“You already know why you were fired Gary. It’s not like you didn’t get a great severance package.” I tried to reason with him by pointing out that he had got a healthy pay out from me just so he would leave quietly.
“Severance package my ass!” He snapped before hitting me in the head with the butt of the gun.
The blow made me lose balance and almost black out for a minute, but I managed to stay on my feet. Why the hell did he want to hurt me over a damn job? It wasn’t like I had just thrown him out there on his ass. He had enough money to take care of himself and his family while he got help for his issues. It wasn’t my fault he was probably spending that money on alcohol and drugs.
“I have a son and I’m getting married soon. Please. Think about what you’re doing.” Tears stung my eyes and then slid down my cheeks. My head was throbbing and I reached up to feel the blood oozing from an open wound.
“Fuck that shit bitch! I don’t give a damn about your bastard son, or that monkey you’re going to marry! I should’ve known better than work for some black, entitled bitch who doesn’t deserve anything that was handed to your ass! Shit, it’s bad enough that you’re a woman in a man’s world! This business is going to go to shit because you’re black and you’re a woman! That’s already a recipe for disaster!” As he yelled I could feel his nasty ass spit hit me in my face.
It was crazy because when he worked for me I had no idea he was a racist, sexist pig. I thought about my baby, my family and the man that I loved with all of my heart. All I knew was I had to make it back to them. What Grady had just said to me was fucked up, but I knew better. Nothing in my life had been given to me. Shit, I worked hard as hell and busted my ass to get to where I was.
“Look, Grady, this is not about me, my money, my color or my sex. You’re standing here with a gun on me because I fired you. Think about it. You used to work for me and I hired you back then for a reason. It has to make sense that I wouldn’t have fired you just to be evil, or some spoiled rich bitch; which I’m not. You lost your job because I felt you needed time to get yourself back to the Grady that I knew. What if…”
“Stop trying to butter me up and insult me at the same time you nigger bitch! I’ll kill everybody in here right before I kill you and then kill myself. Shit, what the fuck do I have to lose right? I’m sitting here with a gun on Renell Beauvois. One of the richest women in the world. You can’t even make sure that my kids are taken care of while I’m alive. Maybe they’ll get what they deserve if I’m dead, but I’m taking all of you motherfuckers to hell with me!”
The empty look in his eyes told me that he was no longer himself. He was just a shell; a reflection of the man he once was. There was no life there anymore and it was as if his soul had escaped into oblivion. Mental illness was something that was so real in the lives of so many people. If there was a way for Grady’s life to be spared for him to get the help he needed, I was for that. Still, my life was hanging by a thread. It was more important for me to return to the ones I loved. The question was how with that damn gun in my face and a crazy man who was making threats on my life?
I felt that I had to keep trying to reason with him, so I continued. “Grady, I’m sorry okay. Nancy and your children love you. They wouldn’t want you to throw away your life for them. I will make sure they are taken care of. You don’t have to die for that. How about I set up an account for Greta and Adam. I will make sure they are well taken care of for the rest of their lives, but you don’t have to kill anybody. It’s not worth it Grady. You have made your point and I understand. Just let me help you, please.” I started into his eyes and pleaded with him silently.
As I looked around at the teary eyes of my employees, my heart sank even lower. Not only did I owe the ones I loved, but I owed them too. None of them deserved the wrath of a disgruntled ex-employee of mine. They were all excellent at their jobs and that was why they were still there. They had families and loved ones, so it was my mission to make sure that they made it home to them too.
Grady stared me down with pure malice in his eyes. He did not intend for me to make it out of there alive. Shit, his plan was to make sure that everyone inside that room was dead, including himself.
He shook his head and pointed the gun at the circle of people that I saw at work every day. They were all crying, well, except for this guy named Brock who worked in the mail room. He was a young, extremely handsome, brown haired, blue eyed recent college graduate. He kind of reminded me of Stephan from Vampire Diaries, but with ocean blue eyes instead of brown. There was a look on his face that let me know he was trying his best to come up with something.
We locked eyes and then he quickly looked away. The whimpers of the women who were sobbing as they sat there on the floor with their wrists tied with ligatures and their mouths covered filled the space around us. The duct tape didn’t stop the sound of their cries and it tore at my soul.
“Who should I shoot first?” He asked looking around the circle as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hmmm, who got on my nerves the most?”
I couldn’t believe him. “Grady, please…don’t…”
He turned to face me with the gun pointed at my chest. “You don’t have a heart do you?” His hair was stuck to his forehead because the adrenaline rush had him sweating. It was cool in the room, so the sheen of sweat on his face wasn’t from being hot.
“I do have a heart Grady and that’s why I don’t want anyone to die. Not even you. It doesn’t matter what you say or think, I want you to be alive and well for your children.”
“You don’t give a damn about me or my children Miss Beauvois. All you give a damn about is yourself and your business. This isn’t about them.” He waved the gun around before pointing it at me again. “This shit is about you.”
Yeah, I needed to keep him talking until I figured something out.
“We can fix your financial situation Grady, but if you kill someone we can’t bring them back. That can’t be fixed. If you die your children are left without a father and they need you.” I stared up at him and watched as he lowered the gun and started pacing back and forth.
“Shit! Shut the fuck up bitch before I shut you up!” The anger that came from each word made me shudder in fear. He wasn’t pointing the gun at anyone anymore and I watched as Brock slowly stood up from his sitting position. Before Grady knew what was going on Brock had his hands around his throat. He had got loose somehow and as he spun Grady around that gun was just waving around too. I was scared that somebody was going to get shot.
“Get the fuck off me before I start shooting!” Grady managed to say as they wrestled over the gun.
Then there was the sound I was dreading to hear.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
Chapter 5
Seantay
“What the fuck are we going to do Rah?” I asked in a panic as I maneuvered through the thick traffic leaving the coffee shop. Time I got in the car I called to tell him about Dean’s appeal going through. I was sure that my life couldn’t get any worse.
“Calm down Tay. It’s going to be handled,” he said sounding all calm and collected.
“It’s going to be handled? Is that all the fuck you have to say?” I asked getting more anxious by the minute.
“Baby, look, we’ll talk when you get here. You’re all worked up and we both know what happens when you get worked up when you drive,” he said.
I rolled my eyes and popped off with attitude. “Don’t even go there! Just because I wrecked a few cars and shit…”
He cut me off. “Okay babe. I was just fuckin’ wit’ you now get your ass home so I can give you a full body massage. I want you to know that this shit will be handled okay. Just let it go for now. Tomorrow we’ll come up with something and then we will meet with Elise and her mother okay.”
I sighed. “Alright. I guess.”
“You guess? Are you questioning your man?”
“I’m not questioning you Rah? I just don’t know what to think right now.”
“Then let me do the thinking. I’m here for you babe. There is no way I’m going to let anything happen to you and I mean that, okay. Now get your fine ass home in one piece. I love you ma,” he said sounding all sweet and shit.
I submitted. “Okay baby. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I love you more.”
Less than ten seconds after I hung up, my phone was vibrating. A smile stretched across my face, but when I looked at the screen it faded quickly. I thought Rah was calling me back, but I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn’t answer. The number flashed across the screen again, warranting a frown to replace the smile I once wore. Who was so hell bent on speaking to me and their number wasn’t in my contacts? I thought about the fact that it could possibly be a business opportunity and opted to answer.
“Seantay Beauvois.”
“Yes, the voice mi been wantin’ to hear for so long,” a deep Jamaican accent roared in my ear.
Ahh shit, Nafis. How the fuck did he get my number again? I’d changed it since the last time he’d called me. My heart dropped and I felt dizzy all of a sudden. Oh my God. What if he was free? I mean, it wasn’t like he had called me from a phone in jail. He had called me straight through, so it had to be a cell phone.
“What do you want?” I asked trying not to sound as intimidated as I felt.
“I want you.” He chuckled. “Ya know mi always wanted the bad, little rich girl wit’ da sweet, juicy pum pum”.
I rolled my eyes and felt them suddenly burn with fresh tears. How the hell did my luck have to turn out so bad? I thought I have got rid of Nafis and Dean, but apparently I hadn’t. It seemed to me that things were about to get so damn out hand. I’d already escaped death multiple times. Maybe I was destined to be destroyed one way or the other.
“You disgust me. I regret the day I met you. I wish I had never let you touch me! Leave me the hell alone! I don’t want to see you, or hear you voice, so don’t fucking call me anymore!” I yelled trying my best to convince him that I wasn’t afraid of his ass.
He let out that menacing chuckle again. “Don’t worry sexy one. Mi not home just yet muh dear, but mi soon come. One of mi flunkies decided that mi freedom was more important than dem right before mi go to trial and took the charge for mi. Mi be out in a few weeks and ya pretty face is the first one mi wanna see.”
A chill traveled down my spine and the tears were really falling by the time he finished talking. I felt nauseas as hell, so I pulled over. The panic that had settled in had me shaking like a leaf on a tree. I dropped the phone on the ground as I leaned over to let all of the coffee I’d consumed rise and escape from my throat. By the time I finished throwing up my throat felt raw. I picked up my phone and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the dash. After cleaning my phone and hands with sanitizer, I picked up another napkin and wiped the tears from my eyes. It looked like me and my man were about to go to war.
“Ya dere beautiful?” He asked sounding like he was smiling from ear to ear.
“Yes,” I said trying to sound like I was in control. Shit, I was sure that he knew better. Damn, it was just my luck to find out that Dean and Nafis were both potentially being released back into civilization to ruin my fucking life.
“Ya sound like ya got sick at the mention of mi freedom. Why you not happy for mi? Now mi can find da chink mufucka who put mi here.”
“What are you talking about Nafis and why the hell are you telling me?” I asked playing dumb. As much as I wanted to hang up, I just couldn’t. I needed to know what he knew.
“Mi got a big surprise for ya, okay sweetie?”
I swallowed hard and finally steered my car back on the road. That was only because I didn’t want Rah to worry. At that point I didn’t know how my weak legs were able to even press the gas. That shit had me fucked up. Then add the fact that Dean could be possibly getting out too. Why the hell would somebody take the blame for what Nafis was locked up for.
“He knew how bad mi wannna kill the mufucka dat set mi up, so he said the shit was his. Now mi wan stop at nuttin’ to make sure mi murda dat Chinese bati boy!” It was like he had read my mind.
There was no way he’d ever figure out who Chang was. How the hell would he know? His delusions of grandeur were really off the charts. If and when he got out, he wasn’t going to see my pretty ass. Hell to the no. I would just pacify him for the moment, change my number again, hire mad security and keep my distance from his crazy, psycho ass.
“Well, mi see ya soon beautiful.”
Just like that he hung up.
* * *
By the time I crossed the threshold of my downtown loft, almost forty five minutes had passed since I’d talked to Rah. He walked up to me with a worried look that had caused lines to form on his forehead. When he saw the look on my face, he pulled me into his arms and held me tightly.
“Damn babe, I told you not to worry about Dean…it’s…”
I cut him off. “Nafis called me.”
He pulled away from me and stared deep into my eyes. “Dread called you?” He asked as if he didn’t hear me correctly.
“Yes, he fucking called me and said that one of his flunkies claimed the coke that was found in his crib right before his trial and he will be getting out in a few weeks. Not only that, but he also said he is going to kill the chink who set him up. Shit, Dean is the least of our fucking worries right now baby,” I said in all one breath.
“Damn!” Rah yelled before running a hand over his smooth, close haircut. “I’m sorry baby.” He pulled me close to his hard chest again. “I’m gonna handle all of this shit.”
The look on his face told me that he didn’t know how yet.
“This is so crazy Rah. I thought all of that shit was over. After Avery was killed I thought it was all really over and now it feels like it is all just beginning. I have too much to lose baby. Shit, we have too much to lose. We have to do something and we have to do it fast.” I was desperate to make sure that Nafis and Raheem stayed behind bars as long as possible. I didn’t give a damn how much money I had to pay.
“Look, Nafis was just fucking wit’ you baby. There’s no way he can just get out of jail like that. Either way the drugs were found in the house while he was there. Dean isn’t out. It’s a possibility that he could be found guilty again. Have you heard anything from Elisa or her mom?” He asked narrowing his eyes at me like he was in deep concentration.
“No…which is surprising. I’m sure they saw the news,” I said feeling another anxiety attack about to come on. “Look babe, I have to go brush my teeth okay. When Nafis called I threw up.”
Without explaining any further, I simply made my way to my bedroom’s bathroom. As I brushed my teeth I thought about what Dean and Nafis being free meant for me and Rah’s future. They were both threats and although Avery had been eliminated, I still had them to worry about. If they were dead too, it would all be over. When I gargled with some minty flavored mouth wash I had it all figured out. We would just have to hire someone to take them both out. Then it occurred to me that even that plan could backfire.
Chapter 6
Seandra
“How are you feeling?” I asked sitting beside Pierre Reed’s hospital bed.
“Better. I’m so sorry about your car,” he said with that beautiful accent.
As I stared into his brownish green eyes, I couldn’t help but sigh. He was a very sexy male supermodel who was from Paris, France. That was my favorite city other than Miami. Of course he was a black man and he was beautiful. There was no other word to describe him.
“Don’t worry about the car. The insurance will cover it,” I said with a flirtatious smile.
That wasn’t what I was saying at first, but that was before I knew that he had slammed into my car. Damn if I wasn’t a fan of his. He was famous beyond words and I had no idea that he lived less than ten miles from me. I had followed the ambulance to the hospital in my Range Rover just to make sure that he was okay. I didn’t know what had led to the acc
ident at that time, but I was damn interested.
“I’m epileptic,” he had explained when he first opened his eyes. “I had a seizure and so this is the result.”
His voice was weak, but I reassured him that help was coming.
“I called the paramedics and they’ll be here in no time,” I explained just as the sound of sirens approached.
He nodded before passing out again.
When he got to the hospital he was still unconscious, but after they treated him he was just fine and would be discharged soon. For some odd reason, I was intrigued by him. There was something about him that drew me closer and although Ahmad was calling me I couldn’t answer. I wanted to know more about Pierre.
“I insist on paying for the damage Miss Beauvois. I am a huge fan of yours,” he said with a smile on his handsome face. “I wouldn’t want to piss off the Beauvois family.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You can’t help what happened Pierre. You had a seizure. Of course I was pissed at first, but that was before I knew about your medical condition.”
“I hadn’t had a seizure in a years and I must admit that I haven’t been taking my medication. It was like I was hoping I was cured or something. Well, now I know better,” he said as he sat up in the hospital bed.
“So, you don’t live far from me. I didn’t know that you had permanently moved to the US,” I said as if I knew him. We had only met once over six years ago at a charity benefit in New York City. There was an instant attraction, but due to the distance neither of us acted on it. It was just a little mild flirting and that was it.
“I’ve been in Miami for over a year now. I just moved into my new house about a month ago. Never in a million years did I think we’d meet again this way. I knew we’d see each other again, but not like this.”
Black Lace: Book 4 of the Black Butterfly Series Page 3