Chapter 62 Zay
Zay
“They Missed”
Club Leo was loud as fuck. Bass shaking the walls, lights cutting through smoke, bodies moving like nobody had a care in the world.
I leaned back in my VIP section after a meeting with the owner, letting him know who was now collecting money from him. I had a drink in my hand, watching everything without really watching it.
That kind of night.
My security was posted.
My family was close, now that they knew I was in charge.
Everything was vibey.
But nothing was a vibe no more.
Not since I put that gun to my pops' head and made it clear—
I’m him now.
A girl slid into the seat next to me.
Long hair, brown skin, dress tight enough to start a problem. I knew who she was. One of the many women who wanted my dick down their throat but couldn’t even get a hello. She always tried when I was on the scene, though.
She smiled like she knew she had a chance, finally.
“You always this hard to get?” she asked, leaning closer.
I smirked, taking a slow sip of my drink.
“I ain’t hard to get,” I said calmly. “I’m just not for everybody.”
She laughed like she liked that answer.
“I’ve been watching you,” she said. “You come in here, don’t touch nobody, don’t take nobody home… You married or something?”
I glanced at her. “Something like that.”
She tilted her head. “You don’t even have a ring on.”
I chuckled low. “Don’t need one to know I belong to someone.”
She studied me for a second, then leaned in just a little more. “Or maybe you’re just scared of a real woman.”
That made me laugh.
For real this time.
I stood up, setting my drink down.
“Nah,” I said, smooth. “I already got one.”
I tapped the glass table once, signaling my guys.
“Y’all enjoy yourselves.”
I walked off.
$$$$$
Outside, the air was cool, just what I needed after being an introvert in a club full of fake niggas and vulture women.
My security moved around me like clockwork.
Doors opening. Eyes scanning. Hands ready.
My car sat right where it was supposed to be.
Black two-seater Benz.
Clean.
Untouched.
Nothing felt off.
Nothing looked off.
I got in.
Told my security I was good for the night.
Pulled off with my music blasting and the air conditioner.
The road was quiet this time of night.
City lights stretching out in front of me, engine humming low, steady.
I leaned back in the seat, one hand on the wheel, the other resting where it always did, on the gun in my lap.
For once…
It wasn’t chaos in my head.
It was clear.
I exhaled.
“Aight…” I muttered to myself.
“This what it is now.”
I ran my tongue across my teeth, thinking.
Emily.
My mind went straight to her.
Always did.
Her face.
Her voice.
The way she looks at me like I ain’t gotta prove nothing.
I tightened my grip on the wheel just a little.
“I fought for this shit,” I said under my breath.
All that fighting for a name that didn’t even feel like mine half the time.
Now it was mine to give.
I let out a low breath.
“I’ma marry her for real.”
On paper.
Law.
My last name.
Everything.
“I ain’t about to keep playing with her,” I added quietly.
“She earned that.”
A small smirk pulled at my mouth.
“Lil Zay already got it…”
I nodded to myself.
“Time to make it right.”
For a second…
It felt peaceful.
Like the future actually made sense.
Like something was finally in place.
I pulled up to Uncle Wells’ store.
Same corner.
Same lights.
Same smell of grease and late-night food.
I stepped inside, the bell above the door ringing.
“Boy,” Uncle Wells said from behind the counter, “you awake tonight?”
I smirked.
“Barely. Lemme get a chili dog, a cherry sprite, and chips… some blunts too.”
He shook his head. “You rich and still eating like you broke.”
“Don’t start.”
We laughed.
Simple.
Normal.
For a second, it felt like old times.
I stood there eating, talking, letting the liquor settle in my system.
Sobering up just enough.
Just enough to move right.
When I finished, I tossed the trash and nodded at him.
“Aight, Unc. I’m headed home.”
“Be safe, nephew.”
“Always.”
I stepped outside.
Quiet again.
Street lights flickering.
My car sitting where I left it.
Same as before.
I walked up to it, getting myself ready for a late-night ride to the hills.
My hand reached for the door.
Then—
Something in my chest fluttered.
Like a warning.
Like something whispering—
Don’t.
I paused.
Eyes narrowing slightly.
“Nah…” I muttered.
Beep.
My heart dropped.
I TURNED AND RAN.
Fast.
Full sprint.
Adrenaline was kicking in before my brain could catch up.
Boom!
The explosion hit.
Loud.
Violent.
Too close.
The ground shook.
Heat slammed into my back.
The shockwave knocked me forward, sending me crashing onto the pavement.
Everything went white for a second.
Then—
Nothing.
No sound.
Just ringing.
High-pitched.
Endless.
I pushed myself up slowly so I could check on my uncle.
Smoke filled the air.
Fire everywhere.
My car—
Gone.
Blown to pieces.
The whole parking lot looked like a war zone.
People screaming.
Running.
But I couldn’t hear any of it.
Not really.
Just ringing.
I touched my ear.
Nothing.
I tried to breathe.
Chest rising heavy.
Alive.
I was still alive.
Sound started creeping back in.
Faint.
Muffled.
Like I was underwater.
One ear.
Just one.
I saw my uncle run to me, frantic, but alive.
I sucked in a breath, pulling my phone out with shaky hands.
I called my security and told them to get to me fast.
Next, I dialed Ares, and he picked up quickly.
“Bro.” I didn’t waste time. “They tried to blow me up.”
Silence.
Cold silence.
“They blew up my whip in front of Uncle Wells’ store,” I added. “Somebody wants me dead.”
His voice came in low.
Dangerous.
“Well, now we want them dead. You good, though?”
“I can’t hear out one ear,” I said. “But I’m good.”
I looked back at the flames.
At what was supposed to be me.
Gone.
I swallowed. “I’m glad E and my baby are out there.”
“They are fine. Don’t worry about them right now. I’m about to make some calls. You get to somewhere safe. I’ll be out there.”
I hung up and stood there in the smoke while my uncle asked a million questions I had no answers to.
I knew one thing for sure, though—
This was an assassination attempt.
Sirens came before the smoke even settled.
Red and blue lights cut through the haze, reflecting off burnt metal and shattered glass.
I was still standing there when the police pulled up.
“Sir! Sir—are you injured?” A cop was in my face now.
I could see his mouth moving.
But it sounded like he was underwater.
“What?” I said, blinking slowly.
“You need medical attention? We’re gonna need a statement—this is an active investigation—”
Too many words.
Too fast.
I shook my head once, trying to clear it.
“I’m good.”
Even though I wasn’t.
At all.
My shoulder throbbed.
Deep.
Not surface pain.
Something worse.
Like it shifted wrong when I hit the ground.
Firefighters rushed past us, spraying down what was left of my car.
“If you were closer to that vehicle… you’re lucky to be alive,” the cop kept saying.
Lucky.
I almost laughed.
Headlights cut through the chaos.
A black van sliding up smoothly.
It was my security.
Right on time.
One of my guys stepped out fast, walking straight toward me.
“Let’s go, Boss,” he said low.
I moved.
Quick.
Before the police could ask anything else.
The van door slid open.
I stepped inside.
The second the van pulled off…
It hit me.
The pain.
Sharp this time.
I grabbed my shoulder, teeth clenching.
“Shit…”
My guy, Jones, looked back at me.
“You good?”
“No,” I said flatly.
I rolled my shoulder slightly—
Bad idea.
Pain shot down my arm immediately.
“Yeah… that’s broke,” I muttered.
I leaned back against the seat, breathing through it.
Still couldn’t hear out my right ear.
Left one picking up just enough.
“Don’t take me home,” I said after a second. “Take me to the Ritz.” I had a permanent residence there.
“Yes, sir.”
I looked out the window, watching the city blur past.
Mad as fuck…
My mind was moving faster than the car.
“And keep eyes on my house all night, and the hotel,” I added. “Every angle. I want everything watched.”
“Already on it.”
Good.
$$$$$
We pulled up to the Ritz twenty minutes later.
They got me inside fast.
Private elevator.
Top floor.
Room already secured.
I stood in the middle of the room for a second and exhaled.
My shoulder pulsed.
Heavy.
I shrugged my jacket off carefully, dropping it on the chair.
Rolled my neck once.
Still only hearing out one side.
I grabbed the ice bucket, wrapped a towel around it, and pressed it to my shoulder.
“Damn…”
That helped.
A little.
I moved to the window.
Floor-to-ceiling glass.
LA looked normal.
Like nothing happened.
Like somebody didn’t just try to take me out.
I pulled my phone out.
That’s when the text came through.
Ares: Air issues with the jet. Can’t see you for two days. Hold ya head up and stay low.
I stared at the message for a second before I set the phone down.
Grabbed the bottle off the bar.
Poured a drink.
Then another.
Lit something.
Took a slow pull.
Let the smoke sit in my chest before I let it out.
Minutes passed.
Or maybe hours.
Hard to tell.
I didn’t sleep.
Every little sound—
Every shadow—
Every movement outside the door—
Had me watching.
Thinking.
I sat there icing my shoulder, drink in hand, smoke drifting through the room.
Knowing one thing for sure—
I needed a hospital.
Bad.
But I wasn’t going.
Not like this.
Not when somebody just tried to kill me.
I stayed up.
Watching the city.
Waiting.
Paranoid…
But alive.