Vexed

by Honey

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  “Jill, if you weren’t already my wife, I’d make a move on you tonight and try to woo you, baby. You were sexy as hell up on that stage. I was mesmerized. I want you to do that split for me when we get home.”

  Dex pushed Zach out of the way so he could hug Jill and kiss her on both cheeks. Then he handed the woman who had fascinated the audience with her moves a bouquet of colorful freshly cut flowers. “You brought the house down tonight. I didn’t know you could move like that. Great job, sweetie.”

  “Thank you, Dex.” Jill inhaled the scent of the flowers. Her hands were already clutching two dozen long-stemmed red roses from her hubby and son. “They smell so good.”

  “Girl, you shut it down tonight! Oh my God, Jill! Zariah told us you were an amazing dancer, but you were unbelievable up there. And what you did with those older women was out of this world!” Ramona threw her arms around her friend.

  “You were awesome,” Felicia whispered, with tears in her eyes. She pecked Jill on the cheek. “You took my breath away.”

  “This little boy is very proud of his mommy, and so am I.” Aunt Jackie smiled and shook her head as she bounced Zachary Junior in her arms. “I thought I was going to explode when you did that running leap thing and landed on your toes. The audience went crazy!”

  When the baby reached for Jill, she gladly exchanged him for the flowers and kissed him on his little nose.

  “Auntie Jill, I wanna be a dancer like you. You gotta teach me how to spin and jump in the air.”

  Jill looked down and winked at Nahima. “I will teach you how to dance for sure.”

  Zach checked his watch. “Hey, y’all, we need to hit the road. We have dinner reservations for nine fifteen at Geno’s in the Alley.” He took Zachary Junior from Jill and heaved him over his shoulder. Clutching his wife’s hand, he said, “Come on, mademoiselle, your husband is gonna take you and your fan club out to celebrate your kick-ass performance. I’ve got something special for you when we get home.”

  “Don’t fall for that trick, Jill. My boy ain’t got nothing special for you. He wants something from you. I hope my godson stays up all night long to block him.”

  Zach chuckled. “Shut up, Dex! You always—”

  Just then Mrs. Scott approached the group. “Jillian, my dear,” she interrupted. She honored Jill with a low, graceful curtsy. “You were magnificent! There are some people I’d like you to meet.”

  Jill looked at everyone around her, still holding Zach’s hand. “My family and I were about to leave for a late dinner. My husband made reservations at a restaurant.”

  “Go ahead with your family, sweetheart. I’ve scheduled a ten o’clock meeting at the academy Monday morning with you and some very important people on the Atlanta arts scene. They thought your performance was spectacular and your choreography too. Those gold lamé palazzo pants you designed for the young women were a huge hit. The creative heavyweights in this town think you’re the total package, darling. They’re dying to talk to you.”

  “I’m so very flattered. I don’t know what to say.” Jill looked into Zach’s eyes after he gave her hand a slight pull. “Monday morning it is, Madame Helena.”

  It was fine dining at its best, and the atmosphere was festive. Zach was extremely proud of Jill. For weeks he’d heard her bouncing and humming around the house, practicing for the academy’s spring production, all while taking care of their home. It was a special night for her, and he wanted more than anything for her to enjoy every minute of it with the people she loved most. The two new charms he’d purchased for her bracelet to congratulate her would top off her big night. Then he was going to make love to her for the last time ahead of the storm he knew was on the horizon. Zach almost choked on a buttery bite of lobster when he realized that tonight could very well be his last time making love to Jill ever. His plan to leave her and the baby in Jamaica for a while had the potential to ruin their marriage. He drained the champagne in his flute and then reached for the bottle chilling in a bucket of ice on the table. He poured himself a refill.

  “To my beautiful wife,” Zach announced, raising his flute. Everyone around the table followed his lead and raised their beverage of choice in a toast. “Jill, you were poetry in motion tonight. I’m a blessed brother to have such a talented and fine wife. You’re a great mother to Zachary Junior, and there isn’t a dancer in the universe who can work it the way you do. Congratulations on an awesome performance, baby. Our son and I love you to death.”

  “Hear! Hear!” Dex yelled.

  Felicia was way past tipsy. She threw her champagne back and grinned. “Yeah, you worked it, girl!”

  The sound of glass touching glass rang out all around the table. The whole crew spoke words of congratulations to Jill in some form or the other. Even Nahima raised her glass of orange juice in a toast to her auntie.

  “Thank you,” Jill said before she leaned over and kissed Zach on his lips a little longer than she’d intended to. He held her in place with his arm secured around her tiny waist. She managed to wiggle free. “There are others at the table, Zachary. Let us not be rude.”

  “He can’t help it. He’s been rude since the day I met him back in college,” Dex joked. “Zach ain’t thinking about nobody but you, Jill. Everything he does is all for you and my godson. Always remember that.”

  * * *

  The thrill of going back to Jamaica for a short visit with her family made it hard for Jill to sit still in her first-class seat on the plane. Just thinking about her parents’ initial reaction to meeting their first grandchild excited her. In just thirty minutes, the plane would land in her home country, where she would be reunited with her family after exactly one year since their last visit. The trip would also include a small party to celebrate her and Zach’s first wedding anniversary.

  “Your mommy is one blessed woman, little one.” She bounced Zachary Junior up and down on her lap. He giggled and babbled. “I’m going home to see my mommy, my papa, all my brothers, and my baby sister. They are going to love you. Yes, they are! Then we will dance and eat good Jamaican food to celebrate our wedding day. It falls on my twenty-fifth birthday. Sounds like lots of fun, eh?”

  “Your son is mighty handsome, ma’am. How old is he?”

  Jill smiled at the handsome flight attendant. He didn’t look a day over twenty-one. “He is eight months old. He eats a lot, ya know? That is why he is so round. He appears to be much older, eh?”

  “He’s a bit chubby, but he’s a good-looking fellow.” The young man smiled at Jill before he walked away.

  “Give me my son.” Zach was wide awake. He pried Zachary Junior from Jill’s clutches. “How’re you gonna flirt with that young dude with your husband sitting beside you?”

  “Eh, Zachary, do not be ridiculous! I was not flirting with him at all. He noticed what a handsome son we have, a son who happens to look just like his father. He only wanted to know the child’s age, and I told him. Are you jealous, my dear husband?” Jill placed her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

  “Hell yeah! I’m getting old and fat, and you’re young and sexy. Punks like him are bold to step to you with me sitting right next to you. Maybe he thought I’m your big brother or uncle. On second thought, he had to know we’re together. After all, little Zach is a miniature version of me. He was flirting with you, and I don’t like that shit.”

  “It doesn’t matter how old, fat, or bald you become, Zachary. I will always love you and nobody else but you. There isn’t a man alive or to come who could steal me away from you, sweetheart. Don’t you know that?”

  The knowing look he gave Jill when he reached over subtly and rubbed her thigh sent a crystal-clear message to that part of her that only he was privy to. The wink that followed caused her to writhe in her seat.

  “I know you love me and you’re faithful to our marriage,” Zach said sincerely. “I’m just not down with other brothers checking you out. I don’t want them fantasizing about doing t
hings to you that are reserved only for me. You’re clueless about the effect your presence has on men, baby.”

  “I don’t care about other men’s opinions of me, Zachary. They see me with their eyes. You see my heart, which will belong only to you until the day I die. Put your jealousy away. There is no need for it here.”

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  Dex thought about Zach and Jill on their first wedding anniversary. They were celebrating with their family and friends in Kingston. They’d mentioned a fish fry up in the hills near the small Baptist church where their ceremony had taken place. The same beach chateau at the Blue Lagoon would be their home for the next few days.

  Just then Abriah ran into the den, giggling, with Ramona chasing after her, out of breath.

  “Whoa! What’s up, little mama?” Dex patted his baby girl’s back when she jumped into his arms. She laid her face on his chest.

  “Come on here, little girl! It’s past your bedtime,” Ramona said.

  Dex waved Ramona off. “Give her a few more minutes, baby. She wants to spend some time with her daddy.”

  Ramona fell onto the sofa next to her husband. “I want her to go to sleep because I was thinking about spending some time with her daddy tonight.”

  “Good night, princess.” Dex lifted Abriah from his chest. “It’s past your bedtime.” He kissed her cheek and handed her to Ramona. “Daddy will see you in the morning.”

  Ramona licked her lips and winked at her husband. “I’ll meet you in the Jacuzzi in fifteen minutes.”

  As Dex made his way upstairs to his and Ramona’s love nest, his thoughts of Zach and Jill resurfaced. He hated it, but after tonight all their celebrating and romantic moments in Jamaica would come to a screeching halt. Zach hadn’t told Jill that he’d be leaving her and Zachary Junior on the island for their safety while he returned home. The timing had never seemed right in the days leading up to their trip. Plus, Zach would’ve had a hard time getting Jill on the plane if she’d had the slightest idea they would be separated at the end of their vacation. Dex closed his eyes and released a deep breath as random scenarios of how Jill might react to the news played out in his head. They all were pretty ugly.

  It didn’t even matter now. Zach was prepared for the fallout, or so he thought. He was going to do what was best for his family. The mysterious calls had increased. And the fool had started hitting Zach up on his cell phone early in the morning, before work, and in the evenings. Everyone was convinced it was Jay now, even Detectives Franklin and Ortega. But that theory didn’t mean shit, because they couldn’t determine where the calls were coming from. Zach was looking forward to a long overdue meeting with FBI agents the day after he was scheduled to return home. They’d hinted around about possibly installing a high-tech tracking device on both his phones to detect the origin of the calls. It was technology used by the U.S. military, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. It would require the approval of top-ranking government officials before the device could be used in an ordinary civilian case.

  Dex stripped down to nothing and turned on the water in the Jacuzzi. After he’d secured the drain and adjusted the temperature to warm, he reached for the papaya- and cherry-scented bath crystals on the shelf. The combination of fruit and chocolate was fitting for every episode of intense foreplay. So he lit three chocolate aromatic candles before he turned out the lights.

  “You said fifteen minutes,” he said when he felt Ramona’s naked body press against the back of his. “That was more like five.”

  “Are you complaining?”

  “No complaints here, baby. To quote the late great musical genius Marvin Gaye, ‘Let’s get it on.’”

  * * *

  “It’s good for ya, eh?”

  Nina coughed hard and fanned the strong smoke she’d just released from her lungs. The gunja from her fishermen buddies tonight was more potent than any of the other batches she’d ever tried. After just two hits, her mind began to float, giving her an uncontrollable case of the giggles. She passed the gigantic green bong to Leo, her favorite guy of the group. She nodded slowly to answer his question. The Jamaican herb was kicking. Leo was sweet on Nina. Her womanly senses told her so. Whenever she hung out with him and his buddies, he treated her kindly. He always allowed Nina the first hit on his pipe and let her drink all the liquor she wanted. And he never let her walk down the hill alone after a fish fry and dance.

  Leo offered Nina the bong again after he took a long, deep pull from it. He exhaled and watched her suck in the powerful mood-altering herb. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

  “This is some good shit!” Nina released smoke through her nostrils.

  “Yeah, baby, it is good.” Leo winked at Nina and took her by the hand. “Let’s go party! Me friends are fryin’ most of our catch at a weddin’ party tonight. It’s for a native merchant sailor. His pikin and her American husband married one year ago today. They come back to Jamaica, where they wedded to remember that day. Please come with Leo, eh? This poor Jamaican mon wanna dance with a pretty lady tonight.”

  Nina’s fresh high, combined with her need to have some fun, squashed all thoughts of Jay. Jay was constantly warning her about being friendly with the locals. She was afraid it would lead to them being discovered as criminals on the run from the States. The fear of that had held Nina prisoner long enough.

  “Let’s go, Leo! I deserve to have some fun.”

  Leo stood and tried to pull Nina up with him. They stumbled back to their seat on a pile of brick blocks and started laughing. They were on cloud nine, feeling mellow as hell. This time, Leo stood alone and then reached down to help Nina to her feet. She struggled to stand, still laughing uncontrollably. She looked at Leo through blurry eyes.

  “All right, I’m ready to shake my big sexy ass to some funky reggae, mon!” Nina doubled over and laughed deep from her belly.

  Leo wrapped his arm around her waist, then eased his hand down to palm her ass. “Yeah, baby, let’s go.”

  * * *

  “Damn!” Jay sucked her teeth and slumped down in her chair. “This ain’t my night.” She shuffled quickly through the few bills she had left, counting them repeatedly, as if they would magically multiply if she did it enough times.

  “Are you in, ma’am?” the wheel captain asked.

  Jay looked at the white dude like he was crazy. He’d watched her wad of cash slowly disappear over the course of three hours. She wanted to spit in his face for trying to lure her into placing a bet she couldn’t win. “Nah, I’m out.”

  Jay removed a cigar from the breast pocket on her yellow dress shirt and wedged it between her teeth. She needed to find Charlotte to beg her for a loan from her pocketful of tips. The club was packed, hot, and popping tonight. It was spring, the time of year when tourists from all over the globe flocked to the island for a good time. Charlotte probably had stashes of cash hidden all over her body. If Jay could pin her down for a few minutes, she’d gladly relieve Charlotte of the bundle tucked between her titties. She scanned the crowd.

  “You searching for me, baby?”

  Jay did a brisk about-face, genuinely startled by the deep voice that had just whispered in her ear. The warm breath had tickled her sensitive lobe and neck and had caused a chill to run up her spine. Her eyes roamed slowly over the baritone stranger, from head to toe. He was a tall, dark, and handsome one, even by her anti-men standards. The scent of his cologne was a combination of woodsy and sweet. It was definitely expensive and possibly rare, and his smile was bright and alluring enough to tilt any woman’s world. But this was Jay, and Jay wasn’t remotely attracted to any member of the human race who’d been endowed with a penis.

  “Hi,” Mr. Velvety Voice greeted and took Jay by her hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it tenderly while his eyes bored directly into hers. “I was admiring your beauty from the blackjack table. I take it you’re a fan of the lucky wheel. I never did get the gist of that particular game. Would you care t
o teach me?” He flashed a perfect set of pearly white teeth.

  Who does this motherfucker think he’s talking to? Jay snatched her hand from his and gave him a fake smile.

  “You play and I’ll gladly pay,” the mysterious stranger added smoothly and displayed a spread of cash. “I could learn by watching you.”

  The money captured Jay’s attention and altered her attitude on sight. “I’d be more than happy to show you around the wheel. Um . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”

  “My name is Pierce Murdoch. And what name does a lovely lady like you go by?”

  Jay did a visual sweep of the club. Charlotte was still missing in action. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue and batted her eyes, two gestures she hadn’t offered a male since Tyrone Williams III, back in the sixth grade. “I’m Simone.”

  Pierce hooked his right arm, inviting Jay to take hold. “Shall we?”

  Jay accepted the arm of Pierce Murdoch, her naïve unanticipated prey, and allowed him to escort her to the roulette table.

  Chapter Sixty

  “Come on, pretty lady. Leo thought you wanted to dance.”

  Nina couldn’t move. The sight of Zach and Jill dancing inside a large circle of people had paralyzed her. She dug her heels deeper in the dirt when Leo pulled her hand, trying to lead her into the crowd. Everyone was bumping and grinding to the deejay’s music. She yanked her hand free and leaned against a tree, out of view of the partygoers.

  “Um . . . wait a minute, Leo.” Nina rubbed her stomach and wrinkled her face. “I feel like I’m coming down with something. Maybe I shouldn’t have smoked so much of the weed after drinking all that rum.” She leaned her back against the tree and slid down it to sit on the ground.