Page 71 of Love & Vendettas

“A’ight, Dad.”

He sounds frustrated, but his little ass knows not to pull that whining shit on me that he tries on his mother and big brother. I’ll break my size thirteens off in his ass before I allow him or my other two sons to come crying to me about shit. That’s not how we roll in this game.

“Put your brother back on.”

“Hey,” Zechariah’s voice comes through.

“Y’all good. Roll on back to the house and keep me posted when y’all arrive.”

“A’ight.”

We end the call, and I instantly turn my attention away from family matters to business, as my phone immediately rings again with Parker’s number.

“Wassup?”

“You ain’t gon’ believe this shit.”

“What?”

“The police are raiding Knight Auto Sales as we speak.”

“Fuuuckk!”

32 – BAYLEIGH – MORE BAD NEWS

“…since early this morning. Chivalrous Knights and Gentlemen’s Garden, both gentlemen's clubs in the upscale community of Davenport, owned by Mr. Zaire Knight, founder and CEO of The Knight Group, a leading investment firm on the East Coast and the South region, were the focal point of police investigations early this morning. CK, as its patrons know it, burned to the ground around three A.M. Investigators are looking into whether this could be a result of arson.

His other club, the Gentlemen’s Garden, was raided in the early morning hours because of allegations of a prostitution ring being run out of there. These are just two issues the businessman is facing. According to our news desk, reports are just in that there is a raid being conducted at Knight Auto Sales as we speak. This is another business under the businessman’s umbrella. Do we have any details on that, Cara?”

“No, Dale. Not at this time, but we do have news trucks on their way to that location now.”

“These mounting problems are not looking good for Mr. Knight.”

“No, Dale, they aren’t.”

“What does all this mean for the businessman? Will he be facing charges?”

“We’re not certain of that right now, but we do know that this will have a significant impact on his businesses and his reputation. All three of these businesses are in the upscale community of Davenport.”

“Well, it’s sending a message that the community doesn’t want him there any longer. Residents are outraged, and as you can imagine, with the upcoming mayoral election, it will draw significantly more attention than it normally might.”

“Indeed, Cara. Mayoral candidate Essence Hamilton has made her stand clear about criminal activities in the city of Chicora Falls. One can only imagine how she might weave the details of this into her campaign.”

“Turn that shit off,” I demand, walking out of the kitchen and into the kitchen suite.

Just beyond the island and the breakfast nook, our kitchen flows into another living room, separate from the larger one. We have a TV, a couch, a table, two armchairs, and a fireplace in this space.

I had been at the sink rinsing vegetables for our lunch when the news report came on about Zaire’s businesses.

“Leigh—”

“I said turn it off!” I snap. “I can’t take any more bad news.”

Riley powers the TV off and turns sideways on the couch to face me on the other side.

“Honey, you have to calm down.”

My hands tremble, and tears prick my eyes as I shake my head.

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