by C. J. Thomas
Looking closely, it was just as I thought. Madam wouldn’t make a mistake like that even if it was she who had written it. She was too careful and had too many people working for her to do her dirty work for her.
Leaning back in my chair, I read over my notes from my visit with Parker.
I assumed he was still holed up in his rental condo eating out of to-go boxes, and I was hopeful that Giselle would be able to bring Oscar around to letting us give him Parker’s location in exchange for revisiting Mario’s plea deal. But that would have to involve the judge, and so many other variables outside of our control that I wasn’t sure this was anything but a pipedream.
Then I came across something that I had forgotten.
My eyes squinted as I read my detailed notes for a second time.
Parker said Sylvia was the one to tell him to leave his office immediately after I confronted him. Something big was about to happen. Then, not long after that, Tonya was found dead.
My feet hit the floor and I brought my elbows to the top of my desk, thinking this was enough to bring Sylvia in for questioning. All I needed was to convince Oscar that Sylvia might be a person of interest.
I licked my lips and jotted down my thoughts.
The way I saw it, either Sylvia was tipped off to knowing something was going to happen to Tonya or, like Maria, she was also a key player in ensuring Tonya was killed. Either way, she was guilty of something.
I picked up my desk phone and put a call in to Sylvia.
The line rang.
I didn’t expect much, but I needed to at least know that she was still in town.
When her phone went to voicemail, I hung up and immediately dialed again.
The line rang and my body tensed.
I was so pissed that she’d involved Kendra. This beef was between me and her. And it was getting to the point where she needed to ease the blow of what was coming to her by turning herself in. Because, if she didn’t, it would only get worse from here.
The line continued to ring as I started to give up hope of reaching her.
The stakes had been raised. This was starting to get personal. Especially if she kept finding ways to strike the people closest to me.
When the line clicked over to her voicemail again, I feared that she was already gone.
“Knock knock.” Kendra leaned her body against the doorframe.
I hung up the phone and lifted my head, feeling my smile stretch to my ears. Her beauty took my breath away as I raked her over with my eyes. She was topless, wearing nothing but a thin laced thong—the very same one I had taken off her last night.
Calling her over with my finger, I pushed back from my desk and angled my chair to the side.
She unfolded her arms and pushed off the doorframe before sauntering in my direction.
“You’re walking funny,” I said, patting my thigh for her to take a seat.
She lowered herself to my leg, draping one arm around my neck. Pressing her lips against mine, she said, “Thanks to you.”
My hand smoothed up her thigh as I checked her skin for chaffing. There were marks, mild bruises across her body, but nothing I knew she couldn’t handle.
Opening a desk drawer, I pulled out a bottle of lotion and began massaging it into her skin. She watched me work with curious eyes, appreciating the extra attention I knew she deserved. Her skin was soft, smooth, and hot beneath my fingertips. “Did you enjoy yourself last night?”
“I’ve never orgasmed so hard in my life.” She giggled.
“I’d love to get you to do it again.”
She took my face between her hands and pressed her plump lips firmly against mine. Then she unclasped her hands from around my neck and fell down my body. Sitting on her knees, she reached inside my boxer shorts and pulled out my steeled shaft. “Not before I give you what you deserve.”
She put my dick into her mouth and my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
38
Kendra
My lips were deliciously swollen from how hard Kelly kissed me.
I was on fire and feeling great about the day. After rewarding him for his incredible efforts last night, I jumped in the shower to allow him time to finish up his work. And though we didn’t discuss what it was he was working on, I’d seen the notes.
Twirling across the floor, I stepped into the large walk-in closet and began rifling through my wardrobe. The choices seemed endless as my selection grew daily. Mainly because Kelly couldn’t go without adding to it. And now that he knew my size and had developed a sense of my taste, he purchased things and put them here without even telling me. Over half the options still had their tags on them. Not that I was complaining. I loved it. It just made it so hard to know what to wear.
Pulling my hair up onto my head, I jumped when Kelly surprised me from behind. His hands firmly cupped my breasts, giving them a quick squeeze before nipping at the soft spot behind my ear.
I moaned and giggled, loving his playful nature. I knew today was going to be a good day. It just had to be. We’d been having too many days that weren’t and deserved to finally take a break from all that negativity swirling around our feet.
“Did you finish your work?” I asked.
“Just going over some notes.”
Twisting inside his arms, I turned to face him. His bottom half was dressed in freshly pressed slacks and an expensive brown belt. And though he had his arms through the sleeves of a white button-down, it hung open allowing me access to roam my hands over his sculpted chest.
“Let’s not talk about work today.”
Flicking my gaze up to him, I nodded. Having already decided that was my plan as well, it was easy to agree to his idea. “Then help me decide what to wear.”
Ironing my hands up and down his sides and over his rippled abs, I couldn’t get enough of him. For whatever reason, today I felt closer to him than before. Perhaps it was the way he’d taken me out of this universe last night, or the continual buzz I still felt after having gone through what he did to me. Either way, I knew that he always had my best interests in mind and listened to my concerns with skill and precision. And that alone made him worthy of stealing my heart like none that came before him.
“I like what you have on.” His warm breath swirled in my ear, keeping me hot and bothered.
I snickered, knowing that I couldn’t go out of the house wearing only the skimpy bra and thong I wore. “I’m debating between these two dresses.” I reached behind Kelly and spread them out on the rack for him to see.
“They’re both lovely,” he said.
“Of course you’d say that. You bought them for me.” I smiled. “But which is right for the occasion?”
“Forget what I said earlier.” His fingers clamped around my waist as his mouth peppered hot opened-mouth kisses over my neck. “We should visit my private pool and waste the day away in only our bathing suits.”
Closing my eyes, I imagined laying on a lawn chair beneath the hot sun, working on my tan while Kelly massaged my feet. “That sounds amazing,” I whispered. Then I opened my eyes. “But I wouldn’t mind getting something to eat first.”
“Starved, are you?”
“You had me sweating.” I stood on my toes and kissed him.
He slid his tongue into my mouth and I sucked on it like I couldn’t get enough. “Then we better make it sexy casual,” he said, choosing the dress for me.
“My choice exactly.” I nipped at his lips.
“I’m going to go finish getting ready,” Kelly said as his hands left my body.
I slipped into the paisley print mini-dress and turned to the mirror to admire my flattering silhouette. I looked marvelous and knew Kelly would think so, too.
Giggling, I fixed my hair and couldn’t stop thinking about how Kelly was so skilled at bringing women to orgasm. I didn’t care to know how he learned his tricks, was just thankful that he blessed me with his skill. That was reason enough to be with a man of his experience, because I glowed.
And not just the I got laid kind of glow. I was floating through his apartment, free from the weight of the world holding me down. Because of him, colors were more vibrant and my mind was crystal clear.
A half-hour later I found him waiting in the living room.
He had his hands hidden inside his pockets, gently resting his tailbone over the back of the couch. With his forehead wrinkled, I knew that he was thinking over the case files he was looking at when I’d first woken up. And though he would never say it, I knew it was eating at him.
Slowly, I moved in his direction.
He turned and caught my gaze.
Smiling, I held my hands out and he took them. Helping him to his feet, he lowered his mouth and welcomed me with another incredible kiss. “Sorry to make you wait.”
Letting his hands come to rest on my ass, he said, “If you keep kissing me like that, I’ll wait for you forever.”
“C’mon, lover boy.” I tugged on his fingers. “My stomach is empty and needs to be filled.”
The entire journey to the parking garage, Kelly kept a firm possessive hand on me. Whether it be firmly placed on the small of my back or threaded through my fingers, he was determined to never let me go far.
“Here you are, queen bee.” He winked when opening the car door.
“Queen bee?” I arched my brow, allowing him to guide me inside.
Kelly smirked.
“What does that make you then, a honey bear?”
He clawed his paws over my shoulder.
I slapped his hand away.
“Ouch.” His hands flew over his heart. “I just got stung.”
He shut the door as I rolled through a fit of laughter, watching him round the hood and come to sit behind the wheel. Kelly started the car and let the engine rev while wiggling his brows. Then we sped out of the parking garage, fast and furious with rubber squealing.
I couldn’t stop glancing in his direction. He had a magnetic pull, and though he was mere inches away, I still wanted to be closer.
With one hand firmly on the wheel and the other resting on my thigh, Kelly drove with confidence. Weaving in and out of traffic, we rolled the windows down and let the wind whip through our hair. The sun was shining and I didn’t feel the previous urge to ask about what our future would bring. The way he was treating me spoke for itself. He would kill for me.
“Where should we begin?” he said as he slowed to a stop at a red light.
“What were you thinking?”
“Start with some coffee, then move on to some shopping before breaking for lunch.” He pressed in the clutch and shifted to second as soon as the light turned green. “How does that sound?”
“It sounds per—” My brows pinched when I saw his eye catch something out my window.
I turned to find a crotch rocket speeding next to us, driving only inches away from my door. A second rider straddled the back, and when he lifted up a camera and began taking my picture I ducked my head and yelped.
“Hang on,” Kelly said under his breath as he opened up his engine.
My fingers gripped the door handle as I held on for dear life.
The motorcycle kept up its speed alongside ours, and I held my breath when I watched the traffic light turn from yellow to red.
Kelly made no move to slow down.
Instead, he pressed his foot down on the accelerator, swerved in the bike’s direction, and sped through the cross-street at a breakneck speed.
Nearly getting hit, I whipped my head around to the back window with my heart pounding, only to find the bike right on our tail. “They’re still there.”
The moment I turned back around, Kelly reached his arm over and pushed me back into the seat as he slammed on the brakes and took the first hard right.
With my adrenaline spiking, I kept twisting to the back window, waiting to see the bike emerge. But they never did. They were gone.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, not meaning to yell. But I was so worked up, my palms sweaty, and I couldn’t calm down.
“Paparazzi.” Kelly’s jaw muscle ticked.
My body was tense, stuck in the fear of having just lived through the unexpected. Kelly never elaborated beyond just saying they were paparazzi. And, because of it, I knew that he was expecting this.
“No shit. But why?”
He shook his head, occasionally glancing in his mirrors. “I’m not sure.”
“Have you seen this before?”
He fixed his gaze on mine as he shook his head.
Before I knew it, Kelly had found a safe place to park. He opened his door but I couldn’t find it in me to follow. I was still coming to terms with what had just happened, and though I wanted to believe that it was a fluke, I knew it wasn’t. This had to be Sylvia and the story she was working on. There was no other reasonable explanation.
When Kelly’s hand landed on mine, I flinched. “C’mon,” he encouraged. “That coffee we both need is still calling.”
I forced a smile as he winked.
Once outside the vehicle, Kelly was quick to find my hand. We walked along the busy street past boutique stores and cafés. I held my head up high, hiding behind sunglasses, trying to act as normal as possible. Underneath, I was anything but.
“The coffee shop is just around the corner,” he said.
“Hey! Kelly Black!” a voice yelled from afar.
Kelly barely looked in the man’s direction. Instead, he picked up his pace and towed me along with him.
“Black, I just want to ask you a question about Tonya Craig.” The man quickly caught up to us. Kelly brushed him to the side but he kept on badgering. “Rumor has it you had something to do with her death. Is that true?”
“Keep it up and I’ll have the cops arrest you for libel,” Kelly barked to the man.
He dug his heels in and called after us. “This isn’t over. Everyone knows what you did.”
Kelly tightened his grip on my hand as we rounded the corner only to come face to face with another camera lens being pointed directly in our faces. The shutter clicked over several times before the lens dropped, revealing the man behind the camera.
My jaw dangled.
I blinked and shook my head, not believing what my eyes were seeing.
“Uncle Marvin?”
39
Kendra
The smell coming off of him was too familiar.
I blinked and still couldn’t believe my eyes.
I scrunched my nose, trying to place the smell.
What was that smell? Where had I smelled it before?
“Hi, Kendra.”
Kelly closed his fingers around my elbow and lowered his head next to my ear. “That’s him?” He pointed. “That’s your uncle?”
I wanted to cry. I felt my body threaten to shake. Instead, I was frozen with the inability to think. Standing breathless, Kelly pulled on my arm harder.
“I am.” He approached, lowering his camera to the side. “Marvin.”
Kelly dropped my arm and charged my uncle. Slamming his hands into Marvin’s chest, he stole his camera out of his hands. Marvin lunged after his property but Kelly barked for him to stay away.
It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to react. Still so shocked by everything that happened, I wondered how my day had deteriorated so quickly.
“That’s expensive!” Marvin pointed at Kelly.
Working his thumbs over the buttons, Kelly erased the images filling the memory card.
I felt my eyes glaze over when my uncle took one step closer to me. A heavy feeling weighed down my stomach and my dry lips parted as I tried to place that scent on him. “Were you with Sylvia?”
Marvin gave me a knowing look and changed the subject. “Now I understand what your mother was talking about.”
Kelly’s head snapped up. His nostrils flared as he made a fist with his free hand. I knew he knew what my uncle was referring to. We both did. The only difference between us was Kelly taking action while I
remained numb, unresponsive. I was used to my uncle calling me a whore.
“Take your camera.” Kelly shoved the piece of equipment hard into Marvin’s chest. “And get the fuck out of here. She’s not interested in talking to you, and neither am I.”
Marvin’s fingers clutched his camera as he stared into Kelly’s eyes, both men sizing the other up. Then he rolled his eyes over to me with a knowing smirk. “I had to see it for myself.”
Hating that Mom was spreading rumors about me, I asked in a shaky voice, “Is that why you’re here? Because Mom told you to—” I glanced to the camera and couldn’t find the words to continue.
“Your mom needs your help and you’re out here,” he looked around, disgusted, “shopping.”
My cheeks burned as tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. I didn’t know why, but I felt ashamed for having money in my pocket, living a healthy carefree life while Mom was at home struggling to take care of Dad. And I hated that I felt this way. It wasn’t fair of them to pass their own guilt to their daughter.
Kelly must have seen that I was about to cry because he closed the gap between us, draped his arm around my trembling body, and said to my uncle, “You need to leave now.”
Marvin nodded. “I’m here to warn you, Kendra.”
My eyes flickered up to his.
“I wouldn’t spend any more of that money that isn’t yours to begin with.”
“What are you talking about?” Inside, I was already screaming.
“The inheritance money.” Marvin huffed. “But don’t ask me, ask your mother. She’s the one hiring a lawyer.”
My eyes shot wide open as my throat constricted.
Marvin glanced at Kelly one more time before turning around and walking away.
I stepped forward, needing to know more. But before I could chase after him, Kelly stopped me and my cell started ringing.
Kelly’s head tipped back as he watched me dig out my phone.
“It’s Madam,” I said after glancing at the display.