“I know there are some important things involved with Passover,” Reign said, peering over their shoulders watching as Jay pretended to chase after his siblings who were quickly outdistancing him and laughing so hard they couldn’t keep their balance. “Like clearing out non-Kosher items from the home, but we could host it outdoors for the whole block, like we’re doing today. And we’d make sure everything conforms to Kosher standards.”
“You know of our ways?” Angela asked, smiling.
“Being a Black woman in America means I don’t know what my true religion might have been before my forefathers were brought here. I took the time to learn a little of everything—the spiritual chit’lin circuit. Being immersed in the entire Indian culture experience is new for me. Indian movies, food, music and … men, are not.”
“Thank God.” Devesh comically raised an eyebrow and gave a wide smile that caused everyone to laugh.
The night ended with the Maharajs giving presents to all of their neighbors.
Mumma and Papa thanked Reign for helping others who lived close by learn more about Indian culture, and Papa asked, “Is there something you would like to do to share your culture with us?”
Jay’s head whipped up. He scooted over with his favorite munchkins in tow. “As a matter of fact …” he edged, with a pointed look at his mother.
“We can plan something around Kwaanza,” Reign said, smiling when Jay nudged her in the side with his elbow. “Which is a seven-day experience in December.”
“Maybe a little more open discussion for people to ask questions they’ve always wanted to ask with no judgment. It’ll foster a better understanding all around.”
Mumma piped in, “And maybe some of Reign’s good food and some dancing too?”
“Of course,” Reign said.
Papa beamed, saying, “We would love it.”
Chapter 39
Thanksgiving dinner was a wicked spread of soul food that nearly had everyone in a coma. Yes, Reign and Jay threw down, and those soul food delicacies were that good. Before dinner was served, Jay had to step out to the airport to scoop up Elise who had leased out her condo in Chicago and took a job with an architectural firm in California. Devesh made sure to slide a plate for him in the microwave since some of the family was scouring for second and third plates and wouldn’t leave a crumb if they had their way. Reign was guarding it closely, even borrowed Aunt Kavya’s spatula and playfully tapped a few hands of those who were teasing her by pretending to snatch up the goods.
Devesh practically skipped from the dining room with the dessert he’d managed to snag at the same time he fixed Jay’s plate. Pranav and Kamran rounded the corner alongside him on their way to join the others who were watching an action flick in the theatre.
He was nearly knocked off his feet as a group of men burst through the theater’s doors running as if the very devil was on their heels. Some laid eyes on Devesh and froze, eyes widening with fright and shock. That alone sent a shiver of alarm up his spine.
Devesh made it to the theatre in time to see Bhavin laying a fist to Hiran’s gut. Howard, one of Hiran’s coworkers, made a mad dash back into the theater. Devesh tried to peer in to see what could have caused such a ruckus. Unfortunately, a few other men had bunched together to keep whatever was going on behind them hidden.
“What happened?” Devesh demanded. He thrust the saucer of sweet potato pie into Pranav’s hands and rushed forward. Pranav foisted the dessert on Kamran and was right behind him.
“Devesh don’t go in there,” Cousin Neerav warned, holding his hands out to keep Devesh from moving forward as Howard was frantically fiddling with the projection system.
Devesh ignored that warning and pushed through the barrier of men and went straight into the theater just as an image flickered off the screen. He whirled to face Hiran and Howard. “What is it that you don’t want me to see?”
Kamran ducked under Hiran’s arm and sprinted into the theater. Hiran scrambled behind him, but he was too late. Kamran snatched up the remote before Hiran could get to it, then faked to the left to avoid being captured by Howard. He zipped past Bhavin, jumped up on one of the theater’s recliners and used the rest of them as a path to his father.
“No,” Hiran yelled, tripping over his own feet and sprawling onto one of the recliners.
Kamran rushed to Devesh, with Howard on his heels, close enough to almost get their hands on him. Instead of finishing the journey on foot, Kamran tossed the remote to Devesh, who caught it in midair, curled his hand around it and waited for a moment to see what the two men bearing down on him would do.
Howard and Hiran pulled up short as Bhavin grabbed them both by the shoulder to hold them in place. Whatever was on that screen was something the men didn’t want him to see, so he knew it was something his son shouldn’t put his eyes on either. Devesh pulled Kamran to his side and said, “Thank you, son. Now go to your mother.”
“Yes, Papa,” he replied and made off for the dining room.
Devesh rushed further into the theater. Most of the men stayed in the hallway—a safe distance away. Someone closed the door behind them. Oh, this must be really bad. He lifted the remote, pushing the button to resume whatever had caused the commotion.
Bhavin braced himself against the patio door. “Devesh, I’m trying to save you some anguish, brother. You shouldn’t see that video. Trust me.” Hiran and Howard tried to tip out of the room and into the hallway, and he said. “And you should’ve let me take Hiran’s head off.”
Devesh inched back, so no one could leave out of the front way. “No, you two stay right here.”
The image that came to life nearly took the wind and the life out of Devesh. He closed his eyes bracing against the rage that threatened to take over completely.
Reign.
On her knees.
In front of Devesh.
Pleasuring him to the point of orgasm.
Supposedly in the privacy of their master suite in the Maharaj home.
Devesh centered his soul, trying not to let the anger have its say.
He failed.
Devesh slid an angry gaze at Howard, the red-haired freckled man cowering behind Hiran. No wonder the men in the family had run out of the theater as if their pants were on fire. No wonder Bhavin was trying to put Hiran in the hospital. They weren’t stupid.
Howard’s blue-eyed focus went to the nearest exit, gauging if he could bypass Bhavin and make it to safety.
Devesh made sure he didn’t.
In seven strides that ate up the carpet, he grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and dragged him toward the series of glass doors leading out to the patio and pool. Bhavin lifted the remote and switched off the recording. And not a moment too soon.
“Devesh?” Reign screamed from a place far behind him. Too far for her to have witnessed what had been displayed on the screen. The men were trying to back her out of the theater.
“Take the children home.”
“Please tell me what’s going on,” she said over Bhavin’s shower.
Devesh shot a look at her, and she shrank back, quickly directing the children to come to her. The women had gathered around her, concern etched in their expressions. Aunt Kavya gave Hiran the evil eye. The man had barely been allowed back in the house. Bhavin had vouched for him saying that it was only Tiya that had the two restraining orders and their children needed to be around family. Now this.
“Devesh, I’m going to need you to be the adult in this relationship.”
“I don’t want to hear that bullshit right now,” he growled at Reign, signaling for Bhavin to open the patio doors. “I am so beyond trying to be rational.” He gripped Howard’s arms, lifted, and ejected him from the theater, causing the man to go airborne, then land face first on the stone patio. Seconds later, Devesh was on top of him turning him over, landing a few punches to his gut, then to his face.
Howard screamed like a girl.
“Who made it??” Devesh roared with each
punch.
“I don’t know,” came the man’s muffled response, as he tried to block another series of blows. “That’s not the movie that was supposed to be in the package. It said Long Kiss Goodnight.”
Long Kiss Goodnight. The action film Hiran brought over for them to watch. But he had to call Howard in to get the projection system working correctly.
“So how did this DVD get into the house,” Devesh demanded. “And have that label on it?”
“Devesh, stop this,” Hiran warned, trying to separate him from Howard. “You’re going to kill him. It’s probably one of your little private sex tapes.”
“Reign would never do that. Neither would I,” Devesh responded. “Where did it come from?” Devesh roared, straightening to face his brother-in-law, who was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering. “You were the one to wire this house. How did he get access to record us like that?”
“I had Howard do the wiring,” Hiran whined, with a frightened glance at his coworker. “I was busy, and he was really, really cheap.”
Devesh tightened his grip on Hiran’s shirt. “After we paid you, you let a stranger into our home because you were too lazy to do it yourself?”
And he hadn’t even considered why the prices were really, really cheap?
Devesh jammed his hand into Howard’s pocket, fishing for the man’s wallet and keys. “We’re going to take a little trip.”
“I swear there are no others,” Howard screeched, trying to wipe the blood from his face with the back of a trembling hand.
Devesh dropped Howard and ran toward Hiran, whose reflexes were a lot slower than was sensible. Devesh lifted him from the ground, traveled a few yards, and dropped him headfirst into the deep end of the pool. Which would have been fine, except everyone knew Hiran couldn’t swim.
As some of the family men waited a few minutes before making a half-hearted attempt to fish Hiran out of the water, Howard snailed his body across the stones, trying to put some space between him and Devesh.
Not enough.
Devesh snatched up someone’s unused beach towel from a lawn chair. He forcefully escorted Howard to the front of the house, ignoring the protests from his family along the way. He pushed the activation button on Howard’s keyfob to figure out which vehicle belonged to that snake. The headlights on a blue Mercedes flashed on.
Anaya sprinted past the patio, rounded the gardens, and picked up speed as she streaked across the front lawn, struggling to catch up with them. Devesh slammed Howard into the passenger seat before tossing the towel over him and saying, “Clean your face.” Then Devesh adjusted the driver’s seat as far back as it would go and slid behind the wheel.
“I’m going with you,” Anaya said, jumping into the back seat.
“No, you’re not.”
“You can’t kill him, Devesh.”
“Oh, I have something much worse in mind,” he said, glaring at Howard, who shrank down in the passenger seat.
“Reign made me promise that she would still have a husband in the morning. Said she didn’t want you in …” Anaya tilted her head, looking at her brother as he eyed her in the rearview mirror. “What’s a pokey?”
“Let’s hope you never find out.”
Chapter 40
Devesh kept a tight grip on Howard’s upper arm, following closely on his heels before they waited, peering through the glass doors of an upscale building overlooking downtown Los Angeles. One of the guards finally went on break and the other settled in and became engrossed in whatever was on one of his monitors. They slid in the back way, took the elevator to the eighth floor, then wound their way through a maze of hallways leading to a corner apartment.
The three of them entered a place with sparse furnishings, a small dining table along with a glass desk and two chairs, some artwork, tech books, and a single television.
“For a tech guy,” Devesh mused, scanning the immediate areas again. “This place is a little light on hardware.”
Devesh and Anaya secured his hands and feet with neck ties and belts they snatched from the drawer in the bedroom. Then they scoured each of the rooms more thoroughly, trying to locate where the man would keep things that would be damaging to someone else. All they found when they slid open the door to the closet in his tiny bedroom were clothes more suited for a corporate hack than a lazy bum of a tech guru.
“Where are they?” Devesh demanded, nearly winded from turning the place over for a half hour and unable to find anything that pointed them in the direction of where the real dirty work was done.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Howard chirped, inching back, before struggling to use his shirt to clear away the blood that pooled at the corners of his mouth.
Devesh quirked an eyebrow, flickered a glance toward the kitchen, putting a particular focus on the butcher block of knives.
“I hear that taking off fingernails from the nail bed can be quite painful.”
“My other place,” Howard offered up without another second of protest.
“How far is it from here?” Devesh asked.
Howard parted his lips to speak, but when his eyes shifted to the left to avoid looking at Devesh head on, that was a sign. Devesh put his hands around the man’s neck and said, “And don’t lie to me. I cut up a chicken real well, and a human should be no trouble at all.”
“’That sounded better when Reign said it,” Anaya whispered.
“Maybe we should get her over here,” Devesh suggested. “She almost killed Tiya with that knife and if she sees this video—”
“Through the closet,” Howard quickly said, swallowing hard.
Devesh and Anaya shared a speaking glance between them. “Show us.”
Howard lifted his hands. “Untie me first.”
“Not a chance,” Devesh responded at the same time Anaya said, “No.”
Howard hobbled toward the closet, pushed an obscure button on the underside of the door, then keyed in a set of numbers. A secret panel whooshed open. Without waiting for Devesh, Anaya stepped through. The lights automatically came on. Devesh dragged Howard and entered an expansive world of tech-savvy genius. Ten monitors were positioned over several glass desks. Computer towers stationed on a series of shelves were flashing with red, green, and white lights. CDs, flash drives, and packaged products were all lined up on the shelves in neat rows. The front cover on one of the packages sitting on the main computer had an image of Reign smiling up at Devesh.
Devesh’s heart plummeted. She would be devastated if something like this got out. Devesh flickered a gaze to a set of CD labels. All of them printed with the title The Long Kiss Goodnight. Evidently, Howard was also in the business of pirating music CDs, movies, and porn. Another reason to smack Hiran upside the head the next time he laid eyes on him. They had given him funds to procure the real deal. Somehow one of the labels had gotten mixed up in the process.
He couldn’t trust the man to tell the truth, but still had to ask, “Who did you sell these to?”
“No one, yet. Vivid Entertainment turned me down,” he confessed, and he seemed more upset about that than the fact that he had violated them or that Devesh wanted to put him six feet under.
“Those are the same people who did the Kim and Ray J tape?” Anaya asked, dark brown eyes narrowing on him.
Howard nodded. “They don’t take videos anymore unless the people in them show identification and sign release forms,” he admitted sadly. “Now they’re concerned about the legalities of things.” Then the freckled man perked up. “But if you give your consent, we can make millions,” he said, eyes glazed with greed. “All you have to do is sign. You both are hot right now. They were talking five, maybe six million.”
“A lot of good that’s going to do you where you’re going,” Anaya said, then pulled out her cell. “I’m calling the police.”
“Pull every one of the masters right now,” Devesh demanded, holding up a hand to Anaya so she wouldn’t complete the call. “You give those to m
e, and we’ll go.”
“But we can’t let him get away with this,” Anaya protested, her face a mask of pure fury.
“Anaya, all I care about is making sure Reign is safe,” he replied in a determined tone.
Seeing that Devesh was on his side, Howard quickly plopped down at the desk and pecked in a password. Movie icons spread out from one end of the screen to the other.
Over the man’s head, Devesh favored Anaya with a long look, sending a silent message to trust that he knew what he was doing.
Her shoulders relaxed. “So why can’t I call the police?”
“We can’t trust them,” Devesh explained. “Some are corrupt. They’ll be looking at her, and one of them might find it’s in their best interest to make a copy to keep for themselves or maybe even sell.” He put his focus on watching Howard delete their files from the computer and the cloud storage.
“Just think about it,” he said to Anaya. “They’ll drag her into court, and then the jury will see it. Those tapes could go anywhere, fall into the wrong hands; too many hands. She would be devastated.”
“How do we know we’ve got all the files,” Anaya asked. “That everything’s erased? You’re good, Devesh, but not that good.”
“Jay,” Devesh answered after thinking about a moment. Then he whipped out his cell and dialing the number. “How far are you from the airport?”
“Actually, we’re almost at the Maharaj house. Hopefully, there’s some of that good food left.”
Devesh exhaled, hating to disappoint Jay because the guy really loved a good meal—and one that he had helped to cook. But he couldn’t allow Jay to go to the house. Someone would say something about what happened tonight and Jay would lose his natural mind. “I need you to drop Elise at the condo and make a detour to where I am.”
“What’s up?”
“I’m going to give you an address,” Devesh replied, flickering a angry look at Howard who was slumped down in the office chair, whimpering like a newborn baby.
“Text it to me,” Jay said. “I’m driving right now.”
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