Tropical Storm

by Stefanie Graham

  “How have you been?” He continued in the same tone, grasping her diamond laced fingers in his. Pamela began to struggle but Cairo held on tight, caressing and twisting the diamond on her hand. “You know, I’ve thought about you a lot over the years. Have you thought about me?”

  “No!” Pamela denied emphatically a flush stealing up her cheeks.

  Cairo’s eyes captured hers and grew languorous as he watched her, his lips forming a mocking smile. “C’mon Pamela, admit it. You’ve thought about me, haven’t you?” He pressed.

  This time Pamela said nothing and he watched her bosom rise and fall in agitation. But he wasn’t finished; he playfully captured a strand of her hair and twisted it gently between his fingertips. As if mesmerized, she watched his large calloused hands as it worked itself leisurely through her hair.

  “Cairo.” Storm warned standing stiff as a statue at the doorway as she watched the interplay between her mother and the man she said she despised.

  Cairo’s eyes never moved from his target. Pamela sat motionless on the couch an unwilling captive under his spell.

  “Tell me, Pamela, why did you really object to me?” He asked as if only mildly curious. “Your daughter loved me; I could have made her happy.”

  Some of the flint returned to her eyes. “You couldn’t have made her happy.” She argued. “You wouldn’t have known how. Jessica is from a good family and is used to luxury. You couldn’t have provided any of these things. Not to mention that you had no family to speak of and your bloodlines were atrocious. Two dead parents of a questionable background and an old black man you call grandfather was hardly an acceptable heritage.”

  “I see your point, madam.” Cairo said quietly, too quietly. There it was again, the doubt.

  “You had nothing to offer, nothing to give, nowhere to go and everything, absolutely everything to gain.” She continued cruelly. “We couldn’t let Jessica ruin her life. We tried to stop her, but she ruined it anyway. She married you and had a child.”

  Horrified at her slip, Pamela’s eyes shot to his and she covered her mouth with her hand.

  He pried her hand from her mouth and kissed the wrist gently. Pamela flinched but didn’t pull away.

  “Don’t worry, I know all about Shane. Tell me, what do you think of him?”

  She waved a dismissive hand. “Why I barely see the child. Just because I tried to tell Jessica to end the pregnancy or give him up for adoption, now she refuses to let us have anything to do with the boy. He is a willful and opinionated youth with a hint of wildness in him. Sometimes he reminds me of . . . ” Pamela trailed off refusing to say more.

  “Who?” Cairo demanded.

  “He reminds me of you.” She flung at him. “He reminds me of how you were the last time I saw you. You were so wild and emotional, so headstrong. I’ve never been able to forget that day and how you behaved. You were like a wild animal.” Pamela shuddered at the memory.

  Cairo inched closer to her dominating her with his physical size and overwhelming her with his presence. “Maybe it’s my wildness that attracted your daughter to me.” He suggested. “Maybe she liked that I wasn’t like all the other men that she knew. Maybe I pleased her in ways that the prep school boys like James never could.” His voice deepened with sensuality.

  “Cairo!” Storm shouted sharply as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d never seen her mother act this way before, and she’d never seen Cairo use his sexuality almost like a weapon. She wasn’t quite sure whom she was more shocked by. As she stood there watching them, she wondered why it had never occurred to her that her parents’ marriage might not be a happy one. She was now witnessing her mother’s obvious attraction to Cairo override her disdain for him.

  Pamela looked hard at Cairo for several long moments. Her eyes traveled up and down the length of him as if weighing and testing his worth. Cairo was as still as a statue under her examination until she finally spoke.

  “You’ve changed a great deal. I can see that.” She admitted condescendingly. “You have acquired some polish and a modicum of breeding. How did you come by this transformation I wonder: drugs, gambling, prostitution? Men of your background hardly ever come into money honestly. So tell me, how did you do it? I’m dying to know.”

  The smile Cairo gave her was without humor. “I came by my money honestly, more honestly than your husband has because I worked hard for mine. It wasn’t inherited. Now that we have that clear, let’s get down to business. I want your daughter. I have always wanted her. Despite what you think, I would have made her happy. There it was, the certainty. I was good enough for her then and I’m good enough for her now. The only difference is that I can afford her now.” For the first time in years he felt the truth of the statement settle, stick and hold.

  “Please,” Pamela sniffed, her voice mocking. “You can hardly afford Jessica, even though she does apparently come cheap.” She ignored her daughter’s gasp of outrage at her dig. “You’ve only been gone several years, hardly enough time to amass a fortune.”

  ‘That’s where you are wrong, madam. I had some strong motivation. Not only have I amassed a fortune, I have made enough money to rival all this.” He waved his hand around the room.

  Pamela narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I don’t believe you. Nothing good could come from you—that much I’m sure of. All of this is just a misguided ploy to gain my acceptance. If that’s the case you’re wasting your time. I don’t accept you and I never will. You’re not good enough for my daughter. One can attain money but you can’t buy class. Sorry.” She laughed and leaned back into the couch watching him with what seemed like anticipation.

  Cairo smiled wickedly at the challenge. He leaned back in the chair as well and prepared himself to launch yet another attack. Pamela gave him an answering smile and Cairo knew it was just a matter of time before he had yet another Storm eating out of his hands.

  That’s when the door opened and then slammed shut.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Nigel Storm yelled, his words threatening to lift the roof from its rafters. In one quick look, he observed his wife lounging comfortably on the couch and his daughter standing frozen in the doorway. “What the hell are you doing Pamela and what is this degenerate doing in my house!” With lightning speed that belied his fifty-five years, he crossed the room to the couch. He then towered threateningly over Cairo as if he meant to do him physical harm.

  “Move away from my wife and take yourself out of my house while you still can.” He threatened.

  Cairo leaned backed insolently on the couch and spread his thighs wide so that they grazed Pamela’s leg. Slowly, brazenly, he spread his arms over the back of the chair.

  “Threats so soon?” He mocked his disrespect obvious. “I’m a man now and you can’t fight me. I came here in peace. Let’s not make this into a war that you cannot win.” His words were purposefully impertinent.

  Fury filled Nigel’s face with blood so that it distorted the smooth, almost unlined face that his plastic surgeon had worked hard to achieve. He threw a furious look at his daughter who stood frozen, all color gone from her face.

  Storm widened her eyes in alarm.

  “Why have you brought this loathsome creature here?” He spat at her.

  “I couldn’t stop him from coming, daddy.” She explained clearly horrified by the unraveling events in front of her. “He insisted on coming.” She added as if that was explanation enough.

  Before speaking, Nigel pinned his wife with a look that had her scrambling up from the couch. He then turned back to Cairo. “What do you want? If it’s money you want, you won’t get it from us. Wherever you’ve been hiding for the past seven years, you can crawl right back there.”

  Cairo smiled mirthlessly. “Look at me, Nigel. Do I look like I need your money? I’m wealthier than
you are. I have a hotel empire that I built from scratch and a list of investments that would make your accountant salivate. So no, I don’t need your money. I could buy you twice over. The only thing I need of yours is standing by the door.”

  All eyes turned to Storm who still stood motionless in the doorway, seemingly in shock.

  Nigel curled his mouth in derision. “You want Jessica? You should have asked for money, it would have been of more value—”

  Before the sentence was even completed, Cairo was standing with Nigel’s shirt crumpled in his fist. He vaguely heard the women screaming in the background.

  “Forget that she’s your daughter, that’s my future wife you’re talking about. Apologize to her before I forget that you’re her father and break your neck.”

  Nigel struggled and made a valiant attempt to twist free but Cairo’s grip was absolute. That he was younger, stronger and angrier lent him power. “Apologize!” Cairo demanded, shaking the older man as if he weighed nothing.

  “Sorry.” Nigel threw out bitterly after a few more jerks threatened to snap him in two. Cairo pushed the older man away from him in disgust. Nigel stumbled, caught himself and then drew himself up regally.

  “You will pay dearly for that.” He threatened.

  Cairo shrugged indifferently. “You can’t ruin me, Nigel. But you’re free to try. Money has put me out of your reach. When I was a poor orphan maybe, but not now. Cairo brushed invisible lint off his impeccable jacket only slightly rumpled from the scuffle. “As I said, I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to tell you that Storm is mine. We’re getting married and I’m warning you not to get in the way. I have full control over my son and his future. If you have any hopes of having him in your life, I suggest you learn to accept me. This time I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay.”

  “You’re marrying, Storm?” Nigel repeated the name derisively before a malicious light entered his eyes. “You’re marrying, Jessica!” He said again like a deranged parrot. He spared a look for his daughter who was hugging herself, all fire and light robbed from her face.

  “Does he know what he’s saying?” He asked his daughter gaining some strange glee from her silence. “He doesn’t, does he?” He said understanding darkening his eyes to inky pools.

  “Please, father.” Storm began.

  Nigel held up a silencing hand and turned back to Cairo grinning. “You’ve no clue, do you? You’re a stupid man and I can’t wait until you learn the truth. I wish I could be there. I don’t need any revenge; my daughter is going to give you exactly what you deserve. Get out of my house and take your wife with you.”

  “Despite everything, I think that went quite well.” Cairo mused when they were outside.

  He was so absorbed in reliving the event that the slap caught him off guard. Storm put all her weight behind the blow so that Cairo’s head actually snapped back. His hand instinctively went to the side of his face to rub the spot. His gaze narrowed on his soon-to-be bride.

  “I assume you disagree?” He said his voice lowering dangerously.

  “How dare you!” Storm railed as furious color filled her cheeks and her green eyes sparkled with anger. “Your behavior was utterly unconscionable. What did you think you were doing?” She yelled, her body shaking with anger. “My parents are not playthings for your amusement. They are hellish, bigoted, petty and selfish but they’re my parents. They have done bad things to both of us, but that was inexcusable.”

  “My behavior was inexcusable?” Cairo questioned almost too softly. “I think I let them off easy. There interference made me lose six years of my son’s life and six years of our lives together as a family. We can’t replace that time and I will never forgive them for their interference. Be grateful that I didn’t strangle the life out of your mother and rip your father’s heart out. There is only one side in this battle, Storm, my side or your parents’ side. Choose.” He demanded.

  Storm took a deep steadying breath. “I have already chosen, Cairo. I chose Shane and you a long time ago. But those are my parents. For better or for worse, they’re a part of my life, just like Shane and you are. If we’re being honest with each other then we can admit that they weren’t all to blame. If you believed in me, if we believed in each other, they would never have been able to separate us. We let them win; it’s up to us to make sure they don’t win now. I’m not naïve enough to think that you can just forget what happened but I am asking for tolerance . . . and patience. Is that too much to ask?”

  Cairo thought for several long moments before he pulled her roughly against him. “Not too much to ask at all.” He conceded happily. “I’ve won and they’ve lost. I’ve triumphed in this battle and won the prize they wanted to deny me. You and Shane belong to me and no one can take you away. Because of that, I can afford to be magnanimous.”

  “Good.” Storm sighed in relief. “Can we go home now?”

  “Home?” Cairo questioned.

  “Jamaica.” She clarified. “I want to go back home to my son, back to where we found our happiness.”

  “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. But there’s one more person left on the list we have to see before we can leave.”

  “Please say it isn’t James.” Storm said worriedly.

  “I could say it isn’t him, but it is. What’s the matter? Are you afraid of seeing your soon-to-be ex-husband again? Maybe you still feel something for him.” The light tone could not hide the dark and possessive light in his eyes.

  “I feel nothing.” Storm reassured him quickly. “The only man I’ve ever loved is standing right in front of me. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that.” She said her voice shaking with emotion.

  “I’ll remember.” He assured her soothingly. “I know you love me, so don’t worry about anything. This divorce will go through and then we’ll finally be together. I’ll take care of everything.” He promised her.

  That night in the dark confines of her East Village apartment, she made desperate love to Cairo. With every touch Storm set out to show him just how much she wanted him, just how much she cared and just how much she loved him. She was so wild in his arms that he cried out her name when the passion had reached the limits of his control. When it was over, she stared down at him and kissed him deeply.

  “I love you, Cairo.” She told him again with all the feelings of her words reflected in her eyes.

  “I know.” He whispered. “We’re meant to be together and after we speak to James tomorrow, you, Shane and I, will never be apart again. I promise you that this time everything will work out just fine. Trust me.”

  Storm nodded solemnly and folded herself into his arms. Tell him now her mind screamed. But she ignored the thought. She convinced herself that the moment wasn’t right for a confession. It had nothing to do with the fact that when she told him she loved him; he’d failed to tell her that he felt the same. Instead, she kept her body absolutely still until she was sure that he slept and wouldn’t be disturbed by her weeping. She cried that night for what Cairo would discover tomorrow. She had run out of time. Tomorrow would reveal the truth and she knew now that no matter how much she wanted it, they couldn’t be together. He didn’t love her and she couldn’t be with him without love. It was over. With a heavy heart, Storm crawled out of the bed and called the Briggs and Young law office where she left a simple message on the machine.

  “Uncle Briggs, this is Jessica calling. Proceed with the divorce as planned. Put a rush on the paperwork and forward any messages you have for me to The Victory Hotel in St. Thomas, Jamaica. I will only be there long enough to pick up my son, after that send all correspondences to my home in New York. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  Storm carefully replaced the receiver as if it would shatter in her hand. She felt raw with the pain and fragile enough to shatter into a thousand pieces at the slightest touch. She slipped quietly bac
k into the room and packed an overnight bag. She looked down longingly at the man sleeping so peacefully on the bed. Every instinct she had cried out to curl up in his arms. In the end, it was the nails she dug into her palms that stopped her. She would survive she told herself as she crept silently from the room. She had survived once. She would survive again.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was the door being thrown open that woke him. Cairo sat up in bed with a start. He looked frantically around the room, his eyes wild. He calmed down only when he saw the firmly closed door. He’d been dreaming of that night— again. The realization came to him in a rush along with the frown the parted his forehead into a troubled line. He had never had the dream of his wedding night outside of Jamaica, and he hadn’t had it since he and Storm had made things right between them. Something was wrong. He turned to the side of the bed where his fiancée should have been resting and wasn’t surprised to see that she wasn’t there. Cairo felt the hot brand of pain sear his skin a second before he blocked out the sensation with the emotion for which he was most familiar—rage. The comment Storm’s father had hurled so derisively at him now made all too much sense. She had tricked him and he had fallen for it for a second time. Cairo flung back the sheets, got out of bed and started getting dressed with furious movements. It was only as he bent to put on his shoes that he saw the note that had fallen to the floor. He snatched it up from the ground and read it quickly. It said two words: I’m sorry. Cairo crumpled the note in his clenched fist.

  “Sorry?” he said out loud. “No, you’re not sorry now but you will be.”

  If he could have run to James Montague’s Manhattan office, he would have. Instead, he had to wait patiently in the yellow cab for the driver to deliver him to his destination. The car didn’t even come to a complete stop before Cairo threw a handful of money at the driver and bounded out of the car. He half sprinted to the nearest elevator. The ride to the top floor seemed endless; when the doors finally opened, Cairo strode determinedly up to the receptionist.