Page 197 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 2

This wasn’t just the beginning of something forbidden.

This was the beginning of something that would change everything.

And I didn’t care.

For the first time in years, I felt alive.

And I wasn’t letting that go.

Not for Amai.

Not for anyone.

Chapter 16

AMAI

The warehouse sat on the edge of the Industrial Canal, tucked between abandoned shipping containers and a stretch of cracked asphalt that hadn’t seen maintenance in a decade. It was one of three locations I rotated for crew meetings—never the same place twice in a row, never predictable. Predictability got you killed in this business.

I pulled up at 11:47 PM, killed the engine, and sat in the silence for a moment. The building was dark except for the single light burning in the back office. My crew was already inside, waiting.

Good. They should wait.

I stepped out of the car and walked toward the side entrance, my footsteps echoing against the metal siding. The door was unlocked. I pushed it open and stepped into the cold, industrial space that smelled like motor oil and concrete dust.

Brandon was leaning against the table when I walked in, arms crossed, his expression tight. Teal stood near the window, watching the street. DeShawn and Trey sat at the far end of the table, both of them looking like they hadn’t slept in days.

They all straightened when they saw me.

I didn’t greet them. I walked to the head of the table, placed my phone face-down on the surface, and let the silence stretch until it became uncomfortable.

“Where the fuck is Priest?” I asked.

The question landed like a blade. No one moved. No one spoke.

Brandon cleared his throat. “We’ve been looking since yesterday morning. No sign of him. No word from any of our contacts on the street. No chatter from Rahsaan’s crew. Nothing.”

“Nothing,” I repeated, my voice flat. “That’s not an answer, Brandon. That’s a failure.”

“There’s no way anyone snatched Priest without him putting up a fight,” Brandon said, his tone careful but firm. “You know how he moves. He’s always armed. Always aware. If someone tried to take him, we would’ve heard something. A gunshot. A struggle. Witnesses.Something.”

I studied him for a long moment, letting the weight of my silence do the work. Brandon was smart. Loyal. One of the few people in this organization I actually trusted. But right now, trust didn’t mean shit. Results did.

“Does Winston have him?” he asked.

The shift in the room was immediate. The tension that had been simmering beneath the surface suddenly crystallized into something sharper. Everyone knew what it meant if my father had taken Priest. It meant this wasn’t about business. It was about control.

Brandon’s jaw tightened. “I talked to a few people. Quietly. No one’s seen Winston make any moves. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t.”

“And you believe them?” I asked.

Brandon met my eyes. “Doyou?”

“Hell no.” I pushed off the table and walked toward the window, looking out at the dark street below. A car passed, its headlights cutting through the night before disappearing around the corner. “But before I go to war with my father, I need to know if Rahsaan has him.”

“If Rahsaan had Priest, he would’ve said something by now,” Brandon countered. “That’s not how he operates. He’d want us to know. He’d want the psychological advantage. A message. A demand. Something to destabilize us.” He paused. “And if he didn’t want us to know—if he just wanted Priest gone—we’d have found his body by now.”

The logic was sound. Rahsaan was calculated, but he wasn’t subtle. If he’d taken Priest, it would’ve been loud. Public. A statement.