Page 48 of When It’s All Said And Done

“Yeah, why you so wound up?”

“No reason. Tell her I’m fine.”

“Um, ok. We’ll I’ma let you go back to sleep. Don’t forget to get Nyla and Chanel because Chance will be with me.”

“I know. This is something I’ve gotten used to. Bye Nasir.”

When we made it to Puerto Rico this time felt different. Aside from Juan waiting on the steps outside for us, he was really chatty. He’d been yapping but it didn’t hold much substance. I wanted to cut it short because I really wasn’t trying to be here longer than I had to. Clearing my throat, he stopped talking as he stared at me.

“Yo’ lil’ glory days stories all nice and shit but I’m tryna get my work and get the fuck on,” I made it crystal clear as I held his gaze.

“Tuh, I guess Nina was right about you being a money maker,” he tilted his head slightly. “You want the same amount for the reup?”

“Maybe best if you double it so I ain’t gotta come back here for a lil’ minute.”

“Oh, you don’t like my country?”

“Nawl, it’s cool and all but it ain’t nothin’ like the 305. So, when is the next shippin’ container goin’ out.”

“The work will leave when you do but you won’t be with it.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Being a money maker comes with some perks. Like you don’t have to ride with the work anymore.”

“Perks huh? That explains why you were chatty earlier.”

“Just tryin’ to put you up on game in case you inspired to be more than a worker. Eh, you don’t have it in you, so I doubt you inspired to grow.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah because gettin’ to my position takes extreme measures. Yo’ work ethic only gets you so far. You don’t give that you’re willin’ to go that far.”

“And how far is that?”

“Far like not allowin’ anything or anybody to stand in your way.”

The way he emphasized the word anybody piqued my interest. Before I could get deeper into what he was alluding to, one of his workers came in and whispered in his ear. Juan’s face went cold for a moment before the smile returned. For the first time he granted us access into the mansion that sat on the ranch. He left us in the foyer while he walked away with the worker. I looked around to take everything in, and these Spanish niggas were living large. The sounds of footsteps hitting the marble floor grabbed my attention as I turned my head in that direction. In walks Rafi, Nina and three other dudes dressed in all-black.

“Nina, take the men to my office,” Rafi instructed her as he stopped in front of me. She spoke no words but carried out her order as she continued on. “I hear you will be makin’ amends on our behalf.”

“Just handlin’ my business,” I acknowledged.

“The way you handle your business reminds me of someone.”

“I mean real niggas be hard to come by. So, maybe I remind you of a real ass nigga you once knew.”

He didn’t respond but instead squinted his eyes as he continued to look over at me. My mind wondered if he’d put two and two together but decided not to show my hand. If he knew I figured he’d ask Nina before just assuming. When he walked away I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Looking over at Chance his facial expression spoke exactly what I was thinking. We continued to wait for Juan in silence as we stood there. It took him about twenty minutes before he returned, and we continued with our business.

Once everything was handled, Juan insisted on having us stay in Puerto Rico. He wanted to prove that his country was worth a damn. That was the last thing I wanted to do but however, I had to take the good and the bad when it came to his ass. For the night he put me and Chance up in a nice hotel. When we finally were alone for the first time I was able to process everything that had transpired. While the change of behavior from Juan had me on my toes, it wasn’t the most concerning to me. His words had me reading between the lines of what he was possibly trying to hint at.

I wondered if he’d put two and two together about us being related. As bad as I wanted to ask Nina about it, I couldn’t because I didn’t want to jeopardize her cover being blown. Shifting my mind from Rafi, I wondered what Juan had planned for tomorrow. I planned to ask him more about the extremes he’d gone through to get to his position. Hopefully he would slip up with some details about killing Javier. Every time I was around him it took every ounce of my strength to keep shit copacetic, but he rubbed me wrong for the first time today.

A part of me hoped that Nina was wrong and that Juan didn’t have anything to do with it. Clearly that wasn’t the case, and I needed to get him to tell as much as possible. The sooner I got that information I’d be able to put his ass six feet under. I’d been stripped of a life that could’ve included both of my parents because of the actions of some jealous ass individual. Just the thought of that shit had caused all the patience I’d grown in prison to go out the door. As a father the last thing I could ever picture myself doing is willingly being separated from my family.

I was still beating myself up about missing Nessa’s pregnancy with Nyla. With the change in our dynamic, I hoped that I’d get the chance to put another baby in her and be a part of it. There was never a question of whether I’d spend the rest of my life with Nessa, it was more so of when that chapter would begin. As I lay awake in my bed at the hotel, Nessa was the only thing on my mind. With her having the girls I’ve never had to be concerned in that aspect, but my favorite weighed heavy on me lately.

The money I was making was good hell actually great, but other aspects of my life were missing. These last two months we’d had little to no face-to-face contact with me being so busy on top of respecting her boundaries. I figured with the breakup from that lame ass nigga; she just needed to heal. It still pissed me off how she said that nigga made her feel safe but not me. Hell, the only person I could blame for that was myself because I’d given her every reason not to feel safe with me being locked up. Nobody fully understands how prison affects the people that love the prisoner. They battled with a lot on the outside, with continuing on without their loved ones being the main hurdle.