Page 229 of Lau Ahi
Li spoke the same words that Asha had and I realized then how deeply my actions had fucked up everyone around me. I was always a loner and despite the closeness I’d had with mybrothers and even with my wife, having to check my actions with someone else was foreign to me. This was the best move for everyone involved and despite how it angered them I would do it again.
“I trust you all with my life—”
“It doesn’t seem that way. It seems you have another person whom you trust more.” Priest’s arms folded and Smoke mirrored his. Mir shaking Smoke from having his back was never going to happen.
“No. This was going to be an issue for all of us, Mir. I wasn’t going to bring any shit to your doorstep. The same way that the Cannons were willing to fall on their ass to protect the whole from one bad part. There wasn’t anything I could do besides disappear so that they had no one else to focus on. By pulling myself out of the middle, it meant that the guilty party was going to step into power. Or they thought they were. That meant they were going to shut the fuck up about everyone and what they knew.” I looked them all in the eye so they could see my sincerity.
Jemma Marie’s eyes lit with murderous glee when I focused on her. “Which cousin is the one we have to kill?”
I leaned back with a smile happy that we were now getting to the actual business I called them up here for. “You sure it’s not my mother? Or my uncle?”
“Faith has never been on that type of time. She had the chance to do whatever she needed to get rid of you years ago if she wanted to take back her spot. She never wanted it. Did everything she could in order to ensure that you had that seat and it was protected for you. So, no, it’s not your mother.” I’d been right to say she needed to be included since her breakdown showed she hadn’t lost a step.
“And you think James is too solid to fold?” I already knew the guilty people but I wanted to know why these two who had so much to gain wouldn’t be their immediate suspects.
Yacouba reached for the decanter on the bar again and filled up his rocks glass again before coming back to the table. “He’s too weak. And despite everything else, he’s seemingly loyal. He wouldn’t want to get his spot on the back of lies. He would’ve been too busy trying to get to the money because he’s greedy. But he’s also lazy and was only doing what he thought his father would do. Theo is the one who would innovate but it would be stupidly done like this. We never found out who flipped your car so that always felt like it was an inside thing.” He plopped down and looked much more relaxed than he had when he walked in. I wasn’t sure if it was the liquor or if he was over being mad. When he caught me looking at him he flipped me the bird with both fingers disabusing me of the notion that we were cool.
I really missed this.
“They have eyes on them now and once I give the word they’ll be picked up.”
That brought a smile to everyone’s face and I knew Smoke would want to join Alec’s men who were currently watching my family.
“Where’s my friend? She and I are gonna come up with a way to get you back for this once she’s over the joy of having you back.” Any previous thoughts of sadness were replaced with a maniacal promise of retribution on Jem’s face.
“You might be waiting for a minute,kaikaina. As to her whereabouts, she’s probably still in the bed sleeping off my homecoming.”
“Eww, nobody wants to know that.” Jemma Marie looked disgusted but my brothers looked as though I’d done exactly what they would’ve if they would’ve been gone from their wives for almost six months.
“You don’t have to worry about seeing her soon. When all of this goes downKa’ilulaniwill be right by my side.” She knew I’d left to handle business and the only reason she wasn’t here now was because I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to me being here. Now that no bullets had been fired I’m sure everyone was going to follow me back to our place.
“When?” Mir was either calculating how long he had to get home or how to get his family up here for the coronation.
“Two days. And thank all of you for how you kept my wife when I couldn’t. For being there for her in grief despite weathering your own. The way you looked after her and accepted her made the sacrifice of everything more than worth it because I was doing it for people of your caliber.” I swallowed the lump in my throat trying to keep it together. “Y’all prove as always that the trust I’ve put in you has been well founded. I’ll spend my life earning that trust back for this.”
Jemma Marie smiled but it was somewhat sad. It wasn’t until she spoke that I knew the reason.
“We are our brother’s keeper.”
This was the closest I could get to the type of punishment I truly wanted to give them. Not only had he betrayed me, but he’d done the same with the rest of the families that we’d sworn loyalty. It was going to be a stain on the Nakoa-Franklin branch of the family for a while. Just like I assumed everyone came tothe condo with me. Since they were there I had Asha call Pappy to come over. He’d practically flown from his place to get to ours because it was the first time she’d initiated contact with him. He’d been surprised to see all of my brothers and sister in the room with their people but he’d fallen to his knees when I’d entered the room. I knew I’d need Yacouba to help me hold him back when he decided he was going to beat my ass but that never came. Pappy stayed on his knees with tears in his eyes repeatingE ka’u reiki aloha.
Hearing him call me hisbeloved sonbroke me down.
When we finally got ourselves together we started to make plans for today which is how we were at one of the many abandoned warehouses along the Potomac. It was large, one that used to house boats for dry docking during the winter and had the type of pulley system that was going to be crucial for what we had planned.
No one would lay fault with me or Pappy, the same way no one held Priest at fault for the shit that Cardinal pulled against the Cannons, but it didn’t mean the taint wouldn’t still be felt. The only way to truly cleanse something was through fire. Burn away the bad like a cancer until nothing was left of it and the ashes floated away on the wind. That was what I needed to do right now. Chop off the branch of the family tree that was attempting to infect us all and turn it to ash.
The room was bare but the lights were still working since we kept solar panels on this building specifically for this purpose. It wasn’t what some might think an occasion like this should look like. People probably expected fanfare, suits, gowns, champagne and good ass food. But this event was nothing like that. We were dressed to send someone to hell, my brothers in all black and me in amaloI had dyed black for this occasion. Asha was pissed at the fit but I’d have to make it up to her later that my asscheeks were out yet again.
“My brothers have lovingly called me theHawaiianfor years because I hadn’t taken my place at the head of my family. The name doesn’t come truly until the position is earned. It’s one to show the type of leader you will be. My brotherOwois all about his money and is ruthless in ensuring people pay what they owe.Priesthas a biblical anointing when he needs to remove those who have come for him. The prince,Shâhzâhdeh, ensures that every part of his heritage is represented when he takes off your head with his scimitar. AndGhàidheal, the Highlander, swinging his broadsword and ensuring that he exceeds the expectations of his clan here at home and abroad. And now there’s me.”
I stood proudly with my brothers forming a wall slightly behind me. They were silent even as I acknowledged them and the rest of our people were behind them watching the procedures. They had to be here to bear witness but more than that they wanted their lick back. These muthafuckas were the cause of their grief and I wasn’t sure how many people were going to want their pound of flesh today.
“I don’t need a history lesson. You can be challenged for your seat like anyone else.” Theo was bold. Apparently getting his ass beaten for the last few days hadn’t curbed his tongue. Even with his father sitting beside him getting ready to pay for the sin of raising a bitch.
I smirked looking at the position he was in. Covered in his own excrement still wanting to look as though he could gain the upper hand from his predicament. “You don’t look like much of a challenge right now.”
He was tied to a chair with an eye swollen shut and a fat lip. I was sure no one understood why there was so much space between them and us but I had my reasons.
