Chapter 3

Three

Merc

As I preparedto spend the evening with my guys, Bully was being as big of a gossip as a woman. I could only chuckle as he told me about Innvy. Apparently, he liked her more than he was able to admit right now. Bully, born with the name Gabriel, was a retired basketball player who was enjoying living a slower and more relaxed life. He did security with me and Asylum when he wanted to busy himself doing something active, but other than that, he spent his days traveling or mentoring and coaching young men at various schools in Memphis.

"I'ma see you a lil bit later, though," I told him, wrapping my Rolex around my wrist.

Aries said she wanted to talk before I headed out, and I knew she'd be coming in soon.

"Aight, bet. I'ma see if Toe coming out tonight too."

"Do that. I feel like I ain't seen him all year."

"I don't think we have. I'll let you know what he says."

"Aight, cool." I agreed before disconnecting the call.

Out of our crew, Beethoven was the only one still in the streets. He was always on go with his father and cousin, so we didn't see him as much as we used to. Now that Dauterive was back in Asylum's life, he spent a lot of his time with her and True. I could respect and understand that because I was on the same wave with my little man, but I always made sure both Aries and I took time outside of the house. We were more than parents, and I never wanted us to lose ourselves in our son.

The day was going to come when he left us and started doing his own thing, and we'd have to still live life. Because of that, it was important to me that we not only raised him in a way that would allow him to be a healthy, independent man, but that we continued to care for ourselves and keep up with our lives and identities too.

A few minutes later, Aries was ringing the doorbell on the back door that I'd installed. I yelled for her to come in, and the sound of Omar's voice had my jaw clenching as I pulled in what I hoped would be a calming breath. He was one person that truly irritated my spirit, and I really prayed Aries saw the real version of him before she tied herself to him for life.

I think her situation was what made me handle the young lady at the bar the way I did last night. After hearing Aries's news, I decided to go out for drinks with Bully. When he noticed Innvy, I agreed to keep her girl company while he did his thing. Neo was beautiful, but I wasn't in a place to try and make anything happen with her. Though I wanted something different and had left Victoria because of it, being a father and my work kept me too busy to try and start anything serious right now.

After hitting my outfit with a few sprays of Mont Blanc Legend Spirit, I headed down the hall and met them in the living room. Aries was laughing at something Omar said, but her smile faded at the sight of me.

"You look nice," she complimented. "Where are you getting ready to go?"

I looked down at my all-black attire absently before giving her my attention. "Thank you. And I'm not sure yet. Somewhere with the guys."

"Cool, well, Omar and I wanted to share some news with you."

"Wassup?" I asked, sitting in the recliner that was to the left of the couch they were sitting on.

"I'm pregnant."

Omar put his hand on her knee. The crooked grin he gave me made me want to cut his lips off. He didn't deserve to put his dick in the same space that gave birth to my son. I didn't want to be in a romantic relationship with Aries, but I'd protect her forever off the strength of my son… and that included her heart.

I was struck breathless before I grunted a laugh. This just kept getting better and better. "So he didn't propose because he loved you; he proposed because you're pregnant?"

"Of course he loves me," Aries said, but I didn't really care about what she had to say. I wanted to hear his response.

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I love her. But I can't lie, if she wasn't pregnant, I wouldn't have proposed."

My head shook as I stood. This was too reminiscent of Asylum and Sierra. He married her because of a child that wasn't even his and was miserable because of it. It took him twelve years to get back to the woman he was supposed to be with.

"Look, I can't tell you what to do," I said, locking eyes with Aries. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. This ain't giving what you think it is. You can do a hell of a lot better than him."

The grin that had been on Omar's face fell as he stood. Aries stood as well, taking his hand into hers.

"I thought you'd be happy for me. You won't have to take care of us anymore. Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's literally nothing for me to provide for you and our son. If that's why you're doing this, you know you don't have to do that."

"I'm marrying him because I love him, Merc, and I hope one day that's enough for you." She paused and exhaled deeply. "Omar is taking me to Mississippi to meet some of his family, and I'm going to take Marz if you didn't have anything planned for him this weekend."

A quick no jerked my head. I headed out of the living room, knowing they would follow me. I was done with this conversation. She wasn't going to heed my warning until Omar started revealing his true self. Until then, if she was okay with his bare minimum ass, that was on her.

"Nah, you can take him." I looked at Omar as I added, "Take care of my son. If anything happens to him, I'll kill you."

Aries groaned and gently shoved Omar in the opposite direction toward the back door. She knew there wasn't anything he could say to soften me toward him. I didn't play when it came to Marz, and if she was dead set on keeping Omar in his life, he would be held to the same standard of keeping him safe as I held myself.

"Whatchu think about Neo?"Bully asked with a wide grin.

"Neo?" Beethoven repeated, sitting up in his seat.

We'd gotten a booth at Tyreek's gentlemen's club for the evening. The blue lighting and dark ambiance were always a relaxing vibe. Tonight was more of a networking night, so there wasn't a live band or strippers to entertain. I respected the atmosphere that Tyreek had created here. It was a fun, safe vibe for professional men over thirty that the city needed.

"Shorty from the bar last night," I replied. "And I think nothing of her other than she's a beautiful woman in a relationship she don't need to be in."

Bully chuckled. "You think more than that."

My head shook as I avoided both their eyes. Taking a sip of my whiskey, I couldn't keep myself from smiling. Neo was beautiful, that I wouldn't deny. I had a bad ass habit of trying to save women who didn't want to be or couldn't be saved. I guess it came from being raised by a real man and being one myself. Any time I heard a woman was in need, it was my instinct to try and rescue her. I'd learned long ago, though, that a man trying to come between a woman and the man she loved, no matter how toxic the relationship or abusive the man was, would always be the enemy.

"Hol' up, so this is someone he tried to get at?" Toe clarified.

"Nah," I answered, setting my glass down. "I was keeping her company while he got at her girl. And from the sound of it, his ass sprung already."

My deflection worked because that caused Beethoven to start asking Bully questions about Innvy. When our waitress came back to the table, I ordered smoked wings and fries. We spent the rest of the evening catching up before parting ways, and I was glad we had an early night. I wanted to spend as much time with my little man as I could before he left for the weekend.