Page 3 of Mafia Kings & Wedding Rings

When it came to her and Marcella, I’d never been disrespectful.

I wasn’t expecting the terms and conditions of his will to be so specific.

Then again, if there was one thing I knew about Justus Marek, he did nothing in vain.

There was a reason behind every single decision he ever made.

I’d never seen him be impulsive or pragmatic.

Much like Ivo, he had to have a plan A, B, and C for everything.

I had a college education and could run this business in my sleep, but I walked away when I saw the risks up close.

“I might not have been a perfect parent, but I never walked away from my own family when the shit hit the fan!” Marcella stood with eyes of fury, scathing me.

The woman was half my size, yet she seemed so much more inferior, never blinking while staring me down.

“You call it walking away, and I consider it saving myself. You want to talk about legacy, family, all that other bull shit y’all tell yourselves to feel better.

I know what that shit means!” I aimed a finger at my chest and growled.

“I put everybody ahead of myself from the time I was eleven years old, and nobody looked out for me!”

I’d been absent and quiet far too long, and apparently, this gave muhfuckas the idea that I was soft. Shit couldn’t be further from the truth. I tucked that beast in the cage a long time ago when I made the choice to leave the Bluffs.

“You want a medal for that or something?” Granny’s brows drew together slowly, and we stood toe-to-toe.

“You’re the first grandchild, the oldest, of course, a lot fell on your shoulders.

What did you expect? You think it was easy for your father for you to just walk away the way you did?

He and your grandfather sacrificed and built this family brick by brick, only for you to decide you didn’t want to be a part of it. Imagine that.”

“I was there when my mama’s car was shot up.

I barely escaped with my own fucking life!

I’m the one who pulled her out of that and held her in my arms, begging her not to fucking die!

You think that was fucking easy?” I challenged, images and sounds from one of the worst nights of my life immediately flickering like a movie in my head.

The range of emotions coursing through me like boiling blood left my eyes misty.

Suddenly tension-filled silence coated the air.

My mother sniffled and wiped a single tear that slipped down her cheek as Marcella’s brown eyes softened.

Her tears always hit me right in the chest. My relationship with Rossi had wavered over the years.

It wasn’t on purpose. After that night, part of me detached from everything.

It was easier that way to keep from being hurt.

“No. I know that it wasn’t.” She swallowed slowly and shook her head.

“Then don’t stand there talking to me about sacrifice and family when I’ve seen what this shit can do to us firsthand! You think I want to raise my kids in this?”

“You think you can just walk away? After everything. Your father is dead, your grandfather is dead, Staten.” Marcella aimed her sharp index finger at the ground.

“You are heir to all of this. How does that make us look if you decide not to take over? The vultures are already circling. Ramirez wants a table sit-down ASAP to see how we’re going to move forward.

We’ve put it off with him and the other families because of the funeral, but they are only going to accept that for so long. ”

“I can handle Ramirez and the other families, Gran. Let ’em go if he don’t want to be here,” Ivo chimed in.

He was doing two things: one, trying to de-escalate things between me and my grandmother, and two, throwing a jab at me at the same time. Immediately, my feral gaze shifted to him.

“Ivo, I appreciate everything that you’ve done for this family.

The businesses wouldn’t run without you, but this is not on you.

” Gran briefly addressed him before she swung back around on me.

“This is about you, Staten. We’re all targets now that Justus is gone.

There is a shift in power, and we have to show them who we are and that the Marek family is stronger than ever.

I’m asking you as your grandmother… please consider this.

If you leave here, you’re leaving us all vulnerable to the same type of people that hurt your mother and killed your father.

At least if you stay, you and your children have top-of-the-line security, and they will have the best of everything. ”

Giving me plenty to think about, I looked past her out the window and saw that the sun was setting.

Our family estate consisted of the main house, which was where we had all gathered, and on the property, there were four additional houses scattered throughout the forty acres.

Each one was designed for me and my brothers and our families one day.

Ivo and his wife resided in one, but Brick chose to stay at the main house.

“She’s right,” my mother agreed somberly.

This was that bullshit. The guilt. The trauma.

The obligation. Thinking about my seeds and our life in Chicago…

I knew that they deserved better. It wasn’t like living in that city was any safer.

At least here we had a crew ready and waiting for orders when shit hit the fan.

Justus being gone left us wide open for muhfuckas to start testing us.

“This some bullshit!” I stormed toward the front entry.

“We need a decision soon, Staten!” Marcella didn’t bother to turn to me when she gave the instruction.

Pushing past her and the rest of my family, I stormed out one of the front double doors.

The fresh air from the spring day hit me in the face, but the way I was fired up had me hot and yanking at the gray silk tie around my neck.

I was a casual nigga to begin with. Catch me in some jeans or sweats.

Immediately, I yanked at the tie and ripped off the navy blazer while stomping toward the black Hummer parked ahead.

The minute I landed, I was given everything any normal person would be scrambling and scraping for.

I had a house for me and my children to stay in because I refused to move into this one, and a car to get me around.

My kids and I lived simply in Chicago and I was never hurting for shit because I wasn’t frivolous or spending money on bullshit.

When we pulled onto this estate and they saw the M emblem on the iron gate and the main house with horses running around on the open land, they were in awe.

In that moment, I remembered how much I had shielded them from and questioned whether I made the right choice as we pulled up in front of the mansion.

“Stat, hol’ up.” Brick came jogging toward me as I moved toward the car and hit the fob to unlock it.

“Look, that nigga Ivo always held some type of resentment for you,” he said, shoulders sinking in defeat.

“We both know that. I’m glad you here though.

Shit feels right. Ivo is good at the business side of things, no lie, but you…

” Brick shook his head. “You the nigga. Ain’t nobody forgot.

Might need some reminding though. Everything Gran said, it’s real.

Shit hot out here right now. I feel that shit everywhere I go.

Niggas stay trying me too. That’s how the last couple of altercations happened and why I gotta clean up my image and stop going off like that.

Basically… we need you. All of us. I ain’t trying to guilt trip you or none of that.

A nigga just miss his big brother at the end of the day. ” He held his hands up in surrender.

“Soft ass nigga,” I jested, yanking my car door open.

“Right now, I’m just going to spend some time with the kids first. I heard you though, aight.

” Extending my arm, we dapped each other up before a brief embrace.

Climbing into the SUV, I took off down the driveway and down the winding road until I pulled in down a separate dirt road hidden behind trees.

The 6,800-square-foot traditional-style house came into view as I cruised the paved driveway and circled to one of the three garage doors that slid open for me when I approached.

The two-story, six-bedroom, six-bathroom house was perfect and spacious for me and my children.

It also came equipped with a pool and patio.

My kids could do cartwheels for days in the big back yard, and I appreciated the space given our living situation a week ago.

Needing a minute to myself, I pulled the blunt from the ashtray that I’d been blowing earlier and decided to finish it.

I knew the minute we boarded that damn jet this trip was going to be different.

“What are you doing out here?” Cyra, my youngest son Rogue’s mama, lingered in the entry from the east side of the house.

She just so happened to be around when I got the news about my pops.

I hadn’t shared a lot of my past with her or anybody in Chicago while I was there.

I didn’t want nobody treating me differently because of who I was or my family name.

Growing up in the Bluffs, I knew how muhfuckas moved when they knew you were caked up.

When she learned that my family was responsible for Marek Reserve, you could practically see dollar signs dancing in her eyes.

The money we made pushing guns and dope was easily washable when we had several legit businesses to launder it through.

“Where the kids?” My buzz had kicked in as I eyed her in the little shorts and tank top she was rocking.

Dick stretching, I thought about her walls wrapped around it and squinted at her through the smoke.

“Upstairs on that damn Xbox,” she huffed. “They been up there for hours. Tavi came down for a snack run and ain’t been back since,” she cackled.

“Come here. Close the door,” I ordered in a low tone.