Isaiah said in a soft voice. "You are going to listen to me, for your own good. I'm only offering the truth."
Gripping the phone, Gabriel met Isaiah's gaze. He stared into those gray eyes.
Eyes that were so much like his.
A tremor spread through Gabriel. He didn't want to hear any more. He wanted to hit the number to call Security and demand that they haul this man out of the building. He wanted to stuff his ears with cotton and deafen himself to the words Isaiah wanted to say. He wanted to flee his office, to get away from this man who looked far too much like him.
But Gabriel did none of those things. He replaced the phone on the cradle and dropped into the chair.
He'd taken a painkiller only an hour ago, but his headache had returned with savage intensity.
"I'm only here to tell the truth," Isaiah said.
Gabriel looked away from him. He noticed that the frame containing the photo of him and Pops on last summer's Father's Day fishing trip was cracked. He wondered how that had happened, but at the moment, it seemed unimportant.
He looked at Isaiah.
"The truth," Gabriel said, and the words tasted foul in his mouth, like bitter medicine.
"The truth," Isaiah said. "Straight up, no chaser."
Gabriel was beginning to feel dizzy. But he said, "All right. I'm listening."
Isaiah leaned forward. He spoke in a whisper.
And he said the words that changed everything.
"You and me, we have the same father, Gabriel. T.L. Reid is my dad, too. I'm your brother"
Chapter 13
s a child, Gabriel had loved to play football with some of l the boys in his neighborhood. They would play in the grassy field that bordered the community, and what would start as a clean touch-only game would inevitably, as the competition intensified, evolve into a rough-and-tumble tackle match. During one game, Gabriel had caught a Hail Mary pass and made a sprint for the end zone near the line of maples at the boundary of the field when Big Benny Jones had blindsided him.
He hadn't blacked out, but he'd come close. He'd lain on the ground, unable to move, staring dreamily at the cloudy summer sky as the boys huddled fearfully around him and wondered if he was paralyzed. He hadn't been paralyzed, but the breath had been knocked out of him and several minutes passed before he got to his feet.
Isaiah's revelation was like being blindsided by Big Benny Jones.
Even though, deep in his heart where he locked away his worst fears, he'd known Isaiah would say something like this he and Isaiah looked so much alike, they could only be blood relatives-it nonetheless snatched the breath out of his lungs. He sat in his leather chair in his lavishly appointed office, a place where he probably felt more in charge than anywhere on earth-and he felt, for the first time ever, that the ground had broken beneath him. The foundation of his life had crumbled. Below, there was an abyss, a great unknown, and it was sucking him inexorably into it.
But, falling, he still tried to claw his way to the surface and hold on to what he held dear.
"That's impossible," Gabriel said. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Isaiah casually sipped his coffee. His manner was that of a card shark who held a royal flush and knew your bluff was worthless.
"It's a lie," Gabriel said. "I won't believe it."
"You know it's true. It's written all over your face"
"No." Gabriel shook his head.
"Look, we obviously have different mothers," Isaiah said. "I grew up in Chicago. That's where my mama and our father met"
"Pops never lived in Chicago."
"He met her while he was there on a business trip. He spent two weeks in Chi-Town, back in the summer of 74
"1974?" Gabriel was so shaken he couldn't think straight, but Mom and Pops had married in '72-he remembered that much. "No. Mom and Pops were married in '72."
Isaiah made a tsk-tsk sound. "Come on, are you really that naive? Do you think our father never messed around?"
"Pops would never cheat on Mom," Gabriel said, but his defense sounded feeble, even to
Gripping the phone, Gabriel met Isaiah's gaze. He stared into those gray eyes.
Eyes that were so much like his.
A tremor spread through Gabriel. He didn't want to hear any more. He wanted to hit the number to call Security and demand that they haul this man out of the building. He wanted to stuff his ears with cotton and deafen himself to the words Isaiah wanted to say. He wanted to flee his office, to get away from this man who looked far too much like him.
But Gabriel did none of those things. He replaced the phone on the cradle and dropped into the chair.
He'd taken a painkiller only an hour ago, but his headache had returned with savage intensity.
"I'm only here to tell the truth," Isaiah said.
Gabriel looked away from him. He noticed that the frame containing the photo of him and Pops on last summer's Father's Day fishing trip was cracked. He wondered how that had happened, but at the moment, it seemed unimportant.
He looked at Isaiah.
"The truth," Gabriel said, and the words tasted foul in his mouth, like bitter medicine.
"The truth," Isaiah said. "Straight up, no chaser."
Gabriel was beginning to feel dizzy. But he said, "All right. I'm listening."
Isaiah leaned forward. He spoke in a whisper.
And he said the words that changed everything.
"You and me, we have the same father, Gabriel. T.L. Reid is my dad, too. I'm your brother"
Chapter 13
s a child, Gabriel had loved to play football with some of l the boys in his neighborhood. They would play in the grassy field that bordered the community, and what would start as a clean touch-only game would inevitably, as the competition intensified, evolve into a rough-and-tumble tackle match. During one game, Gabriel had caught a Hail Mary pass and made a sprint for the end zone near the line of maples at the boundary of the field when Big Benny Jones had blindsided him.
He hadn't blacked out, but he'd come close. He'd lain on the ground, unable to move, staring dreamily at the cloudy summer sky as the boys huddled fearfully around him and wondered if he was paralyzed. He hadn't been paralyzed, but the breath had been knocked out of him and several minutes passed before he got to his feet.
Isaiah's revelation was like being blindsided by Big Benny Jones.
Even though, deep in his heart where he locked away his worst fears, he'd known Isaiah would say something like this he and Isaiah looked so much alike, they could only be blood relatives-it nonetheless snatched the breath out of his lungs. He sat in his leather chair in his lavishly appointed office, a place where he probably felt more in charge than anywhere on earth-and he felt, for the first time ever, that the ground had broken beneath him. The foundation of his life had crumbled. Below, there was an abyss, a great unknown, and it was sucking him inexorably into it.
But, falling, he still tried to claw his way to the surface and hold on to what he held dear.
"That's impossible," Gabriel said. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Isaiah casually sipped his coffee. His manner was that of a card shark who held a royal flush and knew your bluff was worthless.
"It's a lie," Gabriel said. "I won't believe it."
"You know it's true. It's written all over your face"
"No." Gabriel shook his head.
"Look, we obviously have different mothers," Isaiah said. "I grew up in Chicago. That's where my mama and our father met"
"Pops never lived in Chicago."
"He met her while he was there on a business trip. He spent two weeks in Chi-Town, back in the summer of 74
"1974?" Gabriel was so shaken he couldn't think straight, but Mom and Pops had married in '72-he remembered that much. "No. Mom and Pops were married in '72."
Isaiah made a tsk-tsk sound. "Come on, are you really that naive? Do you think our father never messed around?"
"Pops would never cheat on Mom," Gabriel said, but his defense sounded feeble, even to
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