Dasia’s life had finally managed to get back to normal. Three weeks had passed since Jeremiah had shown up on G’s doorstep. She still hadn’t figured out how he’d found her, but she’d said all she wanted to say to him, and now she could get on with her life.
Her co-workers had finally adjusted to seeing her with G instead of Jeremiah. Quite a few of them had commented on how much happier she seemed with her new man. Though she hadn’t told him, Dasia felt a growing closeness to him. She knew it was love, but she wasn’t ready to face it, so she still kept her feelings to herself.
Dasia glanced around the office. Everyone seemed to have their attention focused on the piles of paperwork on their desks. Her boss was out of town at a conference, so the past few days had been really slow. She’d used the time to sort out her feelings for G and make some decisions about her life. She was ready to give them a chance, and tonight she’d tell him. He’d been out of town for a week, and tonight would be his first night home.
Leaning back in her chair, proud of the decision she’d just made, Dasia watched Tara, the front desk receptionist, make her way back toward her desk. From where she sat, Dasia had a perfect view of the front door. She found it troubling though that Tara was coming to the back of the office. She never left her post unless it was something really important.
Tara stopped in front of Dasia’s desk and handed her a legal-sized envelope. “Your ex just dropped this off.”
“Who?” Dasia asked, although she knew the answer.
“Jeremiah.”
Looking down at the envelope, Dasia frowned before asking, “Did he say anything?”
“Nope. Just told me to give you that.”
Dasia flipped the envelope over to check for any writing on the outside, but there was no indication as to what was in it. She wondered why Jeremiah had just dropped off the envelope, instead of delivering it to her in person. If he’d come this far to bring her something, she found it strange that he didn’t try to see her.
“Thanks.” Dasia held on to the envelope, intentionally not opening it while Tara hovered over her.
Tara took the hint and left Dasia to her envelope. She sashayed her way up the long walkway back to the front desk.
Dasia rolled her eyes at her. She was sure she was just acting pissy because Jeremiah had just turned down her advances. If anything, Jeremiah knew what kind of woman he liked, and Tara was definitely not his type.
Dasia turned her attention back to the envelope. She slid the letter opener through the flap and pulled out the photographs, paperwork, and an envelope from the package. The man in the photograph she recognized. He was tall, with a muscular build and a cropped haircut. Although the picture was in black-and-white and appeared to be several years old, the slight tan was still recognizable. The man in the photo was her new beau, G.
She flipped through the six photographs a couple of times trying to determine what they meant. In each photo, G was with another man, a man she’d never before seen. She’d met all of his bodyguards, or at least she’d assumed she did. It wasn’t unusual for him to leave her for two weeks at a time, so he’d made sure to introduce her to the people who’d ensure her safety while he was gone.
She placed the photos to the side and picked up the papers. She ran down the information on the pages. The name Tyrone Porter was typed in big, bold letters across the top of the page. She didn’t recognize the name. She wondered who this Tyrone person. Maybe he was the other man in the photos with G.
Dasia read through all of the biographical information on the page. The height, eye color, hair color, even demeanor information fit G perfectly. Then her eyes were drawn to the bottom of the piece of paper. Next to the word kills, the number twenty-three stared back at her.
She didn’t know what to think. One minute her life was moving along just fine, the next she gets information that her new beau may have a separate identity and may have been responsible for the deaths of twenty-three people.
Dasia began to wonder if G had lied to her all of this time. If it were true, a lot of things would make sense—the disappearing at all hours of the night, the long trips out of town. But if he had another life, what was it? And why was Jeremiah so interested in making sure she knew about it?
The last item Dasia examined was the sealed envelope accompanying the paperwork and pictures. She slid her finger under the flap and removed the folded piece of paper. She read the words on the page.
If you want to talk, you know where to find me.
Jeremiah
Dasia stared at the words in disbelief. The little light went off in her head then. Jeremiah had to have been responsible for the first set of pictures about G that she’d received. Why was he doing this? She’d made it perfectly clear she no longer wanted him in her life. She didn’t wish him ill, but she was tired and fed up with his antics. And now here he was again trying to sabotage her new relationship.
She’d spent too many years with Jeremiah not to know this was all just some story he’d concocted to get her back. Well, she wasn’t going to let him inch his way back into her life. She balled up the letter and tossed it in the garbage. Then she slid the photos and paper back into the envelope and placed it in her bag.
For now, she’d just hold on to the information. She didn’t want to go looking for trouble, and this drama with Jeremiah was exactly that. Trouble. Probably some scheme for her to come to him. Who knew what he had in store for her? Her mother always taught her that if you look for trouble, you’re destined to find it. Besides, G was out of town, so even if she wanted to confront him, she couldn’t.
Dasia thought about calling Katina and asking her about the information. She even went as far as to pick up the phone but changed her mind before dialing the first digit. She’d sleep on it, and in the morning, she’d make the decision.
Dasia settled back down to finish her day. She still had travel arrangements to make and meetings to schedule. It was the time of the year for the annual performance evaluations, and she needed to schedule each person in the department for their evaluation. As she began to type, all of her worries about G or Jeremiah became secondary to the tasks at hand.
Chapter 22
Dasia greeted her co-workers one by one as she made her way to her desk. A week had passed since Jeremiah had dropped the file off in her office, and she hadn’t heard a peep out of him. She’d laid the issue to rest, figuring this was just a way for him to worm his way back into her life.
This morning was beautiful, and Dasia wasn’t going to let anything ruin it. The sun hung high in the sky, and only those fluffy white clouds floated through the sea of blue. As she sat down to start her day, she grabbed the stack of mail in her in box and had just started to sort through the mail when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Dasia, there’s a Detective Rodriquez here to see you.”
Dasia recognized Tara’s voice. What she didn’t know, though, was why there was a detective here to see her. “I’ll be right up.” Dasia stared at the attractive man looking out of the window in the main lobby. He was tall, with olive skin. His suit fit loosely around the shoulders, and his hair was cropped close around his temples. He seemed to be engrossed in the view, so he didn’t hear her approach.
“Detective Rodriquez?” she asked.
He turned to face her. A handsome man in his early thirties, he smiled at her, revealing a slight gap in his two front teeth. He offered his hand to Dasia, and she shook it. Dasia noted that his hands were unusually soft for a guy.
“You must be Ms. Warrington?”
“Yes. Is there something I can help you with?”
The detective looked around. “Is there somewhere we can go and talk in private?”
Dasia looked over at Tara, who was practically drooling over the detective. “Sure.” She pointed him in the direction of the conference room.
They entered, and she closed the door behind them. Then she closed the blinds to give them total privacy and took a s
eat at the long table in the center of the room.
The detective took the seat across from her and pulled out a notepad and pen. “I’ll try to make this as brief as possible. Do you know a gentleman by the name of Jeremiah Delpriore?”
“Yes.”
“When is the last time you’ve had any contact with Mr. Delpriore?”
“About three weeks ago.” Dasia wasn’t going to volunteer any information. Since she didn’t really know what was going on, she thought it best to just answer the questions the detective asked.
“Did you talk to him over the phone or in person?”
“In person.”
The detective scribbled some information on the notepad. “Care to give me the details of the conversation?”
“Why are you asking me all of these questions? Is Jeremiah in some sort of trouble?”
“I can’t really say right now. We’re just following some leads.”
Dasia took a deep breath. “He came to my house to apologize. He and I once shared a troubled relationship, and I guess he finally realized what he’d done to me all of those years.”
“How long have you known Mr. Delpriore?” Again the man turned his attention to the worn, flimsy notepad in his hand, anxiously awaiting her response.
“Since high school. He was my high-school sweetheart. We dated for six years and had planned to get married until . . .” Dasia let the words trail off. She needed to regain her composure. She still had a hard time talking about the wedding without getting too emotional.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it. I just have a couple more questions, and then I’ll let you go. Do you know of anyone who may want Mr. Delpriore dead?” He’d asked the question in that manner for a specific reason. He watched Dasia’s reaction closely. The police weren’t counting anyone out as a suspect.
“Dead?”
“Please, Ms. Warrington, can you think of anyone who’d want to harm Mr. Delpriore?”
“God!” Dasia stood and began pacing the room. “I could give you a list of names a mile long.” She stopped and faced the detective. “You have to understand Jeremiah made it a point to make enemies. When he and I were dating, any man that so much as looked at me had to deal with a confrontation. Jeremiah has a temper, and I’ve had to quell a number of incidents over the years. But prior to a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t seen or spoken to him in months, so I can’t really say about anyone recent.”
“When you did see him, was his behavior strange? Did he seem anxious or agitated?”
Dasia thought for a second about that day. Nothing strange about Jeremiah’s behavior stood out to her. “Not really. I mean, he was a little jumpy around my new boyfriend, but he’s pretty intimidating, so I didn’t think much of it.”
“Just one more question. Does the name Tyrone Porter ring a bell?”
Dasia turned from the detective, hoping he hadn’t seen the recognition on her face. For the second time there was that name.
“No, I don’t know the name.”
The detective raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in demeanor. “Are you sure?”
Dasia turned back to him. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
After a moment more of observing her, the detective said, “Thank you for your help.” He stood and again offered his hand to Dasia. He handed her a business card before leaving. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call day or night. A man’s life is at stake here, so any information you think might be helpful will be greatly appreciated.”
Dasia looked down at the business card and then back up at the detective. “I’ll make sure I do that.”
The rest of the day Dasia sat at her desk in a daze. The news that someone was trying to kill Jeremiah shook her. Though she never wanted to be involved with him again, she didn’t wish death upon him. She wondered what he’d done or who he’d crossed to be on someone’s hit list. And what did Tyrone Porter have to do with any of this?
She decided this weekend she’d ask G about the file. Her birthday was tomorrow, and he’d promised to free his entire weekend to spend solely with her. Although tomorrow was Friday, since it was her birthday, her boss had given her the day off, but she wouldn’t bring up the file though until Sunday.
Chapter 23
G sneaked into the guest room, leaned close to Dasia’s ear and whispered, “Happy birthday, baby.”
The sound of his voice aroused Dasia from her sleep. Today was her birthday, and since her boss had given her the day off, she decided to sleep late. She looked up into those loving gray eyes of G’s, and all she wanted to do was pull him close and feel the tenderness of his lips against her own. She was glad his face was the first thing she saw on this beautiful morning. Waking up to him had just made her day.
Dasia leaned up, and G slid two fluffy pillows behind her.
“Thank you.”
“I have your breakfast right here.” He lifted a tray and placed it in front of her.
Dasia’s mouth watered as she stared down at the homemade French toast, maple sausage, and the bowl of fruit in front of her. She took a sip from the French vanilla coffee before cutting a piece of French toast and sliding it between her lips.
“You’re going to have to tell Rosita she outdid herself this time. This is wonderful.”
“Rosita’s not here. I gave her and Marcus the weekend off. We’ll have the house all to ourselves.”
“So who cooked breakfast?”
“I did.”
“I didn’t know you could cook like this.”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know. Now finish your breakfast. I have a lot planned for us today.”
“Really?” Her knife stopped in mid-slice as she stared at him. “What kind of plans?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” G stood and walked toward her bedroom door. “I’ll be in the sitting room when you’re dressed and ready to go.”
“What should I wear?”
“Jeans, tee shirt, and tennis shoes, and you’ll probably want to bring a sweatshirt or a jacket.” G stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
Dasia took her time savoring each bite of her breakfast. It was her birthday and she would do everything in her own time.
When she finished the last of her fruit and coffee, she climbed out of the bed. She rambled through her walk-in closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans, a navy T-shirt, and a matching blue jean jacket.
She stepped into the warm running water and allowed the pulsing from the showerhead to massage the muscles in her back. The water formed miniature streams as it washed away the lather from her neck to her toes.
By the time she’d completed her cleansing ritual, the bathroom had become a steam room.
Dasia quickly dressed and joined G in the sitting room.
Standing, he towered over her. “Are you ready to go?”
“Sure am.”
“You might want to grab a book or some magazines. We’ll be on the road at least a couple of hours.”
Two and a half hours later, G parked the Range Rover in the lot adjacent to the Tennessee Aquarium. He circled the truck to the passenger side and helped Dasia out.
“You ready to go see the fish?”
Dasia smiled. “You know, I’ve never been here before.”
“Really? Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself.”
The couple walked hand in hand into the Aquarium.
G watched Dasia’s eyes light up at the sight of the fish as they walked level after level after level of the tanks. They watched as the divers swam with the sharks, and the feeding of the otters. Dasia followed the large sea turtles through their habitat and watched the jellyfish dance around their tank.
After leaving the Aquarium, they shopped for an hour or so in the outlet mall. G purchased a purse and tote for Dasia in the Coach outlet and a dress, a pair of shoes, linen, and towels for her in the Ralph Lauren store. By the time they’d completed their shopping, they were both hungry and exha
usted.
G took the exit to Lookout Mountain. He paid the parking attendant, and they found a nice quiet patch of grass below an enormous shade tree to have their lunch. After he spread out the blanket, he scooped Dasia into his arms and lowered them both to the blanket, where he fed her chocolate-covered strawberries, chicken salad, and crab cakes.
He dipped another strawberry into the chocolate Cool Whip, hovering the tip of it just out of the reach of Dasia’s kiss-swollen lips. “Are you enjoying your birthday?”
“Very much so.” She leaned up just enough to bite the end of the berry.
“Well, I have something else for you.”
After finishing off the remainder of the strawberry, G reached into the basket and pulled out a medium-sized box wrapped in silver paper, blue ribbon tied around it, and a silver-and-blue bow on top.
“Oh, G, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Yes, I did. Open it.”
Dasia plucked the bow from the top and unraveled the ribbon. She systematically unwrapped the wrapping paper to reveal a gold Tiffany’s box. She cut her eyes at G again. “You shouldn’t have.” She opened the lid of the box and saw the diamond pendant with matching tennis bracelet. “It’s-it’s beautiful.” Tears welled in her eyes. She turned her teary eyes to him. She didn’t know what else to say.
“Shh. There’s one more present.” G pulled a matching box from his pocket with a five-karat matching solitaire diamond. “Dasia, will you marry me?”
Dasia couldn’t believe what he’d just asked. She loved him and was very much in love with him, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to marry him. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she wanted to be honest with him.
“G, you know I love you—”
“I detect there’s a but coming.”
“I’m just not sure I’m ready to walk down the aisle again.” Dasia covered his hands with hers. “Give me some time to think on it, okay.”
“No pressure, but just know, before all is said and done, I will have you as my wife. So”—He closed the ring box and slid it back into his pocket—“are you ready to go back?”
Loving Dasia Page 13