I'm Fine

Part 3: Chapter 57

"Is it okay if I leave her here?" Meech asked Iris.

"Of course. Asha is family, and so are you. You don't have to ask." Meech nodded, taking her words into consideration even though he would never take her kindness for granted. It didn't matter how close they were, Meech would always ask for her permission to do anything in her house.

"I'll do my best to keep her occupied until you get back," Iris said. Meech thanked her before walking into the den where Asha was laid out on the couch staring at the wall.

Asha jumped at the opportunity to get out of Dashawn's house, so she was happy with the change of scenery. And Iris was just as happy to see her. She even pulled Asha to the side, and they had a long conversation that consisted of Iris trying to talk some sense into Asha, and Asha falling victim to her emotions like always. Asha could argue with Meech all day long, but she couldn't argue with Iris even if she wanted to.

"Thanks for the compromise," she said to Meech as he appeared in the door frame.

"Don't make me regret it."

"I won't," she huffed lazily, turning on her side. "Just bring her home."
.....

"Are you okay?" Penny asked Dashawn, zipping up her jacket as she stepped outside.

"Why you ask?" He spoke between puffs of his cigarette. Dashawn didn't too much care for cigarettes, only smoking them occasionally. Penny knew just how rare those occasions were, so something had to be off for him to be smoking one now.

"I can tell something's off...more so than usual." A full week had now gone by since Imani was taken, and everyone was walking on eggshells around D. If he wasn't barking out orders or cursing someone out, he was completely silent. And just yesterday Dashawn snuck off for hours and came back to the warehouse with blood all over him. He was supposed to be staying under the radar, but he was a loose cannon right now. And with Meech being preoccupied himself, there was no one else to tame him.

"I got a lot on my mind," was all he said.

"Are you doubting yourself?" Penny asked carefully, not wanting to offend him. Dashawn didn't respond right away, but he was indeed having doubts about everything, which caused him to question all of his decisions. This week just felt like one long ass rollercoaster, and D was questioning why it seemed like it would never end.

And Dashawn was supposed to be considered the best of the best, but he couldn't even find his daughter. The guilt was eating at him, and he was damn near convinced that his absence was what led to Imani's abduction. At least, if he was here, he could have prevented any of this from happening in the first place. And this revelation also had Dashawn questioning whether or not he made the right decision in faking his death even though he had good reason to.

"D—"

"Not right now Penny," he said while stomping out his cigarette. He then pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was nearly time for them to leave.

"Tell everybody to start loading the trucks. We got shit to do." He brushed past her, opening the door and storming inside. Dashawn had a small window of opportunity to get to Red tonight, and he wasn't about to waste it.

Dashawn's plan to lure Red out by taking out every single one of his affiliates had proven successful the more Red's foundation continued to crack. D figured that Red was the type of nigga that easily folded under pressure, and he was a thousand percent correct in his assumption.

These last few killings had Red so alarmed that he was sure that his location had been compromised. And Red did exactly what Dashawn knew he would do—start making arrangements to relocate again. D got lucky as hell when he stumbled upon this piece of information while he was out yesterday doing his own investigation—the same investigation that had him covered in blood. He didn't know Red's precise location or where he was moving to, but D knew the area he was in, and that was more than enough.