Own You

Chapter 39

"Mya... please... calm down! I don't know what is going through your mind, but you're not thinking clearly. You can't kill all of us and think you'll be safe with only Emilio's family and DJ to support you," Jamal says trying to reason with me, keeping an even tone.

He knows I'm on edge and that I won't let him easily talk me down, yet he tries. I can't blame him, he's weak, just like the rest of them. When confronted with actual power or obstacles, they've always fallen short. They can't see past their own egos long enough to stay on track and come up with long-term solutions. For the longest time, it's been me at the helm of all their best ideas, and I never gave myself that credit before. No longer will I let these dickheads dictate to me my worth in this organization, I am this organization.

"Can't I? What do you really know about Emilio's family besides what he told you and the basic info you looked up? What do you really know of Dae-Jung, he's the newest person in the collective, but do you really know anything useful about his past? It's that failure to look into the finer details that's put you in this situation. You are a fucking fool, all of you.

"You thought he was like all of you, only in it for the power and what it can give you. None of you even truly love your children, they're just pieces of meat to you that can continue your sick idea of a family line. Out of all your weak excuses for me, none of you deserve the legacy that is those kids. None of you were anything close to real fathers," I say before shooting Jamal in his right leg.

He curses and groans in agony as he slumps into his chair, blood staining the cushion.

"Mya...you better kill me! I swear I'll—-"

I shoot him in his right shoulder and his right arm, effectively cutting him off.

"You don't get to threaten me anymore. You guys have lost, I'm the only one here fit to run all these businesses. If it wasn't for me, you all know you wouldn't have half of what you got. I gave you ungrateful bastards children and my life, my ideas and my dignity. None of you should be in your positions, but here you are. I'm tired of playing on the sidelines. I've learned enough about the game to know I should be sitting at the head of it all."

The sound of guns cocking as the doors to the dining room open makes Jamal and the others more anxious. If I were them aid be afraid too. I turn around to see a group of eight men enter the room, their guns aimed at Antonio, Jamal, and Jaden. Dae-Jung smiles and stops, pointing his gun at Jaden, ordering a few of the men to tie them up. Jaden seems more pissed than usual and gives DJ the evil eye.

In a split second, Jaden goes for his dinner knife and tries to stab DJ in his throat. DJ gets a shot off and hits Jaden in his right-foot. Jaden drags half the table's adornments off and onto the floor as he grips the tablecloth for balance; he stumbles over onto the ground. DJ kicks him in his ribs while he's down. The screams of agony make me laugh at Jaden and he curses me like he has cursed no one before. He was always a seemingly laid-back person, and complicit in my abuse, even if he wasn't always the main one hurting me. I could give a fuck less how much it hurts for him to be shot.

"Well, this has been fun, and we still have a lot to discuss before I leave. But a major problem has to be fixed. Obviously, Antonio is the current acting head of the so-called 'Collective', so I can't be if he's alive, right?" I ask, though we all knew the answer to that obvious question.

"If...you...think that...I'll die here...you're mistaken! I am the only one...keeping the FBI and the DEA from digging their claws into all of us," Antonio struggles to say as he tries to sit up in his chair. "What do you...think will happen...the...moment I'm dead? Don't you think I had contingencies...in case one of these other fuckers...betrayed me? If I die...not a one of you...will ever be safe. I have info on everyone here...including you, Mya! You will go to jail...for being an accomplice, all the evidence points...to you benefiting from having our kids. I'm the only—-"