“Inari—” Audiemar extended an arm, but she jerked out of his reach.
“What happened to my parents!” she screamed, which drew attention from outside.
“Listen, we can talk, just… not like this,” Audiemar pleaded.
Moose, Kong, and Ayla all rushed inside. Inari shook so hard that Ayla darted right over to her sister with concern in her eyes. She’d seen her sister pissed off, sad, and defeated at times, butfear wasn’t something Inari Jacobs showed much of. Something had rocked her.
“Nari, what’s wrong?”
“Ask him.” Inari’s eyes never faltered from Audiemar.
“What happened?” Ayla queried.
“That’s exactly what the fuck I want to know. He was in here talking to Phoebe about our parents and Jane,” Inari revealed, watching Audiemar’s eyes close with shame.
“Jane?” Moose’s face crumpled in confusion. “What about her?”
“Pops, what’s going on?” Kong asked, on edge because he knew there was information to be shared; he just wasn’t sure what it was.
He told himself after rescuing Ayla that it didn’t matter, but that didn’t stop it from eating at him sometimes when he thought about it. She wouldn’t have said it if it didn’t hold some weight.
“It’s a long story—” Audiemar stated.
“Then start talking.” Inari gritted her teeth with fire behind her eyes.
Audiemar took a breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose before turning away from everyone. Inari didn’t want to believe the worst. She didn’t know Audiemar like her sister or his sons. She never caught any kind of ill vibes from him, aside from the fact that he appeared stern and set his ways like most men his age. To have the three wild, rumbunctious, line pushing sons that he had, he was a relatively patient man. She herself had never even seen him upset.
It was Kong who stepped forward. Always the big brother. The one ready to catch the first stray if it meant his brothers were straight. He’d made some fucked up moves recently, and he was trying to make up for it. It was either now or never.
“When Mira died, she said to ask you what happened with the Jacobs. What did she mean by that?”
“Fuck you mean she said that?” Moose turned on his brother.
There were few things that would rattle Moose. One of them being Jane Blackmoor. He didn’t play about that woman. So, hiding something about her was bound to stir the pot.
“Why you just now saying something!”
“Because we just got Ayla back, and I wasn’t about to sit around trying to decipher what that bitch was talking about. For all I know, she could have been lying,” Kong reasoned, calmly facing his brother.
“So, what was she talking about?” Moose spun on Audiemar and faced him.
His father’s eyes darted to the many faces that had gathered in front of him while everyone else enjoyed the party outside.
“Jane found out that the building collapse that killed Ottie and Izaahn Jacobs wasn’t an accident,” Audiemar began, causing Inari to sputter her next breath.
If Moose wasn’t there to hold her up, she surely would have collapsed at his feet. It was Ayla who stepped up, confident, and unwavering, as Audiemar continued.
“Riddle wanted the land. He didn’t care about the structure.”
“So, he orchestrated the building collapse?” Ayla questioned.
Audiemar nodded and lowered his head. She could see that this was something that had also tormented him, so she gave him grace. Sniffling, he flicked the tip of his nose and picked up a flute of champagne off a nearby table that had them arranged in a tower.
“Then, what happened?” Ayla pressed.
“Jane started investigating.” Audiemar cleared his throat after swallowing the entire glass. “She got too close. So…”
“You saying that bitch ass nigga Riddle is the reason our mama dead, and we been holding a truce with this muhfucka all these years!” Moose’s fists balled at his sides.
