never thought about—Reggie dying. Even with him being shot twice, the only time I was worried was in the waiting room. But after the doctor told us he was fine and he would recover, the thought of Reggie dying left my mind. And I definitely didn’t want to lose my brother, or even think about stepping up to the throne to run our operation.
“ When I was at Marco’s place, I was afraid he was going to kill me.” It seemed as if the words had just come out on their own. I said them and it was my mouth that moved, but where the words came from, I didn’t know. “He knew about you being shot and in the hospital, he knew about Lucky being killed and me being with him in the elevator, and he knew about the other two robberies that happened last night while you were here.”
“ Maybe Marco is behind all of this,” Damian said.
Reggie looked at Damian after his statement. The room was so quiet. In fact, it was so quiet it became weird. It was apparent that everyone went into deep thought after Damian’s comment.
“ Both of you,” Reggie said, his words directed at me and Damian. “Need to get a fucking grip. You do realize that if you weren’t my sister then we would probably be planning your funeral now? You don’t lie to a man like Marco . . . and both of you should know that. We’re trying to get this money so we can retire. And we can’t do it if everything is falling apart around us. Lying to that nigga Marco was the worst shit you could do. And Damian, you supposed to be my right hand so where in the hell are you getting shit like that from? Marco is the last motherfucker we need to be worrying about. He’s a businessman. And he’s only motivated when he’s making dough, so why don’t you get motivated and find out who is fucking with our shit! Because whoever it is, they know entirely too much and they’re interrupting our flow.”
“ How can we be sure?” Damian asked.
“ Because you, Reggie and Naomi would already be dead,” Stone volunteered. “All of you started this business and you thought you could fly under the radar forever. You thought you could stay small time . . . but as soon as you started doing business with Marco the tables turned y’all are in the big leagues. The stakes are high now. And everything Reggie has done has been right. From starting up the computer store to setting up operations inside the Polo Grounds and having accounts all over the world. They were all the right moves in my eyes.
Marco would be stupid not to take advantage of a set up like that. So, no, Marco is not your problem, Damian. Your problem is someone who wants what you guys have. And the possibilities are endless. But if it was me, I would scope out the competition. And I would also look deep inside my camp. You might find out there’s some unhappy cats amongst you who want to shut your operation down. And the quicker you realize who it is, the quicker you can eliminate them. Keep in mind that if they don’t succeed in one way, then they could very well make that phone call to the FEDS and you don’t need that.”
I had a new found respect for Stone. The whole time he was talking, I kept my eyes on Foxx and Reggie. He had their undivided attention. Reggie was soaking it all in. My dad had that glow of pride in his eyes. Stone was his best friend and probably closer to Foxx than his own three brothers.
But I felt bad for Damian. In a way, he was the fall guy for all the shit happening and none of it was his fault. The shit that happened while Damian chilled with me in the waiting room while Reggie was in surgery was my fault. If there was blame for our guys getting jacked, that blame should be on me. And hell, if Damian had been there, he could have gotten shot or killed as well. In my mind, Damian didn’t do shit wrong.
After Reggie gave me a few more instructions, I kissed Stone and Foxx and left the room. Damian stayed behind because Reggie wanted to speak with him. I knew Stone, Foxx and
“ When I was at Marco’s place, I was afraid he was going to kill me.” It seemed as if the words had just come out on their own. I said them and it was my mouth that moved, but where the words came from, I didn’t know. “He knew about you being shot and in the hospital, he knew about Lucky being killed and me being with him in the elevator, and he knew about the other two robberies that happened last night while you were here.”
“ Maybe Marco is behind all of this,” Damian said.
Reggie looked at Damian after his statement. The room was so quiet. In fact, it was so quiet it became weird. It was apparent that everyone went into deep thought after Damian’s comment.
“ Both of you,” Reggie said, his words directed at me and Damian. “Need to get a fucking grip. You do realize that if you weren’t my sister then we would probably be planning your funeral now? You don’t lie to a man like Marco . . . and both of you should know that. We’re trying to get this money so we can retire. And we can’t do it if everything is falling apart around us. Lying to that nigga Marco was the worst shit you could do. And Damian, you supposed to be my right hand so where in the hell are you getting shit like that from? Marco is the last motherfucker we need to be worrying about. He’s a businessman. And he’s only motivated when he’s making dough, so why don’t you get motivated and find out who is fucking with our shit! Because whoever it is, they know entirely too much and they’re interrupting our flow.”
“ How can we be sure?” Damian asked.
“ Because you, Reggie and Naomi would already be dead,” Stone volunteered. “All of you started this business and you thought you could fly under the radar forever. You thought you could stay small time . . . but as soon as you started doing business with Marco the tables turned y’all are in the big leagues. The stakes are high now. And everything Reggie has done has been right. From starting up the computer store to setting up operations inside the Polo Grounds and having accounts all over the world. They were all the right moves in my eyes.
Marco would be stupid not to take advantage of a set up like that. So, no, Marco is not your problem, Damian. Your problem is someone who wants what you guys have. And the possibilities are endless. But if it was me, I would scope out the competition. And I would also look deep inside my camp. You might find out there’s some unhappy cats amongst you who want to shut your operation down. And the quicker you realize who it is, the quicker you can eliminate them. Keep in mind that if they don’t succeed in one way, then they could very well make that phone call to the FEDS and you don’t need that.”
I had a new found respect for Stone. The whole time he was talking, I kept my eyes on Foxx and Reggie. He had their undivided attention. Reggie was soaking it all in. My dad had that glow of pride in his eyes. Stone was his best friend and probably closer to Foxx than his own three brothers.
But I felt bad for Damian. In a way, he was the fall guy for all the shit happening and none of it was his fault. The shit that happened while Damian chilled with me in the waiting room while Reggie was in surgery was my fault. If there was blame for our guys getting jacked, that blame should be on me. And hell, if Damian had been there, he could have gotten shot or killed as well. In my mind, Damian didn’t do shit wrong.
After Reggie gave me a few more instructions, I kissed Stone and Foxx and left the room. Damian stayed behind because Reggie wanted to speak with him. I knew Stone, Foxx and
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