Page 89 of Cannon

“You got my message,” he said, his voice all business.

“Yeah, I got it. What exactly checked out?” I asked, pulling onto the FDR Drive, the skyline of Manhattan gleaming across the water like broken glass.

“Everything you told us about Smoke’s operation. His suppliers, his stash houses, his security detail. We’ve been watching for three days, and it’s all exactly how you described it.” There was a pause, then, “My brother’s actually impressed.”

I snorted. “Riot? Impressed? Tuh.”

“He respects your intel. That’s a start.” Creed’s voice dropped lower. “Look, we’re making a move tonight. Nero will be at Zip’s. We’ll kidnap his ass to lure Smoke out.”

“Aight, bet.”

“Can you be here in an hour?”

“Yeah.”

I ended the call and tossed my phone on the passenger seat, my mind still twisting from everything that happened with Reese. The betrayal cut deep, but I couldn’t dwell on that shit now. I had business to handle.

An hour later, I was stepping off the elevator into Creed’s penthouse. The place was still immaculate, but this time it wasn’t just Creed waiting for me. Riot stood by the window, his back to me, tension radiating off him like heat waves.

“We could do this hit without that nigga,” Riot muttered without turning around.

I ignored him, nodding at Creed instead. “Let’s get this shit started.”

“Both of you, sit down,” Creed commanded, gesturing to the leather chairs across from each other. Neither of us moved.

Creed sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “For fuck’s sake. We got a job to do tonight. I need you two to put your bullshit aside for a few hours.”

“Tell that to your brother,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m here to handle Smoke, not play family reunion.”

Riot finally turned, his dark eyes narrowing on me. The bruise under his right eye had faded, almost matching the one under mine.

“Look at you two,” Creed said, shaking his head. “Both sporting matching bruises that you gave each other. Both too stubborn to admit how alike you really are.”

We wasn’t shit alike. They grew up with silver spoons, I grew up hustlin’. I don’t know why that nigga Riot was so angry and I didn’t give fuck.

“This nigga is so smug. He probably thinks that we had it good just because Silas was our pops,” Riot let out a dark laugh.

“That’s exactly what I think.”

“Listen, we ain’t gotta hash all this shit out tonight. But it wasn’t sweet. That nigga tortured us. And then in the end, he turned out to be a pedophile . To this day we are still killin’ niggas associated with kiddie porn. And Riot was the one that put a bullet in his head.” Creed replied.

“Da fuck?”

I had no idea that Silas was so sick. I knew he was evil but had no idea it was that bad. That man forced Tessa to give me up and then killed my birth father because he had sex with his wife. That was all in Tessa’s letter. She never mentioned him being an abusive pervert. And Riot… I would’ve done the same thing. Bullet straight to the dome for some shit like that.

“Yeah. So let that animosity go,” Creed replied when he saw the look of shock on my face.

I shifted uncomfortably, processing this new information about Silas King. The sick bastard was even worse than I’d imagined.

“Enough family drama,” I said, refocusing. “Let’s talk about tonight.”

Creed nodded, spreading a blueprint across the glass coffee table. “Zip’s. Smoke’s pride and joy. According to your intel, Nero will be there tonight with the crew. Just six of them.”

“Security?” Riot asked, studying the layout.

“Two at the door, one behind the bar, two roaming. Basic shit,” I responded, remembering exactly how they liked to run things. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

“We go in hard and fast,” Riot spoke. “Neutralize the security, grab Nero, and bounce before anyone can call for backup. No witnesses.”