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Hell no. But just mentioning The Paradox put fear in their adversaries’ hearts, sothe allieswere more than happy to play by our rules.
We’d maintained our anonymity from the beginning. The only way to contact us was through a series of encrypted digital messages.
Santari had taken over Rev’s position. As Storm determined which messages might need our attention, Santari had the final say on which hits we would take. I would put together the master plan to fulfill the missions while Cruz had the necessary connections in place to help us execute.
We were the perfect team – in pain, brutality, and love.
Ronan’s closed casket funeral was held on a Tuesday afternoon when the sun was high, and humidity levels were heavy. The brothers of Omega Theta Tau didn’t know what Ronan had gotten himself involved in, but they understood that his nefarious actions had gotten him killed. At the same time, they were somber and angry. We were resolute and firmly committed that his death was necessary. And if - for any unfortunate reason someone wanted to retaliate, be it friend or foe, we would unkindly help them meet their demise, too.
The doorsto Primal Luxury Resort opened and I crossed the lobby, but I stopped in my tracks as my eyes landed on three motherfuckers sitting comfortably in the back corner of the seating area.
I cracked my neck as I walked over to them with a scowl.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Christian, Xander, and Elijah Valentine glanced up at me – all three dressed in tailored suits and expensive jewelry.
“Brother!” Christian announced loudly.
I glanced around the space then back to him. “Keep your fuckin’ voice down, nigga, what the fuck?”
He frowned. “What? You’re not ashamed of me, are you?”
I inhaled deeply. “Christian, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“There’s still a million dollars on the table, brother.”
I smirked but quickly dropped it. “Stop calling me brother, motherfucker.”
“Why?” Xander added. “You are our brother, correct?”
I looked at Elijah. “Are they always this fuckin’ annoying?”
He smirked. “More so.”
They chuckled. “Look,” Christian started. “Whatever your relationship is with our father?—”
“There is no relationship with your father, and you should know that.”
“Okay.” Christian nodded. “Fair enough. If you never want a relationship with him, that’s your right. But we never knew about you. If we had, we would’ve reached out long ago.”
Xander spoke up. “Don’t punish us for something outside of our control.”
I cut my eyes at them, then turned my head and rubbed my temples.
“What the fuck do you want from me? Our worlds are miles different. We can’t just kumbaya, niggas.”
They laughed, and I rolled my eyes and smirked.
“Y’all are killin’ me.”
“We’re not asking to kumbaya, but damn, get to know us.”
“Not in your world,” Xander said.
“And not in ours,” Elijah said.
It reminded me of something similar Santari had said.
“There’s space and opportunity for us to connect in whichever way we like. Consider it before you push us away.”
I turned my back on them, took a step, then turned back to face them.
“This has to be on my terms.”
“We’re okay with that.”
“And don’t ask me for no hugs, motherfuckers.” I turned and left with their howls of laughter at my back.