Open Your Heart

by Cheris Hodges

  “What you need to do is take care of this bitch,” Danny growled.

  “No, I need to find out who this guy is and how to get rid of him.”

  “With a fucking bullet. I don’t have time for this. It’s only a matter of time before she has a crisis of conscience and decides to go to the police. I’m not going to jail behind Bobby G.’s stupid ass.”

  “You brought this on yourself. Why did you go off on Bobby G. so damn publicly? That was stupid.”

  “I want people to know I’m not playing games with them anymore. When I say I want my money, give it to me or die. Pay what you owe.”

  “Thought you were supposed to keep your hands clean? That’s why I work with you. You’re supposed to be doing something important and you fooled all the right people—now you want to fuck that up?”

  “People need to know that I’m not to be played with and that’s the message I was sending with Bobby G. You have to have skin in the game if you plan to win.”

  Chase sighed into the phone. “What’s the plan for the bodyguard or whoever? If I have to stop two hearts, then the price goes up.”

  “Do what you have to do. I’m good for it.” Danny hung up the phone and shoved it back into his desk drawer with a loud thud. He needed to do something to make sure he wasn’t linked to this murder. It would bring down everything he had built and that bitch wasn’t going to cause that collapse to happen.

  Chapter 13

  Two days later in Charlotte, Yolanda, Alex, and Nina were in her showroom trying on dresses. It was hard to believe how many weeks had passed since Nina’s accident. She’d healed like Wolverine from the X-Men, it seemed like, as she tossed dresses into a pile.

  “Who picked out these dresses?” Nina asked as she held up a princess-styled gown against her body.

  Yolanda tilted her head toward Alex.

  Alex rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I was trying to help you find something classic for your wedding.”

  Nina shook her head. “I don’t do classic. I want something that embodies my style.”

  “But no sneakers!” Yolanda and Alex said in unison.

  Nina rolled her eyes and glanced over at Chuck, who was watching them with a slight smirk on his lips. “Excuse me,” she said. “Do I look like a princess gown type of woman?”

  “I have no comment,” he said.

  Yolanda rolled her eyes and wished her sisters had the sense to ignore him, as she’d been doing all day. Chuck was Nina’s fault. Though she couldn’t blame her sister for wanting to have sexy times with him. But if Nina had kept her lovely mouth shut, she wouldn’t be in this situation. Just looking into Chuck’s eyes made her panties wet. And she was dripping right now. Yolanda walked away from her sisters and headed to the storage room, where she kept wine. She hadn’t decided if she wanted to share yet. Glancing at her watch, she realized that it was just five minutes before noon. Was it too early to drown her desire in wine?

  Nope. Yolanda popped the cork on a chilled bottle of Chardonnay and poured herself a big glass.

  “You all right back here?” Chuck’s voice made her jump and spill some of the wine.

  “Yeah—yeah. Just getting some wine for us. Bored yet?” she asked as she turned around to face him.

  Chuck raised his right eyebrow when he saw the glass in her hand. “It’s a little . . .”

  “Don’t judge me. I mean, you’re stressing me out right now.”

  “I’m stressing you out,” he parroted. “Not the fact that someone wants you dead, just me?”

  Yolanda threw her head back and groaned. “Yes, because you just won’t . . .” She set her glass and the bottle of wine on the edge of a bunch of boxes. Then she flung herself into his arms and kissed him. Chuck didn’t have time to push her away; their lips melded together and he stroked her bottom as their tongues danced together. Soft moans escaped her throat, and if she thought no one but Chuck heard her, she was wrong.

  Alex burst through the door and exclaimed, “What in the hell is going on?”

  Seconds later, Nina walked in as Yolanda and Chuck stared at Alex with guilt and surprise etched across their faces. Nina couldn’t hide her grin. “It’s pretty obvious,” she quipped.

  Chuck cleared his throat. “I’m going to check the perimeter.” He brushed past the sisters and Yolanda reached for her wine.

  “Let’s get back to these dresses,” Yolanda said. Alex reached out and took the glass from her hand.

  “Yolanda, what in the hell is going on with you and the bodyguard? And why do you need one in the first place?”

  Yolanda glared at Nina. “See what you and your mouth did?”

  “Am I supposed to feel bad?” Nina snapped.

  Alex groaned. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

  Yolanda reached for the wineglass Alex held, but Alex lifted it above her head. “Somebody better start talking.”

  “I got into some trouble in Richmond and told the wrong person about it,” Yolanda said, nodding toward Nina. “So, when she blabbed to Dad, he got Chuck to protect me.”

  “Protect you?” Alex asked, looking from Yolanda to Nina. “What kind of trouble are you in now?”

  Nina shifted her weight from left to right as if she was waiting for Yolanda to tell the whole story. Yolanda simply shook her head. “Give me my glass, Alex.”

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Yolanda crossed over to the shelf where she had other wineglasses, grabbed another one, and filled it with the Chardonnay. “Are we going to find Nina a dress or nah?” she asked after taking a sip.

  Alex drank the wine in the glass she held, then stomped out of the room. Nina shook her head at Yolanda. “Why don’t you just tell her what’s going on?”

  “Do me a favor, mind your business.” Yolanda blew past Nina and headed into the showroom. Alex was standing by the discarded dresses, picking them up and putting them on hangers.

  Alex glanced at Yolanda and the look on her face screamed annoyance. Yolanda didn’t want to fight with her older sister and she didn’t want to tell her the entire truth.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Yolanda said quietly.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to cleaning up after you.”

  Yolanda rolled her eyes. “This is why I don’t like dealing with you. Everything is a judgment. You think you are so perfect and you’re not!”

  “You are so childish! And here you are in trouble again—enough trouble to have a bodyguard, but I’m wrong for being concerned?”

  Yolanda snorted as she picked up another discarded dress. “You’re not concerned. You just want to . . . I’m not doing this.”

  “Good, because at this point, I don’t even care anymore.” Alex dropped the dress she’d been placing on a hanger and tore out of the shop. Nina walked up to Yolanda and placed her hand on her shoulder.

  “You really should tell her the truth.”

  “Nina, I don’t want to talk to you right now. If you would’ve kept your mouth shut, this wouldn’t be happening.”

  “And you could be dead! I’m not going to apologize for telling Daddy.”

  Before Yolanda could reply, Chuck walked in and gave Yolanda a cold glance. She threw her hands up. “So, is everybody in the building mad at me?”

  * * *

  Charles wasn’t mad at Yolanda, but he was pissed with himself. Why did he kiss her? And why did it feel so damn good? Yolanda was trouble. First, she’d awakened something inside him that he thought had died with Hillary. Then she kissed like a dream. The same dream he’d had last night, only better. Now he had to forget it and focus on the job. Losing focus would mean losing Yolanda.

  Prepare her then, he thought. What if Yolanda knew how to protect herself from danger and he stopped seeing her as a helpless victim? He could teach her how to shoot and what to look out for. Charles stroked his face and considered what he was thinking. If he was honest, this might have been the worst idea he’d ever had. As feisty as Yolanda was, giving her a gun m
ight put her in more danger than he needed to have her in. Was he doing it because he wanted a green light to make love to her?

  Stop it, he thought. Do your job and keep your pants zipped.

  Charles turned around and saw Nina walking toward him. “What’s going on with you and my sister?” she asked once they were standing face-to-face. “You know you’re supposed to protect her from a killer and not whatever else is going on here.”

  “Nina, right?” Charles asked, even though he knew.

  “Yes. Are you going to answer my question?”

  “There is nothing going on with me and your sister. I’m doing my job.”

  “I hope that’s all you’re doing. I need my sister to . . .”

  “Nina!” Yolanda exclaimed. “Are you really doing this?”

  Charles threw up his hands and shook his head. “Ladies, this isn’t helping anything right now. Yolanda, can we talk in private?”

  She raised her right eyebrow at him. “About what? Because I’m not going to apologize for what I . . .”

  He touched her elbow. “That’s not what I want to talk about.”

  “Fine,” she said, then shot Nina a nasty look. “We can go into my office.”

  Nina shook her head and turned to the other dresses that she hadn’t tried on. “I guess I’ll amuse myself and pick out my own damned wedding dress.”

  Charles tried not to smile, but these women were funny. He’d never seen people love each other that much and be so loud about it. And he thought he had it bad with his sisters.

  Once they made it into Yolanda’s office, she sat on the edge of the desk and looked up at him. Beauty didn’t come close to describing her. Even when she was being indignant.

  “I have a plan,” he said. “And I think it’s important for your safety going forward.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You need to learn how to shoot. I want you to be able to—as a last resort—defend yourself. We don’t know where this threat is coming from and I don’t want to ever be caught off guard.”

  She leaned into him. “Absolutely not.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I don’t want to play around with guns. I want to . . . Can we talk about the kiss?”

  “No, because it’s not happening again. Yolanda, you at some point are going to have to get serious about this. Do you know who Danny Branch is?”

  He could tell she was familiar because her body nearly went limp. “H-how do you know about him?”

  “I had a friend do some investigating for me. This guy is bad news and the police seem to be on his side. Someone could be here right now waiting to take you out and no one would even connect it to him.”

  “If the police are on his side, why do you want me to actually go to Richmond and make a statement? Thought you were supposed to keep me alive, not lead me to the slaughter.”

  “As long as you’re with me, you’re going to stay alive. And that’s why I want you to know how to defend yourself as well.”

  Yolanda rose to her feet and paced the small office space three times before stopping in front of him. “You know what? Maybe you’re right.”

  “About?”

  “Being able to take care of myself. Then when I can do that, you can go home.”

  Charles gave her a half smile. “You keep trying to fire me and I don’t work for you.”

  “I’m sure when my sisters tell my daddy that you grabbed my booty he’ll fire you. And then . . .”

  “Stop it.”

  She inched closer to him. “Are you married? Spoken for or otherwise entangled? I’ll respect your relationship.”

  Charles should’ve pushed her away, but the heat of her body was hard to resist. His hands wanted to touch her and he was powerless to stop pulling her in. “There is no relationship to respect, but I have to be honest with you, this is dangerous.”

  “More dangerous than people trying to kill me?” she mimicked.

  “Yolanda, be serious.”

  “I seriously want to fu—”

  Before she could finish, the door opened and Nina walked in. Now Charles had to let her go. “You know what,” Nina said as she walked in. “I don’t know who you two think you’re fooling, but I know there is something going on and . . .”

  Yolanda shook her head. “Nina, can you just go sit your ass down somewhere?”

  “Think about what I said,” Charles said. “Where is your other sister?”

  “Who cares,” Yolanda snorted. Charles shook his head.

  “There could be people out . . . I’m going to look for her. Stay here.”

  * * *

  Yolanda wasn’t the kind of woman who listened to what someone told her. But when Chuck said, “Stay here,” she didn’t move. Well, until Nina pinched her on the shoulder.

  “What the hell?” Yolanda snapped.

  “You got some explaining to do,” Nina said. “What are you and the bodyguard doing?”

  “Nothing!” Yolanda called out.

  “You’re lying. Please tell me that you’re taking this whole thing seriously,” Nina said as tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Nina, please don’t start crying. I’m not ready to do this right now. I’m scared and if I want . . . This is your fault.”

  “My fault? Because I wanted to keep my sister alive? Stop trying to make me feel guilty and stop distracting your bodyguard with your boobs!”

  Yolanda laughed. “That man can’t be distracted. First night we were here he saw me naked.”

  “Oh my God!” Nina exclaimed. The door opened and Alex walked in with a white bag of food.

  “What’s going on now?” she asked as she dropped the bag on Yolanda’s desk.

  “N-nothing,” Nina said. “What’s in the bag?”

  “Sushi. And who sent Charles to find me?”

  Yolanda rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you just happened to run into him as you went to get us lunch.”

  Alex shook her head. “I got lunch for me and Nina. I’m sure you’d rather put something else in your mouth.”

  Nina brought her hand to her mouth and failed to hide her laughter.

  “This is why I can’t stand you,” Yolanda snapped.

  “Calm down, hot thing, I was just kidding,” Alex said. “Geez, I don’t even like sushi.”

  Yolanda hugged her sister and smiled. “You know what, I’m tripping and I’m sorry.”

  “Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Alex asked. “I want to know the whole story.”

  Yolanda closed her eyes for a second and considered telling Alex what happened. But what could she do? She couldn’t change anything. And after what Chuck told her, she didn’t want her family to know how much danger she was really in.

  “Can we just eat first?” Yolanda asked. “The wine in my belly is lonely.”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “So, you drink like a fish and you have a bodyguard. But everything is fine.” She reached into the bag and pulled out the sushi rolls and a carton of shrimp fried rice for herself.

  “Everything is fine,” Yolanda said as she opened one of the containers. “Ooh, California rolls? Good job, Alex.”

  “Don’t be greedy over there,” Nina said. Yolanda held the box out to her sister.

  “Please put something in your mouth so you can be quiet,” Yolanda sniped. Nina rolled her eyes and snatched the box from her sister. Then she turned to Alex and smiled. “Please tell me you have soy sauce.”

  Chuck walked into the room and cleared his throat. “Ms. Richardson . . .”

  “Yes?” the three women said, then broke out laughing. He held up another white paper bag.

  “You left this in the restaurant,” he said. Nina took the bag from his hand even though she knew he had been talking to Alex.

  “Thanks for bringing that,” Alex said. “And just for the record, everyone in this room is Miss Richardson.”

  “Not for much longer,” Nina sang as she pulled out the different sauces. Yolanda crossed over to her siste
r and shook her head.

  “For someone who asked for soy sauce, why are you hoarding all the spicy mayo?”

  Alex sucked her teeth and looked up at Chuck. “Would you like some sushi or rice? It seems my sisters lost their manners.”

  “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. Besides, I have some work to do.” He crossed over to Yolanda. “When you’re done we need to talk about the security cameras and the alarm system.”

  She nodded and popped a sushi roll in her mouth. And though her sisters watched, neither of them said a word when Chuck gave her elbow a fleeting touch and Yolanda visibly shivered.

  They ate in silence and Yolanda kept watching Chuck as he passed the door to her office every few minutes.

  Alex turned to Nina. “Are you going to ask or do I have to be the bad guy again?”

  “Ask what?” Nina said as she twirled her chopsticks.

  “If either of you were trying to whisper, you failed,” Yolanda said. “Anyway, I’m going to meet with Ch-Charles. I’m sure you two will take care of this mess?”

  Before they could reply, Yolanda was out of the office and heading to the storage room, where Chuck had taken their lunch hour to turn it into a surveillance room.

  “What the? You did all of this in an hour?” she asked as she looked at the four wall-mounted monitors, a computer system sitting on a black metal table, and a chair. “What happened to my stuff?”

  He pointed to a stack of plastic storage containers. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about. How do you want to organize them and everything back here?”

  She slapped her hand on her hip and realized that her storage room had never been more in order. And there was more room with everything in those storage boxes. Space to hide, space to wrap her body around Chuck Morris and come until she felt as if her knees were made of rubber. And speaking of knees. She could . . . Stop it.

  “Um, just stack the boxes on the shelves, I guess.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not trying to be funny but those shelves are pretty high and . . .”

  “Call me short and I’m going to fight you. Besides, that’s what stepladders are for.”

  “All right. Are you going to label the boxes at least?”