Canyon was thrown off by the female voice. No one had ever answered Haseef’s phone but him. Canyon wasn’t even sure of what to say. He had no idea who was on the other end of the phone, so he wasn’t telling them shit. He was about to get off the phone when she spoke again.
“Haseef was killed this morning,” she said in a low voice. “This is Sienna. He left the house with his driver and one of his security. It was an ambush. They riddled the car with more than one hundred bullets.”
Canyon knew that Sienna was Haseef’s wife. He was stunned, but he managed to find his voice. “I’m sorry to hear that. You have my condolences.”
Canyon sat back in shock. Since he graduated to big time thirteen years ago, he got his shit from Haseef. A plug that his father put him on to. Canyon knew that Haseef had a twenty-three year old son. He wasn’t sure if the business would go on or not, but he wasn’t going to Columbia to cop work from anyone other than Haseef. This late in the game, when he was planning on retiring in the next year, it didn’t make sense to search for a new plug. Canyon mentally ran over his financial situation.
He had two investment properties that made him around $2,000 a month collectively. Last time he checked his investment portfolio, the stocks that he had invested in years ago had him at $435,000. He had 4.5 million in an emergency fund and damn near triple that in his savings. Fuck yeah he could afford to leave the game. Canyon texted Diric, and Amar to let them know he needed to speak with them about something. He had never been one to watch the next man’s pockets, but he wasn’t sure if they would be able to or even wanted to leave the game. He’d been in it longer than they had. They weren’tslouches, and they weren’t dumb, but not everyone was smart when it came to money.
Canyon had seen niggas spend thousands upon thousands of dollars a month with him buying heroin to sell. They only wore designer clothes, drove foreign cars, ate the finest foods, and fucked the baddest bitches. Every weekend, they were popping bottles in VIP or hopping on planes. He’d seen more than one of those kinds of niggas die and the family barely have money to put them away. He saw an elderly woman have to have a yard sale to bury her son after he died because he only had material things but no money. She had to sell all that shit to bury him. His three baby mamas were fighting over his Beamer. It was a hot ghetto mess.
Haseef’s abrupt death and him being forced basically to leave the game sooner than expected further assured Canyon that we can make all the plans we want. That doesn’t mean life will happen like we want it to. He rolled a celebratory blunt while he waited on Diric and Amar. Once he let them cop the work he had left, he was getting rid of his burner phone. He went over to his bar and grabbed a bottle of liquor and three shot glasses. His doorbell rang, and he let Amar in and gave him dap.
“Everything good?” Amar was trying to feel out Canyon’s mood.
“Yeah. Well, I’m not tripping. Gotta see how you and Diric gonna feel though.”
The men sat down, and Canyon poured Amar a drink. They talked about small shit for the next fifteen minutes until Diric arrived. When they all had a drink in front of them, Canyon lit the blunt and took a deep toke.
“I called Haseef earlier, and he didn’t answer. His wife called me back and said that he had been murdered. Since my pops introduced me to the game, I’ve only copped work from Haseef. I liked his quality, his prices, I trusted him. It would take me alot of time and energy to find another connect that I fucked with half as heavy as I fucked with Haseef. I’m not even fucking with his son or any of his associates so by default, I’m done. I have 100 bricks left for the two of you to split. After that, I’m no longer in the game.”
That’s damn sure not what they were expecting to hear. Since they were silent, Canyon spoke again. “If you want, I can reach out to Haseef’s people on your behalf. I’m just not fucking with it.”
Diric shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. I have a few M’s. My brother has been talking about going to truck driving school. I can cop a truck and let him drive that muhfucka for me. Haseef was a legend in this game. He’s been at it longer than I’ve been alive. No matter how powerful you are or how carefully you move, all this shit comes to a head one day. Not many make it out of the game unscathed. This is my cue to head out too. Shit, I got baby on the way.”
Canyon passed him the blunt. “Congratulations. Had I known that, I would have lit the Cuban’s up.” Canyon saw how lost and hurt Diric was after his son died. That shit hurt him. He ran so much and stayed so busy that in two months he only saw Kash twice. Canyon would live with that regret forever, and that’s what made him vow to always stop and make time for things that were important. We don’t always have tomorrow.
“Congratulations,” Amar gave Diric dap. “I’m out too. I have enough money to be good for a minute. I can take some time and decide what I want to do. I might open a car dealership or some shit.”
Canyon was glad the situation wasn’t putting his friends in a tight spot. They weren’t quite young enough to be his sons, but he looked at them like little brothers that he was responsible for. The men talked a while longer, they paid him for their fiftybricks each, and they left. Canyon poured himself another drink and took a sip. He was officially out of the game.
CHAPTER 26
Even though Ravenfelt like shit, she was in a good ass mood. Her and Diric had just come from her second doctor’s appointment. She was eight weeks pregnant, and they had heard the baby’s heartbeat. The doctor felt comfortable enough to tell her she didn’t have to come back for another four weeks. Raven’s bloodwork was normal, and she hadn’t been having any bleeding or cramping. The doctor still suggested that she not stress or do too much, but physically, Raven didn’t have any issues. Aside from her previous miscarriages, her doctor had no reason to be alarmed. Though she suggested that Raven rest whenever she was tired and not work more than 8 hours in a day, she didn’t order her to bedrest.
Raven felt sick and tired, but she wanted some wings so bad, and she wanted them fried hard. After her appointment, her and Diric went to her favorite wing spot. Some days, she didn’t have an appetite but on this day, she was ready to fuck shit up.
“You think you gon’ feel like going to the dinner to celebrate Canyon’s shorty passing her real estate class?” Diric asked when he eyed the weary expression on Raven’s face. She was trying to be a trooper and push through how she felt because every day that she woke up still pregnant, she rejoiced despite how bad shefelt. One thing she refused to do was complain. The way she felt would be worth it in the end if she got to hold her baby.
“Yeah. I can make it. My cousin is going to handle things at the recovery house for me. All I have to do is go look at the second house with you, and I can rest until it’s time for us to go.”
Raven had the money to get a second house, but she knew with Diric’s money, she could get a bigger house. A bigger house meant more girls and more money. When he told her that he was leaving the game once his fifty pounds were gone, she asked him if he wanted to be her partner for the second location, and he agreed with no hesitation. In fact, he said fuck just two locations. He was also looking into opening houses in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Miami. There were no shortage of women getting surgery, and he wanted in. He also gave Raven the money to purchase scrubs wholesale and open her own scrub line boutique. He was investing in her and helping himself at the same time.
They got their food and was on their way out the door when a female came in, and Raven stopped in her tracks. The female walked past her with a sheepish expression on her face, but Raven continued to stare after the female.
“Who is that?” Diric asked.
“One of the hoes that jumped me. I swear to God, she better be glad I want this baby so bad. I would see that slut when I’m pregnant and can’t do shit.”
Shorty was standing in line trying to act like she didn’t hear Raven, but she did. Raven was speaking loud and clear. Diric’s eyes darted around the restaurant. He spotted a short chubby female wearing a bonnet. She was sitting with a guy, and Diric walked over to them. The man looked up slightly intimidated when Diric approached the table. He didn’t know what the man wanted, but he could tell he had money. His female companion looked up equally interested to see what his fine ass wanted.
“Yo, can you fight?”
Shorty chuckled at the strange question. “Yeah. Why?”
“I got $500 for you right now if you go knock the wax out that bitch’s ears.”
Ole girl’s eyes widened. “Her?” she pointed at the female.
