by Kenya Wright
“Not everything. I’m sure he didn’t bet that I would sneak on here and be dressed like a woman.”
“Well. . .let’s hope he’s not that good,” she muttered and checked the front of the store.
One of her guards stepped into the store.
“Give me a minute.” She waved him away and he backed out, eyeing me suspiciously the whole time. “I have to go. If my guards look at you any longer, they’re going to know it’s you. Get off this island, Freddy.”
“Not without you.”
She frowned. “Baby, you can’t stay. He’s crazy.”
I curved my lips into a smile. “Baby?”
She let out an exasperated breath. “Get your ass off this island.”
“Am I your baby?”
“Freddy, focus on the situation. He made a fake diary to have you run around the planet. It’s by sheer luck that you’re crazier and more resourceful than Caden, or you might’ve continued to be led by him.”
I gazed at her. “Do we have a chance?”
“Are you listening?” she asked.
“No.”
“Freddy.”
“I’ve fallen in love with you. Why didn’t you give me another night?”
She lowered her voice. “Because I already had one crazy billionaire stalking me, I didn’t need another one.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I see.”
“So, get rid of him.”
“I plan to.”
“And now I’m your baby.”
She sighed.
“Are you denying it?”
She said nothing.
I grinned and twirled some of the strands on my wig. “You love me. Us girls know these things.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“Fuck me until I’m raw.”
Her breathing quickened.
It was my turn to laugh. “Aww. I’ve still got it. You still can’t get enough of me, even with all this space.”
“Freddy, focus on this situation.”
“I’m going to see you again.”
“You can’t. I have to talk to Caden and make him stop—”
“No, you let me handle Caden and besides, I like him not knowing things for once. We’ll meet again tomorrow at this time but somewhere else.”
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “We have to end this with him. He’s gone too far.”
“We will end this but my way.” I took in my clothes. “Let’s meet at a boutique. I asked this one woman walking by me further up and she said there was one on the other end of the island.”
“Why am I meeting you there?”
“Because I need a way to grab you without him knowing.”
“Freddy, you’ve lost your—”
“I’m getting rid of Caden and then it’s you and me. Do you understand?” I walked around her before she could respond.
Her nervous laughter came from behind me.
“What are you doing?” She faked a smile at everyone as she hurried my way. “Stop.”
“See you later.” I increased my stride and headed to the door.
Both guards entered the store. She shrieked and I twisted my hips as I strolled by them.
“Uh!” Dawn yelled loudly as if trying to get their attention. “I think I have a cramp. Could you two carry me back?” She limped over to them and frowned at me.
A minute later, I stood across the street in the shade as the guards carted her off. I spent the next minutes following them to that big white house I’d assumed she’d been in. Whether Perry knew Caden or not, there was definitely a connection with the mystery man and his family. That thought didn’t comfort me. Perry’s family had mega power, too much for one family to have. I imagined ultimate power like that tainted the soul and fed on the person’s flesh from the inside.
So, the diary is a fake and Caden has a lovely talent for words. Sick fuck. Here I thought Max and I played too many games. Well, let the games begin.
I pulled out my phone and tried Lotus again.
Me: Okay. I was a real dick to you when you worked for me. I should’ve been better. That was the old, egotistical me. I am a new person and I need your help.
I waited several minutes, hoping she would respond.
Fuck!! Maybe I should up the motivation.
Me: And I will pay you A LOT of money if you help me.
No response. Good job, dickhead. You probably should’ve been a nicer guy back in the day.
I gave up on Lotus and texted Smoke.
Me: I need you to do another job for me.
For some reason, it took him too damn long to answer. Knowing him, he was smoking a blunt full of marijuana and sage. My phone buzzed. I checked his response.
Smoke: What’s the job?
Me: You’ll have to travel.
Smoke: Where?
Me: South Africa.
Instead of another text, the phone rang.
I answered, “Hello?”
“Bruv?” Smoke coughed over the line.
Yeah. He’s smoking.
“Are you joking?” Smoke coughed again. “South Africa, fam? It’s crazy there.”
“Don’t believe the movies. It’s not that bad. And where you’ll be going is nice. Trust me. I’ll fly you out today, but I’ll have to sneak you on the island somehow.”
An edge laced his voice. “Island?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you have to sneak me on an island, bruv? What’s going on?”
“Long story. I don’t even know how I’ll get you over here. Let me just get you close first and then we’ll figure out a ferry or—”
“Bruv, slow down, man. If you must sneak me on, then how will you get on?”
“I’m already here.”
A long pause ran between us.
“Smoke?” I asked.
“Yeah. You just. . .knocked my head around here. So, you’re there. Okay, bruv. I’ll pack and hop on a plane. We’ll figure out the particulars. Just give me the island and location. I’ll get on myself.”
“I doubt it. It’s privately owned.”
“I have my ways, bruv.”
“Good, but don’t make any moves without me. One of my friends owns the place.”
“Oh, really? So, we may or may not go to jail?”
“Something like that.”
“Have you seen your love? Does this job deal with her?”
I laughed. “Just get here so you can help me out.”
Smoke’s words were uneasy. “What’s the plan?”
“I’ll tell you when you arrive. I’ll send you the information later, book the flight and then text me your ETA.”
“But bruv—”
I hung up.
He’ll have to fly all day and night. Fuck. Do we have enough time? We should. It’s going to work out. Dawn will be there. I’ll make sure tomorrow. If she isn’t, then Smoke and I will go somewhere else. I won’t give up without a fight.
Chapter 27
Caden
Freddy brought his ass to the island. What the fuck is wrong with him?!
Either I’d done too good of a job of luring him away from Miami or he was actually in love with Dawn. For God’s sake, I never thought he would’ve flown all the way to South Africa and then sneak on the island. A better man would’ve given up by now.
Does he really love her?
He’d snuck on without my knowing and there’d been nothing I could do to stop him.
How did he get on here? Did he see Dawn? This shit is getting sticky.
My top guy entered my office. “Sir, I think Thing One may be on the island. We don’t have confirmation but—”
I shut my phone off. “I know he’s here. You’re a bit late with that information.”
Shock wrinkled all over his face. “He’s definitely here, sir?”
“Yes.”
My guard was smart enough not to ask how I’d discovered the information. My men were used to me doing odd shit. They always p
layed along in any situation, letting me do my thang. I didn’t like too many people understanding my plans. Solo was always the best way to make things happen.
“Yeah, he’s here but that’s okay,” I said. “I’m going to take care of Thing One personally. Just find and keep some men on him but not too close. I don’t want him to realize that he’s being watched. Monitor all of his steps while he’s here.”
The guard stirred. He opened his mouth but didn’t say it. Being that the man was over two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle and damn near seven feet, I wasn’t happy that he stood there in discomfort.
“What?” I growled.
“We lost him in DC. The DC team had just hypothesized that he was heading this way. They didn’t know that he was actually here.”
I rose from the desk. “What? How did they lose him in DC?”
“The report said that he walked into a shop but they never saw him come out.”
I said the words through clenched teeth, “What type of shop?”
“Lady’s clothing.”
Freddy walked into a shop for women’s clothing and never left. This isn’t a hard puzzle, boys and girls. Clearly, he walked in with pants and came out in a dress.
I let out a long breath. “And did they not happen to see an ugly ass woman walk out of the store minutes later?”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Just get the fuck out of my office.” I rubbed my eyes with both of my hands and tried to calm myself.
So that was how he avoided the guards and snuck on here. He dressed like a woman? Or was that just to get rid of the guards in DC? Fuck.
Somewhere around my island, Freddy was probably dressed like a woman. I’d underestimated him. Dawn really was a magnet for weirdos.
I can’t deal with this right now.
I wasn’t at my best today. Last night, I’d had a nightmare. It was dark except for an artificial blue light dangling above my head. Below the light, I was trapped in a pool full of blood, bodies, and huge wooden puzzle pieces. Corpses. Cut-up and torn. Bodies. Decomposing limbs. Eyes pulled from their sockets. Worms and maggots feasting on the carnage. And everywhere it reeked of blood. Even now and fully awake, I could smell it in the air.
The whole time I tried to swim to the pool’s wall and climb out, but those broken off hands kept snagging onto my feet and dragging me down. I grabbed some of the wooden puzzle pieces and they disintegrated in my fingers. It seemed there was no solution to the problem, not through games.
And no one could help me because they were all dead. So, I realized in that nightmare that I was going to die. Terror coursed through my veins. Descending into murky hot liquid, I choked on blood, gasping on tattered flesh.
And right before I died.
Right before I drowned,
I woke up, screaming and covered in sweat.
But had I really woken up? Or was the nightmare—the reality of my life—just beginning? Some dreams one can’t wake up from. They sit deep, festering in the soul, and replaying in the mind the rest of the day.
Blinking, I picked up my Rubik’s cube and then slung it back on the desk. There was no more time for games. Something had changed me. I’d been a part of fake terrorist attacks before. Never had I lost it. But this time—with Dawn being so close to the attacks—something inside of me was waking up.
The game is unraveling. This world is unraveling. Am I going to fix it? Or be a part of the destruction?
In the silence of my office, I buried my face into my hands and cried for the first time in twenty years.
Chapter 28
Dawn
Caden was playing a game. Another twisted game. Another mind fuck. But this time, he didn’t just lure me into his insane web of lies and deception. He involved Freddy.
Fury rose within me. It was one thing to bother me, it was another thing to bother my. . .
What? What the hell is Freddy to me? Damn it. Whatever.
I shoved my confusion for Freddy out of my mind and went back to the anger. Caden had involved my. . . my Freddy in a game. And damn it, now I was enraged. Full of fire and violence. Pissed beyond compare. Had I not been faced with Max’s possible death and the Miami attack, I would’ve castrated him.
But my mind had stayed spinning in a dark tornado. Just the way Caden loved it.
He had me running in a maze. Going crazy. Told me Max was dead! I mourned him. And the whole time it was some twisted game. And he wrote that book. And why would Freddy read it? Oh God, Freddy in that dress. I can’t even think of that. And fucking Caden!
I barely had the strength to walk to my door, but I wouldn’t show the guards my rage. I wouldn’t let them report back to Caden on how pissed off I’d appeared. I’d already pretended to be injured but once we got back to the house, I had a quick recovery.
Thank God, Caden hadn’t been downstairs to greet me. I might’ve clawed his fucking face off. Games and games and more games. When would he stop? When would all the games be enough for this sick fuck?
A dark sludge churned in my stomach. The sensation reminded me of the old times with Caden. The constant unease. The never knowing what was real and what was him playing with my head.
Dangerous and psychotic. Fucking Caden. How the hell am I going to get rid of him? And to think I’d ran from Freddy just to keep him out of my drama, and Freddy shows up to Caden’s island in a dress, ready to perform in the damn drama!
I stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door closed.
Crazy. My taste in men was crazy. Rich men especially.
Money didn’t make people better. It just gave them more ways to be insane.
I stared at the walls, sensing them closing in on me. This was how it always started with Caden’s games.
I was a mouse stuck in a maze, turning to the right, running to the left, being blocked by bushes and walls, scared I would never get out. I was a mouse stuck in a maze and I smelled the cheese ahead, knew there was a way to escape, but I couldn’t see the path through the darkness because Caden’s games were always so dark.
I was a mouse stuck in a maze and Freddy stood right next to me. And it was all because of me. Guilt encased my heart. That bruised organ broke more for him than me. If not for Freddy, I would’ve continued to be lost in Caden’s world. I owed my final bits of sanity to him.
How the hell am I going to get rid of Caden? And what am I going to do with Freddy?
I walked over to the window, pulled the drapes aside, and pushed up the window. Cool air blew in, it was a needed relief from the hysteria suffocating me.
Think. Think.
I hadn’t lied about the memories affecting me. From the moment I walked into the house, my past with Caden returned. It was why I’d gone on a run that morning after waking up to a nightmare of a dead girlfriend hovering over my bed with a knife.
Jesus! How did I let him bring me back here?
The sad thought rushed to my head. It was all about Miami and that crazy terrorist attack that ripped up my city. Had that event not happened, maybe I would’ve been faster at figuring out the craziness. Hearing about Max’s death had messed me up too, but the Miami attack had gutted me. After seeing the hundreds of dead bodies on the TV screen, anybody could’ve led me off anywhere. It had been so surreal and devastating.
The attack had affected every facet of my life. Many homeless had died as well as civil servants who had gone into work near the airport. The news had reported that downtown was shut down and people had begun fleeing the city for fear of another attack.
My landlord emailed me that my apartment building had caught on fire due to the attack. I couldn’t even finish the message to assess the damage. Flights and trains going in and out of Miami were still canceled.
By the time Caden and I reached the island, I’d discovered that I lost several classmates for my upcoming year at law school. The university had sent an email about a memorial being held for the deceased students.
And that didn’t even begin to conc
lude the horror.
Through Facebook and email exchanges with friends, I learned that I’d lost people I knew. My yoga instructor was dead. The Pastor at the new church I was going to. Dead. His wife and two little kids. Dead. My mailman. Dead. The organizer for my Trump protesting group Hands Off My Pussy. Dead. The cashier I joked with on Sunday morning visits to the market. Dead. The ice cream man that drove a hot pink truck and always made the neighborhood kids laugh. Dead.
And the whole time, Caden played with my head as I tried to clear all the death away.
It seemed like ever since the moment Caden walked back into my life, I’d been either mourning Max or the hundreds from the airport attack.
Why did he come back? Why this time? Of all times, why did he have to fuck with me this time? Had it been the moment with Freddy in Monte Carlo?
That didn’t make sense. After I flew back, I never heard from Caden. If he’d been so pissed, why didn’t he show up then? Perhaps, he was planning his game.
I thought back to what Caden had said to me in the store, right before he kidnapped me.
“You’re in danger.”
Originally, he’d said Max had something to tell me about Caden but that ended up being a lie.
But he needed me to think that Max was dead? Why? To get me to the hotel. That was all that did.
I kind of believed him that it wasn’t safe around my house. We’d just been around a dead body, or at least I thought we had been.
Think. Think.
I remained at the open window. Cool wind chilled and whipped through my hair. A storm approached off in the distance. There would be rain for sure by this evening. And in my soul, a bigger storm raged within me.
So, he wanted me at the hotel. Why? That doesn’t matter. Because none of that explains the diary. Why would he write the diary?
Freddy had said that the diary led him to DC and the museum. So Caden must’ve talked about how we met, yet pretended like he was me. That thought made me sick to my stomach.
The diary got Freddy to leave Miami, which got me to leave with Caden. But why did Caden do that? What was the end goal? To get me back? None of this made me fall back in love with Caden. No. He’s too smart for that.
I was missing something vital. If Caden hoped to get me back, he would’ve done something bigger than this. He’d stood by and left me alone for a good year, calling me but giving me my distance. And I’d been crazy enough to think that he’d eventually stop until he interrupted my time with Freddy.