Chapter 21
“My mama didn’t even want to go on that trip. I remember her telling my father that Mister Patrick was forcing her to go. She cried the entire night before because she said she felt uneasy about the flight. That man couldn’t accept rejection. I’m not saying my mother was innocent, but when she tried to break things off was when he became desperate. She was pregnant when she died, and now, I don’t know if that child was my dad’s or that monster’s.”
I closed my eyes, trying to stomach everything I’d heard. My mother was standing next to me crying, and Genesis was on my other side, holding my hand between hers. I didn’t know how this man found me or why he thought it was a good idea to come for me. My head was pounding as we stood in the room listening to what he had to say.
“What did Judge Patrick have to do with that? He was only ten years old when nine-eleven happened. He was just as innocent in this as you are.”
“Someone has to pay for what happened to my mother. It was pretty convenient for Kenneth Patrick to die in that plane crash. Had he not forced my mama to go on that trip, she would still be here. Judge Patrick is just as ruthless as his father was. That man didn’t care about people in the gray area. Everything was black and white to him. He didn’t care about anyone else. He only cared about making a name for himself. Kyrie Patrick is the same way. I’ve reviewed his sentencing practices. Most of them are questionable.”
“He has never gone beyond the scope of the law.”
“Yeah, but does everyone deserve the maximum sentence? I figured he would be the perfect person to suffer the consequences. The world would be just fine without another Kenneth Patrick.”
I’d heard enough. I swallowed hard as I walked away. Hearing someone compare me to Kenneth Patrick had angered me. My mama always compared my good qualities to his, and that would piss me off as well. This was different though. To say that I was, basically, a chip off the old block had taken my anger to new heights.
When Genesis’s arms wrapped around me from behind, I stopped walking and closed my eyes, trying to allow her spirit to calm me. “You are not your father.”
“I know. That’s what makes me so angry.”
“That man doesn’t know you from Adam. He wants to talk about being in the gray but is judging you based on black and white. How contradictory is that? Don’t let what he’s said affect you negatively, baby. He’s a mental case due to his loss. He needs help. He is a prime example of how trauma can affect people and why we sometimes need counseling to deal with loss. You are an amazing man. I didn’t know your father, but I know the man I’m in love with. You are nothing like he described.”
I nodded and turned around in her arms. The problem was that I saw the resemblance as well. That man was right about me. I had only begun to change after falling in love with Genesis. I was a cold-blooded bastard in that courtroom. I didn’t care about extenuating circumstances. While I wasn’t as selfish as he said I was, I realized I treated everyone that came through my courtroom like a criminal when, technically, they were innocent until proven guilty. My mind treated them as guilty until proven innocent.
I hugged Genesis as I saw my mama approaching us. I owed her an apology for how I spoke to her. I released Genesis and pulled her into my arms. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you, Mama.”
“It’s okay, baby. I understand.”
“It’s not okay, but thank you for forgiving me. That man in there was right.”
She pulled away from me with a frown on her face. Genesis adorned the same frown. “Kyrie?—”
“No. He was right. I’m a lot like him… good and bad. I didn’t realize it until he pointed it out. Had it not been for Genesis snatching my heart out of my chest, I still would be. I was arrogant, and while I thought I was serving the community, I was serving my own ego. I know I didn’t get that mentality from you, so it had to come from him. All these years, I hated that you compared me to him and refused to look at him as the father he was. However, it took someone trying to kill me for sins he committed for me to see what you’ve been trying to tell me all along.”
My mama brought her hand to my cheek and gently stroked it as tears fell from her eyes. “I only wanted you to embrace who you are and realize that a lot of good qualities you possessed came from him. I never saw you as egotistical, selfish, or arrogant… well, maybe a little arrogant.” She smiled. “While your father cheated on me, I never knew about it until this unfortunate incident. I thought I was the most blessed woman in the world because he treated me like a queen. We had disagreements, as most married people do, but he was good to me. I can’t let what I found out after his death take away from that, or it will drive me insane.”
I nodded. She was a strong woman and a way better person than me. It took me all this time to finally release forgiveness for my father, simply because someone had the audacity to knock me off my high horse and prove to me just how much like him I really was. I slowly shook my head as I put my arm around Genesis.
She smiled as I said, “Thank you for making me a better man simply by loving me.”
She kissed my lips. “You’ve made me better also.”
Detective Johnson joined us with a sympathetic look on her face. “Well, since he confessed, there is nothing left to do but wait for him to be arraigned. I’m pretty sure they will throw the book at him, especially since you’re a judge. I’m just happy we were able to catch him.”
“Thanks. Me too.”
“If only the other foolishness was this easy.”
I nodded as she glanced at Genesis, probably wondering if I had told her. Since the rest of our night was ruined, I may as well tell her. I knew she wouldn’t alert her brother, especially since she couldn’t even locate him right now. Genesis frowned slightly, probably trying to figure out why Stephanie glanced at her that way. She walked away, and I slid my hand to Genesis’s. She looked up at me and asked, “What’s going on? Why did she look at me that way?”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the car.”
“It’s about Samuel, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. They plan to issue a warrant for his arrest Monday.”
She nodded repeatedly as a lone tear escaped her. She quickly swiped it away and said, “Okay. Let’s head back to your place to pack you some things, then we’ll go to my place. It’s not as big as yours, but hopefully, you’ll still be comfortable.”
I pulled her to me. “I’ll be comfortable wherever you are.”
She nodded once again, and we made our way out of the station to our cars. I kissed my mama on her cheek and reminded her that I would see her Sunday, then got inside the car with Genesis. She was wiping her face quite a bit. I knew she was trying to restrain her tears in front of me, but that wasn’t necessary.
After starting the engine, I turned to her. “Genesis, it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be hurt, angry, disappointed… all that. You don’t have to hide that from me. I know this is killing you, especially since you can’t even talk to anyone about it. At least once he’s arrested, you can get it all out of your system and try to convince him to talk.”
She gave me a tight smile. “Yeah. I just hope he’ll listen. Today has been quite emotional. I think I’ve experienced every emotion on the spectrum, and I just want to pop a few Ibuprofens and go to sleep.”
“Touché, baby. Touché.”
I woke up in a cold sweat after running for my life in dreamland. I looked around the bedroom, trying to remember where I was. After a minute or so, I remembered I was at Genesis’s house. I took a deep breath and rubbed my hand down my face. Turning to my left, I realized she wasn’t in bed. The clock on the nightstand read three a.m. I got out of bed and went to the en suite bathroom only to find the door locked.
When I knocked, the toilet flushed, and she unlocked the door. I walked in as she washed her hands. She looked at me through the vanity mirror. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just had a nightmare. I need to clean up. I’m wet with sweat.”
She nodded as I started the shower. Her bedding was probably wet on my side of the bed as well. There was no way I would be sleeping after this. Thankfully, neither of us had anything to do this weekend. As I stared at her, I could tell that she probably hadn’t gotten much sleep. Her eyes were puffy and red, like she’d been crying for hours. We’d gotten here around eleven last night and was in bed before midnight.
Going to her, I slid my hand to hers. I didn’t want to initiate any more contact than that since I was sweaty. She had different plans though. She turned and fell into me, crying her eyes out. “I hate this shit!” she said through her cries.
I circled my arms around her for a moment then pulled away and started undressing her. She’d put on a nightshirt and underwear before going to bed. I took off my shorts and pulled her to the shower with me. Allowing the water to drench us felt refreshing to me. It was like we were getting cleansed of all the bullshit the night brought us and starting fresh with a renewed spirit. Genesis laid her head against me then lightly kissed my neck. I kissed her forehead, then said, “I’m always here for you, baby. This has been a lot to deal with, but I feel like it’s wrapping up.”
She lifted her head and stared into my eyes. “What makes you so sure?”
“Things usually get to a point where they feel unbearable just before there is a break of some sorts. When the warrants are issued for the individuals they plan to prosecute or milk for names, this will go downhill fast.”
She nodded. “I just wish my brother wasn’t involved in all of this. While knowing that this type of corruption is going on in our city, it makes it ten times worse knowing someone I love dearly is involved in it.”
I truly understood her turmoil. Although I didn’t have siblings, I could understand being caught off guard and being disappointed or angry with someone you loved because of something they did. I’d been that way for most of my life concerning my father. Just from Coler mentioning that he forced that woman to go on the trip with him didn’t help matters. At least Samuel had time to rectify his actions. The clock had run out on Kenneth Patrick.
I gently caressed her back and listened to her take deep breaths. When she had calmed down some, she asked, “What happened in your dream?”
It was my turn to take a deep breath. “I was being chased. I was on foot, and they were in a car. It seemed I was trying to run to my father in the dream. I could see his face plain as day. The crazy part was that I was a ten-year-old boy. He had smiled at me and stretched out his arms, welcoming me, just before the building he was in the doorway of exploded. That was when I woke up.”
“Wow. I assume you can attribute that to everything that happened tonight.”
“Yeah. It’s a painful reality. Now that I’m no longer angry about the details surrounding his death, I still can’t embrace him. The only person that matters to is me, because he isn’t here. No matter how badly I want to embrace him, I will never get that opportunity again.”
I closed my eyes and felt the lump forming in my throat. After twenty-three years, I was just feeling the effects of grief. The first couple of days after his death, I’d cried like a baby, missing my father. However, once the allegations started flying, my tears dried up, and my feelings of heartache and grief turned into feelings of disappointment and anger and stayed that way until tonight.
Genesis’s arms slid around me, and I opened my eyes, allowing a couple of tears to escape them. She gently wiped them away. “I’m so sorry, baby. But at least you can begin to heal now. The circumstances won’t change. Unfortunately, neither of our fathers can come back, but we can be better to ourselves, knowing that’s what they would want.”
I nodded then grabbed the loofah hanging on the faucet to wash our bodies with. I hated that it took me this long to finally release the anger I held concerning him, but I supposed the point was that I finally released it, and I could deal with the aftermath of it before it totally destroyed me inside. Choosing to focus on my woman’s grief instead of my own, I said, “I’m so sorry about your brother, baby.”
“Yeah, me too. But the bright side is, once he’s arrested, I can talk to him about everything and see what he can do to not only help himself out of this situation but to help you as well.”
I smiled at her as I dragged the loofah over her nipples, watching them harden. My mind had shifted to pleasing her body just that quickly. I wanted to not only relax her mentally but physically as well. There was no way she would be able to take me inside her walls and still remain tense with stress and worry. It was somewhat of a cocky thought, but two things I was confident about was my worth and capabilities.
Lowering my head to her neck, I softly kissed her there then said in a low voice close to her ear, “Thank you for always coming to my rescue. I plan to do the same for you whenever you need me, and that’s including what happens to Samuel Farris.”
She stared into my eyes, and I watched hers fill with emotion. Despite how her brother felt about me, I knew how she felt for her brother. His disdain toward me wasn’t my business. However, her heartache was. I would do whatever I could to ease her pain, dealing with this situation, even help a man that played a role in what was happening to me, no matter how significant or insignificant that role was.
He was definitely involved with people that were out for my blood to protect their greed. Having Genesis in my life had only helped me be a better man. Seeing the growth for myself left me in awe, especially with this. The old me would have let his ass rot in prison. Instead, I was hoping to be able to have him come through my court if he went to trial, just so I could be easy on him. If my gut was right, though, I knew this wouldn’t go to trial. Samuel would drop a dime, if for no other reason than to protect his family and make them proud.
The tears had fallen down her cheeks as I continued to bathe her, but no words had left her lips. I wanted to believe that she was stunned into silence. I could understand her reaction because I was in a state of disbelief as well.