“I moved out of my apartment, just before having the—I mean, my baby. Daddy said he needed to cut back on expenses and we agreed that I’d need help with the baby. So, now with him being inconvenienced with these trumped up charges, I’m having trouble maintaining the bills along with my hospital bills and Azina’s doctor bills.”
Rayna clears her throat at the mention of Tara’s daughter’s name. I still don’t know what inspired the audacity of her to name her child after me when she knew it would eventually be proven that the baby isn’t mine. What also strikes me is the mention of her hospital bills. I know the total cost of them. Big D could have easily paid off each one without sneezing, but he’s blown all of his money gambling over the years. I know they’ve been waiting on the payout from Patricia’s various policies, which I find pathetic considering Big D has made millions over the past twenty years.
I agreed to assist until some money came through and D would keep his law enforcement relationships in place until the end of the year when I’d retire from the drug game. I didn’t trust him or Tara when we agreed that I’d help until some monies became available to Big D, then he’d take over. So, I only paid a little at a time, refusing to get her totally out of that debt. My gut never led me wrong. Her bills were her burden alone.
Most people wouldn’t understand that my grievances with Big D aren’t so much that he killed my father; I dealt with not having a father long ago. These new revelations haven’t changed my resolve. Maybe one day I’ll get the full spectrum of what my father’s murder at the hands of Big D means, but right now it hasn’t formulated in my mind. My betrayal is conceptualizing the grand scheme of D’s mastermind. He’s been a menacing son of bitch. He took out his partner who was in the way, and then used the dead man’s son to build an empire. The empire that his partner no longer wanted to pursue.
I can understand ruthlessness, I’ve been bedfellows with the means to conquering more times than I’d like to recount. But I’ve always been loyal, never crossing those who work with me. Never directly involving children to further my illegal ambition. Big D’s ultimate perfidy of my father is one thing; his manipulation of me is something entirely different. Anyone outside of the game would think I’m still being manipulated by this final act of obligation, but even D himself knows we were done. Yeah, I have a conscience and don’t wish to see Tara impoverished. But I also have a heart that has been misled by the Harrisons. And this is where it ends.
“Tara, I have access to monies that your father has laid aside for emergencies such as this one. It’s $350K and will be available to you by the end of the workday tomorrow.” I pull out a sheet of paper and push it along with a pen across my desk to her. “Please supply me with an account to have it deposited into or where you’d like the cash to be delivered to.”
Tara pushes up from her seat to retrieve the paper and pen. And Rayna sits quietly with a stoic expression. I try not to read into it so that it won’t take my attention from what’s happening.
“Now, Tara, I must inform you that I’m not in the knowledge of how your father earned this money or where it came from. Also, I’m not at liberty to discuss the details of the arrangement he and I made for such a time as this. Any questions you may have should be addressed to him.” I pause to gauge her state.
She appears just as nonplussed as Rayna, who I’ll deal with later. Right now, I just need her to perceive this as me being open with her on my dealings with the Harrisons.
Once Tara finishes with the paper, she returns it to my desk and I can see the brewing in her eyes. I was with Tara long enough to know when her emotions are tumbling forward. And within seconds she mutters, “I thought I knew you. I thought that by being with you for more than five years and knowing you nearly all my life that I knew you inside and out.” Tara then cuts her eyes to Rayna. Rayna straightens and cocks her head to the side, preparing for whatever Tara was going to bring. Tara continues with, “The Azmir I thought I knew would have never abandoned the only family he’s known when my mother was killed in an automobile accident. The one I knew wouldn’t have left me during the loneliest period of my life, even if we had unanswered questions about the paternity of my child, especially because I was mourning.”