Page 15 of Merc

“Admit what?” Bully asked, wrapping his arms around her and placing a series of kisses on her neck that made her melt and swoon.

I was truly happy for my friend. She deserved to be loved on properly, and I was glad Bully was doing that. He hadn’t let up off her since that night at the bar. I prayed he stayed this way.

“That I really, really like you,” Innvy confessed, turning in his embrace.

“Good, because I really, really like you too.”

“Awww.” I cooed while Merc’s eyes rolled as he opened the door for me, making me laugh. “I’ll talk to you later, bestie. Have fun tonight!”

“I will! I would say you have fun too but…” Her eyes shifted toward Merc as she cackled, causing Bully to pick her up and toss her over his shoulder, smacking her ass in the process.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Merc asked as I got into the car.

“Not at all,” I replied with a laugh of my own.

Chapter

Nine

Merc

The Next Morning

“Daddy!”

My heart squeezed at the sound of Marz’s footsteps as he ran into the kitchen. I didn’t even bother reminding him that he needed to be careful. I was just glad my little man was back home. Kneeling, I opened my arms and scooped him up.

“I missed you, little man.”

“I missed you too.”

“Did you have fun?” I checked, setting him on top of the counter so I could finish making his lunch.

“Yes, sir. It was a lots of fun. They have all the animals down there. I got to ride a horse! Mr. Omar’s daddy said I can name one and make it my own if I keep coming to visit.”

“That’s great, son. I’m glad you had fun. Did you get to see the cows?”

“Yep! And it wasn’t just on the ride like Mommy said. They had cows too. I got to milk one!”

“Oh Lord. They ’bout to turn my city boy into a country cub. You ain’t gon’ ever wanna be at home with all that going on.”

Marz laughed. “Can you come with us next time?”

Rubbing the area between my stomach and chest, I shook my head. There wasn’t too much I denied Marz of, but spending time with Omar and his family was at the top of that list.

“I’on know about all’at, but I’ll take you to the drive-thru zoo or to Karrington’s family’s petting zoo. How does that sound?”

“Ooh, that sounds like fun! I can’t wait!”

Karrington was an artist out of Memphis that had settled in Jasper Lane. His family had acres and acres of land there that they used for farming and harvesting fruits and vegetables for the community. It was their family tradition and legacy, though Karrington wasn’t really about that life. He had desires to be known for his artistry, and I could respect that. One day, I hoped he had the courage to truly chase his dreams, or he would resent his family forever.

We continued to catch up, and he told me about all the people he met. He didn’t want a big breakfast, so I made him a bowl of cereal and put a pack of Pop-Tart bites in his lunch box for if he got hungry before lunch. By the time I was done, Aries was hesitantly making her way inside. Things had been off between us since she told me she wanted to move with Omar and take Marz with her.

I understood Atlanta was like the Black Mecca, but that wasn’t a good enough reason for her to follow behind Omar’s ass with my son. I probably would have felt better about it if he came to me as a man and let me know his plans to provide for them both, but that hadn’t been the case. Until we had that conversation, shit would remain off between us.

“Good morning, Merc,” she spoke quietly, sitting next to Marz.

The sight of milk dripping down his chin made me smile. I was grateful to God to have had both parents in the home, in a healthy marriage, because they equipped me to be the best father I could possibly be. Even with me having the connections I did because of my career and having bodies behind me, my son never got that heartless, hardened version of me. It was easy for me to be soft with him. I took pride in making sure he learned from a young age that as a man, he was allowed to be expressive, warm, and loving. But make no mistake about it—he was learning to be just as lethal as I was too.

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