“And I don’t believe that matters. I believe that what matters is that you’ve been instructed that now is not the time.”
I thought about intervening, but honestly, I didn’t feel like it. I really didn’t. I was there solely because I wanted to see if the old man would be okay. Regardless of how angry I was with him, he was still my father. Jamie was an afterthought, and I had no intentions of entertaining her. Alika had never seen the side of me where I could outright ignore a person, so she was unaware that she didn’t need to shut Jamie up on my behalf. Jamie would’ve gotten tired of talking to herself sooner or later. Her being a woman saved her and got her a lesser treatment. Had she been a guy and tried to force herself into my space, she’d already be on her ass.
I hadn’t looked up, but with the silence, and Alika having yet to reclaim her seat, led me to believe that a staring contest had ensued, which caused me to chuckle lightly on the inside.
“If you’re here to give me an update, I’ll take that. Otherwise, move back over where you were when Alika and I came in, Jamie.”
I touched Alika’s wrist, and when she looked at me, I nodded my head for her to sit back down. After which point, Jamie kicked up her dramatics a notch.
“Really, Rush? That’s all you have to say to me? Really!” she had begun to scream almost, and that was when her numbskull boyfriend abandoned his seat and came to lure her back to where he sat.
“Do you really think that’s the way to talk to your sister, Rush?”
Greg didn’t realize that he had come at the right time. There was nothing on earth that I could or would do to Jamie, but being able to put my foot in his ass would suffice. Jamie’s little savior was just what the doctor ordered.
“Greg, step away and take Jamie with you,” I warned.
“Don’t dismiss me that way. I’ve dealt with you and your disrespectful ways long enough. I’m the one who hears her cry when she can’t reach you. I’m the one who has to hear about how she wishes she could have done things differently. I’m the one who has to hear her go on and on about—”
Before I knew it, and before I could control my own actions, I’d leapt from my seat and had Greg by the collar of his pea coat, pulling him so close to me I could feel his breath on my face. I watched as his pupils grew wide then receded.
“What was that again, asshole? What the fuck did you say to me?”
“Let him go, Rush!” Jamie yelled.
“Oh, now you want me to let him go? You come up in my space with your fucking whining about how you can’t get through to me. I tell you to get the fuck outta my face and not only do you refuse, but your little bitch comes to talk shit!”
“Just let him go! I’ll leave you alone!”
“Cat got your tongue, pussy boy?” I posed to Greg, who had gone mute all of a sudden. “What happened to the big, bad wolf motherfucker?”
“Rush!”
In the same moment that she cried out a third time, I felt Alika’s hand on my forearm attempting to calm the situation. “Come on, baby. Let him go,” she urged.
I held onto him for a few more seconds, and then released him. When I did release him, he jerked his jacket back into place and attempted a stare down that he knew he could only back up with bitch cries, if I were to start pummeling his ass to the hospital’s carpeted floor.
“I’m going over to the nurse’s station, babe,” I informed Alika. “After I get an update, we’re outta here.”
“Okay, baby,” she responded, reclaiming her seat. “I’ll be right here.”
From what the nurse had told me, my father’s condition was stabilized, but they were still monitoring him closely. She said that he had been very lucky, and that had it not been for the padding of his pants, and the speedy response of the paramedic’s team, he may not have made it.
Alika and I went back the next day to see how things were, and I was told the same thing. Only on that visit, we were notified that while it might be slow, he was expected to make a full recovery. All I could think of when she informed me of his prognosis, was that this man fought to live so that he could still have free reign to wreck havoc on the lives of unsuspecting people. But not everyone was unsuspecting because there was at least one person who hated him enough to want him dead. Whenever he did make it out of his current predicament, he may want to watch his ass because somebody definitely wanted to cancel Christmas on his ass.
TWENTY-THREE
Alika
Two weeks later…
“Baby, next week is Thanksgiving,” I sang. “What are we gonna do? Does Hazel do the entire feast, or is it gonna be a first one where you’re not at your dad’s house?”
“I don’t know. Let’s figure it out. We can set a new tradition. Because even though I made appearances over there, I never stayed more than two hours after we’d eaten. I usually ended up at Chaos hanging out with my customers.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll just do it myself,” I smiled. “I’m sure Hazel will want to be with her own family for the holidays and I wouldn’t mind being able to take over that dreamy kitchen for an entire day. Of course, since I’m so spoiled now, maybe we could get someone in over the weekend to clean up the mess I’m sure to make. I mean, I’m no slob and I generally clean as I go, but there’s gonna be a lot!”
“Whatever you want,” he assured me, as he ate the last of his scrambled egg breakfast.
“Yay! I can’t wait! So now, who do we invite?”
“I don’t care, babe. I’m okay with whatever.”
“Even if I need to recruit you to cut up some of the stuff with me?”
“Even if you need to recruit me to cut up some of the stuff with ya,” he reiterated, smiling.
“That’s wonderful. So, I’m going to get started on my list so that I can have someone pick all the fixings up for me. I usually like to get stuff early because growing up in my aunt’s house, and then my foster parents, there were always…always last minute grocery store runs to make and everything was always picked over by that time.”
“Baby, your man knows nothing about any of that. Seriously. I just know I can’t wait to taste what you come up with. I’m sure I’ll be running every morning for the next month because I won’t know how to stop stuffing my face.”
“You think Michaela will be able to come by for a little bit?”
“Oh, I’m sure of it. I was actually going to see if she could spend Thanksgiving with us, since it’ll be my first major holiday with her.”
“That would be beautiful. I can’t see her mom having an issue with that.”
“Yeah, me either. I’ll call her later and ask.”
“Good! I can’t wait to see her. You know she texted me yesterday to say, hi? I thought that was so sweet.”
“She told me that she texted you. I’m so glad I got her that cell phone because it really worked for her being able to pace herself with getting to know me…getting to know us.”
“I agree. That was brilliant. And she calls you so much. It’s super cute,” I acknowledged, walking over to him, and pinching his cheek, then snaking my arms around his neck.
“Yeah…” he said, as though reflecting on a thought.
But I interrupted beforehand so I could inquire about what I had been wanting to, but was afraid to do.
I started, kissing into the curve of his neck. “Baby, how are you feeling about all this stuff with your family? Not forcing you to talk about it, just want to make sure that I do wellness checks on you. I don’t want you to think that I don’t care, or that you can’t tell me about any of it.”
He pulled me around to sit me on his lap, where I began to smooth down his beard, lovingly watching, as he prepared to speak. This man is just sexy as fuck. How blessed am I? I actually did find myself speaking those very words in my head quite often.
“I’m okay. Honestly. I grew up knowing what the situation was. I didn’t worry about it then, and I don’t worry about it now.”
I watched him pause for a few seconds before pro
ceeding, which sent me back and forth between feelings of guilt, and sadness. I should never have treaded upon the subject at all. There was something in his eyes, and something in the tone he used whenever he said anything about his home life, that caused me to feel that as much as he denied it, he was affected—even if slightly. I was just about to renege on the conversation when Rush spoke again.
“You know, babe…Jamie and I are a year, two months, and ten days apart.”
“Oh, wow. I hadn’t realized it was that close.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda close ain’t it?”
“It sure is,” I chuckled. “And with two different women?”
“Yep. Exactly. My father basically carried on a relationship with two women at the same time—for years. Not even a month after my mother left, Jamie and her mother were in the house. Even with as fucked up as shit was with me not knowing where the hell my mother went, why she left, or any of that, I felt comforted that I had a sibling. So, Jamie and I got close really fast. I was almost six at the time. So, I say all that to say that we had each other’s backs a lot growing up. Even though she was the fave of her mother and our father, she was still my sister. I even kicked a few asses whenever that half sister-brother bullshit came out of anybody’s mouth because I felt that we were full siblings in every way that counted. Different mothers or not. She was my family. So, for her to side with my father on something this huge…” he said, lightly shaking his head from left to right, “…unforgivable. That’s the part that gets to me. But aside from that, baby, your man is good. He’s got you,” he said, smiling and rubbing his hand across my leg.
I hugged him tight and laid my head in the corner of his neck and placed kisses inside the crease. “You damn right you got me.” I lifted my head to look him in his eyes, and almost got lost in his deep, dark ass irises for a minute. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise…?”
“I promise,” I said, animatedly raising my right hand into the air, causing Rush to pull me closer.
As badly as I wanted to, I refrained from asking for the full back story about his mother. I would have to pick the right moment to segue into that topic of discussion—if I would it at all. Two weeks had passed since his father had almost died and Rush hadn’t spoken a single word about it. We both found out by way of Gigi that he was out of the woods and on his way to a full recovery, and Rush didn’t miss a beat. Life was as usual, and he hadn’t even been back to the hospital. All his focus was on home, his businesses, and building his way to super daddy status with Michaela. And from what I had witnessed, he was well on his way.
“Sooo, Big Daddy…” I started, rising from Rush’s lap, and grabbing hold of his hands. “What’s on our agenda for the rest of the night? I was thinking we invite Gavin and Christina over for drinks or something. Or we could watch a movie, or we could go out to eat, or—”
“Or, I could take you upstairs and do all kinds of shit to your beautiful body,” he smiled, making his way onto his feet and towering over me.
I returned his smile, trying not to cheese too hard. I was speechless, because like so many other times he caught me off guard…in a good way…a good ass way.
“Nothing to say, huh?” he asked, chuckling slightly, his eyes lighting up.
I shook my head left to right in response, never releasing on the smile that seemed stuck on my face.
“Okay, well let’s see how long that lasts.”
And of course he knew it wouldn’t last because whenever I was loved down by this man, I didn’t even recognize half the shit that came out of my own mouth. He felt that damn good. Never had I ever given my entire self to a man sexually—as I had with him. In fact, I think I would go so far as to say that he was the first man I had ever made love to, and for that matter, who’d ever made love to me.
When he was done with me a while later, I was satiated, and had forgotten about any of the suggestions passing time, that I’d presented to him earlier. I was trying my best to regroup so that I could have another helping of everything he was serving up.
I can’t wait for part three…I thought as sleep sneaked up on me.
TWENTY-FOUR
UCSF Medical Center
Two weeks after Lance Cambridge was admitted, he lay in a large private suite on the fifth floor at San Francisco Medical Center on his way to a slow recovery. When he had first been rushed in, his prognosis was grave. In fact, doctors threw out things like, “Contact next of kin…” and even “If he makes it, then…” and “It won’t be much longer.” However, Lance Cambridge had stunned everyone when he showed them what others had long ago learned—not to ever discount him. Not even a high dosage of ketamine could take him down.
Lance had to admit it, a hospital stay was the only way he’d ever stop for a second to catch his breath. He’d always been of the mindset: ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’. And someone had almost succeeded in making that happen. But there he was ready to be back at one hundred percent, so he could live even larger than before. As comfortable as they had made him, he couldn’t wait to regain his full strength so he could be free of his hospital bed. He had too much business to handle and too many places to see. So while being down and out was never a part of his forte, there he was lavishing in the only rest he would get for a while.
While he was in and out of sleep, he kept seeing that face. She tried to kill me was the first thing he thought when he’d awakened yesterday and realized where he was and what had happened to him. He remembered the first prick to his thigh. And then he thought there might have even been a second that was swift and inserted much deeper than the first—forcefully, and hate-filled. She had come equipped and she’d meant to leave him for dead. So, he knew that the moment he had enough strength, he would make the right call to have her dealt with the right way. The way he should’ve had her dealt with the first time. Even the thought of her demise made him smile on the inside.
Lance’s eyes were small slits as he tried to open them to focus. He felt as though he was being watched. He knew it wasn’t the nurse or his doctor because they’d already come and gone. Not just that, they always announced their arrival. His eyes darted around the dimly lit room, while trying to pry them open just a little bit more.
“What’s got you all happy?” the voice asked. “Oh wait! I know! You survived.”
Oh fuck, he thought.
An inner panic button sounded off in his head. He didn’t have to see her to know who was talking to him. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have an ounce of fear. But this was different. Who the fuck let her in here?! And where the fuck are the imbeciles who should be guarding me from harm?! He slowly moved his hand trying to reach for the nurse’s button to no avail.
“Don’t bother,” she calmly stated. “It’s dangling on the side of your bed. We need some alone time. I actually didn’t think we’d get it. I thought I’d managed to get rid of you,” she said, standing and walking near his bed. “Imagine my surprise when I saw all over the news that your ass had lived.” She chuckled before continuing. “I have to give it to you. You are one lucky motherfucker. And a motherfucker you are, indeed.”
Lance’s eyes were wide open and alert now, and they were yelling words that he couldn’t say out loud. He was scared and he was angry…more like angry that he was scared. Anybody who instilled fear in him needed to die. There was no other way around that, and she was no different. You’re a dead bitch, he threatened in silence, as an anger-induced tear crawled from the corner of his eye.
“Oh look…his eyes are opening. Damn, he’s a fighter. Fight, Lance! Fight! Come on back!” she goaded him. “I’ll bet you wish you had that button to push, huh? But it’s okay. When I’m done, I’ll gladly give it back it to you,” she smiled. “Wait…what’d you say?” she asked, leaning close to his mouth. “I can’t hear you, Lance.”
His lips moved, but no words came forth. At the same time his hand held a tight grip on the thin blanket that covered him.
; “You know what? That look in your eyes…I know what it’s saying. You’ve got yourself a mass amount of anger right now, but you’re also afraid. You’re afraid that I came to finish you off. You’re afraid that I mean you deadly harm. And I mean, I do, but you’re just kinda wondering when or if it’s gonna happen. You know…” she started, walking toward the window in his room. “…I know that exact feeling. When you used to beat my ass and hover over me taunting me and spewing hateful words, I felt those exact emotions. You put the fear of God in me, Lance. That’s why when it came time to leave my son, as broken as I was, I knew not to fight you if I wanted so much as a future glimpse into his life. Hmmm. Imagine that. His mother having to watch from the outside. When I say you’re a motherfucker, you really are just that. And your specialty is fucking mothers. But it was high time you were stopped. Do you remember our last conversation, Lance?”
Lance blinked, and attempted to shake his head. He couldn’t believe that he was looking into her face after all these years. Siobhan Cavanaugh—Rush’s mother.
“I asked you a question, Lance. Do you remember our last conversation?”
“Sio…bhan…” he managed.
How he hated that his voice was deceiving him. He looked into her beautiful face and saw Rush standing before him. Rush had always looked more like her. It was Siobhan’s beauty that had him head over heels with her. The dark, wavy hair, which seemed to cascade in luxury down her back and around the sides of her face. The natural beauty with the piercing eyes the color of onyx, which sometimes looked to be a midnight blue.
“Oh! He speaks! But you forget, you bastard. It’s Gia now. Gia Olivette. The name you sent me away under.”
“What…do…you—”
“What do I want, you ask? I want you to reflect back on the warning I gave you the day I left. I mean, I know a warning from little ol’ me didn’t mean shit at the time, but it might now. Remember it? Oh, fuck it, let me help you. I told you to do right by my son. I told you that no matter how you felt about me, to make sure you always did right by my son. Oh yeah, of course with all your money I never stood a chance of getting him to come with me. Not that you ever wanted him; you just didn’t want to pay child support because in your sick mind you figured that money would go toward my lifestyle and not my son.”
Rapture 2: a BWWM, Alpha Male Romance Page 13