Manhattan

One thing that Morgan had learned about her brother was that he was rarely in a bad mood. But when he was, it was a dangerous thing. And she knew he was in a bad mood when he called them all for an emergency meeting. Everyone had shown up and sat around the round meeting table. Caesar and Diana were there, too. They sat next to their old seats, which were now occupied by Morgan and Nicky. Boogie was in Barry’s seat, Zo in Marco’s seat, and Bentley sat in Li’s seat, although he wasn’t a family head.

If it had been a cartoon, they all would be able to see the steam coming off Boogie’s body. He had his hands clasped tightly and pressed to his lips. His eyes stared at the table, and he looked like he was trying to calm himself down before he started talking. Nobody rushed him, even though they were all curious as to why they were there. Morgan especially wanted to know why Bentley had cancelled their date that night.

Things seemed to be going smoothly for everybody. And although Boogie had been injured, nobody she cared about had died, and that was a plus. Diana told her what had happened with Louisa, and her heart went out to Zo. Morgan felt that she didn’t deserve to keep breathing, but Zo’s punishment to her was worse than death. Still, she couldn’t pretend to imagine what he was going through inside. She had an idea about it, but Boogie hadn’t died when he got shot. Daniella did. And as selfish as it might sound, Morgan was happy that she wasn’t the one feeling that kind of inward torture. But hopefully, one day, Zo would find some kind of peace.

“He shot at us,” Boogie finally said in a low tone.

“Who? Who shot at you?” Diana asked, alarmed.

“Namir Lucas.”

“Lucas?” she asked and looked wide-eyed at Caesar. “Isn’t that . . .”

“Nasir Lucas’s son,” Caesar confirmed. He sighed. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”

“You knew about him?” Bentley asked, wide-eyed. “He shot my car up. My favorite car!”

“I knew that the Lucas family played a part in the business that was conducted on Staten Island, but I thought it ended when I killed their boss.”

“That’s the thing. You didn’t kill their boss,” Boogie said, looking up from the table at Caesar. “You killed their employee.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Nasir never had control on Staten Island. Back when my father was alive, he worked for Benzino. He didn’t call the shots.”

“And how sure are you about that? Because they didn’t just shoot at us for no reason.”

Caesar opened his mouth and then shut it again. His brow furrowed in vexation, and for once, he was speechless. He looked at Diana, who had a bewildered expression on her face. A chill went around the room, and a silence fell over them for a moment.

“I hate to say it, Boog, but you have got to be the unluckiest man in the universe right now,” Zo spoke up. “But fuck it. We handled Louisa, and we can handle this new guy.”

“But how? We don’t even know where to find him. I didn’t even know I had a new target on my back until today.”

“Well, now you know,” Morgan said. “And you know what he looks like.”

“But once again, the question is, how are we going to find him?” Bentley reiterated.

“I think—” Diana started, but Morgan interrupted her.

“We flush him out. He should be looking for Boogie the same way Boogie is looking for him. Let’s make it easier for him.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Zo asked.

“Maybe—” Caesar started, but then Nicky interrupted him.

“Pass a message through one of the Italians. Set up a time and a place. Maybe there can be a peaceful resolve.”

Boogie pondered Nicky’s suggestion for a couple seconds before nodding his head.

“I like it,” he said. “But this won’t end in exile like it did with Louisa. I want his head. This is the last time I let somebody play with me. We haven’t even been able to come together on the terms of a new pact. The fightin’ has been back-to-back. I’m tired of this shit. I just got back on my feet. I’ll be damned if I let a motherfucka take me off ’em again.”

“I’m with whatever you’re with, Boogie,” Morgan told him, and everyone else agreed.

“I’ma make this call and let everybody know the move. Meetin’ adjourned.”

Boogie walked out of the high-rise building with Caesar at his side. Bentley and Morgan weren’t too far behind them. The others had exited on other sides of the building. He still couldn’t believe he had come so close to being taken off the map again. Fed up was the only way to describe what he truly felt inside because that was what he was. Who would have thought the death of his father would have sent his world spiraling in such a way within a year? But then again, the only thing constant was change.

“Boog, I’ma ride with my shorty. Let me know what the word is,” Bentley said and slapped hands with Boogie in farewell.

“Yup,” Boogie said and then hugged his sister. “Keep him out of trouble.”

“I should be saying that to you. Because of you, I’ma have to listen to him cry all night about how his precious car got shot up.”

She kissed her brother on the cheek and took Bentley’s hand. Boogie watched them walk away for a second before continuing to where his car was parked. He put his hands in the pockets of his shorts and turned to face Caesar.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that Nasir had a son?” he asked.

“Until I retold the story of how the five families came together, I honestly had forgotten all about Nasir. Our paths haven’t crossed in decades.”

“But didn’t you want to do business with Bosco at one point? That’s the reason you and my dad fell out.”

“I did, but if I had known Nasir was still in the picture, I never would have tried to make that happen. And now that I know, I realize how much of a fool I was with Barry, my old friend.”

“I thought you and Nasir were friends.”

“Hm,” Caesar said, and he seemed to go away for a second. “Maybe I should tell you the rest of the story now.”