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“Man, do y’all niggas have superpowers or something? How does ‘just the foundation’ look good?” Uno chuckled as we viewed the grounds for the casino. “I know once this place is up and running, it’s going to make the city a lot of money.”

“Facts,” I agreed as we canvased the area. “The revenue that’s coming to the city is going to be nothing you’ve ever seen before. Get ready.”

It’s only been three months, but the grounds for the casino are coming along quite nicely. The new construction team we’d put together has done a great job. I haven’t had to get on anybody’s ass, and that’s a plus to me.

“I don’t want to jump the gun or anything, but I was also thinking about gaming centers, more hotels, and even housing complexes around the city. I have a couple of guys interested in bringing more business here, but since we have contracts together, I wanted to run it by you first. Everybody is cool with it and down for whatever.”

Leaning against my Range, I folded my arms and peered through the lot. I wasn’t opposed to more businesses and knew Rosier wouldn’t be either. We would have to hire more workers to ensure there wouldn’t be any delay in the builds, but that was doable.

“You know I’m with it.” I nodded as I reached over and dapped him. “Let me get with the guys and chop it up with them, and it should be a go.”

We shot the shit for a few more minutes before we decided to leave. It would be dark soon, and the workers were packing up to go. Uno decided to hold a small press conference today with updates on some of the construction around the city, and I tagged along in case questions were asked about the actual construction of the casino. The citizens in this town are one hundred percent for Kenneth Mills. The things he does to improve the quality of life here are commendable, and if I were a resident, I would’ve held the same sentiments. Uno was doing right by these people, and they will always have his full support.

“You know… I can’t believe you really invoiced my brother for three million dollars.” He chuckled once we were back inside my truck. “That nigga ain’t said shit to us since.”

“Hell, he barely talked anyway.” I chuckled as I lit my blunt. It had been a long-ass week, and I needed to get my mind right. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Bitch, please.” He waved me off and mugged me. Pulling out his own perfectly rolled blunt, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m still that nigga.”

As we both became lost in our thoughts, Denim came to my mind. Since getting back in her good graces, I’d been going to sleep and waking up to her, and it’s the most normal I’ve ever felt. Big Bri has me wrapped around her fingers with no sign of letting up. I was playing with dolls, drinking tea, and singing along to princess movies with the pretty six-year-old. I didn’t know what I was doing with them, and I hated it. I’ve prided myself on being ahead of the game and having my shit together. With them, I’m as lost as ever because I knew with them is not where I was supposed to be.

She was scheduled to go back to work a couple of days ago, and I knew then it was time to disappear. Once she found out that we were married, I knew she was going to finally show me the fury that allowed her to join the FBI. When she discovered our nuptials, she started blowing up my phone and hasn’t stopped calling and texting since. I had plans for Denim once I handled her baby daddy. She’d just have to sit tight until I got my bearings to deal with her.

“Did you know Denim was the Feds?” I pulled from the blunt and asked. His choking caused me to take my eyes off the road and glance his way. “I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Fuck no, I didn’t know!” He beat himself on the chest, trying to get himself together. “Granted, I know her dad is a judge. Between us… he’s one of the officials on my roster. He’s a good dude, though. I only use him when I want to get niggas off the streets my way.” I nodded and felt his eyes on me. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Nigga, what are we? Five?” I chuckled as I thought about his childish question. “I do like her—I like her too damn much. It’s an issue I still haven’t figured out how to solve. I married her ass, though, so while it’s not a permanent solution, I have a little more time to sort the shit out.”

With his eyes damn near popping out of his head, I explained to him what took place at the auction he missed. I’d already told him and Skip about their lieutenant governor back at the club a couple of weeks ago. Uno was overly pissed off when he learned about Bryce and his extracurricular activities, but he agreed to let my brothers and I manage it. I think it was a hit to his ego that the sex trafficking had been occurring right under his nose, and he was green to it. After clueing him and Skip in, he made it a habit to check in daily on the progress of taking the lieutenant governor and his accomplices down. I was happy he had jumped on board and didn’t attempt to intervene without us leading. Holmes was my target, and I was the only one killing that muthafucka.

It was important for me to let the Mills brothers know what we were planning to do in Milly Grove. When shit started hitting the fan, I wanted those that mattered to be aware because of the list of elite people involved. I would never come here and show out without giving them a heads-up because if it were my city, I would want the same courtesy I was giving.

“Why trick her into marrying you, though? Why not just stop fuckin’ with her until you know what she’s up to…”

I glanced his way because he was right, and I didn’t have an answer to his question. Saved by the bell, my phone started ringing. Telling him to hold his thought, I noticed Jules was calling me. It was close to the time for us to pick up the girls, and everyone was on edge.

“Talk to me, bro,” I greeted as I exhaled a smoke cloud. “Everybody in the city good?”

“We’re straight… waiting for you to come home. Rosier is making me work, and I don’t like that for me. You’re his right hand—not me, nigga.” We shared a laugh before he got serious. “Who you with?”

“Uno… He knows what’s up, though.”

“I need you to make a move on Holmes sooner than we anticipated.” I cursed under my breath because I knew some shit like this would happen. “There’s talks of them buying more girls, and we need to cut off the head of the snake before it happens. We can’t save everyone, Dre. We need to make a move while we can.”

Knowing he was right, I agreed. Pulling over on the side of the empty road, I put the car in park before getting out and taking a deep breath. I was prepared to do this shit; it was just frustrating when I had to adjust my timeline because killing was a craft. There was a time and place for everything—one wrong move could be deadly.

“Aight. Holmes has his daughter this week, so it’s not a problem getting her away from Denim. I’m just going to call him and tell him I need the girl today instead of later.” Hearing the door behind me, I turned to face Uno. “Call your brother and tell him I need him to pull up… alone. When he gets here, I want you to leave.”

“Nigga, what?” Uno frowned as he paused from dialing his brother. “Why the fuck do I need to go?”

“No offense, but Skip is the one I've been catching bodies with since I’ve been here.” I grimaced at my logic like the shit made sense. “Come on, man. Don’t make me explain the shit, sounding like a simp. Plus, you an elected official. Ain’t nobody trying to catch a body with the mayor, homie. Tell that nigga I’ll send him some money for his services if he talks shit.”

Doing as I asked, Uno called his brother. After listening to Jules talk shit about us bonding over killing niggas, I hung up on his ass and called Holmes. It took him a few times to answer, but he finally did.

“Boudreaux,” he answered as if he was out of breath. “How’s it going?”

“Better if I can cash in tonight.” I kept the words brief. “I know we still have another week, but I need her tonight.”

Hearing him tell his daughter to watch television and he’d be right back, I gazed upward as I balled my fist and clenched my teeth. This nigga was a bitch for what he was doing, and I couldn’t wait to kill him.

“Andre, I’m not prepared to give her to you yet,” he said in a hushed tone once he returned to the phone. “She hasn’t been prepped yet, and I ? —”

“The fuck you mean… prepped?” I tried to keep the anger from my voice, but it was too late. “The shit is simple. I paid my money, and now I want the girl. It ain’t shit else to talk about.”

As I waited for him to respond, my blood boiled in fury. This man was seriously selling me his daughter with no remorse. I wanted to make his death as painful as I could.

“Rebecca and I had plans for her before we gave her to you,” I squeezed my eyes shut as I gripped my phone so tight that I heard it crack. “If you can give me until the end of the week ? —”

“You have two hours to meet me in Sunset Valley,” I growled, and I damn near didn’t recognize my own voice. “You will not touch her. You will not even look at her. I paid for her to come to me a certain way, and that’s how I expect her to be when I get her. Don’t make me come find you, nigga, because I will. And when I come, it’ll be with zero understanding. I’m killing you and everyone attached to you. You have two hours. I will text you with the details.”

Disconnecting the call, I walked over to the woods and threw up everything I had in my stomach. That nigga was sick as fuck and didn’t deserve to live another day.

“That bad?” Uno walked over and handed me a bottle of water. “Skip is on his way. Tell me what you need from me, bro. Let me do something.”

Taking the bottle of water, I panted as I gulped it down. The cool air didn’t do anything to stop the sweat pouring down my face. Hearing how that man and his wife wanted to harm my Big Bri had me tore up. I needed to shake back because I wouldn’t be a minute late for pick up.

“If I give you a list of things, do you think you can have it at the penthouse by the time I get there?” I asked. “Other than that, I’m good.” Walking back to the car, I paused. “Tell me you have a building in the Valley I could use.”

Seeing him nod, I breathed a sigh of relief as he called his brother and told him where we would be. Restarting the car, I turned the air on full blast and dialed my grandfather. If I was going to get through this with my mind intact, I was going to need as much prayer as I could get.

* * *

Standing in the middle of the room, I waited patiently for Holmes to arrive. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket for the hundredth time, causing me to power it off. I should have left it in the car or sent it back with Uno because Denim was blowing me down. She was going to be mad as fuck when I hit her back, but I can’t worry about that right now.

Hearing the door creak open, I folded my arms as I heard the clicking of dress shoes on the hardwood floor. The stench of bitch invaded the room before I even saw him. Under the dimly lit light, Holmes rounded the corner with a sleeping Briley in her arms. What pissed me off was the fact that he brought her outside in nothing but a nightgown.

“Where are her clothes?” I dropped my arms and placed them in my pocket. My trigger finger was itching, and I was trying to control myself. “She’s going to get sick.”

“Ahh… she’ll be fine.” He smirked as he patted her bottom. “Sick or not, she’s still the sweetest little thing. Also, I gave her some Benadryl, so she may be out for a little while if you’re up for some early fun.”

“Did you touch her?” I could feel my blood pressure rising every second he was before me. “Did you ? —”

“Sample the goods?” He chuckled as he rubbed her back. “No, but I was tempted. Every time I washed her off, or even combed her sweet-smelling hair, I was tempted. You know, I’ll buy her back if you want me to. Maybe I can even offer you a deal on some new girls I have coming next week.”

Stepping toward him, I reached out my arms, and his beady eyes flashed with fear as he took a step back. “Hand her to me.”

“Why do you want her?” He moved to the side to stop me from grabbing her. “You’re already fucking her mother. I know her pussy is good and tight—maybe not as tight as Bri’s, but ? —”

Reaching out, I grabbed his throat in hopes I would rupture his trachea. His eyes bulged as he began to cower beneath my stare. My patience was growing thin with this nigga, and I was ready to make him feel me.

“Listen here, nigga. I don’t know who the fuck you think I am, but I’m way worse than anything you could have imagined.” I smirked as his eyes began to water. “I will cut your dick off and shove it down your fuckin’ throat if you ever refer to Bri or her mother with that much vulgarity. Do you fuckin’ understand me?” Barely able to nod, I loosened my grip and threw him into a fit of coughs. “Hand her to me. Now!”

Removing my suit jacket, I draped it over her small body as I took her from him. I peered down into her sleeping face and kissed her temple. If it were left up to me, I would save her from all the evils of this world—not just the one that went half on her DNA.

He was still bent over, choking and holding his throat. “Now, are you taking her to Florida tonight? You need to make sure—ahh!”

Before he knew what was coming, I removed my Glock from the back of my pants and shot him in the knee. Bri began to stir from his screaming, and that angered me even more.

“Andre?” She yawned sweetly as he looked around. I turned my body to keep him out of her line of sight. “What are you doing at my daddy’s house?”

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

That’s the verse my mother always recited to me as a child, and at this moment, I thought of it when I looked at Bri. Smiling at her little self, I patted her back gently. “I came to get you and take you back to your mother. Just go back to sleep, baby.”

Throwing her little arms around my neck, she squeezed me tightly, and before long, she drifted off to sleep again. Once she was out, my glare returned to a crying Holmes.

“You can’t do this,” he cried while cradling his knee. “Do you know who I am?”

“I do… and soon enough, the world will too.” I stepped toward him, and he crawled backward as if he had anywhere to go. “You’re a fuckin’ pedophile who gets off on raping women and children. I wish I had time to let some of the boys show you what it’s like to be violated.” I chuckled at his crying as if it meant anything. “They’ll lick those tears right on up.”

Pow!

Shooting him in the stomach, I could have sworn I heard a door opening. Aiming my Glock at his head, I heard a small gasp come from behind me.

“Bryce!” I heard her weep softly from behind. Anger soared through me as she cried over this bitch-ass nigga. Dropping the gun to my side, I shifted Bri as I peered down at him, watching him gargle and moan in pain. Glancing behind me, we locked eyes briefly before I aimed at his head and blew it off his shoulders.

Hearing her call my name out as she called me a murderer made me feel targeted, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I needed to get Briley out of here. As I turned to face her, she continued to spew in rage, but it didn’t last long. Placing a cloth doused in chloroform over her nose, I watched her struggle against Skip before her body went limp.

“Leave that nigga here. The boys are on the way.” I kept my eyes on an unconscious Denim as he threw her over his shoulder. “Place her in the back of my ride and follow me to the spot. I’ll take it from there.”

* * *

Sitting in the corner of my guest room, the only light that illuminated the room was from the stars. I nursed a glass of Hennessy as I watched Denim toss and turn in her sleep. Tonight, all truths, as well as her fate, would be revealed.

After leaving Sunset Valley, Skip helped me set the girls up at the penthouse until I figured out what I wanted to do with them. Leaving witnesses behind has never been a thing of mine, and it wasn’t my intention to start doing so now. Once they were settled, I thanked Skip and told him how I wanted to handle Bryce’s body. He agreed with my plan and was headed back to the scene to oversee his men for me.

Picking up my iPad, I logged into the penthouse’s camera system and watched Briley as she slept peacefully in the next room. Baby girl could have landed in the wrong hands tonight, and I couldn’t imagine someone hurting her. I clenched the glass tightly at the reality of that someone being her father. So badly did I want to hit Jules and ask if he could bring him back to life just so I could kill him all over again.

“Ugh… What happened?” I dragged my eyes back toward Denim as she regained consciousness. “Why does my head hurt?” She grabbed her head before shooting straight up in the bed. Looking around the dark room in a panic, she slid from the bed and headed toward the door. “Briley!”

“Sit the fuck down and be quiet before you wake her up,” I said through closed teeth as I threw back my shot. Reaching over, I turned on the lamp, and her eyes found mine. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Fear flashed across her face before she backed away from the door and did what I said. Tears began to fall from her eyes, and I ignored the tight feeling in my chest that began immediately after. It was time for Denim and me to have a serious talk, and nothing was going to stand in the way of that.

“Andre. Where is my daughter?” she croaked as she looked at me with pleading eyes. “Why did you do this?”

Angling my head at her, I stood from my seat and took slow steps until I hovered over her. Dropping the tablet in her lap, I watched as more tears fell from her eyes as she watched her daughter sleep.

“Briley is fine for now. If you want to keep things that way, I advise you to answer my questions honestly. If I don’t like what you have to say, well… you know the rest.” I walked back over to the spot where I previously sat to put some distance between us. My emotions were running high right now, and I didn’t want it to interfere with this conversation. “Tell me, Denim… who are you?”

Weeping, she continued to stare at the tablet as she examined her daughter. I wasn’t a patient man, but I allowed her enough time to get herself together before answering me.

“Andre… you have to understand. I-I thought you—but you are…” She looked at me with angry eyes. “You’re exactly who I thought you were.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time…” I picked up my Glock from the nightstand and placed it in my lap. Her eyes widened in horror. “Who the fuck are you, Denim?”

Looking as if she was seeing me for the first time, she sighed heavily before dropping her head. After a few moments, she held it high before responding, “Denim Atkins; special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Hearing her finally say who she was out loud caused me to seethe in resentment. Her eyes stayed on mine as I tapped my Glock against my knee. Looking at this woman, I wanted to kick myself for not calling her out on her shit earlier. Now, here I am, conflicted about how I want to her end her life for thinking she could play with me.

“Special Agent Atkins… age twenty-eight. Daughter of Judge Joe and Mrs. June Atkins. No siblings. One daughter: Briley Jo Holmes.” I leaned forward in my seat. “I know everything about you—from the moment you graduated college, became an agent, and even when you enlisted Detective Morales to come to South Florida in hopes of setting up Rosier. Let’s not forget you’re the reason the port director, Paul, is no longer with us.”

“So you admit you killed them? Paul, Morales, my cousins… you killed them?”

“I admit that I’m considering killing you…” I smirked as her eyes expanded at my confession. “You see, Denim… you tend to stick your nose in the wrong shit. I, dear wife, am the wrong shit. And your cousins, they didn’t give a fuck about you. Nobody disrespects or threatens me—sorry they had the same fate as others who’ve tried to son me. Maybe the Big G has a way of intervening on my behalf. Enough about the worm food…” I stood from my chair and walked over to her. As I lingered and peered down into her beautiful face, my finger lifted her chin before my thumb traced her bottom lip. “Tell me, baby… why did you think it was a good idea to come after a nigga like me?”

My eyes darting to her tongue as she swiped at her bottom lip, panting heavily. Standing slowly to her feet, her eyes were trained on me as she began to speak. “When your father and David approached Morales for help to take down Rosier, they contacted me. Morales and I had worked together in the past, and he knew I was the only one he could trust. He knew you guys didn’t have me in your pockets like everyone else. He set the seed for Chris to get involved for information from Ari, Rosier’s then-fiancée. When he was killed… and then Morales, I knew you all had gotten to him. I felt all hope was lost—the efforts were for nothing until Paul Reeves, the director overseeing your ports, told me about the illegal shipments you guys were docking. Then… out of nowhere… he vanishes.” Searching my eyes, I gave nothing away. “Just admit you killed them all, Andre.”

I placed my finger under her right lobe before dragging it across her throat until I made it to her left lobe. “I slit his fuckin’ throat from ear… to ear. I stood over him and watched the life leave his eyes as I mutilated him. Then, I wrapped him up nice and tight before feeding him to the biggest gators in North America, baby.” I smiled as goosebumps covered her neck. “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you and don’t expect to receive consequences. Now, tell me… what did you learn from all this? How do you feel knowing the blood of those niggas are on your hands?”

Shaking in distress, she stepped back from me with a look of horror in her eyes. She was terrified and had every right to be.

“You’re a monster,” she spoke barely above a whisper. “I wanted you to be punished for the things you’ve done. People may think you’re a good man because of the money you put into communities, but you also slaughter everyday people like cattle.”

“Men. Women. Children. Cats. Dog,” I said, taking a step toward her with each word. She took one back until her back was pressed against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. “I’ve killed them all. I’m an exterminator. A fuckin’ reaper, baby. Tonight, you got to see it firsthand. How does it feel knowing you’re married to a murderer? The very man you thought you were going to finesse with a fat ass, wet pussy, and a smile ended up finessing you. You fell in love with the big bag wolf, Lil’ Mama.” I smirked as a tear slid down her cheek. “What a dumb lamb?—”

Whap!

Slapping the shit out of me, I growled at Denim as my head turned slowly back to face her. Gripping her neck, I wanted to choke the breath from her body. This muthafucka really put her hands on me.

“Let me fuckin’ go, Andre.” She clawed at my hand, but I refused to loosen my grip. “I’m going to kill you!”

“Kill me?” I threw my head back and laughed loudly. “Like I killed Bryce? You were so busy worried about me and the nigga you thought I was but didn’t know who the real monster in your life was. You procreated with a fuckin’ pedophile, but I’m the one that’s fucked up?”

Hearing me speak about her dead baby daddy caused her to fight even more. My grip on her neck tightened, but I was sure not to completely cut off her airway. Her movements slowed for a moment before I let her go. She dropped to the ground with her hands around her neck as she caught her breath.

“You’re a liar!’ she cried. “He wouldn’t do that!”

“No?” I asked as I stood over her with my fists clenched. “Why do you think I ended up with Briley? That auction of his wasn’t for getaways, Denim! It was for selling underage children! Those vacation stays me and my people bought? They were fuckin’ kids!” Crouching down in front of her, I removed her hands from her ears so she could hear me. “Do you know all the vile things that man wanted to do to your daughter? He was sick as fuck, but you couldn’t see that. She voiced being uncomfortable with those people, but your solution was sending her to spend alone time with her father. She’s fuckin’ six; she couldn’t voice what was right or wrong. I ain’t blaming you, but I am! Instead of trying to jam me on some bullshit you think you know, you should have put that energy into making visits to his home to figure out why your kid hated it there.”

“No!” She jumped to her feet and screamed, “You’re lying!”

“You know what… you’re delusional.” I simpered and shook my head. “You’re closer to more devils than you know, but you’re worried about me .” I placed my hands in my pockets and stepped away from her. I needed to get out of here before I killed this bitch. “Don’t worry, though. That’s one less demon you have in your life. Soon, it’ll be three.”

“Three?”

“You think Holmes was working alone?” I raised my brow at her as I placed my gun in my waistband. “You think that wife of his helped organize his event with no idea of what was happening?” I watched the blood drain from her face at the realization. “Exactly. Also, the devil before you will be a distant memory soon enough. Once I’ve washed this city clean, we’ll take care of that marriage shit, too, wifey .”

I kept my mug on her for a second longer than I should’ve. I knew deep down I was still stalling from the duty I had to off this girl. For now, I was going to leave and take some time to plan out my next moves. She and Bri would be locked in the penthouse until I figured it out. They had whatever they needed here, and I wasn’t worried about them leaving. Guards and cameras were everywhere, and any calls on the tablets would be redirected to Mimi.

“Wait…” she called out to me as I placed my hand on the knob. “Why did you marry me?”

Slowly, I turned to face her. Stepping toward her, she stood her ground with her distraught eyes on me.

“Spousal privilege is a real thing and is inadmissible in court, love.” I tapped her chin and grinned. “Anything a husband says to his wife can’t be used against him in the court of law.”

“I’m sorry, Dre…” She dropped her head as I let her chin go. I didn’t want to hear that shit, so I was out. “I was wrong for how I tried to play you. But I didn’t know who you really were before! I didn’t expect to fall in love with you! I love you, Andre Boudreaux!”

Leaving out of the room, I closed the door behind me and listened to her fall to the floor and cry her heart out. Feeling overwhelmed, I wanted to scream as I punched the wall repeatedly. This shit was a fucking mess, and this was the first time I didn’t know how to fix it.

What made matters worse was I had undeniably fallen in love with Denim too.