Page 5 of Heart of a Savage
She closed the door and looked at me. “Hey, we’ve gone ten years without him. What’s fifteen more? No need to feel solemn for things we can’t change.”
“I miss him,” I declared.
“Not more than I do, baby. Do you know he told me to move on the other day?”
I frowned. “What does that mean? What did he mean by that?” I asked her. Hearing that baffled me to the point where I was asking the same question two different ways.
“You know what he meant. I cussed his ass out so bad that I gave myself a headache.”
“And then what did he say?”
She paused from taking the decorations from the box and looked at me with sad eyes. “That a lot of people are trying to get him to spend more time behind bars, so he doubts that he’ll be getting out after his fifteen years are up. He doesn’t want mewaiting for him anymore because he has no doubt that he’s going to kill someone in there.” A tear slid down her cheek as I swiped it away.
That didn’t sound like my father. My father would never give up on his family—especially his wife. I didn’t like hearing this or seeing my mother this way. She was strong and brilliant, but when it came to Lorenzo Logan, she was fragile. I wasn’t looking for love and would probably never get it. It was “fuck these niggas” for me. But Sabrina and Lorenzo definitely showed me the meaning of true love and ultimately showed me that being in love gets you hurt some way or another.
I would never give my heart away for a man to make me hurt or make me lonely. I loved my dad, and as smart as he was, he didn’t play the family card smart enough. I begged him to let me take over, but he told me the drug life was not for me. He didn’t believe in me or trust that I could handle the drug side of the business, and now, he was doing fifteen years with a possibility of parole after his fifteen years were up.
I wouldn’t have gotten caught because I was too smart with my moves. He taught me the game, but somehow, he didn’t follow his own lessons.
“Don’t worry about it, Mommy. I’m going to talk to him.”
“Just let it rest, Amour. I’ll be fine. I’ve been enjoying throwing these parties so that I can have something to do. I also need you and Paige to do something for me... ” Her voice trailed as she stared at me.
“What’s that?” Paige queried, coming into the living room with us.
“Get out of the life. You both see how it claimed Lorenzo. I can’t fathom the thought of losing you both too. You both have legitimate businesses that are thriving. What are you gaining by doing what you all do now?”
“What exactly do we do, Mother?” I asked her. Sabrina didn’t know what my dad had us doing, and I tried to make sure she never would. However, my mother wasn’t stupid. I knew she knew something.
“As much as you go around screaming for people not to… how do you say it? ‘Play in your face.’ Please do not sit here and play in mine. You and Paige swear y’all keeping secrets when I know every damn thing. I just choose to play dumb to the shit.”
“The less you know, the better, Mommy.”
“Well, too bad. I know more than you think I do. Lorenzo and I have been together for over twenty-five years. The more he tried to keep shit from me, the more I found out.
“You don’t think I know your uncle Lamont got y’all out here doing contracted hits on people? Lamont took over, and your daddy made sure to tell him to look after you both and keep y’all safe. Eva and I talk every day, and she sees you way more than I do. You two are all I have left. Don’t allow these streets to take y’all away from me too.”
I looked over at Paige as she shrugged. I knew Paige would ride at dawn any time I needed her. She was leaving the decision up to me, as she always did, since we started taking those phone calls. I loved my mother and would do anything for her, but I wasn’t ready to end this just yet. I had a goal to reach, and I wasn’t there yet to call it quits.
“I hear you, Mommy. Let’s just get your party together, and I’ll go over our exit plan with you later, okay?”
She sighed. “Okay, Amour. And y’all asses are staying for the party until it’s over. The streets can wait for today. Just give me a day of your time.”
I smiled. “I’ll give you a lifetime.”
May2022
“What are the numbers looking like for this quarter, Mad Dog?” I asked my sister, Madisyn, as she sat across from me at the conference table.
Madisyn hiked her glasses further up her nose as she shuffled through the papers lying in front of her. “We’re in the seven-million margin for the first quarter. Before this month is out, we’ll most likely be in the eight-million margin. Walmart, Walgreens, and Lulu’s Pharmacy put in their orders yesterday. I’m sure the other companies will be following up as well.”
I nodded my head as I looked at my father, Ryan. He had been quiet for most of the meeting, which was unlike him. Heloved to insert his two cents when it wasn’t needed, but today he seemed off. I dismissed the thought as I looked over at my brother Mike, the COO of C&C Pharmaceutical. While I was the CEO and head administrator/distributor of the company, it seemed today that I was the one leading this meeting that Papi insisted on having.
The energy circulating around the room was putting me on edge. Everyone seemed so damn quiet except for Madisyn. My other brother, Moses, who was over our financial team, acted as if they had forgotten how to speak words.
I stared at Mo as he took notice and came out of his stupor. “My bad, big bro. Shit got wild last night. I’m still recovering.” He chuckled lightly. Moses was three years younger than me at thirty-five and was the party boy of the family. I often had to get in his ass about his partying ways, but I couldn’t deny that when it was time to work, he showed up and out.
Not only did CCP supply every drug store in the Tri-State Area, but we also supplied the local drug dealers in all of Faux City, Michigan. We were the largest distribution company here in the U.S.
