Page 6 of A Kingpin's Weakness
His eyes narrowed, and with a slow, cold voice, he said, “I can.”
“You know, Ronnie, grace would’ve been to just continue fucking on Jo and not get her son to do your dirty work. Grace would’ve been encouraging Noah to finish school and be a successful Black man instead of pulling him into a world you knew only landed you in jail or the grave. That would’ve been grace. Grace would’ve been continuing to sit your old ass down and staying out of family business because let’s be real, if your money or drugs don’t show up that grace shit goes out the window.”
“Tell me, Jo,” I said, turning to face my mother. My voice was steady, but my hands were shaking. “How much is your son’s life worth right now?” Tears slipped down my face before I even realized I was crying.
I had failed Noah. Should I have stayed closer? Should I have just stayed down here instead of running so far from home from her, from everything? I’d been so caught up in trying to escapemy past, I didn’t see that I was leaving my brother behind in the middle of it. I swore I’d always protect him, always put him first. And yet, I’d been putting him last without even realizing it.
“$120,000,” Jo said flatly.
I blinked. Then I laughed a hollow, bitter sound that didn’t belong in a hospital waiting room. She really gave me a number.
“You asked,” was all she said, like it was that simple.
I just shook my head. And walked away. Because if I didn’t, I might’ve said something I’d never be able to take back.
“Stormi.”
My mother’s voice rang out behind me, sharp and deliberate—loud enough to stop me in my tracks. RJ and I both turned, slowly, instinctively, like we already knew whatever came next wasn’t going to be good. She stood there like she had something important to say, chin lifted, eyes locked on mine with that same smug look she always wore when she was about to cause damage.
And right behind her five men. Five silent witnesses to whatever storm Jo were about to unleash. RJ shifted slightly beside me, like he was bracing for it too. And I could already feel the heat rising in my chest.
“You think because you got a career, you better than everybody else?” Jo’s voice rang out loud and sharp. “Noah is my son. You want a child to raise so bad? Open them thick-ass thighs and let a nigga beat it up.”
She paused, long enough for the words to land.
“Oh, I forgot. Stormi scared. Still a virgin, right? That’s why she don’t know how to respect a man when he’s in her presence.”
The room went quiet, thick with judgment, amusement, and shock. She always did this. Always dragged my personal life into the street like it was trash she couldn’t wait to dump in front of an audience. I never understood her obsession with my virginity, why it bothered her so much that I hadn’t given myself to anyoneyet. Like sex was the badge of honor that made her feel superior, and my choice not to do it was some kind of personal attack.
She swore if I just got “a piece of something”, I’d finally get her. Like her pain, her choices, her chaos would all suddenly make sense.
But I had seen men. I had seen them lie, manipulate, take up space without giving anything back. The kind of men Jo let into our lives they didn’t love, they conquered. Not saying all men were like that. But most of the ones she trusted? They followed the same blueprint.
I wasn’t religious. I wasn’t waiting for a fairy tale. I just wanted the first person I gave my body to, to actually seeme.Because soul ties are real. And I wasn’t about to be bonded to somebody just because I was lonely, curious, or trying to prove I wasn’t scared. Jo didn’t get that. She never would. And honestly? I was done explaining.
CHAPTER 2
Seth
I was pulling an all-nighter,cleaning up rookie shit. Ronnie’s rookie shit. I should’ve let him drown in it, but when money’s short and bodies drop, I don’t have the luxury of sitting still.
He’d been coming up short for months, always with a new excuse, always with that greasy grin like I wouldn't notice. But this was different. Tonight was supposed to be the drop payment in full, plus interest. Instead, one of his young boys got lit up in his warehouse.
I’m no Annalise Keating, but even I know when a scene stinks and this whole setup reeked of desperation and secrets.
Rich, my lieutenant, hit my line before the blood dried. Said the kid was barely hanging on, hospital bound. I didn’t get out of bed right away. The redbone I picked up at the club was still putting in work, so I let her finish. No need to mess up her rhythm ‘cause of Ronnie’s bullshit.
But the second I dropped S3 off at school, I was gone. No breakfast. No calls. Just me, the Glock, and a growing suspicion that Ronnie was playing me for a fool. He was about to learn I was nobody’s fool.
My mind should’ve been on business. Strictly. But the second I stepped up to the ER doors, all that went out the window. There she was. Thick in all the right places, standing there like a walking distraction sent to test my focus. Her body pulled me in first; no lie, but it was her face that held me. There was something in her eyes. Fear. Sadness. Like she was standing outside the gates of hell, bracing herself to walk through. Even with all that pain written across her face, her mocha skin still glowed when the sun hit it. She didn’t even know how bad she shook the world just by being in it.
And maybe I’m cold when it comes to business, but I was raised with some damn manners. So, I walked up, calm, respectful, offered my help. Figured I could ease her into that building and maybe just maybe help her through the pain after.
What I didn’t expect was that she was the sister of the young soldier who got shot. The same kid Ronnie had running his errands. The same kid who was now the key to finding out what really went down in that warehouse.
Yeah, Ronnie owed me money. But now I needed answers. And I was getting them the second that young nigga woke up.
“Ronnie moving funny.” The words came out before Rich even sat all the way down.
