Page 63 of Vega

Legend chuckled. “Crackers aren’t dinner.”

The boy sighed dramatically.

Legend smiled. “I’ll be right back to finish the movie with you and Mommy after I handle some business.”

The child finally noticed me. “Hi. My name is Sire.”

I managed a smile. “Hi, Sire. I’m Novi.”

He waved, then ran back into the den.

I looked away before the tears forming in my eyes could fall. Kash and I would never have moments like that. He would never negotiate with our child over sweets before dinner. We would never fill a home with more children, noise, and ordinary family arguments.

I placed a hand over my stomach. Our baby would be the only one we ever made together.

“You all right?” Legend asked.

I nodded quickly. “Yes.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he continued walking. He led me into an office where four men were waiting, and I nearly stopped at the doorway.

“This is Icon,” Legend said, pointing towards a handsome man seated behind the desk. “And that’s Saint, Big A, and Reek.”

Each man greeted me, but being surrounded by so many unfamiliar men made me nervous. Still, I didn’t feel unsafe. Their expressions held concern rather than suspicion, and Kash had told me to trust them.

Legend closed the door and offered me a chair.

I sat, placed my purse in my lap, and removed the burner phone.

“Here is the phone I found.”

Icon accepted it from me. “Did you read anything besides the message he left you?”

“Some texts, but I didn’t understand them.”

“Recently, Kash reported seeing some foul shit and wanted to holla at us, but he never got the chance to,” Reek explained. “Whoever killed him was most likely trying to shut him up.”

“I don’t know anything about street politics,” I replied. “I don’t know who is against who or what any of this means. I only want to understand why the man I loved was murdered.”

“We’re going to figure that out,” Legend promised.

Icon began examining the phone. “Until we know who Kash saw and what he recorded, you can’t return home.”

My fear heightened. “Why not?”

“If they thought he kept evidence, they may search his house,” Saint answered. “They could assume he gave it to you.”

“I don’t have anything.”

“They don’t know that,” Reek replied.

I looked between them. “Then where am I supposed to go?”

Icon glanced at the others. “Give us a minute to figure that out. In the meantime, go to the kitchen, get comfortable, and eat something.”

I groaned inwardly. “I don’t have an appetite.”

Legend opened the office door. “You’re eating for two. You need the nourishment.”