The Graffiti Effect
Page 33
“You didn’t do that, she did. So, don’t even let that be a part of any of this. We’ll be good. She’s been in my life for years. But she needed to know where I stood. And now she does.”
I looked through the window of the establishment and realized that the sun was starting to go down. It meant that hours had gone by.
“Dang. We’ve been here for a minute. I’m sorry I ruined your party.”
“Who said you ruined it? It’s still going. I just needed to come and find you.”
“Speaking of that, you didn’t answer me. How did you know where I was?”
“When a man is interested in a woman, the shit she says matters to him. He listens. I listened.”
My heart skipped like half a beat and my lips parted in an involuntarily smile. “When a man is interested in a woman?” I repeated.
Marco smiled back at me. “Yep, don’t act like you didn’t know.”
“I mean, kinda . . . thought . . .” I said, feeling nervous all of a sudden. “But, we just said at breakfast that—”
“I know what was said,” he interjected. “And I don’t claim to know what this relationship stuff is all about. I’m going in, all new. But I know enough to know that I don’t see you like I do other women. It’s different, and I wanna explore that—with you.” When he slid from his side of the booth and then moved next to me, I thought I was going to lose it! “I’m interested . . . in you. Beyond it being platonic . . .”
“Wow,” I gasped.
He brushed his forefinger against the side of my face then asked, “What does ‘wow’ mean?”
“It means, I’m glad. It means that I’m feelin’ you too. Just good to know I’m not there by myself.”
Marco scooted to the end of the seat and stood up. He then reached out for my hand. “Let’s go finish enjoying this party.” I grabbed his hand and stood up in front of him, legs slightly weak with excitement. “Then after everybody leaves, we can spend the rest of the night talking about how all this you and me stuff is gonna look. That sound good to you?”
“It sounds perfect.”
EPILOGUE
3 months later
San Francisco, CA
“You’re stunning,” the woman complimented Kaia upon their first meeting.
“Thank you,” Kaia gushed, as she stepped inside of the enormous piece of real estate.
“What’s your line of business? Are you a model? An actress? Oh, I know. You’re one of those athlete’s wives, aren’t you? You, beauties always get to come and pick out the most beautiful homes.”
Kaia shook her head, and chuckled lightly. “You’ve got me blushing. I’m none of those,” she sang. Buut, I would’ve gladly taken the first one, had my uncle not been so overprotective, and pro education.”
“Oh my.” She smiled. “Well, it’s never too late. It’s not like you can’t do it now. You’re certainly beautiful enough.”
“I appreciate that. You’re not bad yourself,” Kaia told the woman.
“So sweet of you to say.” The woman took both of her hands and rubbed them across her growing belly. “Maybe I’ll believe it once this little boy makes his way out into the world and allows me to shed these fifty extra pounds he gave me.” The women started to laugh. “But enough about me. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your nationality?”
“I actually do mind,” Kaia responded.
“Oh . . .” the woman said, taken aback. “Okay. My sincerest apologies.”
“It’s fine.” Kaia offered the realtor a wide, mischievous smile. “Let’s just conduct business, why don’t we.”
“A-absolutely,” she stuttered. She studied Kaia for a few seconds. “I just really hope that I didn’t offend you. I didn’t mean any harm.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kaia stated firmly. “We’re good.”
“You sure?”
Kaia’s eyebrows scrunched at the center, all traces of friendliness left her face. “Lady, you don’t know this about me, but I’m not too fond of repeating myself. You got all the confirmation that you needed the first time I said it was ‘fine’. Let it go, and move onto business.”
Kaia could almost see the chick’s heart jump from her pretty little pink maternity dress. She knew the woman was nervous and it made her giddy inside.
“Umm, uhh, okay. So, this . . . uhh, home has only been on the market for two weeks,” she proceeded to explain. “The owner is looking for a quick sale, and the asking price is five-point two. It has a lot of character. Very modern, but with some old personality. For instance, there’s a basement that goes the full length of this room we’re standing in. There’s a single room that takes up an entire floor and almost looks like its own apartment. The seller is really hoping for a buyer who is going to keep it in its original condition.”
Kaia turned to the realtor. “What business of it is theirs what someone does to it? Once they sell it, they shouldn’t give a fuck.”
The realtor chuckled nervously, and redirected. “Will it just be you?” the realtor lady asked.
“For the most part, yes.”
“It’s a lot of space,” she commented. “It’s lovely, but it’s huge.”
“I know,” Kaia said, looking around and walking across to the large bay view windows. “I love a lot of space. I can never have too much.”
“Well, that’s good. Where in the Bay Area do you currently live?”
“Oh, I don’t. I live in Florida. I live on my uncle’s estate, and it’s probably three times the size of this.”
“On his estate?” She nodded. “Okay.”
“Yes, on his estate. It’s so he can keep a close eye on me. He thinks I need supervision.”
“Supervision?” she asked, for confirmation.
“Yeah . . .” Kaia nodded. “Imagine a thirty-two-year-old woman needing to be ‘watched’. Isn’t that crazy?”
Kaia was baiting at that point. She knew with each word, each shift, the agent became more uncertain about what was happening. Her once-chipper demeanor was slowly diminishing. Fear was slowly creeping in. It was the same fear that Kaia was used to seeing in her victim’s eyes.
Priscilla Dean had questions but didn’t know how to ask them to get the relief she needed. Poor soul, Kaia thought to herself.
“So . . . uh . . . is your uncle going to be okay with you moving?” she asked slowly, looking toward the front of the large space.
“He’ll be fine. I’m in San Francisco a lot. It makes sense for me to have a place here. I do a lot of business here. And since there are so many thousands of miles between here and home, it just makes it more . . . fun.”
“Fun is good. What kind of business do you conduct here, that’s so much fun?”
“You don’t wanna know that. I’ll say this, though. It becomes less fun when you end up hurting people you love.”
“H-h-hurting? W-why?”
Kaia shrugged her shoulders and then walked around Priscilla, in the direction of the exit. She didn’t want her getting away.
“Why? That’s a good question. But it all goes back to the saying that, ‘Hurt people, hurt people’. I was hurt, so I hurt—a lot. It wasn’t really a problem for me until I almost hurt someone that I loved. That hurt me so bad,” Kaia stated solemnly. “Because he didn’t deserve it.”
“I’m sure he knows that you’re sorry, right?”
“I hope. I sent him a letter telling him how sorry I am.”
“See, that’s great,” Priscilla said.
“Yeah. I was a little crazy at the time and was having an episode. But my doctors helped me through it. They made me see that my anger was misplaced. And when my brother accepts my apology, I can officially meet him and say everything I need to say to him. He and I didn’t get a fair start. My brother and I are victims of the same man. And he’s not a good man. He’s the one that I should’ve been hurting all this time. Not strangers.”
“Well, I have another appointment coming in a few minutes, Ms. Mitchell, so—”
“Priscilla!” Kaia shouted, startling the realtor when she cut into her words. “That’s a lie. You don’t have another appointment. Shame on you. I’m your last appointment of the day.”
Priscilla pulled her cellphone from her purse, and swiped her screen to dial. “No, I do. I can call if you need proof. I-I-I made it . . . at the last—”
“Hang the phone up,” Kaia demanded, producing a small pistol in Priscilla’s direction. Priscilla’s eyes widened as she did as she was told.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, visibly shaken. When her phone began to ring out, she told Kaia, “This is my boyfriend. He’s expecting me to . . . Can I please—”
“Answer it,” Kaia instructed her. “Do not let on.”
“Okay,” she said nervously, as she took the call. “Hello? Yes, I’m almost . . .” She looked over at Kaia. “. . . almost done. Of course. I love you too . . .”
In one fell swoop, Kaia yanked the phone from Priscilla’s hand, causing her to yelp out. She pressed the speaker button.
“Priscilla! What’s going on?!” her boyfriend yelled. “Prisci—!”
“Well, if it isn’t the fucking deadbeat, Stavros Anastas. Your long-lost daughter here, asshole.”
Kaia’s eyes were on Priscilla the whole time watching as horror and realization set in.
“Daddy, Daddy . . . oh, Daddy. I see your woman is with child.”
“Kaia . . .?” he said, from his end. “What the fuck—”
“No, nuh-uh . . .” Kaia cut in. “You don’t get to ask questions. What you also don’t get to do is forget about me and Marco, and then ride off into the fucking father-of-the-year sunset. It doesn’t work that way. I was going to let you find out about this on the news, or via a phone call from the police. But you calling is even fucking better, you, deadbeat son of a bitch! See how many fucking innocent lives you, and your hungry fucking dick, end up affecting?! It’s all fun and games until the people you love . . . the people you cherish suffer the conse—”
“Please don—!”
Kaia didn’t know who said the words first—Stavros or his whore. But it didn’t matter, because she had already pulled the trigger and delivered a kill shot to Stavros’s new chance at fatherhood.
The End . . .
BOOKS by PERRI FORREST
Rush Cambridge (4-book series)
Rapture: A BWWM Alpha Male Romance
Gavin Brooks (2-book series)
Special Delivery
Special Delivery II
Love’s Awakening (2-book series)
Kennedy’s Awakening
Awakened Desires
Pandora’s Box (Brooklyn Kellogg continuing episodes)
The Color of Lies
What Lies Beneath the Surface
Beautiful Lies
Crooked Lies
In the Ring: A Dario Caivano Novel
Last Night
Sexcapade: Affair at Nightfall
Family Ties
Beautiful Vengeance
Destined
Captivated
A Lioness’ Tale
Rendezvous
Isa: Gift of the Baloma
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