“I don’t understand…”
“It’s ninety thousand in that bag for you to quit and let me take care of you.”
She stared at me for a second, and I stared back.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I have put your name on my bank accounts. You will be getting cards soon, your name is on the deed of the house, and I am just that nigga that can do shit like that, and it’s cool if you want to work for your own money, or you can let your man give you your own money.”
I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I knew she was in shock.
I took my index finger and lifted her chain so that I could look into her beautiful eyes.
“Are you gonna let me take care of you and our baby?...”
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Chapter 20
Third Quarter
Ispent four days on the road, four fuckin days on the road with niggas would have anybody thinking different.
Some might think about slowing down, others might think about turning around. I was thinking about how close I was to what I had been chasing.
Me, Carlos, Spy, Kev, Joe, and Frog had been in and out of the cars, cheap rooms, gas stations, and rest stops the whole way to Atlanta. No real sleep. Just naps, closing our eyes for a few minutes and opening them right back up cause we didn’t have time to be tired. We needed to make it to the city.
When we finally made it to the city, it was laid. We pulled into a room on the low side of town, nothing too fancy, just somewhere to lay our heads without drawing attention.
The second everybody got in, they started to settle in like it was over for the night.
I let them, but I stayed up. Phone in my hand, scrolling and searching. As I typed names I already knew, they weren’t coming up.
Islah—nothing.
Her girls—nothing.
No pages.
No recent activity.
No damn trail to follow.
That shit made me sit back in the chair and stare at the screen longer than I should’ve.
That was the first time in a minute I felt that pressure in my chest. Not fear, no doubt, ANNOYANCE.
That bitch was trying to run for me—making me work to find her.
I stood up and looked around the room. Everybody was knocked out or halfway there. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.
Then I started kicking feet.
“Get up,” I yelled out.
Nobody moved at first. I yelled again. “I said Get up!”
Carlos rolled over first, looking at me crazy.
