Chapter 64 Zay
Zay
“Pick a Side and Die For It”
Istepped to the door of my childhood home again.
Ares walked in first.
Didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t speak.
Just grabbed her before she could think, as soon as we spotted her in the kitchen.
Hand to her throat, slamming her back against the wall.
“Where's Devon?” I asked. “He blew up my car and tried to kill me. I know it.”
“I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t been here in days,” she said, like she wasn’t fazed.
“Stop playing with us,” Ares said, voice low but dangerous.
The sound of their voices echoed differently in my ear.
Still off.
Still ringing.
Shayla didn’t panic at first.
She smirked.
“You can’t just come in here putting your hands on me. You forgot who I am?”
Ares tightened his grip.
“I don’t care who you are.”
Smack…
His hand cracked across her face.
Sharp.
Her head snapped to the side.
Now she looked at him like he was in control.
But still not scared enough.
“I’ve been hit harder than that just this week. I don’t know anything about your car,” she said.
Lying.
I stepped in and let Ares keep his pressure on her while I closed the distance.
She looked at me now.
Trying to read me.
Trying to figure out which version of me she was getting.
I reached out, grabbed her chin, and forced her to look at me.
“You really going to keep lying to me?”
“I told you—”
“Nah… No more lying.”
I cut her off.
Reached into my jacket.
Pulled it out.
A doll that I made.
Everything changed.
Her eyes widened.
I held it up between us.
Let her see it.
Then made her touch it.
I started talking.
Low.
Words I shouldn’t still remember…
“Ce qui a été fait dans l’ombre… je le ramène à la lumière…”
Her head started shaking immediately.
“No—”
“Ce que tu as caché… révèle-toi ce soir.”
Her voice cracked.
“Zacian—stop—”
I didn’t.
“Le sang ne ment pas… et moi non plus…”
Her breathing got faster, letting me know panic was creeping in.
Real panic.
“My grandmother tried to keep us from this. But you taught me this anyway,” I said quietly. “Don’t forget that.”
She broke.
Completely.
“No—listen,” she rushed out. “I didn’t know he was going to blow up your car. But I can find who did. I can find Devon, too.”
I stared at her.
Didn’t lower the doll yet.
Didn’t give her relief.
“You want to live?” I asked.
She nodded fast.
“You want to have a place in my family still?”
Another nod.
Tears sat in her eyes now.
I lowered the doll slightly. “Then be useful.”
Ares stepped in closer.
“If you’re lying…”
His voice dropped.
“I’ll kill you myself.”
She nodded again.
Fast.
“I’ll find him,” she said. “When I do… I’ll call you.”
I tucked the doll back into my jacket and walked out.
Ares was right behind me.
“We gotta make Devon come outside.”
That made him glance at me. “What you thinking?”
I stared ahead.
“Message.”
He nodded. “What kind?”
“Compton. We dropping the niggas that chose his side. My folks told me who been trying to go against me for Devon. Ain’t nobody gon’ live taking his side.”
Ares nodded. “Bet. But after this, you’re coming back to France with me. Go see ya wifey and kid. Clear ya head.”
I had to agree with that, because after I chilled in France, it was about to get ugly for niggas.
$$$$$
The trap house sat in the heart of Compton, on a backstreet off 122nd.
Lights on.
Old school music loud.
Cars out front like it was just another night.
Like they ain’t know I was coming to be reckless.
We didn’t knock.
I pushed the door open.
Walked straight in.
Ares a step behind me.
Watching.
Letting me lead.
Familiar faces looked up.
Confused and tense.
“Zay—what—” one of my cousins tried to say.
Too late.
Everything after that was quick.
No yelling.
No hesitation.
Just action.
One moved wrong—
Dropped.
Another reached for a gun—
Didn’t make it.
I stood there for a second.
Breathing steady.
Looking around.
Making sure nobody was alive.
Phase one completed.
Ares stepped up beside me.
Looked at the room.
Then at me.
“You feel better?”
I wiped my forehead. “Yeah.”
But it wasn’t relief.
It was something else.
I looked back at them. “This what happens when you pick a side.”
Ares nodded once. “Devon gon’ hear about this.”
“That’s the point.”
We walked out.
Back in the whip, I leaned my head back while Ares drove.
Shoulder throbbing.
Still partially deaf.
Wanting something for the pain.
But my mind?
Locked in…