Page 36 of When It’s All Said And Done

“Yeah, I did. That shit was beautiful to see. Thanks.”

“No problem, bruh. Glad I could help.”

Before we could continue with our conversation my phone started ringing. Removing it from my back pocket, I noticed it was an unknown caller. Something told me to put the phone on speaker as I answered it.

“Yo,” I called out.

“Do you have my money?” Juan’s voice broke through the quiet after what felt like a pregnant pause.

“My time isn’t even up.”

“That’s not what the fuck I asked. Do you have my money?”

“Yeah.”

“Find a way to get here tomorrow.”

“Ok.”

The next day we were on our way to Puerto Rico with no problem, but that was with the help of Nina. She was damn good at being two steps ahead of Juan. Before I could stress over getting to Puerto Rico, Fernando came in with a bag full of the rest of the money while explaining what was about to happen. When we touched down this time, we were escorted back to the huge ranch property. Me and Chance stood at the bottom of the steps waiting to see what happened next.

After a brief moment, the doors of the property opened and out walked Juan, Nina and some old-looking dude that favored my dad. I kept my cool as I waited to see what the fuck was going on. Although I didn’t have much of a relationship with Nina if anything were to happen to her, those two niggas were getting put the fuck down. That thought didn’t change even when security guards followed out behind them. I needed them to get this train rolling with what was to become because my patience was wearing thin and anxiety was steady rising.

“Check them for weapons,” Juan instructed his men. As they removed our weapons, I noticed the old guy whispered in Nina’s ear. “Now that we got the pleasantries out the way, let’s get down to business. My money?”

I moved up the steps to drop the bag at his feet before stepping back down. He didn’t even check the bag before instructing his man to take it away. Since clearly the focus wasn’t the money today, I shifted my energy to trying to figure out what the focus was. Juan walked over towards Nina, and I noticed he didn’t favor his dad. As they talked amongst themselves, I figured he favored his mom. Once they were done talking, Nina and the old guy stepped forward.

“You’re provin’ Nina right, but I can’t remember a time where she was wrong,” he expressed.

“Aww, Rafi, flattery doesn’t get you out of our bet,” Nina smirked. “I told you he’d not only move the weight but be as discreet as possible.”

“That you did. The way he handles business reminds me ofone of my best workers,” he informed as he looked up in the sky then down back at me. “Juan here claims that you were movin’ the most weight behind bars, is that true?”

“Yeah,” I answered as I looked between the two of them.

“And you have no real family?”

“Aside from my cousin that’s standin’ next to me and my child that I’m sure Juan has told you ‘bout but no other real family. Never fucked with my family and my grandma been dead for years.”

“He didn’t mention that but thanks for being honest. That’s real in this line of business. Is that something I can continue to expect from you?”

“Yeah, but will it be a two-way street?”

“Outspoken. That could get you killed along with anybody you care ‘bout better watch that. Understood?”

“Yep,” I huffed as I bit the inside of my mouth to prevent what I really wanted to say to slip out.

“Good. Now that y’all have proved that you can handle weight I’d like to challenge you in a way. Now that you’re on my radar I wanna see if you could move double, is that a problem?”

“Nawl.”

“Wonderful! My driver will take you both back towards the docks along with the product. Unlike Juan I’m reasonable on the deadline. You’ll have four months to move the work. Good luck boys and welcome to the big leagues.”

A car pulled up behind us as they disappeared into the home. I was glad to be away from them because I had thought of multiple scenarios to fuck his old ass up. That was the second threat on my daughter, and she trumped both of them Hispanic niggas. Once they were out of my sight, I was able to process what the hell had happened. As we drove to the docks, I racked my brain on how to move this product. Our system was fool proof, so that along with our low product would continue to set us apart. After we were safely inside the shipping container, I was able to freely talk to Chance.

“Can’t believe we’re back on another fuckin’ boat,” I cursed as I pulled the flashlight out of backpack.

“Yeah, let me tell Nessa to grab Chanel before we lose service,” Chance expressed. “Clearly I’ma have to prep her for that every time we gotta go to Puerto Rico.”