Coming For What's Mine pt 2: The Politician (Law Boy's Series)

by Edwina Fort

  “Of course you have nothing to worry about, I am a professional. Half the time you won’t even know I’m here. I’m sure you are a responsible young man and would not be willing to do anything to jeopardize the senator’s and future senator’s office, what with all the work they do for communities like this.” He sat up on the couch.

  “Wait, let me get this straight. You come into my house to tell me, a grown ass man, that you’re my what? Babysitter?” I smiled.

  “Well, I wouldn’t put it in those terms…but, yes.” He narrowed his hypnotic eyes at me.

  “Funny, you don’t come across as a babysitter. Why do I feel as if it’s a killer staring at me through your eyes?”

  It took every bit of my training not to break my cover in that moment. Nobody has ever seen the real me.

  Never!

  I looked away, shuffling through the papers to cover my momentary lapse.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, young man.”

  “You can kill all that young man, bullsh*t. It’s not doing what you’re hoping it would.”

  “And what is that?” I asked lifting my gaze back to his, daring him to say it. He didn’t speak right away. He just let his eyes travel over my body in a way that made me feel warm all over.

  “Discouraging me from imagining what those beautiful deceptive eyes of yours will look like rounded in pleasure as you come apart for me over and over again.” I loudly cleared my throat. He smiled when he saw he had ruffled my feathers.

  “Mr. Reevers—”

  “Rome.” He corrected.

  “Romeo, let’s go ahead and get a few things straight. I will not tolerate sexual harassment of any kind. If you sexually harass me again, I will call Joseph Warren and inform him that you’ve breached your contract. If you give me a hard time in anyway from this point on, I will call Mr. Warren and tell him you’ve breached your contract, in which point, the actions that Mr. Warren discussed with you will be taken.” I looked at him giving him my no-nonsense look.

  “Is that understood?”

  Take a sneak peek into upcoming novel by Edwina Fort!

  Redemption: Earth’s Cry Chapter One

  Synopsis: When faced with losing custody of her daughter to wealthy and powerful strangers, this mother is willing to risk it all, which brings her to a face-off with the formidable and deadly Melech Black. Follow the audacious and tenacious Earth on her journey to love and self-discovery.

  Chapter One

  The Kidnapping

  Earth

  “Are you sure that’s the little brother?” Brianna, my best friend asked. “Dang! He is fiiiinnnee!”

  I took in the authoritative man that the maître d’ was showing to the corner table that had been reserved for my dead husband’s younger brother. Yes, he was very handsome. His powerful strides crossed the floor in a way that made me feel as if he was the ruler and we his subjects. The way the maître d’ walked next to him with his head bowed only reinforced that feeling.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. The reservation had been made for Mike Black for 2 o’clock.” I looked at my watch. “It’s 2 on the dot.”

  “If they Indians, why they ain’t got names like Running Bull or Dances with Wind?”

  So lost I was in my head I didn’t even hear her question. My nerves were a wreck and my palms were sweaty. I was seconds away from cowering and running for my life.

  Many times my late husband Mitch warned me never to come in contact with his family. They were a powerful group that had generated their wealth through a string of casinos that had been in their family for decades. My husband was Native American from the Seminole tribe, he said his immediate family had long lost all the things that made them human and were a heartless bunch that destroyed innocent people like me and our daughter Rain for the pure sport of it.

  He also told me many times that his family’s power and influence knew no bounds. And that there was none as powerful as his older brother Melech, who was in control of their family’s vast wealth.

  Bria shook her head slightly. “I don’t know, Earth. He don’t really look Indian to me or like a little brother.”

  This time her ignorant words penetrated my thoughts. I punched her in the arm.

  “Ouch! Bit--” She hissed grabbing her arm mean mugging me.

  “They not Indians, Bria. Indians live in India… They Natives…” I rolled my eyes at her. “And yeah, you right, he don’t look like either.”

  The man who had just sat at the table was darker than Crazy Larry and he wore his authority like a garment. It made the custom-made grey suit he sported pale in comparison. Unlike Mitch, who looked like a full-blooded Native, the baby brother looked to be of mixed heritage. Although he was very dark and could easily pass as an African American, his high cheek bones proclaimed his Seminole lineage.

  For just a moment as he was undoing the button on his jacket so that he could sit, his gaze fell on me. I inhaled. The raw uncut strength that came from his eyes was breathtaking. Quickly I looked away pretending to straighten out the cloth on the table next to us. Brianna and I were dressed very similar to the waitresses here, not enough to rouse the suspicion of the employees, but enough to trick the eyes of the guest.

  In reality, neither Bria nor I could afford to use the restroom in this establishment. We had come to kidnap a man. To be exact, my husband’s little brother Michael. My gaze went back to the corner table. I had not expected his little brother to be so…so…

  “Dominating.” Brianna said as if she was in my head.

  “What was that?” I asked her.

  “He’s so dominating. I don’t think we have enough dope to put out that big body. Did Larry give you enough? We’re going to need an elephant tranquilizer.”

  “We have enough, and we need to move fast before we draw the attention of the maître d’.” We quickly made our way to the server’s hall. I took the drugs that I had acquired for this purpose out my pocket. My hands shook as I emptied the whole pack into the pitcher of water. Using a spoon, I gave it a good stirring.

  “Are you supposed to use the whole thing?” Bria asked from where she stood at the door keeping look out.

  “I don’t know! I think—” I exhaled trying to calm my nerves. I couldn’t remember how much of the drugs Larry said to add. Goodness! I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t believe I was getting ready to kidnap this man. Please Heavenly Father, forgive me, but they left me no other choice. They were trying to take my Rain from me and I couldn’t let that happen.

  I couldn’t let her go to a home where there was no love. Mitch said he came up in a cold, loveless environment. His parents were mutli-billionaires and didn’t know the meaning of love. They had raised Mitch and his two brothers to be machines, as cold as them.

  And now they were coming after my Rain, all because they found a little weed in my pee.

  I tried to hand Bria the pitcher of water. “Here go, pour him some water.”

  She looked at me as if I had gone lame. “You crazy as hell if you think I’m going anywhere near that man. He look like he will get up from that table and just…” She searched for the words. “Step on you. I don’t want to get stepped on, Earth!”

  Her response flustered my already frayed nerves.

  “Dammit, Bria! What did you even come for?” She gave me that better-you-than-me smile as she patted my shoulder.

  “For moral support, my sista.” I rolled my eyes at her as I knocked her hand off my shoulder.

  Dammit!

  I took several deep breaths. Okay, I can do this. I can do this.

  I had no other choice. They were trying to take my baby. So, in exchange I will take theirs. Mitch said his brother Melech, who was the head of that heartless clan, actually had a soft spot for their younger brother Michael. I would just use that soft spot to get Melech to sign over his rights to Rain.

  I know, it sounds crazy.

  Believe it or not, it was a crazy Jamaican who gave me the id
ea. My boss and landlord Larry. Or rather, Crazy Larry. After my last court date, when the judge told me I had one month and thirty days to say my last goodbyes to my daughter before I had to turn her over to the Blacks, I came home and cried and yelled out my frustration at the injustice of the whole situation to Larry.

  I was not a bad mother. I loved my child and took care of her because she was all I had. I was losing her because I was poor and could not afford a good attorney that could go against the team of overpaid vipers that had come to represent the Blacks. I don’t know whose idea it was to drug test me, but once the results came back positive for weed, the Blacks’ attorneys made it seem like I was out on the street selling a$$ for rocks.

  The judge didn’t even grant me visitation rights. He said he felt it would be better for the child to cut all ties to me and begin a new life with her father’s side of the family. After he adjourned the case, one of Black’s lawyers asked him if they were still on for lunch.

  “This would have never happened in Jamaica. We would have extracted our own form of justice to deal with the boars.” Boars is what Larry called any government figure.

  “What would you have done?” I asked him. At that point I was desperate. Rain was the only good thing in my life. Without her, I might as well be dead.

  He’d looked at me through a sea of ganja smoke. “It’s simple, you take the younger boy for ransom.”

  And so, the idea was born.

  That night I tossed and turned in my bed thinking about it. I mean, what did I have to lose? I figured I had a fifty-fifty chance of pulling this thing off. It was a far better percentage than watching my daughter be carried away to strangers who didn’t even bother to show up to court in person.

  Brie touched my shoulder again bringing me out of my thoughts. “You can do this!”

  I nodded. “I don’t have a choice.”

  After squaring my shoulders, I quickly crossed the room to Michael’s table. I walked with a purpose, carrying the pitcher in one hand while placing the other behind my back like the other servers did.

  The closer I got to the table the more the power that exuded from this man enveloped me… suffocating me.

  “Would you like some water?” I asked. I couldn’t help the fact that my voice trembled a bit. I was almost crippled with my fear. There was no doubt in my mind that Mitch had been right when he said he was the only one in his family that was not dangerous.

  This man felt extremely dangerous. Slowly his deep midnight eyes rose to mine… and oh ya’ll! It felt as if somebody snatched the breath straight out of my body. Being this close to him gave me the same rush one would feel if they were standing on the tracks in front of an oncoming train.

  “Are you my waitress?” His deep baritone was like smoke. It slowly traveled up my body to pool in my belly, stirring up the butterflies that were already there.

  I did my best to smile, but I know my lips quivered.

  “No, I’m not. I just came to offer you water. Your waitress will be here momentarily.”

  He smiled and I’m telling you, that pitcher nearly fell from my hand. Saying he was handsome was an understatement. It looked as if he was fresh from the barber. His low fade, beard, and mustache were trimmed perfectly around his angled dark face. His good looks coupled with the authoritative power that clung to him was enough to be any girl’s undoing.

  I stood here about to drug this man so that I could kidnap him, and the only thing I could think was, when was the last time I made love? It had been over five years.

  “In that case, sure, I would like some water.” The way he was looking at me was unnerving, so unnerving that I had to focus on not shaking as I poured his water. But it did little good, because I was shaking so badly a little of his water spilt out on the table cloth.

  His sharp gaze took in my action, missing nothing. Slowly it rose up my arm, my breasts, my neck, and lips to settle on my eyes.

  “Nervous?”

  His voice was so deep I could feel the bass of it in the soles of my feet.

  I gave him an awkward smile. “It’s my first day. Your waitress will be here directly.” I turned and walked back towards the break down station. I had to force myself not to run.

  “He’s drinking it!” Bria whispered excitedly when I walked past her to pour out the rest of the liquid in the sink. After I was done I washed it out the best I could before laying it down on the floor. Hopefully whoever came in here behind us will see it on the floor and take it to the dishwasher.

  A server hurried in balancing two cups of tea on her tray. “Oh!” she said startled.

  “Are you guys new?” Bria shook her head.

  “We just needed ice.” She picked up an ice cube and chugged it in her mouth. “See.”

  The waitress slowly nodded looking confused, but we didn’t wait around to try and explain things further to her. Quickly we crossed the room, being careful not to draw Michael’s attention and left out the front doors.

  “Wow! That was easy. What do we do now?” I looked at the bright smile on Bria’s face and wanted to slap her. Sure, it was easy for her, she’s not the one who had to walk the tight rope over a fire pit.

  “Now we wait!”

  When we got back into my little broke down Corolla, I reached up and pulled the wig off my head. Bria, who was not just my best friend, but also my beautician, had braided my long thick hair into really cute cornrows that fell to the center of my back. While that style was super fresh on the block, I wore the wig because it would have drawn too much attention in that uppity restaurant. I doubted real seriously if it attracted the kind of people that wore braids.

  A few minutes later, two more men joined Michael. I took the binoculars I’d borrowed from Larry out of my bag to get a better look. One of the men looked to be Native American and the other was white. The handsome Native American man looked younger than Michael. Maybe he was a younger relative or something.

  “What’s happening?” Bria asked leaning over my shoulder. I shrugged trying to dislodge her, but it did no good.

  “Nothing yet.”

  “Gurl, I ain’t never seen no black Ind—” She caught herself when I turned to look at her. “I mean I ain’t never seen no black Native American before, but damn he fine! And he built too. Was Mitch as handsome as his brother?”

  “Yeah.” I told her, but it was a lie. Mitch couldn’t hold a candle to his baby brother. They favored each other, you could tell they were siblings. But where his brother wore that air of authority very well, Mitch had none.

  However, to an eighteen-year-old girl it appeared at first as if he had plenty. When I first met Mitch, I thought he was Puerto Rican, he talked like he was from the hood and he dressed like he was from the hood. I had no way of knowing he was Native American.

  He’d approached me after hearing me play the violin at an event that Larry was catering. He said I was so sexy playing that thing that he wanted to put me in a music video that he was shooting for one of the rap artists on his label.

  At first I waved him off, offended that he wanted to hire me for a music video and not to go in the studio and play my instrument. Then I realized he didn’t even listen to me play, he had not gotten past my looks and was just trying to spit some lame game my way, like I ain’t heard the record label script before.

  I mean, I ain’t claiming to be the prettiest girl in the world, but I know I’m attractive. Men have been coming at me since I was like ten. So it was safe to say when you heard one pick up line you heard them all, but he insisted, showing me a business card with his label’s information on it.

  At the time I was working two jobs as well as going to school so that I could help Sista Dinah and Brotha Abraham pay the rent. Brotha Abraham’s back pain prevented him from getting the hours he used to get down at the city dump, which meant Sista Dinah and I had to make up for the loss, so I really could’ve used the extra cash.

  “How much does it pay?” I asked him.

  “Two-hundred do
llars a day.”

  “How many days will I have to do?”

  “One, maybe two.”

  “Do I have to get naked or near naked?” He paused before he answered the question. At the same time his gaze raked slowly over my body. I could see that he was attracted to me and was trying to size me up and see what kind of girl I was.

  Curious to see if this guy, who was not of my race could read what kind of woman I was, I kept my mouth closed. Slowly his eyes took in my natural hair that I wore pulled back into a pony tail and braided down my back. Then they lowered to my green tank top, then down farther to the army print cargo pants I wore, and then finally they settled on my Timberland covered feet.

  I held up an eyebrow when his gaze finally made its way back up to mine.

  He shook his head. “Naw, not a girl like you. If you agree to do this, I will make you the star of the video.”

  I was impressed, so I agreed. True to his word, he was shooting a video. It was an artist I had never heard before, but the gig paid two-hundred dollars. After it was done he asked me out on a date and I agreed because he was treating me like a queen.

  As the months went by, I would learn that he was a hard worker and very ambitious. He was building the record label from the ground up with no help from his powerful family. He carried feelings about that. To me it seemed as if he wanted to become a big name just so that he could say he was better than his older brother.

  He believed Melech was trying to hinder his success, which was why when he went to him for money he refused. Apparently, Melech handled all the family’s business and had the final say on where any monies went.