Page 36 of Only if You Catch Me
I pulled up at the old farmhouse that Ryder was renovating. My body tensed from anger the moment I stepped over the threshold of the home. Ray Ray was on an old couch barely conscious and barely recognizable. It looked like someone had run over his face with a car.
“Fuck happened?” I asked jaw muscles flexing.
“Niggas that used to work the trap on Slaughter caught his ass out and fucked him up. They’re mad that money is on pause. Dumped his ass in the middle of the street. Boogie called me while they were on his ass and when I got there, it was this. If there were eyes on him, they damn sure didn’t try to get their informant help. Just needed to see if you want him in the hospital or if we should dump the muhfucka back in the street.”
It was bad enough that I didn’t know how much he may have told the police. All my traps were on pause. My runners weren’t happy, but I didn’t give a fuck. I did in fact say they could beathis ass, but I also specified not to kill him. From what I could tell, the nigga was half dead.
“Take that nigga to the hospital.”
Ryder had Brock and a guy named Loso with him, and they lifted Ray Ray off the couch and carried him out the door. “Niggas are fucking hardheaded,” I seethed.
“Well, you did say they could beat his ass, and that ass is beat.” Ryder scratched the back of his neck.
“Whatever. I got Lox sitting still right now. Get Veronica to run that work out to Golden Waters tomorrow.”
Veronica was a female runner that we used from time to time. Her father was a police officer that died in the line of duty a few years back. In the event that she did get stopped, the police wouldn’t fuck with her. Her pops was a good man, and their family was highly respected. Veronica was about her paper, however. Once her father’s life insurance money ran out, her job as a receptionist wasn’t paying the bills. She proved herself, and I paid her $10,000 to do a drop for me. After that, she begged me at least once a month to do a drop.
“Gotcha,” Ryder nodded.
“You good?”
He kissed his teeth. “Yeah, I’m good. I can admit I was fucked up for a minute over Tesha, but it is what it is. If she’s already giving that pussy away, I don’t want the shit back. I got hoes begging me to fuck. Qua can have that.” Ryders scowl was intense.
The crazy thing was, as much as I knew he loved Tesha I knew seeing her with Qua would do it for him. The way pride worked was crazy. He had cheated on her time and time again, but he couldn’t take seeing her with another man. Qua was a businessman. He wasn’t a slouch, and Ryder knew that. But we also knew that Qua didn’t have nearly as much money as him. Ryder was immature enough to think that meant Teshadowngraded. The man wasn’t a bum, and if he treated her well then Qua damn sure didn’t qualify as a downgrade. Whatever helped Ryder sleep at night though.
“Aight I’m out. I’m ready to move the last of this work and leave this shit to the youngins. I’m tired of these reckless ass young niggas always doing some shit,” I fussed.
“I feel you on that,” Ryder co-signed.
After years in the game, my time was finally winding down, and I was looking forward to it.
Two days later, I was sitting at a bar having a drink when I decided to scroll social media. My jaw tightened as I swiped through a photo dump that Persia posted. The pictures had only been up for ten minutes, and I was annoyed that I had to find out it was her birthday from all the pictures she posted. A bouquet of what had to be three dozen roses. A few designer bags. A cake and some balloons. Her looking too damn good in a nude dress that was so tight it was a wonder she could move in it. Hell, I was shocked she could breathe in it, but she had never looked better. Or thicker. My dick stiffened as I studied the photo. The dress accentuated every curve she possessed.
The last photo was a plate of food. I could tell from the décor on the table she was at a nice restaurant. The focus had been on the plate and while I was sure she tried not to get her companion in the photo at all, I saw a man’s hand. Wondering if she was out with David had my blood boiling. Honestly, it didn’t even have to be David. I would have been upset if she was out with any man. I had been trying my best to keep my distance. I thought about Persia every day, but I didn’t call her. My jealousy was a for suresign that I was in too deep with her. I was trying the concept of out of sight out of mind, but it wasn’t working.
I exited out of the app I was in and went to my contacts. My finger hovered above Xena’s name, but I couldn’t hit it. Sex with Xena was good. She was cool, and I had no issues with her but since having sex with Persia, Xena wasn’t what I wanted. And that was red flag number two. Not wanting to see her with another man coupled with the fact that I no longer desired sex with other women let me know that whether I wanted to admit it or not, Persia had my ass. She had me in a spot that no other woman ever had. Not Toya. Not anyone. Somebody had finally got my ass. I hadn’t even been that focused on trying to find a ‘baby mama.’
As I paid the tab, I promised myself that if I wasn’t going to call Xena, I was going home. How I ended up driving toward Persia’s place was beyond me, but I did it. I knew the name of the condos she lived in, but I had never been inside her unit. After finding a space in the parking garage, I pulled into it and rolled a blunt. As I smoked, I thought about the fact that I could call her, and she could tell me she had company. Or that she wasn’t home. Maybe that would be the reality check that I needed. What good was applying pressure if a person truly wasn’t ready for what you wanted.
When I was finished with my blunt, I called Persia’s phone. As the line trilled, I saw her pull into the parking garage and back into a parking space. “Hello?”
“Happy birthday.”
There was a slight pause. I was sure she was wondering how I knew it was her birthday. “Thank you.”
“What are you doing?”
Persia’s car door opened, and I watched her get out of the car wearing that dress that made my dick brick up instantly. “I just got home from dinner.”
“With a nigga?”
Another pause. I opened my car door causing Persia’s head to turn in my direction. When she noticed my car, her eyes narrowed. Smirking, I got out of the car and closed the door.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“What are you doing here?”
I watched Persia’s chest rise as her breath hitched. Invading her personal space, I peered down into her eyes. “I have a few bones to pick with you. First, you don’t tell me it’s your birthday. Then, you go out on a date with another nigga. You like treating me like a red headed stepchild?”
