by H. H. Fowler
But as Drake was deciding what to do at that point, Kevin pulled open the front door with Suanne trailing closely behind. Obviously, they were drawn out by the sounds of the gunshots. Kevin’s heart slammed against his chest at the sight of Hunter being held captive. That was the first surprise. The other was Kevin recognizing Hunter’s captor as the same man believed to be snooping around the neighborhood.
“The hell you doing?” Kevin barked. “Let her go!”
Raffie heaved Hunter several steps back, his left arm still locked beneath her chin, gun pressing firmly against her head. “You know the drill,” he taunted. “You make any attempt to help her and I will put a bullet in her head. She doesn’t mean a thing to me.”
“You hurt her,” Kevin threatened, “and I swear these people will have to peel me from off of you.”
“Oh really?” Raffie swiped his tongue along one side of Hunter’s face and grinned. “Am I allowed to do that?”
Kevin launched at Raffie, but Suanne yanked him back and gave him a sobering slap. “Don’t be stupid,” she spat. “He’ll kill you and then kill her. What I’m gon’ do with the both of you dead?”
Kevin wrenched his arm away from his mother and yelled at the gunman. “What the hell you want with us?”
Raffie scoffed. “You had your chance…fifteen-million-dollars’ worth of chances to be exact. But you just had to feed your doubts into her head…I heard every word of it…I have no other choice but to put a bullet in this pretty face in order for me to collect the balance of my money.”
Hunter’s eyes were rolling back in her head, because of the lack of oxygen getting to her lungs and to her brain. If she could have talked, she would have told Raffie she changed her mind and simply accepted his silly proposal. It was not worth losing her life over selling parts of her jewelry collection. In fact, Raffie could have half of the entire collection, if it meant guaranteeing the safety of everyone.
But Hunter had to ask herself, even though the question didn’t appear appropriate in such a moment. Was this in the plan of God for her and Kevin – to experience such a horrendous disruption in the midst of their joy? What an engagement party this turned out to be, were some of the last coherent thoughts that Hunter had been able to manage before closing her eyes in complete blackness. When Hunter’s body dropped to the ground, Raffie dropped along with her, refusing to lessen the power of his grip.
“Put the gun down, buddy…we don’t want anyone to get hurt…”
Undoubtedly, it was Levi’s voice. A soothing injection into a panic-stricken moment. However, it didn’t come across that way to Sasha. She knew Levi well enough to know when he was about to do something stupid, like trying to play the hero. But as far as she knew, all heroes were in the grave. An unexplainable force suddenly propelled her out of the safety of Drake’s arms.
“Levi,” she cried – too desperate for a woman who denied ever having any romantic feelings for the man. “What are you doing? Drake and I have already called the police.”
“Stay with Drake,” Levi instructed, as he continued his walk of ‘fate’ toward Raffie. He remembered serving drinks to this man at the Blue Marlin and Levi hoped that brief encounter would be enough to put his plan into action. I just need to create a little distraction…“I know what I’m doing, Sasha…stay with Drake –”
BANG!
Sasha saw it before she heard it. A deafening silence then ensued and everything from that point on moved in slow motion. Blood began to trickle out of a tiny hole above Levi’s eyes. His legs collapsed beneath him, right before he crashed to the ground in one heap. Sasha’s scream ricocheted from one end of the neighborhood to the next and it took every muscle in Drake’s body to restrain her from flailing around. In all the years he’d known his wife, Drake had never seen such a display of hysteria. It was almost too much for him to bear, because in that moment he discovered just how much Sasha really cared about Levi. Yet, his loving arms remained wrapped around his wife – to comfort his own fears of losing his friend.
And though Raffie may have made an example out of Levi’s ‘show at bravery,’ it was one of the most irrational moves he could have made. With the gun now away from Hunter’s head, Kevin wasted no time using his body to knock Raffie five feet away from her. The gun flew out of Raffie’s hand and landed a good distance beneath one of the parked cars. It was on after that as the two men began rolling around on the concrete, delivering blow after blow.
Suanne enlisted the help of the women to help pull Hunter onto the porch and began administering CPR. Within seconds the brawl between Kevin and Raffie had turned into a group effort – five men now against Raffie himself. Two yanked Raffie away from Kevin, and slammed him against a brick wall. Raffie fell back unconscious, but that didn’t stop the men from pounding Raffie’s body as if he were a venomous snake. They eventually tied him up and left him on the ground for the police to finish him off.
By then, Sasha and Drake were at Levi’s side praying, and desperately searching his lifeless body for a pulse.
Chapter Twenty-One
A Few Days Later – Devin’s Cay Hospital
If modern day miracles still happened, they were happening in Devin’s Cay. No one could have imagined that just days ago, after being shot pointblank in the face that Levi would still be fighting to stay alive. And even though he’d been in a comatose state for most of his stay in the hospital, it was a relief to know that there was much hope that he could make a full recovery, especially when the doctors decided to take him off the breathing machine.
Being that the weapon of choice was just a .22 pistol as opposed to a .44 Magnum was a blessing in disguise. The bullet hadn’t exploded on impact, but simply made a narrow passage through tissue without causing major secondary damage. Friends and family of Levi were in good spirits, particularly Drake and Sasha, who’d showed up every day at the hospital to pray and to wait for updates on Levi’s prognosis. However, there were still some concerns to be discussed by the resident neurologist.
Strange enough, this incident had brought Drake and Sasha closer than they’d ever been in their marriage. For one, they’d had a chance to talk about her reaction the night Levi was shot. Granted Drake was pierced to his soul about what was being revealed, but he listened with an understanding heart. At the present, they were holding hands in the waiting room, keeping Levi’s condition before the Lord in prayer. They’d done this for the entire time Levi had been in the hospital and whether they sensed it or not, their prayers had a healing effect on the emotional wounds between them.
The conclusion of the whole matter was that they both loved Levi and they both wanted him to live. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Drake pulled out his cell phone and located the emails he’d received from someone by the name of Anonymous_Eyes. Up to this point, he still hadn’t said anything to Sasha about them, but he was in a much better place.
He touched her hand in a supportive manner and said. “I want to show you something.”
Sasha leaned into her husband as he pointed to an email address on his phone.
“Who is Anonymous_Eyes?”
Sasha’s heart dropped to her feet. “Honey…I’ve been trying to explain this to you…”
“Don’t be alarmed,” Drake assured her. “I just need to know who this person is continuing to mess with you and our marriage.”
The resurgence of guilt caused Sasha to drop her gaze toward her lap. “How long have you known?”
“Does it really matter? But if you must know, I received the emails the night of Kevin and Hunter’s engagement party.”
“Have you read them?”
Drake shook his head. “I wanted to, but I didn’t. I interpreted it as another ploy from the devil and maybe a final test to ascertain the genuineness of my heart.” He lifted Sasha’s face so that her gaze was level with his. “When I said I forgave you; I meant that with every fiber in my body. And I chose to accept that whatever happened between you and Levi is in the past. I
don’t care to be reminded of it. By you, or by anyone else.
“Now, did it hurt seeing you express such deep emotions for Levi when we both thought he’d been killed? Yes and we’ve talked about that. But did that lessen my love and my devotion to you? It didn’t in the least. In fact, I love you even more and I plan to be more committed to this marriage than ever before. But what stood out to me the most during this entire ordeal, is your devotion to me.”
Sasha was confused and it showed up in her tone. “I don’t understand.”
Drake looked at her warmly. “What’s to understand? You chose me over Levi, even though you had multiple opportunities to change the course of your future with another man. I am encouraged by that, knowing our marriage has withstood one of the greatest tests of any marriage. But I sense in my heart of hearts that we will be together for a very long time.”
Sasha’s eyes moistened. She just could not get over the amazing traits of this man. “You have no idea how much I want that,” she said. “And I want you to know that I do love you, more than you could ever know, or more than I can ever express.”
“But I do know…”
“And that I will never do anything to intentionally hurt you. But I must tell you that Levi and I never crossed the line – if you can discern what I’m saying. Rest assured that this baby is yours – ours that we’ve made together in love.”
Drake smiled, giving Sasha’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ve never once questioned the paternity of my child, even after I received those emails. One of my main concerns right now is putting a stop to the person who is continuing to send these inappropriate messages. But we will deal with it as soon as Levi gets out of the hospital.”
As if on cue, the neurologist walked into the waiting room area and cleared his throat. Both Drake and Sasha stood to their feet to give ear to what he was about to say.
“I have some good news and not so good news,” he said. “Which do you want first?”
Sasha and Drake both agreed to hear the good news first.
“Well,” the neurologist said, “Mr. Johnson has completely shaken out of his coma. Though he is a little woozy; nonetheless, he’s awake and can communicate coherently.”
“May we go in to see him?” Drake asked.
“You can, but the other part of the news is that Mr. Johnson has lost a significant part of his episodic memory; that’s the part of the brain having to do with the loss of personal information and events of one’s life.”
“Are you saying he won’t remember us?” Sasha inquired.
“I’m not saying he won’t remember the faces of people,” the neurologist clarified. “He just won’t remember certain events, as in dating certain people, or getting married…things of that nature. Mr. Johnson’s tests revealed that once the swelling of his brain subsides, it is possible for him to retrieve some, if not all of these memories. However, it could be anywhere from six months to six years or more. I can take you to see him, but be advised that you must end your visit after five minutes. He must get his rest.”
“We understand,” Drake said. “Please take us to see him.”
Sasha was the first to enter Levi’s hospital room, followed by her husband. The sight of Levi looking so vulnerable and helpless in that bed threw Sasha for a loop. But holding Drake’s hand helped stabilize her emotions. Levi moved his gaze slowly toward them and for a moment he seemed confused. But soon he broke out into a smile.
“Hey, buddy,” Drake hailed. “We’ve come to see how you’re doing?”
Levi looked back and forth between Drake and Sasha. He then stared at the wedding ring on Sasha’s finger. “Man,” he dragged. “It seems as if you’re doing better than me.”
“Why’d you say that?”
“Because you and Sasha didn’t invite me to the wedding. In fact, I’m upset that you didn’t ask me to be your best man.”
Thankfully, Sasha’s gasp was internal or else it would have revealed how stunned she was that Levi had indeed lost part of his memory. There was no farce in his expression that could be detected, which meant that if Levi didn’t recall attending her and Drake’s wedding and in fact, was one of Drake’s best men, then it was possible he didn’t remember any other event after that. Including the yearlong heated exchanges they’d had between him, Drake and her. Could it really be so? Sasha stared at Drake and it seemed as if he was asking the same questions with his eyes.
“What is the last thing you remember me talking to you about regarding the wedding?” Drake asked his friend. “The doctor explained that you’ve lost some of your memory due to your head injury.”
“By that, you mean that I was shot.” Levi closed his eyes, as if trying to locate certain images in his mind. Finding none, he opened his eyes again. “Do either of you know why I was shot?”
It appeared as if Drake was going to respond to Levi’s question, but Sasha stopped him. “Remember what the neurologist said…we should let Levi get his rest.” She turned her concerned gaze to Levi. “Don’t worry about finding out about too much too soon. You’ve been through a serious trauma, which almost took your life. But if you don’t mind, Drake and I would like to say a short prayer with you.”
Levi closed his eyes without protest. He was too weak to offer any sarcastic remark anyway. Drake wondered if Levi even remembered that he’d given his life to the Lord two Sundays ago. Once the prayer concluded, he and Sasha walked out of Levi’s room in absorbed silence. Where would they all go from there?
Drake pulled Sasha into a warm embrace and pressed his lips against her forehead. “The Lord knows exactly what He is doing,” he said. “Let us be thankful that Levi is alive. Maybe if he didn’t do what he did at that party, we would have been planning for Kevin and Hunter’s funerals rather than their wedding.”
Sasha shrugged in Drake’s arm. “I just want him to be happy, just as we have found happiness with each other.”
From a distance, Drake noticed Yasmine slipping through the door of Levi’s room. And by what he could tell from Yasmine’s worried disposition, she wasn’t about to leave Levi’s side anytime soon. The shootout at Suanne’s home had been all over the news and Drake assumed it was how Yasmine found out that Levi was in the hospital.
There was something magnetic and unexplainable about real love and that even the temporary loss of memory didn’t have enough power to keep two people apart that were meant to be together. Drake just knew that Levi and Yasmine would somehow be reunited and be blessed with a more potent connection.
“Take my word for it, babe,” he said with a stronger conviction. “Levi will be just fine. The sovereignty of God will safeguard the fulfillment of our assigned purposes.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later – Trinidad and Tobago
The sun flooded through the plantation blinds and woke Armando from sleep. He was annoyed, because he never left the blinds open for the simple reason of what he was experiencing right now. Armando didn’t want to appear cynical, but he sensed that Annalise was behind it, which was another one of her intentional ploys to get him off kilter. Ever since they got back from Devin’s Cay, their relationship had never been the same. They fought more often and blamed each other for stupid things.
Armando couldn’t remember the last time they’d made love, because Annalise refused to let him touch her, especially in any intimate manner. Two months ago, she started staying out late, which eventually turned into her sleeping outside of their home, sometimes two to three days at a time. Armando suspected she was up to her old tricks again, no doubt roaming the familiar spots of her lesbian lovers. He confronted her about it last night and her reaction surprised the heck out of him. She shrugged it off as if it wasn’t a big deal, having the audacity to laugh in his face.
It was utter misery being locked in a marriage that Armando hadn’t really wanted from the start. His only consolation was talking to Rena every now and then. And although she was committed to keeping her distance, she cared about him enough t
o keep the lines of communication open. They talked about everything, except that evening when they’d made love on Lewis’s living room floor. It was as if they’d enshrined that moment and talking about it would ruin the memory of it. But if the decision had been left up to Armando alone, he would have left Annalise a long while ago and flown to Paris to be with Rena. However, things weren’t as simple as that. He had his music career to consider and Annalise constantly reminded him that she would ruin it if he ever walked out on her.
He swung his feet to the floor and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His gaze eventually zeroed in on a sheet of paper that had been placed on his computer table. And resting on the top of the paper was a handgun. Armando walked over to the table, pushed the weapon aside and picked up the paper. It was a short note, written in red ink, which Annalise sometimes did to express words to him she couldn’t say in person.
I’ve thought about killing myself more times than I can count. I even thought about killing you and that dumpy little whore. But suicide and murder aren’t the most pleasant of thoughts. It taunted me every day and I could only find peace in the one thing I’ve always loved: making out with Sabrina Wheelie. You have no idea how much I’ve missed that woman’s touch. Unlike you, she makes me feel alive and wanted. I don’t intend to make this a long note, which would be a waste of both of our time.
You know as well as I do that our marriage was over from the day we said, “I do.” This was an experiment we never should have messed with, because the fact is, Armando, I will never fully be satisfied with a man – no matter how good the sex is between us. I love Sabrina and Sabrina loves me and we do plan to get married someday. This is goodbye, but of course, you already knew that. It’s Rena’s gun, in case you’re wondering. Do whatever you feel with it…I won’t need it. By the end of the week, you will be served divorce papers. Sign them and be done with this sham of a marriage – your nemesis, Annalise.