by S. K. Hardy
“If it turns out that’s what happened, you’re not responsible for some wacko’s twisted actions. I could never blame you for something like that. Never. I promise you that.”
Jerra couldn’t seem to stop her body from trembling. “Will you also promise me that you won’t blame yourself either?” She lifted her head from his chest and stared into his eyes. “This isn’t your fault, Darrell.”
He inhaled a huge breath as he swept a stubborn curl out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I can promise you I’ll try.”
Jerra nodded. That was a start.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too. For always.”
His body relaxing somewhat, Darrell nodded slowly. “For always.”
CHAPTER 48
“Are we clear on everything? Any questions about what we’ve discussed, Darrell?” Justin asked. He stood and looked at Darrell while snapping his briefcase shut.
As promised, he’d come over at eight o’clock sharp the next morning. For the last couple of hours, they’d discussed the questions the police had asked Darrell, and decided how best to handle things from there on out. Justin made Darrell go over the last conversations he’d had with Tina several times, scribbling down notes the entire time.
Darrell sat back on the couch and rubbed gritty eyes that were red with fatigue. He hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours. “No, I think I’m straight on everything.”
“Good. If you remember anything, no matter how insignificant you might think it is, call me. Doesn’t matter what time.”
Darrell stood up and shook Justin’s hand. “I know I’ve already thanked you, but I can’t express how grateful I am for your help. And again, I’m sorry you were put in the predicament to have to cover for Jerra. She was tryin’ to help me, but didn’t realize at the time the position it put you in.”
“Don’t worry about it. She wouldn’t have had to cover for you if the police weren’t so intent on pinning your mother’s murder on you. But try not to worry about that right now. I’ll handle anything that comes up. Just remember, I don’t want either of you to speak to the authorities without me being present. Understand?”
“Gotcha,” Darrell said as they started towards the door.
“Justin, are you sure you won’t stay and have something to eat?” Jerra asked.
“No, thank you, Jerra. My son spent the night with my folks, so I think I’m going to head to the office and take care of a few things.”
A slight frown creased Jerra’s brow. “It’s Sunday.”
“And?” Justin laughed. “It’ll be quiet. I work best with no distractions.”
Jerra shook her head. “You work entirely too much. I’m going to have to find a nice woman to take care of you.”
Justin’s frown was so full of distaste that Darrell had to smile. “I don’t want a ‘nice’ woman. The ones I date are just fine.” He looked at Darrell for assistance when Jerra just continued to stare at him. “Hey man, feel free to jump in at any time.”
Darrell slipped an arm around Jerra’s waist. “I think you know as well as I do that when she gets that look in her eye, there’s no use arguing. Her mind’s already made up.”
“Thanks a lot, bro,” Justin replied sarcastically. “I appreciate the support.”
Before Darrell could respond, the doorbell rang. Still smiling, he opened the door and came face to face with Gabby and Lorenzo. The smile slowly slipped away when he saw the deep sorrow in his sister’s eyes. Gabby had clutched Lorenzo’s hand in a death grip all the way up the walkway, but when Darrell opened his arms, she flew into them without a word and started sobbing into his chest. He was only vaguely aware of Lorenzo coming in and hugging Jerra, then shaking Justin’s hand.
“It’s okay, baby, I’m here,” Darrell whispered to Gabby as he ran a gentle hand over her hair.
Gabby fell against him and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt in her hands. “I c-can’t b-believe she’s g-gone!”
In a thick voice that cracked with emotion, he tried to soothe her as best he could. “I know. I know you do. I’m so sorry, Gabby. We’ll get through this together. I promise.”
His and Lorenzo’s gazes met over Gabby’s head. Darrell caught a glimpse of sadness in his brother’s eyes. Lorenzo may have barely known Tina, but it didn’t change the fact that she’d been his mother as well. Feeling his anger leaving him, Darrell gave him a brief nod to let him know everything was okay between them. Lorenzo returned the nod to let him know he understood.
The three of them were now members of an exclusive club that they would’ve preferred not to have been a part of. Even though they experienced their grief with various degrees of intensity, they silently took comfort in the knowledge that, as Darrell said, they’d get through this, one day at a time.
“Ready?” Jerra stood in the doorway of their bedroom and watched as Darrell took his black jacket from its hanger and slipped it on.
Five days had passed since Tina’s death. It had been decided that she would be laid to rest in Las Vegas. That had been Gabby’s decision. She said there was nothing left for her in Philly anymore since her mother would no longer be there, so they’d decided to have a small graveside service at the cemetery, then gather at Darrell and Jerra’s house for the repass which would include family and close friends. The caterers had arrived a couple of hours ago, and Mrs. Henderson was graciously overseeing the arrangements.
Lorenzo had been staying with Darrell and Jerra ever since he and Gabby flew in. Marcus and Aleesha, along with Dominick and Keisha, had come over about an hour ago and were following them in their cars to the church. That’s where they would meet Angel and Nikki. Justin had arrived just before Darrell came upstairs.
Darrell turned around and glanced at Jerra as he straightened the collar of his shirt and buttoned his jacket. “Yeah. Where’s D.J.?”
“He’s downstairs with Giselle,” Jerra told him with a small smile as she thought about her daughter.
Giselle was enjoying her first semester of college at Columbia University and was majoring in political science. Jerra was beyond proud that her daughter was following in her footsteps and planning on going to law school after she graduated. She already knew Giselle would make a brilliant attorney.
After she’d found out about Darrell’s mother’s death, she immediately made plans to come to the funeral. Although she’d never met Tina, Giselle wanted to attend out of respect for Darrell. She’d become close with all of them since finding out Jerra was her mother, and for that, Jerra was eternally thankful. She hated the circumstances that brought her daughter home last night, but she’d been glad to see her. She’d helped out tremendously with D.J., who was crazy about his big sister.
At first, Jerra and Darrell had struggled with the decision of whether or not to let D.J. attend Tina’s funeral service. He’d been understandably upset when they broke the news to him of his grandmother’s death, but in the end, something he said brought comfort to them instead of it being the other way around. The last time Tina had visited D.J. at Darrell’s condo, she’d told him that even if the two of them didn’t see each other for a while, she would always, always be with him. All he had to do was get the picture the two of them had taken together, close his eyes, and remember all the fun times they’d had together.
“How are you holding up?” Darrell asked, walking towards her. “Let me know if you start feeling bad, or if you need to lie down once we get back from the cemetery.”
“I will, baby, but I’m fine.” She hugged him tightly when he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her. “What about you, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just worried about Gabby.” Kissing her, they headed out of the room towards the stairs. “How does she seem to you? I know you two stayed up late the last couple of nights talking.”
“She’s having a hard time, but that’s to be expected. It helps to talk about her mother, though.” Jerra looked up at him. “I was surprised when Cane flew in this morn
ing to attend the funeral. He had told Gabby he wasn’t sure he would be able to because they have a game in LA day after tomorrow, but I’m glad he was able to.”
“Yeah. I respect him for makin’ that happen and being here for Gabby.”
A slight frown marred Darrell’s solemn, but handsome face. He still wasn’t clear on the nature of Gabby and Cane’s relationship. Lorenzo said she’d told him the same thing she’d said to Darrell, which was she didn’t think she wanted to deal with Cane’s world. He couldn’t go anywhere without cameras flashing, autograph seekers gathering, or groupie “thots” vying for his attention. However, what she said and the expression Darrell witnessed on her face when she saw Cane this morning were two completely different things.
“What’s wrong?” Jerra asked, noticing his frown.
“Nothing. Just…thinking.”
He slipped his hand around hers as they walked into the family room where the rest of their family was waiting. Darrell’s eyes followed Jerra as she went to D.J. and started tucking his white dress shirt into his black pants. His gaze snagged and paused on his sister and Cane. The two of them stood off to themselves talking quietly. Darrell watched as Cane lifted a hand and gently wiped a tear from Gabby’s face before pulling her into his arms. When Cane looked up, he locked eyes with Darrell. His body tensed until Darrell gave him a slight upnod to let him know he appreciated Cane looking after Gabby. Relaxing somewhat, Cane returned the gesture.
Darrell turned around when he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Marcus beside him. “Hey.”
Marcus glanced down at his watch. “You about ready?”
Darrell’s lips parted to respond, but his only answer was to shrug his shoulders helplessly.
Marcus’ lips tightened in a commiserating grimace. “I know. We’ll talk later. Just concentrate on getting through today.”
Darrell nodded, grateful for Marcus’ presence. Ever since they were kids, he’d understood Darrell when Darrell didn’t understand himself. He always had been and always would be his brotha’s keeper.
Ten minutes later, everyone filed out of the house to go to their respective vehicles. Darrell slipped his shades on, and had just locked the front door when he heard Lorenzo, who stood a couple of feet away, curse under his breath. Darrell turned around and saw that everyone had stopped walking and were staring towards the street. Marcus, Dom, and Lorenzo took a few steps forward while everyone else hung back.
Following their gazes, Darrell frowned when he saw a black stretch limousine with dark tinted windows, followed by a black Cadillac Escalade, slow to a stop in front of his house. Darrell went to stand on the other side of Lorenzo, his eyes never leaving the new arrivals.
“What tha’ hell…” Darrell looked at Lorenzo and saw the grim expression he wore. “Renzo…”
But before Darrell could ask the question he already knew the answer to, the chauffeur was out of the car and opening the back passenger door of the limousine. Darrell’s mouth tightened when he saw Isaac Pattel climb out of the vehicle, followed by his Uncle Joseph, then Lucas, King, and Hawk. Two men dressed in all black stepped out of the Escalade looking around and scanning their surroundings.
Darrell glanced at Lorenzo and tried to keep his anger in check. His cousins had called him almost an hour ago to tell him their jet had landed. Darrell gave them directions to the church, and had expected to see them–and only them–there. They hadn’t breathed a word of the fact that Isaac and Joseph were with them.
Dominick and Marcus moved closer to Darrell, their eyes glued to the men walking their way.
“D.? What’s up?” Dominick asked.
Darrell shook his head and muttered in a low voice. “My cousins. I knew they were coming. What I want to know is why the hell my father and uncle are here.”
“You and me both,” Lorenzo added quietly.
“Did you know they were coming?” Darrell asked his brother. He didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but…
“Of course not,” Lorenzo replied, his voice taut with anger as he watched his father and uncle confidently stride up the circular driveway. The elder Pattels’ broad shoulders were squared, and their heads tilted up at a naturally arrogant angle.
Lorenzo cursed again, his own body tense and his face strained, because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the proverbial shit was about to hit the fan.
CHAPTER 49
Jerra, Aleesha, and Keisha’s eyes tracked the group of smartly dressed men coming up the driveway wearing expensive black suits. The three younger ones wore dark shades that remained in place as they followed the two older men.
Jerra frowned. She knew Hawk from being introduced to him at the condo. Although she hadn’t met Lucas or King yet, she recognized them from a photo Darrell had shown her that they’d all taken in New York the night they’d gone out to dinner. Jerra instinctively knew the two older men striding forward with a natural air of authority were Darrell’s uncle…and his father.
Her heart raced. There was no mistaking which man was Isaac Pattel. He and Darrell had the same walk, the same build, and the same proud carriage. Darrell and Gabby looked more like Tina, but Jerra had seen the exact stubborn expression that Isaac now sported on Darrell’s face more times than she could count. Jerra glanced at her husband. With a sinking feeling, she realized he hadn’t known they were coming with his cousins…and he wasn’t pleased at all.
“Who are they?” Aleesha asked.
“Two of them are Lucas and Hawk Pattel,” Keisha answered, having remembered them from Angel’s house.
“Yes. The three younger ones are Darrell’s cousins. The older men are his uncle and father,” Jerra added.
Gabby came and stood behind the women as Cane and Justin, feeling the tension, took a few steps toward the others. Although they stayed a few feet back, they were close enough to offer backup…just in case.
“The one in the front is Darrell and Lorenzo’s father, isn’t he?” Gabby asked, her eyes riveted to the group of men who seemed to be squaring off with each other. “That’s Isaac Pattel.”
“Yes, that’s him.” Jerra reached in her purse and got her keys. Walking over to Giselle, she gave them to her and said, “Sweetie, will you do me a favor and take D.J. back inside? I’ll come and get you in a minute.”
She sighed in relief once her children were safely in the house. She didn’t want them to witness the ugliness she was sure was about to happen. Returning her attention to her husband, Jerra started praying long and hard to give him the strength to exercise patience and control…two things that flew out the window when Darrell was as angry as he was now.
“Hello, Darrell.” Isaac came to a stop in front of his youngest son.
Darrell’s eyes ran over the group before resting on Isaac and Joseph. “What are you doin’ here?”
“We came to pay our respects. I hope that’s okay.”
Darrell reached up and snatched his shades off and glared at his father. “You hope it’s ‘okay’? Tell me, what the hell could possibly make you think it would be?” His anger extended to include his cousins. “And why didn’t any of you tell me they were coming when you called?”
“Because neither my nephews nor my son speak for us,” Isaac snapped. When Lorenzo gave him a sharp look, he sighed and reluctantly added, “I had hoped we could put our differences aside…at least for today.”
“No. We can’t.” Darrell’s tone was firm and unyielding. He lowered his voice, not wanting Gabby to hear. “I’m not doing this with you today. I’m on my way to bury my mother who was murdered. However, you and me?” Darrell growled through lips that barely moved. “We’ll definitely talk. And soon.”
“Darrell,” Joseph interjected softly. “We didn’t come here to cause trouble. We’re not denying we had our differences with Tina at one time, but that was in the past. You’re family. As your father said, we only came to pay our respects and lend our support.”
“Your respect an
d support?” Darrell laughed rudely. “Let me tell you what you can do with your–”
Marcus grabbed Darrell’s arm, his eyes narrowing on Isaac and Joseph. “I think you need to leave. This isn’t the appropriate time to have this conversation.”
Isaac’s eyes turned frigid with warning. “I don’t know who you are but–”
“Dad!” Lorenzo cut in. “You need to leave.”
Isaac’s brows bunched together in a fierce glower. “Excuse me?”
Lucas stepped between them. “Okay, let’s all just calm down.” He looked at Darrell. “We didn’t know my father and uncle planned on coming with us until we got to the airport and found them on the plane,” he said dryly, glancing at the two older men. “We didn’t let you know ahead of time because we didn’t want to upset you.”
“Good lookin’ out, Lucas. I’m not upset at all,” Darrell snapped sarcastically.
His eyes narrowing, Lucas continued. “I was hoping that everyone could put their differences aside for just a few hours. Whether you like it or not, we’re all your family, Darrell.”
Darrell snatched his arm away from Marcus and glared at Isaac and Joseph. “Family? Okay,” he nodded. “Since we’re all one big happy ‘family’, as an act of faith why don’t the two of you tell me this secret Tina found out about that you didn’t want anyone else to know.”
“As I told Lorenzo, I know nothing of this ‘secret’ Tina supposedly had,” Isaac sneered.
“From what she said, it was part of the reason you didn’t look very hard to find her when she left New York. You wanted to make sure it didn’t come out and stayed buried.”
“Are you serious? Can’t you see this is just another one of Tina’s lies?” Isaac laughed. “Son, listen–”
Darrell’s entire body tensed. “Do not call me your son.”
“Okay, enough.” Marcus stepped in front of Darrell and this time forcibly turned him around and pushed him towards their cars. “Let’s go. Come on.”
