by Briana Cole
“Why so soon?” I was surprised to hear Naomi’s voice. Her question came out tiny, voicing what I myself wanted to ask.
Obi didn’t seem fazed by the question. “Business wrapped up early,” was all he said as if that was enough explanation.
Naomi remained quiet, and I swallowed hard. I couldn’t let this happen. “I like it here sweetie,” I said turning my attention to Leo to hopefully appeal to his emotions.
Leo slid a quick glance at his father before taking my hand and kissing my palm. “You’ll love it much better in the Ivory Coast,” he said. “It’s beautiful and a great place to raise our children.”
“No.” The word stabbed the air sharply and I didn’t realize it had actually left my lips until everyone’s eyes turned to me with various expressions. My heart thumped against my chest as I waited for what seemed like an eternity for someone to break the tension. I heard erratic breathing bellowing in my ear and realized it was my own. Shit.
It was Obi who spoke up first, his words slow and meticulous. “What did you say, Saida?”
I opened my mouth but no sound came out. Abruptly I closed it again and squeezed my eyes shut as if to block out everything. Fear strangled my voice as I, again, opened my mouth, and I wasn’t even sure what was going to come out until, one-by-one, the words fell from my lips and stung my ears.
“Leo is gay.”
Chapter 20
Kimera
I now completely understood the phrase “time stood still.” Because that’s exactly how it felt. For a moment, everyone, down to Fernando and his crew just froze in place as if someone had put the world on pause. I took slow, labored breaths and waited for the explosion that was sure to come.
Leo didn’t even blink as he continued to stare at me. Then, finally, movement. Slowly and steadily, he placed his fork down beside his plate and picked up his glass of wine.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at Leo but I felt his eyes on me and I already knew if looks could kill I probably would’ve been laid out on the floor in a pool of my own blood. What had I done? Of course, I hadn’t been thinking before I had just blurted that out. Especially with not a stitch of evidence. Yeah, I was clearly asking for that death sentence.
“Ladies.” Obi’s tone was surprisingly calm. Too calm and every danger sign, red flag, bell, whistle and warning alarm went off in my head. “Take Naomi upstairs please.”
His wives moved in-sync, all of them rising together and placing kisses on Obi’s cheek one-by-one. The one, I believe Natasha, circled the table and taking Naomi by the hand, guided her to her feet. I looked to Naomi whose eyes flickered between all of us, clearly confused by everything that was going on. But, she obediently rose to her feet and allowed herself to be led away.
“Fernando,” Obi continued simply, and, understanding his cue, Fernando and his crew left the room as well.
Now it was just us, me, Kareem, Leo, and Obi. I got a little sense of The Godfather, the way Obi sat on his side of the table alone and the rest of us on the opposite side, watching and waiting. I half-expected him to reach under the table and come up wielding machine guns.
Obi sat back and clasped his hands together, putting them on the table in front of him. “Sorry about that,” Obi said but he sounded anything but. “Now. Please, Saida. Continue. You were saying?”
Don’t do it, Kimmy. It was a clear trap. But what was I supposed to do? Just play it off and go back to the way things were? The normal in this prison? Move to Africa with all of the Owusus tonight and suffer through my “happily ever after”? Or what Leo had told me my happily ever after should be with him?
I swallowed hard and lowered my eyes to my uneaten salad. What was the point of holding it in? I was dead in this situation anyway. What was worse than this?
“Sir,” I started, my voice coming out in a squeak. “I have been kidnapped and held against my will. Leo forced me to marry him because he doesn’t want you to find out the truth.”
Obi nodded, his lips pursed together tightly. “The truth, huh? And what is that my dear?” The bait. But I had to take it.
“That he’s gay,” I repeated my earlier statement.
Obi narrowed his eyes and I noticed he not once looked at Leo but kept his eyes focused on me during this little confession.
“And,” his words continued slow and meticulous as if he seemed to be reflecting on everything. “Do you have any proof of these allegations? If so, I would absolutely love to see.”
I shut my eyes remembering first the images we had seen play out on Kareem’s phone. Then him admitting that he’d gone to his IT friend and there wasn’t anything left.
“Well?” Obi prompted. “Let me see.”
“I don’t have it,” I admitted. “But, Mr. Owusu, you have to believe me. I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Now Obi finally turned his attention to his son, his eyes narrowing. “Son, is any of this true?”
I took another heavy breath, afraid to look at the man sitting next to me. Then his next words chilled me to my core. “No Sir,” he said. “None of it is true. She is lying.”
Obi seemed satisfied and nodded, now turning his death stare back to me.
“Sir,” I rushed on. “Please understand. You remember me as Kimera Davis. Not Saida. You remember when I was in Atlanta. Now, all of a sudden, we’re in Dallas and I have a new name. Don’t you see?”
I turned pleading eyes to Kareem. “Please tell him. I know this isn’t the way we said we would do this but please. We have no other way. No other choice.”
Kareem’s expression was blank and he didn’t bother looking at me as I continued to beg him to cosign my story. Please, not now Kareem. Don’t leave me in this alone.
“So, you knew about this too?” Obi’s question was more of an accusation.
“She’s right,” Kareem murmured, almost regretfully. I sent my gratitude to God for allowing this man to be on my side. With two of us, maybe Obi would see the truth. Evidence or not.
Obi cleared his throat and I held my breath as his finger “casually” grazed the blade end of the steak knife in front of him. “Saida, do you know who I am?”
Was that a trick question? I decided it was rhetorical and didn’t bother answering. Obi continued. “I am a very wealthy, very powerful man. But I’m sure you already knew that. Which was why you decided it was a wise idea to bring this type of reproach against my family, correct?”
I shook my head. “I just wanted you to know the truth.”
“Oh, the truth? Whose truth? Yours? Because it’s certainly not my family’s truth.”
I couldn’t stop the tears as I slowly felt this spiraling out of control. “Mr. Owusu, please. We had footage and someone erased it. I swear.”
“And where is he, huh?” Obi pressed. “This alleged man my son is gay with. Where is Tyree?”
The horrible image of Tyree’s body dangling from the ceiling fan only hours before made me nauseous. But then, something began to fit together, and I felt the color drain from my face in horror. “How did you know?” I whispered.
“What?”
“His name. I never said his name.”
Obi’s smirk gave it all away and my heart crumbled at the realization. All this was for nothing. Because Obi already knew.
“Told you this girl was too smart for her own good,” he murmured nodding towards Leo. “The moment you first said you had picked her, I knew it was a mistake. Even still, I welcomed you into my family. Gave you my name and a piece of us. Only for you to try and bring down and tarnish Leo’s legacy, MY legacy, and destroy what has taken me years to build.”
I shook my head. This couldn’t be. This was supposed to fix everything. “Of course, I know Leo is gay,” Obi continued. “I know him better than you. I saw the signs even from a young age. But I knew damn well we weren’t having that. So yeah, he needed a cover. You’re right, Kimmy, is it?”
I shuddered, and yet still even hearing it, I couldn’t get over it. H
e knew. He knew all along.
“I guess your secret is out, son,” Obi teased and gave a light laugh. “Oh my, now what are we going to do about this?”
Obi rose, and, for the first time, my blood chilled at the sight of the gun in his waistband. It was almost inconspicuous against the black of his slacks, but the piece was very much real and very much there. And I was very much afraid.
“Son,” Obi addressed Leo again who rose to his feet. I had never seen him look so pitiful, so damn defeated but not even he was a match, I guess, to Obi Owusu. “You need to handle her like I told you to do a long time ago. Now, I was going to let you wait until we took her back to Côte d’Ivoire, but it seems everything is out now. It’s time you prove your loyalty to me.” Obi placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder, looking at him dead in the eye. “No one,” he said slowly, “is going to destroy my reputation. Understood?”
Leo nodded. “Yes, sir.”
The exchange was smooth. Obi took the gun from his waistband, popped open the chamber to check the bullets, and snapped it shut on a satisfied grin. He then handed it to Leo. “You started all of this mess,” Obi went on. “You can finish it.” Now he looked at me again, then Kareem. “They both have to go.”
I reacted on instinct, remembering Kareem’s daughter and I threw my arm out in front of him. Like my little limb would really stop a bullet.
“Wait,” I cried, desperately. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Kimmy,” Kareem nudged my hand to the side and tossed me a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. I promise I got you.”
He stood, lifting his hands palms up in the air. “Brother, it’s not her you want,” he said. “It’s me.”
I shook my head fiercely as Leo lifted the gun. No, Kareem couldn’t go out like this. Not after risking his neck for me.
“Nephew,” Kareem turned his attention to Leo. “I’m not sure if you know but the penalty for killing a cop is capital punishment.”
My head whipped up to Kareem in shocked confusion. What did he say? A cop?
Chapter 21
Kimera
I had to shake my head to make sure I had heard Kareem correctly. No, he did not say he was a cop. Couldn’t be. This entire time? That just didn’t make sense.
Leo now had the gun aimed at Kareem’s chest, the piece nice and steady as if he were used to holding something so lethal, so deadly. I guess with a father like his, he had to be.
To my relief, Obi lifted his hand in front of Leo to halt his movement, and, though Leo did not put the gun down, he took his finger off the trigger.
“What did you say?” Obi said, his own voice carrying disbelief.
Kareem didn’t blink, didn’t waver. “You heard me, Brother,” he said. “I don’t think hearing it a second time will make it any less true.”
Damn, he was bold. Did that explain how he had all these connections? His IT guy? The security feed? Was he undercover this entire time? My brain sifted through all of the stories he had told me trying to decipher between what was fact and fiction. He called Leo his nephew and Obi his brother so perhaps that much was true. But, as far as the rest, hell, I didn’t know who this man was.
“I suggest you think long and hard about your next moves, Brother,” Obi said mimicking Kareem’s emphasis on the word. The word that obviously meant absolutely nothing between these two. “You have known me for a long time and you, of all people, know what I am capable of.”
“Oh, I know,” Kareem nodded. “I’ve seen it for myself.”
Obi waved his indiscretions as easily as he would a pesky fly. I remembered Kareem had explained this man’s roots and dealings so of course he wouldn’t let something as irrelevant as a life get in his way. “This is bigger than Tyree,” Obi went on.
“Your empire.”
“My legacy,” Obi corrected. “Do you think I could sit on my throne and let my son’s confusion ruin my life? His life? We have come too far in this family. You, of all people, should know that. That’s why I don’t believe a word you’re saying.”
“What? That I’m an officer?” Kareem shrugged, a silent dare. “Well, there is only one way to find out. I guess we’ll see after Leo shoots and this house is surrounded by FBI and Dallas SWAT units. Or when your son is sitting on trial with a capital murder charge.”
Obi tossed his head back and his laugh was so loud and jovial, I had to replay the previous comment to see what the hell was so funny. I still sat there in stunned silence, my eyes not moving from the pistol Leo still gripped in his hand. I didn’t know what Kareem was doing. Was this his plan? Was he stalling? What if Leo called his bluff? Then I would be next, and who the hell would save me?
Leo finished his little amused break and shook his head. “I know you’re lying,” he said. “You know how I know? Because Tyree told me all about you and your little setup.”
I watched Kareem’s jaw clench. That obviously was not what he wanted to hear. He remained quiet as Obi went on. “Oh yeah, he told me everything. Told me all about how you worked for the cartel and y’all had a plan to set me up and take me down. Ain’t that something?”
“Tyree was lying.”
“Was he? Because he sure as hell seemed to be telling the truth when he thought he could bargain his way out of his imprisonment.” Obi lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah I think we know who the liar is. And I should’ve gotten rid of your ass a long time ago. I knew you weren’t loyal but I ignored my gut and kept you around. Why? Because we were family. And look how you did your family.”
Obi shook his head and continued his statuesque stance alongside Leo who, to my surprise, still hadn’t uttered a word. Obi nudged Leo’s arm, shifting the aim of the gun from Kareem to me. My eyes rounded and my heart dropped to the floor. Please God, no.
I held up my hands in surrender, my vision clouding and my head reeling. “Don’t do this,” I pleaded, my eyes on Leo. “Baby. I thought you loved me.”
“I think we know who the main problem is here,” Obi said, his finger wagging in my direction. “And here I thought a change of scenery would fix you. Make you appreciate all what we’ve done for you. Isn’t this what you wanted, Kimmy?”
I shook my head, no longer caring how pitiful or desperate I looked. “No,” I said. “I didn’t want any of this. This whole thing ruined my life and I am so sorry I ever got involved.”
“Ruined your life?” Obi scoffed. “Your life? What about Leo’s life? Did you think for one moment how your little selfishness affected my son, the one you loved?”
“I lost my father,” I cried. I wasn’t sure what they wanted to hear. What was going to crack the tough wall these Owusus had put up? “I was taken from my family and everyone.”
“Don’t you deserve it?” This time, it was Leo who spoke and I shifted my pleading eyes back to him, unsure how to respond. “When you got involved with me, wasn’t that what you wanted? A business arrangement? Trading your morals, your family, hell even your freedom, for a quick come up?”
Had I asked for this? Was this my own karma? Sure, I had done that, but did that warrant every subsequent consequence that came barreling in my life? Jail? Murder? Jahmad? The kidnapping? Adria?
“One question,” Leo said. Now, he did put his finger back on the trigger and my heart thumped so fast and so hard it was like one single beat that threatened to erupt from my chest.
“Leo, please. I’m sorry for all of this,” I tried a different tactic. “Don’t you see? I came here with you to Dallas because I wanted to please you. Doesn’t that mean something, anything to you?”
“One question,” he repeated, obviously not moved by my sobs. “Did you ever love me, my love?”
“Of course I did,” I shrieked. I didn’t care that it was a lie. I didn’t care how I sounded. I just needed to say whatever he needed to hear to spare my life. “Leo, yes. I’ve always loved you.”
Leo lowered his head briefly, only briefly before shaking it and lifting his gaze to meet mine once more. “All this time,” he
mumbled. “I thought you would at least tell me the truth.”
“Leo—”
“Because I’ve always loved you.”
As I watched his finger stroke the trigger, I let my heavy lids drift closed. Kareem’s words echoed in my ear. “I promise, I got you.” I didn’t know what he had been lying about but that much was true wasn’t it? He would save me, wouldn’t he? These were all just dreams.
I saw myself with Jahmad. I was on my back, my arms clasped around his neck, my legs wrapped around his waist as he ran across the sandy Bahamas beach. He murmured something inaudible before spinning me around. I laughed. When was the last time I had laughed? My laugh echoed in harmony with the crash of waves at our backs and I kissed him. Love.
Then a new vision. This time of my parents, Keon, and me situated around the dining room table. We couldn’t have been any more than teenagers but the love that filled our home was so steeped in richness. Completely priceless. Keon shoved me as I snatched a biscuit off his plate. That was real. That was family. That was love.
And last, Adria. We sat together, our heads bowed over some plans for our makeup store. Even at sixteen, we had dreams bigger than ourselves and blood couldn’t have made us any closer. That bond that had only strengthened with time. My best friend, my sister. My entire heart. I clung to the sensation with everything in my power. Leo had never known true love and thus, had never shown it to me. No matter how warped his sense of reality was, I knew love. I had felt it, grown up with it.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Leo’s face, but, slowly, as if I was watching a movie, the face transposed until it was my own face. Starring back with that malicious grin and pointed gun. I watched the lips move, my lips, even though it was Leo’s voice that came out.
“Goodbye, my love,” he said.
I couldn’t die. I couldn’t give up. Not yet. I wanted to go to Paris. I wanted to get married. For real. I wanted to have a normal life with my kids. Not like this. I had so many reasons and I needed to live.