Page 131 of 4 Corinthians

“Yes, sir,” he said from his spot on the couch.

“Alright.” I took the cart outside, making sure to close the door behind me, and handed Cori her plate. “You were right; he ordered burgers and fries.”

“I know my son,” she laughed as she uncovered her plate. We said a quick prayer, then started to eat. “I need you to look at my books for me. I probably can't afford your full services, but I’m getting there. I need you to look at my books for me to make sure I’m on the right path”

“Why, what’s wrong?” I said between bites of my food.

“Nothing,” she answered, shaking her head. “The grant that I won had a few stipulations for me to keep it. But if I did, I would own my business outright. A few months back, I got a letter saying the grant had been dissolved and that I owned my building. Outright, no loans, nothing.”

“That’s what’s up, baby,” I said, smiling. I knew Morning delivered the papers to her months ago and was waiting on her to say something. “I’m proud as fuck of you.”

“Thank you,” she said, then ate one of her fries. She covered her mouth to keep talking. “I’m pretty sure I’m doing everything right, but I want a second pair of eyes on my books to make sure. Do you think you can look at them for me and let me know if and where I need to improve?”

“Fuck yeah,” I answered her. “We can look at them tomorrow while we are at the shop. And tonight, when Judah is asleep, we can celebrate your success with you riding my face.”

Cori’s eyes filled with lust and excitement, and I smiled. Yeah, I was going to marry this woman.

***

“You get the video I asked you about?” I asked Nine as I drove through the city. I was making my way to the other side of town to go check on some stuff at my office when it dawned on me that I hadn’t heard back from him yet. Usually, I was patient when it came to Nine checking on things, but I had a nagging feeling I was missing something I couldn’t shake.

“Just getting the information back now,” he told me. “Where you at?”

“On the way to the office to pick up some files,” I replied as I switched lanes. “You?”

“Already here, stop by my office when you’re done.”

“Bet.”

I hung up and relaxed in my seat. The drive through the city was smooth. I stopped at the light, then looked to my left. A white Charger sat two spaces behind me. It revved its engine, then the heavy bass of Focus’ newest song rattled its speakers. I couldn’t see inside because of the dark tint, but I could feel the person watching me. My gun sat in the passenger seat; I reached for it, then set it in my lap. When the light changed, I waited, not caring about the cars behind me. The white Charger sped past me.

“ULT26,” I read the custom license plate. It wasn’t the same Charger from the other day, but that didn’t mean my uneasy feeling wasn’t warranted.

Instead of taking the straight route to the office, I took the long way. Cutting corners, riding through neighborhoods, and getting on and off the highway to be sure. When I pulled up to the office nearly an hour later, I went straight to my office, grabbed the files I needed, and went to talk to Nine.

I knocked on his door and waited. His locks disengaged, and I opened the door to see him sitting at his desk. December sat across from him.

“I thought you forgot,” Nine said as he stood.

I dapped him and December up before sitting down. “Nah, just needed the drive,” I told him. I looked at December. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“My wife wanted to go shopping,” he replied with an attitude. December’s possessiveness over Six was funny. He didn’t like to be away from her, hated when she did things without him, and damn near threw a fit if she insisted on being alone. It wasn’t a control thing for him, though. He said he craved his wife’s touch, being near her calmed him, and now I understood what he meant. I always wanted to be under Cori.

“And she told you to stay your ass away?” I chuckled and nodded. “Why?”

“She said I was being clingy again,” he answered, and I laughed. “Nigga ain’t shit funny.”

“Let Six breathe, nigga,” I replied. “She not going anywhere.”

“You say that shit like you ain’t been in Corinthians ass since you met her,” Nine pointed out. I cut my eyes at him to see a big ass smile on his face. “Oh, you didn’t think I was going to say something, huh?” he shook his head. “I always planned on it, just wasn’t going to do it in front of nobody else.”

I pointed at December.

“I’m family,” December announced. He was. He’d been best friends with Nine before I came into the picture. “Been a part of this shit for years, married Six and plan on us having kids when she ready. If he can't say it in front of me, then he can't say it at all.”

“Whatever,” I chuckled. “I didn’t need your contractual connection. You got history.”

“You know I’m right; stop acting like I’m not,” December replied.