Page 17 of Love At Close Range

Normally, I would’ve answered him without thinking about it. Today, I didn’t feel like it. Maybe my girls had gotten in my head a little, but mostly, I was enjoying myself and didn’t want Dorian or whatever weird shit he had going on creeping into my day. Whatever Dorian had going on would still be there later. Right now, I was enjoying my day out with my two favorite girls. I didn’t want to think about no nigga or whatever bullshit he did or have going on.

7

Lennox

Ihad been back in my hotel room for a little over an hour when my work phone started ringing from the nightstand. I was looking over the information I had collected earlier, trying to figure out what move I wanted to make next. Reaching over, I grabbed the phone and looked at the screen. It was Cyrus.

“Wassup?” I answered as I sat up against the headboard.

“I wanted to check in and see where you were with Pierce,” Cyrus stated from the other end.

“I got eyes on him,” I responded as I tossed the folder beside me. “I’m still watching his movements and figuring out his routine. Why?” He was about to piss me off questioning me about some shit he paid me to do.

“Take your time with this one,” Cyrus instructed. “You’on have to rush to close it out.”

My eyebrows bunched together because that wasn’t what niggas usually called me to say. When somebody put money on another nigga’s head, nine times out of ten, they wanted him gone yesterday.

“What changed?” I questioned as I stood from the bed.

“Nothing with the contract,” Cyrus clarified. “Pierce still needs to be handled. I got somebody tracing where that money went, though. We think he moved part of it through one of his real estate deals, and there’s still product unaccounted for. If he drops too soon, there’s a chance I never see either one again.”

Makes sense. Dorian stole damn near two million dollars and forty bricks from this nigga, so I understood him wanting to recover whatever he could before I put Pierce in the dirt. That still wasn’t my problem, though.

“So what you want me to do, follow this nigga around until your people figure their shit out?” I asked as I walked toward the window.

“I’m asking you to give me a little time,” Cyrus replied. “My people are close.”

I wasn’t against sitting on a target when the job required it. Half of what I did required patience, anyway. You couldn’t just run up on every muthafucka and start shooting. That was how sloppy niggas got caught.

“I’ll give you some time, but I’m not prolonging this shit forever,” I warned as I turned away from the window. “I got a fucking life to live and a fucking family at home. I’on get paid to babysit grown-ass muthafuckas.”

“I hear you,” Cyrus responded.

“And while your people are doing whatever the fuck they’re doing, I’m still moving how I move,” I added as I grabbed the folder from the bed. “If an opportunity comes up that’s too clean for me to pass on, I’m not promising you I’m letting that shit go.”

I wasn’t about to compromise the job just because Cyrus wanted to find his money. He hired me to kill Pierce. Anything outside of that was between him and the niggas he on his team.

“I understand,” Cyrus assured me. “I’m not asking you to change how you operate.”

“Bet,” I replied as I glanced at the time on my other phone.

“Give me a week, Steele,” Cyrus requested. “After that, Pierce is all yours.”

I ended the call without another word and tossed the phone onto the bed. I sat there for a few minutes thinking about the shit he said. His reasoning made sense, but that didn’t mean I trusted it. Niggas like Cyrus didn’t get where they were by telling everybody the whole truth, and I didn’t get where I was by taking a muthafucka’s word as law.

I grabbed my other phone and called Rook.

“Yo,” Rook answered on the second ring.

“Wassup? Everything straight back home?” I asked as walked over to the small desk in the corner.

“Yeah, shit’s good,” Rook confirmed as I heard him moving around on the other end. “Legit side’s been quiet for the most part. Nia got the schedules straight for the week, and Camille finished the routes for those two executive transport details. One of the residential clients wanted to add overnight coverage, but I told Nia to send the revised contract before we put anybody else on the property.”

“Bet,” I responded as I sat in the chair and powered on my laptop. “Make sure she adjusts the price before they add the hours. I’on need nobody thinking they’re getting extra shit for free.”

“I already told her that shit,” Rook assured me.

That was why I could leave and not worry too much about my business. I had people in place who knew what the fuck they were doing, and Rook made sure nobody got too comfortable just because I wasn’t there.