Page 7 of And It’s Still You

“Not today. I gotta see ’bout both parents today, so I’m trying to get everything done before I leave here. I don’t know what the hell Onyx wants, but you know it’s the day my great grandma passed away, so I want to check up on Ma Dukes to make sure she’s good.”

“Oh, shit. I ain’t know that.” Terrance glanced down at his phone. “Yeah, I’ll go grab us something. I’m going to Chill, so text me what you want.”

“I got you.”

We dapped one another up before Terrance left. I loved my God-given brother, but he could annoy the fuck out of me sometimes, especially when it came to family drama. The advice he gave came from a place of love, which was one reason I hadn’t snapped on him. He told me what I needed to hear instead of what I wanted to hear, and I couldn’t do anything but respect it.

Since he was gone, I was able to focus on my workload better. It was nearing the end of the month, so I had a load to look over. My pharmacy was my second baby. I’d poured my all into it, something I never thought I’d be able to do. For over half my life, I was in the streets, running the family business. From day one, I knew I’d eventually want out. While I was built for the shit, I didn’t want it to become my life like it had for Onyx and my grandfather.

Thirty minutes later, Terrance came back with the food. I assumed he was going to stay and eat with me, but Elise had called, so he dipped on me. I couldn’t even be mad. His wife came first, and it gave me time to truly lock in. My goal was to be leaving by four to go grab my mom some flowers and go to her house.

In the middle of me eating, there was a soft knock on my door before it slowly opened.

“Hey, O’Shea. I need some help, please,” Yandy, my lead pharmacist, said.

“Come in.”

She flashed me that pretty ass smile of hers, shut the door behind her, and sat in the seat Terrance once occupied. Yandy set a folder on my desk, opened it, and turned it around. “Tell me what you notice.”

I wiped my hands on a napkin and scanned the document. It didn’t take me long to catch what she wanted me to see. “You’re fuckin’ kiddin’ me.”

“Nope. An extra three thousand pills went out this month that aren’t accounted for.”

“That ain’t no little number either. No wonder the numbers looked off to me too. I’ve been in here racking my brain trying to figure out what was going on.”

“Well, we figured it out.” She shut the folder and released a harsh breath through her flared nostrils. “I have a feeling I know who’s behind it.”

“Who?”

“Your father. At the beginning of the month, he asked me about the pickups and drop-offs for the night crew. I assumed he was just curious, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“I believe you. Do me a favor and look deeper into the night crew’s numbers. See who signed off on what and how much it was.” I turned around and shut my computer off after making sure everything was saved. “Call me when you finish looking over it.”

“I will.”

Yandy left my office, and I took my time cleaning up my food to calm down. I hated to push my mama to the side, but Onyx had to see me first. Leave it to him to try me and interfere with my business. The nightly side of things was purely to help others, not for him to tamper with. He had me fucked up if he thought I wasn’t going to notice and not address him on it.

After making sure my office was in order, I locked up and headed out back to my truck. It was the middle of the day, so I figured he wasn’t at home. He had to be at one of the warehouses. If he was smart, he would’ve switched up his routine and moved his weight around to avoid anyone catching on. It was a Tuesday, which meant his biggest shipment had come in. He had to be one of two places.

I exited the parking lot and headed south toward the G warehouse. It was a good thing the ride was over twenty minutes because it gave me time to calm down and chill. I smoked to get my mind right. Over the years, I’d lessened my intake. When I first started out, smoking was habitual for me. Since I got it for free, I could smoke how much I wanted whenever I wanted. After Ocean was born, I decided to cut back, but knowing what I was about to deal with made the weed become a need.

Just as I expected, Onyx was at the warehouse. I greeted the workers standing outside before going in and making my presence known. When Onyx saw me, his brows dipped as he walked over and dapped me up.

“What’s up, O? What you doing here in the middle of the day?” Onyx questioned and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Let me rap with you right quick.”

I didn’t bother waiting for him to agree or disagree before heading toward his office. It took him two minutes to finally join me. He walked around to his desk, sat down, and released a breath while running his hands over his bald head.

“You came in here with a little hostility, Son. What’s that about?”

“I need some help figuring something out.”

“Alright. I’m listening.”

My hands clasped together and rested on his desk as I explained, “I was going over my monthly reports and noticed something was off with my numbers. I usually give at least five thousand pills to you every month for special reasons, so tell me, why was the number eight thousand this month?”

“Are you accusing me of stealing from you?”