Chapter 13 #2
“Good girl. Now, I need you to listen closely.” I waited while she shifted in her chair and straightened her spine.
Satisfied that I had her full attention, I delivered my instructions.
“The only way you remain unharmed is by doing as I say. If O’Neal finds out you’re the one who led me to him, he will kill you both.
I have already proven the cops can’t do shit for you.
All you have is me.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure the little fucker behind me understood this as well.
His jaw flexed, but he nodded and looked at Darian.
“She’s gon’ do whatever you need her to.”
I was on Darian again. “For the next couple of days, stay here. Don’t leave your apartment. I’ll give you a number. If you need anything, call that number and they’ll get it for you, no matter what it is. Understood?”
“I have work and school.”
“I’ll take care of both. Don’t leave the apartment, either of you.”
“We got bills. You gon’ cover those too?” the boyfriend gritted from behind me.
I stood and turned to face him, tilting my head to the side briefly before moving closer. Clay stepped out of the way, allowing me the spot before him.
“You’re a DJ at Bleu, correct?”
“Yeah, why?”
“They’re not paying you shit. I have a friend who owns several clubs. You want a better position with a bigger audience that pays ten times more than what you’re making now?”
“You gon’ do that for me? Why?” He was skeptical of my offer, which was good. If a man was too trusting, they were usually naive or not very smart. I needed him to be neither, although I had my assumptions.
“Because I’m not a bad guy. Darian did something stupid, but she had no clue how severely stupid her decision was.
She needed money, likely because you’re not making enough to do your part around here.
I’ll help, but if you so much as think about making a wrong move where I’m concerned, this ends badly for both of you.
Your life, as well as hers, is now in your hands.
You can either choose to be the man she, for some reason, thinks you already are or be the reason why this ends permanently for both of you. Your call. What’s it gonna be?”
He flexed his jaw and looked past me at Darian. The minute I noticed his expression soften, I had his answer.
“Yeah, I’m down.”
“Good. Someone will be in touch.”
Once we left, I made plans to have two of my guys on their apartment until I mapped out what was next. Cast and I then posted up between our vehicles to discuss what the hell had just happened.
“This muthafucker has bigger balls than I gave him credit for.” I felt the muscles in my arms flex when I balled my fist, causing my knuckles to crack.
“Yeah, we’ve been looking at this shit all wrong. You think Knotty was O’Neal too?”
“Possibly. It would make sense why we can’t find anything on who actually killed him. We totally missed the fucking mark. Our direction was completely off.”
“Well, now we know, so we handle it. What do you wanna do?”
“Nothing tonight. I have dinner with my wife, her mother, and her new boyfriend.”
Cast grinned, shaking his head. “Damn, that shit sounds domesticated as hell. Better you than me.”
“You should consider finding a wife or at least a steady girlfriend. The benefits are immeasurable.”
He laughed harder. “Nah, I’m good. You keep that shit.”
I brushed my palm down my face. “We head to Miami soon. I need to do this in person and the element of surprise is necessary. O’Neal killed a high-ranking member of Gallardo.
The pinky held the crest. Medina is in charge; Martinez isn’t far down the line.
If I had to guess, Martinez knows nothing about it or he would have slit O’Neal’s throat.
He’s not loyal to him. Martinez uses O’Neal to allow his people to maneuver how they want.
O’Neal damn sure didn’t like how I pointed out that he was Martinez’s puppet.
This won’t play out well for O’Neal. All I have to do is put the pieces together and let Medina and his guys handle the rest.”
He nodded, following what I was planning. “Got it. Just let me know when and I’m there. But if he really is the one, that also changes the angle on Manchester. All he’s doing is fucking with Nari to get under your skin.”
“I’m not positive it’s about Nari anymore.
He seems more invested in Endia, considering the threat he issued.
Based on how he’s been playing this, he has no interest in building bonds with Nari.
However, regardless of his focus, I’ll still end him if he pushes things to the point where it’s necessary. ”
Cast gave me a look of understanding. He would stand by my decision, backing me no matter the repercussions.
It didn’t need to be discussed. If Manchester had indeed been the one behind Knotty and the death of a Gallardo leader, then I would have more pull with The Families to get rid of him.
Without it, they would expect me to deal with the matter civilly.
Civil wasn’t an option and I didn’t give a fuck how it played out.
He was hiding in the shadows right now because he knew better than to be where I could get my hands on him.
But it would be happening sooner rather than later.