by Cydney Rax
“Watch the profanity, boss lady.”
Kiara sighed. “You are crossing lines, Nicole, dangerous lines that are about to get you in a world of trouble. Do you want another case? Another arrest? Do you?”
“Look, Kiara.” Nicole realized she did not want to get in trouble over a stupid brick. “I am sorry. But blame it on Rashad. He isn’t acting normal. And everything that’s happening is making me feel insecure.” She didn’t want Kiara to know that he’d threatened to divorce her. She had to downplay everything. “I had a stupid moment, but only because of the way he’s been acting lately.”
“I don’t care what he’s doing. Leave me the hell out of it.”
“But you see, he was fucking with my mind and he point-blank told me that he was in love with you.”
Kiara felt undone. Why was her ex going around telling people that he loved her? She felt so resentful toward Rashad that she could scream. Why couldn’t her ex-husband just remain her ex-husband? The craziness of it all was making her feel stressed.
“And,” she heard Nicole continue, “Rashad even said that you two may get back together. He said that he may buy you a bigger house than the one you already have. So, do you understand that when my husband said things to hurt me, I couldn’t help myself. Surely you can understand how things like that would make a wife feel.”
Kiara was astounded. A side chick who forgets her side-chick ways is doomed to repeat them. Rashad and Nicole truly deserved each other.
“I don’t know why he would tell you that, Nicole. That man is not completely stupid, but he does some stupid-ass shit. He’s lying. That’s all I can say. I don’t know his motives. Truly I don’t. But you can’t take him at his word. Don’t let that man drive you crazy and mess up your life. You have your child to think about. And shit, come to think of it, so do I. Nicole, I-I am so sorry for everything that’s going on with him, because he’s simply not worth it. No man is worth this type of drama. I hope you realize it and stop letting him make you do things that keep you having to apologize for your actions. So, leave me out of your mess, please. Fuck!” she yelled. And Kiara hung up.
Nicole held the phone for a long time afterward. It was an odd but badly needed conversation. So her man was lying to her. Kiara obviously did not care about Rashad, or else she would have fought for him. But she didn’t. Good. That meant that Nicole still had one more chance. She wasn’t ready to walk away simply because he thought he didn’t want her anymore. All because she shopped too much. That was so fucking dumb. If they could calm down and work things out, maybe, just maybe, they could get past the hurt and pain and petty arguing. Maybe they could find a way to love again. Take things slow. Give Nicole her dreams back and be happy again.
But, she thought as she swallowed another shot of tequila, if the dumb fuck still refuses to make up with me, I must go through with my Plan B.
By one thirty, Nicole still couldn’t fall asleep. She wiped her mouth, went and got a rag from the bathroom, wet it with soap, and wiped the tearstains from her face.
A few days ago she’d paid cash for three separate burner phones. She found her leather gloves in the hall closet. She put on the gloves and retrieved one of the phones from a kitchen drawer.
She had already warned Ajalon that she could be calling him at any time from an unfamiliar number.
At first he did not pick up. But she called him twice more before he answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Ajalon, it’s me.”
Silence.
“I said, it’s Nicole. Are you busy?”
“Um, sort of.”
“Were you asleep, or did I interrupt you?”
“Um, kind of both.”
“I’m sorry. Babe, I can’t fall asleep for nothing. I am still trying to figure out what to do, you know, about my situation.”
He said nothing.
“And I wanted to talk to you.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, is that all right?” she asked, feeling offended.
“I”—he yawned—“I am sleepy, Ni—”
It sounded as if he was about to say her name, but then he suddenly stopped.
“Are you alright, Ajalon?”
“Just sleepy. I’ve had a rough night.”
“Well, okay, sorry for bothering you. It’s just that when you make me feel like I’m something special and I call you with a problem, I don’t expect to get blown off.”
“I can talk to you much better after I get some sleep. I’m sorry. We’ll be in touch.”
“But, Ajalon.”
“Yes.”
“One more thing. I-I still haven’t made a final decision about what we talked about. But I think I will give Rashad an ultimatum. That way, based on his behavior, his future is totally up to him. If he forgives me, his life will resume. If he doesn’t forgive, his life will change. You know what I’m saying?”
“Uh, yeah. Talk later.” Then he hung up.
Nicole sighed and carefully placed the prepaid phone inside a gallon-sized zipper storage bag.
At first she went to her kitchen and tossed the plastic bag inside of a black trash bag that was already filled with garbage. But then she thought about the other items in the trash bag that would point straight at her if the contents were ever discovered: food that she’d cooked but didn’t eat, an empty soda can covered with her lipstick stains, credit card receipts that she’d carelessly thrown away, an empty bottle of her prescribed medicine with the label still attached. No. Somehow she must figure out a way to get rid of that cell phone without it being tied to her.
After first contemplating several foolish plans, Nicole ran to her bedroom closet and pulled off all her clothes. She then fiddled through the clothes on the hangers and found a black active wear top, some black shorts, and a plain navy jacket with two pockets on the side. She laced up her running shoes, put on the leather gloves, grabbed the zipper bag with the phone, and left the apartment and headed outside for the rental car. She stuffed the bag in an interior pocket of her jacket and zipped it carefully so it wouldn’t fall out. She took her time and drove over to a big neighborhood park that had a bayou alongside the walking trail. She got out of the car and began to run. She ran and thought about the things she’d do to try to keep the man whom she really loved.
This is nuts. It’s insane. But if I can convince Rashad how much I love him, I can slowly return to my right mind. I can be the woman that he needs me to be. He can give me a second chance and I promise not to blow it.
Nicole knew she looked crazy running and wearing leather gloves. But she took a moment to slow down. To her surprise she saw two teenagers standing and talking. What were they doing there? It was so late. The teens didn’t pay her any attention. So she felt it was fine to unzip her pocket, take out the plastic bag with the burner phone, and walk to the edge of the bayou. She stood next to the water. It looked deep. So she casually tossed the bag into the water and watched it disappear.
She was trembling by the time she walked back up the small incline and returned to the jogging path. The two teens stared at her curiously. She smiled and waved, then broke into a sprint. She was running again—racing toward the things that she desperately wanted.
* * *
Nicole had returned home and gone straight to bed. The next morning, when Rashad showed up outside Nicole’s apartment a little before seven, she was ready. She heard her doorbell ring. She ran and looked through the peephole and saw that it was him.
“Oh yeah, give me a minute to freshen up.”
“Hurry the fuck up, Nicole.”
She begged Rashad to give her a minute. She ran to the closet and got dressed in a red negligée and nothing else. She came and opened her front door, anxious to throw her arms around his neck. But when she saw him, he shoved her to the side and moved past her in a rage.
“You,” he said, “need to stop the bullshit. I got this crazy text from my ex about what you did last night. Leave Kiara Eason alone, okay?
She’s off-limits. My kids are off-limits. Hayley is off-limits. Anything I own is not for you to toy with.”
“You own them? Are you serious?”
“They all have my name. Leave them alone. You have no right.”
“Rashad, I did it because I don’t want to let you go.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you want or don’t want.”
“But baby—”
“I’m not your baby. Don’t you get it? I am done with you, Nicole. Do you really think pulling sorry shit like that would make me want you back? Make me love you?”
“But, Rashad, did you ever love me?”
Now was the time to tell the woman the truth.
“Put it like this. The morning that I was to marry you, Nicole, I felt nervous and unsure of myself. So I drank a lot. I took this pill. It was supposed to clear my head, but it made me feel sick, like I was wasted. I wanted to go straight to the ER, not to that church. But by then it was too late. I had to go through with it. Too much was on the line. So, as bad as it sounds, I married you, Nicole, for the drunken hell of it.”
Nicole rushed at Rashad with a raised fist. She had strength enough to clip the bottom of his chin. Her knuckles hit his chin bone. He moaned. Then he reeled back and squeezed her cheeks between his fingers. She watched him with wide-eyed anticipation. Furious, Rashad screamed and rammed her body against a wall. She gasped in surprise.
“Did you forget I’m pregnant?”
“Damn, this shit is messed up. Sorry,” he apologized, feeling instantly remorseful. “This isn’t even like me. I-I didn’t mean to shove you.”
“Hit me,” she told him. “Since you hate me so much, go ahead and beat my ass.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. I-I don’t hate you, Nicole. And if you believe that I do, then that’s sad.”
“Everything is sad.”
“Which is why you need to come to your senses. Forget those fantasies you have. Face the reality that we just can’t be together.”
But Nicole could not hear what he said. “It’s all right, Rashad. Let it all out, babe. I have probably stressed you out so much you can’t help but want to take things out on me. So, go ahead and hit me. Do it one time only and get it over with.”
He threw up his hands and for a rare moment he wished he could cry. But he was too exasperated to shed a single tear. He knew he had to seriously end things with her whether she wanted to accept the situation or not.
“Nicole, I will not hit you. I don’t want to. What I want is for you to get yourself some professional help. Hitting you won’t solve a thing. Go get help, dammit. Emmy needs you.”
Rashad turned and walked away. But before he went through her door one last time, he turned around. “I gave you a chance, Nicole. You blew that chance time and again. So do not blame me for wanting to divorce you. This is as much your fault as anybody’s. Yours and that Cornell Cantu’s fault or whatever the fuck his name is.”
“So you mean to tell me you want to put an end to us because you are holding a grudge against me for supposedly cheating on you?”
“No, it’s not that simple. I tried to make it work but it didn’t. And everything that happened—even the stuff before we got married—has contributed to the failure of us.”
“Rashad, listen to me, please.” For once she believed him. In her heart she knew it was over. He stared at her and waited for her to speak.
“Babe, maybe I wasn’t perfect, but at least I was sincere. I was your day one. But you, Rashad, it sounds like even before March twelfth, you pretended like you wanted to marry me. I’ve never heard of anything like this in my life. And I don’t quite know how to take it. Why use me for your stupid-ass games? My heart was involved, but you never cared. You hurt me, Rashad, and now you will know how it feels to hurt.”
“Wait, what? I did not pretend to marry you. I wanted to do it, but maybe I should have waited and thought things through. Maybe I still had love in my heart for Kiara, and if I failed you in any way, then that’s how I did it.”
“So you’re telling me that you divorced a woman you still loved?”
“I always loved her.”
“Stop. You’ve hurt me long enough. You’ll never hurt me again. I promise you that.”
He decided to shut up.
Nicole couldn’t continue.
She was done. No more pleading words for her uninterested husband. From now on, what she needed to say would be shown—through conclusive actions.
Rashad turned and left.
Her mind was made up. She grabbed a second burner phone from the drawer and placed another call to Ajalon.
“It’s me. Do what you gotta do,” she said. “Ciao.”
Chapter 15
Federico Freddy, aka Slipper, aka the Invisible Man, was ready for his next assignment. He went by many names, but he only had one main mission. Slipper stood five feet two. His mother was of Hispanic origin, and his daddy was African American. Slipper’s face was hard and round. It looked like someone took a meat tenderizer and stamped it from one cheek to the next. There were too many pocks and dents to count. He didn’t care whether anyone called him ugly, as long as they didn’t say it to his face.
Slipper had been running the streets of Houston ever since he was six. There were many days his family couldn’t find him. He was tiny and fast. Amongst his friends, he was the best at playing hide-and-seek. His little body could fit in the weirdest of places all around the house and even in the backyard. Slipper’s ways of staying undetected followed him into adulthood. Not getting caught was a game to him, and he got paid handsomely for his skills.
And this is how he became a contract killer.
When he was hired to murder Rashad Quintelle Eason, he considered this job to be like most others.
Slipper got specific instructions on who, what, how, and when the murder was to take place. He was told that he’d receive five figures in cash if he pulled off the hit. He could kill him any way he decided, as long as it was successful.
He was given a down payment and the plan was set in motion.
* * *
All week long Rashad felt like a flop for the way things had recently played out between him and Nicole. He felt tired, restless, and frustrated. He thought of his accomplishments, Eason & Son, and all his kids. Those were the things that motivated him. And he pondered his failures: his inability to get it together when it came to love. It broke his heart to be going through a second divorce. And although she’d never believe it, he hated himself each time he replayed in his head the vicious words he’d spoken to Nicole. By the tail end of the week, Rashad decided to take Alexis’s advice; she’d once told him to put himself in another person’s shoes . . . it was only then that you could possibly understand them.
Midday on Friday, he picked up the phone while he was walking around Home Depot. He was by himself and decided to call Beeva.
“Hi there, Beeva.”
“Hi, son. How’s everything going?”
“A lot of things have been going wrong, and I want to get them right.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I am having second thoughts—again.”
“About the marriage?”
“No, about the divorce.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I did something stupid. I swallowed my pride and called Kiara. She was nice to me, Beeva, but I could hear the lack of interest in her voice. If I don’t keep the topic on the kids, she’s not hearing me.”
“Are you still chasing her?”
“Um . . .” He couldn’t help but tell a white lie. “Nah, Beeva. I don’t want her. She don’t want me. It’s a wrap.”
“Ohhh, son. Be strong. I know how hard it can be.”
“Yeah, but you lost one husband to natural causes. And two others got on your nerves so bad, you filed those papers. That’s why I’m struggling with my decision, Beeva. Especially when I know this other knuckleheaded Mrs. Eason loves me to death.”
&
nbsp; “Hmm. Nicole loves the size of your wallet.”
“And name one person on this earth who doesn’t love money. Nicole’s no different. She tries hard. She admits her mistakes. She’s genuine.”
Beeva couldn’t say a word. The way her son went on and on made her think that he might have more feelings for Nicole than he realized. Soon he talked loudly into the phone.
“I hurt her bad. And I was wrong, Beeva,” his voice bellowed. “Nicky didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have been so harsh, considering I put my wife in that position in the first place. For all I know, I drove her into doing every damn selfish, insane thing she did. Like father, like son.”
“Oh well, son. Do what you have to do. I’m sorry for butting in and making you feel like you could end your union if you didn’t really want to do it. But I give you advice only because I love you, Rashad.”
“Don’t blame yourself. And you know what?”
“What?”
“I love you, too, Mama.”
* * *
It was after midnight on April 28. The weekend was about to begin, and it promised to be a busy one. Rashad hadn’t been able to sleep since he got home. The house was empty. No home-cooked meal. No relaxing bubble baths. And definitely no butt-naked sex.
Rashad lay in bed, mindlessly staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t spoken to Nicole in a week, since that night he’d showed up at her apartment and told her they were through. He looked at his watch. It was 1:15 a.m. He figured Nicole would be asleep, but what if she wasn’t? He impulsively picked up his phone and dialed Nicole’s number. The call immediately went to voice mail. He hung up. Waited a few minutes and tried again a couple more times.
He hung up and laughed. It seemed like his calls were being blocked.
“My girl is just being stubborn. If I give her another day to calm down, we’ll see where her head is. See if she’s still mad at me. Maybe I can try her again tonight after I get off work. Apologize to her for being so unreasonable and not considering her feelings. We can go out for a drink and have a rational conversation. We can see what steps we need to take to make love right again.”
Rashad felt good about his decision to make amends with Nicole, because during that entire week when he’d cut himself off from her, he had to admit he did care about her in his own way. Rashad admired Nicole’s strength and determination to be happy in life. He knew that he had put her on and in some small ways he’d helped make her dreams come true. And he really liked that she loved him in spite of his tendency to act like an ass. Even Kiara said that. So he knew he needed to cut her some slack.