“Te amo, mami. (I love you, mami),” he responded back, and from there, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
I needed this sleep because there was this nagging feeling in my gut, that was telling me it was going to be all kinds of bullshit that we had to prepare for once we were back in Miami.
Chapter Five
DUTCH THORNE
“You been seeing that shit on social media with your boy? I see his son got caught in the room with a white girl,” Kross said to me from the passenger seat of my vehicle.
It was late at night, and I was leaving from handling business. I hit up Kross, just to see where he was at, and what he was up to. He told me that he was chilling with a bitch down south, and I had him text me over the address, so that I could come, and pick him up. So far, he’s been in the car with me for about five minutes, and I couldn’t even say that I was surprised that he’d chosen to bring up this shit with Creed because damn near everybody in Miami had been talking about it.
“Man, that shit old news. That happened last weekend,” I voiced, not really wanting to engage in that. I picked Kross up tonight because I wanted to discuss business. I couldn’t care less about that shit with Creed. That was Law’s son, and his responsibility to handle that.
“Old news? Man, that news still hot. Motha fuckas still talking about it. I was just around a group of niggas the other day, and that was the topic of discussion. That nigga Law run around like he so motha fuckin perfect, but he don’t even have control of his household. I was glad to see some bad shit get outabout him and his family. I feel like the world always praising that nigga. Never call him out on his flaws like they do with everyone else,” my son admitted.
By this point, we were sitting at a red light, so I turned my head and looked at him. The distain in his voice sounded so familiar. Whenever I used to speak about Knox, I would sound the same way that my son sounded right now speaking on Law. He hated that nigga. He was envious of him. He wanted what Law had. I knew what would come out of that. It was only so long that he could sit on this hatred that he had for him. Eventually, he was going to want to act on it. I wasn’t too opposed with him acting on it because if by any chance Law were to find out that it was me that popped his daddy, I already knew that he was going to be on my ass.
“All bullshit aside son, why you hate that nigga the way that you do? I don’t remember a time when Law personally did anything to you. I know over the years that he had to put hands on you, but it was always because you disrespected him. The last time he put his foot in your ass, it was because you were speaking on that nigga’s wife, so that shit was deserved. Talk to me. What you got going on?” I asked him, cutting the music down because I wanted to have a real, one on one session with him.
Kross picked his hand up, and he ran it down his face. He sighed, and then he turned his head in my direction, so that he could look at me.
“I don’t want you to think that I’m being soft by saying this shit, but for years, I’ve always felt like you had a different kind of love for that nigga, compared to the love that you had for me. I’ve watched you get around your dawgs, and I’ve seen the way you brag, and boast on Law. You be quick to remind them niggas about the fancy degrees that he got, his law firm, and how henever lost a case. When it comes to me, you don’t brag about me on shit?—”
“Kross, what the fuck have you done that’s worth me bragging about? I’m worth millions, nigga! You want me to get around my friends, and brag about the fact that my goofy ass son went to prison for breaking in somebody’s car, house, or for violating his probation? How the fuck you think that’s going to make me look? All this money that I got, and my son going to prison for petty ass crimes! The same resources that were given to Law were given to you! When your mama washed her hands with you, and sent you to live with me, anything that I ever did for Law, I did it for you too. I put your ass in private school, but you didn’t do what you were supposed to do there. Your grades weren’t up to par, you were always fighting, so they kicked your ass out. I wasn’t about to waste any more money on private school tuition, which is why I put you in public school. When you graduated, I didn’t want you selling drugs. I told you to give me something that you were passionate about, so that I could fund it, but you wanted to take the route that I took, and I had to understand that that shit was probably just in your blood. Nigga, I could have retired by now. I could have stepped down, and handed all this shit to you, but you can’t stay the fuck out of trouble, or jail, so I would be a fool to hand something over to you that was built off me, and Knox’s blood, sweat, and tears, only for you to destroy it,” I said some real shit to him.
“You not even putting me in a position though where I can prove to you that this shit can be handed down to me. Ever since I’ve been home from prison, I been telling you to put me on, and you keep telling me that I’m not ready. Your my pops, so I got loyalty to you, but man, I got niggas out here that’s moving weight for another organization, and I’m trying to keep my loyalty, and not be put on with the next man, but pops, I’m out here starving. Ion have no whip, I’m sleeping at your crib,and I don’t have any kind of money coming in. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were trying to set me up for failure,” he barked at me.
I let him get his words out, without interrupting him by saying anything. I kept quiet because we were pulling up to a block, where my corner boys would move weight for me, and I was getting ready to prove a point to him. There was no need for me to respond back to all of that whining and shit that he just said because he was going to see in a few minutes why I was saying that he wasn’t ready.
When we pulled up to the corner that belonged to me, I saw a few things that were wrong with this picture. Niggas were outside, posted up, laughing all loudly, phones were out, and it looked like these motha fuckas were on Instagram live, or filming fuckin TikTok videos. I didn’t pull up in my usual car, so when I came down the street, they didn’t know that it was me. If they did, I guarantee you that all of that talking, laughing, and everything else that they were doing would have stopped by now.
Kross had his head turned because he was looking out of the window, checking out the same shit that I was.
“You want this organization to one day belong to you, right?” I asked him.
“Yeah. You know that,” he responded.
“Cool. For you to run this shit, niggas gotta fear you. You gotta be respected. They gotta know that they can’t try you or talk to you crazy. Niggas know you’re my son, but it’s a whole different caliber of niggas out here. They won’t give a fuck what’s in your bloodline. They’ll respect me but disrespect you. Walk over there and tell them niggas to shut shit down for the night. Tell them that everything stops right now, and for them to take their asses home,” I gave out an order to him.
When I said that, he nodded his head, and he tried to reach in the middle console, where he knew I would store one of my guns, but I knocked his hand out of the way, not letting him grab it.
“Respect should be given to you, whether you got that shit on you, or not. Go. Let’s see if them niggas listen to you,” I voiced, unlocking the doors, so that he could get out.
He sucked his teeth, shook his head, and then he got out of the car. I made sure that I was posted right on the curb, where the sidewalk was, and I cracked the window down a little bit, so that I could hear the conversation in its entirety. Kross got out with confidence in his walk. I’ll give it to my son; he wasn’t a scary ass nigga. There were at least ten dudes standing over there that were corner boys for me, and even though he was outnumbered, he wasn’t scared, and if by any chance he was, he wasn’t showing it.
“Ay, ya’ll niggas wrap this shit up, and go home for the rest of the night. Ya’ll out here, doing TikTok dances, laughing all fuckin loud, drawing all kinds of attention to the spot. Wrap this shit up, and we’ll start over again tomorrow night,” Kross said, and like these niggas were watching a comedy special, they all laughed right in his face.
My pride wouldn’t have allowed me to stand there, and watch all them dudes disrespect me, and laugh after I’d given them an order. I probably would have crashed out and killed all them. I knew what it felt like to be disrespected like that. Back when me, and Knox went into business together, I felt like the men that worked for us would give him a level of respect that they didn’t give me. Knox could bark out an order to them, and they would break their necks to move on it. If it were me though, they would take their time, moving all slowly, like they didn’t hear me. Respect had to be earned. I had to learn that along the way.
“Nigga, you may look like your daddy, but you ain’t Dutch. Fuck I look like listening to a nigga the same age as me, tellingme to get off the block? Didn’t you just get out of prison? It’s after midnight. I’m sure you got an ankle monitor on, and should be in the house, with a fuckin curfew. Fuck out of here with that shit, nigga! We ain’t gotta listen to you! We’ll leave this motha fuckin block when the fuck we feel like it!” that was Jamie.
Jamie was a hot head, so I couldn’t even say that I was surprised by his response. His response got all the men to laugh again, and I knew my son. I knew it was only so much being laughed at that he was going to take. Kross ended up swinging, knocking Jamie in his mouth, and before I knew it, all ten of them niggas started jumping Kross. Kicking, and punching that nigga all over his body. I knew that it could possibly end that way, and that’s why I sent his ass out there to see how he would defend himself.
They turned his ass every way but loose, and after sitting here, watching it go on for about five minutes, I eventually stepped out of the car, making sure that I had some heat on me. I walked out, shot a round off into the air, and that single round caused for all the fighting to stop, and the second them niggas saw that it was me that was standing out here, they quickly got off Kross, got the fuck up, and each of them stood up straight, like they were in a army, and I was the sergeant. I’m talking all their posture straightened up, all noise came to a halt, and there wasn’t any kind of movement. Only sound you heard was of Kross, lying on the pavement, and he was moaning from the pain that he was in.
“This a fuckin amusement park or some shit? A comedy show that I don’t know about? I pull up, and niggas laughing, showing all 32’s. I see niggas dancing, and just having a grand ole time. Let me know if ya’ll trying to be motha fuckin content creators or social media influencers, so that ya’ll can get the fuck off my block. I don’t even play that goofy ass shit, man! Are ya’ll niggas not aware of what’s going on right now with that rapper nigga,Reggie? Him, and his whole crew locked up right now, looking at RICO charges. That could very well be us. This shit not a game, man. Niggas lives, and freedom is out here on the line, and ya’ll got the nerve to be out here, fuckin playing. Shut all this shit down, and don’t bring ya’ll ass back to my fuckin block until I put a call in to let you know that your services are needed. Get the fuck on before I lose the last piece of sense that I have left, and I kill all you niggas!” I roared.
Unlike when Kross did it, I didn’t have to say that shit twice. They started scattering away like roaches, getting the fuck on.
