Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
CASH
T hat situation with Tyreek and his friends had been plaguing me.
I’d done a lot of shit in my day, but seeing them bloody and bruised and tied to chairs because they’d stolen from me broke something inside of me.
My ethics and morals were being tested more and more these days.
I wanted to retire even more now . . . especially if what happened caused me to lose Sugar Baby.
Even though I knew she’d hear the truth eventually, I wondered if damage had already been done.
If she’d trust me still. If she’d see me as a monster that she and her people weren’t safe with.
As I drove aimlessly, I thought about my next move and talked to God.
I asked Him to give me wisdom through Mama when I finally talked to her about it.
I didn’t know how much more I had left in me for this street shit.
The product that was stolen could be replaced, but had things been taken too far and Tyreek lost his life, that was something I could never give back to Sugar Baby and her family.
I’d never felt guilt over anything I did, but I felt guilty by association the moment I saw what Tremaine and Elijah had done to them.
As if God was tired of me running circles around in my mind, He had Mama to call me. I allowed the call to connect to Bluetooth and accelerated my speed.
“Wassup, Ma?”
“You tell me. I didn’t sleep all night last night, and I know it had something to do with you.”
That made me smile, because that was true.
Any time I was going through shit and couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t either.
I felt like that was God’s way of making sure there was someone on this Earth that could check in with me, because if I had it my way, no one would ever know when I was going through something.
“Some shit went down that has me questioning things, that’s all.”
“Questioning things like what?”
“How long I’ma do this. I think I’m ready to step down and give everything to Rhakeem.”
“Whoa.” She paused. “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Son?
I mean, I will support you 100 percent, but are you sure it’s time?
That’s a whole empire you’re about to give up.
That’s a life you’ve built for over half your life.
You’re only thirty, so you have time to build a whole different world for yourself.
I just want you to make sure you’re ready for that incredible adjustment. ”
“Honestly, Ma, I don’t know. I know it’s going to be a huge adjustment, and I think no amount of preparation will get me ready for that. I feel like when I step down, I’ll just have to keep myself busy to completely detach.”
“Is there a reason you’re preparing to make this change now? ”
I considered how much I wanted to tell her about Sugar Baby. They hadn’t met yet because things were still so new between us. In my heart and spirit I knew Sugar was the woman I would spend the rest of my life with, but I still wanted us to take things slow.
“Yes, but we can talk about that another day. I’m starting to feel a little better and thinking about that will just piss me off again.”
“Okay, Son. Well, you know I’m here for you. Even if you just want to come over and watch TV and eat. We don’t have to talk.”
“I might take you up on that, Ma.”
“Good. I’ll see you later. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
After ending the call, I texted Tyreek to make sure he was straight before putting my attention back on the road.
My mind was on autopilot, because I had no idea where I would end up until I was parking in front of Rhakeem’s barbershop.
He was in the middle of cutting a head when I arrived, so I busied myself with looking over the information Tristan had sent me regarding the app while I waited for him to wrap it up.
When he was done, we went back to his office.
“You change your mind about letting Dumb and Dumber live?” were the first words out of Rhakeem’s mouth as he closed the door behind us.
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Not yet. It’ll honestly depend on how much hell Suge gives me. If she don’t take me back, it’s a wrap for their asses.”
He laughed but knew I was serious. “I feel you. Wassup, though? I know this ain’t no social visit for you to randomly pop up.”
We got comfortably seated before I replied. “I know you love your role of being my right hand, but how do you feel about taking over this shit if I retire? We’ve talked about it briefly in the past but never set anything in stone.”
His brows raised and he released a low whistle as he sat back in his seat. “Damn, brotha. It’s that time?”
“Could be soon. Maybe within the next year or so. Of course I would get things in order for you to takeover smoothly, but if you were interested, I’d start that process sooner than later.”
Rhakeem scratched the back of his head. “You know how I feel about this shit. It’s literally in my blood.
I’m cool with being in the streets until the day I die, but I also like being a soldier instead of the head nigga in charge.
If you trust me to be able to take charge, I’d be honored to take your place.
I wouldn’t want to do it until I had a me for me though. ”
“I respect that. I feel like a lot of my confidence came from having you, so I definitely understand if you don’t want to take over until you have someone like you that you can trust.”
We talked for a little while longer before I headed out. Peace consumed me knowing Rhakeem was willing to take over for me. I’d spent the last seventeen years building my empire and there was no one else I trusted with everything I’d built.
As soon as I got in the car, I checked to see if I had a text or call from Sugar. I’d been doing that shit ever since last night when Tyreek told me she listened to the truth. Now, all I could do was wait . . .