“What’d he say?” Carlos asked anxiously as I returned from my meeting with Davonte.

“What do you think he said? He said, ‘suck my dick and be thankful you’re alive’,” I answered, stalking into my apartment and tossing my purse onto the counter.

Carlos was Roberto’s younger brother but he had no spine for bloody business.

I used to wonder how the two were even related but I’d since taken the fool under my wing so he didn’t get himself killed.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, Carlos,” I snapped, my head aching. Davonte was no one to trifle with. He had no conscience and he often did things simply because it amused him to watch people suffer.

I’d go so far as to say Davonte was a psychopath but I wasn’t a shrink so whatever.

Either way, he was a bastard.

And I’d been towing his line for way too long.

McAvoy had made a solid point.

But I didn’t want to pick a side unless I knew that side was winning.

I’d lost Roberto because Roberto had sworn to me that we’d had the upper hand.

So much for that plan.

Roberto had been dreamer.

I’d been stupid for thinking that Roberto had the ability to stage a coup of that magnitude.

I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves.

It’d been three years since Roberto had died.

Three years of Davonte forcing me to take it up the metaphoric ass as punishment.

God, I hated the prick.

I drew a deep drag and let the smoke burn my lungs. I liked the pain. It reminded me that I was alive.

I let it out and poured myself a drink.

“McAvoy thinks he’s got Terrance Johnson on his side. If that’s true…maybe it could work.”

“I’ve heard that Terrance is no picnic,” Carlos reminded me with a shudder. “You might be trading one horror show for another.”

“True enough but I’m so sick of Davonte that I could puke. Anything had to be better than what I’m going through right now.”

At least I hoped so.

Truth was, Carlos could be right. I could be jumping from the frying pan to the fire.

“What’s the word on the latest shipment from Dray?”I asked, stubbing out my cigarette. “Everything on schedule?”

“Yes.” Carlos nodded. “Dray said Molly should arrive by tomorrow night. Same details as usual.”

Dray was Davonte’s contact for the import of the drug Molly into Detroit.

Dray packaged the shit in liquor bottles with false bottoms so if anyone took a peek into the crates, it would simply look like a delivery of alcohol to the club.

This shipment was worth about one hundred thousand on the street.

Davonte had gotten smug. He only had two guys assigned to the club tomorrow night to make sure the transaction went down smooth.

If it was true that McAvoy had Terrance, then it wouldn’t so hard to take care of Davonte’s guys and divert the shipment to Terrance as a show of good faith.

But then I’d have to get the fuck out of Dodge until shit blew over or else Davonte was going to come for my head first.

“You got that stash of cash?” I asked Carlos.

“Yeah,” he said, plainly nervous. “You sure about this?”

“No, but it’s now or never. Terrance is the only fucker brave — or stupid — enough to go up against Davonte. I say let those two motherfuckers duke it out and leave me out of it.”

Carlos looked ready to piss himself but he trusted me and he was loyal.

I knew I could count on Carlos doing exactly as he was told.

Now I just needed McAvoy to come through with his end of the bargain.

Time was running out.

If Terrance’s people weren’t blowing up my phone in the next couple of hours, I would know that McAvoy had made promises he couldn’t keep.

And I was going to turn the fucker into Davonte.

In this world, it was kill or be killed.

And as Roberto had learned the hard way…I ain’t dying for no one.