Page 59

RIOT

It’s been another sleepless night. My body was still, but my insides were a storm.

Loud. Violent. The kind of grief that don’t let you close your eyes without seeing blood.

My mother’s lifeless body slumped on my floor.

Madeira cold and twisted in the foyer, still loyal in death.

Rollo—my cousin, my right hand—vanished like smoke.

Probably dead too. And Havoc? Gone in a flash of gunfire and betrayal.

But it wasn’t over.

Not until I cleaned the last bit of filth from this family’s name.

Not until I got Mimi.

I didn’t tell Allure where I was going. She’d try to stop me. Say some shit like “This baby ain’t responsible,” like love alone could fix bloodlines poisoned by vengeance. But I knew what had to be done.

Mimi was the last ghost. The last open wound.

I found her holed up in a ragged-ass apartment two blocks off 135th. It was easy to find her after hacking her computer. I could see the apartment from where I stood on the street.

My chest was tight thinking about what I had to do.

I had to take this woman out and take that child out.

I knew that Allure would look at me differently, but she ain’t understand.

Babies grow up. He’ll wonder where his real father and mother are.

And when he finds out I killed them, he’ll kill me—or at least try.

So then, I’d be killing this lil’ nigga when he’s about sixteen. I might as well get it over with now.

I was working alone. I told Creed I could handle this myself. This was my body to bury. Mimi was Malia’s sister. She was only vengeful because of what I had did to her sister and potential niece or nephew.

Sometimes, I wonder—if my father hadn’t pressured me, would I have let that shit go with Malia? I didn’t want the streets to think I was soft by allowing a woman and her brothers to rob me. But at the same time, it wasn’t that much money and drugs that they took. It was easy to recoup afterwards.

And besides, she was carrying my seed.

Yeah, if I could do things differently, I would’ve forced Malia to hand over our child once it was born in exchange for her life. Let me raise our kid and you go do you since you robbed me. But that ain’t the way shit went down. I found out she was pregnant too late.

I headed towards the building. The elevator was broke, so I took the stairs slow. Each step felt like a countdown. I was calm and prepared to do what needed to be done. I had made peace with killing a small child.

I kicked the door open. No knocking. No warning.

She looked up from a half-packed duffel like she knew it was me before I stepped through. Jasir was clinging to her leg, wide eyes and soft curls, holding onto a beat-up lion like it could save him.

The look on her face wasn’t fear.

It was hate.

But damn, that boy looked just like her side of the family. He had Malia’s eyes.

“So you killed Havoc?” she hissed.

“Of course. He killed my aunt, my mother, and he tried to kill me,” I said.

Her jaw dropped as she looked at me with fear.

“He had it in him,” she sighed, looking down at her son.

“He did. But I got way more in me. You and that baby about to meet y’all’s maker.”

“Please, Riot. Not my son. He’s just one,” she begged.

I looked down at him as he looked up at me with wide eyes. Fuck. There was no way I could turn a gun onto a baby.

If I did, I would be just like Silas. And I am not that man.

I’m so much better than him. Creed had been telling me to stop being so impulsive and to grow up.

And he’s right. If I killed this kid, I would be going backwards.

This kid deserved life. He deserved to have what Havoc didn’t have—love, stability, loyalty.

“Get him out the room,” I said.

She stared at me for a beat too long. But then she grabbed Jasir, handed him a tablet and headphones, and disappeared into the back. Then she returned.

“Well?” she said, arms crossed. “Gonna kill me too?”

“Definitely,” I said. “You egged my brother on. Got in his head. And if I don’t end this shit now, you’ll do the same to Jasir. Listen—before I put this bullet in your head, I wanna make you a promise.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “You want to promise me something? What?! Like the promises you made Malia before you slit her throat? I used to hear y’all on the phone. Hear you say how much you loved her, how you’d take care of her forever.”

I flinched at that name. Malia.

It still echoed inside me like broken glass.

She’d haunted my dreams for years—blood pooling beneath her, eyes wide, lips trembling around my name.

I saw her in every woman I couldn’t love. In every silence I couldn’t sit with.

“You talk like she was innocent,” I said.

“She was pregnant!” Mimi shouted, stepping closer. “With your child. She did what our brothers forced her to do. She loved you. She didn’t have a choice!”

I couldn’t speak. My throat burned. My hand twitched by my side.

She kept going, voice shaking now. “My sister loved you and was excited about being a mom. When you killed her, you killed my whole family. We have never recovered.”

My chest tightened, breath caught somewhere between grief and fury. I actually felt bad because I knew she was right.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, looking her over. I relaxed the gun at my side.

“I want you to apologize.”

“I’m sorry. I loved Malia, and I killed her because my father ordered me to. It was her or me. Actually, he would’ve killed both of us. If I knew she was pregnant, I would’ve done things differently. I swear, Mimi. When I killed her, a part of me died too.”

Her face softened. I ain’t need sympathy, but I did need the killing to cease. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Did you know Silas touched Havoc?”

“Nope. Not until yesterday, right before he put a bullet in my mother’s head.

I had no fuckin’ clue. Had I known, I would’ve handled shit differently with him too—before things got this bad.

Havoc was dealt a fucked-up hand. We all were, but he got it the worst. And I never knew that.

I always thought since he didn’t live with Silas full time, he ain’t receive the same abuse that we did,” I responded.

She swallowed hard and swiped a tear away from her eye.

“Look, Mimi, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you twenty million dollars for you to go away, aight?

That’s what Havoc asked for. In return, we can just tell Jasir that Havoc died fighting for the family.

And when he’s old enough, he can get whatever he needs from the family.

We’ll give him a top position, shares, and always make sure he goes to the best schools.

I won’t come for you—but you can’t come for me.

And you gotta raise him to know that the Kings got his back,” I offered.

I watched her mull it over, her shoulders relaxing, the tension in her face finally easing.

“Silas ruined so many lives,” she whispered.

“Yeah. And I know money can’t fix everything, but it can start to mend something,” I replied.

“You got a deal,” she said.

“I’ll have that wired to you in three business days. As for now, I’ll put y’all up in a nice hotel and get you out of this slum.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Aye, do you know where Rollo’s body is?” I asked.

“He’s still alive. Havoc actually liked him. He shot him in the shoulder. He’s in the basement of the building where Havoc lived—in a storage facility.”

If a nigga had any more tears to cry, I would’ve shed them for joy. Havoc wasn’t completely cold. He let our nigga live.

“I’ma go get to him right now,” I said as I turned to walk away.

As soon as I did, I heard a gun click. This bitch.

I swear, hoes don’t know when to quit.

I turned around. “Really, bitch?”

“Money cannot bring Havoc back.”

I knew that this was the end for me. This is what the fuck I get for listening to Creed’s ass—telling me to be more compassionate. I should’ve put a bullet right through this bitch’s skull when I walked in. I was trying to be reasonable.

But then she pulled the trigger—and the gun jammed.

Dumbass.

Her eyes grew big, and she cried out, “I was just playing. I’m sorry. I’ll take the money.”

“Too late,” I replied, as I raised my gun and fired a shot right between her eyes.

“FUCK!” I grumbled. I picked up my phone and called Creed, told him everything that happened. We needed another clean-up. I swear to God, after this I’m takin’ my Black ass to Bali for some rest and relaxation.

I ran into the bedroom to find Jasir watching cartoons on his iPad. He was completely unaware of what just happened.

I hung out with him in the room until Creed and our crew got here.

Guess I’m a dad now.