He wished that he had brought his pistol with him. It was the first time he had seen his grandfather so relaxed. There were no bodyguards in sight, and it would have been the perfect time to end their beef once and for all, but Mecca knew that he did not have time to go back to his car. He had to try to reason with Estes.
Mecca watched the woman go inside, and Estes’ eyes were so focused on the woman that he never saw Mecca walk up.
“Hello, Grandfather,” Mecca greeted in a low, steady tone.
Caught completely off guard, Estes turned around to find Mecca standing before him. He half expected to be shot instantly. Mecca lifted his arms and shirt and then said, “I’m not strapped.”
“Why not? I would not have extended you the same courtesy,” Estes replied as he pulled a.45 from underneath the table. It had been resting in his lap, but Estes immediately showed his cards to let Mecca know that he was constantly aware of the business he was in.
“You’re still alive,” Estes observed as his eyes roamed his grandson cautiously, surveying him to see if he was injured.
“Diamonds are forever,” Mecca replied.
“Tell that to your brother,” Estes shot back. He clicked off his safety as his finger gripped the trigger of his gun. “You’re a snake, Mecca. You’re a traitor. You killed my grandson.”
“Am I not your grandson, Estes?” Mecca asked.
Estes fixed his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when Leena emerged from the house with her son in one arm and a bowl of fruit in her hands. She was so busy trying to balance everything without dropping it that she didn’t look up. When she finally did, both she and Mecca got the surprise of their lives.
“Leena?”
Her name fell out of his mouth without him even knowing it, and the sound of his voice caused her to drop the glass bowl in her hands, causing tiny glass fragments to explode on the ground. Her heart beat in fear as she instinctively gripped her son in protection.
Mecca’s eyes widened as if he were seeing a ghost. He had shot her himself. For all this time, he had thought that she was dead. Now here she was, standing before him, as beautiful as he remembered. His gaze went from her to the child in her arms. He looked like a tiny replica of Mecca, but deep in his heart, Mecca knew that the little boy was not his seed. Mecca was sterile, and the child in Leena’s arm was his nephew. It was Money’s son, and that fact brought the betrayal that he had felt rushing back to him.
Tears came to Leena’s eyes as she saw Mecca’s expression go from sad to angry. She knew him, and felt as if he would explode at any moment. Estes didn’t hesitate to chamber a bullet in his gun. He, too, recognized the look in his grandson’s eyes.
“It’s that easy for you to shoot me, Estes? Your flesh and blood,” Mecca stated as he looked back and forth between Lena and Estes. Seeing her reminded him of his sins, and his bottom lip began to quiver uncontrollably. He held his arms out at his sides as Estes’ finger rested on the trigger. “Did Money mean that much more? Why is his life more valuable than mine? Huh, Estes? Why does everybody hate Mecca?”
Estes was silent but unflinching as he listened to Mecca break down. “Ever since we were little, everybody always favored Money. Mecca was the bad twin. I was the unwanted seed! My heart was cold before the streets ever got a hold of me. Everybody always loved Money… never me,” Mecca shouted, getting years of pent-up emotion off of his chest.
His words brought tears to Leena’s eyes, because even she had chosen Monroe over Mecca. She had contributed to his hurt, to his isolation.
“There is no excuse,” Estes spoke up, unaffected by Mecca’s outburst. “You murdered your brother. You knew what the consequences would be for your actions. Be a man and take what you deserve,” Estes said without the theatrics. He was calm and sure of his decision as he raised his gun, aiming it at Mecca’s heart. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Leena stopped him.
“Emilio, please don’t,” Leena whispered. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Mecca as her tears began to flow. “There has been enough bloodshed.” Her voice was pleading, and even though she hated Mecca, she did not want to see him dead. He looked so much like Monroe, like her son, and as she read the hurt in his stare, she began to think about Mecca’s pain for the first time since she had been shot.
“Leena?” Mecca repeated in disbelief as he stumbled backward a bit, completely in shock.
Estes stood to his feet and stepped close to Mecca. His gun hung threateningly in his palm. “She just saved your life, son. You are no grandson of mine. You will keep your distance,” Estes said. He did not raise his voice, but his tone was all the warning that Mecca needed.
“What do I have to do to get your forgiveness, Estes?” Mecca whispered so that only the two of them could hear his plea.
“Ask God for forgiveness. I have none to give,” Estes replied.
Mecca stepped back and wiped his face with one hand. “You’ll call off your dogs,” Mecca countered.
Estes looked back at Leena, who nodded her head as she wiped the tears away while holding her son tightly.
Estes replied dryly, “I will.”
Mecca extended his hand to his grandfather, but Estes walked away disgusted. He had no respect for Mecca, and did not want there to be any misunderstandings. Estes would never welcome Mecca back into his family.
Mecca walked away stunned. His mind was completely blown. The mixed emotions that Mecca felt threw him completely off balance. Seeing Leena alive and healthy, seeing her breathing, had taken his mind back to when everything was as it should be. She reminded him of the days that were so carefree, and the baby boy that mirrored him in image made him think of Monroe. He wanted to think that the fresh little man he had just seen was his own son, but he knew better. It wasn’t even possible for Mecca to procreate. He was shooting blanks. It was as if God knew that nothing good could ever come from him.
Leena had given birth to his nephew and had been in hiding, living with Estes all this time. Now that he had seen her, he did not know if he could just walk away. Her affair with his flesh and blood had led Mecca to kill his own twin. Her survival enraged him, while at the same time, it pleased him. He had so many questions that only she could answer.
How long had she and Monroe been fucking? Why did she choose him over me? What the fuck is she doing with Estes? Mecca thought as he sauntered blankly down the sandy beach. These things burned in his mind, and he knew that he would not be satisfied until he got some answers. He got into his car and pulled away, knowing that he would not stay away for long.
Leena watched from the upstairs window as Mecca disappeared up the beach. Fear paralyzed her as she thought of what he might do now that he knew of her existence. Seeing him again terrified her, but when she had looked in his eyes, her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest.
Mecca symbolized so many things in her life. He looked as if he had been through so much anguish since the last time she saw him. He had aged, matured, changed, and she did not know if it was for the better. She saw misery in his stare, and his features were so identical to Monroe’s that she could not help but fall in love at first sight.
She did not know how two brothers who were so physically alike could be so different on the inside. She hoped that Mecca would let her be. She had pieced her life back together seamlessly with the help of Estes, and the last thing she needed was another Diamond brother to come along and tear her world apart.
“Are you okay?”
Leena released Mecca from her gaze as she turned around at the sound of Estes’ voice. She nodded unsurely as she put on a phony smile. “I’m fine,” she replied.