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I couldn’t stop the scowl that twisted my face as I pulled up in front of my brother’s home and noticed the blacked-out car sitting directly across from it. Kahlil and Honey were gone on their honeymoon, and I offered to stop by their place every other day to grab their mail and any packages that were delivered. Their neighborhood was safe, and they had cameras up, so they weren’t worried about anyone stealing or trying to break in, but because they were going to be gone for two weeks, they didn’t want boxes and mail piling up.
My mom, Janae, and I had a schedule for Kayla mapped out. Mom would keep her throughout the day while I was at work, and I would have her throughout the evenings. To my surprise, Janae was going to have her on the weekends. I didn’t really know how I felt about that. On one hand, I was pleased because it meant she was off work, but I was irritated by that too. When we were dating, I could never get her to take off on the weekend.
What had changed that now?
Eyes planted on the blacked-out car, I watched as they sped off. It was clear they were watching the house, and I wasn’t sure why until I noticed the sticker that was on the back of the car. It was a decal that a lot of the boys Ahmad hired drove around with. I guess you could say it was their signature, which was dumb as hell. They felt like they were a little gang running around stealing and shit without taking into consideration that every time those cars and their hoodies were connected to a crime it was adding up, and they were going to be charged with every count when they were finally caught. That was another reason I was glad I was done with Ahmad. The younger generation that he was bringing in had less to lose and weren’t as smart and careful as generations before them.
I hadn’t considered that Ahmad would try something with Kahlil. Once Kahlil got out of the game, I made it clear that any favors he owed or debts he had were to be taken care of by me. I didn’t think Ahmad was planning to go after Kahlil personally; I believed he was going to try and use my brother to get to me. If he wanted to go after Kahlil, he would have done so long before now. This had to be because I was retired.
Once I’d grabbed their mail and packages, I hopped back in my Bentley and took off, grateful I gave my driver the day off today. One of my guilty pleasures was to have a personal driver. I believed luxury was the ability to get things you wanted or things that made your life easier and better. For me, a big luxury was no longer having to drive myself around. Memphis drivers couldn’t drive for shit, and I would always end up having road rage or anxiety by the time I made it to my destination, so when I could afford to, I put four men on my payroll as my personal drivers so they’d have time to live their own lives while ensuring I would always have a driver when I needed one. After every vacation, though, I enjoyed driving myself around.
If I wasn’t already cutting it close with time, I would have pulled up on Ahmad to speak to him face to face. Because I didn’t want to be late, I decided to call him instead. It took four rings before he was answering with, “Tyreek.”
“I’m only going to say this once,” I prefaced, keeping my voice calm as I cruised down the street. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing concerning my brother, cancel that shit. I made it clear to you that this was between me and you. Man to man. If you’rethatupset about my choice to leave, you take that up with me, but you keep Kahlil and his family out of it.”
The sound he released was something between a scoff and chuckle before he released a hard breath. “What exactly do you think you’re going to do if I don’t, Tyreek?”
“Don’t forget who the fuck I am. That’s why you’re so upset about me leaving. Do youreallywant to find out?”
“If it comes down to that, son, I guess I will.”
“Ahmad.” My eyes closed briefly before I prepared to warn him for what would be the last time. “If you come after my family, I will destroy you.”
“You’ll have to. That’s the only way you’ll be able to survive.”
“Is this what it’s come to?”
“That’s up to you. You can come back to me, and all of this will go away.”
I smiled before running my tongue over my cheek. “Even if I did return to the business, I’d never work for you again. You’ve shown me your character for the last time, and this is something I can’t ignore.”
“You mean like you ignored my daughter? She loved you and you discarded of her like she was trash.”
“Is that what this is really about? You’re upset because I called things off with Piper?”
“You’re damn right I’m upset!” he yelled unexpectedly. When Piper and I ended, Ahmad didn’t show any concern or emotion at all. I thought it was because it was his fault, so he stayed out of it. “She ain’t been right since. I trusted you with my daughter and you broke her heart.”
My lips pinched together before my mouth hung open slightly in disbelief. The kind of disbelief that made my mind go completely blank because I couldn’t believe what the hell I had just heard.
“You got some fucking nerve, Ahmad.” I chuckled, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “If anyone shouldn’t be trusted with your daughter, it’s you. Piper and I would be together today if it wasn’t for you.You’rethe reason I called things off with her. So if you want to be upset about your daughter’s heart being broken, that’s on you. Now keep your men away from my brother, or Piper will be placing you on her mantle and wearing that black dress.”
Not bothering to wait for him to respond, I disconnected the call and accelerated my speed. Times like this made me hate going legit. For just a day I wanted to step back into my old ways to handle a problem before it truly became one, but I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I said I was out of that lifestyle, and I wouldn’t let Ahmad bring me back in. But if he didn’t keep his men away, I’d handle him with no hesitation and have to ask God for forgiveness later. No one would hurt my brother in any way, and I hoped Ahmad didn’t have to learn that the hard way.
CHAPTER16
Piper
There wasn’t much love in my heart toward men, and my father had a lot to do with that. The good thing was, I was finally becoming aware of my daddy issues and how they showed themselves in my relationships. The bad thing was, knowing about those issues didn’t stop me from seeking my father’s approval in any way I could—which was why I was heading up to the penthouse suite Thurston was staying in now. The biracial bad boy had no idea that my father had preyed on him and chosen him for me specifically to steal from him.
Men like Thurston lived a life they weren’t really about. Not fully black or white, Thurston straddled the line, using his white mother and her family for money and his black father for power in the streets and status. My job for the night was to take all of his belongings—his phone, wallet, jewelry, and RSA ID for his Wells Fargo account. I was supposed to transfer everything out of his account into the dummy account my father had created. We’d met because Thurston had used me for personal shopping, so the bank account was already attached to his, thankfully. The job itself wasn’t anything new. My father put me on men at least six times a month to steal from them. What made this job different, though, was the timing and the person.
Thurston was getting ready to leave Memphis for a six-week trip, and if I didn’t strike tonight, my father would never let me hear the end of it. Thurston never went anywhere without security or a few friends who were with him for his money. Tonight was no different. Three of his friends were in the penthouse suite with him, making this job the trickiest I’d ever had before. Typically, if I hit a lick with other people around, it was on a drugged nigga at a party with loud music and multiple distractions. I didn’t know how in the hell I was going to pull this off tonight.
My father and best friend, Nathan, were waiting for me outside in the parking lot. I was supposed to keep my phone on so they could hear everything that was going down for my safety, and for that reason, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to put Thurston to bed with my pussy. That was probably something that my father would never forget, and I’d never be able to look him in the eyes again.
My relationship with my father had always been strained. He’d never wanted a daughter and found it difficult to connect with me. Working for him was the only way I was able to spend quality time with him and receive his pride and approval. I absolutely hated what I did for him, especially after one of the schemes ended my relationship with Tyreek, but it was what it was. I was willing to do just about anything to gain my father’s love. He was all I had since my mom died a month before my thirteenth birthday.
Once I made it to the door, I inhaled a deep breath and made sure my father had his phone on mute so no noise would come out of mine. It wouldn’t seem suspect to Thurston for me to have my phone in my hand because I did it all the time. I would, however, have to make sure I kept it upside down so he wouldn’t see there was a call in progress. I knocked on the door and took a step back, inhaling another deep breath.
