Page 98 of Into the Blue

“Junior had my name,” he says. “He was blood. He was—”

“He was weak,” I cut in. “And weakness rots everything it touches.”

That hits him. The stillness that follows feels like the moment before a fuse meets flame.

He turns to face me fully. “You killed my son.”

“I saved your family. It was a mercy kill and probably a better end than he was heading for anyway with how many different drugs he was playing with on a consistent basis.”

His silence is approval.

It’s not love.

It’s not pride.

It’s a tactical acknowledgement—one leader recognizing another. But when he walks toward me and places a hand on the back of my chair, there’s something else in his eyes too.

Fear.

“You’re one bad woman. I couldn’t predict that this was what was comin’ for this family when you stepped foot in the house before,” he says, and his voice holds something close to reverence. “That’s what makes you better than him.”

I let out a breath and smooth the front of my suit.

That’s it. The box I didn’t want to admit I’d been waiting to check. Not affection. Not belonging.

Justrecognition.

The daughter made in the dark image of her father. And now she’s sharper.

He lifts his hand from the chair and offers it.

I take it and just like that,I’m her.

The head of the Lafayette family.

Not everyone will be clapping for this arrangement. There is still a small faction of Lafayette that remain loyal to Junior’s memory and what he stood for. Old dogs clinging to dead loyalty. They won’t bow. Not easily.

That’s fine.

They’ll break.

Or they’ll be broken.

When I informed him of the hit, and all that I had orchestrated, I allowed him to notify our people of the next move. Head straight for the Dupont Warehouse. Nine cars, each with four of our men. Ours, mine, it's all the same now.

He makes the call and places the phone on speakerphone. Before it connects he says, “Don’t want to lose any more of my men.” What he’s not saying is clear,no more bloodshed to prove a point.

The next in command at the ready is Jalen Lambert. Competent and not a part of Junior’s drugged out lackeys. “Umm, sir. Do you want us to go in?”

He wasn’t addressing me but I’m sir now. “Send them in and wait for our next move,” I say.

“You heard her. Rush ‘em and wait.”

After the phone call, my father leaves for the small office to have a conversation that will change everything. It’s just Liezel and Lidia here in the conference room for a moment.

They both come to my side and hug me. I feel the new weight of Lafayette and it’s an accomplished feeling as much as it is a burden. One massive hurdle cleared and one more that still stands in the distance.

They release me and Liezel begins collecting everything from the room while Lidia goes to guard the door again. Can never be too careful now with more targets soon coming for my back.