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He sighed. “Then go ahead.”
“What?”
“Do it. Shoot me. Then what? Marry my daughter, help her mourn me? Go to my funeral?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think she’ll take it that hard. She really doesn’t like you all that much since you dogged her mom out.”
This familiar look passed over his face, one I’d worn more than once when thinking about my kids—regret. “Yeah, I haven’t been the best father to either of my girls, or the best husband, but I love my family, and if you love Renee, you won’t be able to live with yourself after you do this. We may not be close, but I’m still her daddy.”
“You got your gun on me under your desk? You saying all this sentimental shit to throw me off?”
He shook his head, reached into a drawer—which made me raise my gun—and laid a gun on his desk. “Here it is. This is the only one. You can come search me or my desk. Hell, you can search the whole damn office. I’m not shooting my friend’s son. I’m not shooting the man my daughter loves.”
I kept my gun on him.
“I didn’t kill Clarence.”
“If you cared so much about him, why didn’t you help my mother after he died?”
“I paid for his funeral, bought groceries, offered Betty Jean some money, but she wouldn’t take it. Said I’d done enough. Ask her.”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t kill your father, Lorenzo, but I do know who did.”
My eyes narrowed, but I didn’t lower the gun. “Who?”
“Someone who didn’t live to see another day after I found out what he did. I killed him. Everybody knew your father was working for me, making a lot of money. This fool robbed him, shot him, left him in the street like he was nothing. And I killed him, so you wouldn’t have to, because I knew you’d want to.”
I blinked hard and shook my head again.
“Now you can kill me, or you can sit down and we can talk. I’ll give you the man’s name and you can Google him, see if I’m telling the truth. He was a known thief. There was something in the paper about them finding his body. I know you think I’m lying, but I’m telling the truth. If I’m the man you think I am, I would’ve shot you before you got in the door good.”
I lowered the gun. “Shit.”
“You believe me?”
“Honestly, no. But I love your daughter and…and I can’t do this to her. I know her heart, and I know she loves your sorry ass. Fuck!” I grabbed my head. “Go ahead and shoot me. I know that’s what all that bullshit you were talking was leading up to. You were tryna mess with my head and confuse me. So do it. Shoot me, because I can’t shoot you.”
“Hell, I can’t shoot you for the same reason you can’t shoot me. Contrary to popular belief, I love my daughter and I’ve never seen her as happy as she was with you last night. I can’t take you from her. And you’re Clarence’s son. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do that to him, either.”
I looked up at him. “You gonna tell Renee about this? About me coming here to kill you?”
“You gonna tell Renee I used to be Jaywalk?”
Neither of us answered the other.
“You really didn’t know who I was when you met her?” he asked.
“I didn’t.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Life is something else. Clarence’s son and my Renee. Well, if you’re anything like your daddy, you’ll be good to her.”
“I’d give my life for her.”
He patted his protruding belly. “Well, I haven’t had breakfast. Wanna join me? I know this great little café a couple of blocks over. We can get to know each other since we’re gonna be family.”
I nodded. “Yeah. My car’s across the street. I’ll follow you.”
