“Where are we going?” Chante asked.
“Don’t worry about all that. Just get sexy so I can look at your ass all day!” Chubby spoke to her, slapped her ass, and she was off to get dressed. Dyami followed suit. I went to see my mom and MJ and told them we were leaving and would be back soon. An hour later, I was rushing Dyami so we could leave.
“Damn, you look good, come on.” I tried to rush her.
“Don’t rush me. I was looking for Trina to let her know we were leaving, but she wasn’t in her room.”
“I’m sure she's somewhere in this big ass house. Let’s go, they're outside waiting on us.”
“Fine, Marcos!” she said, frustrated. I grabbed her in my arms as she tried to pass me.
“What are you mad about? I want to spend time with you today, so kill that attitude, or do I need to fuck it out of you?” I kissed her lips, and it brought a smile to her face.
***
A few hours later, the ladies were making drinks for themselves behind the bar while Chubby and I were going over the numbers. We were making good money, but we always wanted to find a way to make more. Currently, we are only open in the evenings. That was mainly because of me. I didn’t want to stick him with being here day and night, and I just wasn’t to the point where I could trust people with the money. Until then, we could focus on the evening and expanding our menu to include some higher-dollar items.
“If we add the beef ribs and get them from our Delphine supplier, we are looking at a 40 percent discount on cost. We have a chance of making a 60 percent profit on every plate wesell. I think that should at least double our sales nightly. In summertime, we flex that like crazy. In the winter, we switch to your chili cornbread bowl. They already go crazy for the soup. Same price, healthy service, and we cut the need for shipping. That will flex us to at least 70 percent profit. I’m still fucked up on this shipping, though. There is a way to get this shit cheaper. I haven’t figured it out yet, but give me a month.” I spoke confidently, analyzing the documents in front of me, still determined not to let these numbers beat me.
“Bro, you need to stop fucking around in those streets and really put your focus into this. You're smart as hell, T. You know how to make money, and we can turn this into a chain.” That wasn’t his first time telling me that. It was the same rhetoric I heard from him on a daily.
“I’m trying. Just a few things I gotta tie up. Until then, we work smarter and not harder. We let the numbers do the work.”
“Try harder bro. I’m with you every step of the way, no bullshit either. I ain’t gone gas you up."
I slipped off the stool to find the women. We were going to get out of here, and it was going to be whatever they wanted. I was startled by loud popping noises, and before I knew it, bullets broke the glass and soared through the air. My first instinct was to look for Dyami, and I couldn’t place her. I pulled both my nines. As more bullets broke the glass windows, I felt Chubby’s hand wrap around my wrist and snatch me down to the floor. Fragments and glass shattering, he shielded his eyes with his free hand.
“They behind the bar!” Chubby yelled and moved quickly, squatting down with his knees touching his chest. I sprinted, and Dyami was screaming. Fear was the only expression she wore.
“Calm down, baby, I got us. Now look, we leave out the back. Chub, take this.” I tossed him one of my guns and reached for the pistol on my left leg to replace the one I gave him. When I looked back at him, he was fumbling with the gun. Chante snatched the banger from him and looked at me with nerves of steel.
“You're a real deal Charlie’s angel out here, baby. I swear to God we fuckin’ as soon as we get out of here!” Chubby’s stupid ass said.
“Let’s move!” she said. I grabbed Dyami as we crept to the back of the building, and we saw that things began to flame. I didn’t see when it started, but when I looked up I saw men lighting bottles on fire and throwing them in the windows. Little niggas, I’m sure, were paid to do this job. Kole knew I had enough money to replace everything here. He just wanted to disrupt me. He wanted to fuck with me. He was a man who had no fear of killing or confrontation. I could tell that by the look in his eyes in a split second. On everything I love, I’m gonna find this nigga and end him.
We got to the back door, and I peered out the window. No one was out there, and the fire was steadily creeping toward us. I could see from here that the entire dining area was engulfed in flames, and the black smoke was advancing. Dyami was clinging to me for dear life. Chubby was scared as fuck, too, and Chante was trying her best to hold her shit together.
“OPEN THIS ON THREE!” I coached Chubby. On my count, he opened the door, and I shielded Dyami with my body as I scanned the parking lot with my eyes.
Clear.
The popping sounds behind us put haste under our feet as we ran to get as far away as we could. Thankfully, no carswere coming as we crossed the street. As we made it to the sidewalk on the opposite side, Chubby turned back to look at our restaurant. The flames danced over the building at this point. I could see the hurt and disappointment written all over his face. It hurt me, and I was pissed off too. This nigga was trying to take away the things that I loved, and only one person could help lead me to him. I hated to think about being in her presence, but only she had the answers that I needed.
Still alert to the situation before me, I barked another order, “We can’t stay here! We gotta move now!” We all began to run, and I led the way to my closest safe house. We only made it a few strides down the block before we heard the explosion.
Chapter 27
Crystal
Icouldn’t lie. I was miserable. I was trying my best to keep up face with my crew, but I was failing horribly. I was running out of money; I missed my son, and I was paranoid shitless every second of every day. Terror’s mom had a little mercy on me on my way out and handed me a few thousand dollars when I left the house that day. I made a huge mistake, but I don’t understand why I had to be punished to this extent. Terror knew I had no money and no support. He told me when I got pregnant, he would take care of things for me.
It didn’t matter what paternity said because look where MJ was now? He is still with him, and he will still be his father. We should be trying to find a way to move past this. Instead of being mature about the situation, he had totally shut me out. He had moved and refused even to let me hear my baby’s voice. It wasn’t fair. I was his mother; no matter what he thought, my son would always love me.
Then there was the issue of Kole. A part of me wanted to run. Then I thought about how pointless that would be. No matter where I was, Kole was going to find me. He always had. That was the only thing that stopped me from completely losingit. Maybe Terror was right. I couldn’t protect MJ as well as he could. Kole was adamant about disrupting my life this time.
What I had to witness when he and Terror had a showdown in my house still scared me. I had never felt so close to death. Who knows if Kole was going to stay to try to finish what he started? He had threatened a few times in the past. Never had he come this strong for MJ before. He even had me legally change MJ’s name to his own. I knew I had fucked up. I was in deep shit, with no allies.
I blew out a long breath as I sat up on the bed. I was staying in an extended stay on Miller Rd, and it was a significant downgrade from my usual living situation. I was able to look ahead of me and gather the whole room in my eyesight. It was so small and cramped. I couldn’t afford anything much better until things got back on track with Terror. I was asking a lot. I had plenty to be forgiven for, but looking back over our relationship, we both had made plenty of mistakes. A child has a way of bringing people together. MJ deserved two loving parents in one home. I vowed to be everything he needed, if given the chance. I would support whatever he wanted to do. I just needed him to take me back in again, and this time I wouldn’t drop the ball.
