Bad to Be Worthy (Bad to Be Good #2) - Andrew Grey Page 0,12

smile and do what I’m supposed to. I hate it. I want to be free like we were then. We ran the show; we did what we wanted. If someone crossed us, they sure as hell didn’t do it again. The three of us had power, we were somebodies…. Now we’re nobodies.”

He sat down. That was a lot more than he’d intended to say. “I know we can’t go back, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” He bit his lower lip and raised his gaze. “For fuck’s sake, I saw them last night and had to help them. They were living in tents with a kid the same age as Coby. What the hell was I supposed to do?”

Richard gazed at him indulgently. “You know you did what Mom would do. What she would want us to do,” Richard told him softly.

Gerome found himself nodding. Both he and Richard had grown up in foster care and on the streets. Of the three of them, only Terrance had had a real parent, his mom. And she had taken the rest of them into her heart. Terrance’s mother had been mom to all three of them, and Gerome had loved her. They all did. So much so that when, after going into protection, they found out she wasn’t going to last much longer, they’d broken security to be able to say goodbye. It had been a unanimous decision.

“Yeah, I guess,” he begrudgingly agreed. “I should go on over and see that they’re okay and shit. Make sure they haven’t walked off with everything that isn’t nailed down.”

“I’m going home to get ready for work,” Terrance announced and left without saying anything more.

“What’s with him?” Richard asked.

“He’s angry with me for bringing them here.” Gerome saw Richard to the door. “I wish I understood it.”

Richard clapped him on the shoulder. “Give him a chance. If you’re feeling lost, then I bet he is too… as we all are.” He caught Gerome’s gaze. “Nothing is ever perfect, and the changes we’ve been through have taken a toll on us.”

“You have Daniel and Coby,” Gerome said.

“Yes, and they make me happy. But that doesn’t erase the fact that I sometimes wish for what I had. I love Daniel and Coby with everything I have, but sometimes I wish things were still the same. I won’t hurt them, so I accept what I have to and try to move forward. We ran a large organization in Detroit, and now I mix drinks and own part of a business. It’s not anything like what we had before, but I guess it’s enough.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t think we can have everything we might want. But find something to make you happy. Something that’s enough for you.”

“Is Daniel only enough?” Gerome asked.

Richard shook his head. “Daniel is everything. So enough is just that. It’s good enough because I have him. He makes it all better.” He pulled open the door. “You’re my brother, and I want you—both of you—to be content.” He left the apartment, and Gerome figured he might as well pay his morning visit before getting ready for work.

He followed Richard out and knocked on the door across the hall. It was opened a minute later by Tucker, with a little boy half hidden behind him. They still seemed to be in sleep clothes, with the boy in faded pajamas, munching on some crackers. “Yes, we’re still here, and we didn’t steal anything,” Tucker said.

Gerome decided to let that go for now. “Did you get some rest? Do you have what you need?”

Tucker nodded. “Thank you for letting us stay. Cheryl is still sleeping, and once she gets up, we’ll be on our way. It was very nice of you to let us clean up and stuff.”

The washing machine began to spin, and Gerome quickly figured out what they had been doing. “Stay for a few days and get yourselves together and rested. I have to go to work in a little while. But when I get back, I was hoping to talk with you.”

“About?” Tucker asked, folding his arms over his chest. Man, this guy might not be big, but the determination and spirit inside him were probably why he survived on the streets. His eyes grew darker with suspicion, and Gerome found himself getting a little lost in them for a split second.

He thought of just saying what he wanted, but he held back. “About what happened to you.” He stepped closer.