Part 8 (2/2)

”Boomer wasn't Macy's son,” she repeated while still crying.

Case calculated the years in his head, and his heart dropped instantly as he put the pieces of the puzzle together. He knew that Fatima hadn't been with another man in years-eighteen years, to be exact-and he felt an ache in his chest that made it hard for him to breathe.

”He was yours, Case. Boomer was your son,” Fatima admitted. She had told herself that she would never tell him, but now she felt as if he was the only person she could go to.

”What?” Case said, his anger surfacing.

Fatima lowered her head, too ashamed to face him.

”Don't look at the f.u.c.king floor, Fatima! Look at me. You can't just come up in here and drop a bomb like that! It's been eighteen years!” Case shouted. ”And you're just now telling me I had a son?”

”I'm sorry!” she screamed in defense.

”You're sorry?” he shouted. His loud voice only made her cry harder, and he caught himself to avoid making things worse. He stood from his seat and paced the floor as he tried to process what she was telling him. His rationale went out the door as his emotions got the best of him. ”He was my son?” he asked.

She nodded.

”How could you keep this from me?” he asked as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat to regain composure, and his eyes burned into hers, displaying his rage, revealing his uncertainty. He didn't know how to feel. He felt a combination of emotions, but sadness prevailed over them all. He had known Boomer, but not in the way that a man was supposed to know his son. They had never gotten a chance to bond or to even know one another. Case had never had a reason to become a better man. He lived for himself and took risk on top of risk because he wasn't afraid to die. He hadn't known that he would be leaving his firstborn son behind.

”I just wanted a better life for Boomer. You were in the streets, Case, living the fast life. You weren't ready to settle down, and you definitely were not fit to be a family man. I wanted to protect my son.”

”And you call this protecting him?” Case shouted.

”I didn't mean for this to happen!” she defended. ”When Macy and I started messing around, he was saying and doing all of the right things. He had plans, Case. He was going to school and getting out of the game. He was focused on me, whereas you were focused on many. You didn't think I knew about all of those other b.i.t.c.hes?” She paused as she looked at Case knowingly. ”I knew, Case, and I didn't want to be just another chick you were dropping off at the clinic!”

”You didn't even give me a chance, Fatima! You didn't tell me! You just took my son away and let the next n.i.g.g.a raise him! Does he know?” Case asked.

Fatima shrugged her shoulders, feeling overwhelmed.

”Don't tell me you don't know, b.i.t.c.h,” Case said angrily. ”Does he know that Boomer was my seed?” he asked sternly.

Fatima was keeled over in her chair crying her heart out and Case immediately felt bad. He knew that she was going through a lot, and he tamed his animosity before speaking again.

”I'm sorry, ma,” he said as he knelt before her. ”But you've got to tell me something. This is f.u.c.king me up. You have to help me understand why you would do this to me.”

”I just wanted the best for my baby,” she whispered.

”That could have been me, Tima,” he replied. ”I could have given you and Boomer the world. I was young and stupid back then, but a family would have helped me grow up. I would have changed for the two of you.”

”I'm sorry,” she whispered. She could see it in his eyes that he was struggling with her revelation.

”Did Macy know that Boomer wasn't his?” he asked again.

”I think he felt that Boomer wasn't his son, but he never spoke on it. Not once did he question me or speak his doubt aloud. He just took what I told him as truth, but I could see the skepticism in his eyes,” Fatima replied.

Although Case didn't have a relations.h.i.+p with Boomer, he felt responsible to find the person responsible for the murder.

”What makes you think Macy killed him?” Case inquired.

”I heard him! He admitted it. The c.o.c.ky b.a.s.t.a.r.d spoke the words out of his mouth! I heard him with my own ears,” she said, disgusted. Her skin crawled as she thought of all the times she had made love to Macy after he had annihilated her flesh and blood. She had been bedding the enemy. ”How could he even look me in the face after what he did?” All of her questions were rhetorical because she knew that no one could answer them except Macy.

Case gritted his teeth as he thought of his only son being betrayed by the man he thought of as a father. Jealousy filled him as he thought of all the milestones and memories that he had missed. Now it was too late to get those things back.

Macy's actions instantly changed Case's agenda. What was supposed to be a simple ransom kidnapping would be elevated to a murder. Case had a taste for revenge. He savored the flavor of vengeance on his tongue as he thought of ending Macy's life. He would order Macy a slow death, and he knew that Aries had some tricks up her sleeve that would bring the strongest of men to their knees. Taking his woman he had tolerated because he knew that Fatima had willingly walked away from him. He had partially blamed himself for losing her because he knew the game. He had lost his b.i.t.c.h because he had left a void within her that Macy was able to fill. Losing Fatima was partially on Case, but by f.u.c.king with his money and now murdering his seed, Macy had crossed the line.

”Come here,” he said.

In need of guidance and a shoulder to cry on, she rushed to him as he held her tightly. The scent of her perfume tickled his nose, and as they embraced, he ma.s.saged her back gently.

”I'm so sorry, Case,” she said.

”It's a'ight, ma,” he replied. ”I'ma take care of it.”

”How?” Fatima cried helplessly.

”However you want me to,” Case replied.

He pulled away from her and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He removed a bottle of cognac and poured himself a stiff drink. He didn't usually like to cloud his mind, but he needed the burden that Fatima had just given him to be temporarily lifted from his heart. He downed the drink in one gulp and then poured another one.

Fatima walked beside him and reached for her own gla.s.s. She lifted it up, and without a word he poured her a drink too. She sipped it slowly and enjoyed the burn as the smooth liquid fire heated her entire body.

She grabbed the entire bottle in one hand and carried her gla.s.s in another as she walked through Case's living room. Case watched the sway of her hips and admired the way that she commanded her environment, kicking off her Louboutins as if she were the lady of the house. She sat down on his plush sectional and pulled her feet up underneath her bottom, making herself comfortable as she sipped the strong drink somberly.

Fatima didn't indulge in alcohol often. She was a social drinker and usually never touched the grown-man drinks. The cognac hit her quickly, making her body warm instantly as she nursed her drink and soul simultaneously.

He watched her for a moment, taking her in. She had matured, but so much about her was exactly as he remembered it. Fatima was still a bad b.i.t.c.h and the most striking woman that Case had ever encountered. He had sampled a generous share of women in his day, and none of them held a candle to Fatima.

He silently wondered what it would have been like if he had never sent her home with Macy all those years ago. He hadn't known that his best friend would steal his girl and ultimately marry her. Case had lost a good thing when he had lost Fatima, and as he realized that she had given birth to his child, he suddenly wished that he could turn back the hands of time.

Fatima indulged in her drink silently, lost in her thoughts of sadness. She didn't even realize that Macy was standing over her until she heard him speak.

”Don't drink too much of that. It'll sneak up on you,” he schooled as he sat across from her.

”It doesn't matter. Tonight I'm trying to get f.u.c.ked up. I don't want to feel anything.... I just want to sit here and throw a pity party. I want to drink my drink and sit here until it doesn't hurt anymore,” she admitted without shame.

She shook her head as Macy's face entered her mind. ”He sat there for f.u.c.king weeks, watching me deteriorate. He heard me crying every night. He slept in my bed knowing that all along he had killed my son. b.a.s.t.a.r.d.” She finished her drink and then poured herself another as she continued to vent.

”How can he do something like that? After all of these years? I've stood by him, playing the back and being the supportive woman that he needed. I was there when he was just another dope boy. I helped him study night after night when he was in college. I even wrote some of his papers! I'm the one who went door to door, convincing people to vote for a black mayor. I smiled for the cameras and hosted the events. How could he kill Boomer? My son? I know the dirt he's done in order to get where he is, but I never thought that he was capable of hurting me ... or hurting our son.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately wished she could take them back. ”I'm sorry, Case. I know he's your son. It's just ... I'm ... I'm so used to ...”

”You don't have to explain, Fatima. I know what you meant,” he replied.

”He can't get away with this. He has the entire police department in his pocket. My son will never get the justice he deserves,” she cried.

”What's justice? Nothing is going to bring Boomer back,” Case answered. He already knew what he was going to make happen. Macy would be sleeping with the fishes in due time, but he said all the right things in order to ease Fatima's suffering.

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