“So you’re going to hide until when?”
Sonya shook her head. “I don’t know, Sharon. I don’t have any answers.”
“Aunt Sharon?” Bridget peeked around the door.
“Come in, Bridget.” Sharon motioned for her to enter.
Bridget entered the room, wearing a blue and pink pastel dress. She’d brushed her hair into a tight ponytail at the nape of her neck. She’s pretty, Sonya thought.
“How are you feeling?” Bridget asked politely.
“I feel better now that I’ve had some sleep. How are you doing?”
Bridget took a deep breath and nodded. “I went home to take a bath and tried to relax. I think it helped.”
“A bath. Now that sounds wonderful,” Sonya commented.
Bridget held out a Macy’s bag and handed it to Sonya. “Aunt Sharon asked me to pick you up something on my way back to the hospital. A size six, right?”
Sonya looked over to Sharon.
“I figured you needed some clean clothes. I wasn’t about to go to your house. Who knows what I would have found there?” Sharon said, shrugging her shoulders.
Sonya agreed with Sharon. She couldn’t go home, and the police weren’t exactly helpful. Sonya hoped the nurses wouldn’t find her sneaking a shower as she stood and walked to the bathroom. When she stepped out, wearing a pair of button-fly jeans and white T-shirt, she felt better.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in jeans before,” Sharon said.
“It’s been years,” Sonya agreed. She brushed her hair back into a tight ponytail.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what you would like. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with jeans and a T-shirt,” Bridget explained.
“You did fine. Besides, if I have to do any more running, I’m dressed appropriately,” Sonya said, stepping into a pair of Reeboks.
“Do they fit?” Sharon asked. “I had to guess your size.”
“Perfect.”
“Are we going to see Daddy before we leave?” Bridget asked, looking at her aunt.
“You go on ahead. We’ll be right behind you.”
Bridget left, and Sharon turned to Sonya. “Dwayne wants us to take you to his house. We’ve talked this morning.”
Sonya shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Look what happened when he tried to protect me last time.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Sonya started to argue further, but she realized she didn’t have a better plan. The only thing she knew was, she was frightened. “No.”
“Then let Dwayne help.”
“All right.” She held up her hands in mock surrender.
“Come on, let’s go see Dwayne.” Sharon looped her arm around Sonya’s shoulders.
“Did you cancel your flight?” Sonya asked as they walked toward Dwayne’s room.
“James went alone. I couldn’t leave with Dwayne like this. But I’m joining him tomorrow after Dwayne’s discharge from the hospital.”
As they entered Dwayne’s room, Bridget’s soft laughter greeted them. Dwayne was smiling at his daughter, but his smile grew wider at the sight of Sonya.
“If I didn’t know better, Mr. Hamilton, I would think that you’re faking all of this just to get attention,” Sonya teased.
Dwayne held his hand over his heart. “Oh, you wound me to the quick, Mrs. Hamilton.”
Sonya blushed while everyone in the room started laughing. “They wouldn’t let me ride here with you. I had to be a family member,” she offered as an explanation.
Carmen and Anthony knocked, then entered the room.
“I see you’re recovering just fine.” Anthony laughed. “You’re surrounded by beautiful women.”
Dwayne smiled. “It’s heaven, Anthony.”
Sonya saw Carmen’s bloodshot eyes. Had she been crying? “Oh, Dwayne, when I heard the news I was devastated.” She headed toward him.
Bridget stepped between Carmen and her father.
“I’m sorry to have worried you both,” Dwayne answered, giving Bridget a bewildered look.
Everyone exchanged pleasantries, but the room soon grew uncomfortably silent. Sonya didn’t miss any of Carmen’s evil glares.
“Maybe we should be leaving,” Sharon said, after no one spoke.
“Yeah, me, too,” Anthony agreed. He looked at his watch but accidentally knocked the flowers from Carmen’s hands. “Excuse me.” He bent to pick up the flowers at the same time as Carmen, which caused their heads to bump.
“Anthony!” she muttered.
“Sorry.”
Dwayne hid a smile and winked at Sonya.
Sonya felt flirtatious and winked back. Sharon leaned down and kissed Dwayne’s forehead. “We’ll be back later.”
Bridget hesitated, then followed behind her aunt. “Check you later, sugar-daddy.”
Dwayne watched his family leave the room and sighed. At least by tomorrow, he would be back home. After everything that happened, he was concerned about his family’s safety.
“I think you need to drop this case,” Carmen complained. “I mean, look at you. You’re a lawyer, not some superhero.”
Anthony stood behind Carmen and shook his head. Dwayne couldn’t fault Carmen. She was just concerned for his welfare. He blocked out the rest of Carmen’s ranting and concentrated on what happened last night. One thing he was sure of—he wasn’t going to get any answers sitting in this hospital bed.
“Carmen, could you leave me and Anthony alone for a minute? I want to talk to him in private.”
Carmen looked insulted that he had cut her off in the middle of a sentence.
“Please?” he added.
Picking up the purse she had laid on the bed, she left the room without another word. Dwayne and Anthony shook their heads.
“She’s quite a woman,” Anthony commented, grinning.
Dwayne found Anthony’s infatuation with Carmen humorous. “If you say so.” Dwayne continued to shake his head. “Look, I need you to do me a favor. Can you do some investigating for me? You think you can handle that?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Sonya, Bridget and Sharon arrived at the Hamilton residence later that evening. Sonya admired the beautiful two-story home as she entered. Just moments after she opened the front door, an excited black Lab jumped onto Bridget’s legs.
“Hey, Buffy!” Bridget smiled, happily petting the dog. “Did you miss me, girl?” Bridget continued to coo.
Buffy wasted no time jumping from Bridget to Sonya. Sonya laughed at the dog’s eagerness.
“I think she likes you,” Bridget observed.
“I believe I like her, too.”
“Did you put some food down for her?” Sharon asked, going into the kitchen.
Bridget twisted her face into an amused frown. “I forgot. Come on, Buffy,” Bridget called, patting her leg for the dog to follow her.
Sonya trailed behind everyone into the kitchen. She found the western-style kitchen a cute decorative idea. Bridget followed her gaze. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s different.”
“Dad let me decorate it. I also did the bathrooms, his study and of course, my room.”
“So you like decorating?” Sonya asked.
Sharon lifted a curious brow.
“I never thought about it really. I had a good time decorating the rooms, so yeah, I guess I do.” Bridget pulled out a large bag of dog food and poured some into Buffy’s bowl. Buffy immediately buried her face in the bowl.
“It’s a wonder why that dog never turns on you. She hardly ever eats,” Sharon commented, shaking her head.
Bridget shrugged her shoulders as if she wanted to avoid the subject.
“Where should I put my things?” Sonya said, regarding the bags of clothes they had just bought at Bridget’s favorite department store.
“I’ll show you.” Bridget sprang up from the floor and led Sonya up the stairs to the guest room.
The room was small but charming
, with its pastel floral designs. “You’re right across the hall from my bedroom.” Bridget smiled. “We’ll share the bathroom. It’s the room at the end of the hallway.” Bridget continued showing her the upstairs. “And that’s Daddy’s bedroom.”
Sonya stared at the closed door that was at the opposite end of the hallway. She wondered what Dwayne’s room looked like—but of course she wouldn’t dare satisfy her curiosity, not in front of Bridget, anyway.
Sharon called them from downstairs, and Bridget motioned for her to follow.
“I’m going to run and pick us up some movies and popcorn. Maybe we can have an old-fashioned slumber party tonight. Hopefully that will relieve some tension around here,” Sharon said, picking up her purse.
“Great!” Bridget agreed.
Sonya relaxed. They were doing their best to make her feel at home, and she knew it. “Is there anything I can do?” she offered.
“No, I think I have everything under control. I’ll be back in about an hour. I also have to pick up my bags and bring them over, so I’ll be ready to leave tomorrow after Dwayne comes home. Sonya, you get some more rest.” Sharon turned to Bridget. “How are you doing?”
“Better, now that I know he’ll be home tomorrow.”
Sharon kissed her niece’s forehead. “I’ll be back in an hour.” She waved to Sonya and slipped out the door.
Bridget turned to Sonya. “Are you tired?”
“No.” She eyed her cautiously.
“Good. Let’s go try on the outfits we bought!”
Sonya laughed as she allowed the young girl to lead her back up the stairs.
Sonya, Bridget and Sharon reached for the last Kleenex simultaneously. They were near the end of the four-hour epic Gone with the Wind.
“This is so sad,” Bridget whispered, capturing the last tissue.
“This is my all-time favorite move,” Sharon sniffled.
“Mine, too,” Sonya agreed.
“Where is he going?” Bridget asked as Rhett Butler headed for the door.
“She realized what she had too late,” Sharon whispered.
The three women held their breath as they waited for Rhett Butler to deliver his signature line.
“He’s going to leave her like that?” Bridget asked, shocked.
“Shh,” both Sharon and Sonya instructed Bridget.
Not another word was uttered as Scarlet looked into the camera and envisioned what tomorrow would bring. The credits were rolling when Sharon stood and turned on the lights in the living room.
“That was a great movie.” Bridget blew her nose. “I thought it was going to be a lame movie, but it turned out to be awesome.”
“Sonya, I didn’t think you liked romance movies,” Sharon commented.
“I just know the difference between reality and fantasy. I’ll take Hollywood’s fantasy over reality anytime.”
“Well, I think I’m going to go to bed. I’ll take Dwayne’s room,” Sharon said, yawning.
“Oh, no, you don’t. Both of you are helping me clean up this mess. Daddy comes home tomorrow, and I won’t have him think I’ve neglected my chores.”
Sharon gave Sonya an amused look. “Okay, we’ll help.”
Sharon stood and took the two bowls of half-eaten popcorn into the kitchen.
Sonya picked up the pillows from the floor and went to rewind the videotape in the VCR. When she selected the appropriate button, she noticed a picture of a beautiful woman smiling in a wooden-framed picture.
She had a friendly smile, Sonya observed, picking up the frame. She didn’t know that Bridget stood behind her until she spoke.
“That’s my mother,” she boasted proudly.
“She’s beautiful,” Sonya commented, swallowing a lump in her throat.
“Daddy says that I take after her, but I think I look like him,” Bridget said, continuing to look at the picture behind Sonya.
“I definitely see a strong resemblance between you and your mother, but you have your father’s eyes.” Sonya placed the frame back.
Both women studied the angelic image in the picture frame.
“I wish I could remember her,” Bridget finally said.
Sonya turned curious eyes toward Bridget. Bridget gave her a half smile. “She died when I was a baby.”
“I’m sorry,” Sonya said, reaching to push a loose curl from Bridget’s face.
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
“What are you ladies in here chatting about?” Sharon asked, entering the room.
“Nothing,” both Sonya and Bridget answered in unison. They looked at each other and gave friendly smiles.
“Let’s finish getting this mess cleaned up,” Sonya said, turning her attention back to the living room.
The next evening, Dwayne entered the house, happy to be home.
“Daddy!” Bridget yelled from the top of the stairs and flew into her father’s arms, nearly knocking him over. Dwayne held his daughter tightly. Buffy was next to greet him at the door.
“Hello, girl.” Dwayne knelt down to pet the dog.
Dwayne felt the room charge with energy the moment Sonya walked into the room. “Hello,” he greeted, unaware of his voice deepening.
“Welcome home.”
Dwayne felt his heart pound wildly at the sight of her dressed in a short white sundress. Her hair hung in loose curls past her shoulders. He saw where she tried to hide a bruise on her left cheek with makeup, but there was still a purple shadow.
“Are you going to stand in this hallway all day, or are you going in?” Sharon scolded, pushing Dwayne farther into the house.
Dwayne felt the pain in his leg vanish somewhat. He knew by the silence that the women were holding their breath as he walked to a nearby chair. When he sat, everyone beamed with pride.
“We’ve fixed you a welcome-home dinner,” Bridget said.
“We?”
“Sonya and I. You’re going to love it!”
Dwayne smiled. For the first time, he noticed Bridget wore the exact outfit Sonya wore. Apparently they were becoming fast friends. He was also relieved that there hadn’t been any further incidents. Sonya was safe here, and even more shocking, she hadn’t put up much of a fuss about it.
“Do you need any help in the kitchen?” Sharon asked, walking behind the two women.
When the doorbell rang, Dwayne stopped Sharon from answering it. “I’ll get it. You go help in the kitchen. I’m hungry enough to eat a horse.” Sharon laughed as she went into the kitchen.
Dwayne made it to the door, ignoring the pain shooting up his leg. “Ah, Anthony. Come in.”
“I think I have something,” Anthony said angrily.
“What did you get?” Dwayne asked, stepping aside to allow him entrance.
“I sneaked into Walters Intercorp to do some investigating of my own. I looked to see if I could find something that perhaps the police had missed.”
Anthony had Dwayne’s full attention. “And what did you find?”
Anthony took a deep breath and pulled out a small plastic bag. “I discovered it in the stairwell.”
Dwayne took the plastic bag and unwrapped it. What he saw made him catch his breath. “I don’t believe it.”
Chapter 16
“I believe this belongs to you.”
“Oh, Sharon, you found it!” Sonya said, taking the gold chain from her.
“Tina found it on the accounting floor.”
Sonya nodded at the memory of them hiding under a desk. “Tell them I’m grateful.”
Bridget gathered plates from the cabinet while rapping along to her favorite rap song. Sonya smiled at her teenage antics. She found Bridget to be a treasure. In the past two days together, she was beginning to think that Bridget’s carefree ways were rubbing off on her.
“I swear that child is going to go deaf listening to that CD player blaring in her ears. Bridget!”
“‘What’s up, what’s up, what’s up with the Bankhead bounce, shortie!’” Bridget sa
ng at the top of her lungs.
“Bridget!” Sharon continued to shout. Sonya tried not to laugh.
Bridget snatched off the headset. “Did you say something, Aunt Sharon?”
“How on earth can you listen to that music so loud?”
Bridget frowned. “This is the jam, Auntie.”
Sharon shook her head. “I don’t know what you kids are listening to today with that rap stuff. Now back in my day, we had music.”
Sonya nodded, agreeing with her. “Groups like Earth, Wind and Fire, The Commodores, Michael Jackson.”
“I listen to Michael,” Bridget defended.
“Yeah, but not with songs like ‘Off the Wall’ or ‘Rock With You.’” Sharon and Sonya jumped up as if on cue and began singing their rendition of Michael’s classic.
“Oh, I know,” Sonya interrupted with an idea of her own.
“‘She’s a bad Mamma Jamma—’” Sharon joined in, singing at the top of her lungs.
Dwayne entered the kitchen, holding his ears. “What are you women doing in here?”
“Aunt Sharon and Sonya are trying to convince me that the music they grew up listening to is supposedly better than today’s music.”
“I thought you were strangling a cat in here,” Dwayne joked. Bridget laughed. “But of course the best music was in the mid-seventies, something your aunt knows little about. Songs like ‘For the Love of Money.’” Dwayne began to sing.
Sonya was surprised by Dwayne’s voice. He has a wonderful singing voice.
“And the love ballads are still classics,” Dwayne added. “Songs like ‘Killing Me Softly.’”
Sonya quickly joined in singing with Dwayne. Startled looks passed between Sharon and Bridget. Sonya turned toward Dwayne while singing her part. His laughing eyes gave her the courage to sway to the tune playing in her head. She was having fun.
Dwayne took his turn, leaning gently into her. He had no idea that his seductive voice was causing goose bumps to spread across Sonya’s body. They finished the song with their bodies only inches apart. Sonya felt the throbbing energy pulse from him.
Sharon and Bridget clapped loudly. Bridget put her fingers in her mouth and whistled.
“You have quite a voice, Sonya,” he complimented.
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