“Straight like that,” Pops said casually, making her groan.
“Fine. I know there’s nothing I can say to stop you, but I really don’t want you to do this. If he presses charges and y’all go to jail, I will feel so guilty.”
Chuckling, I texted Ma that Ariel would be fine before texting Neptune to get his location.
“I ain’t going to jail over no minor shit like beating his ass. Even if he pressed charges, I know someone that would help me get them dropped. Don’t worry about that.”
“Can I stay here, Daddy?” she asked. “I know Mama wants me to stay with her and Hamilton, but I don’t think I want to. She’s going to be treating me all delicately and like it’s the end of the world because I’m getting divorced. I don’t want that pity.”
“Of course, baby girl. You don’t ever have to ask.”
When Neptune’s text came through and he told me he was at the academy, I told him I was about to head that way. I stood and walked over to Ariel, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You need me to bring you anything back?” I checked.
“Just you. No blood that doesn’t belong to you. No bruised knuckles either.”
Pops chuckled as I struggled to agree.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I muttered, and her asking Pops to talk some sense into me only made me smile.
I was sure if he had it his way, he’d demand I do more. Pops was big on integrity and respect, and he never played when it came down to the way men treated women. Hell, that was how he’d initially solidified a bond with Mama Neo, and I’d heard all about him checking Omar when I was a kid because he felt like Ma was making decisions for me based on her relationship with him and cutting Pops out. That was one thing Pops never played about, and he for damn sure wasn’t going to start now.
On the ride to the academy, I thought of what I could do over the weekend to put a smile on my baby’s face. The home dates were cool, but I was ready for this shit to be behind us so I could take her out and show her off like she deserved. Today made one week since I met with Iman, and I planned to call him to set up a meeting when I got back to the safehouse. My efforts to find anything on Casper had been unsuccessful, but I was confident in my abilities to get the diamonds without losing my life in the process.
When I pulled into the parking lot, something immediately felt off. I noticed three white vans that didn’t belong to us. Before I could even put my car in park in my reserved spot, shots rang out. I wasn’t too pressed because the car was bulletproof. What pissed me off was the fact that they were shooting in broad daylight in a public place. The last thing I wanted was for someone in the academy to be hurt behind Iman’s bullshit, because I knew this was all him.
Not long had passed before Neptune and a few trainers and students came out guns blazing. Once the shots were scatteredenough for me to hop out the car, I targeted the van that was heading out of the parking lot. Of course it didn’t have a license plate, but I did recognize the driver as one of the men that was at Iman’s office the last time I visited.
“You good, big brotha?” Neptune asked as he jogged over to me.
“Yeah, I’m good. Nobody was hit, were they?”
“Nah. I don’t think so.”
We looked over everyone else that had come out. I thanked them for looking out before urging them to go back inside in case they spun the block. As Neptune and I headed inside, my rage increased. It was one thing for Iman to come after me, but risking the lives of others was unforgivable. As Neptune and I headed to my office, my phone vibrated. I didn’t have to see it to know it was Iman. At the sight of his name, I smiled.
“Pussy,” I greeted him. “If you wanted me dead, why didn’t you come after me yourself?”
“I didn’t want you dead. I wanted to wake you up.”
“Are you sure about that? Because my car being riddled with bullets says otherwise.”
“I figured it was bulletproof. Even if it’s not, I told them to shoot at the back seat and trunk. An entire week has passed, and I haven’t heard from you. I feel like you’re not taking me seriously, young man.”
“And you thought shooting my car up would make me do so?”
“I thought it would show you I’m not one to play with. I’ve given you more than enough time to decide on your own, so now I’m telling you. You’re going to work for me. You’re going to get my diamonds from Casper. Are we clear on that?”
My feet stopped moving, and it was in that moment that I knewexactlywhat I had to do.
“What I’m clear on is the fact that you think you’re running shit and I’m not sure why. I’m not working for you, and I don’t give a damn about them diamonds.”
“Oh. And here I was thinking you’d do anything to save your wife.”
“I will doanythingto save my wife… including kill you.”
Ending the call, I told Neptune what I knew he and the rest of my crew wanted to hear. I wasn’t risking my life going after Casper for Iman. I was, however, going to be risking my life to take Iman’s. I stayed at the academy long enough for my car to be towed. It was just a minor annoyance since I had two more. Once it was picked up, I rode out with Neptune. We made sure we weren’t followed before going to the safehouse. With the headspace I was in, I couldn’t bother with going to get Ariel’s stuff, because I was liable to take my frustration out on Raheem. And though he deserved to be punished for what he did to my sister, he didn’t deserve to die because I was angry with someone else.