NOBODY

Chapter 14 // Business Ties

Hustle's POV

The hum of the highway filled the Escalade as they pulled away from the Borgata. City lights bled into the dark, the glow fading behind them. No music, no talking — just the low growl of the engine and the weight of what needed to be done.

Reef sat in the passenger seat, elbows on his knees, scrolling through his phone like he was hunting for answers. LK was in the back, posted up, eyes flicking to the mirrors every few seconds.

Hustle's hands gripped the wheel tighter the farther they got from Atlantic City. His mind wasn't on the road, not really. It was on Sajadaa — the look in her eyes when she said she was tired. Tired of being strong. Tired of not knowing who to trust.

He replayed her face on that balcony, moonlight cutting across her cheekbones, her voice low but heavy. The text he'd sent her before they left sat like a promise in his chest: I'm not leaving you. I'm handling what I gotta handle so we can keep this family safe.

But there was something else eating at him — the way Big O said it was "in-house." That didn't sit right. People on payroll didn't get bold enough to take $50k in product and $70k in profit unless they thought someone bigger was backing them.

Reef broke the silence. "I'm just saying, bro... we've had snakes before, but this? This ain't normal. Lizz and Kacey ain't built like that."

"Exactly," Hustle muttered. "Somebody gave 'em the balls to try this."

LK leaned forward from the back. "You thinking inside, or outside?"

Hustle didn't answer right away. He just watched the road, jaw locked. "We'll know in a minute."

⸻

The warehouse was low-lit, tucked behind a row of abandoned buildings, quiet except for the rumble of a generator out back. Big O stood out front, leaning on the hood of his car, head nodding when he saw them pull up.

Inside, the air smelled like metal, dust, and bad decisions. Three folding chairs sat in the middle of the floor, each occupied — Lizz, Kacey, and Jay. Their wrists were zip-tied, ankles too. Lizz's eyeliner was smudged from tears, Kacey had a split lip, and Jay kept shifting in his seat like he couldn't get comfortable.

Big O stepped forward. "Here they go. Caught 'em at the shop like they didn't just rob us blind."

Hustle stopped a few feet away, his voice calm, almost too calm. "You know why you here?"

Jay scoffed, looking everywhere but at him. "Man, I already told him—"

Reef cut him off with a glare. "Shut the fuck up. You talk when he say you can talk."

Kacey's voice shook. "We... we ain't mean for it to go this far—"

"Stop lying," Hustle said flatly. "You didn't just slip and take that kind of money. You had a plan."

Lizz sniffled, eyes darting between them. "We were told... it was already covered. That it wouldn't touch y'all."

Hustle's eyes narrowed. "By who?"

Jay hesitated, but the fear in his face cracked. "...Quay."

The name hit Hustle like a shot of cold water. He hadn't heard it in years, but it was enough to make his pulse spike. Quay wasn't just a rival — he was a ghost from another life, one Hustle thought he'd buried a long time ago.

Hustle stepped back, nodding slowly. "Alright. That's all I needed to hear."

Reef glanced at him. "So what's the move?"

"Wrap it up. We're not letting this slide."

The warehouse sat under a blanket of darkness, walls humming with the low drip of the city beyond. Hustle's eyes scanned through the shadows, heartbeat slow, calculated. He could hear them laughing inside, a chorus of arrogance that would cost them everything.