Page 9 of Papa's Beloved

She nods her head, moving to look me in the eye.

“I’d rather you take care of the bastards that did this. Every one of them. Hear me?”

I wipe her tears away with the pads of my thumbs, nodding.

“Every single one, Beloved. You have my word.”

Chapter 8

Papa

Mayhem places a large box from Mid City Pizza in front of me, along with two glass bottles of Fanta. Pineapple flavor.

“What is a kitchen sink pizza? Gambit said they have your standard on file.”

I laugh. “It has pepperoni, Italian sausage, hot sausage, ham, bacon, shredded chicken, onions, green peppers, black olives, green olives, banana peppers, anchovies, and six kinds of cheese. The sauce is a mix of pizza and sriracha.”

“Anchovies. Really bro? Those are gross.”

“So is the pineapple you eat on your pizza.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

Gambit sits down with his own pizza. Each brother had their own large pizza in front of them. Pump enough iron and do enough cardio and you can burn calories from a large pizza. Most of my brothers were drinking since they planned to party at home. The grease from the pizza will help sober them up.

Gambit grabs the metal skull and bangs it on the table.

“Meeting’s in order, fuckers. Wizard, what do we know?”

“Not much on who did it, but it’s the G’Dawgs. Bub’s been in their gang for about two years. Kelsi found out six months ago and has tried to get him to leave.”

“What have those hoodlums got their fingers into these days?” I ask.

Wizard winces. “Too much. I should have kept a closer eye on them. They’re running drugs, guns, and people.”

Curses explode around the table.

“What the fuck! When did they get into the last two? They were low-level dealers,” I exclaim.

“In the last few months, as far as I can tell. I have a call into Bug. He’s checking with his contacts at the Feds. It might take a day or two for him to get back to us. In the meantime, I have my camera’s searching feeds near where Bud was found. I started with when they found him and I’m going backwards until I find the culprits, or at least who dumped him.”

Nay

I BORROW A SET OF SCRUBSfrom Millie and sneak into the ICU to be with Kelsi. She shouldn’t be alone right now. I hold her hand while she hols Bub’s hand and cries.

“I should have done more. Insisted he move away.”

“Kelsi, he's your older brother. A grown man. He has to make his own decisions. The King will make this right.”

Kelsi nods her head, then buries her head on her brother’s bed and sobs.

“I could’ve lost him. I still might. If they did this. they won’t be done until he’s dead.”

“The triplets are here. Papa and the others are in church right now. You’re one of us and so is he, by default.”

She shakes her head. “I’m just a whore.”

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