Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Posydiann
I stood at the pier, eyes on the water, half-listening to what Killah was saying.
He was giving me an update on everything that happened in my absence.
When he said he had it, I believed him, so lowkey the update wasn’t necessary.
Though he ran hot often, he was fully capable of dealing with the things, which was why we did so well over the years.
I didn’t have to think for him and a whole ass organization, he had his own brain.
There had been a raid on three of our warehouses, but just as we planned, there was nothing in them. Anything illegal had been moved out.
“So then we go see what’s to this Tavern McDanial?” I asked, eyes going from Killah to Kal.
Kal pushed the folder toward me. “Killah had me pull whatever was available on her.”
When I opened it, I began to look through. Nothing stood out too much until I reached her financials. She lived beyond her means, spending way over the eighty-five thousand she made a year.
“Everybody has a price.”
“But she’s climbing the ladder according to this. So I’m sure somebody like this her isn’t looking to fuck up,” Kal said.
“True, but it’s either the ladder or life. And that ladder ain’t worth her life. We should find out. According to this, she’s at the park district. Shorty coaches her daughter’s basketball team during her spare time.”
Killah nodded. “Works for me.”
It wasn’t long before we all piled into Killah's truck.
“How was your honeymoon?” Killah asked, recklessly pulling away from the curb.
“Nice as fuck. I almost didn’t wanna come back to this bullshit,” I responded honestly.
Kal laughed. “Sounds like a fucking dream. When I married Kim, we went to The Dells and took the family. Ain’t fuck once in that cabin.”
I busted up laughing because I dead ass remembered Killah clowning him.
“Glad you are laughing. Shit was slam ass horrible.” He shook his head. “Probably why we are where we are.”
I didn’t respond, my attention going to Syn.
I hadn’t been away from her for a whole three hours and was already ready to get home and in her face.
I had gone from missing her and not being able to be in her space and around her to trying not to develop some fucking grown man attachment issues.
I was well on my way because lowkey I always felt the need to be touching her or looking at her.
Touching her assured me better than anything though.
I pulled out my phone with every intention of calling her when I saw I had a missed text from her.
Syn: Hypothetically if I said I missed you. Would you meet me at your house?
Me: Home?? As fast as I could get one of these niggas to drop me off.
Me: Why you ain’t there? Where u at?
Syn: Stopped to get my nails done. May meet Patience for shopping in a few.
Syn: Junnie is coming by with pizza on the patio.
Me: Sent Apple Pay $5,000
Syn: What’s that for?
Syn: Psy!
Me: Your nails. I’ll see you when I get in. Tell Junnie her ass can’t stay all night either.
“We’re here, ol’ caking ass nigga.” Killah’s voice snatched my attention from my phone.
I looked out of the window and sure as hell we were parked outside the community center.
Moments like this let me know I got lost in Karsyn.
It was like my mind went blank enough for me to only think about her.
It was wild, and when we first met, it threw me off because I questioned how one person could be so damn mind-blowing.
It was more than her features, but everything to do with who she was, her personality, and most of all, her heart.
I pushed thoughts of my baby to the back of my head as we exited the car.
The three of us walked toward the entrance of the medium size building.
Upon entry, I played the background, looking around, because we all knew Killah was the talker.
I didn’t know what he said, but ol’ girl was smiling hard within seconds and pointing to the opposite hall from where we were standing.
When we reached the gym, my eyes found her easily. She looked just like her ID badge image in her file, down to the ponytail pushed neatly to the back of her head.
“Kal, take the track,” I said to him, motioning toward the stairs leading to a track above the gym.
“Tavern McDanial, right?” Killah said as we approached where she stood at the halfcourt line.
She scrunched her face. “Who wants to know?”
“Posydiann Murphy.”
She blinked several times before her eyes went to Killah who walked right past her toward the kids bouncing balls and lollygagging.
“What are you doing here?” She looked around, checking her surroundings. She knew she was outnumbered and realized she had about twelve kids with her, including her own, so she looked back at me.
“I heard you’ve been looking for me. Figured we could converse.”
She shook her head, eyes filled with fire. She didn’t like that I was able to come here and know where she was. “You coming here is mighty ballsy. But I can’t say I didn’t expect it.”
“Maybe, but your taskforce tearing up my shit, ain’t they?” I looked around, my eyes landing on the crowd of kids now surrounding Killah as he shot threes with one of the balls.
“I have no choice. Your name is on a list. But for good reason, I guess, because you’re here to threaten me, right?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m here to make you an offer.”
She looked me up and down. “And that is? Because I have no control over the names on that list.”
“Maybe you don’t, but you’re aware of the names that make the list and I’m sure there is some information you can float from time to time. Right?”
“I’m listening.”
“Who appoints the names to the list?” I asked, fully prepared to hear her tell me the police chief. He needed some gold stars for the city, so it was right up his alley.
“Mayor Winston. My taskforce is federally funded, so it’s all based on special requests to the governor made by him. He gives the names and we execute.”
“Oh really?” I pulled at the hair on my chin.
“May I ask you something?” Her attention was also on Killah with the kids.
I nodded. “Shoot.”
“How did you get my name?”
“Mayor Winston.”
“That fat fucker. He warned me about you only to warn you about me.”
I nodded. “It’ll be handled. Now how much?”
“However much my intel is worth. You seem like a fair man and you seem to be running a whole sector of a city.”
“Who else do you do business with?”
“From time to time, Kolton Curr, and that’s only to make sure he knows which radars his business is on, if any.”
I nodded, then pointed up to Kal. “He’ll be in touch.”
I was about to walk off when I heard her voice. “And Winston?”
“Will be taken care of,” I tossed over my shoulder, heading out of the gym doors at the same time Kal descended the stairs and Killah sank his last three pointer.
With my fist to my mouth, I silently sat in the back of the truck, thinking the entire way back to the pier.
Winston could no longer be trusted because it was now obvious he feared another more than me.
He stood in my face and lied to me, without blinking, and that made me wonder how many other times he had done so.
He had to feel his betrayal and see there was no coming back from it.
“I want his fat ass to feel his death before it comes. Quick death is too fucking easy,” I said aloud.
“What?” Killah parked his car next to mine and Kal’s trucks.
“She said Winston warned her about me, not to mention the list with my name is his list, federally funded. He sat in that office and lied to me. His intention was for me to kill her or her to kill me. That way he was never fingered.”
“Nigga had knockoff cleaning products. Hell yeah he’s a liar.”
“I want him dead, but I want him thoroughly tortured. Let me see him first though, get a good look at him while he hands Curr over to me.”
“No problem. I’ll grab him this weekend.”
We exited Killah’s truck. Kal headed to his own while I walked around to the driver side to talk to Killah for a moment.
“I’ll be in touch. I gotta go pick up my daughter.” Kal hopped in his truck and pulled off.
“Yo, you good?” Killah’s voice brought me back to the space we were in.
“Yeah. Just thinking about everything.”
He studied me for a moment. “Get in, let’s go get a drink. I’ll pull up on Jordyn later.”
“Nah, I’m straight. If you wanna do something, go by the house and get your sister and the lil nigga. I’m trying to reenact my honeymoon and both of those motherfuckers are straight up cockblockers.”
Killah laughed. “You had four days of your wife to yourself. Plus you know she was theirs before she was yours. Learn how to share.”
“Hell nah,” I tossed over my shoulder as I walked to my car. When I had the door open, I flipped his “sharing is caring” ass off. Because what was sharing when it came to what belonged to me?
His laughter filled the sweltering night before I closed the door.
I didn’t even bother lowering the window for him.
He had me so messed up. I pulled out of the pier gates a few seconds later with him in tow.
He followed me up the road for a bit before hitting a left to merge onto the highway while I took Hollis straight down to my house.
When I made it home, I was surprised to see Junnie wasn’t there at all. The house was quiet and smelled of food. That wasn’t a normal thing, especially because neither me nor Junior ever cooked or even tried. He went over to Grams or ordered something.
After inspecting the first floor, I climbed the steps two at a time until I reached the top.
Once there, I was greeted by what I already knew as Junior’s Rod Wave filled playlist. Per him, it helped him sleep.
I didn’t bother checking to see if he was sleeping because nine times out of ten he was.
If I didn’t hear cursing at the game or see an array of different lights attempting to escape his room through the bottom of the door, he was.