by Lili Porter
Through it all, he knew that he should tell Karisma what was going on, but for some reason he was unable to do what normally came so naturally to him—tell the truth. The press was having a field day with the romance, constantly following them and taking pictures. They had begun referring to them as “Pari,” a combination of both their names. It was very natural for Karisma to be pursued by the paparazzi, but it was very new and unwelcomed for Paolo. Now that he was the Boss of all the western states, it was important to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, both for his safety and Karisma’s. Alas, it was impossible if he ever wanted to go anywhere in public with her. People who were interested were everywhere, as thick as the LA air at times.
“Hey, baby, where were you just now?” Karisma asked, shaking Paolo’s arm with her free hand.
“Sorry, lost in a daydream.”
“Must have been a good one,” she said, squinting into the sun.
“It was; you were naked and I was ravaging you from head to toe.”
“You’re insatiable,” Karisma replied, laughing.
“I’m a mere mortal, and you’re a goddess who tempts me far too much.” They continued to walk along the shore.
“This is nice,” she said. “The ocean’s so calming, so peaceful.” They kicked grainy sand as they strolled together barefoot, fingers interlocked.
He nodded. “I feel at peace here, with you. But you’ll be leaving soon.”
“It’s too soon. I don’t want to leave. I’ve just met you, yet it feels like I’ve known you forever.”
“I feel the same, cara, and I don’t want you to go,” he said putting his strong arm around her shoulders, and kissing the top of her curly head. She snaked her arm around his waist. “What would you think about me joining you on the tour for a bit?”
“Really? Because I think that would be very cool. You can see how I live on the road.”
They faced each other, his sapphire eyes boring into her soul. He traced her bottom lip with his index finger. His hands cupped her face as he kissed her deeply, his tongue finding the roof of her mouth, stroking it softly. Her own tongue caressed the underside of his, prompting him to pull her roughly to his aroused body. The kiss was intoxicating, lifting her essence, pulling from her everything she had to give.
He pulled back, giving them the much-needed air that had been stolen through the caressing of his lips upon hers. His hooded eyes were singularly focused on her succulent red tinted lips, completely in love with the soft press of them against his own. He kissed her neck, and looked into her eyes once again. Wordlessly, they wrapped their arms around each other, continuing along the beach, with Butch, the dog, loping behind them. Stopping to watch the crashing of an impressive wave against a sedimentary rock, Kari said, “Hold up, Paolo. Right there. The sun behind you looks like a halo.” She squinted at him with love in her eyes. Taking out her phone, she stood next to him, the two of them grinning and holding each other close as she snapped the picture. #Pari
***
On the day before Goldust was to embark on their Generation X tour, Tessa was rushed to the hospital after being severely beaten by her boyfriend Mike. She’d suffered traumatic injuries, and it was thought that she might miss the first few engagements. To everyone’s chagrin, she’d undergone emergency orthodontic surgery, in order to replace several teeth that had been knocked out by Mike’s brutality. He’d hit her so hard, her eyes had been blackened, and blood vessels had burst. The close- knit band had been at her bedside. They had been devastated, but were a group and knew they had to persevere. The show would have to go on.
Fortunately, the news wouldn’t get out. The Goldust machine had gone into overdrive, with attorneys and agents doing what they do to keep such things quiet. Tessa had been admitted under an alias, and because the group members had all arrived separately and incognito, the scandal would remain a secret, for the time being.
At her mansion, Kari was in such turmoil that she fell asleep right on her couch, eagerly awaiting an update on Tessa. She woke up, startled, the shrill sound of her cell phone indicating it was Paolo. “Hey, baby,” she said, through her yawn.
“Hey beautiful,” he said. “I know I woke you up. I just needed to hear your voice.”
“That’s sweet. Then I’m glad you woke me up. I love hearing your voice, too.”
“I love you,” Paolo said to her.
“I love you, too.”
“How’s Tessa?” he asked.
“Not so good,” she said, turning over in bed. “I hope she’ll be ready for the tour, but I just want her to be okay. She’s badly hurt, emotionally and physically.”
“So that guy Mike beat her up, huh? He should be dealt with,” Paolo said.
Karisma paused and then said, “Yeah. They were drunk and fighting.”
“Men don’t fight women, sweetheart. Men beat women. She’s no match for a man’s strength. He’s a punk.”
“I agree with that. I just wish she would stop drinking so much. The guy had me fooled, though. I really thought he was decent.”
“Look, if you need for my bodyguards to handle him, they’d be more than happy to teach him a lesson. His inability to control his fists is going to cost you money. That can’t be tolerated. He should bear the consequences for that lapse in judgment.”
For a second Karisma was taken aback and unsure how to respond. She went with a giggle. “Listen to you. Bear the consequences. You sound all Mafioso.”
Now Karisma heard Paolo pausing at his end. Finally, he said, “Any man who uses his obvious and substantial physical advantage over a woman should see what it feels like to have his ass kicked by someone stronger and meaner. How likely is it that she’ll be ready for Friday’s concert?”
“I’m not sure. She looks really bad. I told you what she looked like when I called you on my way home. It’s awful. She’s depressed and in pain. Somebody should kick Mike’s ass.”
“My men could scare him, if you want,” he said.
She sat up in bed. “What? Okay. Scare him how?”
“Break his kneecaps, maybe,” he said.
“Hmm. You know, I almost think you’re serious, Paolo. What’s a nice businessman like you doing planning something nefarious like busting kneecaps?” she asked, only half kidding.
“Hey,” he said, “It’ll give my bodyguards something to do. They’ve been bored lately. Kicking ass will be good for them. They have to stay in shape,” he chuckled.
“You are kidding, right?” she asked, serious now. “Right?” she asked again when he didn’t answer.
He laughed. “About them being bored, and needing to relieve their boredom, well… yes and no. They get to work off the testosterone buildup at the gym regularly. But about Mike needing to be dealt with, no, not kidding at all.”
“Wow…this is a different side of you, Paolo Montovani. Is this the angry you, or the real you? You seem to harbor some deep seated aggression, my dear,” she said in a Dr. Ruth imitation.
He chuckled. He was enjoying this. Maybe she would arrive at the truth and he could explain some things to her. “You said your brother Armando was the fighter in the family, but here you are planning a hit,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she spoke.
He laughed. “I’m not planning a hit.”
She smiled. “Well, I don’t know, baby, you sound like you know some things. Tae Kwon Do, guns and stuff. Next you’ll be telling me you can kill a man a hundred different ways.”
“Haa! That’s real cute, woman. But Tae Kwon Do is more than that. Shall I show you? You want me to come over? I have an overwhelming desire to bite your neck right now. Like Dracula. Then I’d suck it until you were begging me to do some very nasty things to you.”
She laughed. “I knew this conversation would eventually take a sexual turn. You wanna make a booty call?”
“Yeah, I guess I do, so can I come over? I’m craving some chocolate.”
“Well, I could use some fine Italian wine to relax. But—I
need to sleep, baby. I have to be up early,” she said.
“How early?” he asked.
“Ten, or so. I want to sneak in and see Tessa before we go.”
“Ten is early, Kari?” Paolo asked, chuckling.
“For me it is. My mom will be here about nine…”
“Look, I’m coming over to make love to my woman. You’ll be gone for a few days before I can join you. I need you tonight. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll be ready and waiting.” She hung up the phone and froze. Was she imagining things? She thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
Looking in the direction of the movement, she saw a silhouette. She sat up straight. Just as she did, a figure emerged from the shadows. Quickly, she made to move for the door, but she saw the glint of something she had not yet identified. She attempted to scream, but squealed instead. Holding both his hands in front of him, the intruder, who held a knife, moved toward her.
“Don’t scream,” he said threateningly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh my gawd,” she whimpered, as tears streamed down her beautiful face. She began backing up to the headboard, her feet digging into the sheets.
“Shh,” the intruder warned her. “It’s our night, Karisma. You leave for Europe tomorrow,” he said, standing perfectly still.
She found her voice. “Please leave!” She tried to sound brave, but there was terror there.
“Karisma, you’re so beautiful. I have to show you how much I love you,” he said.
She couldn’t breathe as she glanced quickly toward the door.
The intruder calmly said, “If you scream, I’ll make you stop, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
She could see him clearly now. The moonlight made his pale skin glow. His hair was blond and receding. His large round orbs were very light, pale, and grey. She whispered, “Please leave. My security guards will shoot you if they come in and find you here. You have to leave.” She began looking at the door, willing someone, anyone, to come through it.
“Look at me, Karisma,” the intruder said.
She didn’t want to look at him, but she did. Her body was shaking and she cringed as his hand slowly went out toward her.
“I won’t hurt you, my beauty. But we must make love tonight. We have to. I’ve been waiting for so long,” he said.
Her skin began to crawl with the fear that coursed through her. She was willing to chance a scream, but glimpsed the gleaming knife the intruder now held at his side.
“Take off your clothes, now, my love. We must complete the covenant,” he said.
She remained still. Breathing now, her mind had gone into survival mode. “How did you get in here?” she asked quietly, gaze shifting from the intruder to his knife.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said with a self-satisfied grin. “I’m going to impregnate you with my child tonight. Everything is aligned. Tonight is the night.” His voice was excited, but low. “Now take off your clothes,” he said again, as he began to undress himself. Throwing his black sweatshirt over his head, he let it drop to the floor. He stood before her shirtless. He licked his lips.
“Now your turn,” he said, fondling his erection.
Kari lunged forward to her nightstand and yanked the drawer open. She grabbed the gun, which was still in the spot Paolo had placed it, and swiftly turned it to face the intruder, whose pants were loosely hanging on his hips by now, the knife at his side.
“You won’t do it,” he hissed as he lunged at Karisma.
She scooted back and jumped off the bed, landing backwards on her butt. She slid backward across the carpeted floor and when her back hit the wall, she prayed she would not have to shoot him. He was coming at her. “GET OUT!”
The intruder moved toward her slowly with crazed eyes, not caring about the gun and holding the knife straight out. She pulled back on the hammer and pressed her finger on the trigger, whispering, “No, no, no.” He kept coming. Then she squeezed the trigger ever so slightly and a whistling whizzing sound came out, which ended with a large splat on the man’s chest. He slumped down and forward, his hand brushing her leg.
Karisma stared in horror at what she’d done. Then, she expelled a high, petrified scream.
***
Amani heard the shot as he sat at his desk on the first floor of Karisma’s home. Inside the office with the door closed, he wasn’t sure whether the loud noise he heard actually was a gunshot. Who would be shooting in the house? Then he heard the scream. His heart in his throat, he moved tentatively at first and heard all sorts of movement upstairs.
People were running around everywhere and Stella was heading into Karisma’s room, the first one there, with Wolfe hot on her heels.
Wolfe was walking back out as Amani got there. “What the fuck happened!” Amani yelled, too afraid of the answer.
With a terse and angered look, Wolfe walked up to him. “Karisma shot an intruder.”
Amani walked quickly past him on shaky legs to Karisma’s room. Stella was rocking Karisma, who had her eyes closed, in her arms.
15
Paolo was on his way to Karisma’s, thinking about what he wanted to do with her as his bodyguard drove him toward her estate. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being in Europe, so far away from him, even if it wouldn’t be for long. There was no way he would not meet her there and find every opportunity he could to sneak in time with her. He was as addicted to her as he was protective of her. Being in love wasn’t something he was used to; and he’d do anything for her.
Despite Kari’s well-qualified security team, Paolo knew that his associates had different ways of doing things and knew how to create problems if they wanted to. He wished he could be honest with her, but it wasn’t the time. And now, with Maria Elena growing more unstable by the day, it was getting harder to delay sharing with Kari who he was. The time to come clean was fast approaching and that scared the hell out of him.
Paolo’s phone rang, which was surprising considering it was 1:45 AM. He glanced down at it. Amani Mo. came up on his caller ID. “Hello,” he said cautiously.
“Paolo. This is Amani Mohammed, Karisma’s bodyguard.”
“Yeah, what’s wrong, Amani? Karisma alright?” he asked, instantly on alert.
“She’s physically okay. I wanted to make sure you were still on your way over. Karisma said you were.”
“I’m almost there. Why? What’s wrong?” Paolo asked. Get to the damn point!
“We’ll talk then,” Amani said.
“Talk now. What the fuck is going on?” Paolo asked.
Amani hung up. Paolo was irate and he barked to his driver. “Get to Karisma’s as fast as you can.”
The car pulled up and Paolo immediately noticed the cars filled with the curious bodies of the paparazzi, half asleep and half awake, staking out Karisma’s place in hopes of finding out something juicy. This shit has got to stop, he thought.
There was an eerie sensation in the air and Paolo’s instincts were telling him something was wrong. He trusted them and his heart began to race, his angst rising as the car came closer to her home.
The black Rolls Royce pulled up and Paolo got out, not waiting for anyone, and walked up the steps in a few swift strides. The door opened and Amani Mohammed ushered them in. Paolo’s heart was racing.
“Sorry for being vague on the phone. I didn’t want to say too much, just in case.”
“What?” Paolo shouted, not able to maintain any composure.
“Karisma shot and killed an intruder. He had ID. We’re checking him out to see who he is and why he was in her room. She said he tried to rape her,” Amani rambled.
“Where is she?” he said, already heading for the stairs.
“In her room,” Amani said.
The door was shut and he didn’t want to barge in, lest he scare her more, so he knocked gently and then walked in. His eyes scanned the room, looking for her beautiful face. She was sitting on
a couch that was against the wall. Stella was hugging her tightly and she was clinging to her, looking like she might fall apart if she let go.
“Kari, baby,” he said soothingly.
She looked up and squirmed out of Stella’s arms and ran into his, flinging her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and caressing her hair. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
Then he pulled back from her and began to inspect her for injury. Wolfe walked over to them and said, “We found out he works for the security company. He manipulated the system.”
“Shit!” Paolo exclaimed. “Where’s the gun?”
He reached behind his back and handed it over to Paolo.
“Was it still in the nightstand?” he asked her.
She nodded. He walked her back to the couch, sitting and pulling her into his lap. She buried her face in his neck. He signaled to one of his men, who retrieved the weapon from his possession.
She couldn’t speak, but she clung to Paolo like he was her lifeline. Her body trembled and her eyes stung, but no tears would fall.
Paolo could feel her pain. “Hold on to me, baby, I’ll get you through this. I’ll take care of you. I promise.” He didn’t let go.
Wolfe coughed, having to interrupt the tender scene. “Paolo, we need to make a decision on what to do. We need to call the cops.”
“Not yet,” Paolo snapped. “How the fuck did he get in here without anyone seeing?”
Wolfe, though not intimidated, understood that someone on his security team dropped the ball. Jamil walked into the room and stepped forward to speak. “I’ve been able to find out from his ID that he worked at the security company we employ. He still had his badge with him. I got into their files and saw that he was assigned as a field service technician. Evidently he maneuvered his way around our system and got in without us knowing.”