Chapter 2 #2
“Have Audiemar return all the ledgers and hard drives he recovered from the Bell Tower. If he delivers those, call it even.” Riddle half shrugged.
Kong studied him closely. Those ledgers were getting them a lot of favor in high places.
He knew Audiemar wasn’t going for that. Turning them over meant relinquishing the power he’d gained over the last few months.
So many approvals and bids had gone through without so much as anyone batting an eye, and that was good for business.
There was an entire development happening on the waterfront downtown, and Blackmoor Industries was responsible for heading it up.
Soon, that entire area would be revamped.
“Is that your final offer?” Kong surveyed the shift in Riddle’s gaze when he raked his eyes over him.
He didn’t know Kong well enough, but there was still a sense of familiarity between the two of them. Same breed. Tapping his finger on the table, he swiped his beard with one stroke and nodded.
“Final offer, son. Is this woman and her baby that important to you? If so, you can skip rank and get right to it without bringing Audiemar into the loop. I assume since he’s not here that means he isn’t aware of how you’re moving. It’s emotional. Uncalculated.”
Kong scoffed. A half smile even toyed with the corner of his mouth when he looked off to the side. When he shifted back into position, he stared Riddle dead in his pupils, unmoved.
“You’re under the impression that I give a fuck about any of that right now. I don’t.” Rising abruptly, Kong knocked his chair behind him and towered over Riddle. “I said what I came here to say. Wanted to make sure there were no… subliminals this time.”
Riddle simpered, eyes locked on Kong, almost with a glimmer of pride behind them.
He’d heard the stories of how Kong used to be.
Clever, authoritative, unorthodox. While Moose might be the muscle, and Mozzi had the tech shit down, Kong typically was the brains behind the operation.
The only time he seemed to slip on an order was when he ran the play on Donahue. It was impulsive.
When he learned that Mozzi had been hit, something snapped in him.
As much shit as the three of them got into, that was the first time any of them had ever been shot.
Audiemar taught them how to move smart and avoid those types of situations.
Moose once robbed a bank with smooth talk and charm.
Unlike Riddle and his crew, they’d learned how to truly finesse the game, only using other measures when necessary.
“I appreciate the courtesy,” Riddle responded, watching Kong turn and walk out.
He didn’t feel like he’d resolved anything, but he didn’t want there to be any question about what came next.
Kong left the hotel with a heavy heart. A world without Ayla in it was sure to be his undoing.
He thought losing Jane and then Twyla was enough to take him out, until a sweet, spicy young woman walked into his life full of optimism and selflessness.
It always blew his mind how empathetic and understanding Ayla was for someone so young.
Once his car was brought around, Kong grabbed the keys from the valet, and his phone went off the minute he sat in his butter-soft leather. He picked up for Moose, glanced over his shoulder, and pulled off.
“What’s up?”
“Green light,” Moose relayed.
“I’m on the way.” Kong reached into his glove box for the extra Glock he kept there and took a glance in his rearview mirror to make sure he wasn’t being followed.
He didn’t trust Riddle. The nigga was a snake as far as he was concerned.
He’d take any opportunity if he thought he could get back at Audiemar for the past. That truce shit was cap.
He allowed Nickel and Fire to instigate any time they wanted, so that someone in the Blackmoor camp would react.
They were pussy, and there was no other way to break that down as far as Kong was concerned.
His fifteen-minute drive brought him to an old fourplex on the outskirts of town.
The place had been renovated, and there wasn’t another dwelling for miles.
Moose told him they were parked down the block, hidden in the brush.
From what he could tell, it wasn’t a busy street.
There were trees surrounding the building and a two-car garage that wrapped around the back. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Kong parked, gripped his Glock in his hand, and got out of the car. He spotted the cherry from Moose’s blunt burning in the distance. It was barely daylight. Between the gray clouds and all the trees, it was hard to tell.
“Entry points?” Kong checked.
“Two. One in the front and another in the back.” Moose inhaled the weed smoke and handed the blunt off to Brim at his side. “We got Prime and Carver on the back, waiting for the word.”
“Do it,” Kong encouraged.
Moose whistled lightly in the wind, and seconds later, a fire erupted at the rear of the building. It spread quickly, and then the front door burst open, and a trail of what looked like security and young girls came stampeding out. There was no sign of Mira or Danilo, which pissed Kong off.
“Brim.” Kong’s tone was even.
Raising the AR-15 in his hand, Brim aimed high and sprayed the air. Screams and more chaos ensued, sending most of them to the ground to avoid being hit by a stray. The bottom floor of the fourplex was now in flames.
“Where the fuck is this bitch?” Kong mumbled.
Stepping out of the shadows, he went to investigate the women on the ground as Mira’s men jumped up and took off running in the opposite direction. Prime and his crew in back didn’t hesitate to spray them all down, leaving them crawling in the dirt, begging for their lives.
“Where is she?” Kong bellowed as Moose and Brim came up behind him, guns swinging to keep people in check.
“Who?” One of the young girls whimpered.
“Mira! Where the fuck is she?”
“We don’t know,” she whined, keeping her head to the ground and eyes low, hoping he didn’t blow her brains out. “She hasn’t been here all night. She called. Told the guards not to let anyone leave tonight, and she would be in touch.”
Kong swung his attention to Moose. Sounded good. She probably knew they were coming, given the events in the last twenty-four hours. The sweet innocence in the girl’s voice made Kong pause.
“How old are you?” he asked,
“Sixteen,” she answered in an unsure tone.
Motherfucker. Lowering his gun, he let his arm rest at his side and watched one of Mira’s whorehouses go up in flames.
“Get out of here.” Kong waved his gun.
These girls were shook. Eyes wide, tears streaming down their face with eyeliner. Most of them were so uneasy they couldn’t even trust the opportunity Kong was giving them. Glancing at one another, they slowly gathered themselves on their knees and stood.
“If you want a life away from this shit, I suggest you keep it pushing. Mira ain’t coming back. Nobody is.” There was brief chatter among them before they scrambled off in groups.
Standing in a trance, Kong watched the fire burn, heart aching, breathing sharp. His stomach knotted, and a flash of Ayla’s face in his memory damn near broke him down. How had he let this happen?
“Come on, bro. Ain’t shit we can do here.” Moose pulled him away from the scene with a hand on his shoulder, and they traveled back to their cars.
Relentless, Kong yanked the door open to his truck and paused. This shit was far from over, but he was going to need Mozzi’s help and Inari’s.
“We’ll find her,” Moose insisted.
“I want that bitch nigga, Danilo, in my face within the next twenty-four hours. Brim, put the word out.” Kong hopped into his driver’s seat and slammed the door shut.
He started his car and backed out, yanking the wheel and pulling off in the direction he’d come from. Moose sighed, shaking his head and watching him disappear. It was a sad night.
“You think I need to track him?” Brim questioned.
“Nah. I know where he’s heading. I’m going to the same place. After the day we had, we need something good. I’m going to check out my niece.” Moose pulled his helmet over his head. “You should come too. I know you want to see Mozzi in daddy mode.”
Coast had been moved to a more comfortable room, but Mozzi had no intention of allowing either of them to stay there too long.
After the events from yesterday, she was sleeping, so he was on a small couch nearby doing skin-to-skin with his baby girl.
Iara slept peacefully against him, but he couldn’t stop watching her.
Every time she brought her little fist to her mouth and sucked on it, it warmed his heart.
His baby girl was the prettiest thing in the world, aside from her mama.
A light tap on the door annoyed him. That was another reason he was ready to get the hell out of there.
He was tired of the staff coming in every damn hour like something had changed.
Coast couldn’t get any good rest around there with that shit.
This was the first time she’d been able to sleep since pushing Iara out.
When he saw that it was Inari and not some nurse, Mozzi chucked his chin at her in greeting.
“Sup, Nari?”
“Hey.” She smiled, but it didn’t show in her eyes.
Something much more somber rested there instead as she let herself into the room with a balloon that read ‘It’s a Girl,’ a bouquet of Coast’s favorite pink and white roses, and a gift bag.
Mozzi hadn’t spoken to his brothers or seen the news, so he had no idea what was happening.
His focus had been on Coast and Iara all night.
“How is she?” Inari set the balloon and flowers on the table beside the door along with the gift bag, and the door closed behind her.
Mozzi kicked his legs over the couch, cradling his baby in his arms as he sat up with her. She made some little newborn noises and shifted against his chest but remained sleeping.
“Tired, but good.”
“Look at her.” Inari smiled through tears when she laid eyes on Iara.
“You want to hold her?”