Manhattan, page 5
“Did your people say if Money Man was by himself?”
“No, why?”
“Because if you owed the most dangerous man in New York fifty thousand dollars, would you be alone?”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Of course you didn’t. Be ready for anything.”
When the elevator let them off, Caesar followed Niles to a door in the middle of the wide hallway. Niles motioned silently at the door, and Caesar nodded. He looked over his shoulder before drawing his gun and waited for Niles’s knuckles to hit the door.
Knock! Knock!
When they heard footsteps approach, they both stepped out of the way of the peephole.
“Who’s there?” The voice was gruff, and Caesar didn’t recognize it.
“Is Raymond here?” Niles asked.
“Whose askin’?”
“I’m Bill, his neighbor from down the hall,” Niles said in his best Caucasian hippie imitation. “I heard he was who to come to for pills and shit, man. But if he doesn’t want my money—”
The door unlocked before Niles even finished speaking, and a big white man revealed himself. Once the entrance was big enough to go through, Caesar shoved his gun in the man’s face and ran inside the condo. Niles moved quickly behind him, aiming his pistol at the rest of the house.
“Hands where I can see them, motherfuckas, or I’ma turn you all into spaghetti!” Niles shouted.
The three men sitting in the all-white living room stopped and put their hands in the air. The blunt that was in rotation fell to the floor. Caesar pushed his man against the wall and snatched the firearm from his hip, tucking it into his own pants. Feeling that he might prove to be a problem, Caesar took the liberty of hitting him hard in the temple with the revolver, knocking him out cold.
“He’s in here,” Niles called over his shoulder to Caesar.
After Caesar made sure the front door was locked, he stepped over the unconscious man and went to the living room. Sure enough, there was Money Man looking like a million bucks. His hair was combed back, and he was dressed in a Versace suit and had two gold rings on his right hand. The sight of Caesar brought the most uneasy look to Money Man’s face.
“Money Man, just the person I came to see. Niles, check them all for guns,” Caesar instructed.
Caesar aimed his weapon at them and watched like a hawk for even a twitch while Niles disarmed them. When all their weapons were placed on the kitchen table a ways away, Niles came back and stood next to him. It was then that Caesar took notice of the stacks of money on the glass coffee table in front of the men, along with lines of cocaine and weed.
“Caesar, man. I was coming to see Cassius today to drop off his money.”
“Is that right? Because it looks like you were smoking and having a good time to me. What you think, Niles?”
“I’m thinking that better either be our money or coke on this here table,” Niles answered.
“What happened Money Man? You were supposed to drop that off for us, but we haven’t heard from you. Did you even take it to Rochester like you were supposed to?”
“Of course I did,” Money Man answered.
“Okay, that’s one mystery solved. Now on to the next. Where’s our fucking money?”
“Caesar, listen, I was going to bring you your money. I swear,” Money Man said, putting his palms up.
“Then explain why you have all this muscle around you. You’ve never had security before. Why now?”
“Because he knew we were gonna come for his ass, that’s why,” Niles said.
“What happened, Money Man?” Caesar inquired again.
Money Man looked from one gun to the other before he groaned loudly. “All right, all right. I fucked up, okay? I fucked up.”
“So you didn’t drop the drugs off?”
“No, I did. But when I got all that money in my hands, I went a little wild. That’s all.”
“You spent it?”
“A little of it.”
“Okay, so how much is left?”
“That.” Money Man slowly looked at the money on the coffee table.
“You gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” Niles exclaimed. “Motherfucka, that don’t look to be more than ten thousand dollars.”
“It’s almost twenty. I’ll get the thirty for you.”
Caesar took a deep breath and blew the air out through his mouth. His head fell back for a second, and he tried to calm the sea of anger about to surface. He wished Money Man had told him something other than what he just had.
“You’ve been doing business with us all this time. Why would you fuck up now?”
“Cassius never gave me a job this big before.”
“He thought you had proved yourself trustworthy. That word, trust. He’s very big on that. Especially since he doesn’t give his away easily.”
“I might have gone a little overboard, but—”
“A little? You spent thirty thousand fucking dollars! And cut the bullshit. You weren’t planning on paying us back. If you were, you would have done it by now.”
“What you wanna do with this sorry-ass piece of shit, Caes?” Niles asked.
“The same thing we do to any other snake that slithers its way into our garden. Cut its head off.”
Caesar had every intention of putting a bullet in Money Man’s skull right then and there, but he noticed one of the other men make a move for his ankle. He pulled out a small handgun and was fixing to aim it at an unsuspecting Niles. Caesar had to react fast. He averted his aim from Money Man and shot his accomplice in his temple. The man’s head snapped to the side, but it was just the diversion the other accomplice needed to tackle Caesar to the ground. Niles tried to shoot him, but Money Man punched him in the face.
The man on top of Caesar knocked the revolver away and wrapped his hands around Caesar’s neck. Gasping for air, Caesar reached for his pocket and withdrew a small switchblade from it. His strength was leaving him, but he used the last of it to shove the knife into the man’s red neck. He collapsed, choking on his own blood, and Caesar stood rockily to his feet, trying to catch his breath. When he did, he saw Niles and Money Man in the middle of a full-on fist fight. Caesar spotted his revolver and picked it up. The moment he got a clear shot, he took it. The bullet lodged itself in Money Man’s skull and made him drop instantly.
“Man! What you do that for? I was whoopin’ his ass!” Niles exclaimed.
“No, you were wasting time. Grab that money. We gotta go. I’m sure one of the neighbors heard the gunshots!”
* * *
Niles came back to the King mansion with Caesar. Caesar didn’t know if his father had returned home yet, but just in case he had, he didn’t want to be alone in telling him the news about Money Man. Cassius was never happy about losing money. But at least that time it hadn’t been a mistake made on Caesar’s part. He also knew Cassius would be happy to learn that Money Man was dead. He wasn’t the type of man who would let someone redeem themselves after wronging him. Once you proved yourself disloyal, that was all she wrote.
“You boys want some lunch?” Martina asked when they came into the kitchen.
“Yes, please. I’m starvin’!” Niles told her, leaning on the island. He turned to Caesar, who had taken a seat on a barstool next to him. “And you think you’re slick comin’ here instead of takin’ me home.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caesar feigned innocence.
“Nigga, please. Didn’t I just tell you earlier that I don’t want ya daddy’s foot up my ass? He’s gon’ be pissed off when we tell him this shit!”
“Y’all know I don’t like all that cursing in my kitchen, now!” Martina chastised, pointing a spatula their way.
“I’m sorry, Miss Martina,” Niles said, trying to offer her a smile, but she squinted her eyes at him. He turned back to Caesar with wide eyes and whispered, “She used to be nice.”
“She still is. I just don’t think she likes you.”
“Whatever, man. Where is Cassius anyways?”
“I don’t know. He said he had some business to handle. I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.”
The phone on the kitchen wall rang, and Martina stopped cooking to answer it. Niles was cracking another joke about what Cassius was going to do to them when Martina waved the phone at Caesar.
“It’s for you, Caesar honey,” she said, stretching the cord over the island to hand it to him.
“Hello?”
“Caesar King?”
“Nasir?” Caesar asked, recognizing the deep voice. “My dad is out right now.”
“I’m not calling for him. I’m calling about him.” There was something about the way he said it that made Caesar’s stomach turn.
“What is it. Does he need me?”
“No. I don’t know how to tell you this, kid, but Cassius is dead.”
Chapter 9
The Present
Caesar took what felt like the biggest breath of his life, and he attempted to pull himself together. He stared at the revolving door of the hospital and watched people rushing in and out, knowing that when he left, he might not ever be the same again. A hand gently touched his shoulder, and he turned his attention to his companion. Diana gave him a sad smile and urged him to follow her.
“We have to go in now, Caesar,” she said, and he nodded.
“I know. I’m just not ready.”
“Me either, but this is just one of those things that we have to do. We have each other to lean on. Come on. Before security has us removed for loitering.”
She led the way into the hospital and to the pathology department. The closer they got, the more Caesar’s chest seemed to cave. Losing his wife had been unbearable, and losing Barry had been another blow. But when he received the call that Boogie had been killed, it was like whatever life Caesar had left went with him. Boogie had become like a son to him. He loved him. Caesar couldn’t help but wonder if he had cheated death just for it to be dealt to the next person.
“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked.
“We’re here to view a body,” Diana answered. “Bryshon Tolliver.”
The receptionist typed something into her computer, and when she found what she was looking for, she pursed her lips. She looked from the screen and then back at the two of them.
“It looks like someone already identified the body. They were able to give the police a positive ID when he was first brought in almost forty-eight hours ago.”
“I don’t think you heard me right. We’re here to view the body, not identify it,” Diana told her with a straight face. “We are his next of kin, so I’m not sure why anyone else would have been called to identify him. Find someone to take us to him.”
The receptionist paused, visibly flustered. But it was as if she knew denying Diana what she wanted wouldn’t be in her best interest. She paged someone, and a few minutes later a man wearing a pair of scrubs came to the front.
“Anna, you paged?” he asked the receptionist.
“Yes, I did, John. These people would like to view the body of the shooting victim who was brought in two days ago.”
“He was already identified.”
“I know. That’s what I, um, that’s what I said.”
John turned to face Diana and Caesar. They both wore determined expressions that let him know they weren’t leaving until they got what they came for. John sighed and looked around the empty lobby and nodded his head.
“I don’t see what harm it will do. I understand these things can be very unsettling. Was he your son?”
“Yes,” Caesar answered without batting an eye.
“Right this way.” John motioned for them to follow him.
He led them to the morgue. The room reeked of death, but that didn’t move Caesar. The only thing on his mind was saying goodbye to Boogie.
“Tolliver,” John said as he approached a cold locker. “There you are.”
He pulled the body out, and Caesar clenched his jaw as he stared at the thin white sheet that covered it. He approached slowly, and John stepped back.
“I was on my way to the lab to grab something when Anna paged me. Technically I’m not supposed to do this, but if I leave you here for a few moments, do you promise not to steal any bodies?”
“What?” Diana turned her lip up at him.
“Right, wrong time to make a joke,” John said and widened his eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
He left the two of them standing in front of the open locker. Caesar kept urging his hand to pull the sheet back, but something was getting lost in translation. He found himself reflecting on the time he and Boogie stood over Barry’s body to identify him. Whatever feelings Boogie had been feeling then, staring down at his own father’s lifeless body, were the same ones Caesar wanted to avoid. He wasn’t ready to see Boogie like that. However, that was the reason he came. He had to see for himself that Boogie was really dead.
He balled the corner of the sheet into his fist and pulled the sheet back. Beside him he heard Diana take a sharp breath. Her hand flew to her chest as they stared down at the body. Caesar’s eyes first went to the bullet holes in his pale chest. There was no way anyone could have survived a direct hit like that. The next thing he looked at was Boogie’s face, only to find that there wasn’t a thing about it that he recognized. The man on the table was about the same age as Boogie, but he in fact was not him.
“What in the world . . .” Diana whispered, seeing the same thing as Caesar. “Maybe the mortician pulled the wrong body.”
“He said the name Tolliver when he pulled this one out,” Caesar said and curiously checked the toe tag. “And this here says this man’s name is Bryshon Tolliver, but I think we can both agree that this isn’t Boogie.”
“They said someone positively identified him. Who could have done that?”
“Good! You’re here!” a familiar voice sounded almost on cue.
Both Caesar and Diana turned to the door in unison and found Caesar’s nephew Nicky standing at the morgue’s entrance. He wore fresh braids and street clothes. He also seemed out of breath, like he had run all the way down there. Nicky had been the one who informed Caesar about the shooting. If Caesar had been in his right mind when he got off the plane, he would have called his nephew the moment he touched down. However, his mind was so clouded that he hadn’t even thought to.
“Nicky! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to reach both of you for hours! When you didn’t return my messages, I took a wild guess of where I might find you.”
“Is this some kind of sick joke, Nicky?” Caesar asked with frustration dripping from each word. “You said Boogie was dead, but this isn’t Boogie.”
“I can explain everything. A lot of shit has happened. But first we need to get out of here.”
“No, I’m not spending another second without knowing what the hell is going on around me. They said they got a positive ID on Boogie’s body, and I want to see him before I leave.”
“Boogie’s body isn’t here. I’m the one who positively identified whoever that John Doe is and said he was Boogie.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“To keep Boogie safe,” Nicky answered, and Caesar’s heart almost stopped.
“To keep him safe? You say that like he’s alive.”
“He is, but we had to keep a low profile. With Zo’s crazy-ass aunt still somewhere lurking around, and Roz’s crazy baby daddy—”
“Who?” Diana asked.
“Like I said, it’s a lot. And we didn’t want to take any chances. Right now, anyone affiliated with Zo has a target on their back. So, Unc, please put that nigga back on ice, and let’s go to the Big House.”
“Wait. The Big House?” Diana asked, confused. “The location was compromised. Why would we go there? It isn’t safe.”
“I guess I should say the new Big House.” Nicky grinned sheepishly at them. “After Roz was shot, Boogie decided to take a page out of Caesar’s book. He had a house built on uncharted property on the outskirts of the city. Only we know the location of it. Now come on. He’s waiting for you.”
Chapter 10
The Big House that Boogie had built was a gigantic and beautiful property. It too was brick, but it had an old-world vibe about it. There were even gargoyle statues perched on the top of it. Caesar would have to take time another day to truly admire it and take it all in. But when he burst through the front doors, the only thing he cared to see was his godson. He didn’t have to search very far to find him. Together in the large sitting area on the first level of the home were Morgan, Roz, Nathan, and Tazz. They were all gathered around a very worn out–looking Boogie. His chest and shoulder were wrapped in white bandages, and he was obviously drained. However, his eyes lit up when he saw Diana rushing to him. She pushed Morgan, who’d been sitting next to him, out of the way and sat down.
“Oh, Boogie!” she exclaimed and touched his face softly. Warm tears fell down her cheekbones. “I thought we lost you.”
“I did too, but luckily for me, the man who shot me wasn’t a real shooter. One of the bullets he hit me with was a flesh wound and the other lodged in my shoulder. I lost a lot of blood waiting for the ambulance to come though. I thought it was over for me.”
Caesar took a seat across from them even though what he really wanted to do was pull Boogie into a tight embrace. However, when the two men connected eyes, his relief to see the young man was translated. He gave Boogie a small smile and was given a nod in response.
“I’m glad to see that you’re still here in the land of the living,” Caesar told him.
“It’s going to take more than something like this to take me out.”
“Well, either way you should be resting! Why isn’t he in bed?” Diana asked, and her piercing gaze went around the room.
“We have been telling him to lie down and get his strength back. But he won’t listen!” Morgan explained.
“I can’t lie down and rest. Not when that motherfucka has my daughter,” Boogie said through clenched teeth.
“Amber? Somebody took Amber?” Diana’s alarmed eyes turned to Roz, who tearfully nodded her head. “Who?”
“No, why?”
“Because if you owed the most dangerous man in New York fifty thousand dollars, would you be alone?”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Of course you didn’t. Be ready for anything.”
When the elevator let them off, Caesar followed Niles to a door in the middle of the wide hallway. Niles motioned silently at the door, and Caesar nodded. He looked over his shoulder before drawing his gun and waited for Niles’s knuckles to hit the door.
Knock! Knock!
When they heard footsteps approach, they both stepped out of the way of the peephole.
“Who’s there?” The voice was gruff, and Caesar didn’t recognize it.
“Is Raymond here?” Niles asked.
“Whose askin’?”
“I’m Bill, his neighbor from down the hall,” Niles said in his best Caucasian hippie imitation. “I heard he was who to come to for pills and shit, man. But if he doesn’t want my money—”
The door unlocked before Niles even finished speaking, and a big white man revealed himself. Once the entrance was big enough to go through, Caesar shoved his gun in the man’s face and ran inside the condo. Niles moved quickly behind him, aiming his pistol at the rest of the house.
“Hands where I can see them, motherfuckas, or I’ma turn you all into spaghetti!” Niles shouted.
The three men sitting in the all-white living room stopped and put their hands in the air. The blunt that was in rotation fell to the floor. Caesar pushed his man against the wall and snatched the firearm from his hip, tucking it into his own pants. Feeling that he might prove to be a problem, Caesar took the liberty of hitting him hard in the temple with the revolver, knocking him out cold.
“He’s in here,” Niles called over his shoulder to Caesar.
After Caesar made sure the front door was locked, he stepped over the unconscious man and went to the living room. Sure enough, there was Money Man looking like a million bucks. His hair was combed back, and he was dressed in a Versace suit and had two gold rings on his right hand. The sight of Caesar brought the most uneasy look to Money Man’s face.
“Money Man, just the person I came to see. Niles, check them all for guns,” Caesar instructed.
Caesar aimed his weapon at them and watched like a hawk for even a twitch while Niles disarmed them. When all their weapons were placed on the kitchen table a ways away, Niles came back and stood next to him. It was then that Caesar took notice of the stacks of money on the glass coffee table in front of the men, along with lines of cocaine and weed.
“Caesar, man. I was coming to see Cassius today to drop off his money.”
“Is that right? Because it looks like you were smoking and having a good time to me. What you think, Niles?”
“I’m thinking that better either be our money or coke on this here table,” Niles answered.
“What happened Money Man? You were supposed to drop that off for us, but we haven’t heard from you. Did you even take it to Rochester like you were supposed to?”
“Of course I did,” Money Man answered.
“Okay, that’s one mystery solved. Now on to the next. Where’s our fucking money?”
“Caesar, listen, I was going to bring you your money. I swear,” Money Man said, putting his palms up.
“Then explain why you have all this muscle around you. You’ve never had security before. Why now?”
“Because he knew we were gonna come for his ass, that’s why,” Niles said.
“What happened, Money Man?” Caesar inquired again.
Money Man looked from one gun to the other before he groaned loudly. “All right, all right. I fucked up, okay? I fucked up.”
“So you didn’t drop the drugs off?”
“No, I did. But when I got all that money in my hands, I went a little wild. That’s all.”
“You spent it?”
“A little of it.”
“Okay, so how much is left?”
“That.” Money Man slowly looked at the money on the coffee table.
“You gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” Niles exclaimed. “Motherfucka, that don’t look to be more than ten thousand dollars.”
“It’s almost twenty. I’ll get the thirty for you.”
Caesar took a deep breath and blew the air out through his mouth. His head fell back for a second, and he tried to calm the sea of anger about to surface. He wished Money Man had told him something other than what he just had.
“You’ve been doing business with us all this time. Why would you fuck up now?”
“Cassius never gave me a job this big before.”
“He thought you had proved yourself trustworthy. That word, trust. He’s very big on that. Especially since he doesn’t give his away easily.”
“I might have gone a little overboard, but—”
“A little? You spent thirty thousand fucking dollars! And cut the bullshit. You weren’t planning on paying us back. If you were, you would have done it by now.”
“What you wanna do with this sorry-ass piece of shit, Caes?” Niles asked.
“The same thing we do to any other snake that slithers its way into our garden. Cut its head off.”
Caesar had every intention of putting a bullet in Money Man’s skull right then and there, but he noticed one of the other men make a move for his ankle. He pulled out a small handgun and was fixing to aim it at an unsuspecting Niles. Caesar had to react fast. He averted his aim from Money Man and shot his accomplice in his temple. The man’s head snapped to the side, but it was just the diversion the other accomplice needed to tackle Caesar to the ground. Niles tried to shoot him, but Money Man punched him in the face.
The man on top of Caesar knocked the revolver away and wrapped his hands around Caesar’s neck. Gasping for air, Caesar reached for his pocket and withdrew a small switchblade from it. His strength was leaving him, but he used the last of it to shove the knife into the man’s red neck. He collapsed, choking on his own blood, and Caesar stood rockily to his feet, trying to catch his breath. When he did, he saw Niles and Money Man in the middle of a full-on fist fight. Caesar spotted his revolver and picked it up. The moment he got a clear shot, he took it. The bullet lodged itself in Money Man’s skull and made him drop instantly.
“Man! What you do that for? I was whoopin’ his ass!” Niles exclaimed.
“No, you were wasting time. Grab that money. We gotta go. I’m sure one of the neighbors heard the gunshots!”
* * *
Niles came back to the King mansion with Caesar. Caesar didn’t know if his father had returned home yet, but just in case he had, he didn’t want to be alone in telling him the news about Money Man. Cassius was never happy about losing money. But at least that time it hadn’t been a mistake made on Caesar’s part. He also knew Cassius would be happy to learn that Money Man was dead. He wasn’t the type of man who would let someone redeem themselves after wronging him. Once you proved yourself disloyal, that was all she wrote.
“You boys want some lunch?” Martina asked when they came into the kitchen.
“Yes, please. I’m starvin’!” Niles told her, leaning on the island. He turned to Caesar, who had taken a seat on a barstool next to him. “And you think you’re slick comin’ here instead of takin’ me home.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caesar feigned innocence.
“Nigga, please. Didn’t I just tell you earlier that I don’t want ya daddy’s foot up my ass? He’s gon’ be pissed off when we tell him this shit!”
“Y’all know I don’t like all that cursing in my kitchen, now!” Martina chastised, pointing a spatula their way.
“I’m sorry, Miss Martina,” Niles said, trying to offer her a smile, but she squinted her eyes at him. He turned back to Caesar with wide eyes and whispered, “She used to be nice.”
“She still is. I just don’t think she likes you.”
“Whatever, man. Where is Cassius anyways?”
“I don’t know. He said he had some business to handle. I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.”
The phone on the kitchen wall rang, and Martina stopped cooking to answer it. Niles was cracking another joke about what Cassius was going to do to them when Martina waved the phone at Caesar.
“It’s for you, Caesar honey,” she said, stretching the cord over the island to hand it to him.
“Hello?”
“Caesar King?”
“Nasir?” Caesar asked, recognizing the deep voice. “My dad is out right now.”
“I’m not calling for him. I’m calling about him.” There was something about the way he said it that made Caesar’s stomach turn.
“What is it. Does he need me?”
“No. I don’t know how to tell you this, kid, but Cassius is dead.”
Chapter 9
The Present
Caesar took what felt like the biggest breath of his life, and he attempted to pull himself together. He stared at the revolving door of the hospital and watched people rushing in and out, knowing that when he left, he might not ever be the same again. A hand gently touched his shoulder, and he turned his attention to his companion. Diana gave him a sad smile and urged him to follow her.
“We have to go in now, Caesar,” she said, and he nodded.
“I know. I’m just not ready.”
“Me either, but this is just one of those things that we have to do. We have each other to lean on. Come on. Before security has us removed for loitering.”
She led the way into the hospital and to the pathology department. The closer they got, the more Caesar’s chest seemed to cave. Losing his wife had been unbearable, and losing Barry had been another blow. But when he received the call that Boogie had been killed, it was like whatever life Caesar had left went with him. Boogie had become like a son to him. He loved him. Caesar couldn’t help but wonder if he had cheated death just for it to be dealt to the next person.
“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked.
“We’re here to view a body,” Diana answered. “Bryshon Tolliver.”
The receptionist typed something into her computer, and when she found what she was looking for, she pursed her lips. She looked from the screen and then back at the two of them.
“It looks like someone already identified the body. They were able to give the police a positive ID when he was first brought in almost forty-eight hours ago.”
“I don’t think you heard me right. We’re here to view the body, not identify it,” Diana told her with a straight face. “We are his next of kin, so I’m not sure why anyone else would have been called to identify him. Find someone to take us to him.”
The receptionist paused, visibly flustered. But it was as if she knew denying Diana what she wanted wouldn’t be in her best interest. She paged someone, and a few minutes later a man wearing a pair of scrubs came to the front.
“Anna, you paged?” he asked the receptionist.
“Yes, I did, John. These people would like to view the body of the shooting victim who was brought in two days ago.”
“He was already identified.”
“I know. That’s what I, um, that’s what I said.”
John turned to face Diana and Caesar. They both wore determined expressions that let him know they weren’t leaving until they got what they came for. John sighed and looked around the empty lobby and nodded his head.
“I don’t see what harm it will do. I understand these things can be very unsettling. Was he your son?”
“Yes,” Caesar answered without batting an eye.
“Right this way.” John motioned for them to follow him.
He led them to the morgue. The room reeked of death, but that didn’t move Caesar. The only thing on his mind was saying goodbye to Boogie.
“Tolliver,” John said as he approached a cold locker. “There you are.”
He pulled the body out, and Caesar clenched his jaw as he stared at the thin white sheet that covered it. He approached slowly, and John stepped back.
“I was on my way to the lab to grab something when Anna paged me. Technically I’m not supposed to do this, but if I leave you here for a few moments, do you promise not to steal any bodies?”
“What?” Diana turned her lip up at him.
“Right, wrong time to make a joke,” John said and widened his eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
He left the two of them standing in front of the open locker. Caesar kept urging his hand to pull the sheet back, but something was getting lost in translation. He found himself reflecting on the time he and Boogie stood over Barry’s body to identify him. Whatever feelings Boogie had been feeling then, staring down at his own father’s lifeless body, were the same ones Caesar wanted to avoid. He wasn’t ready to see Boogie like that. However, that was the reason he came. He had to see for himself that Boogie was really dead.
He balled the corner of the sheet into his fist and pulled the sheet back. Beside him he heard Diana take a sharp breath. Her hand flew to her chest as they stared down at the body. Caesar’s eyes first went to the bullet holes in his pale chest. There was no way anyone could have survived a direct hit like that. The next thing he looked at was Boogie’s face, only to find that there wasn’t a thing about it that he recognized. The man on the table was about the same age as Boogie, but he in fact was not him.
“What in the world . . .” Diana whispered, seeing the same thing as Caesar. “Maybe the mortician pulled the wrong body.”
“He said the name Tolliver when he pulled this one out,” Caesar said and curiously checked the toe tag. “And this here says this man’s name is Bryshon Tolliver, but I think we can both agree that this isn’t Boogie.”
“They said someone positively identified him. Who could have done that?”
“Good! You’re here!” a familiar voice sounded almost on cue.
Both Caesar and Diana turned to the door in unison and found Caesar’s nephew Nicky standing at the morgue’s entrance. He wore fresh braids and street clothes. He also seemed out of breath, like he had run all the way down there. Nicky had been the one who informed Caesar about the shooting. If Caesar had been in his right mind when he got off the plane, he would have called his nephew the moment he touched down. However, his mind was so clouded that he hadn’t even thought to.
“Nicky! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to reach both of you for hours! When you didn’t return my messages, I took a wild guess of where I might find you.”
“Is this some kind of sick joke, Nicky?” Caesar asked with frustration dripping from each word. “You said Boogie was dead, but this isn’t Boogie.”
“I can explain everything. A lot of shit has happened. But first we need to get out of here.”
“No, I’m not spending another second without knowing what the hell is going on around me. They said they got a positive ID on Boogie’s body, and I want to see him before I leave.”
“Boogie’s body isn’t here. I’m the one who positively identified whoever that John Doe is and said he was Boogie.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“To keep Boogie safe,” Nicky answered, and Caesar’s heart almost stopped.
“To keep him safe? You say that like he’s alive.”
“He is, but we had to keep a low profile. With Zo’s crazy-ass aunt still somewhere lurking around, and Roz’s crazy baby daddy—”
“Who?” Diana asked.
“Like I said, it’s a lot. And we didn’t want to take any chances. Right now, anyone affiliated with Zo has a target on their back. So, Unc, please put that nigga back on ice, and let’s go to the Big House.”
“Wait. The Big House?” Diana asked, confused. “The location was compromised. Why would we go there? It isn’t safe.”
“I guess I should say the new Big House.” Nicky grinned sheepishly at them. “After Roz was shot, Boogie decided to take a page out of Caesar’s book. He had a house built on uncharted property on the outskirts of the city. Only we know the location of it. Now come on. He’s waiting for you.”
Chapter 10
The Big House that Boogie had built was a gigantic and beautiful property. It too was brick, but it had an old-world vibe about it. There were even gargoyle statues perched on the top of it. Caesar would have to take time another day to truly admire it and take it all in. But when he burst through the front doors, the only thing he cared to see was his godson. He didn’t have to search very far to find him. Together in the large sitting area on the first level of the home were Morgan, Roz, Nathan, and Tazz. They were all gathered around a very worn out–looking Boogie. His chest and shoulder were wrapped in white bandages, and he was obviously drained. However, his eyes lit up when he saw Diana rushing to him. She pushed Morgan, who’d been sitting next to him, out of the way and sat down.
“Oh, Boogie!” she exclaimed and touched his face softly. Warm tears fell down her cheekbones. “I thought we lost you.”
“I did too, but luckily for me, the man who shot me wasn’t a real shooter. One of the bullets he hit me with was a flesh wound and the other lodged in my shoulder. I lost a lot of blood waiting for the ambulance to come though. I thought it was over for me.”
Caesar took a seat across from them even though what he really wanted to do was pull Boogie into a tight embrace. However, when the two men connected eyes, his relief to see the young man was translated. He gave Boogie a small smile and was given a nod in response.
“I’m glad to see that you’re still here in the land of the living,” Caesar told him.
“It’s going to take more than something like this to take me out.”
“Well, either way you should be resting! Why isn’t he in bed?” Diana asked, and her piercing gaze went around the room.
“We have been telling him to lie down and get his strength back. But he won’t listen!” Morgan explained.
“I can’t lie down and rest. Not when that motherfucka has my daughter,” Boogie said through clenched teeth.
“Amber? Somebody took Amber?” Diana’s alarmed eyes turned to Roz, who tearfully nodded her head. “Who?”
