“Wow . . . sis really upgraded. I mean, shit, this is rock star shit. You done good. Real good, boy.”
As soon as Rochelle opened her mouth, I regretted this part of my plan. Watching her there with jeans that looked like they were cutting off her damn circulation, five-inch heels, and a white, tight-fitting t-shirt that looked painted on, made me want to call the whole thing off. At least her part in it.
“And it’s tastefully done. Like you had a real designer up in here.”
“Thanks.”
She turned around and looked me up and down and smiled. “Who woulda thunk that you would ‘mount to all of this? I sure as hell didn’t.” She walked closer to where I stood. “With that body, I thought for sure you were gonna be on somebody’s football field, fuckin’ shit up in one of those nice-ass football uniforms.”
Looking at her, I saw the resemblance between her and Chanel, which was why I asked Denise to reach out to her with the plan. The resemblance was there, for sure, with her being just a shade lighter than Chanel. But she definitely didn’t have Chanel’s class, or tact.
“So, where am I staying?” she asked, turning away and taking a slow stride down the hallway.
“First of all, conversations need to be had. So, if you could come back this way, that would be great. I need to talk to you, before the others get here.”
“What ‘others’ are coming?”
“My father and my friend, Quinton.”
“Quinton . . .” she said, squinting her eyes. “Did I meet him? Is he cute?”
“What the fuck, Rochelle?” I shot, already losing patience with her. “Turn your slut off for just a—”
“Pipe down, Dario. I was just playin’,” she said, before plopping down onto my sofa. I was surprised her damn pants didn’t split when she did. “You’re wound way too tight. We need to hurry and get your princess back to you, so you can chill.”
“Listen, your tone and the way you came in is making me rethink this shit. I don’t need anything fucked up with this plan.”
“Right. I get it. Chanel is the goal. We need to bring her home. I got it. I’m on it.”
“You sure? Because your focus seems to be on a whole lotta other shit.”
“Nah, I’m good. Question for you, though.”
“What?” I was agitated with this girl. I just wasn’t buying what she was selling, and hoping like hell that she could pull of what needed to be pulled off without fucking up.
“You’ve been with my sister for what, a year? Or something?”
“Yeah, and?”
“And you don’t know that she would strictly oppose me staying in the same house with her man?”
“First of all, you won’t be staying here. You’re here for the night, and up until that meeting with the cops is over. After that, you’ll be at Denise’s. Second of all, Chanel knows me well enough to know that no woman can come in between me and her. Tyler was weak. I’m not Tyler and never will be.”
If looks could kill . . .
“You didn’t have to go there, Dario.”
“No, I did. Just so that we’re clear.”
“Well, for your information, and anybody else’s, I would never do anything like that to my sister, again. I was a different person back then. And even though me and her ain’t really close, she’s still my sister. I mean, Tyler had a prize between his legs, but he—”
“I don’t give a fuck about that.”
“Oh . . .” she giggled. “My bad.”
“I’m asking you one more time, Rochelle. Are you up—”
“To this . . .” she concluded. “Yes, Dario, I am up to this. I want Chanel home, just as badly as the rest of her family. I’m here for that. I left Georgia for this, so clearly, I’m on board. I have a whole life there that I put on hold to help. So, let me help.”
I sat quietly for a minute; maybe it was two. She was going back and forth, and I didn’t know how to take her. All I knew was that she had already managed to piss me off, and that there could be more where that came from.
“Dario . . .” she called out, when I was quiet for too long. “Give me details. Or are we still waiting?”
I sighed, and then came to the realization that she would have to do. She was family. She wasn’t someone we got off the street that we had to risk going to the media or anything like that. Her investment was greater than anyone else that we could get . . . simply because she was family.
“We’re trying to get to the manager of the guy I’m gonna be fighting. He’s the one behind everything and we need to get to him. He’s the one that has Chanel. We know that much from watching Ace. We know when he goes to the gym, where he goes after, and anything else that he does, pretty much. So, Dexter, his manager, is the one we need to get close to. Our goal is to get Chanel from them and bring her the fuck home.”
Rochelle nodded her head, slowly. “This is fucked up. They’re really trying to keep her until the fight is over?”
“Yeah, they don’t trust that I’ll keep the fight if they let her go.”
“Then they’re dumb as fuck. I don’t even know shit about boxing and I’ve seen all the advertisement. One of my little boy toys was talking about it before I left. There’s no way you can walk away now. Not with so much fanfare around it.”
“Definitely wouldn’t want to disappoint the fans,” I commented, sarcastically.
“But, all bullshit aside, I can’t believe this. I’ll do everything I can. I just hope she’s not somewhere scared out of her mind. That she knows she has a family that’s out here doing everything we can to free her.” She lowered her head, and for the first time since she’d arrived, I saw a softer side. “So fucked up. And for Rai, man. Shit hurts my heart. And my mama . . . she just cries every time I talk to her.” She looked up at me, her eyes misty. “I’ll do whatever y’all need.”
“And that’s what I needed to hear, because not one part of this is a game . . .”
CHAPTER 43
Detective Ralph Knight
“Place looks like some kind of compound,” Detective Jay Parker said to his partner, Ralph Knight.
“I’ll say,” Detective Knight responded, with a nod of his head, as he pressed the doorbell to the Caivano residence.
Moments later, the door was answered, and the detectives were escorted in. After a long walk down an expensively-tiled hallway, the detectives entered a huge living space filled with several adult occupants.
Dario approached the men, shaking hands with them and offering them both seats.
“Would either of you like something to drink?” Rochelle offered. “We have a full bar over there. Even water or juice, if that’s what you prefer.”
“I’m fine,” Detective Knight said first, followed by Parker.
“But thank you,” Parker stated.
“Of course. Let us know if you change your minds.”
“Looks like everyone is here,” Knight commented, shooting a quick look over at his partner.
“Absolutely,” Dario said. “Over there in the bar area, is my mother, Antonina, my father, Giuseppe, and Chanel’s mother, Denise. Then, you have my aunt, Veronika, and Wayne Chapman, my . . . former manager.”
“Wow. We have quite the crowd. I was expecting just you and Miss Norwood,” Parker admitted. “Nevertheless, thank you for taking the time to see us this evening. We know it was short notice, but wanted to come by so that we could ask Miss Norwood a few questions about her ordeal.”
“No problem,” Dario said, taking a seat on the couch. “Ask away.”
“Oh . . .” Knight said. “Everyone’s staying?” he asked, when nobody rose to leave.
“Everyone’s staying,” Dario confirmed.
“Are we that much of a threat?” he kidded.
“Nah, not that. It’s just we stick together. With everything that we do.”
“Yes, and we missed her,” the mother of Dario Caivano spoke from a distance. “We needed to be here for reassurance.”
“I unde
rstand,” Detective Parker said. “So, Miss Norwood. I’m glad that you made it home. You sure everything is okay?”
“I’m positive. I do appreciate that you guys came by to make sure that I’m good. It’s good to know that the cops care. You know, that’s not always the case. Especially, with skin my color,” she stated, matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, I can assure you that both, myself and Detective Knight, take our jobs seriously.”
“I can see that. My man here was pretty pissed that you didn’t just take his word for it,” she said. “But I’m sure you understand.”
“I do.” The questioning detective looked around the room. “However, because we spent many hours, and a ton of resources on this case, we needed to get completely familiar with what took place. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy that you’re alright, but—”
“We get it,” Dario interjected. It was evident to both detectives that he wanted them gone. “I got it earlier, when we spoke.”
“And that’s why I’m here,” Wayne stated, standing from his chair, and approaching both detectives to shake their hands. “My name is Wayne Chapman. This was all my fault.”
“How so?” Detective Knight asked, looking around the room, curiously.
“I’m the one who set all this in motion. It was meant to be a silly joke—”
“A joke?” Knight stated, with irritation. “Did you say, ‘a joke’?”
“Yes,” Wayne said, temporarily lowering his head. “A joke that went too far.”
“I’ll say, Mr. Chapman. Way too far.”
“I honestly had no idea that things had gotten so out of hand.”
“I have a hard time believing that, seeing that it was all over the news,” Detective Parker stated.
Wayne shrugged his shoulders. “I honestly didn’t know. And I honestly didn’t mean for things to go as far as they did.”
“Miss Norwood, how did you feel? From surveillance that I saw, you looked pretty shaken.”
“Well, of course I was. I had no idea, at the time, what was happening. All I knew was that I was being abducted by people I didn’t know. I was terrified. But as soon as we were in the car and had driven a ways, they put me on the phone with Wayne.” She looked over at Wayne, with what appeared to me to be a forced smile. “Once he explained it to me, it was pretty funny.”
“Pretty funny? Really? You had brand new clothes that you left behind, splattered on the ground. How funny could it really be?”
“Tracie was there to get all that stuff for me. I got my stuff back. I’m here with family and safe. No harm, no foul, right?”
“No, not right.” Detective Knight looked at his partner, and then at everyone in the room. “You guys are a tight-knit unit, that’s for sure,” he said, with slight sarcasm.
“Mr. Chapman,” Parker addressed.
“Yes,” Wayne responded.
“You’ll be hearing from me in the next few days. If I were you, I’d be more than a little nervous, because you could be looking at a pretty hefty fine for this stunt you pulled. Even worse than that, could be jail time.” Both cops rose from their seats, and turned on their heels to walk toward the door, but Parker added, “Honestly, I’m hoping for the latter.”
“Detective Knight . . .”
He turned around to see Rochelle standing closely, her hand on his arm.
“Yes.”
She took her hand back and placed it at her side. “I’m really sorry about all of this. It’s really my fault that resources were used. I don’t want to press charges and neither does my family. We’re prepared to make a donation of any size to the charity of your choice.”
“That sounds like bribery, Miss—”
“I can assure you that it isn’t. It’s just me feeling remorseful about all the work that went into finding me—when I was never really missing. Shame on me for playing along.” She turned to look at her family in the background. “I had no right to take my loved ones through that. And right now, the only thing that I want to focus on are my nuptials to that beautiful man over there. It really was all one, big mistake.”
Detective Knight found himself soaking up each and every word she spoke. He watched her mouth move, the sincerity in her eyes, and he couldn’t look away. Looking at her, he could see why Caivano was so taken with her. She was definitely a beautiful woman. He had never been the type to be attracted to anything but stacked Latina women, but her appeal was strong. He tried clearing his throat, while deciding what to say next.
“Again, please accept my sincerest apologies.” She touched Knight’s arm, softly, as she spoke, then ran her hand down the length of his arm to his wrist. “I feel so cared about, with you and Detective Parker here, coming all the way from San Francisco.”
“Of course,” Knight managed. “I’ll . . . uhh . . . we’ll be in touch,” he stated, making his way out the front door.
CHAPTER 44
Dario
“What the fuck was that?!” I roared, as soon as the coast was clear.
“What do you mean, ‘what the fuck was that’?!” Rochelle yelled. “I was trying to get this shit straightened out!”
“Hey! Come on, you guys!” Denise reasoned, coming up on the side of us. “Please, don’t do this! We need to be together right now and not at each other!”
“I agree with Denise,” my mother stated.
But I was burning with fury, as I stared a hole through Rochelle. “You overstepped your fucking boundaries!” I shot, without regard to anyone that was present hearing. “You’re all up in that man’s goddamn face, acting like a slut—something that Chanel would never do! Don’t ever do that shit again! Not while you’re pretending to be her!”
“Wow. Sounds like you’re mad that I got close to another man.”
“Rochelle! Stop that!” Denise scolded.
“This is not the time for your shit, Rochelle. Not at all. You’re not Chanel, but that motherfucker doesn’t know that! You wanna suck his dick, you do that when you’re not needed here anymore!”
“Dario, stop it!” my mother demanded, having heard enough. “We can’t fall apart now. We just can’t. We still have so much more work to do. Temperatures are running high and they needn’t be at this time.”
I walked away from the trio of women and headed back into the area where the men were. I headed straight for the wet bar and proceeded to pour myself something to drink. However, the moment that I was about to bring it to my lips, I sat it back down and walked away from it.
“Go ahead, son. It may take the edge off.”
I shook my head. “No, Papà, I can’t. Not right now.”
“Dario . . .” an approaching Wayne said. “I . . . man, I can’t . . . tell you how sorry—”
“I don’t want to hear your apologies again, Wayne.”
“Yeah, now isn’t a good time, Wayne,” my father cosigned. “You’ve done enough. And I’m sure you know just how lucky you are to still be standing here right now—living, breathing.”
“Well, I’ll take off. I just really want you all to know how sorry I am that all of this is happening. I truly am. D.C. is my friend and I’d never do anything to purposely hurt him. I’m apologizing to the collective because I know how close you all are and I owe you all the same apology—as well as Chanel’s son. This got way bigger than me, and any punishment that I receive as a result, I know that it was brought on by me and nobody but. I wish I’d come to you, man,” he said, turning his attention to me, although I’d told him I had nothing to say. “I just didn’t know how. Like I said, it just got bigger than me. Now, I see just how fucked up it was of me to . . .” His voice trailed.
“This is the problem with people,” Rochelle suddenly spoke, inserting herself in our situation. “Nobody forgives. Y’all around here acting like people don’t make mistakes. I’ve listened to this man try to tell you sorry on multiple occasions, and all you can do—”
“Rochelle . . .” Denise interrupted. “Stop it.”
�
�Nah, Ma. Why? Everybody is here to help. I came because my sister needed me to, and I plan to stick this out until y’all don’t need me anymore. I’m sure that my past got people ready to throw me away too, but I’m here. This man feels bad! I don’t know him, and even I can see it. I’ve been him. Fucking up and hurting people that you care about. But he’s here. That says a lot! Just like my being here says a lot.”
If I had the energy or the fucks to give, I would’ve told Rochelle to get the fuck out of my damn house and to never come back. Wayne deserved to get stomped past death, because if it weren’t for him, Chanel would be home and everything would be right. Her son wouldn’t be having sleepless nights, worried that she might not ever come back. But since I needed to preserve my energy, my head needed to be in the game and not on this shit playing out in front of me.
Before I knew it, I’d walked out of the room and past everyone. I thought I heard my mother call behind me but my only goal was to get to my gym, so that I could release some frustrations.
CHAPTER 45
Dario
“Son,” I heard my father call out to me. “Follow me outside for a few minutes.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Papà. I need a run.”
“Just a few minutes, son.”
Of course, I relented, since it was my father. When we made it outside, I paced, frantically, angrily back and forth across the deck in my backyard.
“She’s high-risk. Should’ve just paid somebody to do this! If she fucks up, all this shit could blow up in our faces and Chanel’s freedom could be compromised. I can’t have that!”
And you won’t, son. She’s going to do exactly as she’s supposed to.”
“Papà, how do you know that? Did you see her when the cops were here?! She acted like some kind of bitch in heat. I hate even referring to Chanel’s sister in such a derogatory way; but shit, she doesn’t even seem like she’s invested in her sister’s safety. And for that, I don’t respect her and can’t trust her.”
“Listen to me, Dario.”
In the Ring 2 Page 18