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“Crazy ass nigga,” Cassius chuckled before glancing at his watch. “You have a suggestion on where I can hide the whip? I don’t need it connected or spotted near any of our homes.”
“I know someone who runs a chop shop and owes me a favor; I can have it moved there, repainted, and have the plates switched out. When do you need it back?”
“Just for a few weeks, until I get this plan together. I need to go back home for a few days to tie up some loose ends while trying to find somewhere to stay while I’m here.”
“You’re not staying with the fam?”
“Fuck no. My pops and I would do the Feds’ job for them and kill each other.”
Chortling, Mars pressed a fist to his mouth. “You ain’t lying about that. But cool, I’ll handle the car.”
“You sure whoever this person is that owes you a favor can keep their mouth shut?”
“That nigga is supposed to be six feet under but is still breathing. He owes me his life. And every day he opens them beady-ass eyes of his, I make sure he remembers that the day his usefulness runs out is the day my graciousness expires.”
There was a gleeful glint in Mars’ eyes that made Cassius laugh out loud. “Your crazy ass really gets off on this shit.”
“It’s what I was born and bred to do,” Mars shrugged.
For a moment, Cassius felt a twinge of guilt. During the course of their friendship, he often wondered who Mars would be had he not been violently forced into the fold of the Five Families.
“Don’t look at me like that, nigga. I don’t need you pitying me.”
“Ain’t nobody pitying you,” Cassius lied. “I’m just wondering how I managed to make it all these years without you shooting me.”
“It wasn’t without restraint,” Mars smirked. “Just know that.”
“Yeah, a’ight,” Cassius snorted, looking at his watch again. “You mind giving me a ride? I need to meet Severo at the Town Square.”
“Bet. I got you.”
Forty minutes later, Severo and Cassius were strolling around the Town Square, both of them watching their surroundings for different reasons.
“Our problem with the Feds is escalating much more quickly than I anticipated. A detective approached my daughter as she was leaving work, trying to flip her against me. Korr has created a real problem for us.”
“Agreed,” Cassius slipped his hands inside his pockets to try to combat the cold. “I have an idea on what to do about Korr, but that’s only the beginning.”
“I’m aware. We still have Cavataio’s bullshit and my daughter’s safety to worry about.”
“Was Kenyon able to find out any further information about the contract?”
“Yes, and the details only make the situation stranger. The contract wasn’t for an execution, but a kidnapping.”
Cassius turned to him with a puzzled expression. “A contract kidnapping? That doesn’t make any sense. Most kidnappings are for a ransom. Paying for something to get the money back makes no sense.”
“I know,” Severo murmured. “I’ve been turning it over in my mind, trying to think of a reason why someone would want to abduct my daughter and keep coming up empty.”
“Have you told her?”
“No.”
Cassius ceased walking. “Why not? Don’t you think she has the right to know that someone has it out for her?”
“I haven’t told her because, as her father, it’s my job to find a solution to the problem—not scare my child senseless and make her paranoid. My gut is telling me that all of this is somehow connected. The contract on Aella, the Feds, and Cavataio’s bullshit can’t all be a coincidence. We’re being targeted.”
Straightening his shoulders, Cassius looked around to see if he could spy anything out of place. He scoffed when he noticed a car that had caught his attention when Mars dropped him off was still in the same spot, with the engine running. He couldn’t make out who was inside, but doubted it was a rideshare or pickup, since the person waiting would have wasted damn near a quarter tank of gas just sitting with the car running. By process of elimination, Cassius assumed whoever was inside the car was either a dumb-ass Fed or someone watching them for unknown reasons.
“By the looks of that black Toyota Camry sitting on the corner, I would have to say you’re right.”
