Shane told me the backstory of him and Mia. I knew she’d done the unforgivable in his eyes. I wouldn’t lie and say I didn’t see what he saw in her. Mia was beautiful and had the perfect build for a model.
“You sure you don’t wanna revisit that chapter?” I asked, only halfway joking.
“Hell no. I didn’t want her back before today. Seeing her with my cousin only makes her that much more of an opp. How the hell are you forcing your way into my mother’s house but running around with my cousin? That shit doesn’t even seem right.”
Through the rest of our dinner, Shane tried to act like he was good, but I could tell he was bothered. I knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t lie to me about another woman, but his interest was piqued simply because she had been here with his cousin that he didn’t fuck with and hadn’t fucked with in years.
CHAPTER 15
Shane
After going through countless measures of security, I was finally seated at the round table. My dad would be brought out any second now and my emotions were all over the place. My leg bounced uncontrollably and my palms were sweaty. I was happy to see my dad, but not knowing why he wanted me here was what had me on edge. He’d been stern about me and my mother not coming to see him, so I prayed everything was okay. The sound of locks disengaging pulled me from my thoughts and now my attention was on the men being brought out with their wrists and ankles shackled.
It killed me inside that my father was in here being treated like an animal. He was never a saint but him being in these conditions over a crime he didn’t commit would never sit right with me. When I finally saw his face, it took everything in me to not jump from my seat. A hug from my old man was something I hadn’t had in fourteen years. His words of encouragement held me over when we were on the phone, but being able to bond with him was a thing of the past. His light brown eyes lit up when he saw me, but I could tell he was trying to keep his composure. Itwasn’t until the guard released his wrists and walked away did he speak.
“Son. You look like a grown ass man,” he said with a smile.
“It’s been a long ass time, Pops. I’ve been a grown ass man for some time now. How you holdin’ up in here, man? You still look good.”
Even living in this hell hole, my dad’s facial hair was clean and close shaven while his hair was cut low as normal. His skin looked bright and hydrated and there were no bags under his eyes. To be a man in his mid-fifties, his stocky build made him look years younger.
“I’ve been as good as I can be. To pass the time I lift weights and read books. You know I already completed countless programs that are probably pointless for me, but I try to stay positive through the bullshit.”
“I keep telling you to let me help you, Pops. I know you only want Uncle Dennis handling shit, but I’m tired of sitting back and getting secondhand information. Dennis is your brother, but no one is gonna fight for your freedom like I will,” I expressed as I leaned into the table.
“That’s why I wanted to see you, son. Some shit isn’t making sense and hasn’t been making sense for years now. I got that confirmation when Dennis came to see me.”
“What the fuck is goin’ on?”
“I don’t know all the details yet, but I believe Dennis is the reason I’m in here and still in here. When you told me he was trying to pass down Exclusive Diamonds, I knew some shit wasn’t right. See, son, Dennis and I are co-founders of the company. We both own it, but he gets a bigger percentage since he’s running the business. Trying to pass the company down to my own damn son without asking me is crazy.”
“Wait, I thought you pulled out of the business. This whole time, I thought it was Dennis’s company. I knew you and himwere coming up with the money for the shop before you got arrested, but I thought Exclusive Diamonds belonged to him.”
“Nah, son. Exclusive Diamonds was my idea from the start. We started planning this when you were about ten years old. I was in the streets when I decided to be serious about starting the business. I was trying to go legit and Dennis had degrees in both business and finance. I was to be the face and muscle and Dennis was supposed to take care of the backend. We’ve had our problems, but that was still my older brother. Even with disagreements and not always seeing eye to eye, I never thought he would do anything to put me in a position to sit in prison. I don’t have proof that he’s behind it just yet, but I can feel I’m right. I’ve been feeling this way.”
“Somethin’ is up. I haven’t been able to get in touch with that nigga since he came to see you. Every now and then he’ll answer his phone, but he comes up with some bullshit excuse to get off the phone and he never calls back,” I stated as I thought over the past week.
I knew I hadn’t been tripping when I felt a shift in Dennis’s attitude after he visited my dad. He refused to tell me how the visit went and now I knew for sure he was purposely avoiding me. If he didn’t have anything to do with my dad’s downfall, there would be no reason for him to not answer his phone. Just weeks ago I couldn’t get him to leave me the hell alone about taking over the company and now we were going days without talking. His ass was a snake, just like his damn son.
“Giovanni mentioned something to me at the restaurant last night, but I hadn’t talked to you yet. He said he’d given you names of lawyers. I’m not happy I had to hear that information from him first, but it’s good to know you’re finally letting us help you,” I said honestly.
“Me too. I should’ve done this after my appeal was denied the second time. I trusted Dennis to take care of it and this is wherethat got me. Away from my family for all these years. All for greed. For the past year, your mother has been telling me that the money he gives her every month is getting less and less. Had she not said that I probably would’ve never connected the dots.”
My father and I spoke a little bit more about Dennis before changing the topic. Being able to talk to him in person seemed to lift my spirits. I didn’t know what we were up against when it came to his case, but I wouldn’t rest until he was back home. As for my uncle, he better hope all this shit was one big coincidence. I’d been looking at that nigga like a second father and the whole time he was possibly contributing to me and my mother’s pain. My dad informed me that the money Dennis dropped off to my mother every month was part of his earnings from the shop. Dennis made it seem like he was dropping money off to look out for her when really the money belonged to my dad.
“How’s my wife doin’?”
“She’s as good as she can be. She spends a lot of time with Deborah and Gale,” I responded.
“She got any of them old ass niggas chasing her?”
“Nah, Pops…not that I know of. I don’t think she has anything goin’ on. If she has something going on, she’s keeping it under wraps and the nigga isn’t coming to the house. I pop up on her randomly and the most she’s doing is cooking or making infused drinks,” I admitted.
“Good. She better keep that shit that way. I gave her an out and she didn’t take it. Now her ass is stuck with me,” he said as he laughed.
“You wouldn’t let her go if she asked?”
“I would. I love Lynn more than I love myself. When I tried to divorce her the first time, I told her it wasn’t fair for her to do this bid with me. I wanted her to be happy and live her life. She’s always had faith I’d get out. Now that I’m getting a new team,I’m starting to have a little bit of hope myself. Hopefully I’ll be out and getting some grandkids.”
