Chapter 4
Chapter Four
AHKEEM
Sunday dinner was a nonnegotiable in the Justice household.
My baby never lied to me and straight up told me that she wasn’t a domestic chick who knew her way around the kitchen.
If she wasn’t making pasta, tacos, or breakfast, the only time I would get a home cooked meal was when Priest and Britain hosted dinner.
After their wedding, they stayed in Italy for a year before returning to the city. Priest coming back from the fucking dead had everyone’s eyes on him and his family, so they decided to have baby Genesis in Italy for peace of mind.
They moved back quietly once shit died down and had been living as normal of a life as they could.
Their big-ass house in Staten Island always had me thinking about moving me and Jazzy away from the busyness of Manhattan and over to their side of town.
If God blessed my wife and me with children, Saphir and them would need a big-ass backyard to play in.
Priest and Britain were really living the dream.
Sundays always made me grateful for the family I married into. They were rough around the edges at first, but once I was in, they didn’t give a fuck if I wasn’t blood. They took me in and made sure I was good no matter what.
“Uncle Ahk! I did the back flip you taught me all by myself!” Genesis scurried over to us as soon as we stepped foot inside the foyer.
The kid was a big ball of energy and took after his mother.
He was always smiling and playing around until it came time to be disciplined.
Then he turned into a little menace like his father.
He was my boy and could get away with everything when it came to me and his auntie.
He pushed right past Jazzlyn and wrapped his arms around my legs. “Word?” I lifted him up from the floor. “You gone have to show me after dinner.”
“Bet.” He held his fist out so we could fist bump. I laughed because he sounded just like his pops. Looked just like him too. Almost like Britain ain’t try at all.
“Gen, I know you didn’t just push past your auntie to go straight to your uncle?” Jazzlyn played hurt while holding her chest all dramatically.
Genesis laughed before reaching over so Jazzlyn could take him into her arms. He was the first baby of the family, so he had everybody wrapped around his finger. Jazzlyn gushed at how cute he was and wrapped him up in her arms tightly.
“Sorry, Lovey.”
He picked up on calling her Lovey from me. I always joked with him about that nickname only being reserved for me to call her, but like everything else, he got away with it every time. “You do that again, and I’m gonna start snitching to your mama about you having sugar while you’re at my house.”
His soft brown eyes widened at the thought of Britain finding out. Quickly, he shook his head and begged Jazzlyn not to tell her. “Chill out, little man. She ain’t gone snitch. If she do, she gotta deal with me.”
Genesis led us to the kitchen, where Britain was still cooking up dinner with the help of Jadey and J’Ru’s wife Aja.
“What’s on the menu tonight? This is my only contribution.” My wife lifted a bottle of red wine we brought.
The ladies all laughed, knowing she was dead serious. We made our rounds and made sure to hug and greet them all.
“Girl, if you’re in the kitchen, you’re gonna help. But we’re having barbecued ribs and chicken, baked mac, baked beans, and some yams. The baby has been craving it all, so I can’t wait.” Britain rubbed her belly.
“When you gone stop blaming everything on this baby, sis?” I teased her, earning her infamous little side eye.
“Bye, Ahkeem. You should know better than to test a pregnant woman. The boys are out back helping P on the grill.”
“Ight, I’m out. Y’all behave in here.” I laughed. “Especially you.” My arms wrapped around Jazzlyn from behind, prompting her to lift her head so we could meet for a kiss.
The rest of the ladies gushed at us, claiming we were wrapped up in newlywed bliss. I let them have their girl time and dipped off to the back to catch up with the guys. Soon as Priest caught me in his line of vision, he pointed the tongs in hand straight at me.
“Yo, why the fuck you teach my son how to do a back flip? That little nigga been flipping off everything.” He seemed stressed for real, but the shit was too funny not to laugh. It wasn’t just me laughing either. Kaymen and J’Ru was damn near in tears.
“My fault, bro. I told him to only do it on the trampoline or outside,” I told him while going around to dap everyone up. “He must be stressing you and sis out?”
“I don’t even remember being as bad as his ass when I was younger, so it can’t be my fucking karma. Must be Gioia’s.” He let out a stressed sigh as he checked the grill.
I took a seat next to J’Ru on one of the outdoor couches before he handed me a red cup and poured me up some of the whiskey they were sipping on.
“We was just talking about you before you pulled up too,” Kaymen said before eyeing me over the brim of his red cup.
I leaned back in my seat, waiting for them to lay whatever conversation they were having about me out in the open.
Every time I was around them, it was like getting pulled into the fucking dean’s office.
They were out of the game and were making bank in the oil industry; however, they always tapped in to make sure the empire they handed me was still running like the well-oiled machine they once ran.
Priest ended up taking a seat next to Kaymen and across from me. He ran his fingers through his beard while eyeing me. “Heard you sharing the city now?”
I scoffed. “Why the fuck would I do that? Only person I’m sharing the city with is my wife, and we in two different lanes.”
“That shit sound good and all, but we hearing about some Detroit nigga putting up traps in the city next to you.”
Taking a swig of my drink, I downed the shot, wincing slightly at the burning sensation that surfaced in my chest. “Where you getting your information from ‘cause it’s wrong?”
“Our source ain’t never been wrong, but we’re gonna give you the benefit of the doubt,” J’Ru said from beside me.
I could tell they knew more than they were telling me. They just wanted to see if I would keep it a hundred with them. “Ain’t shit going on that I can’t contain.”
“Well… what the fuck going on?” Kaymen cut straight to the chase. He never beat around the bush when it came to shit like this. He may have been out of the game, but he still felt his reputation was associated with success of the business, so he always wanted to know what the fuck was up.
I let out a deep sigh before grabbing the bottle to pour myself another shot.
“My boy Nymir, he got killed by some nigga who run with that Detroit cat.”
“You just now finding out about this Detroit nigga?” Priest asked.
I shook my head. “Silas kept a low profile for the most part. I ain’t see that nigga as a threat.”
“Everybody a fucking threat, Ahk, when you at the top. You don’t let no nigga get one up on you ‘cause you underestimating them,” J’Ru preached.
“I hear you.”
I could tell Priest was holding back on what he had to say.
He was always the man with a plan, and even when he didn’t want it to, his mind was always brewing his next move to keep him two steps ahead.
He confided in me about wanting to stay far the fuck away from the game because of what it took from him, but judging by the look in his eye, the temptation to reign supreme was eating at him.
“How you feel ‘bout this, PJ?” I asked him.
He grabbed the bottle from the table and poured himself another shot. Just like I did mine, he downed it in one take before wincing at the kickback the whiskey inflicted on him. A deep chuckle rolled out of him as his hand went back to running through his beard.
“It ain’t on me no more. It’s on you. Dead this shit like you know how. You the head nigga in charge now. Move like it.”
As my mind pondered my next move, the sliding door opened. Genesis and J’Ru’s daughter J’Ream came running out.
“Daddy, Genesis is being mean!” J’Ream ran straight to J’Ru with a pout on her face.
“Daddy, J’Ream is being a hater!” Genesis accused while walking straight to Priest with a mean mug on his face.
This was their fucking life now. They were fathers, husbands, and oil plant owners. Not many niggas got the opportunity to bow out the game as gracefully Priest, J’Ru and Kaymen did. They were at peace now, and the burden of remaining on top was now mine to carry.
We ended up sitting around the table, and after Priest led the prayer, we dug into the good-ass food.
“You know, Ahk and Jazzy, the house down the street is on the market. You two thinking about getting more space?” Britain smirked.
Knowing her, she would’ve loved having us live so close.
She was all about family. She had already recruited Kaymen and Jadey to join the neighborhood.
J’Ru and A’ja lived only fifteen minutes out from them.
Now it was only a matter of time before Jaz and I decided to pack up and set up our forever home in Staten Island.
Priest chuckled at his wife as he caressed her hand in his. “Not everybody ready for the white picket fence and H.O.A meetings, Gioia.”
“Thank you, PJ. Me and Ahk love our penthouse. Ain’t that right, baby?” Jazzy turned to look at me for confirmation.
I nodded. “The penthouse is smooth, but I ain’t against some more space.”
This prompted Britain to do a little happy dance in her seat, making everyone laugh. “Screw owning a magazine. I think this girl needs to become a realtor.” Jadey shook her head.
“It’s just us and Saphir right now. You think we need more space?” Jazzlyn asked before she took a sip of her wine.
I shrugged. “I mean, eventually, it won’t just be you, me, and Saphir. Why don’t we just view the house and talk numbers with the realtor?”
“I love that idea, Ahk,” Britain piped in, causing me to chuckle.
Based off the way Jazzy downed the rest of her wine, I could tell she wasn’t on board but didn’t want to put her disapproval on front street.
This was definitely a conversation for us to revisit later, without our family in the mix.
Marrying Jazzlyn was the best decision of my life.
However, I was starting to realize that she was so resistant to change for the better.
I loved her with every fiber of my being, but I was starting to see that we didn’t want the same things.
“Yeah, we can do that,” she agreed for the sake of everyone else around us. The look in her eyes was clear as day screaming hell no at me.
My phone went off at the table, and I excused myself. I took my call in the backyard after shutting the sliding door behind myself. “What’s good, Jersey?”
“Our spot in the Bronx just got hit,” he revealed. The anger in his voice let me know that a statement was made by none other than Silas.
I glanced over at the chairs me and the guys were just chopping it up at and remembered what Priest told me. My jaw clenched as I felt anger rush through my veins. “Suit the fuck up. I’m on the fucking way.”
“Copy.”
I made my way back inside, and my wife and I locked eyes.
She pinpointed something was wrong immediately, so she leaned up in her seat.
I walked over to her and dropped a kiss on her forehead before kissing her lips.
“I gotta head out to handle something. You stay here. I’ll be back for you in the morning. ”
Worry flashed her eyes as she leaned in and kissed my lips once more. “Be safe, Ahkeem, please. I love you.”
“I got you, Lovey. I love you too,” I assured her before turning to the rest of the table. “Dinner was great, y’all, but I have to head out.”
The men instantly picked up on my energy and knew that business was the reason I was being pulled away from Sunday dinner. Priest lifted his glass up at me and shot me a curt nod.
“Handle it.”
“No doubt,” I asserted before heading out.