Page 258 of Kentrell

“Yeah.” I nodded slow. “Had her baby in prison. Sent her down south to her mama. And after her three years was up… she went and got her. Went back down there. Started a new life. New kids. New house. Left you right here… stuck in the same gutter she crawled out of.”

The car filled with her quiet sobs.

And I stayed right where I was.

Unmoved.

I let her sit in it… let the truth choke her the same way she’d been choking me with her lies all this time.

“What… what do you want from me?” Her voice cracked on every word.

I finally turned all the way in my seat, giving her my full attention now.

“How long Yam been fucking on you?” I asked it flat. Cold.

Her whole body shook. “Kentrell…”

“Answer the fucking question.”

Her tears came harder now. “Since I was seventeen,” she whispered, voice breaking like her whole spirit was giving out. “On and off. Anytime I tried to leave… he’d find me. Or send somebody to drag me back. I tried, Trell… I swear I did. I even had a plan to kill myself… just… end it. Get free that way.”

My chest tightened for a split second… but I locked that shit down quick.

“He put you on me?” My question had her eyes damn near popping out of her head, confirming what I already knew.

“Yeah.” She said low. Dropping her eyes to her hands. “He just wanted eyes on y’all—make sure y’all never caught onto anything he did.”

That had my jaw tightening.

“I look at y’all like the only family I got—‘cause y’all is.” Star’s voice was shaky at first. “I never cared about Danyell—you saw how much we fought.” She brought it back to me as I nodded. “I’ll handle him?—”

“Nah,” I said, voice low, steady. “You ain’t gotta do that. I got a better plan for you.”

She sniffled, wiping her face with both hands, struggling to catch her breath.

“I’ll handle Yam… later. It’s some shit I still need more answers to.” I told her straight up. “But Malcolm… I want him knocked down before Christmas.”

Her brows pulled tight. “That lawyer who called me for you?”

She remembered. Good.

“What the fuck he do to you?”

“Too much to speak on,” I said, jaw clenching. “But I can tell you this… we not gon’ kill him.”

“Why not?” That caught her off guard.

“A nigga running for office? Too connected. Too protected.”

“So how the hell you think I can do something to him?”

A slow, sadistic smile pulled at my mouth.

“You can line him up… take Raven with you.” I leaned in, just enough for her to feel every word deep in her chest. “You gon’ make sure Raven get in… finish the job… and get it all on tape. She don’t need no specifics. She just need to do what she do—fuck and get up.”

Star swallowed hard… nodded through her tears.

“Don’t front yo move, Star.” I let my voice drop darker. “You run yo mouth… or run from this… I’ll sleep you… yo mama… and all her new kids down south.”

---