Page 94 of The Heir
“At the…” He trailed off glancing abruptly at the door and then back to me before shaking his head. “You fuckin’ kids, man, I swear.”
Mak slid the desk drawer open and raised the lid on an unclasped safe. He took out a forty-five and started to hand it over. When I reached, he jerked it back and eyed me while popping out the giant cartridge cage and then slamming it back in.
I laughed, “You think Oak raised me and I don’t know how to take that thing apart and put it back together.”
He grunted, clearly pleased with my response, and handed the gun over.
“Don’t be leavin’ home without that thing, alright?”
I nodded and reached behind me, lifting the kutte a little so I could shove the pistol into the back of my pants.
“Good. Listen, you need to learn the clientele, memorize the faces. You’ll start to get the hang of shit after a while, don’t do nothing without me for a few weeks. They’ll try you. It’s just business.”
“Try me– Do I look like I have tits? If one of those balding assholes gets handsy with me–”
Makaveli roared with laughter.
“You stupid fuck, I swear to God.” He flopped down in the chair and stared at me like he was trying to determine if I was serious before his snorting started up and he was fighting laughter again.
“Jesus Christ.” He huffed, pulling himself together. “Fucking handsy– If any of those bastards gets handsy with you, Blaze, shoot them. I ain’t in the business of reach arounds. They can buy blow, they can sample ass, and they can get the fuck on– Not my ass, their ass-” He hefted a thumb toward the showroom.
“B-buy blow and sample ass…” I nodded like I understood, but my tone carried the question.
Mak stared at me; the humor gone in a flash.
“Listen– Your mom is a fed, alright… don’t ever give me cause to think you’re afraid to get your hands dirty for this club and your family, or I’ll start thinking you are, too.”
“I’m not a cop,” I scoffed.
“Yeah?” He drew the word out like he wasn’t sure, “Why not?”
“What?”
“Why not? You went to school, right? Why didn’t you do that? She could have easily gotten you a job, put in a word.”
I raised a shoulder, “Why don’t your daughter sell ass?”
“Mother fucker!” he spat, shooting out of that chair so fast, I instinctively backpedaled.
“I’m just saying–” I waved, “You do—”
“We’re both armed, smart ass. I kill ya and it’ll be a fair fight by some standards. Watch your fuckin’ mouth where Marchella is concerned.”
It was my turn to choke on a bit of held back laughter, “I’m just sayin–”
“You ain’t saying shit,” he spoke up, clearly used to having the last word.
“Not everyone takes the path of their parents,” I finished.
His eyes softened, but he still stared at me like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to choke me out or not for several moments before he huffed and smiled.
“Your dad used to like to get me worked up, too. That mother fucker loved to light my fuse, sometimes I think he did it just so he wouldn’t look like the bad guy when he got to jump in and help.”
I smiled.
“He was good at putting the cables on people, getting them to react and do what he wanted without them realizing he was doing it. He was smart, like you.”
“What makes you think I’m smart? I thought you were convinced I was just a dumbass with a loudmouth.”