Sam shook his head.
It had been his reality for a time, but it was still almost hard for him to believe it had been.
“What you lookin’ for, nigga?”
Sam turned his focus to the stoop. He saw them sitting there, watching him. Three guys. Their ages he couldn’t tell, but he could see that they were young.
“What you lookin’ for, nigga?” one of the three asked again. The tallest and thickest one.
Sam looked at him and frowned. “Nothing, man,” he said.
The young thug rose from the stoop. “You sure, nigga?” He was strapped. Sam could tell by the way he was standing. Whatever gun he was concealing made him fearless. Made him feel like the motherfucking man.
Sam sighed again, said, “I’m sure,” then raised his window and pulled away.
Two days. Two days to make up his mind.
Sam stared at his past in his rear view mirror as he drove away. The young thug was in the middle of the street, staring in his direction.
How important was his life?
He didn’t need two days.
He picked up his cell and pressed number two on his speed dial.
Zeke answered. “Do you have an answer?”
Sam looked in his rear view mirror again. Watched his past fade away in the distance.
He didn’t want to go back.
He couldn’t go back.
He refused to go back.
He said, “I’ll do it,” and then he ended the call and pressed down on the gas pedal, making sure his past could never catch up to him.
Chapter 5
Zeke put his cell phone down and dropped his chin to his chest. He was going to get what he wanted. His wife was going to be out of his life. For good. He wanted to feel relief. He wanted to feel joy. She’d hurt him. Broken his heart. Shattered his soul.
This was not supposed to happen.
He and Sapphire were different from the rest of their friends. Their foundation had been built with bricks from the ground up. They were strong, and he’d thought their bond was unbreakable. Of course they had their share of issues. Zeke was a workaholic and could be neglectful. He’d also grown colder as the years had gone on. She wasn’t independant enough, and demanded too much of his attention. She needed an outlet, something other than shopping. Issues, but surely nothing that could get in the way of thirty-four years worth of marriage.
And then those damn photographs had come.
Tears trailed down from Zeke’s weary eyes, ran over his cheeks, and dripped in silent, rhythmic syncopation from his black-and-white peppered goatee.
This was not supposed to happen. Infidelity was never supposed to happen because their love was never supposed to die.
Zeke clenched his jaws. His heart ached inside his chest, as the slow leak of tears became a heavy stream. He’d broken down before, but he’d still managed to somehow keep it together. But he was losing it now. Sam had agreed to do it. His nightmarish fantasy would soon become reality.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said, his chest burning, his throat dry, sore, his head pounding at the sides. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. Bitch. You fucking bitch!”
He pounded his fist on the top of his desk, causing a picture frame with a photograph of Sapphire and their daughter, Jewell, to fall face down.
Zeke clenched his jaws harder.
Tried to fight the tears that threatened to steal his sanity.
Sam had agreed to do it.
His wife would be killed.
Pleasure and extreme pain engulfed him.
“Zeke?”
He looked up.
Sapphire. Knocking on the door to his study. Fiddling with the knob.
“Zeke . . . Are you okay?”
Zeke wiped his eyes frantically and then cleared his throat. “I’m fine,” he said, but couldn’t conceal the attitude and anger thick in his tone.
“Are you sure?”
Violent thoughts ran through Zeke’s mind.
He had a bat upstairs beside the bed that he kept for protection. He imagined beating her down with it, smashing it into her over and over again. He also had a loaded .45 in his desk drawer. He trembled as he thought about reaching into the drawer, pulling it out, aiming it at the door, and squeezing the trigger.
Or he could go to the door, open it, clamp his hands over her ears, and slam the back of her head over and over into the wall.
He said again, “I’m fine.”
“I heard you shout and then heard a loud bang,” Sapphire said.
“Jesus Christ, Sapphire!” Zeke yelled out. “I’m on the phone dealing with an issue. Do you mind if I get it taken care of!”
Sapphire pulled her head back, the vehemence in his voice shocking her. She tried the doorknob again. “Maybe you can get away with that tone with your employees, Zeke, but not with me.”
Violent thoughts and images invaded Zeke’s mind again. He squeezed his eyes shut. Saw the pictures of Sapphire and her headless lover again, playing like a movie on a reel-to-reel. He gritted his teeth. He opened and closed his fists. He tried to blink the images away. Tried to make Sapphire disappear.
Nothing worked.
The movie continued to play.
She was still on the other side of the door.
He didn’t want to apologize. He just wanted to let loose with more venom. He looked at his desk drawer. Used x-ray vision to stare at the .45 inside. He wanted to make the violent images a reality. All he had to do was open the drawer, wrap his fingers around the butt, raise it, aim, and shoot.
He flared his nostrils. Tried to magically blink Sapphire away again. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get this situation taken care of.”
Sapphire couldn’t figure out why, but she had an eerie feeling that his words had meant so much more. She pursed her lips and nodded. Sick of this shit, she thought. She let go of the knob and backed away. So sick of this shit.
Without responding to Zeke, she walked away and went upstairs to the bedroom. She checked her hair and makeup, slipped into her Dolce & Gabbana Quad Strap Mary Jane pumps, and grabbed her car keys. She took a final glance at herself in the mirror and then, content with what she saw, went to her car. When she closed the door, she made a call on her BlackBerry.
“Hello?”
No beating around the bush, she said, “I’m coming over, Tre.”
“I have company.”
“Make her leave.”
“You know the rules, Sapphire.”
“I’ll pay double, Tre. Just make her leave.” Sapphire sighed. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Silence responded for a few seconds before Tre said, “OK.”
Sapphire smiled. “I’ll be there in a half hour.”
She ended the call and hit the button for the garage door to go up. As it did, she glanced at the door leading inside. “This is your fault,” she said, her voice heavy with regret and sadness. “This is all your fault.” She backed out of the garage and drove off.
Zeke heard her leave and was glad. Another few minutes and everything would have been ruined, because violent desire would have become reality.
Sam said he’d do it.
His wife.
Soon to be dead.
He got up and hurried to his car. He wanted to see just where the fuck she was going.
Chapter 6
“You’re quiet tonight. Is something wrong?” Sam fiddled around with green peas on his plate. He did this for a few seconds and then said, “Huh?”
Jewell sighed. “I said you’re quiet. What’s wrong?”
Sam turned the corners of his mouth downward and shook his head. He was still staring at the peas and the rest of the food he’d barely touched. He didn’t look up. “Nothing,” he said.
Jewell watched him closely. His silence and lack of attention were out of character. Did he know? “Are you sure? Seems like something is bothering you. You’ve barely spoken two words since you’ve been home.” Did he tell you? She stared at
him. Studied him. Tried to find the answer.
Sam kept his head down, his eyes focused on his food. He hadn’t eaten much and that had Jewell worried.
Sam cleared his throat and nodded. “I’m fine. Just have some things on my mind.”
“What kind of things?” Jewell probed. If he knew... would he tell her? “What kind of things, babe?” she pressed as Sam remained silent for just a little too long.
Sam exhaled. “Just some work things.”
Jewell’s eyes widened. “Work? What’s wrong? Are things with my father OK?”
Sam looked up.
Jewell looked at him intensely.
“Your father? Why would you ask?”
Jewell’s heart began beating heavily. “I don’t know. You mentioned work. I just wondered if everything was all right.”
“With Zeke?”
“Yes.”
Sam looked at her for seconds that seemed like minutes to both of them. There is something about the look in his eyes . . . Jewell thought. Do you know something?
“Everything’s fine with your dad,” Sam said, his eyes on her intently. “Why would you ask?”
His sudden focus made Jewell’s heart race faster. She shrugged. “It just seems like whatever is bothering you is pretty big. I know how you and my father can bump heads sometimes. I just wondered if it had anything to do with him, that’s all.”
Sam straightened his back and shook his head. “No. Nothing to do with him,” he said.
Jewell nodded. His response didn’t seem genuine. “Are you sure?”
Sam let his fork fall heavily to the plate. “Why are you hounding me, Jewell? I answered the questions, didn’t I?”
Jewell snapped her head back. “That wasn’t necessary, Sam.”
“Hounding me was unnecessary.”
“I wasn’t trying to hound you. I just don’t like to see you stressed out, that’s all. Now, if my father—”
“Christ, Jewell! I’ve told you about any issues Zeke and I have had in the past, haven’t I?”
Jewell couldn’t deny that. “Yes, but—”
“Then why wouldn’t I now?”
Jewell wanted to put up a fight and say something more, but she couldn’t. “I don’t know.”
Sam pushed his chair away from the cherry dining table. “I’m gonna go to the gym for a bit.” He stood up.
“Sam?” Jewell said, glaring up at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Sam clenched his jaws and stood still for a moment before looking down at her. “Look . . . I’m sorry for going off like that. I’ve just got some personnel issues going on with some people— friends—I brought in to the company. I have some tough decisions to make and it’s wearing me down right now.”
Jewell’s glare softened. He doesn’t know. She said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Sam shook his head. “No. But thanks for asking.”
Jewell smiled. “Anytime. But if you need to talk at all . . . I’m here.”
Sam gave her a smile. “I know, baby. That’s why I love you.”
“And I love you,” she replied.
“I’m gonna go. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half.”
Jewell nodded. “OK.”
Sam turned and walked out of the dining room. There’d been no kiss good-bye.
Jewell sighed. For a moment, she’d thought he knew, but sitting alone now she realized that she should have known better. Her father was a private man. He wouldn’t tell anyone about the photographs she’d sent to him.
Her mother was having an affair.
She thought about the night she’d found out. She was supposed to have been out with her friend, Von, at a club. Sam was out of town on business. Whenever he went away, Jewell got together with her girlfriend from college. They’d have dinner and then go out for drinks and dancing. Jewell’s purpose for going out was never to look for trouble. She just didn’t like being home alone. She never had.
She was sitting at a table in the back of a Japanese restaurant against the wall waiting for Von to arrive, when Von called her to cancel. She’d been on her way when her babysitter, Gina, called to let her know that her son, Colin, had thrown up and had developed a sudden fever. Von apologized (of course, Jewell told her there was no need), and headed back home.
Disappointed, Jewell finished the rest of her Cosmopolitan, and stood up to leave. That’s when she saw her mother walk into the restaurant with a man who wasn’t her father.
Sapphire, oblivious to her daughter’s presence, laughed and flirted with the man as they headed to a table near the middle of the crowded restaurant. Jewell sat down quickly, grabbed a menu, and held it in front of her face, watching inconspicuously as her mother carried on as though she weren’t a married woman.
Jewell seethed. Her father was busting his ass to continue to provide nothing but the good life—the only life Jewell had ever known. How dare her mother disrespect him this way! And who the hell was her date? He was younger—late twenties. Jewell didn’t recognize him from anywhere. How did he know her mother?
Jewell strangled the menu and watched silently, her concentration broken only when the waiter came back to her table and asked if she wanted anything else. She ordered a Coke and then put her focus back on her mother. It was hard, but she fought the desire to confront her, maybe even smack her, and made it through the entire dinner. Her relationship with her mother was already a strained one. It had been since Jewell had been a teenager. This wouldn’t help.
An hour and a half later, Sapphire gave her date a sensuous kiss with a lot of tongue, snaked her hand to his crotch, then grabbed her purse and walked out of the restaurant, leaving him there alone. Jewell let five minutes pass before she walked to his table, sat down, and said, “Do you know she’s married?”
The man looked at her. “Excuse me?”
Jewell pointed toward the restaurant’s doors, her eyes still on him. “That woman who was almost fucking you with her good-bye kiss . . . Do you know she’s married?”
“Do I know you?”
Jewell twisted her lips into a sneer. “Practically.”
The man’s forehead knotted up in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just answer the question. Do you know she’s a married woman?”
The man looked around to see if anyone had been paying attention to their conversation. “Look . . . I don’t know who you are, but I think you need to get up and leave.”
“That woman is my mother,” Jewell snapped in a “nowwhat” tone.
He looked at her, his eyes narrowing a bit. He was silent for a moment before he said, “Your mother?”
Jewell scowled. “Yes.”
“Your mother?” he said again.
Jewell nodded.
He sat back in his chair, raised his eyebrows, and chuckled.
“I don’t see anything funny about this,” Jewell said, put off by his apparent amusement over the situation.
“Shouldn’t you be going off on your mother instead of me?”
“I’m not going off. I just asked you a simple question.”
“And I’ve given you a simple answer.”
Jewell closed her eyes a bit. He was arrogant and it pissed her off. “How do you know her?” she asked.
“Don’t you think you should be discussing that with her?”
Jewell exhaled. “Look . . . just answer the damn question.”
“Nice manners.”
“How the hell do you know her?” Jewell asked again, the anger within her building. How the hell could Sapphire cheat on her father? After everything he’d done. The hours and hard work put in. Bitch!
The man folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t you think a little civility would help?”
Jewell exhaled and pursed her lips. He was right and she knew it. She needed to change her tone if she wanted answers. She sighed. Relaxed her shoulders a little. Well, at least tried to. She was still tense, tight.
She said, “Look . . . I realize you’re not the one I need to blame for what I saw. You’re just a man doing what men do.”
He raised an eyebrow at her comment.
“Just tell me how you know her and I’ll leave you alone.”
The man watched her for a moment, then said, “So, basically, either I tell you, or you’ll continue to harass the hell out of me, right?”
“Pretty much.”
He frowned. “Look, I don’t know why you didn’t just confront your mother, although I’m happy you didn’t because that spared me from being in the middle of an ugly situation, but seriously . . . I can’t answer your question.”
“Why not?”
“Because it would be wrong of me to discuss that with you.”
Jewell closed her eyes a bit. “And there’s nothing wrong with running around with a married woman?”
The stranger shook his head. “I’m not running around with her.”
“Really?” Jewell asked in an you’ve-got-to-be-kiddingme tone. “Because I would consider having dinner in a restaurant with a married woman running around.”
“We were just having a simple dinner.”
“Do dinners with married women always end with a tongue going down the throat? Because if that’s how a simple dinner is supposed to end, then I’ve been doing them all wrong.”
The man clenched his jaws. “Look—”
“No, you look. I don’t know who you are, and I don’t particularly care to know who you are. As a matter of fact, I don’t even want to know how you met her. Just tell me this . . . do you love her?”
The man unfolded his arms and reached for a glass of water in front of him. He took a sip and stared at Jewell, but didn’t say anything as his line of vision went up and down over her.
Jewell cleared her throat and changed positions slightly. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze, yet at the same time, she felt warm. It had been about a month since she and Sam had been intimate. He’d been distant and inattentive. She knew he had a lot on his mind with work, so she didn’t pressure him. But she was horny.
She said, “So?”
“So.”
“Are you in love with her?”
The man smiled, and shook his head. “Concerning the relationship I have with your mother, love isn’t a requirement.”
Betrayal Page 3