“You called my mother to find out where Tara is!”
“Why don’t you watch your tone?” Ricky assertively suggested.
“Hey, man, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” Porter said, “but this is my wife and I can—”
“Ex!” Billie yelled. “Porter, don’t ever say that again.”
Porter blinked, seeming very frustrated. “Look, I didn’t mean to say that. My point is . . . how dare you do that?”
Billie hadn’t thought it through well. She was upset and crying and wanted to reach Tara. She should have thought better about it, but it was too late now.
“Let’s talk about this later,” she pleaded. She just wanted Porter away from Ricky.
“No,” Porter said. “Not later. You act like I have no say in what happens to my daughter, but I’m gonna show you that I do.”
“Are you threatening her?” Ricky asked.
Porter’s lips formed a threatening smile at the man. “What did you say your name was again?”
Billie jumped in between the two men. “Porter, just leave, okay? I promise I won’t try to contact Tara again.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said. “I’m gonna take legal action against you, Billie. You haven’t given me any choice.”
“I promise.” She pushed Porter back to create a bigger distance between them. “Just go away.”
Porter looked down at her, his brows centering as if he was trying to figure out what was going on. “This isn’t over, Billie. I promise you.”
He gave Ricky one last look before turning and walking away.
“He needs to be taught a lesson,” Ricky said angrily.
“Just let it go,” she said. “Really, Ricky, it’s none of your business.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, attempting to wrap his arm around her.
She pushed his arm away. She had just promised to never see the girl she thought of as a daughter ever again just to keep Porter from finding out she had slept with her client.
“No,” she said. “And you’re making it worse. Please go away.”
“I’m not going to let you pretend like there’s nothing between us, Billie. Look, if you want me to hold off until after this case is over, then I can try to do that, but I want us to be together.”
“Did you see what just happened here?” She pointed toward the street. “Porter isn’t going to let that happen. He’s watching me. He’ll find out about us. He’ll hurt me. He’s already taken my daughter from me. Now he’s gonna take my career.”
“You can’t let that man control your life.”
Billie laughed. “I don’t have a life as long as he’s in it. You just don’t understand and I’m not going to explain it to you. You and I are never gonna happen.”
She ignored him calling her name as she ran up the stairs and into her building.
15
Erica heard the yelling from outside the door to her apartment. She rushed to open the door and got inside in just enough time to see Terrell pin Nate up against the wall. They were yelling threats at each other. She screamed for them to stop and rushed over to them. When Terrell turned to look at her, Nate took the opportunity to push him away.
Terrell fell back, almost falling into Erica, who jumped back.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Terrell asked. “You almost made me knock your sister down, you stupid fuck.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’m trying to get this boy’s head straight,” Terrell said.
“I don’t need my fucking head straightened!” Nate yelled, stepping away.
Erica could see from the look on Nate’s face that he was a little afraid of Terrell. Terrell was stronger, bigger, and could be intimidating when he wanted to. He’d been in Nate’s life for a long time now, and while he had never really taken on a fatherly role, because Nate was too old for that, Nate did see him as the man in charge when they all lived together.
“Obviously you do,” Erica said. “I know all about Reedy and his dealing, Nate. How could you do this?”
Nate looked at her as if he didn’t believe her for a second. Then he shrugged as if he didn’t care.
“Ask your boy, here,” he said.
“You better watch your fucking mouth, boy,” Terrell warned.
“I’m asking you,” Erica said. “What do you think Mom would say if—”
“Mom is dead!” he yelled. “Stop bringing her up. She’s not here!”
“Yes, she is.” Erica pushed him back against the wall. “She’s with us all the time. We’ve talked about this, Nate. You believe that.”
“I was a kid then,” he argued, seeming unable to look his sister in the face.
“Bullshit,” she said. “Nate, she’s watching us. She’s looking down on us. How do you think we’ve made it this far? She’s been looking out for us. She loves you. You’re her baby.”
“Stop it.” He was clearly getting upset.
“What would this do to her?” she asked.
“It’s not a big deal.” Nate slid past her and walked over to the kitchen. “I didn’t deal or anything.”
“Then what did you do?” She followed him.
“I just made some deliveries for him. Just made a few extra bucks.”
“And you used,” Terrell added.
Nate shot Terrell a vengeful glance and Erica observed the look between them. Something was going on here.
Nate finally looked away, rolling his eyes. “I smoked some weed. Everyone does that. You fucking do it.”
“I don’t,” Erica said. “And you worked at a hospital, Nate. You know that’s not a job where you can even do that.”
“It’s not a big—”
“If you say it’s not a big deal one more time, boy!” Terrell warned.
“Fuck you,” Nate spat back at him. “If I . . .”
“You lost your girlfriend,” Erica said. “You lost your job. You’re about to get your ass kicked out of this apartment.”
“Why?” His expression was pure shock.
“I can’t believe you just asked that,” Terrell said.
“Why would you do this?” Erica asked. “Honestly, Nate. You know how I feel about drugs. All those talks we’ve had about those boys who are strung out, in and out of jail or dead. The common denominator of all of them is drugs. I tried so hard to keep you away from those boys.”
Nate laughed. “Did you?”
“This is funny to you?” she asked, fuming at his attitude. “Well, the cops are about to crack down on that whole operation. Is that funny, too?”
“What do you mean?” Nate asked.
She nodded. “I know for a fact that DCPD is coming down on Reedy and everyone he works with and for.”
“How do you know that?” Terrell asked. “And what do you mean by everyone?”
“Do you mean me?” Nate asked, his rising concern obvious. “ ’Cause I only moved a few bags for him. I didn’t do any—”
“Is this Jonah?” Terrell asked. “Is this his solution?”
“I told you I would make sure you were okay,” she said. “Jonah is gonna make sure . . .”
“What the fuck is he gonna do?” Nate asked. “And why does he care about you? You don’t even work for him any more.”
Erica had not told Nate that Jonah was her father and she didn’t plan to.
“He’s gonna do whatever he wants,” Erica said. “I told him everything. He’s the one who found out about Reedy for me. Now, Nate, it’s time for you decide where you want to be?”
“What do you mean, where?” he asked, backing up as if he needed to run somewhere but didn’t know where. “I’m not involved in this.”
“Are you with me or are you with Reedy?” she asked.
“Fuck this,” he said. “Fuck all this.”
“Hey!” Terrell yelled after him as Nate rushed down the hallway to his bedroom.
“I’ll get him,” Terrell said, starting down the hallway.
“What do you mean, back and forth?” he asked. “I’m trying to help him. Don’t question how I do it, Erica.”
“Why did you give Reedy a job at the car wash?” she asked. “How well do you know him? What were you and him talking about when I came over to your office that day?”
“Whoa.” He held his hand up. “Am I on trial here?”
“Answer the question,” she ordered.
“Reedy is not my friend,” he said. “Did you get a friend vibe between us when you were over there? No, I didn’t think so. I gave him that job because Nate asked me to. He said they’d been fired together, and if I wanted to help him with that construction job, I needed to help Reedy, too. They only needed Nate, so I got Reedy a job at the car wash.”
Erica just wasn’t buying this. “Weren’t you curious that this guy got fired with Nate when Nate told us he was fired because of an argument he got in with another person? Did you ask questions?”
He shook his head. “No, I was just focused on trying to help Nate. I just thought they were both fired for different rea sons.”
“You hired someone without asking questions?” She placed her hands on her hips.
“I didn’t hire him,” Terrell said impatiently.
Erica looked down, noticing that he was tapping his fingers onto his palms at his sides. After years together, she knew what that meant. He was lying.
“I recommended him,” Terrell said after a while. “My boss actually . . . Look, Erica, that doesn’t matter now. What matters is what Jonah is planning on doing. Is Nate in jeopardy?”
“Fuck you, Terrell,” she said.
He was taken off guard. “What? What did I—”
“When I was outside your office,” she said, speaking slowly as it all came to her. “You yelled at him. You said, ‘Not him.’ You were talking about Nate.”
“I don’t think so,” he said nervously.
As she slowly seethed, her anger sliding into every crevice of her being, she stared Terrell down. If he wanted to play games, so could she.
“Jonah told me, you know,” she said. “He told me everything. I didn’t want to believe him, but now I know it’s the truth.”
Terrell just started shaking his head. “Fuck him! Dammit!”
Her heart sank. She had held on to the hope that this wouldn’t work. If Terrell had denied it, she would have tried to believe him. But his reaction told her everything.
“You did know who he was, didn’t you?” The look of guilt on his face made her heart break. “How could you? How could you know who this person was and let him anywhere near my brother?”
“I don’t control who your brother hangs with,” Terrell said. “Besides, they would have probably met after Reedy started working at the hospital anyway.”
“But you introduced them, didn’t you?” she asked. “It was your relationship with Reedy that made Nate think it was okay to hang out with him in the first place.”
“Baby, please understand.” He started toward her. “I told Reedy that he better not—”
He didn’t have time to react before she attacked him. She lunged at him and started hitting his chest with her fist as she called him name after name.
Terrell grabbed her arms and pushed her back, holding her out from him.
“Calm down, Erica!”
“How could you do this to me!” She was enraged, unable to even think of what she was doing. “And you were going to keep lying to me while my brother just fell into this shit?”
“I wouldn’t let that happen,” he argued.
She jerked herself free of him. “It has happened, you asshole!”
“Listen to me.” Terrell’s voice held the emotion of a frightened, desperate man. “Baby, I swear to you, this is not as simple as it seems. You have to hear my side.”
“Fuck your side,” she snapped. “And fuck you, too. Get out of here! Get out of here before I call the police on you.”
“You’re gonna listen to me,” he said adamantly.
He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away. She rushed to the sofa, where she grabbed her phone out of her purse.
“I’m dialing now,” she said. “And when the cops ask why I’m kicking you out, I’ll tell them because you’re involved with drugs. How does that sound?”
“I’m not involved in any drugs,” he said. “You have to understand what the situation was.”
She dialed 911 and lifted the phone to her ear. Terrell rushed over to her and grabbed the phone from her hands. He canceled the call.
“Erica,” he said, “I love you.”
“Go to hell,” she said and rushed past him toward her bedroom.
He called her name as he followed her, but she locked the door behind her before he reached it. She hurried to the bathroom, where she locked that door as well. Erica fell onto the toilet seat, her face in her hands as she sobbed.
Sherise had been patient. She didn’t want to get into trouble at the Fairmont again, so she waited for Jennifer to leave and followed her to a café. Sherise checked to make sure she was alone, even though she wouldn’t have minded giving Jennifer what was coming to her in front of friends. She was dressed very professionally as if she was waiting for a business lunch, so in a way this would have been perfect. It was just that Sherise still had some secrets of her own to deal with, so catching her alone was best.
After parking her car, she reached the café and walked along the inverted walls of the entrance to avoid being seen by Jennifer. She wanted to catch her by surprise, and when she finally showed up, she could tell from the expression on Jennifer’s face that she had.
Jennifer’s mouth opened, her eyes widened, and she shot up from her seat at a table in the corner.
“How polite,” Sherise said sweetly, “but there’s no need to stand up for me.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking around nervously.
“As a matter of fact”—Sherise placed her hands gently on the back of the chair facing Jennifer—“you’ll probably want to be sitting down for this.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re doing,” Jennifer warned. “This isn’t going to go the way you—”
“I know,” Sherise said.
Jennifer placed her hands on her hips. “You know what?”
“Why you got divorced,” she answered. “You pitiful thing.”
She rolled her eyes. “I already told you that, bitch.”
Sherise laughed, shaking her head. “No, you didn’t. You little liar. It was cute how you tried to front, but I can always find out the truth. You see, I asked around and . . . well, you know how good gossip knows no boundaries.”
“Do you think there’s something you can say that will keep me from telling Justin the truth?” She looked at her watch. “In a few min—”
“Fuck that.” Sherise waved a dismissive hand. “I’m talking about you. You want to make it seem like you’re a strong sista who dropped Ryan after finding out he cheated on you. You didn’t. You stayed with his ass. He was the one who dumped you.”
“You don’t know my marriage.”
“But I do.” Sherise calmly placed her purse on the table. “And I know your divorce. And tomorrow morning, so will everyone who reads the Washington Post.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” She walked toward Sherise with a manic look in her eyes.
“I feel for you,” Sherise said. “What kind of an asshole expects his wife to accept his cheating, and then the second she dips a little, dumps her? The nerve.”
“What do you mean, the Washington Post?” Jennifer asked. “What have you done?”
“It’s funny.” Sherise walked around the table on the other side. She wore no earrings and her hair was up. She was ready to fight if it came to that, but she had some more to say. “Because when I leaked i
t to the press this morning, they were like who the fuck is Jennifer Ross and who in the hell is Ryan Hodgkins?”
“Call them back,” she ordered. “Retract it!”
“Too late for that, bitch,” Sherise continued. “But then when I told them the person you creeped with was now a congressman you used to work for, they seemed a little bit more interested.”
“How did you . . . ?”
“You see,” Sherise said, pointing her finger at the increasingly unstable woman. “I was thinking of trying to blackmail you, but then I thought, no, I need to reserve my blackmail for someone who can help me destroy you. Blackmail is to prevent damage. You’ve already done—”
“You bitch!”
Sherise could see the absolute panic that had taken the woman over as she started for her. Her entire body was shaking. Sherise realized, that by walking around the table to save herself some time, she had basically placed herself in a corner. This was not good.
She tried to hop out of Jennifer’s way so she could swing around, get behind, and push her into the sofa-lined seats behind her, but Jennifer was too quick. She jumped on Sherise and pushed her down. They both fell onto the leather seats lining the wall.
Jennifer was screaming, but Sherise was quiet because she was trying to focus. She grabbed Jennifer’s arms at the elbow to keep the woman’s hands from reaching her face. Her hands were stretched out wide, and Sherise knew the woman intended to scratch the hell out of her. With all her strength, she kept holding Jennifer’s arms down while trying to kick her in the leg.
“I won’t let you!” Jennifer screamed.
“I’ve already done it,” Sherise said back, struggling with every word. “You made your bed the second you picked my husband.”
“I’m gonna kill you!”
“Hey!”
Sherise jerked the second she heard that voice that she knew too well: Justin’s voice. What was he doing here? She had checked his office and his assistant told her that Justin had a lunch meeting at the firm and would be unavailable until two in the afternoon. She should have assumed he’d told the girl to lie.
Justin pulled a reluctant but somewhat obedient Jennifer off Sherise and pushed her aside. He stared down at Sherise, his expression full of bewilderment and, to her pleasure, a little fear.
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