Imani sighed. There were so many questions, and so far, no answers. Maybe she was looking for a reason not to be attracted to him.
Several times on the drive over, Imani would look up into the rearview mirror only to catch Garrett watching her. Their eyes would connect for brief periods of time until the other realized they’d been staring. She didn’t like how just a glance made her feel tingly all over.
Once Maddon parked the SUV, he got a call on his cell phone. Imani could see the slight frown appear on his smooth forehead through his rearview mirror. He looked down at it then back up. “Hey, y’all go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
Garrett got out and then opened Imani’s door. He reached for her hand to help her out of the truck since it sat fairly high off the ground. A gentleman. She held her breath as her heart flipped—dammit. There it was pitter and pat.
Imani did her best not to make eye contact, but when his hand touched hers, her eyes flew to his. For moments, they both stood motionless. The energy between them was too hard to ignore.
“Good thing I’m leaving tomorrow. Otherwise, we might have to deal with all of this tension between us.” His thoughts tumbled from his lips.
Imani should have been relieved at the revelation that she wasn’t alone in her attraction, but she was conflicted. He’d spoken what she’d been thinking. At the very least, she should have been insulted. Did he think she was an easy lay? She wasn’t offended. If anything, knowing it made her pulse race.
She would never have wanted to be someone’s stress reliever, except maybe with him, as her mind went immediately to the possibilities.
Imani decided to respond as if he’d insulted her. He hadn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. “You do realize that’s piggish behavior, right? We just met.”
Instead of accepting his help out of the truck, Imani hopped down on her own, then started walking towards the field, more irritated with herself than with him.
Garrett closed the door. He was over six feet four, so it took no time to catch up to her. He seemed to do it easily. “You would never know based on how you keep looking at me. No one has ever accused me of being a Saint. Anyway, sex is just sex.”
Busted. She was embarrassed but tried to defend herself. “Don’t you mean me catching you staring at me?” Imani stopped walking then turned and looked up at him, squinting just a bit from the glare of the sun in her eyes. “For some women, yes, sex is just sex. For me, absolutely not.” She hesitated as if contemplating her next words. “You do realize you’ll let her win if you accept that logic.”
His jaw clenched, and he started walking leaving Imani standing there alone. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was sarcastic. “I’m curious. Is everyone in your family a therapist?”
She lagged just a little behind but spoke loud enough for him to hear. “Didn’t you say it was therapeutic? Anyway, I think you can see from our own problems that’s not the case. We’re just real people trying to live life.”
Garrett started to feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time, guilt. He was taking his frustrations out on Imani and being disrespectful to, not only her but Maddon and Mr. Jones who had shown him nothing but compassion. That was something he hadn’t known much of in his life. He should apologize. That was also something he wasn’t very good at.
He stopped walking again just before they reached a group of people standing next to the bleachers. “I uh . . . was out of line back there. I’m sorry.”
Imani cupped her ear. “What? Can you say that again?” She took pleasure in knowing Garrett was more than a little uncomfortable. His face was tight like maybe he was constipated. It made her want to laugh out loud.
“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Nope.” She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and waited with just a hint of a smile on her face.
It was the cute little dimple on the right side of her cheek that disarmed him. Garrett felt free to let down that protective wall with her. If he were honest, he had already let it down, so why stop now. He exhaled loudly. “Maddon said this isn’t flag but tackle. You play tackle football?”
“Are you really going to wuss out on my apology?”
His head snapped back. “I don’t wuss out on anything . . . ever.”
She started to walk past him. “Apparently, you do.”
He touched her arm.
Her knees went weak.
Her mouth went dry.
He felt it too, but this time he decided to ignore the feelings and somehow managed an apology. “I’m sorry.” The words were spoken low, but the intensity behind them was strong.
Imani licked her suddenly dry lips and responded breathlessly. She stuttered, “S-see, that wasn’t so bad.”
Garrett was glad he would be leaving tomorrow because there was no denying the moth-to-a-flame chemistry between them. He couldn’t promise to keep his hands to himself especially when her eyes said she didn’t want him to.
“Yo!” Maddon came running up to them from the parking lot breaking their spell again. Imani couldn’t help but think his timing was either really good or sucked.
“Why are y’all standing out here? It’s game time!”
*****
They had been having a great time at the SanDusky. Imani came across old friends and had warm reunions except when she ran into Shawna Adderson. She’d been flirting so hard with Garrett that Imani wanted to puke. It gave her immense pleasure to knock her on her ass several times during the game.
It was the last play in the fourth quarter. The score was tied. Maddon, Garrett, and Imani were all on the same team. It was fourth and inches from the goal.
Garrett had been playing quarterback and was excellent at it. Imani hadn’t really expected anything less. He seemed to be in tip-top condition and had a good throwing arm. This time, however, they planned to fake a pass to Maddon, give it Imani, and she would run it in for the touchdown.
“Hut one . . . hut two . . . hut . . . hut . . .” He backed back as if he was going to throw the ball to Maddon. Instead, he placed it into Imani's hands. She ran the ball as fast as she could over the goal line. The moment she crossed it the wind was knocked clean out of her. She was tackled to the ground from behind and fell face first into the grass. Unfortunately, the ground didn’t give, and she hit her head so hard her helmet fell off.
The wind was more than knocked out of her. It would serve her right if she turned over and saw that it was Shawna.
Maddon and Garrett came running over since she was slow to get up. Not only was Imani slow, but she also couldn't move. The shouting she initially heard was getting further and further away. It was impossible to make out who was saying what. The next thing Imani knew, she was being turned over and checked for injuries.
She didn’t think she was really hurt, well maybe her pride. Her eyes fluttered open then closed. Suddenly, Imani was lifted into the air into someone’s arms. Briefly, she looked up into those sexy hazel eyes—more gray than green now. Eyes that had had her stomach in knots all day.
Just before everything faded to black, Imani could only think about how good Garrett smelled even after running around playing football.
Chapter 9
Present Day
An earthquake in Chicago? That was unheard of—almost. Illinois sat on the New Madrid fault line, but it had been relatively dormant since the eighteen hundreds until today.
Garrett was having a hard time keeping himself and Imani on their feet as they attempted to get out of the building, but he had to do just that to make it out of the high-rise alive. Knowing that, his singular focus was to keep Imani upright and get her to ground level. Unfortunately, there was going to be nothing simple about it.
The floor continued to move like a seesaw causing them to sway back and forth, throwing them completely off balance. He held Imani even tighter and tucked her close into the haven of his arms.
She had no plans of letting go and held him in a
vice-like grip. They stepped over broken glass, dodged debris falling from the ceilings, and swerved around chairs that lay on their sides littering the walkways.
As tough as Imani tried to be, Garrett could see the whites in her eyes. She was scared. So was he. The floor tilted again. For a brief moment, he lost his grip and Imani slipped out of his hands.
Reaching out for him, she screamed, “Gaaarrettt!”
Somehow, he managed to regain his hold and snatch her out of the path of a large metal desk moving like a freight train in her direction. It crashed and went through a large glass window behind them—along with two other women. If he had been a split second slower, it would have mowed Imani down, and she would have gone out of the window with them.
He lowered his head to her ear so that she could hear him over the howl of the wind that began once the window shattered. “Hold me tight and don’t let go! We just need to get to the stairs.”
No sooner had he finished speaking, everything became still again, except for the wind. It continued to weep and whine. People were pushing and shoving. They were panicked, and their screams were deafening.
Imani nodded then realized they were going the wrong way. She pointed to where everyone else was running.
He shook his head no as he dragged her along. “There’s an emergency exit by the executive conference rooms.” Garrett knew there were too many people trying to get out through the other exit, and the one they were headed towards would probably be less crowded.
Imani wasn’t sure what was the loudest, the pounding in her ears or the rapid beating of her heart. She did her best to keep up with Garrett but moving was awkward. She was almost seven months pregnant and not as quick as she would have liked.
They finally made it to the doors, and it was blocked. A steel beam had fallen in front of it, and office furniture blocked the door.
“Dammit!” He yelled. Garrett had to release his hold on her in order to slide the heavy-ass beam and the furniture out of the way. Gently, as if she were a porcelain doll, he moved her to the side.
“I can help.” Imani hadn’t taken one step before he stopped her. “Don’t. Stay over there. You might hurt yourself or the baby.” He looked up at the ceiling and all of the light fixtures hanging by an exposed wire or two, and the sparking it was causing. He prayed nothing caught fire until they got the hell out of there.
Considering a beam had already landed in front of the door, it was possible more things could drop out of the ceiling. He yelled back to Imani, “Watch out for more falling debris.”
Garrett had to act fast. He wasn’t sure if the earthquake was finished, if they would experience significant aftershocks, or if the entire building was going to collapse on top of them. Regardless, he had to get them out.
Imani stood to the side, looking on. She hated feeling helpless and weak. She wanted—needed—to do something, but she didn’t know what.
Garrett took off his suit coat and sent it flying into the air where it landed somewhere in the chaos of the building. He loosened his tie, then quickly bent to move the huge obstacle out of the doorway. As he lifted, then shoved, it moved slightly. Garrett lifted again with all his might, and Imani could see his shirt tighten every time he flexed those chorded muscles. They bulged from beneath his white dress shirt. It had been almost four months since she’d run her hands over that body. Was she crazy? Her only thought should have been to thank God that Garrett had hit the genetic lottery and kept himself in tip-top condition. It was for that reason that she had no doubt he would get that thing out of their way. Garrett would not only move it, but that desk and those chairs stacked up beside the door would be tossed aside before the building started to move again. She was sure of it.
Imani turned her head at the sound of voices. There were a few stragglers left behind. Two men, she didn’t recognize, and Lucinda, Garrett’s admin.
Imani took off in a sprint toward them, or as fast as she could, with her little basketball sitting in the center of her stomach, and called out. “Help! Please over here. Please help us!” She held her arms above her head crisscrossing them as she waved frantically.
The three of them quickly made the short trek over to the alcove where she and Garrett were. One of the guys saw what Garrett was trying to do and immediately went over to help.
Sweat was pouring down Garrett’s face as he continued to try to move the beam, and now he had help. The man’s voice was strained. “I forgot about this exit.” Another second or two, the other man started to lift too.
It moved, slightly.
Frustrated and breathing hard, Garrett stopped. “Seth . . . Anthony . . . wait . . . wait.” Garrett let go, and so did they. “This will work better if we lift at the same time. I’ll count it off, and we’ll lift on three.”
They nodded in agreement.
“One . . . two . . . three.” They heaved and lifted. Finally, the beam moved but not enough.
Seth yelled out. “Ahhhhhhhh . . . Just our luck this thing would fall here, Mr. Hadley.” He had turned beet red as he gave it everything he had.
Imani and Lucinda looked on helplessly. Imani hadn’t seen Garrett’s administrative assistant in a while and regretted it being under these circumstances.
The three of them grunted and growled, attempting to move something with limited success that, most likely, a crane had probably placed there.
Magically, another pair of hands was added to the mix. It was only then that they were finally able to make progress moving the thick steel.
Those hands belonged to Raymond.
Granite was softer than Garrett’s face when he looked up and recognized who had helped them.
Raymond stood within arm’s reach. If the smoke, fire, or building collapsing didn’t kill him, Garrett being in the same place as Raymond would end in murder, Imani thought.
It would take a miracle, but Garrett needed to find the strength to focus on getting him and Imani out. There would come a time to deal with Raymond, but this wasn’t it. Instead of acting upon his barely contained rage, Garrett barked orders. His eyes never wavered from Raymond’s. “Let’s move this furniture.”
Imani’s face said it all. She was horrified when she saw Raymond running past her.
In a different time and place, they all might have had a chance to process the irony of this situation, but they didn’t have that luxury. Instead, Anthony and Raymond pulled while Garrett and Seth pushed.
The circumstances were dire, but Anthony decided to bring some levity to it. He spoke through gritted teeth. “The executive suite. I always wondered what it was like over here.” Exerting himself to such a degree, his skin, the color of dark chocolate, held a tinted blush.
Within minutes, they had cleared the pathway and opened the emergency exit door. Raymond, knowing that Imani and Garrett were estranged and in the process of a divorce, reached his hands out to help Imani at the same time as Garrett. If the murderous gaze Garrett was giving Raymond was any indication, getting to the bottom of this building would be the least of her worries.
Imani froze. Looking between the two, Imani’s anger and rage returned. Imani didn’t want either man to help her. She refused to make direct eye contact with Garrett or Raymond. She looked straight ahead. Imani wasn’t willing to continue being a pawn in their game.
With adrenaline pumping through her veins, and more than relieved they could get the door opened, Imani answered the unspoken question of who she was going to allow to help her. “We have seventeen flights of stairs to get down before we’re safe. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
Imani got to her feet and walked past Garrett and Raymond not accepting assistance from either of them. At least for now, she could only thank God that they hadn’t killed each other.
It seemed unfathomable at how much things had changed over the last couple of years. It was like a lifetime ago. Back then, at breakfast with her parents, when her eyes first connected with Garrett’s, all Imani wanted to do was console h
im and help him through a tough time. Then, their hands touched briefly underneath the table when they said grace. His gentle touch, the hopelessness in his gaze, made Imani want to put the spark back in those eyes. From that moment on, she was thoroughly enchanted by him.
Some people called it insta-lust, but Imani knew it was more likely, insta-love. Garrett had become her everything . . . until the day he’d broken her heart. On that day, Raymond was there for the collapse of it all. He always seemed to be at the center of the chaos offering a helping hand—like today. However, today, Imani would make a choice she wouldn’t have made back then. This time, she chose herself.
Chapter 10
Two years prior
Several hours later, Imani awoke in her old bedroom with a massive headache and surrounded by all her childhood things. She moaned.
Aaliyah had fallen asleep in a rocking chair next to the bed reading a book but instantly woke up the moment she heard sounds coming from Imani. She stretched trying to knock the kinks out of her back and neck then scooted to the edge of her seat. Her voice was groggy from sleep. “Hey, girl. How are you feeling?”
Imani was afraid to move. She remained as still as possible. “I feel as if I were run over by a Mack truck.”
“More like DJ Austin, Shawna’s boyfriend.”
Imani whispered through the pain. “Someone had the nerve to claim her as their girlfriend? Miracles happen every day.”
“Jerks tend to find each other. They’ve been dating for about a year. I’m still trying to figure out when guys started getting involved in their girlfriend’s business? I heard he was unnecessarily rough, but you’re going to be fine. According to Maddon, it was retaliation for your hard hits against Shawna. Honestly, I don’t think the two of you should ever be in the same room. It’s been years since high school, and you’re both still holding a grudge.”
Slowly, Imani touched her forehead with her fingertips and moaned with every movement. There was no way she would ever reveal that it wasn’t the fact her ex-bestie stole her boyfriend, but it was Shawna’s flirting with Garrett that got on her last damn nerve. DJ must have missed that. “Mmmmm . . . true. After all these years, if I hear her name or see flashes of her face in my mind, it still drives me crazy. Betrayal is a hard pill to swallow. I know it’s petty, but it is what it is.”
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