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Dragging my eyes up to where the fat nigga was walking away, he glanced over his shoulders and threw me a wink. My trigger finger itched, but I knew I couldn’t risk a scene.

“Where are you?” I spoke calmly into the receiver, although I was everything but. “Is anyone hurt?”

“I’m on the Eastside, man. Fuck!” he yelled into the phone. “I don’t know yet, but?—”

“I’m going to go to the Westside. Keep your head and ears low. I’ll be in touch.”

Hanging up, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning to my brothers. They both awaited what I had to say with worried eyes.

“Uno, I need you to holler at the connects at the fire and police station. The houses on the East and West are on fire.”

“Fuck…” they both said in unison as we moved to pack up our things. My father and the girls were now headed our way once our men felt the threat was gone.

“Tell us what we need to do,” Adrian chimed in. “Let me know, and I’ll do it.”

“Uno, you’re the mayor, so do whatever it is mayors do.

” I locked eyes with him, and I knew he was pissed.

He wanted to do more, but he had a whole crew to account for.

He put me in charge of this shit, so that’s what it was now.

“Adrian, I need you to head to the crib and stay there until I come back. I need you at the house with the girls.”

“Skip—”

“Look, don’t fight me on this. None of you.” I eyed my brothers. “I got this shit.”

Saying nothing else, we packed up and escorted the ladies to the parking lot. It took me ten minutes and lots of promises for multiple princess tea parties before she’d calmed down. Eventually, she was okay with having fun time with Uncle Wild.

“Talk to me…” Uno stopped me from getting into my truck. Harley was in his car waiting because she was adamant about not leaving without him. “What else do you need?”

“The only thing I need is for you to clear up anything that may make it seem like the fires were more than gas leaks or faulty wiring. I promise you… I’m good.

” He eyed me worriedly as I pulled him into my embrace.

“These niggas want Skip, and I’m going to give it to ’em.

Let’s see what they gonna do when the real heat comes their way. ”

When my brother handed the streets over to me, I knew I would face challenges, but I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly.

It felt like as soon as I was the one calling the plays, niggas wanted to try me.

I’ve always been the quiet one of the brothers; always been the one who was laid back.

Now it was time for me to show niggas what happens when I lean the fuck up.

“So we have a rat on the team.” I swirled my Hennessy in its glass as I listened to Money speak. “I hope the bullshit they tried to pull is worth them losing their life.”

A few weeks back, Money asked me to trust him to weed out the niggas that didn’t belong on our team. Granted, my brothers and I never really tried to attach our faces to our illegal dealings, but now it was time I made muhfuckas realize who I was.

“Since the shit happened here last year, I’ve been suspecting it was an inside job.

Not once had we had anyone try us, so I figured it was a teammate who was on some jealous shit.

You know how it is when it comes to money.

When they think someone can give them a bigger payday, they’ll sell out their own family. ”

I, too, had my suspicions about niggas on the team, but I knew they were pussy. None of them had the nuts to set me up, and they knew it too. Looking over to one of my most trusted men, I nodded. “Now that I know the real, I have a trick for all of their asses.”

“I say we kill all of those niggas and get it over with,” Wild chimed in as he ate a plate of wings. “Fuck all them hating-ass niggas.”

When Money called me the other day and informed me that the houses on the Eastside and Westside were burning, I was livid.

What he left out was the fact that they weren’t actually mine.

He’d been planting false information to members on the team to see who wasn’t loyal, and the shit worked.

I knew that nigga Lew had something to do with it, too, and I had been looking for him ever since.

I didn’t have much to go on outside of the picture we pulled from a camera at the park.

It wasn't until I told Dre about it that I realized I could have had help all along.

Speaking of help, the incoming video call was right on time.

“You know, I hate that it takes us needing something from the other person before we call.” Mi’s sultry voice came through the phone. “Why haven’t I heard from you, Jordan?”

“I wish you would come back to town, sis. This nigga been extra mean to me since you been gone.” Wild’s dumb ass hopped up from his chair and ran over to the screen. “All he does is call me names and?—”

“Adrian, please.” She held her hand up and cut him off. “If he cursed you out, I’m sure you deserved it. Do you still have Gi Baby on hoe patrol?”

After I dealt with the fire situation that day, I wanted to choke my brother out for the fool shit he’d been doing at the store with my baby.

When I let Mama know, she damn near took his head off with a skillet.

Adrian meant well, though, but I hope he doesn’t have children any time soon.

He would be lost as fuck on how to really raise a child.

Kissing his teeth, he walked back over to his spot and resumed eating.

For a moment, I took my time and took Noemi in.

Even though it’s been a couple of weeks, she was still as pretty as ever.

It was something about this girl when she was dressed in business attire that made me want to fuck her.

The poutiness of her lips caused my dick to brick as I imagined them sucking out Gi’s siblings.

As badly as I wanted to fuck her while she was here, I couldn’t.

She was more than a fuck to me, and I wouldn’t let that nigga breathe near her again after I slid inside her making her pussy my new home.

“Um, are you okay?” she asked, breaking me from my thoughts. “You seem like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Just you,” I answered honestly, causing her to blush. “Why do you look so sad?” I knew she was calling me about the information I needed from her, but I was more interested in what was going on with her. “You need me to come out there?”

With her getting married soon, I knew I couldn’t always come to her rescue, but if she ever said the word, I would be there. Fuck what anyone else had to say.

“Chandler is adamant about an engagement party this weekend.” She sighed like the world was on her shoulders as she shuffled papers on her desk.

It was around closing time at her job, and I knew she was gearing up to leave.

“I’m not looking forward to it, but hey…

it is what it is.” Squaring her shoulders as if to break herself from her miserable thoughts, she brought her eyes back to the camera.

“I used the scan from the photo Andre gave me, and I ran it through a national database. Once I had the person’s information, I ran a full background check. ”

Hearing my wall monitor power on, my eyes widened as the information came onto the screen. I didn’t know how she did that shit from where she was, but I shouldn’t be shocked. Noemi was smart as fuck, and from what I hear, she couldn’t be fucked with on the computer tip.

“Elliot Lewis.” His photo popped up on the screen as Wild read his information aloud. “It says he’s from two towns over in Willow Springs.” He smacked on his chicken wings as he continued, “Ain’t no way that Trick Daddy Dolla-looking-ass nigga twenty-eight.”

Mimi giggled at Wild’s assessment. “As you can see, I have everything on here from grade school up until now.” I’ve never been the one to look at men any type of way, but this was one ugly muthafucka.

“He’s always been in trouble with the law.

Um… about his family…” She got quiet for a moment, causing me to look back at my phone screen.

“I want to go on record and say, at first… I did this to be nosey and see who you were around. Now that I know the situation, I must let you know?—”

“Mi…” I frowned and cut her off, dragging my eyes to the now black monitor. “What’s up, baby?”

The hesitation from her caused me to bring my eyes back to her gorgeous face staring back at me. The worried expression led me to believe the information was about to be something I didn’t want to see. Once the wall screen lit back up with more information, my assumption was fucking right.

“I know you fuckin’ lying!” Wild hollered as he stood and walked toward the screen, followed by Money. “Tell me this ain’t what I think this is?”

Pushing from my desk, I walked toward the guys because I knew my eyes were deceiving me. There was no way I’d had enemies working this close to me all along, and I did not know it.

“Elliot Lewis, known in the streets as Big Lew, is the oldest of his one sibling, and his sister is Irene Pruitt. They were raised by their grandmother after their mother died when they were eight and six.” I heard Noemi speaking as she presented us with document after document.

The screen displayed various pictures of him and his family over the years.

There were even photos of the little niggas Dre and I killed in the club, along with Hutch, my previous club bouncer.

“Not only does he have a rap sheet that consists of robbery and drugs, but he also has various domestic violence charges filed against him by his long-term girlfriend, Gia Brown.”