Chapter 6 Onyx
six
onyx
My father tore his gaze away from the spreadsheet on the computer and looked over at me. “You sure you trying to do this for real?”
I chuckled. “Pops, I still don’t know for sure how long I’ll be here or if I’m moving here, but I don’t mind at least learning the business.”
“You know I used to run with one of the biggest gangs in Charlotte.”
“Yeah. I’ve known that my whole life. Why you telling me that?” I asked with hiked brows.
“Because, I’m far from green. There was a time that I was a stone cold gangsta.
It doesn’t matter what I chose to do behind closed doors.
Nobody could ever accuse me of not being solid and on top of my shit.
I’m not crazy. You get robbed and all of a sudden, you’re in town with your homeboys staying in an Airbnb.
You down here on some rah rah shit, huh? ”
I had no reason to lie to my father because as he’d stated, he used to be one of the most savage niggas running the streets. He was nice with his hands, and he’d shoot your ass first and ask questions later. Even though he was a changed man, my father still knew the code of the streets.
“I got a few leads on the nigga and his crew that did it.”
My father gave a curt nod. “I don’t have to tell you to be careful.
You’ve come this far without going to prison.
I’m not telling you this shop will make you rich, but I do okay for myself.
I’m giving you a way out, so you don’t have to go the route that causes you to end up off the streets by way of jail or a body bag.
Don’t let some sucka ass jack boys take that from you. ”
“I hear you, Pops. I’ll be as careful as I can be. It’s the principle. I know you know that.”
“I do. I was one of those men that was ten toes down for the game. I gave everything I had to the game, and I reaped some good rewards. But some of the niggas that I could have and probably would have died for turned on me and beat my ass when they found out who and what I was. They refused to accept me despite all the work I’d put in.
That shit was a low blow. And even though I’ll never again ride for people that wouldn’t do the same for me, there are still certain codes I follow.
Like not going to the police. Handle those niggas however you see fit. Just be careful.”
“No doubt, Pops. I wasn’t lying when I said Golden Waters was cool. I just know I can’t move here if I make myself hot, and I damn sure can’t move here if I leave enemies walking around.”
My father finished showing me the ins and outs of the shop, and then I left for the day. After getting food, I went back to the Airbnb. Rod was the only one there. He was sitting on the couch with a gym bag at his feet.
“I’m not staying here tonight. Misha’s deranged ass is coming to town. We’re going to get a hotel room for two nights. In order to prove to her that I’m not down here messing with other women, I’m going to have to fuck her silly for the next two days.”
“You might as well go ahead and marry her.”
“Who?” he frowned. “Me? Married? You out yo’ mind.”
I sat down on the couch. “How did it go today?”
“Mannnnn,” Rod drawled. “My phone was blowing up all day. It just slowed down really. They loving the dope I got.”
“And I know Ivan has to be pissed.”
“Pissed is probably an understatement. You were right about ole girl from the club too. Joey caught her rifling through his shit, and he got Lamar’s shorty to snatch her ass bald,” Rod laughed.
“That nigga,” I chuckled while shaking my head. Ivan was really on one.
“Speaking of shorties, how are things with Tatum going? They’re having a big block party out here next weekend.
There’s going to be food trucks and different vendors.
I’ve seen some DJ’s promoting it on IG. It looks like an event that will bring the city out.
Even if Ivan isn’t out there, someone that he knows will more than likely be.
Why not take shorty out there? Get people talking. ”
I nodded slowly. “I’ll mention it to her. She works a lot, and when she isn’t working, she’s with her kid. It might take some convincing.”
“She cool though?” he asked. “I mean, if you have to spend time with her, hopefully, you’re at least getting something out of it.”
I had gotten something out of it for sure, but I wasn’t the type to kiss and tell.
I had a reason for dealing with Tatum but even if I wasn’t trying to get at Ivan, she would have been my type anyway.
Even though I had a motive, she was gorgeous, a good mother from what I could tell, and she was about her business.
Not to mention the sex was like that. She didn’t rock with Ivan like that, but if I killed him and she found out, would she still deal with me?
That question made our situation a conflict of interest. But I knew that when I got at her.
I had no intention of doing anything bad to her but catching feelings for her for real wasn’t in the plans.
It would end up making things complicated.
Once I handled my business with Ivan, the plan was to fall back from Tatum.
I didn’t want to completely ghost her or do anything to make her hate me, but all of that was to be determined.
“I need to get an address on him,” I spoke up. “I’m sure she has it, but you already know I can’t ask her for it.”
“If you don’t get the address, you can just catch his ass in the street.”
“I’m not trying to get caught. Catching him out in the streets leaves room for witnesses.
I’m not trying to go to prison behind that fuck nigga.
And if I decide to stay in Golden Waters, I don’t need the heat on me.
This city is way smaller than Charlotte.
Once rumors get started here and people start running their mouths, it’s probably hard to come back from. ”
“I feel you on that. In Charlotte every time a nigga gets killed in the hood it seems like everybody knows who did it except the police.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Exactly. I can’t chance it. If I didn’t have to make money, I could do better at keeping a low profile. Same way they’ve been loving your coke, they love my weed.”
“We gon’ get that ass the same way we got Mont. With him, no body, no weapons, no case. Fed that nigga to the hogs and burned that raggedy house down.”
I turned to face him with a glower on my face. “Fed him to hogs? Yeah, I’m not eating anymore pork.”
And I meant that shit from the bottom of my soul.
Misha texted Rod that she was ten minutes away from the hotel, so he left out to go meet her.
Glancing down, I stared at the phone in my lap.
Should I call Tatum? Being that I had a short window of time to work with when it came to her, I had to move fast. I didn’t have the luxury of letting days go by without reaching out to her.
She had to think I was into her by any means necessary even if that included making me look like a sucka.
I knew how to play it cool with the baddest women.
With Tatum, however, I needed to act pressed.
She didn’t strike me as the type to pillow talk even if she wasn’t that fond of her child’s sperm donor.
I didn’t see Tatum just sitting around bashing Ivan because she didn’t have anything else to do.
She spoke her truth and kept it moving. In my opinion, it wasn’t anything that she dwelled on or made a big deal about.
Ivan was a true sucka for not taking care of his kids. He owed the plug money, and he was a terrible father. I had been unsure if I was going to let Ivan live or if I was going to kill him, if I did kill him, I doubted there would be more than a few people that genuinely cared.
I had to lay it on thick, so I walked into the nail shop that Tatum worked in carrying a vase filled with flowers. When the receptionist saw me, her eyes lit up. “Oh, my who’s the lucky girl?” she squealed.
My eyes danced around the shop until I peeped Tatum in the corner putting polish on someone’s toenails.
“I see her, and I’ll wait for her.” Giving a brief nod, I didn’t even wait for a reply.
All eyes in the shop were on me. People were nosey as hell and couldn’t wait to see who the flowers were for.
Tatum’s back was to me, but she must have heard the chatter because she turned around and looked over her shoulder.
I could tell it was supposed to be a quick glance, but she did a double take.
When I smiled, she bit her bottom lip and turned back around to finish what she was doing.
A few minutes later, Tatum was done with the pedicure and was walking her client to the cash register to complete the transaction. Standing off to the side, I waited patiently. When the customer left, she came over to where I was and spoke in a hushed tone.
“What’s all this?” a big grin broke through.
“I was just thinking about you, and I wanted to do something to hopefully brighten your day.”
Tatum pushed her bottom lip out. “That is so sweet of you, Onyx. You must be trying to get some more,” she playfully nudged me.
“I want that whenever you give it to me,” I replied seriously.
“What are you about to do?”
“Um nothing. Just wanted to drop these off and then maybe stop by my father’s shop. Why? What’s up?”
“Because my next and last client of the day had to reschedule, so I don’t have any more appointments all day. I was going to hang around and do some walk-ins and then pick my daughter up from school, but I can dip out and give you some,” she gave me a sneaky grin.
“Say less. You know I’m with it. You cool with us going to your place, or you want me to get a hotel room? Until I make up my mind about whether I’m staying here, I’m in an Airbnb with mad other niggas.”
“We can go to my place.”
“I’ll carry these out to your car for you.”
“Thank you.”