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A smile lifted the corners of my mouth at the thought of, “Daddy would sit in a chair in my room while I slept for quite some time. And that’s when I realized I needed help. I started therapy, which did help, but I don’t think anyone ever gets over losing a parent—especially so violently. I wouldn’t say that I can’t live alone, it’s just that I haven’t tried. With everything going on right now, I don’t think I’m in a good enough head space for that right now.”
Beethoven opened the door and got out of the car. He made his way to the passenger side and opened the door. After unbuckling my seat belt, he pulled me into his arms and held me. I didn’t realize just how much I needed to be embraced until I was enveloped by the warmth of his arms. Tears that I thought I was done shedding released. With a gentle rock, Beethoven held me until I was all cried out. His chin rested on the top of my head as he said, “Now that you have me, you’ll never have to be alone again.”
We had an expiration date. This wouldn’t last forever. Still, I held him tighter, appreciating the gesture. When we pulled away, Beethoven wiped my tears and opened the door so I could get back inside.
“Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“Thank you for being a safe space for me to do so.”
“I’m going to drop you off and handle something real quick, then I’m going to pick you up for dinner. Your brother may have had a fucked-up way of going about it, but he is right. We do need to stop putting this off.”
“I agree, and that’s fine.”
“Aight, it shouldn’t take me more than a couple of hours, but I’ll call you when I’m on my way to pick you up.”
It was crazy how I didn’t know too much about this man, but I was already dreading him leaving and looking forward to his presence again.
15
Beethoven
I didn’t want to believe what my gut was telling me, but if I never listened to anything else Mama taught me, it was to follow my gut. Right now, my gut was telling me Pops knew exactly who was responsible for the robbery that killed Whiskee’s mother and caused her to live with that trauma.
Pops’ house was more like a castle. From the front door, it took me several minutes to make it to his man cave on the lower level of the home. He opted for that instead of a basement, along with a panic room. An evening spent with his advisors drinking and talking shit felt like a luxury he didn’t deserve if what I felt was true, so I didn’t mind barging in and fucking up their vibe.
His laughter turned into a comfortable smile as he watched my every move toward the card table they were seated around.
“Y’all excuse my son. It seems Bay has temporarily forgotten his manners.”
“I need to talk to you. Right now, Pops.”
Releasing an irritated sigh, he puffed his cigar twice and took a sip of his cognac before he stood and followed me over to the pool table.
“What’s this about, son?”
“You remember that robbery from years ago that ended with the victims being tied like pigs?” He confirmed with a nod. “The woman died. You said the robbery was done by someone in our organization. Why?”
As if he knew where I was going with this, he rolled his tongue over his cheek and squeezed the back of his neck. Pops stood on what he did and what he allowed, but there was only one thing he cowered when admitting to, and that was the harming of women or children intentionally with no cause. That was the biggest thing I hated about his style, but it showed no one was off limits and made men fear him more. If they believed no one in their life was safe and that he’d use their wives or girlfriends to make them suffer, they were more likely to do as they were told.
“It was jealousy. They wanted to sit someone down. But shit went left. He wasn’t there. His wife and daughter was, though. So they did the robbery anyway.”
“And they killed his wife?” I asked, even though I had the answer already. “It was Robert, wasn’t it?” Pops nodded. “Who did it?”
His eyes tightened as he glared at me. “Why?”
“Because that shit traumatized Whiskee, and I need to know that the people responsible were handled.”
Pops’ head shook. “They weren’t. They wanted to sit Robert down for a while, and technically, they did. He slowed down to grieve and focus on his kids. Now I don’t agree with what they did, but I respect the hustle. By getting him out of the way, they were able to sweep in on his product and clientele. It didn’t matter because Robert came back stronger than ever, but still.”
Closing the space between us, I gritted my teeth to keep my face neutral. “Who was it, Pops?”
“Your uncle Mario gave the order. Your cousin Malik and some of his old crew executed it.” When I tried to walk away, he stopped me. “But listen, I didn’t approve of them killing the wife. She nor Whiskee were supposed to be harmed.”
“I’m tryna figure out why you approved the shit anyway. If he was your top seller, why would you want to sit him down?”
Pops sighed. “Family is over everything, Bay. Family wanted a chance to step up, and I gave it.”
For a while, I could only stare at him. I understood his allegiance to family, but in some instances, that loyalty had to be placed elsewhere. No way in hell would I risk losing my highest earner just because a family member couldn’t get their weight up. If that was what it meant to be the boss of his organization, that was another reason for me to stand down.
