to save them just as quickly as they would her.
Monroe, their driver, was standing outside of the CEO SUV and holding the back door open for them. He had been Sadie’s driver ever since her old driver, Pierre, retired. Monroe was a sweet older man who reminded her a lot of her late grandmother, Rae, just in the male form. He was originally from Oakland, California, and still had the accent. He didn’t just drive her around. Sometimes she would have to hear his mouth, too. Back in his day, he had been “the man” in Cali, that was until he relocated to Detroit and settled down with the love of his life. He always had new pointers or told her where she needed to tighten up, and for the most part, she listened. The hair on his head was fully gray, but he was as fit and muscular as a man half his age. Sadie liked for everyone around her to look like money, so he stood before her in a Tom Ford tuxedo with diamond cuff links.
“You look like you should be getting chauffeured instead of driving me around,” Sadie teased when she was in earshot.
“You better quit,” he said with a big smile. “And for the record, if you didn’t pay me so good for driving you around, I wouldn’t be able to afford this damn suit.”
“Well, for the record, I pay you so well because of the guidance you give me. Not for driving me around,” Sadie told him and kissed his cheek.
She got in first and made herself comfortable in the leather seat with her clutch and the white binder in her lap. Rhonnie got in and sat across from her while Ahli sat to her right. When Monroe shut the door and got in himself, they pulled away from the mansion en route to their destination. Sadie had arranged for everyone invited to the meeting to have transportation that would bring them to an undisclosed location. The drive was a good forty-five minutes with traffic, but they arrived in a timely manner.
“The meeting is at the stash house?” Rhonnie made a face when she saw the driveway they were pulling into. They were outside of what looked to be an old, abandoned house, but they all knew it was much more. “I guess there is no better place to hold a meeting of this magnitude than in your own territory.”
“Exactly,” Sadie said and took notice of the Mercedes SUV parked up the street. “They’re here. Come on.”
Monroe got the door for them and waited for them to go around the back of the gated house before he got back into the car. When they reached the back door, Rhonnie knocked three times, and it opened. They were met by a tall, handsome man holding an AK-47. When he saw them, the hard look he’d been wearing quickly faded, and when his eyes fell on Ahli, he smiled.
“Brayland? What are you doing here?” Ahli asked.
“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Sadie asked with a raised brow because she had sent him to do other things. “I thought I told you to do drops with Gerron and his team.”
“I did,” Brayland said, stepping back and letting them enter. “This was one of the last stops we had to make. We cleared this spot out to move the work around. But when I saw that truck pull up, I thought I’d stay awhile. Figured you three would pop up soon.”
“Nosy ass,” Rhonnie said, shaking her head.
“Never that. I just like to be in the know.”
“Aka nosy as hell,” Rhonnie reiterated.
“Yeah, whatever,” Brayland dismissed what she said and turned back to Sadie. “Your people are down there waiting on you.”
“Thank you,” she said, turning the corner and heading down the dimly lit stairs.
With each step she took, the voices coming from the large basement space grew louder and more distinguishable. She could hear the tension in all of their voices, and she was sure it had something to do with how she had them transported.
“Were the bags over our heads really necessary? You would think she doesn’t know a nigga or something,” a deep voice commented.
It was a voice that brought joy to her heart, and it had been too long since she’d heard it. When she took the final step off the stairs and into the light, she passed two more of her men holding automatic weapons and peering at their guests with “I wish you would” eyes.
“Thank you, Keith and Lamont, for bringing our guests here unscathed,” Sadie said to them before heading for a large, round table in the middle of the dirty carpeted floor.
There were four people sitting around it a few seats apart. The table had a projector in the center of it, as well as a laptop beside it. All four faces were ones she recognized instantly, and her pearly whites flashed when she stepped into the light. Upon seeing her arrive, their tension instantly went away, especially since she greeted them in good spirits.
“Yes, it was necessary for my men to bring you here with bags over your heads, Legacy,” she said, grinning from ear to ear as she approached them. “Trust or not, some locations I would prefer to remain a secret, sorry. Sorry about having them take your guns, too.”
“Sadie!” Legacy said, standing and pulling her into a deep embrace. “It’s been too long.”
“That it has,” Sadie said when she pulled away to get a good look at him. “Did you get bigger? I don’t remember you being this tall.”
“Shit, the way you’ve been ghost, I’m surprised you even remember me at all. No calls, no texts. Shit, I didn’t even have your new number until you hit me up the other day,” he said in a joking manner, but Sadie knew he was serious by the hurt look in his eyes.
He had a right to be hurt by her absence. After all, there was once a time when the two of them had been as close as siblings. When Khiron had almost defeated her, Legacy was the one who was in her corner. He was the ally who loaned his own army just so she could get her city back. If it weren’t for Legacy, she wouldn’t be standing there in front of him as one of the highest-ranking bosses in the States. He had saved not only her, but The Last Kings. However, even with that being said, Sadie felt like she had earned the right to keep to herself for a while. They were both doing their own things. Still, she hadn’t meant to be out of reach for five months.
“I’ve just been getting some shit in order, that’s all,” she said simply, but by the way he looked at her, she knew it wasn’t a good enough answer.
“We’ll talk, but for now, how about you introduce me to these lovely ladies behind you,” Legacy said, motioning to Rhonnie and Ahli, who had followed Sadie down the stairs.
“Trust me, those two are anything but ladies,” said the person in the seat next to Legacy.
The voice belonged to Arrik, one of Sadie’s underbosses who had expanded The Last Kings’ reach to Omaha, Nebraska. His long hair was braided Iverson style, and he was dressed the most casual out of everyone at the table. Arrik knew Rhonnie and Ahli too well, being as they were the ones who robbed him three years prior. If it hadn’t been for that greedy hit, Sadie would have never been led to them. It was a bad that ended in good, but Arrik still held a small grudge. See, he ran an airtight camp, so for them to have been able to pull off something like that spoke volumes of their skillset. Seeing them was a forever reminder of the time he was caught lacking.
“Hater,” Rhonnie directed to him. “You know you love us.”
“Humph. Sike, nigga,” Arrik scoffed.
“These two are my security,” Sadie answered Legacy’s question, setting the binder and her clutch down on the table.
“That’s my sister, Ahli, and I’m Rhonnie,” Rhonnie said, raising her right hand for a handshake. “And I heard your name is Legacy, but I think I’m just gon’ call you Fine, because you’re fine as hell! Goddamn, Sadie! I thought this was a business meeting, not a tryout for the sexiest motherfuckas in the world.”
“It’s not. And I’m married, so call me Legacy,” Legacy said, shaking her right hand with his left and flashing the ring on his finger. He turned to Sadie and raised a brow. “You sure this is who you can trust with your safety?”
“Trust