“I need to know,” Benito said. “Are you gonna kill me now? You know what I did. The disrespect. The money. The product. I’d kill me if I wore your crown.”
“You want my crown, Martell?”
“No.”
“Whatdoyou want?”
Benito let his mind race, flipping through every dream he’d ever had. Every heart he’d ever loved. Every soul he’d take to his grave, even if he never saw them again. “I want to live,” he said, so quietly he barely heard himself. “I want to take care of my family and be a better man.”
Asa nodded. “You should give me that money then. So we can talk about that with a clean slate.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
Asa drained his tea mug and leaned forwards. “As tempting as it is, no. I’m not. I want what you want, man. And if I’m good to you, maybe somewhere down the line someone will be good to me.”