"I'm not sure that I like this plan." Shy expressed to everyone as they sat in their living room. Xavier knew it was hard to have faith when they would be dead in the middle of a danger zone, but he knew it was for a reason. There was no way Pierre would show his face if the whole family went to Florida, but they had a chance if it was only them. He wanted Barkley, Ziggy, Elias, and him dead. Therefore, if they went to Florida and showed their faces, Pierre would most likely show up, thinking it was a sign.
"Mi wouldn't overthink it too much, Shanice. X or Luca wouldn't send us somewhere without them being too far behind—"
"You're right. There is no way our parents or grandparents would send us somewhere like this without them being too far behind. They think we are fucking crazy, but I know you have seen the way they hang over our fucking heads. Ever since the incident in Japan, they've been hovering over us like we are infants or some shit. We are bait, and Pierre stupid ass is going to hook himself." Elias spoke, and Xavier couldn't agree more. It was more to the story. It was no way Xerxes and Luca were sending them to the States while they stayed behind.
"It's too risky to send us alone when we don't know what reinforcements Pierre may have. They want us to feel like we can do this without them. I don't really understand why they think we need that. Shit, we stepped down for a reason, and it wasn't because we were scared."
"Wasn't, though?" Xylia chimed in, making them look at one another. "I, for one, can say I stepped down for my Goddess. I'm never too scared for war." Rajesh said as Xy turned to him with a shrug.
"That's different, Raj. You have been a Don for seven-plus years and became one in your early thirties. If my brother and Barkley were in your shoes, I could understand your actions, but Barkley had been Don before he turned eighteen. Xavier and Elias became Dons in a snap of a finger. They were ready, but it's a difference between being ready and being forced into a predicament. We were sheltered. I can't speak for Bark, but I can for us. Everyone thought we had free range but didn't, so we acted out. It's why Eva turned out the way she did... why I did the things I did. Xavier felt that he was unheard, and Elias turned to drugs—"
"Yo, rewind that shit... I'm a fucking weed smoker. I don't do fucking drugs." Elias spoke as all his cousins turned to him with a brow raised. "For real! Fine, I used to pop a pill or two a few years ago, but y'all niggas act like I was the only one. Zay, King, Ava, and Xylia, don't fucking act like you're a fucking saint who didn't do the same shit. I stopped after what happened with Xavier. We were fucked up. Hell, anyone would be if they grew up the way we did. We were taught how to shoot a fucking gun at seven. How to kill earlier than that? How old were you when you had your first kill?" He said.
"I had to stab someone to death at five. At the time, I thought I was protecting my Mom. The truth was it was a man she was fucking, and he discovered her truth. So, yeah, we are fucked up, and the sad thing is we had to teach our children the same shit, but I'm never afraid."
Xavier shrugged his shoulders, looking over at Shanice as she looked shocked as hell. She was lucky her so-called parents shielded her from that life. They didn't have the chance, but it didn't change a thing. All of them loved their family, but they also wanted a chance to grow and learn. "I have to agree. I'm never afraid, but it's only fair for us to live our lives a little before jumping into that seat. Unlike our parents, he didn't have free range. They were able to move freely between here and the States. We were stuck here. It's sad when our mother is from the States, but our roots are here. We know nothing about our American roots." Xavier finished.
It was true. Their parents were in and out of the States as a child. It was easy for them to learn about their Oma and her origins. Adele may have hated the place, but she made sure to take her child to South Carolina if it was nothing other than a drive-through. The last time they visited Virginia, they were babies mainly because Riley, Gen, and the rest had left that life behind them.
