She smiled. “Okay, you’re right.”
“I’ll see you in a little while.” She kissed his lips, long and seductive. “I want another one of those after this is over.”
She chuckled. “Yes, sir.”
Celine blew him a kiss as a nurse pushed his bed into the surgery room. Caleb calmed her spirits, so she set out in search of food.
An hour and a half later, there was no update. Celine paced, waiting to be paged but none came.
Another hour had passed before Doctor Sanders exited the operating room with a long expression tied to his features.
“Is it over?” Celine asked, hopeful.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Doctor Sanders held a brave front.
Celine’s face fell. “What happened?”
“Mr. Briggs didn’t make it. He passed at 7:04 p.m. His body continued to reject the implantation. We tried multiple times to…” Celine went deaf. Her mind swirled around Caleb’s passing at 7:04 p.m.
“No…” she whispered. “No! No! No!”
“I’m so sorry,” Doctor Sanders injected.
“Caleb!” Celine screamed, a tremble running through her core as she fled toward the surgery room. A group of nurses and doctors tackled her. “Caleb!”
Celine sat up in bed. “Caleb!” She grabbed at the air, still trying to fight the medical personnel off. Beads of sweat ran across her forehead. She focused on her surroundings, then dropped her head in her hands.
Frustrated, she threw the covers off and went into her bathroom, pulling a washcloth off the shelf. Running cold water on the cloth, she rinsed it out and patted her warm neck, face and ears. The recurring dream wouldn’t go away. It was the same every night for the last two weeks since Caleb’s death.
Wearing only her panties, Celine slipped into a spaghetti strap T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants then left the room. In the kitchen, she made a glass of water, drinking it in one gulp. As she rinsed out the glass and put it back in the cabinet, she noticed the clock on the wall read 3:11 a.m. The humongous house was quiet, so she assumed everyone was sleep. Down the hall, Celine made her way to Brian’s office. The door was cracked, and voices came from inside.
“Get it done, reassign all of them. What if Celine had been killed?”
“It will never happen again,” Cedric said.
“Damn right it won’t. If it does, I’ll kill all you bastards.”
“We’ll find whoever was gunning for you,” a female voice said. Celine rolled her eyes. She knew it was the chick who had it bad for Brian.
After a long pause, Brian said, “Don’t waste your time. They’re dead.”
“What happened?” the female asked.
“Were you listening earlier or was your head in the clouds because you know I don’t like repeating myself.” Celine winced at his heightened agitation.
“I’m sorry,” the female spoke, lowering her voice.
“Celine and I took care of them.” There was another pause. “Who the fuck is standing outside my door?”
Celine smirked. She pushed the door open and entered the room. Three sets of eyes turned to her. “Took you long enough,” Celine chimed.
A half grin creased his face. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” Celine could feel the woman’s eyes on her. “It’s late. What are you doing still up?” The question was directed toward Brian, but the woman was the one to respond.
“Handling business, as usual. You should go back to bed, sweetheart.”
Celine turned to her. “I’m sorry, what is your name again?”
With clenched teeth, she replied, “Sade.”
“Well, Sade, you should learn to speak when spoken to. Otherwise, shut your mouth.”
“Sade,” Brian said, his eyes glued to Celine’s thin T-shirt that did nothing to hide her hard, protruding nipples, “take a walk.”
Sade stood, her stroll taking her toward Celine. She brushed past her, leaving just enough space not to bump Celine’s shoulder.
Brian glanced at Cedric. “We’re done. Get back to me with the reassignments.”
“Aight Boss.” He left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Come here,” Brian said. Celine sauntered to him. He put his arms around her waist then lifted her, placing her butt on his desk. “What’s up?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”
He scrutinized her eyes. “Bad dream?”
She sighed. “Yeah. It wasn’t my intentions to disturb you. I didn’t know you’d be in your office this late.”
“So, what were you looking for?”
She took her time answering him, her eyes wandering everywhere but his face. He grabbed her chin, pulling her focus to him. She knew he hated repeating himself, so she saved him the misery. “I was looking for you… in your bedroom.”
His gaze stirred her soul. “I just never made it.” She sighed. “I’ve had the same dream every night since…”
He gathered her in his arms. She laid her head in the broad expanse of his chest. There she rested, almost falling asleep in his cocooned embrace.
“Let’s go lay down,” he said.
He helped her down, then grabbed her hand, leading her to his bedroom. They entered through a hidden door inside his office. The area of the room was big enough to house four separate rooms on its own. Massive in size and luxurious. The California king bed was disheveled; its covers were thrown back. As they neared, Sade lifted her head, surprised to see Celine in tow.
“What are you doing in here?” Brian asked.
Perplexed, Sade said, “I’m always in here.”
Celine rolled her eyes. It wasn’t her place to put Sade out, especially since Brian didn’t officially belong to her. “You know what,” she said. “I’ll chill on the sofa. I just need to clear my mind.”
“The hell you will,” Brian glowered. He turned to Sade. “Get your shit and get out.”
Affronted, Sade snapped her head back, “Really, Brian?”
Celine couldn’t help but smirk. Now that she thought about it, anytime she needed him back then, he would always clear the room. It still wasn’t enough since he never made them official.
Brian glared at Sade. “For the love of God, don’t make me repeat myself.”
Scowling, Sade jumped out of bed, her two-piece lingerie clinging to her body. If she’d have been a kettle on the stove, steam would be pouring out of her. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked him.
He let go of Celine’s hand and marched to the bed, ripping the covers and sheets to the floor. Disappearing in the closet, he returned with new linens. Celine pushed past Sade to help him fix the bed.
Once they finished, Brian looked to her. “Are you still here?”
Sade walked out the room, slamming the door. “I guess it’s safe to say she’s pissed,” Celine said, but by the look on his face so was Brian.
“Give me a second.” He left the room and Celine crawled into the bed. Brian caught up with Sade, sending out a curt whistle to grab her attention. She turned to him with the look of a wild animal. He knew she was pissed, but he didn’t care.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” He stood in her face, his glower sending angry waves at her.
“You don’t know? Are you just going to throw me out on my ass after everything we have done together?”
“You need to control yourself. If you don’t, I’ll have to replace you.”
“Seems like you already did.”
“I never told you we were exclusive, so get your shit together!”
She stomped away from him, and he casually strolled back to the bedroom.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Celine said.
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“This is where you belong.” He shed his clothes and crawled under the covers, pulling her body fiercely into his arms.
“I just want to be held,” she said. He leaned into her, placing a
gentle kiss on her lips. She turned into the fold of his neck and fell asleep.
Her soft snores were beautiful music to his ears. He needed her to stay. Whatever it is he had to do to accomplish that, he would.
Chapter Four
The next day, Celine sat in a wicker chair, mulling over the previous night’s events. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. Going to sleep in Brian’s arms felt so normal. Maybe she was fooling herself to think that what they had could be real. Either way, she’d slept like a baby, only waking up when the warmth of his skin was no longer there. Brian couldn’t afford the luxury of sleeping in; he always kept his eyes on everything and everyone moving around him. It was apparent that getting snuck up on by Zeus’s goons disturbed him more than he let on.
The front door unlocked and the knob turned, bringing Celine back to her current situation. With her legs crossed, dressed down in skin tight destroyed denim jeans, an off the shoulder black blouse, and black Manolo Blahniks, she sat idly with the nine millimeter she’d taken from Brian’s glove compartment resting in her lap. Her hair was down today, hanging past her shoulders. Her beautiful cocoa brown rich skin glowed.
When he stepped inside, her appearance startled him.
“Come in,” she calmly beckoned, “and close the door.”
His eyes darted around the room, a frown on his aging face. “Young lady, what are you doing in my house? I’m calling the police!”
His eyes floated to the gun in her lap. He looked back to her doe-shaped, innocent eyes unaware of the danger he was in. Taking out his cell phone was his first mistake.
Celine let off a shot, hitting the man in his hand.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“I said… come in and close the door.” Her voice was smooth, even as the man screamed at the pain now circulating through his fist. He didn’t move fast enough for Celine, and she fired off another shot.
“Okay! Okay!” he yelled, closing the door.
“Have a seat.” She pointed to the wicker chair across from her.
Sitting forward Celine rested her forearms on her thighs. “Do you know who I am?”
Doctor Sanders studied her face while wincing in pain. “No, no, I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Let me remind you. I’m Mrs. Briggs.”
The name swirled around his brain before landing on a distinct memory of her screaming in the hospital a few weeks ago. He closed his eyes, afraid of what her presence in his home would mean for him.
“Yes, I remember.”
She stood and walked to him, placing a pen and ballpoint pen in front of him. “Write down all of the names of everyone who operated on my husband.”
“I… I…” He looked into her eyes. They’d went from doe to dark. “Please, you must understand everyone doesn’t make it.”
Celine’s response was a shot to the doctor’s shoulder. He screamed in pain.
“Write them down, now!”
He fumbled with the ballpoint pen, scribbling the names of the four nurses and three doctors on his team. “Please,” he begged, huffing and puffing. “Don’t kill me.”
The screen door opened, and Celine rotated on her heels and held the gun in the air.
“Oh my God, Lamar!” his wife yelled.
Celine let off one shot, and the bullet flew across the room, digging a single hole into her forehead. Quickly she turned back to the doctor and silenced his uncontrolled wailing by putting a bullet in his head. Celine went out the way she came in, through the sunroom on the side of the house. She disappeared around the back, coming out at the end of the street through the yard of a home that posed as a daycare. Her legs took her quickly across the road to the Mercedes Benz Brian had given her keys to. It was brand new off the store room floor with only the amount of miles it took to drive from the dealership to his home.
Celine studied the list of names before her. She didn’t know which one had been on Zeus’s payroll, but it didn’t matter. If she had to, she would kill them all.
*****
Zeus stood his tall frame before the conference room table, glaring at each man in attendance. His dread locks moved against his shoulder as he spoke, “Bring his ass to me.”
The large man standing at the entrance opened the door, snatching a terrified goon by his collar into the room. He shoved him toward Zeus.
“How the fuck did an operation happen without my knowledge?”
Petrified, the man rubbed his hands up and down his pants, his jaw trembling. “We were trying to surprise you, show a sign of good faith.”
A low growl rumbled from Zeus. “A sign of good faith,” he mocked.
“See, we figured if we took out Brian, you could take over the north, and it would expand your growing empire.”
Zeus let in a sharp breath and closed his hazel eyes before reopening them. “I see.” He moved to the corner of the room, grabbing a baseball bat that sat in the corner. “So, you, Marlon, Davis, Gerald and Sonya thought you could do what I haven’t managed to do in what,” he held his arms out, “years?”
The man swallowed, perspiration glistening on his skin. “It was meant to be a good thing.”
“And now they’re dead, and you’re not. How did you get away, CJ?”
“I didn’t, um…” he fumbled even more.
“Spit it out!” Zeus roared.
“I was their lookout, but between the chase, I got pulled over by the cops.”
“And what did you tell Chicago’s finest?”
“That there was an emergency at my home, and my wife needed to get to the hospital.”
Zeus looked around the room. “Alphonso,” he barked, “where’s CJ’s wife?”
“In the morgue by now,” Alphonso announced. He stood in the corner of the room with his arms folded, always down to do Zeus’s bidding as his right-hand man.
“What are you talking about?” CJ asked, perplexed.
Zeus looked from the bewildered goon back to Alphonso. “What are you talking about, Phons?” Zeus questioned, shortening his name.
“After I shot my load into her ass, I stabbed her about,” he shrugged nonchalantly, “forty times maybe. I lost count.” He rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “She was a fighter, too, acting like she’s never taken a dick in her ass before.” He shrugged again.
CJ lost all sense of his surroundings and charged after Alphonso. Zeus took a step back, letting him fly past him before bringing the bat crashing into the base of his skull. The man hit the ground before he had a chance to get close to Alphonso. Zeus lifted the bat, every swing over CJ’s head causing a deep red blood stain to seep into the floor. Finally, Zeus dropped the bat and stepped over the corpse.
“Let this be a lesson to all you motherfuckers whenever you think of some extravagant plan. DON’T!” Zeus’s eyes landed on each individual in the room to make sure they got the picture. “Now somebody clean this shit up!” He snapped his fingers. “Carter!”
Carter sauntered over to him. “Yes Daddy,” she purred.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
Zeus left the room with Carter following. Once they’d made it inside a private office, he turned to her. “I need you to go undercover. Brian loves beautiful women.” He traced a finger over her collar down to her breasts. “I’m almost certain we’re at war now, but I need to be sure what he has planned. You’ll be my eyes and ears. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “It’s just that…” He gave her a blank stare, waiting for her to continue. “I thought we were already at war. You seem to be fighting them every chance you get about one thing or the other.”
Zeus loved women for the beautiful exotic sexual creatures they were, but he hated when they tried to grow a brain. Thinking was not what they were created to do. If he had it his way, they’d all be mindless robots only around to do his bidding. Carter must have sensed his anxiety because she began to backtrack.
“I mean, from what I’ve noticed is all, but what do I
know?” Her nervous smile didn’t hide the fear in her eyes.
“Right,” he crooned. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about any of that. You just be as beautiful as you are and do what I say. Do everything he wants.” He made sure to grow silent for a second after saying it so that she would understand her place. “No matter what it is. I need him to think you belong to him, are loyal to him and are on his side.”
He walked behind the cherry oak desk and pulled out a drawer, retrieving a large blue box. Unclasping it, he lifted the top and took out a diamond necklace. He strolled back to her. “Turn around.” She did so, lifting her hair. He placed the necklace around her neck.
She turned back to him.
“You start tonight. Brian will be at Cells Lounge downtown, and it will be your job to infiltrate his camp.”
Carter wanted to ask him how he knew where Brian would be, but she didn’t want to piss him off. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Let’s go.” He marched to the door, swinging it open. Alphonso stood on the opposite side. “She’s ready,” Zeus said. “Put her in the limo with Chris.”
“Aight.”
They walked away down a long corridor. At the end of the hall, they took a set of steps down to the front of the building. Outside Alphonso meandered to the limo. The door opened, and a fair-skinned man peered out the back.
“She’s all yours,” Alphonso said.
Carter slid into the back and shut the door. The limo drove around toward the gate; they sat there waiting for it to open completely.
Chris slapped the partition. “Let’s go!”
The driver pulled onto the street, coming to a hard stop as a homeless man crossed in front of them pushing a buggy.
“Would you happen to have a smoke?” Carter asked.
Chris glanced at her then opened a pack of cigarettes and handed her one. He put a light to her mouth, and she inhaled the strong menthol. Her freshly manicured hand covered the power window switch, causing the window to roll down. The smoke lingered in her mouth as she blew from her lips.
From across the street, Celine stood behind a high washing machine in the laundromat watching the beautiful woman puff the cigarette with a dejected look on her face. For hours now, Celine had been watching the comings and goings of limos, luxury vehicles, and modernized old school cars. The warehouse could’ve easily been mistaken for an abandoned building, but all of the activity suggested otherwise. Stake outs like this used to be handled with Brian, but Celine knew he wouldn’t approve of her going after Zeus.
Beautiful Assassin Page 3