"Once a friend crosses the line they are the enemy," Lix Stone

"We have a suspect for the murder of your sister."

The detective made it a point to come to his home with this bit of news. He was not ready to hear this. He walked to his bar to pour himself a drink and the detective, an old friend of his, followed him.

"I need a drink before I hear this. You?"

"No, I'm on duty Lix. I just need to warn you about this."

He poured a Scotch, drank it straight, and looked up at his friend from high school. Made it out of the hood as he did and joined the police force instead of going off to college. When his business on the East Side took off, he transferred over to the East. St. Louis jurisdiction so he could make sure none of the cops sweated his business. In turn, he had free access to any of the ladies, despite he was married.

Tamra's case was under St. Louis Police Department jurisdiction, but he had Perry keeping tabs on the case for him.

"Give it to me."

"Remember last year, Nicollette and her daughter confessing to the murder of Frederick Chambers?"

"Yes." He frowned a bit at this. "What does this have to do with my sister?"

Perry looked away before he looked back at him. "I don't think he's dead."

"Say what?"

"In fact, the police have believed he's alive for a while now."

"How is that possible?"

"No body, Lix. Nothing recovered that proves he is dead. Whatever Sabrina thinks she did, she did not do it."

He remembered Rosaline confessing to him that she ordered Frederick to be killed. Here she was thinking she did something to protect the family, and that man may still be out there...after his family.

Rosaline was upstairs now, watching Prince. He had to tell her this bit of news.

"Perry, if that man is alive, I will kill him!" he ranted. "I'm just warning you now."

"Lix, don't-"

"He took my son! He may still think Prince is his son and come and get him. The asshole has been in love with Rosaline forever, he may come after her. And my daughters..." His voice trailed off after that.

What if baby Michael was Fredericks's son? That would be the worst piece of information. When Erica stated she did not want to take a paternity taste, he allowed her to do whatever she wanted. He needed to know. He did now want that maniacal man's bloodline mixed with his.

He poured himself another drink.

"What are the police thinking?"

"Was Tamra ever close with Frederick like that?" Perry asked.

"What? Hell no!"

"There weren't friends? She's known him as long as you've known him, right? Knowing Tamra," Perry added a chuckle, "She might have fucked his brains out a time or two."

Lix glared at his friend. He was a slimy ass motherfucker, and he never trusted him, but he always knew to keep his enemies closer. Perry always thought he was better than him, as he lived in a nice house instead of the projects growing up. Perry had his father around, and his mother was not the neighborhood whore.

"Keep my sister's name out of your mouth!"

He knew how Tamra was, from the start of puberty, she was just like their mother. He tried protecting her from horny boys looking to take advantage of her but she was headstrong to do whatever she wanted.

"Lix, she had to have been in contact with him, The police think he's good for her murder. Wherever he is hiding out now, we will find him and arrest him."

Unless he found him first.

"Hey there, I didn't know you were here." Rosaline walked into the room holding Prince. She came over to Perry to give him a light hug. "Are you two talking business?"

"Just keeping him up-to-date on Tamra's case and-"

"Nothing. Let's not get my wife involved in this." He kissed Rosaline's cheek. "Perry was just leaving."

"Oh, already? Perry, you have to come over for dinner. You and your wife? Haven't seen her or the kids for a while."

"Whenever she has time. She's so busy."

"Make time for friends. You guys are like family."

Rosaline did not know he hated this man's guts. There were some things he would rather not tell Rosaline about his life.

"No doubt," Perry said. "Lix has always been family to me and The Bandits."

He had not brought up the name of his crew in years. The guys that he grew up with until they all turned into his enemies. The guys that his little brother was searching for, because one could possibly be his father.

"Let me walk you out."

Lix headed for the door with Perry following him. While he was glad Perry was still in his pocket and always dropped the intel when the police wanted to do a check-in at the clubs, he did not like the sight of him much. Rosaline was never the wiser, she assumed they were still close friends. Whenever she invited him over, his wife of twenty years would show up as well. Rosaline grew close with Danielle, the sweet little, innocent schoolteacher who did not know her detective husband was the worst of the worst.

"I will let you know when we have anything else," Perry said as he walked out of the house.

"Yeah, you do that." He closed the door, locked it, and took a breath before he headed back to Rosaline.

"So, what new development do they have on the case?"

He took Prince from her arms and kissed his chubby cheek.

"Lix, tell me!"

Rosaline was still on him about having a baby, and he needed to distract her from those thoughts. There was no way he was going to have another baby. Rosaline would get over it if her mind was on something else. Maybe she was having baby vibes because she was spending so much time with Prince. To him, Prince was enough and he did not need another baby.

"The police seem to think..." How was he supposed to tell her this? "Frederick may be still alive."

Rosaline seemed to freeze in time. Her face was stone, her eyes glazed over a bit, her lips in a tight line. Was she in shock? Afraid that he would come after her? Afraid of what it meant for Nicollette who confessed to his murder.

"Rosie baby, are you okay?"

He placed Prince down on the floor and the boy quickly scrambled over to his play area in the corner.

"He can't be alive," Rosaline finally said.

"I don't know babe. They don't have a body."

"Nicollete said she did everything right. Got rid of the body, of course, they can't find the body."

"Did she check to make sure he was dead?"

Rosaline shrugged. "How the hell should I know? How the hell would she know? Dead is dead! They killed him, He is dead, This is over."

Rosaline stormed out of the room. What were they going to do with this bit of news? Everything was so fucked up in his otherwise perfect life. All he wanted was to be a great father to his girls and his son. Be a great wife to the love of his life. Live a happy, retired life and do nothing but take vacations and fuck his wife.

Now he had to worry about a crazy, deranged motherfucker out there ginning for his family.

And the man that may be his baby brother's father.

A/N: Could it be? Did we meet Roberto's father?

And what will Lix do now that he knows Frederick is alive?