Page 77 of Riot

“What’s up?”

“Mama ain’t doin’ good,” I said, voice low. “This shit with Pops has her slipping fast.”

He was quiet for a beat. “I’ll check on her tomorrow. Maybe talk her into seeing someone.”

“Good,” I said. “We’re gonna lose her if we don’t.”

We drove off in silence, the weight in the car thicker than the Jersey air. I didn’t know what scared me more, losing her, or what losing her might do to me.

Chapter 23

HAVOC

Sweat dripped from my brow, splattering against the hardwood as I powered through another set of push-ups in the middle of my living room. My chest burned, arms tight, shoulders locked, but I kept going. Pain meant nothing to me anymore. It was just another language I’d learned to speak fluently.

My penthouse wasn’t bad. Open floor plan. High ceilings. That cold, modern shit with matte black fixtures and floor-to-ceiling windows. It was nice enough. But it wasn’tKing nice.

Not Creed’s Harlem fortress. Not Riot’s compound tucked away like some damn villain lair. Mine? Mine was what you got when you were the leftover King. The one who didn’t get handed power on a platter. The one who was always told to wait your turn… even when your blood ran just as dark, just as deadly.

But that was cool.

I didn’t want what they had.

I wanted more.

While those two had mansions, vacation homes, fleets of cars, and money tied up in crypto, offshore accounts, andarmored trucks—I had this. A single penthouse out the way in Brooklyn that I bought cash. A few stacks buried. Enough to walk away if I needed to. Not enough to take the city by storm.

Not yet.

But that was gonna change. Soon.

Once I knocked them off the throne, took what should’ve been mine from the beginning—I’d have estates in the Hamptons. A fleet of exotics. A fuckin’ tiger if I wanted one.

I dropped to my forearms and switched into planks, holding my body steady as my mind ran laps.

They didn’t see me coming. They never did.

Creed was too busy playing dark knight, and Riot? According to Rollo, Riot was out here falling for the girl he was supposed to just be protecting. Stupid move. Emotional men make easy targets.

I tightened my core, gritting my teeth.

Let them stay comfortable.

I was coming for all of it.

The sound of keys jingling and the soft thud of the front door closing broke through the silence of my reps. I stayed in push-up position as long as I could, but my son’s little laughter followed by Mimi’s sharp voice snapped the rhythm right out of me.

“I hope you're gettin' stronger down there, because you’re sure as hell not getting any smarter,” she sassed.

Mimi was being hard on me because she was ready for me knock my brothers off their throne. Besides she had some skin in the game. This wasn’t just about me. She wanted revenge on them too.

I grunted and rose to my feet, sweat still rolling down my spine. My son reached out to and I grabbed him from her without hesitation, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. His weight grounded me, gave me something real to hold on to in this whole fucked-up game.

Mimi stood at the door with her arms folded, a diaper bag slung over one shoulder and a scowl on her face. She was still fine, had that fire in her eyes that had pulled me in from day one, but damn if she didn’t know how to gut a man with just her words.

“Well, hello to you too.” I greeted. I loved Mimi. She was rock my away from the Kings and I intended on keeping her a secret. If they knew I was with her, there would be hell to pay.

“What’s the latest?” she asked, cutting straight to it. “What’s the grand plan for taking down your brothers? Or have you given up because you haven’t mention shit to me in a while.”

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