18. Cairo
EIGHTEEN
cairo
“ Fuck! Fuck! You fucking asshole !”
Huh .
The shit works.
I twist the safety feature of the pepper spray in my hand to prevent any accidental discharge in my direction when I look up and find Ozzy staring at me with an unimpressed expression, arms crossed, appearing highly unamused.
“What?” I press, shoving the shit into my back pocket. “Luisa gave it to me.”
“I need water!”
“Did you want me to try it on you?” I ask Oz, giving him a withering glower because Geezus, I didn’t know I would be hardcore judged for experimenting with the shit. “Lose the look, Oz.”
He doesn’t, and the motherfucker who shot off a few sniper rounds at Wallace’s funeral today is chained up and practically dangling from his feet, but he won’t shut up.
“Water!”
“You can’t tell me it’s not a cleaner and more effective way to start,” I proceed through this asshole’s requests. “We should get Bay some.”
Ozzy scoffs then, alluding to the idea Bay would shove it down my throat first, then use it.
Whatever.
“I need?—”
“ Shut the fuck up,” I clip out to the man-child suspended from the ceiling. He has to be working for De Leon because I’ve never met so much of a pussy in my entire life. “Who sent you?”
“Fuck you ,” he spits out through clenched, closed teeth. “I’m not saying shit .”
Cool.
I deliver a right hand to his gut before rounding another with my left. I’m not so out of touch with what I’ve just done to come close to his face. “Try again.”
The sound of a knife flicks through the space, and Ozzy tosses it in the air and catches it by the handle.
He wants to play.
And normally, I’d allow him to handle the more bloody work, but I’m charged up on adrenaline from the day and the fact Bay was almost killed right before my eyes.
I can’t say I enjoyed the feeling.
I can also confidently say I’m not partaking in the number of times my stomach has dropped over the last couple of days, the loss of sleep I’ve endured, and the constant thoughts of Bay Astor.
This is why I didn’t want to get involved. I knew she was trouble from the first time I saw her as a child. I received the full effect of being kicked in the fucking balls when we had a family reunion on that dark street in The Landings.
She’s something else.
Something I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, or the reality that I’ve finally met the bane of my existence.
“Bay is waiting for you at the house,” I tell Oz. “If you think you’re going to get out of that gunshot wound, you’ve got her fucked up.”
Oz stares blankly at me and mindlessly blurts, “I’m fine.”
“ She needs to know that.”
And my brother doesn’t understand the notion either.
Not completely.
He’s not used to a female doting on him and giving a flying fuck. Vivian’s wiles and bullshit lies still run deep in his veins. He may be Bay’s husband, but the words haven’t fully sunk in. He doesn’t know what it means besides a title and a piece of paper he signed.
“Three,” I state evenly, giving in to the tension pulsating off his shoulders. “Then you’re out.”
Ozzy steps forward, his mannerisms switching on a dime because he’s ready to give this motherfucker a go for shooting at Bay.
That’s all he’s focused on.
It’s all I’m centered on, too.
She’s pregnant, De Leon is answering back for her cruise stunt, and I need answers to confirm what I believe I already know.
My brother wastes no time shanking the guy three times, not saving one or two of them for later. The man gasps in surprise and doesn’t bother opening his eyes to see what else may be coming. Then he groans as his body begins to slouch over and the pain begins to sink in.
I hand out my palm for the blade. “Go on.”
Ozzy shoots me an irritated glance.
“I don’t give a shit.”
“I said I was fine ,” he grinds out.
“And what did I say?” I see him release a silent, heavy exhale before flipping the knife, catching it by the tip between his fingers with expert precision, and waltzes over to me to give it up. I take it before he changes his mind. “Give her this, brother. She has enough shit on her plate right now.”
I ping-pong the idea of what else I want to say, but I’m not entirely sure it’s the right move.
Ozzy bows his head in acknowledgment, but the asshole doesn’t move toward the door. He wants to know if De Leon was behind the attack as much as I do, and I don’t plan on being here all night.
“How many more stabs do you think you can take before you give us our answer?” I ask the guy, palming the knife harder in my hand. “Neither one of us is patient, nor are we going to spend the time.”
“I’m not…saying…anything,” he bites out through shallow exhales.
Fair enough.
I mean, fuck, I really don’t have the energy for this.
I have a woman who’s pregnant, hormonal, and just buried her best friend hours ago. I feel as though I’m on borrowed time, where she’s going to snap again and get herself into some more shit. It doesn’t matter if this guy works for Matteo or not, he’s still dead.
Both of them.
I’m just wondering if there was another player in the game I needed to watch out for.
“Hand me the gasoline,” I order Ozzy before the guy begins violently thrashing around.
“Wait, wait ,” he pleads. “Don’t do this. Please?—”
“Too late,” I surmise evenly as I’m given the plastic red jug. “I’m over this.”
“Matteo De Leon,” he gives up. “I’m working for him.”
“I already knew that by the way you suck at this.” I carefully begin to pour gasoline on his feet and work my way up to his body, soaking his jeans with the distinctly smelling liquid.
“ Wait !” he hollers out, trying to open his eyes as he continues to flail around. “I can help.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” I mutter.
“He doesn’t want to kill her yet. He just wants to off all of you. The girl wasn’t my shot.”
I can’t say I’m surprised.
De Leon will make her suffer the loss of everyone around her before he takes his kill shot at Bay. Until her protection is fully taken care of to where she’s open season.
And it doesn’t leave just her but Ellie and Mae, too.
“I can tell you his spots,” the guy says. “I know them.”
I steal a glance at Ozzy, and he shakes his head, hinting he either knows them all or Matteo is as elusive with moving as Bay said he was.
“Is there one spot?” I ask as the smell of more gas works its way into my nostrils.
“No,” he claims. “Not exactly…however, he’s building one.”
Ozzy will find that; I’m not worried about it.
“Anything else?”
The dude whips his head back and forth. “I can’t…think of anything right now. But whatever you need…”
“I think that’s it.”
“ Wait ,” he retorts. “There has to be something else.”
“Nah, I think you got it.” I stop at his shoulders and leave his face clean. It’ll hurt more that way, just feeling the heat from your body burning alive and smelling your flesh dissipate off your bones.
“He ordered the drive-by on Wallace and Wildes.”
“I already knew that.”
The guy coughs and tries to swallow. “He’s building.”
“You said that already.”
He rocks his head back and forth. “No…he’s building an army .”
“Good for him.”
“And he’s got money.”
“He’d need that.”
“How, though?” the guy asks me quizzically. “We’re not making shit. Wallace was pushing all the drugs, and no one wanted to work with him. Matteo…he isn’t professional, man. We’re doing petty theft. That’s…some high school bullshit.”
That gives me pause.
Matteo would have to be working with someone who could fund men to march against us. I couldn’t imagine he’d be thrilled with the idea.
“You wouldn’t happen to know who, would you?”
“No,” the guy says. “But it’s new. I know that. We’re recruiting left and right.”
The Void is recruiting left and right.
Stepping away, I leave a trail of gasoline behind me as Ozzy follows at my side. “Cut it off,” I command. “Every new guy who signs up either dies or disappears.”
“Done,” he mutters as I fish a lighter out of my pocket.
“I can get more information!” the guy says. “I can report back!”
My phone begins to buzz in my jeans, and I retrieve that, too, revealing my father’s name on the screen.
Igniting the lighter, I mindlessly drop it onto the trail of gas and hear the fire roar to life before the sniper dude’s blood-curdling screams hit my eardrums, causing the hair on my arms to rise.
It’s not because he’s in pain.
But that I hear Bay’s cries in it.
The ones she would spout if we don’t end this shit. The light sobs I heard when she barricaded herself in her bedroom when she received confirmation Wallace was dead.
It makes me physically sick to think of all of us gone and leaving her behind to fend for herself. I’m down Reeve, Torin is recovering, Ozzy is starting to obsess, and I’ve got everything else on my plate.
“Yeah?” I answer on the last ring as Ozzy and I make our way out into the parking lot of one of our warehouses. The screams of anguish still pinging off the walls.
“Are you alright?”
“Alive,” I reply. “And taking care of some business.”
“Your mother is worried sick over this shit, Cairo,” my father grinds out. “I can’t say I’m a fan of all that’s going on either.”
“It’s handled.”
“With all due respect, son, it’s not .”
My eyes narrow as the night air begins to swell around Ozzy and me. “What are you saying? That the South Shore girl isn’t worth it?”
“I’m not saying that at all. But you are the King of Wharf Bay. And you haven’t even been anointed for that position yet.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I get that. Shit hit the fan. You’re doing the best you can. However, there’s still business to handle here . And last time I checked, she hadn’t fully agreed to work with us.”
“She has.”
“Then why isn’t she on The Landing’s seat yet?”
“She just lost Wallace.”
My father isn’t Emilio Wildes. He’s careful with his words. He, more than likely, rehearsed what he was going to say before he even called. It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to know I’m under pressure, stress, and with too much on my hands.
So, his next comment is something he’s going to need to tread lightly on.
“With Wallace gone, she either steps up or behind the new king. She already has you. But you’re already a target, and I have a feeling that De Leon will enjoy nothing more than to dethrone you. I understand you might be looking out for her, and you should. Roger would’ve wanted that. But I need to ensure, without a doubt, you’re watching your ass as well. Torin has already been hurt. I’m assuming you haven’t found Reeve.”
“No, sir,” I grind out. “He’s underground somewhere.”
“Probably the best place for him. I visited his father today… He’s still in bad shape.”
“Well, he was trapped in a dark basement for about seven years. Fuck knows what Elaine did to him.”
“I’m not entirely sure yet. However, I did take the liberty of giving you and the boys the opportunity to ask.”
I round the front end of my Benz but stop on a dime with his comment. “How?”
“You can find her in the same basement you found Reeve’s father. I thought a taste of her own medicine was in order until you had the time to serve justice the way Reeve would want.”
The smirk on my face is the fuel for my feet to keep moving to open my car door. “Diabolical.”
“It wasn’t hard to get her men to fuck off. She should’ve paid them more.”
“Apparently.”
“Take your time, Cairo,” my father commands, bringing me back to the more important tasks as I climb into the front seat. “I’ll handle Elaine for the time being. You stop De Leon’s witch hunt and attempt to take out the Titan seats.”
“De Leon isn’t shit.”
“Shit you can’t find.” Ozzy gets into the passenger seat and closes the door while I put my father on speakerphone. “But she can. That little bastard can’t resist himself, son.”
“I’m not using her as bait, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“I am,” he says unapologetically. “I know Ozzy is searching night and day. And I know he’s with you now. If I know that?—”
“We’re always together.”
“Son…” He waits a beat for me to calm down as I lean back against my leather chair. “You’re up against time . And you can’t stop it. Where’s Oz?”
“Right here.”
“Son, what have you found?”
“De Leon moves too much,” my brother says calmly. “There’s a speck of woods in Shoreline Peaks that he frequents, though. It’s loaded with men and guns. I haven’t found an opening yet.”
That’s impressive and telling.
Normally, Ozzy would go in like Rambo, dropping on people and slitting throats, but I have a feeling Bay keeps him from acting out as crazily as the rest of us do.
“That’s my boy,” my father praises. “You’re the last one I worry about.”
I glower at the phone but keep my comments and thoughts to myself.
I wasn’t the one who got shot. I’m not the one doing lines of cocaine. I haven’t fucked everything and everyone that’s out there. I didn’t drop Bay in the middle of the Atlantic fucking Ocean, either.
“And go get that wound cleaned up,” my father tacks on. “Bay needs you all on your game for this bullshit. I don’t want infections or any unnecessary setbacks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And, for the love of Christ, find Reeve. Lorenzo needs him.”
Ozzy nods. “Yes, sir.”
“Cairo…”
“Yeah?”
“We still have business. Take care of the boys. Take care of her. And allow her to do the same. If you can manage it, get her to the house. Your mother wants to talk to her about taking the girls.”
I rock my head back and forth even though he can’t see. “That’s never going to happen. She’s about to blow. I can feel it.”
“Wallace was everything to her, whether you’d like to admit that or not. Roger’s death still plays a role. All she has are those girls.”
“I know.”
“Then you know that, if she loses one more person, she will annihilate everything that is this establishment. She’s a woman, son. And that whole woman scorned shit is real. Look what Elaine just did out of spite to Lorenzo. That was child’s play. Bay is a different breed. She’s her mother. She’s Roger. And whether you want to let this sink in or not, she’s Levi Wallace with one hell of an appetite for revenge.”