Chapter 28
Milli left the library feeling chills. She never put herself in her father’s business because it never felt like it was her place. And talking to Ming was a good reason why. He scared her. It was the nothing in his eyes that did it. He was empty. If Milli didn’t know anything else, she knew Ming was a cold-blooded killer. She let her head fall back as her hand wrapped tightly around the water bottle in her hands. She found herself wondering if the ties on Ming’s hands and ankles were even enough to hold him. Glancing back at the library door, she held her breath, half expecting it to burst open, but it didn’t. She stood up straight again and went down the staircase to the first level of the house. She stopped in the study and found Caesar standing next to the fireplace. When he saw that she’d entered the room, the first thing he noticed was the spooked look on her face.
“What happened?” he asked.
“He’s crazy,” was all she said.
She placed the water bottle in her hand on a coffee table and sat down in one of the brown leather chairs. Caesar stared at the partially drunk water bottle and then at his daughter. He came and knelt in front of her.
“What did you find out?” His eyes locked on hers.
“Daddy, I . . .” Milli started, but then she saw the eager look on her father’s face. She knew she was about to disappoint him. “Nothing really.”
She thought he was about to be let down, but if he was, he didn’t show it. He stood back up and resumed his stance by the fireplace. His brow furrowed like he was lost in thought. The room was quiet for a while before he finally spoke again.
“I sent you in there because I thought he might trust your innocence in all of this.”
“I’m sorry. I let you down, Daddy.”
“Never. I should have known that someone with his skill set wouldn’t be broken with a sandwich and water bottle,” he said, huffing out a breath.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, you don’t have to worry your pretty little head with it.”
“I’m not a child, Daddy,” she said.
“I know. But I never want to see you looking how you looked when you walked in this study. You were almost pale. What happened in there?”
“I just . . . I’m around dangerous men all the time. But Ming? He gives me chills. He said that when you die, everyone you love will die at the same time. Including me.”
“Is that what scared you?”
“No, it’s that he meant it. The way he looked when he said it was like it was already set in stone.”
“Well, I’ll be the first to tell you that many men have tried and failed at killing me. Ming and his father are just the next in line. Don’t let those words get to you. Matter of fact, forget you even met a scum like him.”
She nodded her head but started to blink feverishly. Tears had sprung quickly to her eyes, and she felt so many emotions in her chest. Milli normally wasn’t such an emotional person. In fact, in many ways she was very much like her father. Before one tear could drop, Caesar was by her side with a hand around her shoulder. He held her without saying anything. He just rocked her side to side like he would do when she was upset as a child. She waited for the lump to leave her throat to talk.
“I just don’t want to lose you again, Daddy,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “When I thought you were dead, it showed me how unprepared I was to really lose you. I was lost. My heart was broken, and I don’t even know if it’s all the way back together yet.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“My entire life, I went without seeing you hurt. Not once. I guess I always thought you were invincible like Superman. But this . . . this showed me that you’re just a man. An extraordinary man, but you bleed just like the rest of them.”
“That’s why I’ve always made sure to be smarter than the rest of them. Rest assured, baby girl, that when it’s my time to go, it won’t be at the hands of someone else. I’ve given the game so much that I’ve been blessed to have a full life. I plan to be around to see my grandkids, but don’t move too quick on that one.”
His words made Milli smile, and that in turn made him smile. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled his cologne. Although her emotions weren’t completely at rest, she did feel a little bit better. He wiped the water from her cheeks and kissed her forehead.
“I love you, Daddy,” she told him.
“I love you too, baby girl.”
Knock! Knock!
The two of them turned to see Nicky standing in the entry way to the study. He had an apologetic look on his face when he saw that he had interrupted them. He had a piece of paper in his hands that he held up for Caesar to see.
“What is that?”
“The flyers for the block party on Saturday. They’ve been putting them around the city all week. Everywhere I go, I see one of these stapled or taped to something.”
“Daddy, are you sure you’re up for all of that?” Milli asked, concerned.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve barely showed my face since I’ve been back.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about Unc.” Nicky grinned at her. “This will send a good message to the boys who look up to him in the streets.”
“And to the ones who don’t, it will show them what resilience looks like. Manhattan is still mine. I bleed these streets, and no one is going to take them from me.”
“We’ll double the security all around the block just in case anyone thinks that they’re gon’ come in and do anything stupid. You’re a very powerful man, Unc. And this ‘coming back from the dead’ shit has made you more popular than you know. Nathan said he wants to be your personal bodyguard during the event.”
“I can’t think of anybody else for the job.” Caesar nodded. “There’s only one thing left to do before then.”
“What?” both Nicky and Milli asked in unison.
“Set up a meeting with Tao.”