Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Asim
“That’s what you’re going to do?”
“What?”
I stood in the doorway watching Ky remove things from her suitcase like it was causing physical pain. She was sulking, adorably.
“Pout.”
“I’m not pouting.” That bottom lip poked out a little more and my smile widened.
“Yeah you are, and as cute as it is, you’re gonna have to pull it together. What time is your meeting?”
“Four.”
“Aight, we can have dinner tonight. I have a few things to take care of but it shouldn’t hold me up all day.”
She poked her lip out again, spinning on her heels enough to plop down on the bed.
“That time away wasn’t long enough. I don’t want to get back to the real world.
” Kyori looked down at her hand, twisting her engagement ring before she lifted her eyes to me, smiling.
“We could just drop everything and do this now, you know.”
I chuckled, entering the room and stopping right in front of her.
“Yeah we could but you’re not ready. We still have a lot to figure out about each other and I refuse to let you rush the date just to get another vacation out of me.
You don’t need a reason to travel. We can go wherever you want whenever but, right now, we both have responsibilities. So fix your face and get to it.”
I lifted her eyes to mine with a finger under her chin, tilting her head back slightly. “Go handle your shit, and when I get home, we can block out the world for a few hours and just enjoy us.”
“I guess that will have to do.”
“Oh so that’s not good enough anymore.” My brows raised and she tucked her lip between her teeth, briefly hiding her smile.
“Yes, it is.”
“Aight, then, stop acting like a brat and get on your grown woman shit. I’m gonna take care of you later, I promise.
” I winked at Ky, catching her lips for one last kiss so I could head out.
I had a lot to do. The time away was nice but money and business didn’t stop because I wanted time to play.
I hadn’t been in any rush to get back more than Ky but I had one last thing to handle before I could rest easy and settle into the life I was claiming with my baby.
She had no idea there was a target on my back, which essentially placed one on hers.
I promised Ky’s father she was in good hands and safe with me.
As a man, I had to ensure I kept my word.
When I stepped away to leave, Ky was on her feet quickly, on my heels. “Hey, you promise you won’t be late.”
A neediness I didn’t like simmered in her eyes . It was almost as if she didn’t think I would be coming back at all. I was sure she had no idea what I was on my way to do but I sensed her unsettled spirit.
Instead of allowing my mind to drift to those dark places, I pulled her into me, cuffing her face right after delivering the reassurance she needed.
After separating from our kiss, that light was there again.
“I’ll do my best not to be late. If something comes up, I’ll hit you right away so you’re not worried. ”
One last kiss was shared before I headed out of the door, shifting thoughts of Ky to the back of my mind so I could handle what needed to be done.
Like it or not, I had to move forward with things as planned because I wasn’t sure if or when I would get another opportunity.
I refused to allow the threat to linger.
A few hours later, I sat in my ride, eyes low and mind clear because of what Amir and I were smoking. I needed this shit to move forward but I couldn’t rush someone else’s actions, no matter how badly I wanted to.
“You really think he’s this stupid?”
“It’s not being stupid that’s gonna lead him here. It’s ego and desperation. We’ve taken everything from him and he wants to take something from us. Something that matters.”
I glanced at Amir and he brushed his hand down his face. “You’re right but this is some dumb shit. I’m almost praying he doesn’t show, because if he does, your crazy ass is gonna really fuck him up. There’s no way he could possibly think that he can pull this off.”
A few minutes later a text came through.
Pulling up, Black BMW
After I sent my reply I lifted my eyes and located the car.
Amir followed my line of sight. Both of us followed the black on black BMW as it pulled up to the building I purchased for Kyori to use as the location for her first store one day.
It was a nice little spot out by Lennox, new construction and not open yet.
I had originally been looking at it to open another legal venture for myself but changed my mind once she got serious about her boutique.
I decided to hold onto it until she was ready for a physical location, then I’d gift it to her.
“Looks like the big guy didn’t hear your prayers. He actually showed up.”
“Shit, his loss.” Amir grinned and shrugged. “Let’s get this over with.”
Only seconds after Amir and I walked through the front of the building, we heard Kemp calling out from the back.
“Ay, where you at?”
I heard a gun chamber right after.
“This muthafucker,” Amir whispered in a hushed tone after checking the silencer on his gun.
He and I both traveled through the building, hitting the hallway to the back at the same time Kemp did. Kane, who had arrived in a second vehicle, was right behind him. Kemp attempted to raise his gun, however, he froze when Kane spoke up.
“That’s not a good idea, bruh. In fact, how about you just put that down, slowly.”
“Nah fuck that, you want to shoot me then just?—”
I fired one precise shot that hit his hand, releasing the hold on his gun. Kane fired from behind, hitting Kemp’s shoulder.
“Ahh fuck,” Kemp gritted through his pain but remained on his feet, stance wide and eyes on me, which was actually impressive. “I should have known better. The shit was too easy.”
“Yeah, you should have.” I shrugged, removing the burner from my pocket I’d been using to communicate with Kemp after Carlton came through for me with the intel I needed to draw him out of hiding.
Pull around the back, the door is open. Make sure you have the money.
When I read the last text I sent to Kemp from the burner, his face got tight.
The plan had been set in motion for a few weeks which began with leaked information about a shipment we were getting then word that it had been stolen and was scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder.
Kemp assumed he would be getting his hands on some of it.
“So do it then. Shit, what you waiting on?” He was visibly annoyed, in pain, but most of all, afraid. I could not only see his fear, I felt it emanating from his body. That only encouraged me more.
“I don’t want answers because right now you’ll say anything.
I just want to be clear about a few things that won’t matter because you’re not going to make it out of this room.
” I smirked. “It’s more for me than you.
Sometimes you just really have to get shit off your chest.” My left shoulder lifted into a shrug as I neared Kemp and read one of the texts that had been sitting heavy on my mind.
“You say it’s his girl’s spot, how often she be there? Shit, I might just fuck her and take his shit. He owes me.”
Kemp’s eyes briefly grew wide before he attempted to seem unbothered by the fact that he’d threatened to harm mine.
“I was always going to kill you. That was inevitable because you handled this all wrong. Had you come to me…”
“You what? You would have let me take over your blocks and sell my shit?” He laughed arrogantly before clenching his teeth from the pain.
“Hell no, muthafucker. That shit was never gonna happen,” Amir barked from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder before I gave my attention to Kemp once more.
“He’s right, it never would have happened but I would have, at the very least, had a civil conversation warning you about how dumb it would be to try us.
You might have still ended up in this same position but there’s a small chance you would have understood I’m not to be fucked with and neither is my family nor my girl. ”
“I didn’t do shit to her.”
“But you threatened to and that was a major violation.” I lifted my gun and fired into his chest. This time his body buckled and he dropped to the floor. When I noticed his eyes bounce over to the gun he’d dropped the first time I shot him, I fired another shot into his chest.
“Shit, gotdamn just do it. The fuck you waiting on?” he begged, likely unable to handle any more pain.
“Man, just vent that muthafucker’s head so we can go.” Kane chuckled from behind Kemp, shaking his head.
I walked up on him, standing over his body.
“Just so you know, your death will not be in vain. You, along with every other body we dropped because of you, will be a lesson, a clear and vivid reminder to anyone who comes behind you and wants to try the same dumb shit you pulled. You don’t fuck with us and come out on the good side of things. ”
I smiled again as I emptied the rest of my clip into Kemp.
“So what now?” Kane asked as he walked over to the gun that belonged to Kemp and emptied the clip.
“Call our people and get him out of here. Have what’s left of him put on display. I want the message to be clear.”
“Aight, bet.” Kane walked off, making a call while Amir and I traveled through the building back out the front door. Neither of us spoke until we were in my car.
“That’s the last piece to this bullshit.” Amir glanced at me as if trying to gauge how I felt.
“Yeah but that doesn’t mean nobody will come behind him trying the same shit a month or even a year from now. This could have gone really bad. Your ass got shot, Mir. We’ve been on edge for months now, unable to breathe easy because we didn’t know when or where the shit was gonna blow up.”
I raked my hand down my face, starting my car. As I pulled away I felt Amir staring at my profile long before he spoke.
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying shit is different now. It’s not just us. You have Learah and I have Ky.”
“You want out?”