Chapter 6
VEGA
“So, you ain’t found Bear yet?” My pops sat across from me, looking completely calm, but I knew his ass was mad. Truthfully, I was mad as hell, too, but his hovering wasn’t going to help shit.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs as I absentmindedly flipped through the cameras on the casino floor.
There wasn’t shit going on, but ever since the robbery, I’d been micromanaging like a motherfucker.
“Nah, but we got a lead on whoever hacked our system. After I finish up here with Mauricio, we’re gonna go over there and see what we can find out about the crew that hit us. ”
I wasn’t sure how, but our tech guy was able to find some type of tag from the goofy ass nigga who had corrupted our system.
For as savvy as the robbers were, obviously they had some dummies in their crew because that shit wasn’t smart at all.
I wasn’t complaining, though, because every mistake their goofy asses made was going to get me closer to getting my money back.
My pops let out a low grunt, and I took my eyes off the computer screen to look him over.
I was the spitting image of Valentino Baptiste Sr, so looking at him was like looking into the face of my future self.
Even our mannerisms and facial expressions were the same, so I immediately knew what it meant when he rubbed at his clean-shaven jaw before he even spoke.
That shit didn’t make it any less harsh, though.
“It sounds like you muthafuckas are chasing your tails instead of going after the shit that’s right in your face.
Bear is the anomaly, and that’s who you need to be getting ahold of, and quickly, too, boy.
Your cousin is laid up in the hospital, and your mother is beside herself because the niggas who put him there are still running the streets.
Now, I let you run things because I thought you’d be able to handle the responsibility―”
“And I can,” I jumped in, getting annoyed because even though I was in charge, he always only had smoke for me.
Santana’s ass was sitting right there, scrolling on his damn phone.
Although we were equals in this shit, our pops was only focusing on my role.
It had always been that way, and I was used to it since Santana was the baby of the family, but at the moment, I wasn’t trying to hear that shit.
“I been handling shit, and this isn’t any different. ”
“Well, act like it! If too much time passes, muthafuckas gon’ think you’re weak, and then we’ll have a whole new set of problems on our hands! Next, it’ll be more than just those greasy haired Italians in our shit, and that’s not something we’re equipped for.”
That caught Santana’s attention, and he finally lifted his head with his face screwed up. “Fuck we still paying them muthafuckas for anyway?” he asked, and my pops’ neck craned in his direction for the first time since sitting down.
“To keep the peace! We’ve been over this! Since our operation isn’t the kind that feeds many, we need to keep shit cordial until we get one that does!” our pops snapped frustratedly.
Just like me, he was all about the money, so the drug and gun business wasn’t some shit he’d ever been interested in.
In his words, it was a lot of money, but there was an almost equal or greater level of death involved in both.
I couldn’t lie; it made perfect sense to me except in situations like this.
The fact that we didn’t have the numbers to stop the Italians from digging in our pockets was considered a loss to me, just like the one we’d taken last week.
Sure, keeping their palms greased ensured our business continued to thrive, but after years of that shit, even I felt like we needed to renegotiate our terms. Now wasn’t necessarily the time for that shit, though.
“I been told you we need to hop deeper into the game. We’re gonna always be prey to muthafuckas if we don’t switch shit up” Sosa complained and I let out another sigh.
“Why don’t you and this nigga worry about finding our god damn money from our main business before you try hopping into some other shit.
” My pops huffed, standing to his feet before heading to the door.
“The word has already gotten out about the hit, so if Mauricio asks, let him know we have everything under control, and once the drop is finished, go find that nigga Bear.”
As soon as he left the room, I hit Sosa with a side eye. “Nigga, what the fuck was that? He was already on one. Wasn’t nobody tryna hear a lecture.”
“He gone, ain’t he?” His ass shrugged, and my mouth went slack at how fucking goofy he was.
Opting not to keep entertaining him, I returned my attention to my computer screen and had to do a double take.
It had been two weeks since I’d left Essence in Dubai, and because of all the shit I had on my plate, I hadn’t thought about her at all.
Did that mean I didn’t immediately recognize her or remember how well her pussy gripped my dick when I saw her strutting into my casino?
Hell, no! Before we even made it to her room, I’d planned to see her again, but clearly business had gotten in the way.
Seeing her now had her right back on my radar, and I got stuck for a minute watching her sexy ass look around in amazement.
She was just as beautiful as I remembered and just as put together.
Once again, she was fully made up, but instead of the curly updo, she had long straight hair with a part down the middle.
My eyes traveled down her body, instantly getting tight at how much cleavage she had showing, and the high ass split of the black dress she was wearing.
She’d definitely gained the attention of more than a few patrons.
I moved to the edge of my seat watching their heads turn in her direction, but I was damn near foaming at the mouth when I saw bitch ass Maxwell walk up and lock hands with her.
“What the fuck?”
The way they interacted let me know they weren’t just meeting but were pretty fucking familiar, and I instantly didn’t like that shit.
Maxwell was one of those lawyers who only defended criminals and got them off every time.
His connections to such criminals gave him access to shit that regular upstanding citizens didn’t have access to, like my fucking casino.
Until now, I never had a problem with him besides thinking he was an annoying, pompous jack ass, but I didn’t mind as long as he was spending money.
Seeing him with Essence, though, that shit turned my indifference to contempt in thirty seconds flat.
Before I could come from behind my desk, one of the cocktail waitresses was knocking on the door to tell me that Mauricio had arrived. I’d forgotten all about that nigga, but the reminder instantly snapped me out of my jealous daze.
“Fuck. Go ahead and send him in,” I told her, turning to the safe behind my desk chair. “Make sure shit running smooth on the floor for me, and I’ll be out there in a few, so I can check the counts.”
“Man, don’t think I don’t know you’re just sending me out there so I won’t say shit to dude’s bitch ass.” Sosa grunted from behind me even as I heard him sliding backward in his chair to go do it.
“At least you know.” I absentmindedly counted the $100 bills that were tucked inside a cash bag to make sure it was all there.
We still hadn’t even partially recovered from the robbery, and I’d been funneling in money from my home safe just to fund the floor, which was how Mauricio was even about to get paid.
I knew within the month we’d just barely be on track, but I didn’t want Sosa getting us into some shit and having Mauricio asking questions.
Plus, if he started some shit, that was just going to hold me up from catching Essence, and I definitely wasn’t trying to have that.
Thankfully, he carried his ass on without dragging it a minute or so before Lexie brought Mauricio and his men in.
I was sitting at the desk by the time they entered, and I stood to greet him with a handshake.
Just like my pops said, he was greasy as fuck.
The son of a made man, he went around doing collections with a gang of security because his father knew he couldn’t handle much else.
I couldn’t deny that he was a certified fuck up.
Goofy ass nigga was still walking around, dressing like the muthafuckas in Good Fellas, from the shiny ass suits to the oily ass hair.
His ass was comical, but I bit back my laughter and greeted him with a blank face. “Mauricio.”
“Vega.” I didn’t miss the inflection in his voice saying my name, but I was on a mission to get rid of his ass, so I ignored it instead of calling him on it.
Handing over the cash bag, I started to move from behind my desk, hands casually tucked in the pockets of my slacks.
“It’s all there, so we’re good until next month.
” I nodded, hoping he’d count that shit and carry his ass on, but obviously he had some other shit in mind.
Instead of answering, he handed the bag off to his little henchman and watched as the man quickly set the cash on a scale.
Giving a stiff nod to confirm what the fuck I’d said still didn’t get Mauricio out of my office, though.
His eyebrows lifted in surprise, damn near touching his hairline.
“Oh, I thought maybe because of your little issue last week you might’ve been short.
” He feigned embarrassment, covering it with a chuckle, but I didn’t find shit funny.