Page 54 of Omar

"One of the property deals Supreme brought to the table last year. He was trying to get us to co-invest in a development in Flatbush. Greyline was listed as the holding entity." Kadeem set the paper down. "I turned it down because the numbers didn't work. But the name was there."

That was new. Devon hadn't caught that connection yet. "You remember the details?"

"Enough. I'll pull the file." He picked up the next page. "So we looking at one operation or two?"

"Don't know yet. Devon needs more time with the financials. But if you've seen Greyline in a deal Supreme brought directly to you, that's another thread."

"And the registration timing?"

"Could be coincidence. Shell companies get incorporated in waves when tax regulations change. Devon's not sure yet."

Kadeem looked at me over the top of the printout. "What do you think?"

"I think Stone's usually right about these things. But I also think Devon doesn't flag shit unless there's something there."

"Then let him finish." Kadeem gathered the papers into a stack. "Find out what we're looking at before we move on anything. If TK and Supreme are running together, that changes everything. The Associates need to know. But they need facts, not theories."

"Understood."

"And Omar." He caught my eye. "If this connects back to Pops, I want to know about it before anyone else does. Including Stone."

I held his gaze. "Why Stone?"

"Because Stone loved Pops more than anybody outside this family. If it connects and we tell him too early, he'll want to move before we're ready. His heart will be in the right place but his judgment won't." Kadeem leaned back. "So we keep it tight until Devon finishes. You and me."

"You and me."

He nodded. I let myself out through the side door.

The drive back to my apartment took twenty minutes. Traffic was heavy on Atlantic, construction narrowing two lanes down to one, and I stayed behind the wheel, going through what Devon had found.

Greyline Holdings. Darnell Webb. Two years ago. The same window Pops walked out of his house and never came back. Everything changed after that. Kadeem took over the operation, Stone stepped in as advisor, Ma started setting an extra place at the table that nobody sat in because she couldn't stop and nobody had the heart to tell her to.

If the shell company connected back to Pops, then somebody had been using the same financial infrastructure the whole time. Somebody knew more than they were saying.

Stone's advice was sound. It usually was. But Kadeem was right to keep him out of the loop on the Pops angle until we knew more.

I parked outside my building and sat in the car for a minute. Then I pulled out my phone and texted Asha.

When can I see you again?

She didn't reply straight away. I went upstairs, showered, made something to eat, went through Devon's files again on my laptop. Checked my phone more times than I should have.

Her reply came through just after eight. Same time tomorrow?

I read it twice, put the phone down, and got back to the files. But the text sat in my chest for the rest of the night, making it hard to concentrate on shell companies and registration dates when all I could think about was Asha in my apartment, her head on my chest, her fingers tracing patterns on my skin.

Tomorrow. I had to learn patience. But this kind of patience was finna get me killed.

Chapter 21

Asha

Cee dropped me at the building. I walked through the lobby, out the side entrance, and around the corner. Omar's car was parked half a block down with the engine running. I got in, closed the door, and we drove to Bed-Stuy without saying much because the anticipation was too great and the danger was real.

It was only the second time I'd been to the apartment but I'd paid attention the first time. The creak in the third step on the staircase, which key opened the deadbolt versus the handle, glasses in the cabinet above the sink. He slept on the left side of the bed. The shower ran hot for exactly seven minutes before it started cooling.

I'd paid attention because it mattered to me. Every detail stored, every surface memorized, every corner of his space filed away in a part of my brain that Supreme would never find.