Suspicions

by Sasha Campbell

  On the inside, Night Candy was its name: dark, indulgent, and smooth. Chocolate and plum colors dripped all over the lounge. Velvet and leather wrapped around the bar like cordial cherries. It even smelled like a fresh opened Russell Stover’s box. Dustin looked and smelled even better. I wished we’d met under different circumstances.

  The club had three levels, with VIP at the top, and the best live music I’d heard in a long time: vintage soul, reminiscent of Motown girl groups with a dose of hip-hop and go-go sprinkled on top. My hips sashayed up the stairs to the music until I stopped.

  I checked my watch and huffed. In three hours, the judge could revoke Cade’s bail. There was no time for errors. Cade had to go down now.

  I texted Big Tiger. He had assured me he would be outside waiting for us. Trouble was Big Tiger’s promises had 50-50 odds. I promised myself to hire a male tagalong next time, preferably one as big as this Ed guy standing in front of me.

  Whoa. I reached the stairs he guarded. Ed was a massive, bronzed, bald-headed giant. He had brawn and swagger. My little sister Whitney would eat him up. Dustin must have given him the green light, because by the time I reached the top of the staircase, he was smiling and holding out his hand to help me inside the VIP lounge.

  As he gave me a personal tour of what I called a Godiva version of a party room, I spotted Cade and exhaled. The Taylor men definitely had great genes. I didn’t have to take a second look at his Fulton County Corrections Office booking photo to know it was him. He was drop-dead handsome, bald and dark, a bad combination for me. I’m a recovering bad-boy-holic. I hoped he wouldn’t give me too much trouble, but the thought of a good crawl with this guy was enough to send me to church first thing Sunday morning.

  I melted into a milk chocolate lounge chair across from his cabana and waited for his jaw to drop at the sight of me. And boy, did it. He was talking to a barely clad and quite lanky teenybopper when he saw me through the sheer curtain covering the cabana. I grinned and slid my dress up too high for a woman my age to ever do without feeling like some dumb tramp. I wished I could say I was embarrassed acting that way, but I couldn’t. I liked having a good excuse to be bad sometimes.

  The sad thing about all of this was that the young woman holding on to Cade didn’t notice him licking his lips at me. After five minutes of his gross act, she stood up and walked toward me. My chest froze. Maybe she had seen him and was now coming over to warn me to back off or to claw my eyes out.

  Yeah, right, like I would let that happen. Homegirl better think twice about dealing with me. But I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t get all shiny and done up to scrap with some girl over a fugitive. Besides, I promised Dustin I wouldn’t show out up in here. So I gripped the chair as she approached and relaxed when she breezed past. I watched her enter the ladies’ room, then patted my cheeks with my palms. I was getting too old for this crap.

  As soon as the child left his side, Cade slinked his way over to where I was sitting. I looked below at the bar where Dustin watched me. I waved my fingers at him until he dropped the martini he was making. Man, he is cute.

  While I daydreamed of a date with Dustin, Cade stood over me. “So you know my cousin?”

  I turned toward him.. “Is that your way of introducing yourself to me or are you jealous?”

  He smiled and reached for my hand. “My apologies.” He kissed my hand. “I’m Cadence Taylor, but everyone calls me Cade. Don’t tell my cousin, but I think you’re stunning.”

  “No, I’m not.” I giggled. “I’m Angel.”

  “I can see that.” He sat beside me. “Like a guardian angel . . . no, a cherub.”

  “More like an archangel.”

  He clapped and laughed. “Not you. You don’t look like the fighting type. You have sweetness written all over you. You’re definitely Dusty’s type.”

  Oh, great. Now you tell me. I moved closer toward him. “And you have ‘bad boy’ written all over you.”

  He grinned. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m a good guy when I need to be.”

  I smiled back. “Can you promise to be good, if I ask you for a favor?”

  He nodded. “Anything for you, Angel.”

  “I’m tired. I’m ready to go home. Can you escort me to my car? I was supposed to wait for Dustin, but I don’t have the stamina for this club life.”

  “Of course, you don’t, because you’re a good girl.” He stood up and reached for my hand. “Surprisingly, I’m not a clubber either. How about you leave your car and I take you for a quiet night drive through the city, then over to the Cupcakery for some dessert. By the time we get back, Dusty will be closing up this place.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think Dustin would like that so much. Sounds too much like a date.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” He scratched his head like his cousin, another Taylor trait.

  “Besides, your girlfriend would be upset if you left her here.”

  “What girlfriend?”

  I pointed toward the ladies’ room. “Her.”

  “Oh, her. We’re not together.”

  I came closer and whispered in his ear. “Neither are Dustin and me.”

  He smiled and his eyes outshined the VIP lounge. “Why don’t you escort me to my car and follow me home instead, just to make sure I get there safe?”

  He placed his hand at the small of my back. “I can do that.”

  Because Cade almost carried me out of Night Candy, I couldn’t text Big Tiger to let him know that I was coming outside. All I could do was hope he was where he said he would be.

  We stepped outside. No Big Tiger. I hit the hands-free Talk button on my phone earpiece and voice-activated Big Tiger’s phone number to dial. I got nothing. My heart began to race. Where was he?

  “Is something wrong?” Cade asked. His hands were all over me.

  I removed his hands, but said nothing. I had no words.

  Sometimes bail bondsmen needed women locators to lure a defendant out of their hiding spot. I didn’t mind doing it. Honestly, I needed the money, but we had a deal. I brought them out; he rode them in. So why was I out here alone? Well, not entirely alone . . . with Octopus Cade.

  Cade watched me. “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “I have a confession to make.” I scrambled for something to say while fiddling for my handcuffs. They were trapped somewhere under the chiffon.

  “So do I.” He pulled me toward him. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”

  I wanted to cuff him, but I couldn’t, because he had wrapped his hands around my waist.

  “Not here, not like this.” I removed his hold on me again, but held on to one of his hands.

  He smiled until he felt—I assumed—my cold handcuffs clank against his wrists. “What the—”

  “You’ve violated your bail agreement, Mr. Taylor,” I said. Still no Big Tiger in sight. “So you’ll have to come with me.”

  He chuckled as he dangled my handcuffs—the ones I thought had locked him to me—over his head for me to see. A piece of my dress had wedged between the clamp. They were broken. My heart hit the floor.

  “Unless these handcuffs are chaining me to your bed, I’m not going anywhere with you, sweetie.”

  Then, quicker than I anticipated, he head-butted me. I saw stars and fell to the ground. A pain so bad crossed my forehead. It reminded me of labor pains. I couldn’t scream. I had to breathe through it to ease the pain.

  The head-butting must have stung Cade, too, because he stumbled before he could get his footing. I caught one of his legs and clutched it. I closed my eyes and groaned as he dragged me down the alley. Through the excruciating bumps and scrapes I received holding on to Cade, past the onlookers who didn’t care to help this poor damsel in distress, I asked myself, “Why wouldn’t I let go?”

  My forehead and my skinned knees throbbed now. I’m pretty sure Whitney’s dress looked like wet trash. To make matters worse, I was angry with myself for putting myself in this position. I could
n’t afford to be so cavalier anymore. I knew that before I took this stupid assignment. I knew it while I sat at the bar. I knew it the day I became a mother, but I did it anyway. What’s wrong with me? I couldn’t leave my daughter alone without a parent. Now I had to hurt this fool to get back to my baby in one piece.

  Cade stopped and cursed. My heart beat so fast and loud, I prayed it would calm down so I could prepare for his next move.

  “Angel, sweetie, I think we need to have a little talk.”

  He pulled me up by my hair. My store-bought hair. I wore a combed-in hairpiece because I didn’t have time to go to a hair salon and I didn’t want to damage my hair. However, Cade’s tugging made the plastic teeth dig deeper into my scalp. I screamed to keep from fainting.

  “Shut up!” He slapped me. “You stupid—”

  Before he could say another word, I grounded my feet, then threw a round kick so high and hard with my left leg that I heard his jaw crack against my stilettos. He hit the ground, unconscious. While he was knocked out, I turned him over and handcuffed him again, but from the back this time and with the chiffon visibly gone.

  I dialed Big Tiger. “Where are you?”

  “Where did I tell you I was gon’ be?” Big Tiger’s voice seemed crystal clear. “Right here.”

  Someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped.

  “It’s a good thing I showed up when I did. You could have killed the man, I’da lost my money, and then I would have to take care of your raggedy bond.” Big Tiger laughed, then helped me hoist Cade up. “Why didn’t you wait instead of messing up your sister’s dress? How many dresses have you slaughtered now?”

  I looked at him and growled. “Say that again. I dare you.”

  “And your face, Angel Soft.” He squinted. “I think we’d better call 911 after we put homeboy in my truck.”

  I walked toward Big Tiger with the intent to give him a right hook across his jaw. When I lunged, I think I fainted. I don’t know what happened next and I almost didn’t care until the EMS worker asked me who I should call to let them know I was being taken to the emergency room.

  “Call my sisters. Tell them where I am and make sure Ava comes to get me.”

  Then I faded back to black and it felt good. In my dreams, Dustin was on his knees proposing to me with some chocolates and a pink diamond.

  His voice was so clear. “Angel, will you . . . be healed in the name of God.”

  God?

  DAFINA BOOKS are published by

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  Copyright © 2011 by Sasha Campbell

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  ISBN: 978-0-7582-4197-9