Chapter 29

Beethoven

"You sure about this?"Omari asked, smoothing his already wrinkle-free shirt with his hand. We had to meet with the lieutenants, and I decided now was a great time to talk to Pops about Carlos.

"Now is as good of a time as any," I replied, temporarily putting my phone on Do Not Disturb.

"I'on know, cuz. You know Unc better than me, but are you sure if you tell him about Los and this situation at the same time that he won't flip?"

My head shook as I rang the doorbell then used my key to let us in. "Nah. He needs to know about everything at once so he can process it."

Omari nodded his agreement, though there really wasn't anything he could say to change my mind about this. The sooner he knew about the changes with Carlos so he could prepare the better. We had been making a bit of progress personally over the last week. I invited him out with the crew, and he wasn't annoying or an asshole like usual. Whiskee said it was because he wasn't as stressed out, which I could understand.

"Pops!" I yelled, hoping he was in one of the common areas of his home.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

We went inside, and the sight of him making grits and bacon made me smile. Making breakfast was probably the most normal thing my father did over the years. He might not have been the kind of father to keep me focused on school or push sports on me, but he made sure I ate—physically and financially. Back in the day, Pops always made sure I started my day with a large breakfast. And now, any time we had to talk before noon, I could count on him making me breakfast or bringing me coffee if he was stopping by my place.

"You hungry?" he asked, sliding a plate that was covered with bacon in my direction.

"Yeah," I replied, heading over to the sink to wash my hands.

Omari did the same while Pops fixed our plates. He made a quick skillet of eggs and popped some bread into the toaster before putting everything on the table.

A pot of coffee had already been brewed, so I grabbed it along with some mugs and put them on the table. For a brief moment, I appreciated the peace, because I knew he was going to lose his shit when I told him what I had to tell him.

"Is what you're about to tell me going to fuck up my attitude?" he asked before taking a bite of bacon.

"It might. Depends on how prepared you are." He nodded and motioned in my direction for me to continue. "Leonard found bugs in his meetup spot three days ago."

Pops chewing stopped and he stared at me. His head leaned forward, ear turned more in my direction. "Bugs?"

"Yeah. They were under the table and in a lamp. I met with the rest of the lieutenants this morning after making them all do a sweep of their homes, meetup spots, cars, and warehouses."

"Did anyone else find them?"

"Yeah. About four more."

"Shit," he grumbled, wiping his mouth. "It's cool. We know the feds won't come in until they have a solid case. Going forward, no talking in the same place more than once. No talking inside period. Always in public places. Have them create codes for meeting spots when they are setting them up over the phone."

I locked in what he'd said to spread the word around. "Aight. What about production and distribution? Do you want that to temporarily shut down?"

Sitting back in his seat, he exhaled hardly. "Nah, keep it going. I can't afford to pull back. Just make sure none of you or the lieutenants are seen with product. I can risk a few corner boys going to pick up their product, but I can't risk anyone in the family."

The family.

Clearing my throat, I sat up in my seat. "Speaking of family, I have an update on Carlos."

"What is it?"

"He's moving over to production. You'll get what you want—the entire Carter organization under your control… without having to kill him to get it."

As he chewed the eggs in his mouth, he smiled. "This is because of his sister, isn't it?" His eyes shifted over to Omari for confirmation.

"The reasoning behind it doesn't matter," I replied. "You wanted his men and clientele, and you'll have it. So leave Carlos alone."

He didn't respond either way. He continued to eat as if I hadn't said anything. After I finished my plate, I stood and washed it so I could leave. I didn't believe there was any reason for him to have a personal vendetta against Carlos, so I could only assume he'd let him live. Still, I had to ask, "Are you going to let him live?"

Pops tossed his napkin onto his empty plate and sat back in his seat.

"I don't know," he admitted honestly, which I appreciated. "You getting him out of that role is a premature solution to the problem that has been there from the beginning. Even if Carlos is not the boss of all bosses, he's still in a leadership position. His life will depend on how well he does. If he fucks up my product or my money, he dies, and I don't give a fuck whose pussy your dick is hypnotized by, that won't change." Standing, he reminded me, "Family is over everything. Don't let her make you forget that."

I was content with him agreeing to at least see how Carlos would do. From what he and Whiskee said, I had faith he'd excel in the role. If not, I'd done all that I could do.