Southern Love

by Synithia Williams

  “What do we do next?” he asked.

  “We’ve already been to his home, and he’s not there. We’ve also been to his parents’ place, and we’re searching the records to see if he owns property that we don’t know about,” Officer Alexander explained.

  Malcolm clenched his fists to keep his hands from shaking. “I can’t just sit here and wait.”

  Before the officers could respond, the front door burst open as Carol and Angie stormed in. Angie ran over to embrace Kenyatta’s parents and Carol ran to Malcolm. She had tears in her eyes and looked as if she’d been crying on the way over. She grabbed his arm with both hands.

  “Brad has a house. On Lake Murray.” She rushed to get the words out. “Kenyatta mentioned it to me once. Apparently, Brad said something about it in passing, but when she asked about it, he changed the subject. She was surprised he’d never brought it up before. I know that’s where he took her.”

  Malcolm grabbed her hand. “Where on Lake Murray?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. She hadn’t ever been there and never mentioned it again. I think it’s on the Newberry or Saluda side of the lake.”

  “How do you know that if you never went there?” Officer Quinton asked.

  Carol turned to the officer with an exasperated look. “I searched the Lexington and Richland tax records and only found the property his house is on. It bothered Kenyatta at the time, so I did a little digging. Other things came up, and I forgot to look at the other counties around the lake.”

  “Thank God for nosy friends,” Malcolm said, kissing Carol on the cheek.

  Carol tried to act nonchalant, but he could tell she was pleased. “Well, we’ll see if you say that after I finish searching your records. I Googled you last night.”

  Malcolm was surprised but truly didn’t care. If Kenyatta didn’t have friends like Carol, then they wouldn’t know where to look. Brad’s lake house was their only clue.

  “We’ll check this out at the station and see what we can find.” Officer Quinton nodded and looked to Officer Alexander who’d written down what Carol said. “I think we’re done here.”

  Malcolm walked over to the officer. “I’m going with you.”

  Officer Quinton sighed. “There’s no need to go with us. We’ll call you as soon as we find anything out.”

  Malcolm punched his right palm with his left fist. “That’s not good enough.”

  Before Officer Quinton could respond, Angie came over and put her hand on Malcolm’s arm. “Malcolm, I know you’re upset, but let the police do their job.”

  He turned to argue, but the pleading in her eyes made him stop. He looked at Carol, and she nodded.

  “We’ll let you know as soon as we hear something,” Officer Quinton said before Malcolm could insist again.

  As soon as the officers left, Carol pulled out her iPhone.

  Angie tugged on Malcolm’s arm. “Where is Kenyatta’s laptop?”

  “It’s in the case beside the couch,” Malcolm replied. “Why?”

  “Because, genius, while the police are checking their leads, we can search the property records for Saluda County and Newberry County. We’ll find it and get there long before they do,” Carol answered. She didn’t even look up from her iPhone.

  “Where are you checking, Carol?” Angie asked as she pulled out Kenyatta’s laptop.

  “Saluda, you check Newberry. We’ll find his property in less than thirty minutes.”

  Again the only thing Malcolm could think was, “Thank God for nosy friends!”

  Chapter 33

  Kenyatta felt a sharp pain on the side of her face. She wanted to slip back to the oblivion of sleep, but the pain came again. She tried to turn away, but someone grabbed her jaw and forced it back around. She slowly opened her eyes and had to blink a few times before her vision cleared enough for her to see Brad standing over her.

  He sneered at her. “Wake up. I don’t have all day to wait on you to come around.”

  Suddenly she remembered what happened after Malcolm left. She tried to sit up, but the room spun, and she fell back down onto what she realized was a sofa. She looked around the room but didn’t recognize anything. It looked like the inside of a cabin or lodge. Dark wood paneling covered the walls and paintings of the outdoors and mounted deer heads were the only decoration.

  “That’s my girl. You’re finally waking up.” Brad reached out to touch the side of her face. “I was beginning to think I’d given you too much.”

  “Where am I?” Her mouth was dry, and her voice scratchy.

  “You’re at my lake house. Don’t you remember I promised to bring you here one day?”

  He sat beside her on the couch. He had on a bathrobe, and from its opening, she could see he didn’t have anything on underneath. Her heart raced, and her stomach clenched as she remembered what he’d told her before taking her from her house. Something about getting what he’d waited for and preventing her from being good for any other man. Oh, God, she thought. He’s going to finish what he started the other night!

  She tried to sit up again, and this time Brad helped her. His hands made her skin crawl. She tried to get out of his grasp, but he held on tighter.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

  “Brad, why are you doing this? I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry. But I don’t understand? I thought you — ”

  “You thought I was a doormat,” he stated.

  She shook her head. “No, I never thought of you that way.”

  “Oh really, then why did you always keep me at arm’s length? You wanted to control me, and I wanted you so badly, I let you do it.”

  “You should have let me know how you felt.” she reasoned.

  He laughed. “Tell you how I felt? Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to fuck your boss?”

  She flinched and turned away. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t plan for this to happen.”

  “So you’re saying it was a mistake? That you’re going to forget him and stay with me?” He sounded hopeful.

  “Don’t do this. You know it wasn’t working,” she replied.

  He grabbed her face. “The only reason it wasn’t working is because you were too busy to make it work. It was always your job, never me. I let you hold on to that foolish dream for longer than I should have. I should have beaten it out of you long before the other night.”

  “I was never going to give up my career. And if you would have hit me, we would have been finished long before this.”

  He smirked and pushed her back on the sofa. “You wouldn’t have left me then, and you’re not going to leave me now.”

  He got up and walked out of the room. His sudden exit surprised her, but only for a moment. The door was across the room, and she’d have to pass the room Brad had just entered. There was a window near her, so she decided to make a break for that.

  She stood up only to have the room sway before her eyes, and she fell back on the sofa. She looked back at the door Brad had gone into and took a few deep breaths. She didn’t know where he went or how long he would be gone, so she had to get out of there quickly.

  She stood up again, more slowly this time. The room didn’t sway and she took a deep breath before looking over her shoulder. Brad was still in the other room. She turned toward the window and sprinted for it. She fought the nausea and dizziness, determined to make it out, but had only gone a few steps when she heard Brad’s laughter behind her.

  “Where do you think you’re going? I own ten acres out here. You’ll get lost before you make it a hundred yards.”

  Kenyatta froze and turned slowly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the young woman from the restaurant standing beside Brad. The girl was badly beaten and limped as Brad walked forw
ard with his arm around her.

  “I think it’s time you met Robin,” Brad said smiling. “It’s only fair you see who’s been taking all of the beatings that were meant for you.”

  Kenyatta’s stomach rolled with disgust. She looked at the girl and didn’t know what to say. Surely it wasn’t true, but when Robin looked at Kenyatta, the anger in her eyes said otherwise.

  She began to shake her head. “No … no. How could you do this? You’re sick.” Kenyatta began to back away from both of them.

  Brad pushed Robin aside and grabbed Kenyatta forcefully by the arms. “You’re damn right I’m sick. Sick and tired of women like you taking advantage of me. But not anymore. Before the end of the night, you’ll know just how sick I am. Robin’s taken your place for too long. Tonight I’m going to get what I’ve waited for. I won’t lose you.”

  She tried to fight off his grip, but he shook her roughly. The room spun again, and she fell forward onto his chest. Brad cupped the side of her face and whispered into her ear, “Don’t feel bad for her. Robin’s no better than you. She also tried to leave me for some fool. She’s learned her lesson, and before the night’s over, so will you.”

  Brad dragged Kenyatta over to Robin. He held Kenyatta at his side and reached out to grab Robin’s hand. “You see, tonight I’m going to be selfish and get everything I want. Robin will record us consummating our relationship.” He grinned at Kenyatta. “She’s always been jealous of you, so she should enjoy this. She’ll record every hit, punch, scream, and fuck that I get out of you tonight. That way I can enjoy it long after you’re gone.”

  Kenyatta struggled, but he shook her again. “Keep trying to fight, and it’ll be a lot worse than what you already deserve.”

  He let go of Robin’s hand to grab her breast. Robin flinched and closed her eyes, but Brad pinched her roughly. “Don’t look away from me.” She turned back, and Brad smiled. “I think I deserve to have both of you pleasure me at once. It’ll be good for you both.” He laughed sickly. “And we’ll end the night … well, let’s just say I’ll leave here a happy man and will come back to visit you both in your final resting place.”

  Kenyatta swallowed back her nausea. She would not let him do this without a fight. She looked at Robin, but the girl looked like her spirit had been broken. Silent tears fell from her face, and her eyes were expressionless, the anger from before nowhere to be seen. Kenyatta’s heart went out to her. There was no telling what Brad had put her through but damned if she’d let him do the same to her.

  She moved quickly, and with all of her strength, she elbowed Brad in the stomach. He bent over, and she pushed him to the floor. The blow stunned both him and Robin, and she knew she only had seconds to escape. Running for the door, the room spun, but she could not stop. Not until she got out of this house and found help.

  Kenyatta was almost at the door when she heard a gunshot and a blinding pain tore through her upper back. She screamed and fell to the floor. Reaching behind her, she touched her shoulder. When she drew her hand back, there was blood on it. She rolled over and saw Brad standing up with a gun in his hand.

  He threw the gun to the floor and stalked over to her. She tried to crawl away, but he grabbed her by the hair and slapped her.

  “Don’t you ever try to run from me again! I’ll kill you the next time. Do you understand me? I did everything for you! I would have given you anything and you throw it away, for what? He doesn’t love you. I do! Has he told you he wanted to be with you? Is he going to marry you? No! He only wants to fuck you, and you’re such a slut that you let him. I’m saving you a lot of heartache, and you should be grateful!” He shook her with each question and pushed her back on the floor.

  The pain in Kenyatta’s back exploded. She was dizzy and could feel blood seeping out of the wound. I’m going to die. Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away. She wouldn’t let him see her cry. She would at least die with some dignity.

  “Where is your lover boy anyway?” Brad asked. He jerked off his robe, and Kenyatta almost threw up at the site of his purple, swollen erection. He grabbed himself and began to rub it as he watched her helpless on the floor. “I almost wish he was here to see this.”

  Kenyatta didn’t know where Malcolm was. He didn’t know where Brad lived or that Brad had a lake house. None of her friends knew, either. They may have guessed Brad had her, but they wouldn’t know where to find her.

  Suddenly, all Kenyatta could think about was how much time she’d wasted because of her fear of being hurt. She’d known from the moment she’d met Malcolm that she wanted him. If she hadn’t been so afraid to trust her heart, she would have seen they would be great together. She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him she loved him.

  She looked up at Brad and thought she’d choke on her disgust. She wouldn’t spend her last hours filled with revulsion and fear. She filled her mind and heart with the love she felt for everyone else in her life. Her mom, her dad, Carol and Angie, and of course, Malcolm. She would hold on to his memory and their brief time together, in these last hours of her life.

  “You want to know where Malcolm is?” she answered Brad. “He’s somewhere you’ll never be. In my heart.”

  Brad’s fist balled up, and he curled his lip back in disgust. “I’ll rip your heart out before the night’s over.”

  Brad jerked her to her feet and kissed her harshly. When she pulled away, he grabbed her hand and put it on his erection.

  “He’s in your damn heart right now, but I’ll be inside of you for the rest of the night. When I’m done, you won’t even remember his name.”

  Kenyatta grabbed and pulled as hard as she could. He cried out in pain and pried her fierce grip from his cock. She crumpled to the floor without his support holding her up. “You’re just going to make this harder on yourself, aren’t you?”

  She glared at him. “Hell yes.”

  His face turned purple with rage. He grabbed the front of her shirt and balled up his fist to hit her. Kenyatta closed her eyes and braced herself for the blow she knew was coming. She wouldn’t let him make her cry. No matter what, he wouldn’t break her spirit.

  A gunshot reverberated through the room.

  Something warm and sticky showered over her before a heavy weight crushed her to the floor. Stunned, she opened her eyes to see Brad’s limp form slumped over her. The side of his head was missing, blown off by a gunshot wound. The fluid covering her was his blood. She looked up and saw Robin standing over them. She looked shaken and trembled as she held the gun in both hands.

  Robin turned her pained-filled eyes to Kenyatta and continued to hold the gun. “He … he hurt me so much. Because of you. I thought … I thought he would love me if you went away.” She began to cry.

  A new panic seized Kenyatta as she stared down the barrel of the gun in Robin’s hand. “Robin, I had no idea,” Kenyatta whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He didn’t love either of us. He would have killed us both.” She dropped the gun and fell to the floor. Huge sobs racked her body. Kenyatta struggled to move Brad’s body so that she could reach Robin, but she didn’t have the strength.

  The front door burst open, and Malcolm ran into the room. He cried out when he saw Kenyatta on the floor under Brad’s limp body, but within an instant, he was at her side. He shoved Brad’s body off her and pulled her into his arms as Kenyatta finally released the tears she’d been holding.

  “I thought I was going to lose you,” he whispered.

  Kenyatta cried and clung to him. “You found me,” she said through the tears.

  “God, Kenyatta … I love you.”

  She began to sob. “I love you, too.”

  “Kenyatta!”

  Kenyatta looked over Malcolm’s shoulder to see her mother and father followed by Carol and Angie. They all came for her, the people she loved m
ost in the world. She tried to reach out to them, but the room began to grow dark. She felt fuzzy again, as if she were floating on a cloud.

  “I’m so tired. Malcolm. I can sleep now that you’re here.” She reached up to touch his face. “I … love … you,” she whispered before she fell into darkness.

  Chapter 34

  “Kenyatta, do you mind if I leave a few minutes early today? I promised my dad we’d go out for dinner tonight.”

  Kenyatta turned from her desk in her new office at Jordan and Burke. In the three months since the cabin incident, things in her life had returned to a normal routine relatively quickly. It had taken her a few days in the hospital to recover from the gunshot wound to her upper back, but luckily, it missed anything critical. Carol and Angie had been by her side almost constantly during her recovery. She thought about how truly blessed she was to have such close friends.

  Everyone was dumbstruck to learn the depth of Brad’s problems. His friends, Michael and Joi, had both been shocked to learn of Brad’s abuse of her and Robin. They’d proven to be good friends and supported her, but Kenyatta was hesitant to let them help too much since they’d been such a big part of her life with Brad. She wanted to forget that life.

  It had taken longer for Brad’s parents to speak to her. At first, she assumed they blamed her in some way for their son’s death, but when they’d finally contacted her a week ago, it was to apologize. They’d told her how Brad had become very possessive with the women he dated since losing his high school sweetheart. Kenyatta discovered Brad had beaten her when she tried to leave him to go to another college, but his parents assured her they hadn’t heard of him hitting anyone since then. They’d assumed it was a one-time thing. They apologized for not telling her, but Kenyatta knew that as parents they would have kept Brad’s secret forever. It was scary to know they would have let her marry him without saying anything. Although they told her to let them know if she needed anything, Kenyatta didn’t want any reminders of Brad. She had no desire to speak with his parents again.