Page 7 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

“Listen,” I said, keeping my voice low so S3 couldn’t hear. “That girl in there? Not your friend. I knocked her down a few nights ago after the club.”

Her mouth dropped open, but I didn’t stick around to watch the meltdown. I climbed in my truck, started it up, and pulled off without another word.

A few minutes into the drive, I glanced at the rearview. S3 was already out cold, knocked from all the backyard running and trampoline flips. Peaceful. Safe. That’s all that mattered.

“Call Rich,” I said, letting the Bluetooth do its job.

“Calling Rich,” the system echoed back. The line picked up on the second ring.

“Yoooooo! What it do, bra?”

“We still got eyes on Ronnie?”

“Yep. Nigga moving like he ain’t just get hit for a shipment and like he don’t owe you six figures.”

I tightened my grip on the wheel. “I’ll give him the three weeks we agreed on but that’s it.”

“Still want that meeting?”

“Definitely. Streets hot. And who’s to say Ronnie the only one they tryna hit? I need everybody moving different.”

“Say less. I’ll set it up for tomorrow night.”

“Bet.”

The call ended right as I pulled up to the estate. I hit the code, and the iron gate slid open slow like it knew who it was letting in.

I walked through the front door and called out,

“Mama!”

S3 in my arms, knocked out cold. I carried him upstairs, laid him gently in his bed, then pulled the covers over him.

Little man didn’t even budge. I kissed his forehead before heading back downstairs.

She either in the kitchen or out in that damn garden, I thought, just as her voice met me halfway.

“I’m right here, why you yelling?”

I grinned, leaned down, and kissed my ol’ girl on the cheek then wrapped her in a quick side hug. “What’s smelling so good down here?” I asked, already drifting toward the kitchen like I was being pulled.

She stood at the stove, wooden spoon in hand, pots simmering like magic. “Made some chili, rice, and cornbread for lunch. You want a bowl?”

“Hell yeah.” I dropped onto a stool at the kitchen island, watching her fix my plate like she’d been doing my whole life.

Soon as it hit the counter, I dug in. No time for letting it cool. Man, every bite smacked. Ain’t nobody on earth touching my mama in the kitchen. Real talk, if it weren’t for her, S3 and I would be living off drive-thru bags and gas station snacks. She kept us full in more ways than one.

“How you been, son?”

“I’m good, Ma. You good?”

“Mama’s always good you make sure of that,” she said with a smile, easing into the seat beside me.

“That’s all that matters.”

“Seth, it’s not. You’ve been walking around here the last few days looking stressed. Like something’s got you on edge. Should I be worried?”

“You never have to stress or worry another day in your life.”

“I worry about you every day, Seth. I’m thankful for everything you do, everything you provide. But, every time you walk out that door.” She paused. “I worry if you’ll walk back through it.”

“I’m always coming home to you and S3.”

She’s always worried. Ever since I got in the game, that fear never left her. I couldn’t blame her, not when she already lost her first love to these streets. Now she had to watch her son walk the same path.

“Your daddy used to say the same thing,” she whispered.

That one hit different. Seth Sr. promised her he’d always come back home. Somebody made sure he didn’t. Took that promise and buried it with him. I still hadn’t caught the motherfucker who did it, but when I did, I was sending him straight to my pops.

I’d learned a lot out here. My father taught me the foundation, but the streets sharpened the rest. I kept my circle tight.

Trusted few. Nobody knew my every move. I switched my routine up so much, even I barely kept track.

There was a time I didn’t care what happened to me.

That was before Imani had S3. Now I refuse to leave my son without me in his world.

“I miss him too, Ma,” I said quietly.

“He’d be so proud of the man you’ve become.”

“You proud?”

“Seth, I couldn’t be prouder. You’re an amazing son. An incredible father.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

“I wouldn’t mind you settling down, though. Maybe more grandbabies running around here.”

“Here you go,” I laughed, standing up from the kitchen island. “Yeah, it’s time to go.”

I placed my bowl in the sink and rinsed my hands off.

“Thank you for everything, Seth,” she said, her voice soft. “I know it wasn’t easy. I hate that our world got turned upside down that you had to become a man before your childhood even had a chance.”

“I’m always gonna make sure we straight. You can relax now; your baby boy got you, Serena,” I said, laughing, calling her by her name on purpose.

A tear slipped down her cheek. I wiped it away quick.

“You sound just like him when you call me Serena. Don’t do it again, though,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist.

My mother stood just 5’5; she had light skin and had her natural hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had the warmest smile and the most welcoming eyes you’d ever see. Everyone said I looked nothing like her.

I was my father’s twin in every way. We had the same height, same skin tone, same smile, eyes, voice, even the walk.

And I was determined to finish what he started and protect what he left behind.