Page 221 of Lau Ahi
He nodded his affirmation and together we moved silently through the private hall toward the elevator. The doors opened and we stepped through them and instinctively I knew we were heading to his office. “Pretty much. We didn’t trust anyone on either side of the family but we needed to remain neutral.”
“To see if you could grab the seat for yourself?” I trusted him more than Theo but I still had questions. Mainly about the way things were handled. Why they felt the need to remain neutral and only watch what was happening instead of stepping in.
“Nah. To ensure that it didn’t fall into the hands of the wrong muthafucka. Mainly Theo and his crazy ass daddy who apparently tried to have you killed.”
That revelation irritated me. Not that they tried to have me killed, I expected that. But that they didn’t even put effort into that shit. With the amount of training I’d had professionally and from theConsortium,they should’ve gone all out. But just likethey were lazy with every other aspect of their lives, they were lazy about this too.
I should’ve been grateful they half-assed it but I was insulted.
We stepped out of the car and walked down the hall toward his office. I had to laugh at Hakeem thinking Theo or his daddy was a threat.
“Should never send a crackhead to do an assassin’s job.”
“Real talk though, them niggas be efficient as fuck. I got a few I keep on payroll when shit gets too crazy down atThe Strip.” He tossed his keys on the desk before leaning on it facing me.
“You can stop with that club shit. I know an Angel when I see one.”
He just grinned broadly and continued to chew his gum like he was happy I finally figured that shit out.
Everyone in the family underwent training withThe Order.It was to ensure that no one branch had an upper hand on the other. Love and loyalty were whatThe Consortiumwas built on but that didn’t always stand the test of time and the pinch of financial hardships. People could turn on you so everyone had to be ready. I’d assumed that both of my cousins who were still attached to theConsortiumhad gone through the training. Given the state of our family we never trained together. What I didn’t know was that he’d been picked to be my second years ago and had been working behind the scenes to keep shit together while I was serving my sentence in the government. When Faith revealed that I was pissed I hadn’t seen it for myself.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to catch on. What gave it away?” I was sure he wondered how he’d slipped up so he wouldn’t make the same mistake in the future. Of course I was sure he’d only been at ease because it was me. And despite my not trusting him, he trusted me completely.
“The night we dropped that man in your office. You pulled your shot but when I looked at him I saw only one entrance wound. Only someone who’d made it to that level could’ve double-tapped the same spot I had. There was no need to speak on it then but I’ve had nothing but time on my hands the last few months.”
“Miss wifey that bad, huh?”
I barely wanted to think about her until I got a few other issues wrapped up. Being back in DC meant I was fighting every natural urge I had to run to her side and see her. To be close to her was the normalcy I craved but I still had to wait.
“Like a white man would miss supremacy.”
Hakeem burst out laughing, and even I cracked a smile. “Damn, that’s deep. Don’t tell me that being away made you witty. Damn, she ain’t gone believe it’s you when she sees you.”
My hair had gotten longer now hanging past my collarbone and I tugged at the strands thinking of my wife.
“I might need to bring your ass with me to make sure I survive to get this shit back together.” I wasn’t big on emotion so even saying this was a sign of growth. I let my eyes roam over everything in the office including the wall of surveillance screens. I wondered if the film of the night I met Asha was uploaded somewhere and on the hard drives.
Definitely need to get that.
“You know she loves you, right?”
My eyes went to my cousin wondering if he had insight on Asha that I didn’t. “You trying to tell me something? Am I about to walk back into some shit?”
“Hell nah. Well, she’s lost a bunch of weight and looks more like her sister right now.”
“The fuck? Y’all got my wife starving and shit?”
I had surveillance on her the entire time I was gone but seeing her sad was fucking with me. I had to stop watching after a few weeks because I couldn’t bear to hear her sobs.
“You can’t force-feed somebody—”
I pushed his shoulder angrily because, as messed up as this situation was they were supposed to be protecting her while I was gone. “The fuck you can’t!”
He pushed my ass back a sign that things had shifted with us. “It’s grief, Ori! She really misses you. The last few months…”
“What?”
“She quit her job. Started working for her dad and her brother was about to get a bullet in his head.”
