Page 30 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

Seth

King had hit me up, said me, Rich, and Southside should slide through. One more night. One more celebration. Celebrate what, though?

Yeah, Ronnie was dead but so was my pops. So was Lia. Ain’t no part of me felt like celebrating. Not tonight. Not ever, really.

I sat on the edge of the suite bed, the TV on mute, phone face down on the nightstand. My knuckles still bruised from yesterday. My stomach twisted with something ugly. It wasn’t just grief it was guilt, too.

How the fuck didn’t my pops see Ronnie for who he really was? Shit. Maybe the same reason I didn’t. That’s what kept hitting me the hardest.

All that loyalty. All that brotherhood shit they used to talk. My pops went to war for Ronnie fed his family, gave him keys, gave him chances. And Ronnie repaid him by putting a bullet in his chest. And I ain’t see it either. Not until it was too late.

I poured a shot in silence instead. Something to numb the knot in my throat.

Pops used to tell me, “Watch a man when he got nothin’, but watch him even closer when he think he got everything.

” Guess that was Ronnie. Snake-ass nigga waited ‘til he thought he could take everything from us power, respect, and blood. And he did. He left us broken.

I leaned back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling like it had answers.

Stormi kept texting me. I seen ‘em. I just didn’t have the words.

Not yet. Not with the weight I was carryin’.

I ain’t wanna lie to her and say I was okay.

And I damn sure wasn’t about to pull her into more darkness.

She already been through enough. But even with all this shit swirling in me, her name kept pulling at my chest.

Stormi. The one soft thing in all this chaos. The only piece that felt real and clean when everything else around me was soaked in betrayal and blood.

I needed to hold her. I needed to breathe her in, just to remind myself I was still alive.

Rich, Southside, and I stepped off the jet like we’d just crawled out of a war zone.

Three days. That’s all it had been. But I swear I came back a different man than the one who left. My boots hit home soil, and it was like my heart hesitated in my chest. Home. But nothing felt right anymore.

“What’s the play?” Southside asked, tugging on his hoodie as a blacked-out SUV pulled up for him.

“Shit… headed to the house.”

“Can’t wait to get to Stormi ass.” He smirked.

I tried to smile, but it barely touched my face. “Says the nigga whose woman picked him up at 2 a.m. like a Lyft,” I threw back.

“Gotta hop in some pussy to clear my mind,” Southside said, laughing as he dabbed us both up and slid into the passenger seat of the SUV.

I watched the door shut and envied him. That boy had peace waiting on him. Arms, warmth, comfort. I had a house full of glass and ghosts.

I looked at Rich. “You wanna come to the crib?” I asked as we hopped into the truck and pulled off.

“Nah,” he said, voice low. “I’m goin’ to the crib. Catch a few zzz’s. Then head to Lia’s mama so we can make funeral arrangements.”

That sentence sucked all the air out the truck. His voice didn’t even break. That’s what scared me the most. He said it like he was numb. I felt it in my chest, the weight of what he just said. The war with Ronnie was over, yeah.

But we was still standing in the rubble. Funeral arrangements. Fuck.

“So catch some zzz’s at my shit,” I offered. “You can still hit her mama’s crib in the morning.”

Truth was, I didn’t want him alone. He said he was okay. But I knew that lie.

I wanted to keep eyes on Rich. I’d just met Stormi, and I already wanted to burn the world down for anyone who looked at her sideways.

Rich loved Lia for five years. And now she was gone. He didn’t say a word, just switched lanes and headed toward my house.

I thought about calling Stormi. Letting her know I was on the way.

But I knew she was probably sleeping, probably mad I hadn’t answered her missed calls or texts.

She didn’t deserve silence, but I couldn’t be soft right now.

Couldn’t afford to fall into her arms and forget what had to be done.

She was a good distraction. Too good. But I had shit to finish before I could let myself feel anything real.

Twenty minutes passed in silence. Then Rich finally spoke.

“I’m gonna have to move.”

I looked over, eyebrows pulled in. “Yeah?”

“I can’t stay there with all her stuff. Her smell. Her slippers still by the bed” His voice cracked at the end, but he kept it buried deep. Didn’t look at me. Just stared ahead.

“You can crash at my shit until you find something.”

He scoffed. “Not tryin’ to be in your way.”

“Don’t start that shit. You family.”

He nodded, swallowed hard. Then he hit me with a shift.

“So you serious about Stormi?”

I paused. Thought about the way she smiled when she was nervous.

How her voice softened when she said my name like it wasn’t broken yet.

“I’ma see where shit go.”

“Long distance?”

“Fuck no. Her ass movin’.”

Rich let out a tired laugh. “You talked about this?”

“We will.”

He shook his head, pulled into the driveway. Lights swept across the yard. Security cleared us. Gates opened like we was royalty returning to the throne.

But inside? My throne felt empty. My estate looked like peace. Big, beautiful, untouched. But in my head, I was still in the warehouse. Still hearing Ronnie scream. Still seeing the look on Rich’s face when Lia’s name was mentioned.

We hopped out the truck. Rich stretched. “I’m happy for you. For real. You need to settle down. Been cold for too long.”

I nodded, jaw tight. But I couldn’t say it. That I was scared to be warm.

That I didn’t know if I even deserved peace. That all I wanted was Stormi’s hands on my face telling me I was still human.

Instead, I just said, “Yeah.” And walked toward the front door. Stormi.

I didn’t know if she was asleep, waiting, or pissed. Maybe all three. But I was home. And I was ready to hold her if she’d still let me .

Rich peeled off toward the guesthouse in the back.

Me I was headed straight for the master bedroom for her.

The house was quiet. Dark. That kind of stillness that hits different after death and chaos.

It was 3 a.m., Mama and S3 were out cold.

I peeked in on S3 curled up next to her, both of them breathing slow and steady.

Peaceful. I pushed open my bedroom door, and the smell of her hit me before I even saw her.

Damn. She was already under my skin, and now her scent was laced in my sheets.

It brought something like peace, but also reminded me how much I missed her.

Her silhouette stretched soft under the covers.

Light snores floating into the room like music.

I licked my lips, my mind drifting back to how she tasted and the sweet, slow way she gave herself to me a few days ago.

That virgin shit was different. New for me.

I’d never had to slow down. Never had to care about what it meant to a woman before.

But Stormi wasn’t just any woman. I wanted her in every way not just sexually, but spiritually.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t tempted to pull those sheets off and bury myself inside her right then and there.

Still, I reminded myself: respect her. Don’t rush her. Be what she needs.

I leaned over, brushed her shoulder.

“Bae,” I whispered.

No response.

“Bae,” I said again, shaking her gently.

Next thing I knew, it hit—hot fire in my eyes, my nose, my throat. I coughed, gagged, stumbled back, and everything around me blurred as if the world had turned to flames.“STORMI, WHAT THE FUCK! IT’S ME SETH!”

“Seth? Oh my God!” Her voice cracked in panic.

I stumbled back, half-blind, cursing as I made my way to the bathroom. My eyes burned like somebody poured acid on ‘em. I turned the faucet on full blast, splashing water over my face, damn near sticking my whole head in the sink.

“I’m so sorry, Seth!” I heard her running downstairs. My dumbass could only laugh through the pain. She came back seconds later, breathless and panicked.

“I got milk!”

I laughed harder. Not the sexy welcome-home I imagined but shit, this was real. This was us. She helped me flush my eyes with water and milk. After ten minutes, I could finally see again. My eyes were bloodshot, but the burning had eased.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again, voice shaking.

I squinted at her. “Why the hell you got mace on you like that?”

“In case someone broke in!”

“And what if they had a gun, Stormi?”

“The mace gives me time to run!”

I blinked. “That’s your logic?”

“Yeah.”

She was dead serious. Like it was a damn scientific fact. I couldn’t even argue with her. I just shook my head. Then her tone shifted. Her eyes softened but not in a good way.

“Why haven’t I heard from you in three days? Why didn’t you call? You couldn’t tell me you were coming home?”

I sighed and pulled her into me, needing her warmth. Needing her spirit to quiet the chaos still in my chest. But when I leaned in to kiss her, she pulled away.

“That shit doesn’t fly, Seth. Three days? Nothing?”

“So you mad?” I asked, knowing damn well she was.

She didn’t answer. Just walked back to the bed, climbed under the covers like I hadn’t just been halfway blinded by her. I stripped down to my boxers and slid in next to her. Reached for her again she pushed me away.

“Don’t touch me, Seth.”

“Damn, Stormi. I’m here now.”

“That’s not the point,” she said, voice low but firm. “You had me worried sick.”

“I told you I’d be back.”

“Saying you’ll be back means a couple hours not three days with no call, no text, nothing.”

“I had shit to handle. You know that.”

“I do. But you don’t get it.”

She turned her back to me, and that pissed me off more than her words did. But I had to remind myself she wasn’t being dramatic. She was scared. Hurt Fuck. I had to get used to having a real woman.

Other chicks? They didn’t care if I came or went just as long as they got theirs when I showed up. Stormi cared. Too much. And that shit scared me. Made me feel more than I was used to. I pressed my chest to her back anyway and kissed her neck.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered. “I needed to focus. Handle shit. So I could come back to you.”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t pull away either. That was enough for now.

I smiled against her skin. “Let’s go to Greece for a few days.”

“I have to get back to work.”

“Just give me five days Out the country No phones No stress. Just us.”

She rolled over and looked at me. Her eyes searched mine, like she was trying to decide if I was worth the risk.

“Okay,” she finally said.

“And you’ll go to Lia’s funeral with me?” I asked

She nodded. That meant more than she knew.

“You know Jo would be proud,” I joked, and she laughed. That soft Stormi laugh I didn’t know I missed so much till I heard it again.

Then she hit me with it. “You know I don’t want your money, right?” Her eyes held mine. Serious. Real.

I cupped her cheek. “I know. That’s why I wanna give you the world.” And I meant it. I was already trying to figure out how the hell I could get her to stay here permanently, because this girl… She was already home.