Page 72 of Love & Vendettas

“I haven’t spoken with him since earlier this morning,” I say.

“He’ll call. He promised that he would,” Riley asserts.

“What if he . . .”

“Don’t.” Riley stands and walks toward me.

She pulls me into a hug. “Shhh . . . he’s not being arrested. They didn’t say anything on the news like that. They would have told us if that happened.”

“What if that hasn’t been released yet, Rye?”

“Honey, you have to calm down. Stay cool for Zaire. He doesn’t need you like this. You’ve always been so calm and in control when it comes to him facing troubles, and this isn’t the first time. You need to remain that way now.”

“I can’t. I don’t understand what’s happening, Riley,” I cry.

“You’re on edge because of what happened to you. Maybe when this is over, you should talk to a therapist.”

I quickly shake my head.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of or afraid of. It will help you.”

Pulling back and holding her hands, I look at my sister and say, “Only if you do.”

She glances away from me for several seconds before turning back to me and nodding. “Okay. I will.”

Hope blossoms in my heart but then worry rises again as I think about how I haven’t heard from Zaire.

“This is just what Zaire said it is, Leigh. An attack from someone trying to take his empire down. He has a lock on this city, and someone doesn’t like it. I just think it’s awfully ironic that it’s happening at the same time that Essence is running for mayor. Shit was running smoothly before she stepped back into the spotlight.”

“You’re right,” I say, walking around the couch to take a seat.

My sister comes and sits beside me.

“All of this just to keep his father in jail. I don’t know, Leigh. I think there’s more to the story than we know.”

Shrugging, I say, “It could be. But if it is, Zaire doesn’t know what it is.”

My sister smiles and stares at me for several seconds before turning around and placing her hands on her knees.

“Thanks for letting me stay here too. I know that has to be added pressure on you all with everything that’s going on. I’m planning to return home tomorrow.”

“No. There’s no rush. Besides, we were prepared for you to be here. And now, with everything that’s happening, with the baby on the way, it’s more important than ever for you to be here so that you can be safe. We have no idea where these attacks are coming from.”

“Well, Mama and Daddy will be home tomorrow. We need to go check on them,” Riley suggests.

“We do, but we also need to put a team in place for them, as well.”

“You think so? This is about Zaire, not our family.”

“He’s taught me to trust nothing, Riley. And I’ve found that he’s always right. People know that he loves his family, and while they may not know every part of his family, they are aware of the boys and me. As an extension of that, they know about the members of my family. We haven’t hidden away from the world and been sheltered the way that his family has.”

Nodding, she agrees. “I guess you’re right. Still, it’s scary to imagine that we could walk out of the house tomorrow, and someone might snatch one of us up because we’re linked to him no matter how distantly.”

“This could have easily been me caught up in this bullshit, Rye.”

“What are you talking about?”

“They mentioned the used car lot, saying that was another business that he owns. Although most people don’t know who owns Reed Used Cars, if that were common knowledge, those people could have come after me too. Zaire bought that car lot for me and put it in my name, not just in the title, but ownership as well. Reed happens to be a common last name, so they may not have associated it with me but with someone else. All I’msaying is they could have set me up had that been common knowledge.”

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