The Unknown

4

Thursday. Layton Brooks

After getting my hair done by Kira, I had Rick drive me back to the house. I was going to be taking Dominic to the warehouse today so that he could understand how everything works. Once Rick parked the car, I texted Dominic telling him to come outside. I watched him walk to the car, he got in and Rick started driving again.

"Wassup guys. I love the hair, looks good on you." I smiled.

"Well, thank you. How's your day going after I left?"

"You left before I even got up, didn't even say bye to a nigga." I laughed.

"Aw, are you upset?" I said, playfully.

"Anyways, my morning was good though. You at the salon all morning?" I nodded.

"I always make sure I look good. No matter what. I had to also handle business."

"What if you dying? You go fix your hair in the middle of dying?" He asked looking at me.

"Shit, if need be I will." I said as we both laughed.

"Can I ask how you got in this position? Like what made you have to hustle?" He asked.

"My mom died when me and my brother were younger. We were sent to my grandfather but he ended up dying too. We got into foster care, they separated us. My brother was in and out of jail. I was going from a foster home to another. One day I left a foster home and started selling. Every day my money and my name got bigger. I got better at the shit I did so I continued. When my brother got out I got him an apartment and he's been helping me ever since."

"I'm sorry about your mother and your grandfather. You did what you had to do to survive, and to get out of that situation." He said as he looked at me.

"My mother was a piece of shit. My grandfather though, taught me what a man is supposed to be and my father wasn't that man."

"I know you don't want sympathy, but I'm sorry you had to go through that. I get why you wouldn't want or trust to let somebody into your life. When the first man you are supposed to trust and love in life shows you he's not shit, it's hard to think anybody else would be different."

"Sounds like you speak from experience."

"My father left my mom for another woman when I was six. He didn't just leave my mom though he left me too. I haven't heard from him since." He said looking back out the window. Rick parked.

"We go through shit, that's life. It's how we move on and deal with it." I said. He nodded in agreement. We got out of the car. I banged on the door, then the guard opened the door letting us in. We walked past the half-naked woman going to back where my brother was. We walked into the office and saw him sitting in the chair. He smiled.

"Wassup. Who is this?" He pointed at Dom who was leaning on the wall. I sat down next to Dom.

"This is Dominic. My new bodyguard and the person who's going to be technically your second on command. He'll be helping you move the drugs and the money. Dom this is Michael, my hard-headed brother."

"I'm not all that sis, don't be like that. And you can call me Mike." He got up and dapped Dom up.

"Wassup. So I'll be collecting money from the salon and bring it here or?" Dom questioned.

"Yeah, from both locations. You'll get some money from the restaurant also. When you go and collect the money you'll be dropping drugs off there also." Michael explained.

"The salons and the restaurant are just a front. You move heat from there?" Dom said and me and Michael nodded.

"We collect on Sunday. Kira takes control of the salon in Hollywood the same one we went to. She'll have the money ready regardless. Now if the manager at the restaurant and the other salon gives you a hard time or doesn't pay up you let us know and we handle it." I explained as he nodded.