The door opened as Hammer walked in with Lorenzo behind him. Neither man said a word.
“Look at it again. Just Catarina.” Reaper insisted.
Doing as my President instructed, I slid the picture towards me again and focused on Cat. She was in pain. Her face contorted as she looked to be screaming. I could see bruises marring her body. There were deep cuts on her legs. Her stomach…
Without thinking, I slowly started to rise as my brothers pushed me back into my chair, but I couldn’t stop myself as I roared out, flaying my arms as I tried to get free of the men who held onto me.
They raped my woman when she was pregnant with my kid!
Who the fuck does that!
I wanted to find each mother fucker who raped her and torture them as much as they did my woman. It was one thing listening to her tell me what happened. She still hadn’t told me the whole story. I was just giving her time but seeing it happen in the act, well, that was something different.
It was as if I was being forced to watch, unable to help.
It made me feel weak.
Lost in my haze of retribution, I barely heard Lorenzo say, “Reggie, what month and year were you and Catarina together?”
“Huh?” I looked up at my cousin as his eyes never strayed from the photo in his hands. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything. Do you see what they did to her? Four! Four men took turns raping my pregnant woman!”
“Yes, I see that, but I asked you a question. What day were you and Catarina together before Angelo shipped her to Italy? Specific date, Reginald. I want the date.”
“It was springtime. It was the first warm night of the year. April 14th, 2018. Why is that important?” I asked as Lorenzo handed the photo back to Reaper, then turned and punched the wall as he cursed in Italian.
I’d never heard Lorenzo curse.
It wasn’t his way.
He didn’t believe in it.
He preferred to use his words.
He was always getting after Dwayne for his mouth. Yet, he just cursed. A litany of them, and he turned and slowly slid down the wall.
Looking from my cousin to Reaper, I could tell I was missing something. Unease rippled through me as I carefully asked, not sure I really wanted to know. “What?”
Reaper sighed, rubbing his hands down his face, and cursed. Leaning forward, he placed both of his hands on the table and said, “The picture was taken nine months ago, Player.”
“Okay?” I said, not understanding what he was saying, and when he said nothing more, I looked about the room until everything in me stilled.
No.
Fuck no.
Oh God, please no!
Shaking my head, I didn’t bother to stop the tears from falling down my face. This was too much. My beautiful, loving, gentle woman had another child. What in the hell happened to her? What did she go through? What more would I find? She was too innocent. To soft. How did she survive it all?
“Player, I am going to need to talk to Catarina. Not only do we need to start searching for this new kid, but Toxic is in the picture along with three other men we need to identify. They were with her recently. She may know something. I am so sorry, brother, but I have to do this. You know this, right?”
I sat there numb.
I couldn’t think anymore.
Just when I thought everything was going to be all right, something knocked the wind out of me.
I couldn’t take anymore.