Page 90 of Love & Vendettas

“Toss his bitch ass in the fire!” I shout, jumping up.

I pull out my phone, taking several paces away from him, while Malik and Jamal lift Parker from the ground and toss him into the fire.

“Janel, call Lucian and tell him to get my house on lockdown and keep a close eye on my boys and Bayleigh!”

“Gotcha, Bossman!”

Parker’s shrill screams fill the air, followed soon by the acrid smell of burning flesh. There’s only a four to six-minute window during which the drug will keep him paralyzed. When it begins to wear off, I’m sure he’ll be dead or close enough to it.

“Bay!”

“Hey, baby. I need to talk to you. There’s—”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but Riley—”

“Is a fucking traitor! Is she there?”

“No! She was talking crazy about her and somebody taking over your empire, and then she left.”

“Parker. She’s fucking around with Parker. Did she say where she was going?”

“Parker? Is that who’s behind this?”

“Lock the house up and set the alarm. Get the boys in, and y’all stay your asses there. You hear me?”

“Yeah!”

“I gotta go. Lucian is about to put y’all on lockdown, so chill ‘til you see me.”

“Okay, you’re scaring me.”

“Bayleigh, I love you. I ain’t gon’ let shit happen to you or those boys again.”

“Okay. I love you too.”

I end the call and turn to watch that muthafucka die while I smoke a blunt. When he’s finished, I’m finished, and I head to the car.

“Janel! Malik! Y’all got this shit?”

“Handle your business. We’re holding it down here,” Malik answers as Jamal comes to join me.

“Where to?”

“Essence’s office.”

41 – UNINVITED GUESTS – ESSENCE

“How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t show up at my home? And you don’t contact me, I contact you,” I seethe, standing in the doorway.

“You’ve been ignoring my calls,” she cries hysterically.

“Because I have been very busy. I don’t have time for handholding or coddling,” I explain impatiently.

“I can’t reach Parker. I’ve been calling him for the last hour, and he’s not responding to my calls or text messages.”

“Maybe he’s busy with some work for Zaire, or maybe he’s caught up in . . . something else,” I answer suggestively, eyeing her up and down.

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