Just Can't Let Go (10 page)

“Conner, please. Tell my brother the truth,” I pleaded.

He took a deep breath. Blew it out of his mouth. “Until you took the DNA test, son, I honestly thought your mother had cheated on me. I thought you were his son, not mine.”

“So you'd stand by and let him screw his own son. Man, that's bullshit and you know it.” Spencer left the room.

I started crying.

Dropping Conner's keys in my purse, I told my dad, “I have to go.”

He opened his mouth. Gasp after gasp no words came out. I stood there waiting, hoping, praying he'd die for knowing and not stopping the molestation.

“Did you leave anything to Spencer?”

Shaking his head, he dragged air into his throat.

“You hate my brother. Why?” I stood there not caring if he were short of breath. If he'd take his last, I wouldn't call for the nurse.

Gasping, he said, “Spencer.”

“Spencer, what?” I asked.

“Hates me.”

Shaking my head, I hated him too. If I didn't have access to his possessions, I'd curse him out. “You can't blame my brother for how he feels. You created that situation.”

“True. But he didn't have to shoot me,” Conner said. Alarms on his monitor started beeping. Nurses ran in. I walked out.

My tears were for my brother. Not for Conner Rogers's lying ass. I needed to drown my sorrow with a mai tai. Knew Spencer would agree.

I texted my manager friend at Suite Food Lounge,
You at work.

William Alfred William hit me back,
You know it beautiful.

Al, that was what everyone called him, texted back,
For sho.

Make that an hour and forty-five.
I knew Conner wasn't dead yet, but I wanted to see his house, car, trust, and whatever else he claimed he'd left me and his granddaughter.

CHAPTER 13

Spencer

“T
his is so sweet, man.” The smile on my sister's face was so wide I saw her pink upper and lower gums plus damn near all thirty-two.

“So Conner punk ass just breaking you off? He ain't leaving me shit?”

Sis glanced at me. Focused back on the two-lane road. “I got you,” she said, using my line.

“What exactly did he tell you?” Knowing Alexis she could be lying. Or inheriting a lot of debt. Conner didn't own shit when he was with my mom. He never remarried. His ass was probably undercover like his brother.

Alexis turned off of West Paces Ferry Road Northwest into a stretched driveway and cruised about a hundred feet. Conner's spot was three stories. I noticed she didn't need Siri to assist with directions.

“He said you shot him.”

That shit silenced me.

“I know you didn't do it. But if you did, don't tell me. Even if you had, I'd understand. I can't be a hypocrite if Conner doesn't make it. The way I see it, he owes me.”

Owed her? I nodded.

Dude parked her convertible in front the double-door entrance. The plush green lawn was manicured to perfection. An eight-foot concrete wall painted black and white lined the perimeter along the sidewalk.

“Not bad for a deadbeat,” I casually said. If I were driving my SUV, she'd have to make this pit by herself. I trailed ten steps behind her as she opened the mailbox, pulled out a large yellow envelope, then she unlocked the front door.

Standing inside, burgundy, black, and chestnut leathers covered the antique sofa, bench, and two high-backed chairs. Large framed paintings of Tuskegee airmen, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Colin Powell was on one side of President Obama's photo. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, a few black men I didn't recognize hung to the right. The first floor had an art gallery vibe.

Had to admit, I liked the layout. If I didn't hate dude, we might have had some intellectually stimulating convo. Scrap that sentiment. I did what had to be.

“He lived here by himself?” Sounded more like a statement than a question. I was still tripping that he'd confessed he knew what happened to me and Sis was acting as though that part of the convo never happened.

I'd never lean on her shoulder for support again. Didn't need her to have my back either. Why the fuck would I waste my time putting six bullets in Conner's ass?

Watching Sis, women were the greatest pretenders. Relay was sacred until you pissed them off. Then all a man's business became a public announcement. Thought about Blake for a sec.

I told Alexis, “Let's go to his office, get what you came for so we can bounce.”

“Can you believe he said this will be all mine?” Alexis's face glowed. She was probably already redecorating in her mind. Deciding where she'd put the nursery. Damn, I was going to be an uncle. Hopefully not a daddy-uncle. If the kid was mine, this joint would be partially mine too. Kind of.

Turning on the lights in each room we walked into, we finally located the office on the third-floor corner facing the driveway. All of his blinds were closed. Now that I thought about it, no windows, curtains, or blinds were pulled up or back.

Sis headed straight for the desk, a heavyweight mahogany piece. Before putting down the yellow sealed envelope, she waved it in my face.

She sang, “Here it is,” with that wide smile.

Across the front read,
“Living Trust.”
When did he have time to do this shit?

“You think he's lying? It might be fake,” she said, carefully prying the edge.

I was next to her. “Why should I care? Check it out. It's all in your hands. Literally.”

She slid out the first page. “Well, Alexis Crystal is right here,” she said. Flashing the page in front of me, she pointed at her name, then put the paper back in with the rest.

Something wasn't adding up. “Don't you think it's strange he arranged this last night and someone shot his ass this morning? It's like he knew there was a hit out on him, so he put your name on everything; then when he found out about your being pregnant, he wanted to make sure his granddaughter was broken off.” Mad as hell my name wasn't there, too, I was rambling.

“It's not strange. He may have added my name three months ago right after we'd met.”

“And not mine?” I pressed my lips together. Stared down at Alexis. “The only way for you to have known before today was you lied to me. You've been communicating with him. We agreed to ostracize not fraternize. Your ass couldn't be trusted to do that solid for me?”

She hunched her shoulders. I gave her a few nods.

“All we did was text,” she said as though that was better. Then she removed a metal box from the bottom drawer. “What do you think is inside?”

My opinion wasn't needed. I remained quiet, turned around. Scanned the books on his shelf. Lots of the same sexuality and psychology titles I had on mine were on his. Out of consideration, he could've willed me something. What the fuck I ever did to him he deserved.

“Spencer, look.” Alexis held four remote keys in hand. Porsche. BMW. Ferrari. Bentley. Then she held up a rack of C-notes. “How much do you think this is?”

Being no stranger to stacks, I told her, “Looks like ten grand.”

“No way.” She started counting. “You're right.” Alexis put the money along with the car keys in her purse.

A call came in for Alexis while she was stuffing the envelope inside her purse. She stared at me. “Let's go.”

I was so ready I led the way to the stairs.

“Hello,” she paused. “Yes, this is Alexis Crystal, the daughter of Conner Rogers.”

All of a sudden she was Ms. Professional?
Whatever.

There was another break in her conversation; then she said, “Okay,” and repeated, “Okay. I'll have to call you back with the particulars.”

We stood in the living room. The expression on her face wasn't one of a grieving child and sure as hell didn't match the contrived sadness in her voice. “Thank you so much. Yes, I'll get that information to you soon. Good-bye.”

She grimaced a little, ended the call, then shared the news with me. “Well, now I know what the cash is for. He's gone to glory and I have to make his arrangements.”

“No, you have gone to glory. I reassure you he's in hell. And I don't give a fuck what he's left or who he willed it to. My mom gave me everything I needed and more than I ever wanted. I'm glad he's dead.”

“Stop saying that. You don't mean it,” Alexis told me.

“I have zero regrets.”

The only reason she cared was her purse just got real heavy. That spill was to appease herself. Bet if Conner hadn't left her a dime, she'd side with me. Still be pushing up on her rent money.

Now the only person alive who I hated was my uncle. Wish his ass was dead, too. If what Conner had said had any truth, that meant he thought my mother was a whore. The only place I knew where to find Bishop was at Blake's church behind the pulpit. “Whosoever shot Conner, I hoped they never find 'em.”

“You still want to grab that drink?” she asked. “You need one chick.”

I could've bailed Alexis out of her financials. But how much was enough for a woman who didn't value money or people. Hope she didn't spend all her riches in one year. You haven't lived until you know who or what you were willing to kill for and die for. She should thank me.

Answering her question, I said, “Sure. Why not?”

“Forget Suite. Bones? Lunch is on me,” she said, patting her purse. “It's Devereaux's and Mercedes's favorite spot.”

A text came in from my manager, Derrick, at Cheesecake.
Can you come in at 6:00?

Hit him back with a quick,
definitely
. Needed a distraction, but I was taking Sis up on her offer to pay. Even for lunch, two entrées plus four cocktails couldn't close out a tab for less than a hundred fifty, tip excluded.

My sister valet parked her Lexus. The restaurant wasn't crowded. We grabbed a couple of stools at the end of the bar. Immediately I scanned the menu on their iPad.

“Why would he leave anything to a kid that's not born?” she asked, tossing the yellow envelope in front of me. “He'd planned this before the fam came to my place.”

“That would've only been valid if you told him you were pregnant with a girl before he showed up at your spot. Maybe he didn't want you to abort his grandchild. Who knows? Who gives a fuck?!”

“You mad at me?” she asked, pointing at what she wanted to eat.

“Nah, not at you, Sis.”

She offered. “You want to open the envelope?”

“It's already open.” I ordered, “Martini with three. Scratch that. Two mai tais, a jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail for me and . . .”

Alexis added, “The lobster bisque as my main.”

I continued. “I'll have a Caesar salad and the bone-in twenty-ounce rib eye medium.” After the bartender walked away, I had to say, “So you don't care how you come up? You know this shit ain't adding up.”

“Don't judge me, Spencer. This ten K in my purse can pay my rent for four months.”

“Do it. Ain't nobody gonna be front row at his funeral but you. Cremate his ass.”

“I can't do that,” Alexis said, removing the stack of papers. Her eyes scanned side to side. She flipped page after page. Her eyes grew large. She stared at me. “Oh, my, God.”

“Save it,” I insisted.

I was glad the drinks arrived. Gulped mine. “Damn!” Good. Strong. Just what I needed.

“Listen to this,” she said, then read, “‘I leave to my unborn granddaughter my entire estate.' ”

I laughed. “What happened to you? Even dead he still full of shit, man.”

“No, wait. It says, ‘my unborn child will receive 2.5 million at the age of thirty.' ”

Now I was holding my stomach, bent over, belting the way she sounded when I told her about Max. I wanted to beg Sis to stop reading, but I had to hear the rest.

“If anything should happen to my unborn grandchild, Spencer Domino and Alexis Crystal shall inherit the estate and divide it equally.”

Snap. My laughter became silence for a moment. Nah, I was no damn hypocrite. “You can have it, Sis. I don't want or need his money.”

“Are you crazy?”

“My mom left me straight. I got a mil cash, a house, and an apartment building free and clear. Seriously, you come up on it.”

Her eyes shifted toward me. “And you're renting? Right?”

“Don't have shit to prove to you, dude.” Money she hadn't got was changing her already.

She kept reading. “Wait, it says in the event there is no pregnancy, one hundred percent of the estate goes to . . . his brother?”

“Aw, hell no. Let me see that.” She'd read it right. “Fuck that. He's not getting a dime. If I could prove he violated me, I'd send his ass to jail.”

Teardrops clung to her eyelids. Sadly, she told me, “I have something I need to tell you. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, especially my mom.”

Holding her hand, I told her, “I promise.”

“The day we went to the hospital.”

“Okay,” I said, waiting.

“After Charlotte kicked me in my stomach and I coughed up blood.” Alexis held her stomach. Sis started crying.

I bit my bottom lip real hard. Shut up.
Let her tell you what it is.
I closed my eyes. Opened them real slow.

“Spencer, I didn't want to tell you. I lost the baby.”

Damn. That shit fucked me up.