Page 121 of Shâhzâdeh

I glanced up from the device a sinister smile conveying the seriousness of my words. “Life insurance policies. You know zhe zhing zhat zhey have you pay into for your entire life and zhen zhey short you when you actually die. How much coverage do you have?”

He frowned at me like he was completely offended. “Why is it any of your business?”

He disgusted me because he couldn’t recognize his own hypocrisy. “Why is my marrying Vanya any of yours?”

“She’s my—”

“Not a fucking zhing. She’s nobody to you, remember? Why is it zhat you cannot get zhis zhrough your head? It is truly exhausting to deal with you.Wallah, I will have to buy my ziba an island for zhe strengz it took her to stay married to you.” I leaned forward bracing my elbows on my thighs, praying I kept my cool. The devils that lived on both my shoulders had my foot tapping as I envisioned putting my size thirteen up his ass.

“Xerxes, since when are we benevolent with livin’ corpses? Yoo care aboot ‘is finances?”

I laughed at Liam’s question as I went back to strolling through the documents. “I’m trying to see if I will have to kick in for any portion of his funeral and I’m trying to plan accordingly. You should be happy I’m a man who makes calculated financial decisions. Zhat way, you know I can always provide for my wife. Since you’re so worried about her well-being.”

“Homie, I doubt that you could afford anything that has to do with me.” He pulled back his shirt sleeve to show a Rolex that would be impressive to some but meant nothing to us. He paid for labels to impress people, we invested in bespoke jewelry that spoke to our tastes, our wealth and our station. Johnathan only wore that watch because of how he wanted people to perceive him. Men like me and my friends didn’t give a fuck about the opinions of others.

I drummed my hands on the smooth surface of the blue agate table that was backlit for a unique effect. It was the only motion I could do to keep myself from strangling this man.

“Sadiqi, I have enough money to fast track a hundred years of research into a monz so zhe best and brightest could design me a humanoid robot to replace you in your life. And cutting zhat check wouldn’t even dip into my wife’s fun money for this week. I’m not normally one to brag, but if you want to make zhis a contest where we measure our dicks, our banks, our looks, our pedigrees or our personalities, I would win on every front.” I glanced up at him slowly because a brief look was all I could stomach without wanting violence to occur.

I was tired of having to impress upon this man that just because I was new in town didn’t mean I wasn’t connected enough to have him reduced to being an unpleasant memory.

“I dinna ken what wuid possess a man tae come and speak tae another as ‘e sits surrounded by an army? Is it a date wit’ death yoo wish us to provide? In ‘at we are well-versed.” Bhaltair had hissgian-dubhin his hand flipping it with his eyes trained on Johnathan. Liam was laughing but I knew he would be up just as quick if Jonathan wanted to act stupid.

“Xerx, why this man look casket sharp? I ain’t the darkest nigga on the planet, but why are his crevices brown but his skin pale?” Midas was studying Vanya’s ex like he was a science experiment.

“Because, cousin, he hates his Blackness so much, zhis nigga probably out here bleaching his skin.”

I sipped the special reserve that Liam made to commemorate his and Frankie’s nuptials and brought as a gift to celebrate mine. It was the only alcohol I had allowed past my lips tonight because I wanted these memories imprinted into my mind. More than this shot and I would be deboning this man like a flat pulled straight out the grease. Wouldn’t be nothing but a meat suit left behind if he kept bothering me.

Johnathan glanced around trying to find an ally because of the word I’d used but they all looked back at him unbothered. “You all would let him use that word? But get angry when white people do it. Typical Black hypocrisy.”

He spat out the word Black like it was an insult and every man in here was ready to end his life.

“This muthafucka really has a death wish.” Yacouba took a pull of his blunt to calm himself. They knew the kill was mine but Johnathan was adding more and more enemies with each breath.

I stood up, tired of him feeling as though he had the upper hand. Shoaib and Quentin were already behind him ready to put him out whenever I gave the word. I was several inches taller than him but didn’t underestimate his desire to be stupid.

“Zhat is what is so wrong wiz people like you. You only see what is presented to you and you do not take it as anyzing more. You never look beneaz the surface. I can say nigga, because I am one. That Nawlins bornBlackwoman that birthed me ensured that I knew who the fuck I was.” My father’s gentle tone slipped out leaving behind my full southern accent. “Just cause you runnin’ round beggin’ folks to love you don’t mean I don’t know who and what the fuck I am. Ain’t shit hypocritical about me. I have the blood of kings and queens of two races, three continents and two ethnicities running through me. I’m Black: that’s my race because I would never let someone lump me in with white people. North America, Africa and Asia are my continents. Black American Creole and Persian are my ethnicities. If you need to delve deeper I’m African American, African, Persian, Haitian, Palestinian, Egyptian and French with a dab of English somewhere because you know rapey colonizers gonna be rapey colonizers. Now, with all that I am, one thing I’ll never be is somebody to fucking play with. So get the fuck outta my face beforethisnigga shows you why he’sthatnigga.”

My devils had me standing toe to toe with this bitch and I mugged his ass, waiting on him to make a move.

He took two steps back and I thought he recognized that he’d fucked up. But I was wrong.

“I fucked her first. You’ll never be able to claim that.” I saw his eyes get wide as chairs scraped back but I held my hand out, hoping we wouldn’t have to clean up this man’s blood the night before my damn wedding.

I took a step forward, getting in his face and looking down on into it so he knew how serious I was. “For zhe way you speak about my bride I will have to do you even greater harm zhan I intended and your deaz was already going to be painful. Now it will need to be slow as well. But make no mistake, there is no longer a zhought of you in Vanya’s head zhat is not wrapped in disgust and regret. Her compliance was based on coercion because what seventeen-year-old girl marries her adoptive brozer if not zhrough force? In my eyes, you are nozing but a rapist. A man who should be put to deaz in the most painful of ways. Maybe I will have mymamancommune wiz her ancestors. Put a charm on you so zhat yourdikbecomes as shriveled as your heart.” I reached over and yanked out a clump of hair from his head as he screamed in pain. He didn’t even try to fight back, just grabbed the side of his head as though I were killing him. “Is zhis activator?” I rubbed the strands in my hands and they were greasy as hell.

“Not this man running around with a Gina curl!” Yacouba’s unserious ass had us cracking up. I took out my handkerchief and wrapped his hair in it while also using it to wipe whatever product coated the strands off my fingers.

“You have been warned but you will continue to be stubborn enough to play wiz your life. Vhich is fine. It is only giving me more fuel to love my woman harder and to treat her better than she ever zhought possible. She was never meant to be your anyzing. You were a mistake she was forced into and one zhat she was strong enough to break away from. I am here to enjoy my night wiz my brozers. Go away while you still can.” I turned to sit back but he spoke up again.

“Vanya isn’t the type of girl that would be with a man like you.”

I turned, smiling slyly at him, because it was always a man with nothing who wanted to tear down another. “Oh really? How is zhe man you sent her on a date wiz? Talked to him lately? If I remember correctly, you tried to tell him zhat she would beup for anyzing. So insecure about her moving on zhat you would send someone who is clearly disturbed after her. Good zhings don’t happen to men like you.”

“What did you do to him?” He actually looked more concerned about the man I’d sent to hell than he had about his ex.Maybe Johnathan was a man who liked both.

“What would you have wanted him to do to Vanya? Since she’s no longer yours you feel as zhough it is alright for her to be taken advantage of? As zhough you didn’t do zhat enough? And what? You tink she’s going to run into your arms? Doesn’t zork zhat way. When she is in danger, she seeks safety, which she only finds in me and zhose around me. I would say you can’t compete where you don’t compare but zhat is far too simple of a statement. It would be like asking a singular atom to evolve into a genius. It would never happen. Quentin, Sho? Escort him out.”

---