Page 54 of Judgments of Fire and Desire

“It’s okay, baby. I understand.”

“It’s not okay, but thank you for forgiving me. That man in there was right.”

She pulled away from me with a frown on her face. Genesis adorned the same frown. “Kyrie?—”

“No. He was right. I’m a lot like him… good and bad. I didn’t realize it until he pointed it out. Had it not been for Genesis snatching my heart out of my chest, I still would be. I was arrogant, and while I thought I was serving the community, I was serving my own ego. I know I didn’t get that mentality from you, so it had to come from him. All these years, I hated that you compared me to him and refused to look at him as the father he was. However, it took someone trying to kill me for sins he committed for me to see what you’ve been trying to tell me all along.”

My mama brought her hand to my cheek and gently stroked it as tears fell from her eyes. “I only wanted you to embrace who you are and realize that a lot of good qualities youpossessed came from him. I never saw you as egotistical, selfish, or arrogant… well, maybe alittlearrogant.” She smiled. “While your father cheated on me, I never knew about it until this unfortunate incident. I thought I was the most blessed woman in the world because he treated me like a queen. We had disagreements, as most married people do, but he was good to me. I can’t let what I found out after his death take away from that, or it will drive me insane.”

I nodded. She was a strong woman and a way better person than me. It took me all this time to finally release forgiveness for my father, simply because someone had the audacity to knock me off my high horse and prove to me just how much like him I really was. I slowly shook my head as I put my arm around Genesis.

She smiled as I said, “Thank you for making me a better man simply by loving me.”

She kissed my lips. “You’ve made me better also.”

Detective Johnson joined us with a sympathetic look on her face. “Well, since he confessed, there is nothing left to do but wait for him to be arraigned. I’m pretty sure they will throw the book at him, especially since you’re a judge. I’m just happy we were able to catch him.”

“Thanks. Me too.”

“If only the other foolishness was this easy.”

I nodded as she glanced at Genesis, probably wondering if I had told her. Since the rest of our night was ruined, I may as well tell her. I knew she wouldn’t alert her brother, especially since she couldn’t even locate him right now. Genesis frowned slightly, probably trying to figure out why Stephanie glanced at her that way. She walked away, and I slid my hand to Genesis’s. She looked up at me and asked, “What’s going on? Why did she look at me that way?”

“I’ll tell you when we get to the car.”

“It’s about Samuel, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. They plan to issue a warrant for his arrest Monday.”

She nodded repeatedly as a lone tear escaped her. She quickly swiped it away and said, “Okay. Let’s head back to your place to pack you some things, then we’ll go to my place. It’s not as big as yours, but hopefully, you’ll still be comfortable.”

I pulled her to me. “I’ll be comfortable wherever you are.”

She nodded once again, and we made our way out of the station to our cars. I kissed my mama on her cheek and reminded her that I would see her Sunday, then got inside the car with Genesis. She was wiping her face quite a bit. I knew she was trying to restrain her tears in front of me, but that wasn’t necessary.

After starting the engine, I turned to her. “Genesis, it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be hurt, angry, disappointed… all that. You don’t have to hide that from me. I know this is killing you, especially since you can’t even talk to anyone about it. At least once he’s arrested, you can get it all out of your system and try to convince him to talk.”

She gave me a tight smile. “Yeah. I just hope he’ll listen. Today has been quite emotional. I think I’ve experienced every emotion on the spectrum, and I just want to pop a few Ibuprofens and go to sleep.”

“Touché, baby. Touché.”

I woke up in a cold sweat after running for my life in dreamland. I looked around the bedroom, trying to remember where I was. After a minute or so, I remembered I was at Genesis’s house. Itook a deep breath and rubbed my hand down my face. Turning to my left, I realized she wasn’t in bed. The clock on the nightstand read three a.m. I got out of bed and went to the en suite bathroom only to find the door locked.

When I knocked, the toilet flushed, and she unlocked the door. I walked in as she washed her hands. She looked at me through the vanity mirror. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just had a nightmare. I need to clean up. I’m wet with sweat.”

She nodded as I started the shower. Her bedding was probably wet on my side of the bed as well. There was no way I would be sleeping after this. Thankfully, neither of us had anything to do this weekend. As I stared at her, I could tell that she probably hadn’t gotten much sleep. Her eyes were puffy and red, like she’d been crying for hours. We’d gotten here around eleven last night and was in bed before midnight.

Going to her, I slid my hand to hers. I didn’t want to initiate any more contact than that since I was sweaty. She had different plans though. She turned and fell into me, crying her eyes out. “I hate this shit!” she said through her cries.

I circled my arms around her for a moment then pulled away and started undressing her. She’d put on a nightshirt and underwear before going to bed. I took off my shorts and pulled her to the shower with me. Allowing the water to drench us felt refreshing to me. It was like we were getting cleansed of all the bullshit the night brought us and starting fresh with a renewed spirit. Genesis laid her head against me then lightly kissed my neck. I kissed her forehead, then said, “I’m always here for you, baby. This has been a lot to deal with, but I feel like it’s wrapping up.”

She lifted her head and stared into my eyes. “What makes you so sure?”

“Things usually get to a point where they feel unbearable just before there is a break of some sorts. When the warrants are issued for the individuals they plan to prosecute or milk for names, this will go downhill fast.”

She nodded. “I just wish my brother wasn’t involved in all of this. While knowing that this type of corruption is going on in our city, it makes it ten times worse knowing someone I love dearly is involved in it.”

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