He sighed. “I didn’t tell anyone that because it wasn’t anyone’s concern, but Uncle Rick is a cop. In fact, he was recently promoted to a detective.”
“Wait, what?” I said.
Lamar looked from me to Morgan. “I thought you knew that. In fact, this house was Morgan’s family before they moved to Houston. His mom gave Rick and Caroline the house when she and Morgan moved.”
I gave Morgan a heated look as I sat back down on the couch. Morgan sat down beside me and took my hand.
“This shit doesn’t make sense. So instead of going to your uncle to help out your issues with Craig, you killed him.”
“You think I didn’t want to go to my uncle about this? I didn’t because it wasn’t much he could have done. Craig didn’t have anything incriminating on him so my uncle couldn’t arrest him.”
“What about domestic violence since he was abusing your mom?”
“Couldn’t do that. One, because my mom had to be the one to press charges and two because the incidents happened in Houston. My uncle would have been going pass jurisdiction if he tried to arrest him.”
“This is crazy,” I said.
“It is, but I did what I had to do at the time. I took matters into my own hands.”
“Now you have to constantly look over your shoulder. Baby, I just don’t want us going in even deeper than we already are. Too much is happening, and I’m afraid we’re not going to be able to resolve it.”
Morgan sighed and pulled me in his arms. “I know, Hales. Trust me, everything will be okay.”
I sighed, wondering how much more we could take. If it wasn’t one thing, it was something else. Now that Paula put herself in the mix, we have to figure out something to keep her quiet. I just hope we can find something in time.
Morgan
After everything that happened with Paula, Hayley decided to call off the party. Now she was spending time with her parents while I did some digging. There was no way I was going to succumb to Paula’s demands, so I had to figure out a way to get back at her without her deciding to retaliate. I think I knew what I had to do.
Even though I invited Kyle to the party, I still didn’t trust him, so I needed something to make him see that I wasn’t playing with him. I had to revert back to my old ways, and part of that was blackmail.
I was sitting in the guest room with Lamar as I went through his computer. Lamar called up a friend of ours, a computer tech, who could hack into anyone’s personal information, whether it was a bank account or an email address there was nothing he couldn’t crack.
Lamar stared at me as I looked at Kyle’s bank accounts. He had three. Business for The Palace, another business account, and his personal account.
“You been at this for almost two hours, Mo and you haven’t found anything.”
“He has to be doing something illegal and I will continue to look until I find it.”
“Mo, he’s probably legit, so you should stop trying to look for something.”
I ignored Lamar as I continued looking. When I clicked on his next billing statement, I began to smile. I was finally getting somewhere.
“And you said I couldn’t find anything. Take a look.”
Lamar leaned over and sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Really? So him taking $30,000 out of the business account doesn’t mean anything? He could be using that for something illegal.”
“Or for his employees.”
“Not for that amount. I noticed the same amount from his statement for last month. I know his club generates a nice profit, but I doubt it’s that much. He’s doing something else on the side.”
“He said the place was legit.”
“He could be just saying that, but he did mention to me and Hales that he has private rooms upstairs. He’s doing something else to bring in that type of money. When I find out what it is, I will use it to my advantage.”
Lamar shook his head, and there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Uncle Rick walked in and smiled.
“Hey, can I speak with Morgan alone, Lamar?”
“Sure. I need to see what Tam is up to anyway,” Lamar said. He got up and was heading to the door, but my uncle stopped him.
“Actually, Morgan and I were going to go downstairs. Kyle is still here, so I wanted to talk with the both of you.”
I sighed and got up from my chair. I thought Kyle had left.
We went downstairs, and I saw him sitting on the couch with Aunt Caroline. He looked up and smiled.
“Hey, probably thought I left, didn’t you?”
“I actually did,” I said.
“Sit down, Morgan,” Uncle Rick said.
I went over to the armchair near the TV and sat down.
“We were kind of surprised when Kyle showed up to the house. We didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Yeah, well just like I didn’t know you knew him too,” I said.
My uncle and aunt stared at me while Kyle looked around the room.
“Was anyone going to tell me that I had a brother?”
“We were going to, but…”
“But what? Tell me, because I would love to know.”
“We didn’t tell you because we didn’t know how you would react to it. You don’t take unexpected news well, Morgan,” Aunt Caroline said.
“Well, I think I’m allowed to be pissed if I just found out I had an older brother!”
“Can you stop playing the victim? They did it to protect you,” Kyle jumped in.
“Protect me from what? It’s not my fault my dad was a cheater. I think I was allowed to know the truth instead of being sheltered about what he was doing.”
My uncle sighed while my aunt glanced at her husband.
“He’s right, Rick.”
“Maybe so, but it’s too late to go back now. The truth is out. You and Kyle are brothers. Your dad wanted me to keep it a secret because he didn’t want you to think differently about him.”
I laughed. “Does my mom know?”
Aunt Caroline nodded. “She knows, Morgan.”
I shook my head. This just keeps getting better. I guess I was the only one in the dark.
“Your mom also agreed that you didn’t need to know. So much was going on at that time that we just thought the truth shouldn’t come out.”
“But it wasn’t your choice! Were you ever okay with keeping everything a secret?” I asked Kyle.
He lowered his head and sighed. “Honestly, it didn’t matter one way or the other. I didn’t think I would have ever gotten to know you, so it wasn’t something I cared about.”
“Of course, you would think that.”
“I only said that because I didn’t want to know the other half of the family. It was just my mom and me, so it didn’t matter if I knew my dad’s side.”
“I bet, but when that trust came in, you were willing to know us then.”
“You think that’s what I’m about?”
“I don’t know. In fact, I don’t know you, so it’s a possibility.”
Kyle shook his head. “That’s the reason why I didn’t want to know you.”
I rolled my eyes at his remark.
“Now that the truth is out, all we want is for the two of you to get to know each other. You can try to establish some sort of relationship. For all you two know, you might have a lot in common.”
I stared out the window knowing that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Kyle got up and looked at everyone. “Maybe one day, but right now, that’s not going to happen. I hope you all have a good evening,” he said.
As soon as he went to the door and closed it, I began to talk. “I still can’t believe you two kept this from me.”
“It was at your father’s request. We had to respect his wishes,” Uncle Rick said.
“And what about me? I had a right to know about him because for all I know he could be after me for killing Craig!”
Uncle Rick glance
d at me while Aunt Caroline gave a wide-eyed expression.
“What?” Uncle Rick questioned.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Craig was never missing. I killed him.”
Uncle Rick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What happened?”
“We got into an argument and after he hit my mom not once, but twice, I got his gun during a struggle and I shot him twice in the chest.”
“Oh Morgan,” Aunt Caroline said.
“To avoid anything coming back to me, with Lamar’s help, I burned Craig’s body.”
“Damn it, Morgan,” Uncle Rick mumbled.
“I know I should have come to you, but I figured there wasn’t much for you to do since you were here. I had to take matters into my own hands. I was tired of how he was treating my mom. I was protecting her.”
“I know you were, Morgan. We all had our opinions about Craig, and we knew you two didn’t get along, but we didn’t think it would come to this.”
“I did what I thought was best that night, but now, I think someone is trying to punish me for it. Someone knows that Craig is not missing. Now, Hayley is involved.”
“How?” Aunt Caroline asked.
“When we were heading here, someone was following us. When I confronted the person, he was trying to get Hayley. We were fighting when Hayley shot the guy in the back. He died instantly.”
“That’s why you two came here,” Uncle Rick said.
“We had to come somewhere to hide out, but honestly, I don’t think it’s helping. Now that you two know, it may be best if we leave.”
“And where would you two go? Whoever it is that’s following you can find you at your next destination as well.”
“I know, that’s why we were trying to lay low, but with you all wondering why we never left and Hayley working at Kyle’s club, it was starting to become impossible.”
“Well, I’m glad you told me so now I can get you some security. I can ask the officers at the force to watch over you two.”
“That’s not necessary, Uncle Rick.”
“Morgan, someone is after you and Hayley. They could be after Lamar too. Don’t you think you need some type of protection?”
I sighed. “How do you two know Kyle is not the one doing this? Everything started to occur when he came into the picture.”
“Kyle doesn’t even know about the issues you were having with Craig. Besides, what type of leverage would he have if he did?”
“I’m trying to piece together who would know anything and he’s the first person that came to mind.”
“Kyle’s not the person.”
“How are you so confident?”
“Kyle might have said all of that about not wanting to know you, but that’s farthest from the truth. You were all he would talk about when I spoke to him. He wanted to have a relationship with you, Morgan. He probably still does,” Uncle Rick said.
I gave my uncle a blank stare. After what I encountered with him, I didn’t want a relationship with him.
“You know you and Hayley can stay here as long as you need to, Morgan.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“And I will get undercover cops to watch over the two of you and also Lamar and Tamara.”
I sighed. I really didn’t like the idea, but maybe we needed it.
“Okay.”
“And please, talk to Kyle. Maybe you two can build some sort of relationship,” Aunt Caroline added.
“Sure.”
I went towards the stairs, knowing what I was about to do. Yeah, I’ll establish a relationship with Kyle, but not in the way my aunt and uncle wanted.
***
Once I was able to get the information I needed from Kyle’s accounts, I figured it was only right to see what those private rooms at his clubs were all about. Since the club knew who I was, I couldn’t really show my face there, so I had to get someone else to do it. I knew Lamar wasn’t up for it, but since I didn’t know anyone else, he was the only option I had.
“You owe me big time for this. You better hope Tamara doesn’t know about this.”
“Will you stop? I’m sure nothing major is going on in those rooms, but since Kyle is paying someone that amount of money, he has to be doing something. Besides, if it’s what I’m thinking, you don’t have to do anything with anyone.”
“Trust me, I’m not.”
Will barged in the guest house, which had the both of us rolling our eyes.
“Nice of you to knock, Will,” I sarcastically said.
“Sorry. What are you two up to? And where’s the girls?”
“They’re with my parents. Now, what do you want?” Lamar said.
“Just seeing what you were up to,” he said while going to the bed.
I glanced at Lamar. Maybe we didn’t need to do anything since I’m sure Will might know what goes down at Kyle’s club.
“Can we ask you a question regarding The Palace?”
Will looked at the two of us and sighed. “What is this about? Are you trying to get something on Kyle, because I heard what happened between you two?”
“I’m just going to ask a question. Is he doing anything illegal there?”
“And why would I tell you two?”
“You don’t have to, but if you know anything…”
Will sighed. “I heard from Shantel that he does do some things on the side in those private rooms. From gambling to prostitution whatever the customer wants, he’ll provide.”
I smiled. “You got proof?”
“What are you up to?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Shantel has been in charge of the rooms, so she would be your girl to give you whatever you need.”
I nodded. “Thanks a lot, Will. You just did me a huge favor.”
I patted him on the shoulder, grabbed my jacket from the bed and went to the door.
“What are you about to do?” Lamar asked.
“What do you think? I’m about to pay Kyle a visit.”
Now that I had some of the proof I needed, I could end this thing with Paula and him. Now maybe those two could leave Hayley and me the hell alone.
Morgan
Since Will told me that bit of news, I had to talk to Shantel to get my proof together. I had to get everything I needed in order before I spoke with Kyle. She didn’t give me much, but she did admit that Kyle ran another type of business on the second level. Honestly, I don’t know why she and Will were so free to tell me this, but I appreciated the gesture. Hopefully, it doesn’t catch up with me later.
From what Shantel told me, tonight was one of their slow nights, so Kyle would probably be in his office. I asked Lamar to see if he was there, which sure enough he was. While one of the waitresses directed him to his office, I was near the back door waiting on Lamar to open it. When he did, the two of us went towards his office, where he was sitting behind his desk looking at the computer.
“Hello Kyle,” I said as I closed the door.
“How in the hell did you get back here?”
“That you don’t need to know. I came by because we needed to talk.”
“I’m going to call security so they can haul your ass out of here.”
He picked up the phone, but I slammed it down. “I don’t think so.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“We’re going to sit and talk like two adults. Now, after that little talk we had earlier, I felt it was only fitting to get to know you better. I mean, you’re my big brother, but I don’t know a thing about you.”
“Get to the point.”
I smiled and threw my phone at him.
“Go ahead and take a look at what I discovered. You see, I found out a lot about you and what you did with this place. I’m sure our dad would be so proud of where his money went to.”
He scrolled through my phone and looked at me with a displeased look.
“These are my bank account statements. How the hell did you get these?”
“I don’t have to tell you a damn thing. Now get the fuck out.”
“Oh, big bro, you don’t have to be so rude. I could be asking you about business advice. In fact, I’m thinking about owning my own business someday, and it would really help me if I knew some of your tricks of the trade.”
“You really are an asshole.”
“I think we pretty much established that already. So tell me, what are you really doing with this club? Is it a front for something else?”
“Like I would tell you.”
“Maybe you should because from what I know, it is. In fact, I know what those charges are for.”
I took out a small ledger from my jacket pocket and threw it on his desk.
“I had an interesting talk with a Mr. Corey Benson, the same person you’re paying those huge debts to. Turns out you stole money from him during a drug deal that went wrong when you were 18. Instead of paying him back with the money you had, you decided to open up The Palace. From what Hayley told me, you used the trust our dad left you to open up the club. What happened to that since you didn’t use it to open this place?”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”
“I think you do since that was the money our dad left you.”
“That money was for me, so I was able to use it however I wanted to.”
“That’s true, but you lied. So where did it go, or do I need to guess?” I asked.
I gave him a cocky smile as I opened up the ledger. “Corey was so gracious to give me a copy of this ledger. From what I can see, you had debt out of the ass. Let’s start back in 2009 where you were in charge of selling most of Corey’s stash. Turns out you in fact sold it, but the money was never recovered. Why is that, Kyle?”
“I think you need to let this go, Morgan,” Lamar said. I glanced at Kyle, who had closed his eyes.
“There was a reason for all of that. I really shouldn’t explain shit to you, but I guess I will.”
I looked at Kyle as he took a deep breath. “I needed the money at the time to help my mom. She was going through cancer, and I had to help pay for her medical expenses. Even though she had insurance, it was not enough. The more bills she had, the more I had to hustle to get what I needed. There were times when I did skim off so the bills could be covered. When Corey found out about it, he was okay with it, as long as I paid the money back with interest. Hell, the interest was more than what I took. Anyway, long story short, I’m still paying him back, even after I gave him the money from the club and the trust.”
Something Just Ain't Right Part 2 Page 10