“No, I’m good, Poppa,” Breeze answered, tears flowing down her face, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

“I’m okay,” Taryn said.

Carter hugged and kissed them both and thanked God that they were okay. His concern now was for his sons. He looked up at the cop that sat in the front seat and said, “Thanks, bruh. Look, I need you to take them to safety while I go back and-”

Boom!

Before Carter could finish his sentence, the cop put a hollow-tip through his head, his blood and brains instantly splattering all over his wife’s and daughter’s face as he stared with dead eyes.

In total shock, both of the women yelled, “Noooo!”

The cop pulled off his hat, and his short dreadlocks fell loosely. He pointed the gun at Carter’s body and filled him with four more bullets, ensuring that the job was done. The screams of the women didn’t seem to bother him as he smiled through the whole process. The man wasn’t a cop at all, but a full-blooded Haitian that could pass for a regular joe, his light skin disguising his heritage.

He pointed his gun at Taryn, and she looked directly in his eyes, unafraid of death, while Breeze gripped her father and cried hysterically. The Haitian couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger and hopped out the car.

This was the beginning of a war.

Welcome to The Cartel… first of a trilogy

Chapter One

“Girl, females are going to hate, regardless. That’s how you know you’re that bitch.”

– Taryn Diamond

Seven Years Earlier

Carter sat at the head of the table with both of his hands folded into each other. He briefly stared at each of his ten head henchmen in the face as he looked around the table, then to his right-hand man Polo, who sat to his right. As he always did, Carter took his time before speaking. He always chose his words carefully and spoke very slowly with his deep baritone voice. He poured Dom into his oversized wine cup and took a sip.