Embracing Series Box Set #1-6

by Delisa Lynn

  Come on, please buy this. Please just say it so I can go.

  “Alyssa, you think I was born yesterday? I’m not as dumb as you think I am. I’m not telling you who really did this. Now, you and I both know that neither you nor Heath had anything to do with it, but the cops don’t know that. My connections made sure that it was all pointing to you and Heath. Mainly you.” She smirks.

  “Well, that is very odd. You see, when the nice detectives came to my work place, they told me I was cleared, that it was Heath they were after because you’d been sleeping with one of them. Not sure if you cut him off or not, but he was quick to throw you under the bus,” I say, praying she’ll fall for it.

  “What? No! Heath isn’t supposed to be in trouble. They said they would take care of you, just you. They promised me that if I did as they said, then they would get rid of you so Heath and I can get back together.”

  “Oh, so you’re planning to kill me?”

  “God, no. That wasn’t part of my plan. Look, I have to run. Meet me on the docks tonight. Have all the money and I’ll tell the cops I made a mistake, but I want the entire ten grand.”

  “Wait,” I say as I place my hand on her arm. “If I give you this money, that’s the end of all this, right?” I have a feeling she is going to lie, like she has been her entire life.

  “Yep, just come alone. If I find out that Heath knows, you’ll be sorry.”

  “Oh…Is that a threat, Jessika?”

  “Nope, it’s a promise. Remember, I always get what I want.” Turning on her heel, she sprints to the door.

  What a bitch.

  “Okay, I fucking hope you got all of that,” I say as I make my way out the door. She’s already long gone.

  “Got it,” Meek says. “Come on back, dear.”

  ***

  Heath

  Jessika wants to meet Alyssa tonight. She thinks I know nothing. No way is Lys going alone. I’ll be right there, although I can’t be seen. If anything goes wrong, I won’t be able to live with myself.

  I pull her into my side and kiss her cheek. “Are you sure about this? We can say fuck the entire thing because we have her on tape basically confessing to everything.”

  “Yes, I’m doing this. Once I do, then they can arrest her on the spot. Hopefully, she will turn the shady ass cops in as well.”

  I know exactly what she means. This is a damn mess. I can’t believe that Jess waited until I moved on to do all of this.

  “I just worry that she’ll pull some other shit.”

  “Me too, but you and Meek will be there. We got this, okay?”

  “Yeah. After this I’m locking you in the bedroom for a week so I can have my way with you.” I laugh.

  “Oh,” she bats her eyelashes. “I think we can arrange that.”

  “Meek just texted me. It’s all set. Are you ready?”

  “Yep, let’s do this. I have the bag with the money in it.”

  “God, I love you. You’re a brave woman, Alyssa.” And she is. She’s stronger than most men I know.

  “Heath, I haven’t always been this brave. I’ve learned that I have to stay strong for myself. Until you, I thought I’d be alone. Forever.”

  I place my hand on the side of her face and pull her closer. I look into her brown eyes and say, “You never have to worry about being alone. I’ll always protect you.”

  And I will, regardless of what I have to do.

  ***

  Alyssa

  I arrive at the vacated brick building along the beach where I’m meeting Jessika. Heath and Meek are set up behind this building. I make sure to come alone so that neither she nor anyone else will know the guys are with me.

  I don’t see anyone. I sit down on the bench in front of the building. It smells of dead animals. If things go as planned, Meek is going to arrest Jessika once she reaches for the money.

  The moment I hear footsteps, I regain my composure by sitting up straighter and holding onto the bag tighter. I see that it is only Jessika and she is alone, just as she said she would be.

  “Okay, let’s do this. You have the money?” she asks as she looks around.

  “Yep, I do. Are you okay? You seem jittery,” I say, knowing that I’m a little nervous myself. I pick up the black duffel bag and hand it to her. “Here it is. Are you sure you don’t want to give up those names for some extra cash?” I ask as I point at the bag.

  “Look,” she says, looking around. “I’ve done some bad things, and I need this money. If I tell you everything, you can’t tell Heath, okay?”

  “You have my word.” I reach my hand out to her. She pushes my hand away.

  “No, I don’t need all that. I just need you to listen and watch your back. They could be watching us,” she whispers.

  “Who, Jessika?” I ask.

  “They’re monsters. You don’t want to get mixed up with them. Just go. I’ll call and tell the police that I made a mistake, that it wasn’t y’all. Now go, please.”

  “Wait! Jessika, drop the bag and place your hands on your head,” Meek says, rounding the corner.

  “You fucking whore. You lied to me,” she yells as she charges toward me.

  “Jessika, step back. Please don’t make me shoot,” Meek calls out to her. The anger in her eyes turns to hurt as she places her hands on my shoulder.

  “I trusted you.”

  “Look, I’m sorry. You are in a lot of trouble, but we can help you.” I push her out of my face. “You need serious help.”

  “No. I’m taking the money and going.” She grabs the bag, pushes past me, and starts running.

  “Fuck, I knew this may happen,” Meek says. He chases after her. Then I see Heath standing inches from Jessika with a gun pointed at her.

  “Heath, don’t shoot her,” I say, slowly walking closer to them. “It’s just money. Let the cops do their job and arrest her.”

  “This is all your fault. You’re the one that took my life from me. You made me this way,” she yells at Heath.

  “Me? You’re the one that got yourself involved with these people and their shady shit.”

  “If you would’ve loved me the way you loved Josie, I would have never been like this. Do you still go visit her every weekend? Does your new whore know about her and all of your secrets? You kept me in the dark for years. Then I found out about it all. That’s when I started using again.”

  “You’re crazy, you know that, right? Josie died years ago, before you and I even got together,” Heath says, looking at her, then back at me.

  “Cut the shit. You know she’s alive and so is your child that you made while with me. I saw the pictures, all of them, including videos of you and her fucking.”

  “Seriously, I have no clue what you are talking about. Please elaborate for us, since you know so much.”

  “Just stop, fucking stop. You know goddamn well what I’m talking about. You pretended she was dead, then you went and fucked her every weekend while you were supposedly playing golf. I promised them I wouldn’t say anything to you, but this is just getting to be too much. I loved you, Heath. I do love you, but they approached me and told me about you and her, showed me the pictures and videos. That’s when I decided to give it all up. I started using again. I started selling drugs and sleeping around for money.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Heath yells. He looks as if he is going to pass out. I gently rest my hand on his shoulder.

  “Come on, let’s go. We don’t need to hear any more of this.”

  “I know she’s dead. I attended her funeral!” He yells, tears streaming down his face. “I was there, and I was fucking there when she took her last breath. You’re pure evil, Jessika.” He walks toward her, the gun shaking in his hand. “Stay the hell away from us. Arrest this trash before I take care of her myself.”

  “Walk away, just walk away, just like you walked away from Josie and your child. I know, Heath. I spoke to her.”

  “What?” He stops, his head snapping back in her direct
ion. “Tell me who put you up to this.”

  “I can’t say who told me, but Alyssa, know he will hurt you the way he did her and then me. He is worthless. All the money he has belongs to Josie and their child.”

  “Look, I have no clue what this is all about…But you need to stop.”

  I look at Meek and shake my head. He grabs her hands and starts reading her the Miranda Rights.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Heath

  This is the craziest fucking shit I’ve ever heard. I have no clue what this is all about or who even fed Jess all those lies. I can still hear her words playing through my mind: “Your child…Josie’s not dead.”

  I see the heartbreak and confusion on Lys’s face. She’s been through so much the last few weeks because of me. I rest my hand on her thigh and squeeze her leg. She looks at me and the tears that roll down her face makes me gasp for air.

  “Heath, I know she’s lying, but why? Why would she make all this up?” she asks.

  “Baby, I’m not sure. I have no clue what the hell is going on. Someone is out to get me, apparently. We will get to the bottom of this, but first I need to show you something.”

  The drive on the way to the cemetery is quiet. Although I come here often, I need to see for myself that Jess is lying. For a second, I wanted to believe that Jess was telling the truth, at least about Josie still being alive.

  As I drive down the small gravel road that leads to the spot where Josie is, I can still see the flowers I left the last time. I stop the car in front of her grave. I look at Alyssa and say, “See, this is her grave.”

  “Can I meet her again?”

  “Huh?” I look at Lys, confused.

  “Can I say hi to her?” she asks.

  “Umm, okay. Come on.”

  I climb out of my seat and walk around to open her door. We stand in front of the huge, black stone. It has a scripture on one side, while the other side has a picture of Josie before she got sick. Inscribed on the stone are the following words:

  Joselyn Mae Quartet

  Daughter, Sister, and Aunt

  Born on May 13, 1987

  Died on December 2, 2008

  “Jos, this is my girlfriend, Alyssa. You may remember her from Seth. I know you liked her then and you would definitely approve.” I laugh. “Please, help us figure this shit with Jessika out. I know you’re exploring the world from up above. I had to come here. Some part of me wanted to believe what we were being fed, but I knew it wasn’t true. Rest easy, sweetheart.”

  “Hi, Josie. As Heath said, I’m Alyssa. Seth was my boyfriend when he died. I never got to thank you for talking to me at the hospital and buying me coffee. I’m sure you’ve seen him up there. Tell him I said hi, would you? I promise I’ll take care of Heath. He’s amazing, and the crap that Jessika is pulling is going to stop soon. Now that I know where your resting spot is, I’ll be by to see you soon,” she says as she wipes a tear from her face.

  “You’re amazing, Lys,” I say as we walk to the car. “You know that?”

  “Heath, I knew she was lying. We have to figure out who she is working with and who fed her this lie.”

  “I just don’t know who would want to do all this.”

  I start the car. I really don’t have any enemies. I slept with a lot of women, but none of them wanted to pursue a relationship…Well, none that I’m aware of.

  “Heath, what about—Shit, the waitress? Theresa, that’s her name.”

  “Yeah. She thought I’d cheat on Jess with her,” I say as I run my hand down my face.

  “She has to be involved because she is the only one that knew about me.”

  “Fuck. Why is this shit happening now? I hadn’t seen either of them since I broke things off with Jess, other than when Theresa served us at the diner. I did…Damn it, I did sleep with one of their other friends in April, I think. Her name is Melanie. She came over to my place. I normally never bring anyone there, and I actually bought a new bed after that because I didn’t want any reminders of Jess in my room, so I got all new shit.”

  “Call her to see if she will tell you anything. Tell her you’re on to them. See if she will bust.”

  “You’re so fucking good. I’ll call Meek first and see how things are going.”

  “We will get this sorted, even if I have to cut one of these bitches.” She laughs.

  ***

  Alyssa

  We just discovered that Jessika’s friends helped her in this little plot to destroy Heath and me. While Jessika is behind bars, we have to get the other two to confess. We think that Theresa and Melanie have been egging Jess on. Heath’s made a few calls and we’re heading to the police station. They’ve agreed to let us talk with Jessika to see if she will give them up. He tried calling both girls, but of course they didn’t answer.

  “Baby, know that whatever happens, I love you,” he says, squeezing my hand.

  “Heath, we will bring them down. There has to be a reason they’re doing this.”

  “I just don’t get it. Are you going to talk to Jess? I’m not sure I can without hurting her. I would never put my hands on a woman, but she isn’t a woman.”

  “Yes, I think it’ll be better if I do.”

  We walk into the station. Meek arranged for us to see her, but I honestly don’t want Heath to. I know, as upset as he is, he’ll hurt her.

  “Alyssa, Heath, I’ve sent a few men to bring Theresa Houseman and Melanie Cooper to be questioned. I think it would be best if Alyssa talks to Jessika. She keeps saying there are ‘monsters’ out to get her. I’m not sure who she’s referring to.”

  “I’ll go in. Make sure you record everything. Come in when I motion for you.”

  “Yes, we will be right there. If you need us, just say the words.”

  “Heath, it’ll be okay.”

  After I kiss Heath, I walk into the interrogation room. She is sitting at a table, smoking, of course.

  “Alyssa, look, they will hurt you. They want money. They’ve made it clear. They’re going to kill me if I don’t give it to them.” She takes a draw on her cigarette. “Look, I know you don’t like me, but I’m scared shitless.”

  “Who are these men you are referring to? Or should I say women?” I say as I sit in the chair across from her. I’ve been in interrogation rooms with my clients before, but this is too damn close for comfort.

  “Sledge. He is Theresa’s brother. We fucked here and there, but they are the ones that told me about Josie and the kid,” she says, lighting another cigarette. “Want one?”

  “No thanks. Wait, your friend, Theresa? The one that works at the diner?”

  “Yes, that’s her. She is the one that told me about you.” She sighs. “They made me do it. She beat the shit out of me so it would look like I was attacked.”

  I take a deep breath. “So, Theresa has done all this? She beat you up and came up with the story that we attacked you?” I ask, hoping to get the right answers.

  “Yes, they…” she looks around, “…they want Heath’s money. He is one of the wealthiest men here. They told me about Josie. Then she called me herself.”

  “Sweetie, Josie is dead. I’m not sure what they told you or who called you, but I saw her gravesite.”

  “But I saw the pictures and the video. It was fuzzy, but I could have sworn it was Heath.”

  “Jessika, look at me. What have these people told you? Come on, you can talk to me. We want what’s best for you,” I say, trying to console her.

  “It all started about a year ago. Theresa started telling me that Heath was cheating and she’d saw him with different woman. I started using again because she kept feeding me the lies and her brother was my dealer. They would give me drugs for sex. I love Heath, I never meant to hurt him, but he was the one with the money, so I knew he’d miss it if I kept buying drugs with it. Then, after Heath kicked me out, I started seeing Sledge.” She sighs and lights another cigarette.

  “Are you still seeing him?”

  “No, tha
t’s just it. He used me to get money from Heath. He wanted me to get it from the bank I was working at, but I lost my job. Then Theresa said she’d met you and that you looked loaded, so they came up with this shit. I’m so sorry. I just want to go to sleep. I’m so tired of lying and running,” she cries. I actually feel sorry for her.

  “Jessika, do you think that your other friend is involved also? I think Heath went on a date with her a few months back.”

  “I’m not sure, but that was when I tried to break into his house, and then I felt bad and lied to Sledge and told him someone had seen me.”

  “Why are they doing this? I understand they want money, but it didn’t seem like anything was wrong with Theresa when we saw her last month.”

  “I need help. Is there a way that y’all can help me stay away from them? If I don’t pay Sledge, he will kill me. He is a bad cop. He has connections.”

  “Why didn’t you go to Heath when all this started?”

  “They kept telling me they would hurt him or me. I would rather die than see him hurt any more than he already is. I did him wrong. I used to be bad and he changed me. Then it all started up again. Once I got a sniff of the poison, I was back on it. I’m a junkie. I used to be pretty at one time, but now I look like this,” she rolls her sleeves up to show me the tracks in her arms. “This is what makes me happy. The rush I get when the heroin goes through my body is a high like nothing else.”

  “How long have you been using?”

  “I’ve always smoked weed and used coke here and there, but the heroin is new. I started earlier this year. Can I have something to drink, please?” she asks as she looks around the room.

  “Of course you can.” I walk to the door and knock. Meek opens it and hands me two bottles of water. They can hear everything, and I know Heath is probably devastated. “Look, Jessika, you’re going to need a lawyer. I can call mine to represent you. I would do it myself, but considering I was the one you tried to frame, it may not sit well.”