Chapter 10

10

Ahmad

T he next morning…

I'd only closed my eyes for an hour. I could never be comfortable sleeping around other people. After all the shit I'd done, I wouldn't dare close my eyes around no one—not even Bunny's ass. Something in my spirit told me that she would make good on her word and actually try to kill me in my sleep. I wouldn't admit that what she said about me having OCD kind of touched a sensitive spot.

It started when I was about five or six years old. Ashton would leave our room a mess and it used to grind my gears. I honestly didn't know where it came from, but I just knew I liked things to be clean and in order. She may have been right about the emotional neglect. My parents were loving people, but they didn't show it often. I heard the ‘I love yous' and the ‘Have a good days' but hugs, kisses, and affection were few and far in between.

My brother suffered from it as well. The only difference between him and me was that they judged me a lot. Because I didn't want to settle down with these birds I would bring around sometimes, they felt like something was wrong with me. Not to mention my obsessive need to keep things neat and clean. They told me I was weird for that, but I didn't think it was weird at all. Who the fuck liked dirty shit?

I got out of bed and went into the en suite bathroom to take care of my hygiene. I was going to meet with one of my guys named Tech to get the drop on her baby's daddy. Once the threat was made, it sealed his fate and put my mission to find him on a countdown. There wasn't a question that I'd have to find him before he found me.

After brushing my teeth and showering, I cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom, then went to get dressed for the day. I made the bed and dusted the dressers for the third time then headed downstairs. My eyes bulged at the mess sprawled all over the living room. Bunny sat on the couch watching Basketball Wives , eating Doritos and cheese, while Rabbit sat on the floor with coloring books, crayons, chips, juice, and candy wrappers sprawled around her.

The couch pillows were on the floor surrounding her like a fort, and Bunny had her leg elevated on the table with a pillow under it. I closed my eyes and counted down from twenty before entering the living room. I didn't want to scare Rabbit any more than I already had, so I had to calm down from cussing her moms the fuck out.

"Why you playing with me, Bunny?"

Her eyes lifted as she smiled.

"I'm not understanding what you mean. I'm not doing anything to your grumpy behind."

I fought with everything in me not to start picking up everything and throwing it away—including Rabbit's crayons and coloring book. I knew she was only doing this to fuck with me and I was trying my best to remain calm. I walked up close to her and leaned down so only she could hear me, placed my hand on the back of her neck, and massaged it.

"You're really begging for me to punish that lil pussy. If you keep fucking with me, I'm going to give ya ass what you're begging for." My fingers went to her scalp, and I grabbed a fistful of her braids. I pulled her head back and whispered in her ear, "Clean this shit up or I promise when I come back, ya ass gon' wish I handed you off to that fuck nigga."

I could hear her breath hitch as she snatched away and stared at me angrily.

"Don't ever touch me again… perv!"

I chuckled as the doorbell rang. I looked at the TV mounted in the corner that displayed the camera footage surrounding the house and saw that it was Nelly. I went to get the door as he walked inside with the boot for her foot and sling for her arm.

"Good morning," he said, walking inside.

"'Sup? Her stubborn ass is in the living room." He nodded and followed me inside as Bunny sat with her pretty ass mean mug.

"Whoa!" Nelly exclaimed, seeing the mess and knowing I didn't like this shit.

"Don't even say shit, Nelly. Bunny knows what to do. Ain't that right, bun bun?"

She stuck up her middle finger as Cornell chuckled and moved over to her.

"It's only a hairline fracture, so it should heal within the next six to eight weeks. You gotta stay off of it though. I have some crutches in the car."

"How the hell am I supposed to use crutches with my arm messed up?"

"From one to ten, how's the pain in your arm?"

"It's not bad. Maybe like a four."

"Okay, the sling isn't necessary unless you feel as if you can't use the crutches."

"I'll be back. Gotta take care of some business," I said, grabbing my keys from the bowl on the end table.

"I need a phone… I need to call my mom and my job to let them know I'm okay."

"I don't think that's wise—"

"Well, I don't care what you think! My mother is probably worried sick about me. I usually call her every morning and every night to let her know I'm okay. I won't tell her where I am, but I have to call her, or she'll worry. Not to mention my nanny has access to my house and has probably called the police by now."

I sighed as I went to the end table and pulled out a notepad. I wrote down the security code then pulled out my burner phone and handed it to her.

"Here. This is the code for the doors and windows, in case you wanna go outside or need to lock the place down. Keep the calls under three minutes. Even though the number can't be traced, I still don't know ya mans to trust he won't be able to track it. I'll be back in an hour," I told her then left the house.

Pulling up to the park, I spotted Tech on the bench throwing bread to the birds. To everyone around, he looked like he was enjoying nature, but I knew his reasoning for being out here. Tech was one of the men I used to do hits with back in the day. Although I had retired from the game, Tech was and still is deep in it. Right now, he was on a job, and no one would even know it. I got out of the car and walked over to him, sitting down on the bench next to him.

He chuckled. "You look like somebody been whupping ya ass."

"Man, you don't know the half." I was stressed the fuck out dealing with this damn girl.

"You need me to take care of it? You know they call me the stress reliever."

"Nah, but I have another problem I need handled. What you know about a nigga name Slim?"

"Slim, Slim… Blackstone Slim?"

"If that's what you want to call that nigga."

"Yeah, he's the leader of some crime mob. He's had the game on lock since the early two-thousands. Word is, his uncle died and left him his empire and has been doing big things since."

"How suited up is he?"

"Shid, about twenty deep."

"I need to get to him."

"What?"

"You heard me. I need his whereabouts ASAP."

"You're from Greenwood and out of the game. What business do you have with his ass?"

"Our paths got crossed and he made a threat. That's all the information I'm willing to disclose. It's imperative that I find him."

"Nala, right?"

I looked at him and frowned. "What?"

"Word is, his girl left him and took some money from him. Dude been looking for shorty for like six years. The nigga is hellbent on getting her back… I'm sure to get his money back. But shit, after six years, I know lil mama ran right through that paper. He may as well give that shit up."

"What else do you know?"

"That he's married and got like three kids now, but by different women. I don't know where he lays his head, but I know he owns an after-hours spot in Backwoods, Georgia called The Dope Spot… It's over on Riscade and Blount Street."

"Good looking." I held out my fist for a pound as I stood.

"You riding dolo?"

"For now. I'll hit you when I need you."

"A'ight. Hit me up."

"Will do," I said, heading back to my car. He didn't have any information on me, not even what I looked like, so the task of finding and killing him was going to be a breeze. I just hoped with me putting my life at risk for Bunny, that it would be worth all this shit in the end.