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“Jordie, is Mimi coming with us today? I want to see her.”

Glancing at my little twin through the rearview mirror, I couldn’t help but smirk at her. Every day that she was in my life was a day I thanked God. I loved her more than words could express. The only thing I appreciated when it came to her rat-ass mother was her having my Gi Baby.

“Mimi had to go back home.” She pouted, folding her arms in the process, and that shit broke a nigga’s heart. “She told me to tell you she was going to FaceTime you as soon as she was settled, though. Maybe we can take a trip to Disney World and go see her.”

“Oh my gosh! Yes!” She cheered up instantly.

It was crazy how she was in love with Mi all from one encounter.

They’d spoken on FaceTime before, but the night after the club was the first time they actually met.

Being interrupted by her was a good thing because had I dropped dick in Noemi like I planned, she would have never gone back to that nigga.

It’s been a week since she went back to Florida, and I was missing the fuck out of her.

Hearing her sound so sad on the phone was becoming unbearable, but we both knew what this was when we started kicking it.

Mimi was strong, and she would be all right.

She would always have me in her corner if she ever needed me.

“Is Uncle Uno and Uncle Wild going to be at the park today?” my baby asked from the backseat. “I miss them so much.”

“Do you?” I chuckled at her excitement as I threw the car in park.

It was a nice day out, and my mother suggested a family picnic.

Normally, we would just eat at a restaurant or in the backyard, but with AJ walking and Gianna being a ball of energy, my mother was all about memories, different experiences, and a shit load of Polaroids.

“Between you and me, who’s your favorite? ”

Turning to face her, I tried my best to hold in my laugh as she tapped her chin in deep thought. She was so cute today with her free flowing curls and overalls. My mother dressed her up damn near everyday like the little doll she was.

“My Uncle Uno is nice because he gives me lots of hugs and kisses. He buys me nice toys and tells me he loves me every day.”

“Your Uncle Wild doesn’t do that?”

“Of course, he does, silly.” She gave me a “duh” face as I got out of the car to undo her booster seat.

“He does the same thing as Uncle Uno, but he buys me way more ice cream and pizza. He lets me go to work with him so I can help him point out the skeezers. It’s a fun game, Jordie, and I always get it right. ”

I was going to kill Adrian.

Getting my baby girl out of the truck, I grabbed her backpack and led her through the park.

It was a nice Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t packed, and for that, I was grateful.

This particular park was between the Heights and Highland Meadows.

Uno wanted this one built to unify both areas and show that one side of town was no different from the other.

So far, there haven’t been any reported incidents.

That fact didn’t stop me from being strapped.

I took no chances when it came to protecting my family.

“Grandma! Grandpa!” She snatched away from me and ran across the park when she saw my parents seated. “It’s meee—ahhh!”

Wild came out of nowhere and scooped her up in his arms, causing her to start laughing uncontrollably. He swung her around as she squealed and giggled with tears in her eyes. He began tickling her and only stopped when she screamed that she had to pee.

“Unhand my baby, boy, before she soils herself,” my mother fussed and hit his chest. “Come on, sweetheart. Let Grandma take you to the bathroom.”

I dapped up my father and brothers before kissing Harley on the cheek.

She was now three months pregnant with their second child and was pretty as hell.

Harley was like the sister I always wanted, and I fucked with her heavy because her soft demeanor always calmed my mind down.

All of us needed that type of energy around.

“How’s it going, son?” my father asked as I took a seat beside him. I reached over and tickled AJ, who was babbling away. “Fatherhood looks good on you.”

“Feels good too.” I nodded, giving my attention to Wild. “I’m going to kill you, nigga. Why you got my baby picking out skeezers?”

Throwing his head back in laughter, we listened as he told us about the game he and my Gi Baby would play when they were at his shoe store. He would let her greet and ring up the ladies, and she would tell him who was nice enough to be his friend.

“This is why y’all need to keep y’all kids from that boy’s store.” My father shook his head in disappointment. “The nigga ain’t got the good sense God gave him.”

As we sat back and ate the lunch my mother packed, we watched as the ladies played with the children. I never thought this would be my life, but I was happy with it. The only thing I was missing was my special girl.

“Skip, have you heard from Noemi?” Uno asked as he sipped his water, reading my mind.

He was on vacation for the next week from his mayoral duties, and he was enjoying every minute of not having to make decisions or answer to the demands of either the council or the citizens.

“I heard y’all were booed up damn near every day that she was here. ”

“I wonder who the fuck said that?” I side-eyed Wild. The ignorant nigga had the nerve to raise his hand as if my question wasn’t rhetorical. “Why are you telling my business, nigga?”

“Big Brother, you have no business in this family.” He opened up a box of Juicy Juice, causing me to frown. “What, nigga? These lil’ shits is good.”

“Anyway…” I gave my attention to my brother. “She’s back home, getting ready for her wedding. We had fun while she was here, and now she’s gone. Ain’t shit else to be said.”

Looking out at the girls, I was done talking about anything concerning Noemi Boudreaux.

She wasn’t mine, and I went against the grain by falling in love with her.

I was man enough to admit to myself that my feelings for her were stronger than I wanted them to be, but her duties to her family outweighed what either of us wanted.

“I know that look, and I know you don’t want to talk about it,” my father spoke up, patting my shoulder. “I will say this… you’re a Mills, and a Mills will always get what he wants. Nothing has ever stood in our way, and that shit won’t start with you.”

“How can he?—”

Uno’s voice trailed off as he glanced over my shoulder. Walking our way was a nigga I’d never seen before. Dressed in a plain white T-shirt, jean shorts, and Timbs, he was the dirtiest nigga I’d ever seen. The nigga looked bloated and dehydrated as a muthafucka.

“Can I help you nigga?” I asked, examining him for any clue as to who the fuck he was to be rolling up on us. “You lost or something?”

“Jordan Mills, we finally meet.” He smirked. Standing to my feet, he raised his hands in mock surrender. “No need to be hostile. After all, you don’t want to cause a scene here in front of all these people.” He gestured around us. “Especially Little Miss Gianna.”

Shooting a glare at my brothers, they were now on their feet too. My father was walking toward the ladies and letting them know it was time to go. I could hear them questioning the sudden shift behind us, but what angered me the most was hearing my daughter cry, asking why she had to leave.

“Who the fuck are you nigga, and what the fuck do you want?”

“Excuse my manners.” He chuckled and extended his hand to me. “I’m Lew. I heard you’ve been looking for me.”

Glowering at his hand as if it was covered in shit, I folded my arms and mugged him. “Yeah, I have been looking for you, nigga. Now… my question to you is, do you have your affairs in order because nigga, you’re dying today.”

“Aht, aht. Not so fast.” He smiled as I placed my hand on my waist. “How would it look if Jordan Mills, brother to Mayor Kenneth Mills, kills a man in broad daylight? Not only that but at a park with all these innocent children enjoying their play dates.” My jaw twitched at his sarcasm and because he was right.

As bad as I wanted to murder this nigga, I couldn’t do it right now.

“Plus, we need to talk. You’ve murdered some men who were very important to me. ”

“The niggas you sent to my club to kill me?” I smiled, and the anger in his eyes appeared immediately. “Next time, don’t send children to handle grown man business.”

Clenching his fist, he moved in closer to me. My brothers were by my side in an instant. “You think this shit is a game?”

“Like a Nintendo Switch, fat boy,” Wild spit out from the side of me.

“Now that I think about it, you do look like you could be on Donkey Kong.” I could hear Uno snickering, causing me to do the same.

“How about you leave peacefully, and we will call it a day. Don’t let Uno being the mayor fool you.

We both will take it there behind our brother. ”

Looking at each of us, he knew he was outnumbered, and it was best to wrap up his failed attempt to rattle us.

Nodding his head, he stepped back, glancing around.

A few people were tuned in to our interaction, including a few of our men.

With the ladies and kids being in attendance, we could never be too careful.

We stayed with security when moving as a unit, as we planned to do today before this Ninja Turtle-looking-ass nigga showed his face.

“I’ll be seeing you around.” He smirked at the same time my phone began to ring. “You might want to get that.”

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I kept my eyes on him as I answered Money’s call. “Yeah, man. What’s?—”

“Bruh! I need some fuckin’ help out here!” He was panicking on the other end of the phone. I could hear shouting in the background. “Houses on the Eastside, as well as the Westside, are both on fire. Man, what the fuck!”