Truth or Dare

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

  Her eyes stayed fixed on the car as the driver pulled into the parking lot. She didn’t move until finally, she walked over to the car. Whoever was inside, didn’t get out. She approached the window. It looked like they were exchanging words; then Evian stomped off.

  I couldn’t be sure, but it almost seemed as if she was crying.

  She got back in her car and I contemplated whether I should follow her or the driver of the Civic. I decided that she had to tape a show, so I knew where she was going. I needed to know who was in that car, so I followed the Civic as it pulled out of the parking lot. I could see it was a guy, but I couldn’t get close enough to see who it was. But thankfully, before he got on the freeway, he turned into a gas station. I eased into the parking lot behind him. I hadn’t been able to see who he was as he went in so I parked next to his car to wait for him to come out.

  When the door to the store opened, he walked out on the telephone.

  “Yeah, I met with her. She’s trippin’ for real. She . . .” He almost dropped the phone when he saw me. I guess he was as stunned as I was.

  “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Carson Wells,” I said.

  “M-Maya,” he stuttered. “Long time, no see.”

  As soon as he spoke, I knew his voice. The same voice that had answered when I’d called. The same voice that had said his name was Miguel.

  I didn’t know whether to go off, or turn and leave, but my need for answers made me say, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re running, but I have the strangest feeling it’s no good.” I glared at him, waiting for an answer.

  He looked around the parking lot. “Not here.” He pointed across the street. “Follow me over there to the Starbucks.”

  I raised an eyebrow. I know he didn’t expect me to follow him anywhere.

  “It’s a bunch of people in Starbucks—I’m not going to do anything to you. I know you want some answers. Follow me over there and you’ll get them.”

  I guess my need to connect the dots was greater than any fear, because I just nodded as I got back in my car to follow him to Starbucks.

  Chapter 31

  I couldn’t believe that I was actually face-to-face with Carson Wells. Or Miguel, or whatever the heck his name was.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said, like were meeting for a date or something.

  “Really?” was all I could say as I stared at him from across the corner table where we were sitting.

  He shrugged and slid in the seat across from me. The Starbucks where we were meeting was filled with the hustle and bustle of people trying to get their java fix. But all I cared about was this snake in front of me.

  “So, is this your game? You’re a con artist?” I said.

  “No, not that at all, what I am though,” he said with a sly smile, “is an opportunist and an opportunity just fell into my lap, so I took it.”

  That piqued my interest, although I didn’t know how much to believe of what he told me.

  “I have a lot of questions,” I said.

  “I may or may not have answers,” he said with a grin.

  I studied him, trying to see through the lies. “How about I start with what’s your name? Your real name?”

  He smiled. “Miguel. Miguel Cantone.”

  I shook my head. “Why lie, Miguel Cantone?”

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s what I do when I pick up chicks.”

  “So, are you even a student?”

  “Nah,” he said, chuckling. “I dropped out of school in the tenth grade.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  I felt disgusted to my stomach. I’d almost made out with a twenty-two-year-old high school dropout?

  “Wow, so you just travel to Cancun and try to pick up teenagers?” I asked.

  “No, Cancun is actually home.” He shrugged indifferently. “I’m a native. But I’m back and forth here all the time, which is why I don’t sound like I’m from Mexico. I just happened to be home at the time you guys visited.”

  “And you happened to meet me and said, ‘Oh, here’s a sucker I can run game on’?”

  “Not at all,” he replied.

  “So, why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  “Hey, it’s like you said—I didn’t know you like that. Look, I’m sorry to stress you out behind all of this. I was just trying to get with a beautiful girl and then I saw a quick way to make some money,” he said. He put his hand on the table and covered mine. “But you have to admit, we have some kind of chemistry.”

  I jerked my hand away. “I don’t have to admit anything except that you turn my stomach.” I looked him dead in the eye.

  I decided that I didn’t really care what his real name was anyway or whether he was a student. I was just grateful I hadn’t done anything with him in Cancun. So, I asked the question I really wanted to know. “What’s going on with you and Evian?”

  He paused, looked like he was thinking, then said, “I’m not ready to answer that one just yet.” He had the nerve to smile at me.

  “That’s the question I really want answered,” I said firmly.

  He nodded, then said, “What do I get for telling you anything?”

  “You get me not blasting you all over TV,” I snapped. “You get me not going to the police.”

  “You’re some kind of piece of work, Maya Morgan.” He reached up to touch my hair. I jerked my head out of his reach.

  “Just answer the question, whatever your name is.”

  “I told you my name is Miguel.” He leaned back, thought for a minute, then said, “Cool, ask me whatever.”

  I leaned forward. “Let me ask you, Miguel, how are you and the guy I saw Evian with the other day connected?”

  “Pedro? Oh, that’s my cousin,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Pedro, I thought, where have I heard that name before?

  “Pedro,” I said slowly. “Wait a minute. Is that the guy that was holding Evian hostage? I mean, where we rescued her from? The guy at that place where we found Evian?” I remembered why he looked familiar now. That little boy that was the lookout, the one that thought we wanted to buy drugs when we went to rescue Evian had said Pedro was inside.

  He laughed. “I guess you’re not at the top of your game for no reason.” He winked. “I’ve done my homework on you.”

  That creeped me out, and once again I said a silent prayer that he had nothing to blackmail me over because I had no doubt he’d try to use it.

  “But yeah,” he continued, “Evian was at Pedro’s place in Cancun.”

  “You say that like she was there willingly.”

  He hesitated again, and I could tell he was thinking about just how much he was going to tell me. Finally, he said, “Screw it. She wanna play me, I told her she’d regret it.”

  My heart started beating fast. Was I really about to get the truth?

  “They paid Pedro to help them fake a kidnapping. He’s the one that called you guys about the ransom. The one whose house she stayed at. My cousin.”

  “So, you were in on this from the jump?” I asked. “Was the guy you dared her to go with part of your scheme?”

  “Nah,” he replied. “I didn’t know him. My boy Princeton told your girls I was a local and they hit me up for help.”

  “Was this before or after you were trying to get with me?” I asked pointedly.

  “It was after you kicked me to the curb, the night on the beach.” He raised an eyebrow like this was my fault. Really, dude?

  “During Spring Break Fling, my boy who works at a local hotel hooks me up with a room, so I can, ah, hang out . . .”

  “And pick up chicks?” I said with disgust.

  He obviously wasn’t fazed by my dig. “Yep, and pick up chicks.” He shrugged again. “Anyway, Princeton must’ve told Shay where I was staying because she was at my hotel waiting on me when I got back from . . . ah, being with you.”

  I wanted to say, “You mean, got back from dang near attacking me,” but I s
imply said, “Why should I believe you?”

  He nodded like he understood that. “You don’t have to believe anything I say.” Then, he removed his phone from his pocket, set it on the table between us, then tapped the screen. He swiped until he got to the VOICE MEMOS button. He opened it, pressed play, then pushed it toward me.

  “Just believe what you hear,” he said as the recording started playing.

  “Sorry, I needed to take that call. So tell me again what do you want me to do?” That was Miguel’s voice.

  “Look, your boy told me that you’re from here. That he’s visiting you.”

  “Is that Shay?” I asked.

  “Just be quiet and listen,” he said, smiling.

  “Okay, and?” Miguel asked as the tape continued playing.

  “And we need some help,” Shay continued. “Princeton said you could help us.”

  “Who is we?”

  “My girl Evian.”

  “So she came back?” he asked.

  “She never left,” Shay replied. “But we need it to seem like she did.”

  “So what kind of help you need from me?” He sounded tired and I recalled how buzzed he’d been that night.

  “We need someone we can trust. Someone that can help Evian lay low for a day or two,” Shay said.

  “Lay low how?”

  Shay sighed like she was frustrated. “We are runnin’ a little game of our own and we need someone that is willing to help us make it look like Evian has been kidnapped.”

  “Whoa, we just get chicks and do small hustles.” Miguel sounded like he’d perked up now. “That’s some major stuff you’re talking there.”

  “You’re not really kidnapping anyone,” she said. “We just need you to help us make it look like a kidnapping. We need a local place for her to be found.”

  “Aww, man. I don’t know about that. Why are you guys doing this?”

  “You don’t worry about why we’re doing it. Just help us out and we’ll make sure it’s worth your while.”

  There was a brief silence. I leaned in closer so I could hear better.

  “Worth my while how?” Miguel finally said. “What do I get out of it?”

  “How is five grand?” Shay replied.

  “Not as good as ten.”

  “Ten thousand dollars? Really?”

  “Look, you’re asking me to put a lot on the line, carry out this deception, find someone to help you out, then I have to split whatever I get with him.” Miguel sounded fully sober now.

  Silence again. “Okay, cool,” Shay finally said. “Seven grand.”

  “Ten.”

  “Fine,” she huffed

  “Where’s your girl now?” he asked.

  “She’s in the room, but we have to sneak her out.”

  “All right,” he said, “I’ll call my cousin. He’ll help us hook everything up. You can take her over there tonight. But if the cops get involved in any of this, I’m telling everything.”

  “I will make sure the cops don’t get involved,” Shay said. “You just do your part.”

  “Cool, get your girl and meet me out front in twenty minutes,” he said.

  Miguel pressed stop, then picked the phone back up. “You don’t have to believe me, but believe that.”

  I sat there, absolutely stunned. “So what made you record your conversation?”

  “I told you.” He dropped the phone back in his pocket. “I’m an opportunist, always looking for an opportunity, and I know you always have to have insurance. And the fact that she was at my hotel waiting, I knew something wasn’t right. So the minute she started talking, I acted like I had a phone call, so I could press record and get the whole conversation recorded.”

  “So, why are you here now?”

  “Because they’re trying not to pay. They gave us three grand in Cancun and they were supposed to send the rest when they got back to Miami. Not only did these chicks stop taking our calls, but I find out your girl is using the whole thing to blow up.” He leaned back. “So, that meant the price had to be renegotiated. Me and Pedro hightailed it here. Evian gave him the rest of the ten grand, but she didn’t want to agree to our new terms. I warned her. So, the way I see it, if she doesn’t want to pay for this”—he patted his pocket where he’d dropped his phone—“maybe you will.”

  “Oh, so that’s what this is about? Getting more money. That’s why you agreed to talk to me?”

  “Yep.” He flashed a smile. “Is this recording worth ten grand to you?”

  He just didn’t know. I’d pay twenty for that recording, but I just said, “Let me see what I can do. I might know some people who would be interested in buying it from you.”

  “Cool, I’m only in town a few more days.” His grin got wider. “It’s the college spring break next week and I need to get back to Cancun.”

  I wanted to throw up in my mouth. He was truly a slimy snake. I shook off that thought and focused back on the issue at hand. Miguel had just handed me the perfect opportunity to bring Evian down. Now, I just needed to figure out how to utilize it.

  “So what do we have to do now?” he asked.

  “We don’t have to do anything but go our separate ways. I got your number.”

  “How?” he asked, shocked.

  “Because I’m Maya Morgan.” I stood up. “I’ll be in touch when I’m ready for you.”

  I turned and headed toward the door.

  “Hope you don’t make me wait too long—for my money and a second chance with you,” he called out after me.

  I almost turned around and laughed in his face, but I thought it was just best to ignore him as I kept it moving.

  Chapter 32

  Evian was cold busted and I was about to let her know that I was hip to her game. I’d tossed and turned all night, trying to come up with the perfect way to bust her. But ultimately, I decided it would give me great pleasure just to march into Tamara’s office and give them the recording. It’s a good thing we were out of school today, because I don’t know that I could’ve made it through the whole day without calling her out.

  I’d called Miguel this morning and told him that I would have his ten Gs tomorrow. Of course, he’d been thrilled.

  I leaned against the doorway of Evian’s dressing room and just stood there until she noticed me.

  “May I help you?” she finally asked. She spun around in her chair, crossed her legs, and glared at me like she was Oprah and I was barging into her mansion.

  “Oh, just wondering if you want to return the favor,” I casually said.

  “What are you talking about?” she snapped.

  “You know, I was just wondering if you wanted to help me like I helped you.”

  “Maya, what are you talking about? I really don’t have time for your games. In case you haven’t noticed, I have the hottest show on TV right now and I’m pretty busy.”

  I ignored her delusional comment and sashayed into her office. She’d set up shop like she’d been here for years. There were pictures of her and every celebrity under the sun. I almost asked if they were Photoshopped because yeah, right, she was all snuggled up with Usher. That was probably an Usher impersonator.

  “I saved you, remember?” I said, running a finger along her dressing table. “You were a damsel in distress. A nobody. Until I plucked you from those kidnappers’ arms and made you relevant.”

  She released a laugh. “Really? You made me relevant.” She spun back around to face the mirror and started applying her lip gloss. “Girl, you should be a comedian. I think they’re hiring down at the Just Jokes Comedy Club.”

  I eased down onto the leather sofa in the corner of her office. “So, have you talked to Carson lately?”

  She stopped and stared at me from the mirror before slowly turning around.

  “Who is Carson?” she asked.

  So she really was going to try and play this all the way left?

  “Carson. From Cancun.” I snapped my fingers. “Oh, I’m sorry. His name is real
ly Miguel.”

  “What?”

  I stood up, tired of playing around with her. “Don’t what me, Evian. Was this some kind of game you guys were running all along? Were you playing me from the beginning?”

  She picked her lip liner up and began slowly lining her lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I spun her chair back around. “Cut the crap, Evian. I know everything. Now you either admit what you did or we can go have this conversation with Tamara and Dexter.”

  She glared at me but didn’t say anything. Finally, she set her lip liner down and crossed her arms. “You would love that, wouldn’t you? You’d love to do whatever it takes to bring someone else down. What’s the matter, Maya, you afraid of a little competition?”

  “Ha! Afraid of you? Get real. I just don’t appreciate getting played. And that’s exactly what you, Shay, Carson-slash-Miguel, Pedro, and everyone else in on your jacked-up plan tried to do.”

  “It was your idea to do the dumb truth-or-dare game.”

  I walked over to the wall, where she’d hung up the framed People magazine article. “So, what happened, you went for a stroll and decided, ‘hey, let me pretend to be kidnapped’?” I asked.

  She gave me a blank look before saying, “And so what if I did?”

  “Really, Evian? I don’t understand how you could have everybody freaking out about you, and you were running a big ol’ scam.”

  “Look”—she crossed her legs like she was about to read me—“I didn’t plan it. I went off with that guy and he put something in my drink.”

  I looked at her skeptically. “How do you know he put something in your drink?”

  “I saw him.” She shot me an evil glare like it was my fault. “Now, had I not seen what he was trying to do, this story could’ve turned out very differently. But I did see it, and just as I was about to come back down to the beach, I figured you guys had no problem placing me in danger. I might as well be in danger.”

  “So, there never was a kidnapping?” I asked point-blank.