“More than good with that, brother.”
“Bet. Give me those shoes and head back to your lady. I’m sure Dr. Hanna has some news for you two.”
“For Brandy you mean? I’m already knowing, brother.”
“Well, it looks like we have a baby shower to get ready for, huh?”
“Can we plan your wedding first, brother? Always worried about me. Got Chardonnay twiddling her thumbs.”
“Ay, off me.”
“Yeah, exactly. Come on, let’s give Vino a run for his money on the pool table.”
“Hell yeah. He swears he’s the very best.” Arlando laughed.
“I’ll let honeybee rest for a bit. By the time we take Vino’s money, she should be good and ready for me.”
“You getting soft on me, brother?”
We laughed and made our way up. What should’ve had me grieving and chopping heads ended up bringing me peace I didn’t know I needed. I was grateful my father had slipped. He showed us how he truly felt about us and I was glad that we had rid ourselves of that bastard for good.
Using Serg was a blow to the gut. He used our closest pupil to disrupt our operations, knowing how we felt about him, thinking he was hitting us where it hurt the most. And honestly, he had. He didn't have to kill Bryce. Serg could’ve come to us at any point and told us what our father was aiming to do. For that, he lost his life too. Oh well.
TWENTY-NINE
Armond Davis
I WALKED INTO THE LOFT well into the night. Zia Giulia decided that she wanted to go over the future with very detailed paperwork. Most of it was for my cousins and brother to look over. I signed off on a couple of things but other than that I spent my time kicking it with my family. It felt good to be around someone other than my mother and brother bickering all day.
I felt miserable for leaving Brandy hanging. Neither of us expected things to go for as long as they did. It wasn’t a surprise to see Brandy curled up in the middle of my bed lightly snoring with a book still in her hand.
I kissed her forehead lightly then tried my best to pry the book from her fingers without waking her. She’d always been a light sleeper. Sure enough, the second her pointer finger fell in the slightest, she was humming and shifting.
“Armond? What time is it?”
“Late.”
“So, we missed our reservation?”
“Unfortunately, honeybee.”
“Well, that’s disappointing. How did things go with your father?”
“And how do you know I met with my father today?”
“How else?”
“Ah, Chardonnay.”
“Of course. I was worried about you and she said you might take a little longer because of him. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, well he’s dead.”
“What?” She sat up quickly and scanned my face for the joke. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
