Chapter 4 #3
Typically a stern man, Audiemar rarely showed emotion, not even anger.
His sons knew him well enough to gauge his reaction off the glint behind his slanted, roasted brown irises.
As boys, one look could tell them whether he approved or disapproved of something.
Kong glanced at Mozzi. Of the three of them, he was always challenging Audiemar.
Jane used to say it was because he was bullheaded.
Mozzi was used to tough love, and he had mastered provoking people.
When he was done, he’d push them away, then expect them to want to get back in his good graces.
Jane told him one day he was going to reap what he sowed, but Mozzi had yet to see that come to fruition.
“I don’t need you speaking on my behalf. I’m the one who fueled this. I’ll take the heat for it.”
“That’s not how this works.” Audiemar voiced. “Riddle don’t give a fuck about that. You fucked up his shipment from Donahue, which is going to escalate things even further.”
“Do he know how Nickel out here moving? I’m not talking about the drugs either. I’m talking about these girls.”
“I’ll discuss that with him.” Audiemar stroked his beard. “This on top of the bell tower shit is bound to bring smoke that we don’t need.”
“You made the call on the tower.” Mozzi passed the blunt back to Kong. “I’ve seen the drives, too. I’m banking on Donahue being more concerned with getting those back in his possession than anything. The shipment falling through will be Riddle and Nickel’s problem.”
A flicker of that little fine shit outside the lounge briefly invaded his mind.
She’d damn sure left him curious. When she went toe to toe with him, she didn’t flinch, so she obviously had no idea who he was.
He probably should have been offended. Instead, it only intrigued him more about who she was and why he hadn’t been in her orbit before last night.
The doorbell chimed throughout the halls of their home, and all three men turned to the cameras to see who had arrived.
“Welp, that’s my cue to roll out.” Mozzi slapped his hand against Kong’s shoulder and chuckled as he pushed himself off his desk. “I don’t like putting my hands on bitches, and those two be having the palm of my shit itching.”
“We’ll talk later, Mozzi. Stay on point,” Audiemar told him as he strolled past him to the door.
Studying the camera screen, he watched Phoebe Taylor and her daughter, Nayelli, standing at the door together.
Phoebe and his wife, Jane, were college friends, and since Jane died, she’d been around more in the last five years than ever before.
At the time, Audiemar appreciated it. Losing Jane took a huge part of him, leaving him numb in a world where it was already dark and cold.
Phoebe was nothing like his wife. Where Jane was effortlessly beautiful inside and out, Phoebe had undergone multiple surgeries over the years to perfect her appearance.
She wasn’t over the top with it, and some of the surgeries had improved her appearance.
However, if you did a side by side of her ten years ago versus today, the images would be very different.
“We need to figure out this situation, Kong. We can’t keep blowing through these girls at the agency. Pretty soon, they won’t want to send anyone out here.”
“What is it that you want me to do?”
“I need you to pay attention to your kids! Stop acting like it’s normal for them to be running everybody off with their antics! Take some time off if you need to. Spend time with them. Put them in fucking therapy! They are begging for your attention!”
“You think this shit is easy for me?”
“I know it’s not, but you can’t keep living like this. Those two kids know that there is a disconnect. As their father, it’s up to you to repair that.”
“You the wrong one to be giving me speeches about disconnect.”
Kong left the rest of the blunt in his ashtray and leaned back in his chair.
He wasn’t telling him anything that he hadn’t been thinking over the last few years, though.
It was one thing to lose Jane, but a year later, Twyla, the mother of his children, also died while giving birth to their daughter.
Kong hadn’t been quite right since. He buried himself in work and the organization, avoiding being a father since the only reason he’d signed up for that shit in the first place was because Twyla wanted it.
He felt like shit sometimes because he loved his kids, but he never imagined raising them on his own.
“It’s about the message. Not the messenger. You chose to be a father, so take some accountability,” he told him, ambling over to the door.
Kong stared ahead at a photo on his desk.
Twyla stood outside their home on the terrace, with her hand draped over her very pregnant belly.
It was the last photo she’d had professionally taken while pregnant with Kara.
It seemed like a lifetime ago. He’d since sold the house and gotten rid of every trace of her.
Out of sight, out of mind was easy when it came to possessions, but he couldn’t do that with his own children.
Giving himself a few moments to process the start to his day, Kong shook his head before standing.
He followed the voices down the hall to the kitchen, where he found Audiemar and Phoebe at the island together and Nayelli on the other side with her hands propped against the counter.
A slow grin filled her cheeks, and her brown eyes lit up at the sight of him.
On those lonely nights when the bed seemed too empty, Kong allowed her to fill the space, but it was nothing serious on his part.
Nay was familiar since they grew up together, and she knew that he’d been silently suffering since Twyla died.
He appreciated her being a good friend, but he’d never allow himself to see anything with them beyond that.
“Hey!” She perked up. “Your dad was just telling us about the nanny. I’m making coffee, and I can whip some breakfast up for the kids if you want. I’d be more than happy to step in for a while until you find someone.”
“I’ve got a few interviews lined up already for Monday.”
“I can handle those too if you want. I know you’re busy with work,” Nay suggested.
“Nah.” Kong shook his head. “I need to handle this on my own. I appreciate it, though.”
“Kong, take the help,” Audiemar advised, bringing his coffee mug to his lips.
The high-pitched screams echoing through the halls pulled everyone’s attention.
Kara was having another meltdown. There was no telling what it was over this time.
Only one in house staff member remained, and that was the maid, Yasmine.
She carried Kara into the kitchen, kicking and screaming, with Kyro not far behind them, his face in his handheld game.
Kong had asked Yasmine to help get Kara dressed since he didn’t have any more help once Natalie left.
His daughter’s arms flailed crazily like someone was trying to kidnap her.
Yasmine finally released her, and she collapsed in a heap in the middle of the kitchen floor.
“I’m sorry, sir. I tried to get her dressed. She refused to put on anything I picked out for her,” she declared, out of breath with eyes full of desperation.
She’d brought a pair of shorts and a t-shirt anyway, but Kara was still in her pajamas, with her thick curls all over her head.
“It’s fine, Yasmine. I’ll take care of it.” Kong faced them, and Yasmine practically fled the room.
“Let me take a whack at it.” Phoebe stepped past Kong and his father.
“Kara, honey, it’s time to take those pajamas off and put some clothes on. I can even braid your hair for you.” Phoebe inched toward the four-year-old as she sat up with her legs crossed and her arms tucked over her shoulders in a pout.
“No! I wear my jammies all day!” she screamed.
“Honey, don’t you want to get cute in case your daddy wants to take you somewhere? You can’t go outside in your pajamas.” Phoebe tried reasoning with her.
She was met with nothing but a scowl from the toddler as she poked her bottom lip out. Although a terror, Kara was one of the most beautiful little girls in the world. She had the same brown skin tone as her mama, while Kyro came out as a mini version of his father.
She slowly brought herself to her feet and stepped closer to Phoebe, who knelt so they could be eye level. She looked her dead in the face, searching her hazel eyes.
“No!” Kara belted once more, shattering the woman’s eardrum.
“Kara!” Kong barked, making his daughter flinch as her head whipped toward him. “Put your clothes on, now!”
Eyes misting, lip quivering, she trembled in front of her father.
Immediately, he regretted yelling at her, but his patience was as thin as thread.
Kara snatched her things off the floor and stomped out of the kitchen.
They could hear her little feet all the way up the stairs.
When she reached her bedroom, she slammed the door shut with all her little might.
Bowing his head, Kong let go of a frustrated breath.
“You look like you could use some downtime,” Nayelli observed. “Why don’t I take you out to dinner tonight? Just for a few hours. It’s easy to get frustrated with them, and if you aren’t happy, they won’t be either,” she pointed out with a shrug.
“I think that is a great idea. I can sit here with your father and keep an eye on them,” Phoebe chimed in.
Nayelli tucked some of her blonde curls behind her ear and waited for Kong to respond.
It couldn’t hurt to have a night out. He hung with his brothers all the time, but he hadn’t entertained a woman in that way since Twyla.
His only interest was in catching a nut, temporarily filling a void.
Beyond that, he wondered if he would ever be able to have a meaningful relationship again.
Unlike his brothers, Kong had never been on that player shit.
While he enjoyed the opposite sex, he had no desire to keep up with a string of women.
“Yeah, whatever,” he agreed, watching Kyro take a seat at the breakfast nook.
“Can I have something to eat?” his son asked, not bothering to look up from his game.
“I can make you something.” Nayelli smiled from the counter.
Kyro cut his gaze from the game screen and emptily stared across the room at her. He was familiar enough with Nayelli, but he didn’t like her. He couldn’t exactly say why, though. She was always trying too hard, and he sensed that it was because she wanted to be on Kong’s good side, not his.
“I’ll take some oatmeal,” Kyro requested, a devious glint behind his eyes that Kong caught.
“Okay, I can—”
“No,” Kong interrupted, holding his hand up. “The last nanny just left, covered in his breakfast. Matter of fact, you’re fasting until lunch.” Kong aimed a stern finger at his son.
“You just gon’ starve me? Ain’t that child abuse?” Kyro queried, scowling.
“Consider it a religious practice today.”
“But I’m hungry!” Kyro complained.
“Should have thought about that before you dumped your food on Natalie.” Kong marched over to him and snatched the game out of his hand. “Matter of fact, go upstairs and grab some paper and a pencil. You’re going to write a note to her apologizing.”
“But—”
“I’m not repeating myself, Kyro. I’ll throw this shit in the pool.” Kong held up his electronic device and waved it around.
“Fine.” His chair scraped against the floor when he pushed it away from the table and stomped off.
“Well, that’s a start.” Phoebe sighed. “Military school is still a thing, right?”
“Ma!” Nayelli called her out.
“It was a joke.” Phoebe shrugged, but Kong heard her.
“Ignore her.” Nay rolled her eyes. “You want to leave around seven for dinner?”
“Yeah. I’m good with that.”
“I can stick around for the weekend, too, and help out around here. Let me know what you guys want for dinner tomorrow and what I can make for the kids today. I’m no professional, but I can follow a recipe.”
“I appreciate it, Nay. I’ve got some paperwork I need to push through. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.” Kong turned to leave, and Audiemar took another sip of coffee while watching him walk away.
Nayelli wanted more than anything to connect with his son and have him feel something for her.
The only time he expressed any real interest in her was when he was fucking her.
After he got his rocks off, it always seemed like he regretted it or felt guilty.
No matter how many times they ended up in bed together, there was no real intimacy between them.
At first, she didn’t mind because even without it, Kong was an amazing lover, but Nayelli needed more.
She’d sacrificed and come too far not to get what she wanted.
Sometimes Kong left her insecure, and she considered herself a dime.
The mother of his children didn’t have shit on her.
She always thought Twyla was basic as hell and didn’t know what Kong saw in her.
She knew she’d have to reassess her situation and figure out how to reel him in a different way if she wanted to be a part of his future. Maybe her answers lay in his past.