Delvin stepped forward, but his mother shooed him away.
Tailan froze, suddenly ashamed by the comfort she didn’t deserve. “I don’t need your pity.”
“And you won’t get it,” Anna countered. “Starting today, I’m going to treat you like the daughter you’ve become.”
“But I wasn’t raped,” she whined.
“That doesn’t mean that the trauma wasn’t just as real,” Anna said, cupping Tailan’s face in her hands. “Instinct propelled you out the door that night. You’ve been dealing with the emotional fall-out of that decision ever since you came to us.”
She wrapped her arms around Tailan, who visibly stiffened at first. Moments later, Tailan laid her head on the swell of Anna’s bosom and nearly passed out with relief.
“I’m still so scared sometimes.”
“They’ll never get anywhere near you. If it makes you feel better, we’ll put you in a self-defense class.”
Tailan took the tissue Anna offered. “Yes ma’am. I’d like that.”
When Anna pulled away, Delvin quickly stepped in and brought her into his arms and held her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Chapter 15
Tailan shivered at the memories of what had happened in that house.
“Delvin, are you still up?” she whispered, gripping the edge of the hotel blanket, trying to keep her sadness at bay.
“Yep,” he answered. She could hear the weariness in his tone. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I can’t sleep.”
He sat up, looking in her direction. “You want me to get you something?”
“No, but I … I just need—”
Delvin moved from the sofa and was in the bed in a matter of seconds, pulling the covers around them as he held her in his arms. “Is that better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She held onto him, shivering from a chill that went all the way down to her soul.
“Are you cold, baby?”
“A little,” she lied, reluctant to tell him that shadows of guilt surrounding what Uncle Lin had done to punish those who turned on him were more prevalent than ever.
King bailed Uncle Lin out of jail after the court session where the judge put in the order for an investigation into abuse and neglect of Aunt Trish’s children and grandchildren. The two of them waited until late that night, barricaded the doors and windows, then set fire to the house on the west side that contained all of his damning secrets. That night Aunt Trish, his children, and the children he spawned from them, perished in that fire in his attempt to leave no evidence of what he had done.
The day that Tailan found out about her relatives’ fates, she packed to leave the Germaine’s. Her uncle was going to come for her next, and she didn’t want the family who loved her to feel his wrath.
“What are you doing? “Anna Germaine asked from the threshold of Tailan’s bedroom.
“I’m not putting Delvin’s family in jeopardy,” she replied, stuffing a few pieces of clothes in a suitcase.
“Your family.”
Tailan’s head whipped to Anna. “What?!”
“Your family. You said Delvin’s family,” Anna replied gently, but her eyes were intense. “We’re your family too. And it’s time you stopped making decisions as an individual and realized that we’re on your side.”
“But I—”
“But nothing, young lady!” she said, snatching the suitcase from Tailan’s hand and tossing it aside. “We’re a unit! We. And don’t you forget it.”
Tailan stared at her for several moments. “Yes ma’am.”
“Now it’s time that you stop acting like you’re in this alone.”
Tailan sank to the edge of the bed and mumbled, “Yes ma’am.”
Anna took the space next to her and pulled her into an embrace.
Only a few days later did the search through the rubble of that house turn up Uncle Lin’s body. He was unable to escape the blaze himself, as he stood nearby to lay sight to his handiwork. King was arrested as the culprit and was serving time in jail for the murders of all the people who were inside that burning building.
* * *
“I’m proud of what you’ve done on this tour,” Delvin said, lacing his hands in her hair.
“Really?” She looked up at him.
“I don’t think many people could’ve outsmarted those men the way you did.”
She smiled, and her focus shifted from unsavory memories to the moonlit sky and the calmness in his voice. “We sold more books at that one store than the other eleven combined. Those authors had some serious backbone. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
“And what did you say to the weave sisters?” Delvin gave her a comforting squeeze.
Tailan laughed. “They’re not all wearing weaves. One of them has locs.”
“Even those are a little suspect,” he said dryly.
“Delvin!” She swatted his chest.
He chuckled at her playful punch. “When they came off the bus, it was like they were totally different women.”
“That’s who they really are,” she said in their defense. “All the rest of it is an act. They probably feel they can’t represent the genre if they’re not coming out all hard, like they’re ride-or-die chicks. Rappers do it all the time. Then they get busted when their fans find out it’s all a big lie.”
“But The Divas met their match when they came up against The Vets.”
Tailan couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I still can see them slinking to their new seats,” he said. “That right there was priceless. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in my life. The Vets shut them all the way down. Hey,” he said, peering down at her, “do you think Beverly really had a switchblade up there?”
“Yep,” Tailan answered. “Brenda? No. But Beverly—I think she might also be packing a .22 special.”
Delvin busted up laughing.
“And Les? She’s straight Philly, so it’s all fists and a verbal takedown. Joyce carries a mini-taser.”
“Seriously?”
Tailan grinned at his expression. “It’s why we couldn’t fly her in. Mama don’t take no mess.” She shifted so she was nestled into his body like a second skin. “Delvin, how did you end up here? I mean as an author.”
“I had an idea for a book, and my agent pitched it to a publisher,” he replied, stroking a hand over the swell of her buttocks. “They put me with two of the best writers in the industry—a husband and wife team who were both national bestselling authors. And I’m hoping that a studio will want to make it into a movie.”
“So you can star in it?”
“I definitely want to be involved in some way.” His hand lowered to rest on her thighs. “I saw the book as just another vehicle to keep me on the screen, but to the authors on this tour, writing books is so much more. They live to write.” His hands stroked across the roundness of her bottom, causing a small shiver of pleasure to run through her. “Why did you go into this line of work?” Delvin continued.
“When the first job I wanted was taken by someone else …” she began dryly.
“Tai, you were smart,” he countered, his hands pausing on their way down her thighs. “Way more intelligent than you gave yourself credit for.”
“All I wanted was to be with you. That’s what would’ve made me happy.”
Delvin angled her body so that they were eye to eye. “Being a housewife would’ve bored you to tears.”
“Is that what made Gabrielle so appealing?” she asked, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. “She had dreams and I didn’t?”
“You know it had nothing to do with that.” For a moment he was silent, and she knew he was weighing his next words carefully. “I wanted you to trust me, Tai. Trust me enough to believe in what we—we—would have accomplished together. A family.” He sighed, as though trying to rein in his own frustrations. “I did what I had to do to keep you safe. I kept my promise, Tai. Why couldn’t you b
elieve in me … in us?”
Tailan was silent behind that admission. The pain of his voice ripped through her heart. Even now, trust was so hard for her, and it was impacting almost every relationship in her life.
“That summer I spent hiding out at school, I spent most of my time in the library,” she redirected. “I read about new worlds and people. Books were my friends.” She looked up, giving him a small smile. “Until you showed up. You know, I still love orange cupcakes.”
“I actually found some across the street,” he confessed. “Planned to eat them for breakfast. I bought you some too.”
“You did?” A gleeful smile split her face before she could pull it back.
“I figured you’d feel better this morning.”
She nodded. “When I see them, it brings it all back. The good things.” Tailan splayed a hand across his chest. “I’m sorry, Delvin. You were right. I should have trusted you, and I’m so very sorry.”
Delvin kissed her then—a warm, tender kiss that exploded into a world of need and passion that had been long muted.
She forced herself to pull away. “Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come into the classroom that day.”
“Let’s be grateful you never had to find out.”
Chapter 16
SOUL EXPRESS TOUR—DAY 4
7:28 A.M.
Delvin was no one’s fool. More than anyone, he knew Tailan was vulnerable at the moment. She was a lousy sick person and cranky to a fault when she didn’t feel well. But they needed to clear the air between them—needed to deal with the elephant in the room.
Having her in his arms resting peacefully would only stave off the inevitable. Tailan could play possum like nobody’s business, but he knew she’d been awake for a while. He’d spent too many warm nights with her cradled in his arms. No way he could miss the change in her breathing and the gentle rise and fall of her breasts that signaled that she was awake.
Delvin feigned slumber as she covertly slipped out of bed. He listened to her morning ritual in the bathroom. The luxurious shower and dry-off. The breakneck pace of her slipping into something professional and stylish. Delvin glanced over to the alarm clock on the nightstand. Right about now Tailan was sprinkling her beautiful face with a hint of make-up and lip coloring.
Right on cue, she opened the bathroom door and hurried to the dresser mirror to put on her earrings.
Delvin slid from the bed and embraced her from behind. “Good morning, love.”
She shrugged him off and replied, “Morning.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Baby?”
Tailan didn’t look up as she slipped on a necklace. “Yes.”
“We need to talk.”
She paused for a moment, then snapped a bracelet onto her wrist. “‘The Talk’ will have to wait,” Tailan responded. “I don’t have the time. My life—this tour—”
“Make time,” Delvin fired back.
Tailan turned from their reflection and stared coldly at him. “I won’t be dictated to, Delvin.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, giving that ugly eye better than she ever had. “Answer one question for me.”
Her stance was pure defiance.
“Do you forgive me?”
Tailan’s lids dipped so low that her eyes almost appeared closed. She fumbled with her watch—a nervous habit that gave Delvin hope.
“Most definitely,” she answered.
“And do you still love me?”
Her head tilted. “That’s two questions.” Tailan moved past him, but he caught her by the arms.
“Answer it.”
“Yes!” she shouted and broke away from him. Tailan straightened her clothes—another sign Delvin recognized. She was buying time to think. “But I can’t act on that love right now.”
Her answer made him somewhat relieved. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Delvin walked to the sofa and gathered up his clothes. He could feel her watching his every move, and it stirred a heated wave inside him. If he didn’t act now, there might not be a later. “If I don’t push you to talk to me …”
“You mean any more than you already have?” Tailan countered.
He chuckled and approached her. “I just feel that if I don’t, I could lose you again.”
She moved out of his reach, causing him no small amount of frustration.
“We’re going to deal with this right now,” he snapped. “I don’t care if you respond or not but you sure as hell are going to listen, Tailan Song.”
The use of her full name did the trick. Her entire body went into battle mode.
“I worked my ass off for us!” he said. “Everything I did was for you and me.”
The tension and anger was coming off her in blasts. He stepped closer, letting his size crowd her. “None of it mattered without you—not the fame, the money. The victories felt hollow, unfinished, without you there.”
After a few spells, her shoulders relaxed. “Gabrielle was never with you on all of those red carpets,” she whispered.
“Why would she be?” he bit out. “She hadn’t earned the right to be there—you did.”
Tailan turned from him, and Delvin seized on the weakness. His voice softened. “We were together every night, sharing our dreams. When this acting thing landed in my lap and I was hesitant, it was you who encouraged me to go for it—not her—never her. She wasn’t even part of the equation.”
His lips caressed the curve of her ear, and Tailan trembled at the contact.
“If it wasn’t going to be you by my side, then it wasn’t going to be anyone.”
Her minuscule nod filled Delvin with optimism. She eased away from him and over to the window. He joined her as they took in the Chicago skyline and traffic rushing along Michigan Avenue.
“I’m so confused right now,” she whispered.
“Then talk to me, Tai.” Delvin had to push her to the breaking point. He saw no other way to get her to open up and let him in. When she didn’t say anything right away, he said, “All right, let’s go there.”
“You know I wasn’t serious when I said have a child by someone else,” she snapped, her chest heaving with indignation.
That’s right, baby, get it out!
“I know that now,” he admitted as he tried—unsuccessfully—to pull her closer. “But you could’ve been a little clearer.”
“By the time we revisited the issue, Gabrielle was already pregnant!” She inched further away from him. “She knew the deal.”
“And unfortunately, so did her grimy family,” Delvin growled.
Tailan paced before him, then moved from the window. “What are you talking about?”
“Here’s the quick and dirty,” Delvin started. “Gabrielle’s mother learned of the arrangement and put in her two cents. Soon the whole family had added a dime, a nickel, quarter, and a fifty cent piece. Suddenly their precious starlet felt duped about entering into the contract when we both know she signed it faster than a New York minute because she wanted the money to advance her career.”
Gabrielle became unhinged after she drilled her claws into Delvin’s influence, money, and notoriety. She went over the cliff with her ridiculous demands, her drama queen antics, and outrageous publicity stunts.
Her family had burrowed in deep as well. Gabrielle’s mother literally ran shotgun over Delvin’s entire household. By the time his daughter, Ariel, was born, the only place of peace was in the carriage house he’d had built where he spent his time alone or with Jason and Ariel.
Only five months ago did Delvin finally see a splash of sunlight in his otherwise dreary existence. Gabrielle fell in love with Paulo, a Brazilian artist. Their torrid affair was a blessing from above and the perfect vehicle to escape his farce of a marriage. He didn’t have all the details, but he knew this much: Paulo demanded he and Gabrielle marry, but wanted no part of all of her excess baggage—i.e. two kids and a thirsty extended family. The minute it became convenient for G
abrielle not to have a husband or children in tow, Delvin was on the horn with his attorney, his publicist, and his agent. Their assignment was to get him divorced, get him permanent custody of his children, and spread the word of the amicable split.
Delvin saw the end of his long-suffering turn on its head until Paulo flipped the script again. Somewhere along the way, Paulo, unlike Delvin, had figured out that Gabrielle and her dysfunctional kinfolk were matching bookends. The man dumped her in a live interview on international television.
“I understand why you got hitched,” Tailan reasoned, snatching him away from the unpleasant memories. “What I don’t get is why you stayed after your daughter was born.”
Delvin massaged his temples and took a seat on the arm of the sofa. He felt Tailan follow. “Ariel had medical issues soon after she was born. Before her first birthday, she had a tumor removed from her brain. The surgery went well, but there was a major complication.”
Tailan’s cell rang, but she let the call go to voicemail, she leaned against the wall, waiting.
“When Ariel came out of her coma …” he whispered, the images of that day floating in his mind. “When she opened her eyes, the only person she recognized … was me.”
Delvin smiled, and Tai’s expression softened.
“I couldn’t leave my little girl,” he said. “Blood tie or no, I couldn’t leave her because she needed me. And I sure as hell wasn’t about to leave her to Gabrielle’s maternal care.”
Tailan cringed.
“I told Gabrielle that I’d take custody of both children so she could focus on her career.”
“She must’ve felt like she’d hit the trifecta after that announcement,” Tailan cracked.
Delvin shook his head. “On the contrary. Once again she played lowdown and dirty. Gabrielle bragged quite often that making me as miserable as possible was her new career. And if I tried to leave her, she’d make it so I never saw the baby again.”
Tailan gasped, “That skank!”
“Yep, and a whole lot of other adjectives I could use,” he agreed.
“After all you did for her, for her son?”
Was it Good for You Too? Page 11