Asia didn’t say anything at first, but then said, “No, we don’t blame you. We just blame that lunatic, Dion.”
“Where is he now?” Savannah asked.
“That’s the thing. Nobody knows. We don’t know if he knows we have his brother or not. We’re not allowing him to make any phone calls.”
“I have a plan,” Savannah said. Troy gave her his undivided attention. “Why don’t I call him? Tell him we found her, but she’s in a coma. If I can lure him to the hospital, maybe he’ll do something stupid.”
“It could get dangerous, and I don’t want you risking your life ever again,” Troy said.
“We have to do something. What if Montana would have died?” Asia countered.
Troy said, “Dion has no idea that his brother was asking for ransom. I hate to tell you this, but Montana’s not supposed to be in there. She’s supposed to be—”
Savannah put her hand up. “Don’t say it.”
“Now you see why I don’t want you calling him. I have a few of my men and Raymond’s looking for Dion.”
“I’m sure he knows that. He’s not going to suspect us. Let me call him,” Savannah said.
Asia added, “Let’s get Montana in another room. I’ll dress up as her and lay out. He’ll come in the room thinking it’s her all by herself. You guys be in the bathroom. If he does anything stupid, you jump him.”
Savannah said, “I like the plan, except it’ll be me pretending to be Montana, instead.”
They looked at Troy. “Hey, I don’t agree with either plan, so I’ll leave that decision up to y’all.”
“I’m doing it. Decision made,” Asia said as she stood up.
“Fine. But if anything happens, it’s on your head,” Savannah snapped. Savannah stood up to get a better signal on her cell phone. She dialed Dion’s number.
Troy and Asia overheard her end of the conversation. From the sound of it, Dion fell for the bait. “Okay, Troy, move Montana to a safe spot. Asia, let me do some stuff. I’m not as good as Montana, but hopefully, I can make you look like a victim.”
“Don’t be so enthusiastic about it,” Asia said.
Troy found a vacant room and moved Montana to it. He made sure that if a person was to walk down the hall, he would not be able to see who was in the bed. Troy was amazed at Asia’s transformation when he entered Montana’s hospital room. “I don’t even want to ask. The thing over the head is a good idea, because all of you have different hairstyles.”
“I’ll take credit for it,” Asia said.
“Savannah, I’ll be in the bathroom. You pretend to leave Dion alone with Montana.”
“Got it. He should be here soon.”
Troy was barely in the bathroom when Dion strolled through the door. Savannah was wearing a hidden camera. Troy got a good view of the room. Dion walked in, carrying an arrangement of flowers. “Thank God she’s all right,” he said, hugging Savannah before placing the flowers on the counter. “Has she come to yet?”
“No, the doctor said she’s in shock. They don’t know how long it’ll be before she regains consciousness,” Savannah stated.
“I wish I could get my hands around who did this,” he said.
Troy heard Savannah say, “Me too.” Troy prayed she wouldn’t show her hand too soon.
Dion held Asia’s hand. “I’m here. I wish I could make up for what I did to you”—he paused before continuing—“what I did to you so many years ago.”
Savannah stood up. “Now that you’re here, I want to go to the cafeteria and get something to drink.”
“I can do it,” Dion volunteered.
“No. You being here might make her wake up sooner. The doctor says it’s good to talk to her. That she can hear us.”
Savannah walked out of the room.
Troy waited and watched. Dion looked back to see if he was alone. He closed the door. He walked back to Montana’s hospital bed. “You know I regret having to do this. I loved you. I loved you more than anything else in this world. If you live, my life is over.” Dion let out a sinister laugh. “Who am I kidding? My life is already over. That trick I was married to gave me AIDS. I have a death sentence. Do you know how it made me feel when she told me she had given me the virus? I wanted to blow her head off right then. Instead, I watched her die a slow and painful death.”
He removed a syringe from his pocket. “I should have wooed you. Made you fall in love with me. Slept with you without a condom, but instead I’ll just prick myself and then prick you. Nobody will be the wiser. I hope you enjoyed your life without me, because you will have a reminder of me from now on.”
Before he could complete his act, Troy pounced on him. Asia rolled out of the bed from the other side and hit the floor while they struggled. Troy knocked the needle out of Dion’s hand. The scuffle must have been loud enough to get Savannah’s attention, because she reentered the room, but not by herself. Two police officers rushed in behind her.
“Sir, we advise you to be still, or we will have to Taser you,” one of the officers said.
“I’m a cop! He’s the one you need to be arresting,” Dion yelled.
The other officer placed the handcuffs on Dion. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say—”
“Idiots, he attacked me.”
Troy said, “Man, give it a rest. I would suggest you save all of that for your lawyer. Trust me, you’re going to need one.”
Dion tried to charge him. Savannah tripped him and kicked him on his back. “That’s for my sister.”
The police officers had on protective gear, since they knew he was HIV positive. Dion finally left the room without a fight.
One of the officers said, “It’s cops like him that give us a bad name. Ma’am, you won’t have to worry about him bothering you or anybody for a long time.”
34
Savannah felt like a load had been lifted off her shoulders when the police escorted Dion out of the room. She hugged Asia. Asia said, “I was this close from using that handgun of yours and blowing his balls off. I just didn’t want blood to splatter on me.”
“You did the right thing,” Troy assured her.
“Let’s go check on our sister,” Savannah said.
They followed Troy to the room where Montana was being kept. “You two can go home. I think I’m going to spend the night,” Savannah said.
“Now, you know I’m not going anywhere,” Asia said.
Troy intervened before an argument could occur. “Why don’t you take shifts? There’s a bed over there. One can sleep, while the other sits up.”
Savannah hugged him. “What would I do without you?”
Troy smiled. “Let’s hope you never have to find out, sweetheart.”
“You two are sickening. Just admit you like each other, and get it over with already,” Asia said with a pout.
“Please do,” Montana said between coughing.
They rushed to her side. “We didn’t mean to disturb you,” Savannah said, holding Montana’s hand.
“I’m okay. Just feel like I got hit by an eighteen-wheeler, but other than that, I’m just fine.” Montana was back asleep before anyone could respond.
Troy said, “She’ll be in and out like that, probably until tomorrow. She’s going to be fine.”
Savannah walked Troy to the door. “Thank you for everything. Because of you, Montana’s back with us, safe and sound.”
“I wish I could take the credit. This was all you. You handled it like a pro, baby.”
“It’s still hard to believe Dion was blaming Montana for him getting AIDS. Just crazy.”
“People have killed for less,” Troy said. “Sorry.”
“No, I know what you mean.” Savannah kissed him on the cheek. “Get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” Troy said.
“We’re fine. The main threat is in jail, and I don’t think Raymond is going to be doing us any more harm, now that he has that disc.”
Savannah and Asia took turns sleeping in the bed. It was hard to rest, because by the time either dozed off, a nurse was entering the room and checking on Montana. Before long, they both sat up in the chairs in the room, dozing off when they could.
Montana seemed to be in better spirits the following morning. After having eaten a full breakfast, she was perky. “I hope the doctor lets me out of here. I just want to get home,” she said. “No offense, Savannah, but I’ve enjoyed our bonding at your place, but I’m talking about my home. I miss my cushy bed.”
“No offense taken. I wish our lives could go back to the way they were,” Savannah confessed.
Asia said, “I’m blessed. I know I don’t tell you all enough, but I love you. I love you both.”
“Group hug,” Montana said.
They got up and hugged each other.
“Just what I like to see,” Raymond said as he entered the room. He was carrying a bouquet of balloons marked GET WELL.
Savannah and Asia moved out of the way. They watched the exchange while sitting.
“Baby girl, I’m glad you’re all right,” Raymond said after he leaned down and kissed Montana on the cheek.
“Me too, Uncle Raymond.” He handed her the balloons.
“Thanks.”
Savannah took the balloons and tied them to a chair. Raymond stood over Montana. “Will you ever forgive me?”
Although he was looking at Montana, Savannah felt like he was talking to all of them. Montana responded, “I appreciate the balloons, but I think it’s best that you leave.”
“I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you girls,” Raymond said.
Savannah went and stood by the door. “You can’t bring us our dad back.”
Raymond held his head low. “Call me if you need anything.” When he got close to Savannah, he said, “I mean it. I do love you girls.”
“Bye, Raymond,” Savannah said, staring him in the eyes without blinking.
He waved at Asia and Montana, looked at Savannah one last time, and walked out. Savannah closed the door behind him. It made a loud thud.
Montana moved her bed so it would sit straight up. “He might have helped you guys, but he’s still a snake.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” Savannah said.
Troy entered with a white teddy bear holding a rose. “Hi, ladies. Guess who I ran into?”
“Unfortunately, we know already.”
“I brought you a little something,” Troy said.
Montana took the teddy bear and admired it. “It’s so cute. Thanks, Troy.”
“I’m jealous,” Savannah teased.
Montana was released from the hospital later that afternoon. Savannah insisted on Montana staying with her. Montana protested, but the doctor only agreed to release her into the care of Savannah. Asia entertained Montana as Savannah cooked them a nice dinner.
“This is to my sisters,” Savannah toasted. They held up their glasses of juice.
Savannah was curious to learn more about what had happened, but didn’t want to pressure Montana. She knew that what Montana experienced was tragic, and could leave some emotional scars.
“Do y’all want to know something?” Montana asked. “The whole time I was tied up, I kept thinking about you all. About what Dad had taught us. I never gave up hope. I knew if I would have given up hope, I would be dead now,” Montana said.
“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” Savannah said.
“If I don’t talk about it now, I’ll explode.”
Asia sat down on the floor in her favorite position. Savannah tucked her legs under a throw cover, because she was a little cold. Montana began to explain to them what had happened two days before.
“After I left Uncle Raymond’s office, I had a breakfast date with Dion.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Asia asked.
“I was embarrassed. After insisting that I had no feelings for the dude, I didn’t want to be made a fool of, in case things didn’t work out between us.”
Savannah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I wouldn’t have judged you.”
“Yeah, right. Anyway, I met him at his place, like he told me to. In fact, if you guys go to his house, my car is probably still there now. He had a few sandwiches from Jason’s Deli and some sweet tea. Y’all know how I love tea. The tea had a funny taste, so I didn’t drink it all. I started getting woozy. By the time I realized I had been drugged, it was too late. I was tied up to a bed and couldn’t move. I was a little disoriented at first. When I came to, I yelled my butt off. When he realized I wasn’t going to be quiet, he put tape around my mouth. I’m so glad now that I didn’t bite him, because, Lord knows, I still would be at the hospital for the insane because I couldn’t live with thinking I had AIDS.”
“Montana.”
“I’m serious. I listened to him tell me how Dad threatened him to leave me alone. He said the only way he knew to get me to be finished with him was to cheat on me. He planned for me to catch him cheating. Well, you know the rest. His brother didn’t want to help him out with the kidnapping, but Dion threatened to set him up and have him arrested again. His brother was afraid of going back to prison.”
“This time he’ll have company,” Asia said.
“Do you know his brother said that Dion was going to kill me? I talked his brother into offering me up for ransom.”
“The jerk,” Asia said.
“I’m so glad I didn’t marry him. He’s a nutcase.”
“And to think you would have had little nuts running around here calling me ‘Aunt Asia.’”
Montana threw a pillow at Asia. Asia blocked it from hitting her face. They laughed and talked for the rest of the evening.
35
Troy was disturbed about the entire Dion situation. He couldn’t imagine having to live with HIV or AIDS, but he knew in his heart that he would not go to the extreme that Dion had gone. It wasn’t Montana’s fault that he had it. I guess living with a death sentence around your neck can make you snap, Troy thought. He would like to think he would still do the right thing, and that he wouldn’t try to bring pain to anybody else.
“Hi, Cheryl,” Troy said as he exited the elevator.
“Hey, stranger. Oh, you have a visitor.”
“I thought my calendar was clear,” Troy responded before entering his office.
“It was, but he insisted that he wait.”
“Early bird catches the worm, and you’re not early,” Raymond said.
“What are you doing here?” Troy asked.
“Here I thought our differences were water under the bridge.”
“It would be if you weren’t sitting in a chair in my office, breathing up air in my space.”
“Business is good, I hear.”
“No complaints.” Troy hung up his coat and took a seat behind his desk.
“I wanted to thank you personally for helping out with the Montana situation.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Savannah or her sisters. But I know they aren’t the real reason why you’re here, so spit it out.”
“You seem to have a top-notch operation going on over here. The Agency could outsource some assignments your way. We’ll both come out winners.”
“Raymond, come on now. You should know better than anyone that after everything that has gone down, I don’t want anything to do with The Agency.”
Raymond stood up. “If you change your mind, you know how to reach me. But I’ll be honest with you, the offer might not stay on the table too long.”
“I’m going to lose some sleep knowing that,” Troy said as he leaned back in his chair.
“Think about it.” Raymond walked toward the door, but before he opened it, he turned and said, “About the other situation. That’s dead, correct?”
Troy was not going to p
lay his hand. He smiled. “What situation?”
“That’s what I thought. Good day, son.” Raymond walked out.
“I’m not your son,” Troy said as he got up and closed the door. He hit the intercom button on his phone. “Cheryl, hold all of my calls.”
Cheryl was in his office before he could click the button off. “Who was that, and why do you have an attitude?”
“Slow down on the questions. That was my ex-boss, and I got work to do, as do you.”
“A little touchy. I’ll leave you alone for now, but if you need to talk.”
“I’m fine,” Troy assured her.
When Cheryl left, he called Savannah. After talking to her for about ten minutes, he felt better. Troy realized that his and Savannah’s relationship had crossed the line a long time ago. He knew there was no going back to the way things were before. He had never felt this way about any other woman. He had been in lust with many, and had cared about many, but the feelings he had for Savannah never went away. He didn’t know if he should act on it. He feared her rejection more than anything. When all of this was over, would she still want to see him, or was their time together numbered?
He met with his staff and got an update on their cases. His mind was on Savannah as he exited the parking lot. He decided that his company would go into more corporate security. If he was going to build a life with Savannah, he had to rethink some things, and that would be the first step. Granted, he would miss the excitement. Who was he fooling? He had some serious thinking to do. Savannah had him rethinking his way of doing business. Was she worth it? What if he pursued her and she turned him down? Just because she wanted to sleep with him didn’t mean she wanted a long-term commitment. Could she forgive him for what happened in the past?
Troy’s mind was filled with thoughts of Savannah and his job. He failed to realize he was being followed. The car behind him rear-ended him. Troy jolted. The car came again at top speed, so he knew immediately it wasn’t an accident. He looked in his rearview mirror but couldn’t make out the driver.
Troy dialed Savannah’s number. “Have Asia look this up. Louisiana plates Alpha-Dog-Three-Six-Five-One.”
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