Chapter 12
The sound of my drapes motor activated, and immediately the light followed as I half opened my eyes, seeing a round ass a few feet away from me. Holding my hand up to shield my eyes from the light, I saw Paige turning and placing the remote on my nightstand.
“Uuugh. It’s too early, Paige Lenai,” I said, tossing the duvet over my head. She pulled it from over me as I grabbed the pillow, replacing the blanket.
“Girl, get up. Mama ’Brina is on her way, and you got a delivery downstairs.”
“Delivery?”
“Yes. I don’t know who sent it, but I already instructed Mooney to remove them once you see them.”
“Well, what is it? Save me the trip.”
“Nope. I want you to see it and them.” I looked from under the pillow, seeing the smile on her face.
“Paige, don’t piss me off.”
“It’s crazy that I can’t smile at you without you jumping on ten. Get your ass up, Grinch.” She headed toward the door as I lifted from the bed.
Maybe I am a grinch. I just didn’t find too much to be happy about these days.
I went inside my en suite bathroom, used the bathroom, and then took care of my hygiene. Since I wasn’t meeting up with Uncle Lamont until later, I decided to slip on some loungewear until then.
Heading down the stairs, I could smell the breakfast I’m sure Mooney had put his toe in. I abruptly stopped at the bottom of the stairs, seeing about twelve dozen white and pink roses in my living room.
“What the hell?” I asked, disgusted with whoever had sent me these fucking flowers. Paige and Mooney exited the kitchen.
“Told you,” Paige said, holding out her hand to Mooney. Mooney sucked his teeth, reached inside his joggers, and pulled out his wallet. He handed her a few bills, then proceeded to remove the flowers.
“I’m throwing them away now, Evermean.”
I stopped him. “Who sent them?” I asked.
“Does it matter? I guess you don’t want these real diamond dog collars for your babies either, huh?” Paige asked, holding up one of the boxes with the diamond collar in it.
I stood in utter confusion because who would buy real diamond dog collars for my babies? No one knew I had dogs outside of my family and Mooney.
“Where’s the card?”
“Right here.” Paige’s ass was too damn happy for me. Right then, I knew she knew who sent the shit.
I opened the note and read over it.
In case I didn’t win with the flowers, I’m hoping the gifts for your pets would get you to smile.
-Messiah
I stared at the note for a good thirty seconds before Mooney cleared his throat. “Are we keeping the items or not, ma’am?”
“How does he know where I live, and that I have dogs? Are you telling this man my business, Paige?” I was about to cuss her ass out.
“First off, I would never tell anyone where you rest your head or anywhere you are without your permission, for that matter. Secondly, I did tell Harvey that you had dogs, so I’m assuming that’s how he knows.”
“Can you, like… not discuss me with your man? Obviously, everything you tell him about me goes straight to the ears of a man I can’t stand.”
Lying ass. You like the fuck out of that nigga.
“Bitch, we don’t sit around discussing you!
It was during a time we were getting to know one another,” she bemoaned.
“Would it hurt you to let someone in, Arieana? Like, goodness! The shit is getting annoying!” She tossed the box back on the table and headed back toward the kitchen. I looked over at Mooney as he shrugged.
I sighed. “Just put the roses around the house.”
“Sure thing…” his voice trailed as if he wanted to say more.
“Just say it, Mooney.”
“I think everyone around you can see love for you, but you refuse to see it for yourself, for whatever reason. I’m not a love expert, but if a man is spending that much money on your kids and buying you dozens and dozens of flowers,” he said, pointing to the boxes with the collars inside.
“Then that’s a man you should want to get to know. ”
“I’m not a woman who is smitten by what a nigga can do for me?—”
“And you don’t have to be. It’s not about the money, Arie. It’s the thought that matters most.” He walked away to do the tasks I asked of him.
I headed inside the kitchen and began making my plate. Mooney had a whole spread of Belgian waffles, pancakes, sausages, bacon, ham, eggs, grits, hashbrowns, toast, and a host of fruits. I filled my plate with all of it while Paige sat at the breakfast nook, on her phone, ignoring me.
I hated that I had to be the bigger person, but in most cases, I was the one who was always wrong. Yes, the shit with my father has had me on edge for weeks, but the people I love didn’t deserve my moody-ass behavior, especially Paige.
I sat next to her as she clicked around on her phone, looking at dresses, and chewing on her bacon.
“I’m sorry…” I offered.
“You don’t have to apolo-lie to me, AP.”
I chuckled. “I’m not lying, sis. I just…
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I guess after visiting Dad, I’ve been in a mood I can’t seem to get out of.
Then, this good dick nigga fucking me like a porn star, sending gifts to my home I didn’t make him privy to, just has my feelings all over the place. ”
Her eyes lit up. “Wait a minute. You fucked him again?”
“That’s not the point?—”
“Girl, bye! It’s most definitely the point. Harvey said he followed you up to the cabin, and I was on my way to slice his ass up, but he wouldn’t let me leave or call you, assuring me that you were good with him.”
“You know me. He would have been floating in that lake had he tried anything… I fucked him again last night too. I don’t know, Paige. He’s making me want to let my guard down, and I don’t like it.”
“Arie, I love you, sis. I desperately want your person to find you, and you guys to live happily ever after. Just because Papa Lo said that to you, it doesn’t mean you have to carry it. You’ve never been this mean in all the years I’ve known you. A little impulsive, maybe, but never mean.
“If Messiah is making you feel things, then feel that shit. Let your guard down. If he hurts you, then kill his ass. You never know, though, I may be a matron of honor at your wedding next.”
“Bitch, now you reaching.”
She laughed. “I’m just saying. Do something different, sis.”
“He has a nine-year-old son, and his baby mama lives with him. How do I know he’s not still fucking her?”
“I’m sure he still is, but it’s nothing to get her ass out of the way. My baby says they’re not together, though. I’m sure she’s just in-house pussy for now.”
“If he had me ready to fire Angel’s ass last night, I know for a fact that woman won’t live to see another day if I give him a chance. I’d hurt both of their asses, and little Messiah is going to be an orphan.” I began eating my food before it got cold.
“I’m going to need you to stop crashing out, Arie.”
“Then tell your fiancé’s brother to leave me alone and stop fucking me the way he does.”
She shook her head just as my mother walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, my babies.”
“Morning, Mommy.”
“Good morning, Mama ’Brina. You looking cute this morning. Where you going or coming from?”
She smiled before kissing our foreheads and taking a seat on the other side of Paige. “I have a coffee date in an hour.”
I frowned. “With who?”
“A friend. His name is Robert. I met him at the Maxwell concert.” She smiled with a girlish blush.
Oh Lord.
“Mommy…” I started, but she cut me off.
“Don’t start, Arieana. Lorenzo told me to move on, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
I held my palm up. “Fine. Who am I to stop you from living? Just make sure I don’t have to kill him.”
“Stop that talk, Paris Amour.” She scolded. “Now, show us the dresses, Paige.”
Paige pulled the laptop toward her to log in while I sat, thinking about my life. It seemed as if my sister had found the love of her life, and my mom was back dating, trying to move on from my father. I, on the other hand, didn’t know if I’d ever find it.
If I did allow Messiah to court me, how would that feel?
Would we fall in love? Could I see myself loving someone else other than myself and my family?
While the idea of being in a relationship scared me, I couldn’t deny that I did want to see what it felt like to have someone love me.
I was just afraid of what loving someone would mean for me.
I pulled up to my uncle’s warehouse, and Paige and I exited my truck. I could see several cars parked in the lot as we walked through them to the garage entrance. Once we were inside, I spotted my uncle’s workers unloading a heap of boxes that held pill bottles inside.
“Ladies, nice of you all to finally make it.” Uncle Lamont walked from behind a wall, over to us.
“What’s going on, Unc? Since when do you deal in pills?” Paige asked the question I wanted to know.
“We’re moving into a new era. While I’m not completely exonerating the coke and heroine, I won’t be as active with them as much. These…” he said, picking up a huge bottle of Xanax. “Are the new heroine. People are gravitating toward the pills more now than before.”
“These are a lot of boxes, Unc. What you do? Buy out the warehouse?” I asked, looking around at all the boxes that had C&C Pharmaceutical imprinted on them.
Uncle Lamont smiled at me, waving us toward his office. Paige and I looked at each other skeptically before following behind him. Once we entered, he motioned for us to take a seat.
“Listen up. I know y’all pops always told y’all he didn’t want y’all on the drug side of the business, but he’s not here right now.
If y’all want in, I’m giving you all an opportunity of a lifetime.
The pill market is in high demand, and you could make so much money off of it.
Just give me the word, and I’ll set you all up to get this money. ”
“What about our contract kills? Are we ending that?” I asked.
“Not ending… just utilizing it when the time permits.”
“As good as all of this sounds, I would have to resign, Uncle L,” Paige said, crossing her legs.
Uncle Lamont stared at her for a moment before he spoke. “Don’t tell me it’s about your fiancé?”
“That’s partially the reason. I’m about to be someone’s wife, and maybe in another year, someone’s mother. I don’t plan to sell drugs of any kind and kill people for the rest of my life. I believe in good and bad karma. It’s the reason my biological parents aren’t here right now.”
“It wasn’t murder—” I started.
“It was murder, Arie. I know we were young, but we have never been stupid. My father, your father, and Uncle Lamont used to do e xactly what they’re doing now, back then. It just so happened that my father was the one who was being the most reckless and got followed home.
“The only reason I even agreed to enter the murder-for-hire business was to one… avenge my family’s death, and two…
relieve the sadness and anger of losing my family.
I’m over that now. I have accepted that I’ll never get them back, so it’s time to move on and have a family of my own.
As good as your offer sounds, Unc, I’m going to respectfully decline.
“This is also my resignation from the MFH game as well. I’ll be relocating soon, so… there’s that.”
“So, you really moving to South Carolina?” I asked, voice just above a whisper.
“I am. But I’m nothing but a phone and a plane ride away.”
Don’t get in your feelings, Arie. You knew this was going to happen. You love Paige and want what’s best for her. Besides, you now have someone to visit out of town , I thought to myself.
We’d been like two peas in a pod since we were twelve.
However, I couldn’t trap a butterfly in a jar and expect it to live forever.
They spent their lives on their bellies, trapped in cocoons for the majority of their lives.
Paige was that butterfly, trapped in a cocoon of grief.
I wouldn’t dare stop her from spreading her wings now that she’d found some happiness.
I took her hand and smiled at her. I then looked to my uncle. “We’re good, Uncle L. Even though I want to disobey my father’s orders, I won’t. I may be pissed off at him, but he has been the best father to Paige and me when he was free. We’re going to sit this one out.”
Uncle Lamont smiled and nodded. “I understand. I’m proud of you both, and I wish you both nothing but the best… I just need you to complete one last assignment, then you both are free to go.”
“What’s the assignment?” Paige asked. Uncle Lamont pulled out a photo, dropping it on the table in front of us. “Damn, he’s a fine-ass zaddy!” Paige exclaimed.
I nodded. “He is… He looks kind of familiar.”
“Fuck what he looks like. He’s a competitor that’s been a pain in my ass since ya pops was out. I need him eliminated, ASAP. He has three sons, but they aren’t in the street business, so once I get rid of him, my problems will be resolved.”
“What’s his name?”
“Ryan. He’s been dealing in our territory for years. I’m sick of his ass now. It’s time for a new king to reign, so the old one must fall.”
“When do you need this done?”
“Immediately. Here’s his info. Y’all already know the motto. No face, no case, no fingerprints, no evidence. I need this done as clean as possible.”
“Got you,” I replied and stood. Paige followed me out of the warehouse and back to my truck. She looked at me as I looked at her, solidifying that we both knew something wasn’t right about this situation.
“What are you thinking?” she asked as we got comfortable in my truck.
“I’m thinking he robbed his plug, and now he wants us to take him out.”
“I was thinking the same. He could easily get the job done himself.”
“Yeah, but he probably doesn’t want him to know that it’s him,” I said, looking in the direction from which we just came. “What’s really confusing me is the reason why he’d rob him. From what I know, he and Dad are the plugs with the heroine, so why is he trying to get into the pill market?”
“He said it’s more money there.”
“I don’t believe it,” I countered, shaking my head.
Paige sighed. “You know you don’t have to do this.
This is his problem, not ours. How many more people are we going to have to kill before karma shows up on our doorstep?
We don’t always kill bad people who are doing bad things, AP.
We are taking innocent people away from their families… people who love them.”
We were silent for a moment before I understood her underlying message.
I took her by the hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re right. I’ll tell him later that I’m not going to go through with it. I’m sure he’ll be upset, but I’m getting tired of killing people. It’s time for us to eat off our legit money and live our best lives.”
“Agreed. Let’s get out of here. My baby leaves in the next two hours, so I need to see him off.”
I smirked at her and shook my head. My friend was definitely in the love bubble. Let’s just hope one day I will be the same way.