AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smirked. “We were never normal in the first place.”
My cell rang again as it had the entire ride. I’d decided we wouldn’t receive or make any more calls until we were in a safe space. I’d already killed Brazino, and if we heard any other bad news about our families, I would go on a killing rampage.
“You ready to answer?” she asked quietly.
“No. It’s Brocco, and I have no words.”
“Then let me take it. We have to see what’s going on back home. This phone is untraceable, right?”
I nodded, and she took the phone from my hand. We both sat on the plush sofa. “Hey. It’s Storm.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re safe, and your brother is resting.”
“I can travel to where you are. We need to work through this.”
I shook my head, and she said, “We just want to be alone and safe while we figure out what the fuck happened and what to do next.”
“The city is too hot for you to return anyway. The police have surrounded the neighborhood and questioning everyone. It’s a madhouse. Brazino was killed today, too. Looks like we were all targeted. I’m usually with Gavin at his house every morning. I didn’t stop over because it was your first night. If I had, I might have been killed too.” He paused before lowering his voice, “I heard what happened to Xavier.”
Her now shrill voice shouted, “What happened to my brother?”
“He was at his barber shop, and some men came in through the back and shot him and the place up. Pierre was lucky because he arrived as the men were leaving. He shot one of them in the back, but the others picked their downed man up and placed him in the van.”
“Is...is Xavier...?” She scrunched her eyes tightly, and I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her even closer to me. This morning, the soul-tearing way she wailed when she heard Xavier being shot sent chills through me. Seeing her in so much pain spurred my aggression. Brazino needed to pay for hurting my family. I sensed whatever issues Xavier and I had were squashed once I married his sister. We might have eventually earned grudging respect for one another. We had more similarities than differences. We were given boss status young because of our fathers’ untimely departure from their duties. Mine from death and his from failing health. Now, we wouldn’t have a chance to know each other and possibly grow.
“I don’t know. Best you call Pierre. He’s on the run, too, because they’re questioning your family for Brazino’s murder. There were no witnesses, and it was public knowledge that there was beef between your family and Brazino.”
“When did you talk to Pierre?” She asked, and I had the same question.
“I haven’t. A contact told me what went down at the barbershop. I assumed Pierre was on the run because the police were looking for him. Can you wake Gavin up? I’ve been worried for hours, and we must make some serious moves.”
“He doesn’t want to be bothered, Brocco, or didn’t you hear that we were almost shot up, and the very room we were in exploded.” I touched her thigh to calm her nerves before she told Brocco she knew he ordered our death.
“Listen, I know Gavin. And he’s probably ready to kill everyone. Let him know our sisters are fine and have been moved out of the country. We need him to stand down until we hear from the commission.” I wanted to reach through the phone and squeeze his neck until his eyes bulged or his neck snapped. He was the one who would impulsively kill and ask questions later. Any death from my hands was deserved. Yet he seemed too calm and cool for a man whose brother almost died and whose own life was threatened.
Storm stared at me as she asked, “If Brazino was targeted too, then who did this?”
“Probably another family in the commission. We weren’t the only ones who hated Brazino. With Brazino dead and your family unable to rule Harlem, the island is up for grabs.”
My blood coursed hot through every vein in my body as she proudly staked her claim. “Harlem is still St. James.”
His tone softened, placatingly like Storm was a child. “It’s been a lot for you today. But Xavier is out, and Pierre is gone. Your parents are out of the country and probably can’t return and risk imprisonment. There’s no one.”
“There’s me. I’ll be damned if I let anyone destroy my family and take what my family built.”
He sighed impatiently, “Storm, just talk to Gavin and tell him to call me when he gets up. Enzo wants a call.”
She clicked off the cell and looked at me. “We have to go back.”
“I know.” My thoughts raced fast and furious. “Apparently, there were no cameras or witnesses at the pizza shop. The police are looking for me but not as a suspect. They just want to question what happened at my house. I have a couple of officers on my payroll that can tell me what’s being said. Brocco has already implicated the St. James crew in Brazino’s death, which is why Pierre is on the run. We can arrange for fake identification documents and buy another car before returning. No one will be looking for us if we lay low a month or so and then handle business ourselves.”
“What does that mean?”
“I need to find something that will implicate my brother in the attempt on our lives and pin Brazino on him, take Brocco out, and get the commission to protect us.”
“What about Harlem?”
