Page 10 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

Yair lived in chaos but his mind was years ahead of most when it came to technology. He was a gotdamn genius, smart as hell with tech shit. Half of it I didn’t understand and didn’t want to but I knew he always had us covered.

“Shit is crazy because they should know better.” Kades said.

He crossed the room and handed the blunt to me. Kades grilled the fuck out of him but didn’t say shit. “Yeah they should. I stay ahead of these dumbasses for a reason.”

Yair lifted his phone off the table. “Which reminds me, I’m upgrading our system.”

Kades lifted a brow. “What the fuck is wrong with our system?”

Yair dropped into the chair across from us, propping one foot up on the coffee table. “Nothing yet. But if I can hack our shit, then someone else could too.”

I passed the blunt to Kades and stretched an arm over the back of the couch. If we were going to smoke in his shit, we might as well share. “Which means you hacked our shit?”

Yair grinned. “Twice. Without trying.”

Kades sighed, rubbing his temple pulling from the blunt before he handed it back to me. “What’s your solution?”

Yair leaned forward. “New software for our phones, tighter encryption, and I’m running our shit through a system that bounces signals off random towers every five seconds. No way to track us.”

Kades nodded. “And no one else has access?”

Yair frowned. “Hell nah. You know how I do.”

“So, basically, we’re still untouchable?” He said with a smirk accepting the blunt from me

Yair shrugged, leaning back in his seat. “Basically.”

Kades passed the blunt back to Yair. “Good. Keep it that way.”

The conversation shifted after that, easing into bullshit. We were high as shit and talking stupid. Yair cracked a joke about some girl who tried to scam him into fixing her laptop for free then offered up pussy when he refused. He fucked her but didn’t fix her computer.

Kades reminded me about the time I nearly got my ass kicked by an old lady with a cane in a hotel lobby while I was on a job.

“Man fuck that shit. She shouldn’t have been standing so damn close when I pulled my gun.”

Yair nearly fell out of his chair laughing, shaking his head. “Bruh, she was about to send you straight to hell with that swing.”

“Would’ve been deserved,” Kades grinned.

“Fuck both of y’all. That shit was traumatic as hell.”

I didn’t take those moments for granted because I knew the second shit got crazy, both of my brothers would be right there with me and no one was touching us, ever.

Later that night I sat in my driver’s seat, resting my head against the back needing a minute before I left my brother’s house. We smoked two more blunts and I as high as shit.

It had been a long ass day and I should have gone home, but instead I pulled out my phone and opened my messages.

Me: You up?

I waited.

The little dots popped up.

Stopped.

Popped up again.

Stopped again.

Then finally?—

Baylyn: How do you have my number?

Me: It’s on your site. Blame your company for the access.

There was no action for a minute, then the dots again, followed by her response.

Baylyn: I don’t do “come fuck me” texts. Pick another contact in your phone.

I slouched further in my seat, letting my head drop back against the headrest.

Instead of texting back, I hit call. The line rang twice before she picked up and I was blessed with a heavy sigh in my ear before she spoke.

“Why are you calling me, Emir?” Damn, her voice was sexy.

I grinned, hearing the irritation in her tone and happy as hell that she didn’t hang up. That was enough.

“Because I wanted to hear your voice and the effort was well worth the reward. Got my dick hard as hell right now.”

She was silent and not because she was mad. I would bet a stack, her pussy was thumping and she was processing. I reached down and adjusted my dick because she had me bricked. Her presence, voice, and fucking existence was a problem. “Would you consider an ‘I’ll come fuck you’ text?”

She groaned.

“You’re annoying as hell.”

I grinned. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“I’m ignoring the question.”

I laughed, running my tongue over my teeth. She had a slick mouth. I liked that about her.

“Talk to me, beautiful.”

“I don’t know you to talk to you like that, Emir.”

“You know me enough.”

“No, I don’t,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “We’re not friends.”

I grinned wider, gripping my dick. Her voice was perfect.

“We can be friends, Baylyn. You just have to be open to it.”

Another pause.

“Why would you want that?”

I studied her intently not speaking for a moment and then said coolly, “I need new friends.”

“I doubt that but I’ll entertain your bullshit, why me?”

“I told you I like you.”

When she remained quiet, I continued.

“Now, tell me about your day.”

“You were a part of my day, uninvited but still there.” I grinned at her reference of me pulling up on her at Perfect Pick.

“You really didn’t seem all that bothered about me pulling up on you, Baylyn, now stop stalling and talk. I have a long drive home.”

“From where?” she shot back so quickly I almost fucking laughed. If I had said from another woman’s house she probably would have hung up in my face.

“I’ve been with my brothers. Calm all that down and talk to me.”

She released a groan of frustration and gave in.

“Fine,” she mumbled. “If it will get you off my phone…”

I started my car, pulling out of Kades’s driveway, waiting for her voice to fill the line, telling me about her day. I was about to absorb every fucking word because I meant what I said, I liked her, which meant I would take any parts of this woman she was willing to offer.

“My day was long,” she started. “Nothing too exciting. I had a meeting about a gender reveal party I’m planning. The couple wants something high-end, but they’re also indecisive, which is a nightmare combination.”

I rested my wrist against the top of the steering wheel. “What’s high-end for a gender reveal? Gold confetti? Diamond-studded balloons?”

“You joke, but you’re not far off,” she muttered. “They wanted a champagne wall that pops blue or pink depending on the reveal. And a firework display. And a live orchestra.”

I chuckled, navigating past a few late-night drivers. “For a baby who won’t even remember it?”

“Exactly,” she huffed. “But they’re spending six figures like it’s nothing, so who am I to stop them?”

I shook my head. “Shit, I should’ve gone into event planning.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s your thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think you have the patience for a woman having a breakdown over flower arrangements.”

I grinned. “If it’s the right woman, I’ll find the patience, trust that.”

I’m damn sure finding that shit with you…

“So you say.” I grinned and she kept talking. Her voice was soft but animated, like she hadn’t realized she was letting herself be comfortable with me.

She told me about the rest of her afternoon, checking vendor contracts, following up with another client, catching up with her best friend. She didn’t go into detail about that part, but I caught the shift in her tone, the way she skipped over whatever had been on her mind.

“What else?” I asked as I pulled onto my street.

She hesitated. “What do you mean?”

“You skipped something.”

She was quiet for a minute and then sighed. “I saw the news.”

I knew exactly what she was referring to.

She didn’t elaborate but she didn’t have to.

I didn’t say anything, just let the silence linger, allowing her to process whatever she was thinking.

Then, quietly, she said, “It was about the guy. The one you know…I didn’t know him but I knew of him.”

That piqued my interest.

“Yeah?”

“He was an ass. Kept harassing the staff and made some comment about taking what he wanted from one of them. He was very handsy with them too.”

My jaw tightened. So Warren was that kind of man. Didn’t surprise me.

“Yeah well that’s no longer an issue.”

Silence.

Then finally she released a sigh. “I guess not.”

I pulled into my garage and parked.

“Get some sleep, beautiful. I’ll see you soon.”

She was quiet for a minute, then muttered, “That sounds like a threat.”

“Not a threat, a fact.”

“Goodnight, Emir.”

I leaned my head back against the seat. She sounded content as fuck and that was currently how I felt.

“Goodnight, Baylyn.”

I ended the call, but I knew she’d still be thinking about me long after she hung up and that had me just as fucking content.