Page 84 of Faded Rhythm

I make a face he can’t see. “Fuck outta here.”

“I’m serious,” he laughs. “You sound…lighter. Happier. It’s a good look, brother. I’m not clowning.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“She’s easy on the eyes, that’s for damn sure.”

“That, she is. What picture did you dig up?”

He bellows on the other end. “I don’t know, man. She was on a beach somewhere. Bright pink bikini. And I ain’t mad at ya, fam. Enjoy. You ain’t the step dad, you the dad that stepped up. Let’s goooooo.”

Now I’m laughing. “You a goddamn fool, AJ.”

“I’m just saying. This is a win for me, too, J. I’ve had to watch you be miserable for years. I like seeing you happy.”

“I appreciate it,” I say. “I’m fully compromised now, man. Ain’t no going back.”

He blows out a breath. “Does she know everything?”

That’s the sticking point. The thing that requires me to crack myself open and pour myself out. She did it for me the other night.

“She knows enough,” I finally say. “For now.”

“Alright, man. You got it. You know I got your back regardless. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, A. Stay close. I have a feeling I’m gonna need you again soon.”

I hang up and enter the password on the encrypted files AJ sent. Black Lace. The financial breakdown, historical changes to ownership, royalty agreements…it’s all here.

Ten minutes in, I find exactly what I’m looking for.

“Fuck.” I pick up my phone and call Sable. “I need you in my office. Now.”

She sits at my desk, her eyes scanning the screen on the page I left up for her. Her mouth is open, her brow crinkled.

I point to the second to last paragraph on the page.

She reads it, then looks up at me. “That’s why he wants me dead.”

I nod.

She puts a hand over her mouth. “I had no idea.”

It’s right there in black and white. Big Ray had fifty-one percent, while Dime only had forty-nine.

“Your husband wants to sell,” I explain. “I told you, even if he only had Redd’s catalog, that’s easily fifty mil. But he can’t sell without your family’s approval. You all have controlling interest.”

“Why didn’t he just ask?” Sable shakes her head, still in shock. “And why would he wanna sell so badly? He doesn’t need the money.”

I reach down and navigate to another tab. “Right there. Brett’s in debt, Sable. I’m talking about millions in the hole. Bad real estate deals, mostly.”

She sighs. “I feel sick to my stomach.”

“I guess he figures once Dime is gone, he gets his forty-nine. Withyougone, he also gets the girls’ shares. Then, he’s in control and he doesn’t have to humiliate himself by telling you how leveraged he is.”

“Fuck.”

I give her space. Let her sit with it. The air in the room feels thick and heavy, like how it feels before a storm.

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