldn’t deny my friend the chance to do the same.
“Fair enough. Pick one and do your wors—” I barely heard the knife blade cutting through the air before it was lodged in Babak’s neck. Babak’s hands went to pull out the knife, but only made the wound worse by removing it. The arc of blood that pulsed out of his neck hit his brother and the back of our grandfather’s head as he fell to his knees.
“Is ‘at good?” Liam was grinning as he walked to retrieve his knife unbothered by the amount of blood he had to walk through.
Midas hit me playfully in the chest before pointing to Babak’s twitching body on the floor. “Come on, Xerx. Not you out here playin’ favorites.”
“He asked first, Mi, did you want me to give you a relative to kill? Why don’t you and Dom take turns putting bullets in him for all I care? You just helped me blow up a church, how are you not satisfied?”
“Been domesticated for too long I guess.” Midas sighed as he pulled out his gun and checked the clip. Before he could take aim at someone, Ibriham started shaking and screaming near us.
“Fight me like a man, Xerxes! Veak over a voman just like your father!”
“You being real mouthy for a muthafucka that’s about to die.” Yacouba was chuckling but he took a step back with everyone else because he knew what was about to happen.
“ Amu , I am no less a man because I do not use my fists to brutalize you. Zhat is only one method of domination zhat I could employ. You are not worz working up zhe sweat to dispose of.” I hit another button and the mechanical whirling could be heard echoing in the room. Ibriham looked around trying to figure out where the sound was coming from when his eyes saw it.
“What is that?”
“Remember when you said Xerxes was none for being a loser? A man who traversed into battle and lost?” I set it in motion and the fear increased.
“ X?ayār?ā —”
I grinned joyfully and shook my head because no amount of cajoling was going to save him. “No, amu , it is time for you to face your punishment. You spoke so boldly, face your fate with the same vigor.” I started the conveyor that moved him along the production line toward the sound.
“Xerxes, please!”
I walked beside him, ensuring he had no way to escape his fate. His screams only increased as we grew closer to his death. “Now, now, Ibriham. We would not want to be unmanly about zhis.”
“I’ll give you vhatever you vant. I am sorry for vhat I did. Please, zhis is—”
“Zhe same equipment used to slaughter pigs, which is what you are. A disgusting, glutinous creature who doesn’t care what is consumed wiz his greed. You don’t care how destructive your actions or appetites are as long as you are satisfied. Now you can meet zhe same fate as a boar who is no longer useful. Of course, if we let zhe new Mrs. Chisholm-Love get in on the fun, we can send you to hell as a barrow.”
Sampson and Nate were laughing as my uncle’s body moved closer to the standing blade and he struggled to free himself from the hook. His pleads fell on death ears and I watched with silent joy as he drew closer to the blade. When he got to the spot I needed him to be, I took his bound feet and hooked them to the floor with a chain. I drew it taunt through the metal hooks cemented on the floor, forcing his knees to buckle so he was now kneeling before me. I attached the length of chain and rope against the opposite wall so he was forced to stay in this kneeling position with his arms still raised over his head.
“ Bien . Now, you’ll have to forgive me amu , I am not as well versed in carving as he rancher here. But he told me zhe basics of what I needed to know.”
“If you can use a knife you can use this.” Sampson had walked closer and was checking the equipment as though he was ensuring it was fully operational.
“See! He even understands how my brain works. Now, I’m told you should be honored because zhis knife is over fifty years old. It is a Jarvis somezing or other but it has been used to cut zheir top of zhe line heritage hogs for decades.”
“We let them get processed one last time but your death will signal its retirement.” Nate was grinning as he said that shit like Ibriham was really winning a reward and I was cracking up.
“Hold still uncle, you’re about to lose your head, but we don’t want to make it too painful.”
I took a hold of the instrument from Sampson that was attached to the ceiling and stood over my uncle. He was facing my father and the rest of our family stood solemnly to witness his fate.
“I’ve chained you because although I’m to get dirty, I don’t want you flailing around and getting your brains and shit on me.”
“Bijan! I’m your brother! Look at vhat good came from me sleeping viz Leila! You met your wife! I did you a favor!” Tears poured from his eyes as he begged my father for mercy he wouldn’t receive.
“You vere a greedy bastard who was lucky zhat Allah had his hand upon my life. You lucked up zhat your betrayal put me on a paz to my forever. But I vould’ve always met Babette, even vizout vhat you did. I owe you no zhanks and vill not ask my son to show you any mercy. At any point in all zhese years you could’ve advocated for change. Attempted to be different. You did not. You vent along wiz zhe status quo and so zhe punishment for zhat is severe.” My father stood with his arms behind his back and his four brothers at his side, Afshin, Michael, Deuce and Xavier, watching with a stoic look on his face as I stood ready to avenge him.
“Afshin—”
My uncle frowned as he shook his head in disgust. “Surely not me. You are not speaking to zhe brozer zhat was born of a pet ? As it vere, Xerxes and I had to flip a coin to see who vould get zhis honor. I vill have to settle for being zhe one chosen to vear zhe crown zhat you so coveted.”
“Bijan, please!”
“Enough talkin’. Your beggin’ disgusts me. Unlike you, I have a woman zhat is excited for me to come home to her. To jahannam khosh begzare (Have fun in hell) ! ”
Over the sound of the blade and my uncle’s screams, I heard Afshin begin to pray in Arabic while Mir did the same in English. I kept the blade, which was more of a modified chainsaw, at a higher angle to ensure we would get the penetration needed to break through his skull. The blade sent his hair flying and I hoped it wouldn’t get lodged in his skull, ruining the effect I was going for. I felt when it caught on the bone and the silence that followed my uncle’s abruptly terminated last scream signaled the blade had hit his brain. The sound reminded be of dropping something into a mud puddle. It wasn’t a splash, more like a suctioning wetness as the blade liquified his brain and continued through his body. The sound was repeated as I cut through his bones and organs essentially churning his vital organs to mush. His intestines fell out of his body and onto the floor, narrowly being able to escape their turn on the saw. Despite my preparation, pieces of my uncle along with his blood covered my face and clothing. My uncle’s body was effectively cut in half, only being held together by the chains that forced him into his fate. His clothes were shredded and bloody, his corpse leaking the mix of his destroyed organs onto the ground beneath him.
“This some crazy shit.” Ahmad was standing there in shock, but there was no horror on his face. Or anyone else’s. It was a look of appreciation like they all approved of my actions.
I walked over to the table and grabbed a towel to mop some of the filth off of my face, the stench of his rotten soul that was no longer contained in the meat sack that was his body filling the room.
“Baba, I hope you are slightly lighter now zhat anozer of your enemies has fallen.” He patted the side of my cheek appreciatively.
“Only one left.” He took his eyes off of me and focused them on his father.
“Bijan, please. You could do zhis to your fazer?” My grandfather’s voice was wavering, as though he couldn’t grasp that this type of horror was happening to his family.
“You’ve confessed to mutilating my vife’s body. Tried to have us all killed. And yet now, you vant to plead for mercy?” Baba was speaking through clenched teeth, the effort to keep himself restrained diminishing by the second.
“Zhis is a sin—”
“Zhe even greater one is allowing you to draw breaz for another day. I vould say I vould see you in hell, but I won’t. Babette, angel zhat she is, vould divert my soul to heaven because she refuses to spend eternity vithout me. Xerxes, it is time.”
I held my scimitar , a gift from my father out for him so that he could grasp it. When the jeweled hilt was in his hand, his father began to weep openly.
“A king who never deserved his crown. Zhe legacy zhat you never earned vill be continued on zhrough zhe son who deserves to vear zhe title of king because he is zhe one who deserves zhe zhrone. Consider my not prolonging your deaz a final mercy.” My father gripped the knife and severed the head of his father in one swipe. It fell to the concrete floor with a soft thud, the sound padded by the abundance of my grandfather’s gray hair. His body fell in place the blood having sprayed over the rest of my relatives and guards who looked on in horror. His eyes were open and frozen in surprise. My father bent down and tossed a towel over his head. “ Aknoon hameye ma ta’me solh ra khahim cheshid (Now we shall all taste peace).”
“It is a shame it took his death for zhe idea of peace to become reality for zhe both of us.”
My father turned to Afshin as he handed me the scimitar. “Zhe only ting I ask, vhich I know you vill do, is to be better zhan him. To seek council if you’re unsure and to never let yourself feel as zhough you’re invincible.”
Afshin’s smile was soft but he nodded his head in agreement. “You practically raised me even if it was from afar, Bijan, after my mother died. I vould never dishonor you or her by becoming like zhem.”
“Damn. I’m disappointed.” All eyes turned to Nate who was leaned against the wall with his foot propped behind him.
“For what?” My head cocked curiously because I almost felt insulted that we had not provided him sufficient entertainment in exchange for the use of the facility.
“I thought somebody was gone yell ‘ This is Sparta! ’ Or some shit.”
“Right? Nobody got kicked in a ditch or nothing.” Dom was standing up and nodding like Nate had made a good point.
My brows rose and I wondered if Kamran had gotten in a lick and made him forget what went down the last time I was in Texas. “We did zhat last time, remember? I distinctly remember helping your brother drop a body down a very deep hole.”
Nate hit his brother in the chest with the back of his hand earning a warning look from Sampson. “Shit! We should’ve done that then, Samp. Missing opportunities and shit.”
Sampson’s face remained serious as he huffed a laugh and shook his head. “We’ll remember that for next time, Nate.”
Nate grinned and nodded his head as he stood tall and slid his hands in his pockets. “Glad you know there will be a next time, big bro.”
“I really gotta figure out why you act like this.” Sampson looked at his brother like he was about to announce he had a whole secret life Sampson needed to know about.
“Bruh, we just watched this man cut his uncle in half and that’s what you need to figure out?” Nate was pointing at me and Sampson could only shrug ‘cause his brother had a damn good point.
“Hate to interrupt, but what are we doing with this one?”
I looked at Midas and he was pointing at Ibriham’s final son who was cowering on the floor as though we would forget he was there. The guards that hadn’t been killed in getting the family here weren’t standing up like they were trained to. Any sympathy I would’ve felt disappeared because they’d been sworn to protect the family with their lives and they weren’t.
Weak.
“You said you didn’t want me to play favorites, y’all have fun.”
Midas lips spread into a wide grin as he kissed the custom gun he had me make to match his wife’s. “Say less.”