Page 25 of Still Forever
CHAPTER 10
Jax
I had just fallen asleep after lying here for most of the morning, staring up at the ceiling and trying to come up with a master plan. The loud banging on the door didn’t just wake me up; it pissed me off. And even from upstairs in a 7-bedroom estate, it thundered through the walls. I already knew who it was before I checked the cameras. I dragged myself out of bed and toward the stairs.
Remy peeked her head out of the master bedroom, “Everything okay?” She questioned. I nodded, and she went back inside, closing the door behind her like it was none of her business.
I went to open the door. Trouble pushed past me, shoulder-checking me in the process. He walked into the house, and I closed the door behind him. I knew he would be coming after I didn’t take his calls last night, and here he was.
“I woke up with this on my fucking door,” he pulled something from his pants and pushed it into my chest. I took it from his hands, and instantly I knew what it was. It was the summons: a sealed single matte black envelope, with nothing on the outside of it but the fangs of a snake. I opened it; there was no other writing except the date, time, and location. Then Ichecked the time; the meeting was set to take place in an hour and thirty minutes.
Once I finished reading the envelope, I looked at him. But he didn’t say anything, probably waiting for me to explain. His temples flexed. This nigga had never been this hot with anyone other than Judah.
“So that’s it? You went against orders. You don’t pick up the phone when I call, and now you standing in front of me, quiet like you don’t have shit to say for yourself?” He gritted.
“Not a fucking word. Nigga you handled Unc, so Storm knew your position, and we backed you. That was our blood, and we didn’t question your call. You think I give a fuck about what the elites say? So, nah, I don’t have shit to say, cause I’m not explaining myself. Tonobody, not even you.” He took a step forward, and so did I as I closed the gap between us. Our bodies touched, and his nostrils flared.
We had always fought as kids, but we didn’t do that shit now. We barely argued or disagreed. I respected Trouble and vice versa. But I did what I did, and I don’t regret it. I knew he was holding back. He was the leader of the family, and his position was being challenged. Yet we were cut from the same cloth. If I had to stand in front of the elites and tell them that same thing with my chin up and chest out, I would.
His voice was low and cold; his mouth was clenched, as if he were speaking through his teeth. “Go get dressed, so I can go with your tender ass to the summons. I’m not letting you go alone.” He brushed past me again and swung open the door, letting it slam behind him.
I walked back up the stairs and showered. Underneath the shower head, I let the water fall over my face. The tightness that I had felt in my chest was gone after I got a chance to talk to KD. That let me know that no matter what the outcome, I was cool. As long as she didn’t have to lie in bed at night and wonder whyI never came looking for her. And why I was choosing to be with another woman. I couldn’t dwell on it, though, because I had to go ahead and get dressed.
Before I left, I tapped on the door of Remy’s room at the end of the hallway.
“Come in,” she said lightly. When I walked in, she was lying across the bed watching something on TV. When her eyes met mine, she smiled.
“Look, I’m about to go; I might not be back.” I chuckled.
“What happened?” She sat up, confused. I told her that I had gone to see Kennedy. Her eyes went from joy to sadness once I told her about the black envelope summons. Everybody in this life knew what it meant to be summoned by the Mafia. But no one knew exactly what happened in those meetings, because no one had ever made it out to tell the story.
“Love always wins; it’ll work out for you.” She said this as she gave me another smile, but her eyes told me that she had seen this ending before, too.
“Preciate you,” I nodded, walking away.
Trouble sat outside waiting for me; I opened the truck door and slid into the seat. The drive to the chamber was longer than I remembered. But it’s not every day that you get called to meet the Don of New York. We went down unpaved back roads and through a tunnel before we finally made it to the chambers. There were three guards outside waiting for us with rifles. Two ran wands over us and then patted us for weapons before we were escorted to the office.
Inside were the same stone walls and polished floors that I remember. The same design as the one on the envelope, fangs of a snake, engraved into the marble.
I heard muffled screams as soon as we turned the corner of the building. We continued to walk, then we bypassed two doors that were cracked open. In one, a nigga was strapped to a table,his mouth gagged, and three men were beating him with a chain. Not the small kind, either, but the kind used to tow cars. As soon as we neared the door, one of the enforcers swung the chain across his head. I could hear that nigga’s skull crack. Trouble shot me a look but didn’t say anything.
The other door had a man in a cage. The floor was covered with blood, and he was crying. I could tell that he was weak by the way his hands lazily tried to bang on the cage.
We made it just outside of the Don’s quarters before the guard pushed the door open. There was nothing else in the room but a lone table, in the middle of the floor, with the three board members sitting at it like they were the jury. The Don, The Muscle, and the Matron.
The Don of New York was a black man around the age of my father. His grey hair and beard are evidence of his stint in the game. Nigga was known to be grimy as fuck. The rule of no women or no kids didn’t apply to him, ever. He’d take out whoever was in arm's reach.
The Muscle was his son, who had been rumored to have done the biggest blackout in the state of New York by himself. Coldest nigga to ever wear a suit.
The Matron was his mother, Grace, a seventy-plus woman who looks harmless but calls the biggest plays on the East Coast and will shoot without a second thought. She tapped her long red nails on the desk and looked with a cold stare as I stood in the middle of the floor, facing the table.
Trouble stood in the shadows. He didn’t say a word. Just nodded his respect and stepped off to the side to watch the meeting unfold.
“Mr. Jennings,” The Muscle began. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“Not to renew my life insurance.”
He scoffed. “You’ve been busy.”
