So, I placed some money on her nightstand, weighed down by her bottle of Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume. Maybe it was fucked up, leaving money like that. But in my mind, it was the least I could do for the woman who had no problem offering a hand in helping me take care of my niece.
I went to check on Nova one more time. She was still sleeping peacefully in her crib, with her tiny hands balled into fists beside her head. I kissed her cheek and left out her room.
I slipped out of Kynessa’s apartment quietly, locking the door with the spare key she had given me. As I walked to my car, the cool night air cleared my head a little, and it was very much needed. I always had too much shit on my mind.
* * *
The next morning, I rolled up to the spot on 79th and Aberdeen. The trap was jumping, niggas coming in and out and money flowing like water. We had been running this particular house for about three years now, and it had become one of our most profitable locations. It was an old two-story building, which looked like it had seen better days on the outside, but inside we kept that shit tight. Security cameras, reinforced doors, the works.
I parked my Charger a block away like always, I hopped out my ride and walked towards the trap.
Rah was sitting on the porch with Doobie and BooMan, all three of them was passing a blunt back and forth, while laughing about something. Rah spotted me first, raising his chin in greeting.
"Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence," he called out as I walked up the cracked sidewalk. "Mr. Shoota himself." He said. That’s where I got the name Trigg from, because I didn’t hesitate to pop a nigga if it came down to it.
"Fuck you mean 'finally'?" I shot back, dapping him up. "It's barely noon, and I bet y'all asses just rolled out of bed."
Doobie laughed, his gold fronts catching the sunlight. "Shit, I been here since six, baby boy. Some of us actually work for a living."
"Six?" I raised an eyebrow. "The only thing you doing at six is turning over in your sleep, fat ass nigga."
That got everybody laughing, even Doobie, who was actually built solid as fuck, but we'd been calling him fat since high school.
Nicknames stuck in the hood, regardless if they made sense or not.
"How Lil’ mama doing?" Rah asked as we headed inside, referring to Nova.
"She good. I left her with Kynessa for the weekend."
BooMan smirked. "I bet you did more than just drop lil’ mama off, huh?"
I shot him a look but didn't deny it. These niggas knew too much about my business already. "Where Sosa at?" I asked, changing the subject.
"He said he had a meeting this morning," Rah explained, leading the way to the kitchen where a duffel bag sat on the table."He said he would be back around three. He wanted us to count this up before he gets here though."
I nodded, pulling out a chair. The kitchen was the cleanest room in the house. It had white tiles, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. We renovated it last year, and made it look like something out of a home improvement show.
"How much we looking at?" I asked, unzipping the bag.
"Should be about forty grand," Rah said, sitting across from me.
"Gremlin got the Northside popping right now."
BooMan grabbed four Corona’s from the fridge, passing them around. "Y'all hear about what happened to that nigga Meechie last night?"
"Nah, what?" I asked, starting to organize the money into piles.
"That nigga got caught with his pants down…literally." BooMan laughed. "He got set up by some shorty he met at the club. He brought her back to his crib, and the next thing you know, three niggas came busting through his back door while his dick was still out."
"Damn," Doobie shook his head. "What they take?"
"Everything. His watch, chains, the work he had stashed in his closet, even his fucking Jordans." BooMan took a swig of his beer. "They left him tied up in his boxers, and crazy shit is, his baby mama found him."
Rah snorted. "That's why I don't fuck with random hoes. Pussy ain't worth your life."
"Says the nigga who was running behind Candy’s bop ass just a few months ago," Doobie pointed out.
"That's different," Rah protested. "I knew Candy from when we was shorties."