Page 11 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 4

He knew.

I moved before fear could turn into desperation.

The blade flashed once.

Curtis’s hands flew to his throat too late, his rag dropping uselessly to the floor as blood spread between his fingers. His knees folded beneath him beside the Buick, shock staying in his eyes until there wasn’t enough life left behind them to hold anything at all.

It was over fast.

Clean.

No theater. No message carved into anything.

Just the simple fact of one less place Rahsaan could ever come back to.

I wiped the blade, stepped over Curtis, and walked out.

The bell over the door rang behind me one last time.

I called Priest from the truck.

“It’s done,” I said. “Curtis Odom.”

Silence stretched on the line.

“He really didn’t know anything,” Priest said. It wasn’t a question.

“I know he didn’t.”

“Then this ain’t intelligence.”

“No.”

Another silence.

This one ended differently.

“You’re making noise,” Priest said slowly. “Enough that Rahsaan eventually has to come see where it’s coming from.”

“Now you understand.”

Rahsaan could tolerate being hunted.

What he couldn’t tolerate was losing control of what belonged to him.

Everybody who sheltered him.

Everybody who moved money for him.

Every business that made his life easier.

Every person he assumed would still be standing when he needed somewhere to land.

A man like Rahsaan didn’t run forever while his world burned.

Eventually, he turned around to fight the fire.

“He gon’ pay for what he did to my brothers,” I said. “That’s on my soul.”