said, and the corners of her lips twitched. “Carry the bag to my car.”
Sadie stepped around him after her instruction and started toward the tunnel entrance. The click-clack of her heels echoed against the walls, and Cam clenched his jaw and fists. Knowing that was her last order to him, he kept his emotions in check and picked up the bag of money. He walked behind her, but not too closely. He stared at the back of her head and waited for the first bullet to strike her body. He held his breath as her right foot hit the sunlight, and then her left. In seconds her body would be riddled with bullets, and her designer suit would be bloody . . . but when she was completely unshielded by the tunnel, nothing happened. Confused, Cam too stepped out of the tunnel and glanced around the construction site. His men had distinct instructions to fire upon sight, but it was quieter than when he had come. In fact . . .
Cam glanced to where he’d left Felix standing next to the running car, but he was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t even in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and the car had been turned off. Cam’s brow furrowed. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed Dwayne’s number. The phone rang and rang until the automated voicemail picked up. Where was he? And why hadn’t he followed instructions? Cam looked up to see Sadie facing him with a smirk on her lips. As she stared, he saw a glimmer of pleasure flash across her face.
“You might as well put that phone away. There’s no point,” she said. “I was supposed to walk out here and boom, off with my head, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cam told her with a straight face.
“You don’t? Then let me enlighten you,” she said. “Do you think that I would ever let you run any business or push any of my work without you being watched? Especially after you worked for Khiron when he slid into my city?”
“So, you never trusted me then.”
“Correction: I presented you with an opportunity to redeem yourself... and you’ve failed.”
The two of them stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, his filled with thirst and hatred, and hers filled with amusement. In a swift motion, he reached for the Glock on his hip, but she didn’t budge. It wasn’t until he heard the clicking of a gun cocking behind his head that he understood why.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a woman’s menacing voice warned. “Not unless you want to join your friends and driver. Hands up.”
Cam did as he was told, glaring at Sadie the entire time. It had been a setup. The meeting, the change of location. If what she said was true, he had no idea who the rat was in his camp. She could have known about his plan for weeks.
“I brought you something,” the voice behind him said.
She dropped something on his designer shoe, and when he looked down to see what it was, he almost threw up everything in his stomach. It was a severed head, but not just any severed head. Dwayne. His eyes were still open, staring blankly up at Cam.
“What the fuck!” he exclaimed and kicked it feverishly away. “You killed Dwayne!”
“And everybody else you brought with you, including your driver. He seemed like a sweet man. Sorry he had to work for a snake like you,” the woman behind him said as she nudged the back of his head roughly with her gun.
“Enough, Rhonnie,” Sadie instructed.
Cam’s blood instantly ran cold. He recognized the name as one of Sadie’s two security guards. At first, it was laughable that she trusted two women to protect her with their lives, but after seeing what they were capable of, those same laughs were muffled. Rhonnie and her sister, Ahli, weren’t just goons. They were savages. Dwayne’s severed head was proof of that.
“I thought you said you didn’t bring an army.”
“I didn’t, but you should know I always keep a few shooters with me,” Sadie said, turning her attention back to Cam. “You remind me a lot of Khiron, do you know that? So thirsty for power that you would do anything to get it. I pity you for that.”
“Easy for you to say when you have all the power,” Cam spat.
“But do you know why I have power? Because I never wanted it. The difference between you and me is that I would have been content working under my cousin, Ray, and breaking bread with my people. People I could trust, because when you have a loyal team, you can eat forever. However, fate dealt a different hand for me. I didn’t have to take my throne. It was granted to me.”
“All of this to say what?” he spat.
“If you were meant to rule the streets, it would be me with a bullet in my head, and not you.”
Cam was in the middle of inhaling one last breath when the trigger was pulled behind his head. He didn’t stand a chance with a bullet entering his skull at that close range. Blood and brains exploded everywhere, and his body dropped like a heavy weight next to his soldier’s head.
Sadie didn’t blink, but she did she turn her nose up in disgust. She glanced down at her suit to make sure not even a droplet of blood had gotten on it and was happy to see that none had. When she glanced back to Rhonnie, she gave her a look and shook her head.
“What?” Rhonnie asked with her hands up. “I thought you wanted me to shoot this nigga.”
“I did. That’s not what the look is for. I’m talking about that,” Sadie said and pointed to the head. “Sadistic much?”
“I thought it would be a nice touch. Something to send the message to anyone out there who is even thinking about crossing The Last Kings.” Rhonnie grinned and tucked her gun under the black hoodie she had on.
“If you say so. Were there any survivors?” Sadie asked and opened the front door of her Mercedes.
“No. The four of them didn’t even see me coming from where they were hiding behind the equipment. Do you want me to call someone to clean the mess up?”
Sadie stared at Cam’s dead body and watched him bleed out for a few moments before shaking her head. “Leave them all here,” she said after pondering it. “Let the construction crew find their bodies in the morning. Like you said, this will send a message. As merciful as I’ve been these past years, I don’t need anyone thinking I’ve lost my touch. The Last Kings isn’t going anywhere ever again.
“Let’s go. We have an important meeting tomorrow, and I need both you and your sister to be sharp. I allowed you to cover for Ahli today, and luckily you pulled the job off. But tomorrow, I need the two of you by my side. I don’t trust anyone else.”
“What’s so special about tomorrow?” Rhonnie inquired, walking to the passenger’s door.
Sadie didn’t say anything until the two of them were both inside with the doors shut. She could feel Rhonnie’s eyes burning a hole in the side of her cheek, waiting for an answer. Sadie turned to face Rhonnie with a mischievous shimmer in her eyes.
“Vita E Morte is ready to be put on the market.”
Chapter 2
It wasn’t the sound of the television, the birds chirping outside the window, or even the housekeeper who kept knocking on the hotel room door that woke Ahli Malone up. No, her eyes didn’t open until her hand reached to the right side of the bed and was met with nothing but air. The white oversized comforter was soft and warm around Ahli’s body as she sat up and stretched her arms in the air. Glancing around the hotel suite, she searched for the person responsible for making the night before so exceptional. However, her boyfriend, Brayland, was nowhere to be found. When she looked down to where he had fallen asleep beside her, she saw a folded piece of paper on his pillow. It was a note. She grabbed and unfolded it, trying to fight the smile creeping to her lips.
Last night was the most fun I’ve had in a while. I don’t remember the last time I danced. I wish I could see your face waking up to me, but the boss called me in. I love