Chapter 26
MONEY
She looked so fucking beautiful and peaceful. I didn’t move. I just watched her breathe for a few minutes, memorizing the way her lashes rested against her cheeks, the way her lips parted slightly in sleep. I needed this woman more than the air I breathed. That’s how deep shit got with Solei.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I grabbed it before the vibration could wake her, sliding out of bed carefully. She stirred but didn’t wake, just pulled the pillow closer and settled back into sleep.
I stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door quietly behind me. The island was silent except for the sound of waves and birds. The air was warm, humid, perfect. I should’ve been relaxed and enjoying this. Instead, I looked down at my phone and felt my jaw tighten.
I called him immediately, and he picked up on the first ring. “Money.”
“Talk to me.”
“Mikey’s movin’ product in the theatre district without clearance.”
I leaned against the balcony railing, staring out at the ocean, my mind already running through scenarios.
Mikey was a twenty-year-old ambitious muthafucka like I was.
Been with me for over a year now. I’d given him project buildings on the Eastside of East Hollis because he understood that market, since he came from there.
And now he was testing me by going outside of his territory.
“How much product are we talkin’?” I asked.
“Maybe twenty keys. He’s undercutting our prices by fifteen percent, tryin’ to pull customers.”
Twenty keys. That was over a hundred grand in lost revenue.
More importantly, it was disrespectful as fuck.
Now, the old me would’ve already been on a jet back to the city.
I would’ve walked into Mikey’s spot with Check and Tip, made an example out of him that the whole organization would remember. But I’d promised Solei change.
“You want me to handle it?” Check asked. His tone was careful. He knew what I was dealing with.
“Nah.” I rubbed my hand over my face, thinking. “Set up a video call. I want everyone on the line in fifteen minutes.”
“You sure? Might be better to just…”
“Fifteen minutes, Check.”
“I gotchu.”
He hung up, and I stood there for a moment, letting the anger settle.
Mikey thought me being on an island with my family meant I wasn't paying attention. He was about to learn. I went back inside, grabbed my laptop from my bag, and set it up on the small table on the patio by the pool. Then, I made myself a cup of black coffee from the villa’s espresso machine.
By the time I sat back down, my phone buzzed.
I opened the laptop and clicked the video link.
My screen lit up with faces: Check sitting rigid in his office, the walls behind him heavy with shadows; Black staked out in front of the club, arms folded; Cortez jammed in the driver’s seat of a car, his face hard; Tip shoulders bunched, sitting on his living room sofa, visibly annoyed; and Mikey, the basketball court chaos around him, sneakers scuffing the pavement.
“Gentlemen,” I said, my voice smooth and calm. “I appreciate you makin’ time.” Mikey shifted in his seat as I locked eyes with him.
“Money,” Tip said, nodding. “Everything good?”
“Everything’s perfect. I’m on a beautiful fuckin’ island with my family.
Sun’s comin’ up. Water’s blue as shit. Life’s good.
” I took a sip of my coffee. “But I’m hearin’ some interestin’ things about business back home.
” Silence. “Mikey,” I said, looking directly at him through the camera. “You got somethin’ you wanna tell me?”
He hesitated, then his mouth twitched. “I’m just doin’ what you said. Always be ambitious and ready for whatever.”
“That’s what we’re callin’ it? I’ve been gone less than twenty-four hours, and last I checked, I didn’t give you clearance to expand operations or undercut our pricin’ structure.”
“Market’s competitive…”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, muthafucka. You’re movin’ product without authorization. You’re cuttin’ prices to pull customers from other territories.”
Mikey’s face hardened. “Shouldn’t you be focusin’ on your family? We got this.”
Check sucked his teeth. “Mikey, watch your fuckin’ mouth.”
“Nah, let him talk,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I wanna hear this.”
Mikey looked directly at the camera. “You big dawg, and you just dipped. I saw an opportunity, and I took it.”
“Look, I’m only gon’ say this once, and everybody better fuckin’ listen. Yes, I’m takin’ time to handle personal business. But when I get back, everything better be exactly how I left it.”
“And if it’s not?” Mikey tested.
I smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. “Then you and Tip can have a different conversation in person.”
The threat hung in the air. I watched as Tip placed his Glock on the coffee table. Mikey’s jaw tightened as he nodded his head and remained silent.
“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” I said, my voice still calm. “You’re gonna stop movin’ unauthorized product immediately. You’re gonna return our prices to standard rates. And you’re gonna personally call every customer you pulled and explain that there was a misunderstandin’."
“Come on, Money. It ain’t…”
“Let the man fuckin’ speak,” Cortez snapped, a scowl on his face.
“Again, an in-person conversation with Tip can be arranged. And trust me, you don’t want that conversation, kid.”
Tip stared at the camera with that dead-eyed look that had made grown men piss themselves. Mikey swallowed hard.
“Soon, I’ll be transitionin’ out my position soon,” I continued. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve gone soft. It means I’m thinkin’ long-term. For now, run your assigned territory, follow the structure we built, and trust that I know what the fuck I’m doin’.”
Nods came from all around with Black replying, “We gotchu, boss.”
“Good. Then we’re done here. Check, make sure the rest of the crew gets the memo about transitionin’ when I get back. If there’s any pushback, you and Tip know how to handle it.”
“Gotchu. Take care of home. We got it.” Tip nodded, giving me a look that told me he understood everything going on.
I ended the call, the screen going black, and I sat there for a moment. I should have felt like I was doing the right thing. That just words and the weight of my reputation would be enough. It should’ve felt like a win. Instead, just that quickly, it felt like I was losing my fucking grip.
Mikey had tested me because he sensed distraction, and he wasn’t wrong.
I was distracted. I was prioritizing Solei and my kids over the business for the first time.
And if this test tube muthafucka could see it, others would too.
In deep thought, I closed the laptop and picked up my coffee that had gone cold.
“Pop?”
I turned to see Junior standing in the doorway, wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt, his curls messy from sleep. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep anymore.” He stepped out onto the patio, closing the door behind him. “You good?”
“Yeah. Just handlin’… yeah. I’m good, son.”
He sat down in the chair across from where I sat on the couch, his eyes searching my face. “You and Ma gettin’ back together?”
The question hit me harder than Hassan's disrespect. “We’re workin’ on it,” I said carefully.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only answer I got for you right now.”
Junior looked out at the ocean. The sun was higher now, turning the water from dark blue to turquoise. “I heard some of what y’all were talkin’ about last night.”
Shit. “Sorry if we woke you up.” I sat back, folding my arms across my chest.
“Did you do somethin’ to Darius?”
I looked at my son. At thirteen, he was too smart and too observant for his own good. “Why the hell would you ask me that, Junior?”
“‘Cause I know you, Pop. I know how you are over Ma.” I didn’t answer, but Junior nodded slowly, like I’d confirmed something. “Is he dead?”
“Junior…”
“I’m not stupid. I know what you do. How you are.” His voice was quiet and sad. “I just wanna know if we’re safe. If Ma’s safe. If this is real or if you’re just... doin’ what you always do.”
“What do I always do?”
“Say what you want to get what you want. No matter what it costs.” Junior folded his arms across his chest, his eyes locked on mine.
The words cut deep because he was right. I’d spent years taking, building, and controlling shit. Making sure I got what I wanted through force of will and strategic violence. And my son had been watching the whole fucking time.
“I love your mother,” I said finally. “More than anything in this world except you and your sister. And yeah, I did what I had to do to get her back. To get all of us back. But I’m tryin’ to be different now… tryin’ to be the man she needs. The father you and Soso deserve.”
“Are you though?” Junior’s tone was blunt. met mine. “Or are you just sayin’ that ‘cause it sounds good?”
“I’m tryin’, son.”
“Tryin’ isn’t the same as doin’.”
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Your grandmother’s famous words.”
“Yeah. Maybe you should listen.”
We sat in silence for a moment, both of us thinking. Then, I sighed and said, “You want us to be a family again.”
“Yeah. I miss all of us bein’ together.”
“Me too. More than you know.”
“Then why is it so hard?”
“Because…” I paused, trying to find the right words, then leaned forward with my elbow on my knees.
“‘Cause I built this life on bein’ in control. On makin’ sure nothin’ and nobody could touch the people I love.
And your mother’s askin’ me to let go of that control.
To trust that we can be us without me runnin’ everything. "
“Can we?”
“I don’t know.”
Junior looked at me for a long moment. Then he said, “Well, I don’t need you to control everything, Pop. I just need you to be here. Really here. Not on your phone handlin’ business. Not halfway out the door to deal with some crisis. Just... present.”
The weight of it settled on my chest. My son didn’t need a kingpin. He needed a father. “I hear you,” I said quietly.
“Do you?”
“Yeah. I do, son.”
“Good.” Junior stood up, reaching out to sap me up. “I’m gonna go check on Soso. She was talkin’ in her sleep about goin’ to the beach this mornin’.”
I chuckled. “Aight. I’ll be inside in a few.”
Junior started to walk away, then stopped. “Pop?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you brought us here and glad you’re tryin’ to figure things out. Just... just don’t fuck it up this time.”
He went back inside before I could respond. And I sat there alone, watching the sun climb higher, feeling the warmth on my face. Don’t fuck it up this time. I chuckled to myself. Check out my son sounding like a little man. He was simple and direct.
Truthfully, I didn’t know if I would fuck up or not.
Stepping down from something I’d built with my own hands was asking for a lot.
There were going to be challenges and people testing me.
And every time, I’d have to choose between business and my family.
Control or trust. The man I’d been or the man I was trying to become.
I stood up, went back inside the villa, and walked up the stairs to the main suite. Solei was just waking up, yawning. “Mornin’, baby.”
“Morning,” she moaned as she stretched. “I heard you get out of bed earlier.”
“Yeah. Just handlin’ somethin’.”
She studied my face. “Business?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And I’m handlin’ it, Soul. You told me what you needed, and I’m gon’ handle it, aight?”
Something shifted in her expression. I couldn’t tell if it was skepticism or hope.
“That’s good,” she said softly. I climbed back into bed beside her, pulling her close.
She rested her head on my chest, her hand over my heart.
“What if we can’t get us back?” she whispered. “What if… our time has run its course?”
“Then we’ll fail tryin’. But I’m not givin’ up, Solei. Not on you. Not on us. Damn sure not on this family.”
She was quiet for a long moment then she sighed heavily and replied, “Okay.” Within minutes, she was back asleep, lightly snoring while I caressed her back.