by Edwina Fort
“I’m so sorry, guys, a patient of mine is on the ledge. I have to go and talk him down.” Angie’s eyes flashed with anger, but I ignored it as I grabbed my purse from the chair I’d been sitting in.
My gaze went to Laureen’s friends who sat at my table. “So sorry, duty calls.”
“No, I completely understand. My husband’s a doctor. He gets called away all the time.” Kristy, or was it Mary, said.
“Lay, can you give my apologies to Laur?”
“Really, Free, this couldn’t wait till after the dinner’s over,” she snapped instead of answering my question.
“No, sweetheart, you can always guarantee most emergencies happen at the most inopportune times. Bye, guys…I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner.” As I hurried away, I could feel Angie’s hateful gaze boring a hole in my back.
Chapter 7
Dangerous Situations
Fighting The Enemy In Him Was Easy, It Was Fighting The Enemy Within Myself That Posed The Problem…
Free
I’d been so desperate to leave the bridal party meet and greet dinner that I’d readily agreed to meet Tucker at the old pier. But as I stepped out of my car in the parking lot that was empty of every vehicle except mine and his, I realized that I may have put myself in a very dangerous situation.
This is the same abandoned stretch of beach where he’d taken my virginity prom night. I had to forcibly swallow the anger that tried to bubble up to the surface at the painful memory of that. But there was another feeling I was surprised that I needed to fight. It was the same feeling I had that night.
Anticipation…
It was something in the air. The moon set full and big over Lake Michigan, casting its beautiful glow on the water, just like it did the night Tucker made love to me. Yes, there was definitely something in the air.
The buzz from the crickets seemed gentle, their song soothing rather that antagonizing. Although I was on the lake, there were no mosquitoes or flies buzzing around my head. A gentle breeze blew, causing my silk blouse to caress my overheated flesh.
Panicking, I put my hand on my car door. I had to get out of here. No way I could do this. But right then my phone rang from my purse nearly scaring the heck out of me. With hands that shook, I took it out and was not surprised to see that it was Naphtali.
“Hello.” I pray he didn’t hear the fear in my voice.
“Come on, Freebie, I’m waiting for you, baby. Don’t be a scaredy-cat." Dammit! Even his baritone sounded especially good tonight.
“Where are you?” I asked, my hand still on my door.
“Down here by the boat.”
Standing on my toes, I looked down the pier and my mouth formed an O when I saw Tucker standing there looking edible next to a beautiful boat. As magnificent as the boat was, it paled in comparison to the powerful bowlegged brotha that stood next to it. He lifted his hand and casually waved me to him.
My teeth bit down harder on my lower lip. The alarm system inside my head was blaring loudly.
Danger! Run, girl! That chocolate Adonis down there is dangerous. The last time you were here with him he’d been a boy. He ain’t a boy no more! You go down there, he’s going to get you! Run!
No way was I supposed to be here in this moment with my enemy.
No way!
“I’m not doing it…” I didn’t care how much of a coward I looked. It was better to be a coward than to go down there and be conquered, at least that was my motto. Taking my phone back out of my purse, I pressed the green call button by his name.
I could see him shaking his head chuckling as he answered his phone. Please, Tucker, have mercy on me and let me get in my car and drive away.
“Hey, Doc.”
“Hey, ummm, something just came up. I’m going to have to talk to you and drive, is that okay?”
“Sure, Doc.” He casually reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it before sliding it between his lips. Seconds later, his handsome face lit up as a flame touched whatever it was in his mouth.
“What are you doing?!” I screeched. At this point, my nerves were a wreck.
“Nothing…” I could hear him inhaling as he spoke.
“You know I can see you, right?”
He chuckled. “Then hurry up and get in your car so that you can’t.”
I felt like throwing a tantrum like a child. “Tucker! That defeats the purpose!” Yeah, I was whining.
“Well, Doc, I told you I was on the ledge. You said you would be here to help me, but you wasn’t, so now I’m smoking. Sorry, I’m just not that strong.”
“Fine! If I come down there, will you put the joint out?”
“Mmmhhhmmm…,” he muttered slowly before sending a cloud of smoke in the air. Like the devil, I could feel him studying me through the smoke.
Okay! Okay… you can do this. You are a doctor. You took an oath to help people like him. You’re going to go down there and just have a little chat. Give him a few words of encouragement and then you’re going to leave.
Simple!
But what you’re not going to do, and I mean absolutely not, is sleep with him! Not going to happen! I don’t care if you haven’t been sexually fulfilled since the last time he touched you or that there was a great chance the man Tucker was a way better lover than the boy Tucker had been.
And the boy Tucker had not been bad, let me tell y’all…
No! That is beside the point! You’re going to go down there and be a doctor and not a hoochie.
I nodded my head as I wiped my palms down my tweed skirt. “Got it!”
And with that, I squared my shoulders and made my way down to the pier. I felt strong. I felt like I could do this. All I had to do was remember the pain of him taking my virginity and then abandoning me.
Yeah! That did it….
That did it for all of seven seconds. The closer I got to him and the more of him I took in; I was beginning to have serious doubts. He stood there looking mouth-watering in a pair of gray jeans, gray boots, and a gray tank top that left all those beautiful chocolate muscles on display.
Goodness! Whew! Okay…stay focused.
“Doc, what’s going on? You’re looking more tense than usual?” he asked when I got within hearing distance. But his slick behind was still taking pulls off that joint.
“I thought we had an agreement, I come down and you put out the joint.”
"Yeah, but you're not here yet," he said with a grin on his face as he blew out a mouth full of smoke. Narrowing my eyes, I closed the gap between us.
Holding out my arms, I hissed. “I’m here.”
He grinned again, but it was the grin the wolf wore when he spotted Little Red coming with her basket.
“Yes…you are.” His gaze raked over my body as he inhaled one last mouth full of the joint before tossing it. “A deal’s a deal…” When he spoke, smoke escaped his mouth.
“Well, since you’ve smoked already, I guess you don’t need me.”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a blunt before his sexy gaze came back to mine. “I need you, Freebie.”
Dear God, give me the strength. This man should not be this gorgeous…
I held out my hand for the blunt. Casually he lay it in my palm. Without looking away from him, I slung it into the water.
“Now… what can we do to take your mind off getting high?”
He was giving me that wolf grin again. I returned his smile as I folded my arms waiting on him to say something that was going to make me turn around and march right back to my car.
“Fishing.”
Ooookay…not what I expected.
“Fishing?”
“Yeah, I like to fish to take my mind off things. You fish?”
I shook my head. “Never.”
His mouth opened in surprise. "You've never been fishing, Freebie?”
Because he was high as a kite, his tone of voice was actually pretty goofy and made me chuckle. And yeah…relax a bit. I don’t know, h
e just didn’t feel that dangerous while he was high. It’s the darnedest thing.
“No, I’ve never been.”
“Well…we have to do something about that.” He put his hand on his stomach and bowed a bit. “May I invite you to a late-night fishing trip?”
“Can you fish at night?”
“Sure…it’s the best time.” My gaze went to his boat. Like him, it was big, dark, and beautiful, all sleek lines and gold trims.
“You’re going to think I’m joking, but I’ve never been on a boat either.”
He shook his head before holding out his hand for mine. “We have to do something about that, please allow me to escort you aboard The Naphtali.”
I chuckled. “You named your boat after yourself?”
“Actually, my dad named it when he gifted it to me on my seventeenth birthday.”
“Your dad bought you a boat when you turned seventeen?” I asked as I took his hand and allowed him to escort me onto it.
He chuckled. “All that glitter ain’t gold, Free.”
My gaze rose to his. The doctor in me wanted to explore that statement. But then I reminded myself that this was my bully and I killed the impulse. I will never allow Tucker to hurt me again. He’s hurt me worse than anybody else in the world and he won’t get another chance.
So, instead, I turned away to look around the beautiful gift he’d received on his seventeenth birthday. I wasn’t lying to him; I’d never been on a boat. I didn’t have that kind of childhood. My mother managed to keep a roof over our heads, which was amazing, considering her addiction. But we didn’t have much money for anything else, which a lot of times included food. If my father and Angie went out on a boat, they’d never taken me. And by the time I was in college, I was too busy trying to graduate with honors to do anything fun.
“What do you think?” Tucker asked me as he guided me around, giving me a little tour of the place.
“It’s lovely!”
The cabin resembled a luxury studio that was big enough to house a king-size bed that sat up off the floor on a dais. Whoever decorated really had an eye. They kept with the black and gold motif of the boat, from the expensive bedding to the couch…even the kitchen cabinets were made of black wood. I wonder if it had been decorated like this when he was seventeen. It seemed kind of mature for a teen.
Just outside the sliding doors of the cabin was a deck with a small dining area that overlooked the water. I stood looking out at the moonlight on the lake as he prepared the boat for sailing. When he was finished, he took my hand and led me up a set of stairs to the helm.
“Wow!” I cried as I watched him start the engine. “You’re the captain too?”
“I’m the captain too, baby.”
“And have you been driving boats since you were seventeen?”
“I’ve been steering boats since I was fourteen.”
“Oh, my goodness! That’s amazing…” I gave him a playful punch in the arm. “I did not know that about you, Mean Tuck.”
He chuckled as he turned the big wheel, guiding us farther out into the lake. “Oh, Freebie, there are so many things you don’t know about me.”
I took the time to admire his powerful profile as he drove. I bet there were a lot of things about him I didn’t know.
“How does one get to know their bully?” I didn’t mean to ask that out loud.
His gaze came to mine. “By seeing him…”
I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he meant by that. It’s something he often said when we were kids. But I changed my mind. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to see him. I wanted to torture him to help myself heal and then I wanted to see him leave after this year was up.
I walked over to the railing and looked out at the beautiful night as he drove, holding my head back to let the wind whip past my face, wishing I could let my hair down. God, it’s been a long day.
Heck, it’s been a long week… Who was I kidding? I’ve had a long life.
At some point, it was supposed to get easier. As a child coming up in Angie’s house, I thought that my life would somehow get easier when I became an adult and was no longer under her tyrannical rule, but it only got harder. Just one damn problem after another.
Rachel said the stress was killing me. And maybe she’s right, stress is a hell of a thing, and worked havoc on the body. But at this point, I didn’t know how to live a life without it.
Naphtali
She was so damn beautiful. She took my breath away. I watched her lean on the rail holding her head back, enjoying the breeze and wondered what she was thinking. No doubt she was stressing over some sh*t.
The girl in the yellow dress had been replaced by a tense doctor. As God is my witness, when she steps foot off this boat tonight…or tomorrow, she was going to be good and relaxed. I would make sure of that.
Hell, I can use some unwinding myself. I wasn’t lying when I told her I was on the ledge. I may have been lying when I told her I was fighting with myself over smoking though.
I got a call from my captain today. After inquiring about my drug counseling and telling me the whole team was missing me, he dropped a bomb in my lap.
“Hey, Nap, keep your eyes open. Marcellus’s kid brother, Rau was spotted in Miami yesterday. I’ve got eyes on him, but my sources say he’s here inquiring about his brother’s death. You need me to send Harry to Detroit to wait the year out with you?”
“Naw, Cap, don’t do that to him. What kind of partner would I be to force him to live this hell out with me?”
“Hell, my ass. I saw a pic of your doctor. The team has a wager going of how long it’s going to take you to get her in bed.”
“Wow! I leave and everybody stops working. Don’t you bums have better things to do than to be snooping around in my love life?”
“Wait! Love?”
“Bye, Cap…”
“Wait, kid, did you say love?”
“Bye, Cap…”
“Hey, pay up! The kid‘s in love… I told you it was bound to happen,” I heard him say before the line went dead.
Shaking my head at my squad’s immaturity, I hung up the phone but sat for a minute, thinking on his reason for calling. Marcellus was a mean son-of-a-b*tch that died at the hands of the Bully. During the two years that I spent undercover with his gang, I’d seen some sick sh*t. These bastards are the kind of mutha f*ckas that skinned niggas before wrapping their bodies in barbwire and hanging them in their grandmother’s front yard like butchered meat just to make an example out of them. In America and Argentina, they were known for their brutality.
For two years, I walked in the form of the Bully. It was the only way I was able to get in as deep as I did. Evil recognized Evil. Marcellus loved my alter. For the first time, he’d met a mutha f*cka more ruthless than him. But in those two years, I was scared to death that I was going to lose myself completely.
It felt too good walking in the Bully’s shoes. It felt good not giving a f*ck. But there has always been something inside of me that told me the Bully was f*cked up and I had to keep fighting to hold onto my humanity. In those two years, I had to get away every now and again to allow myself to be me, if only for a few days.
And now the captain said Marcellus’s kid brother was here from Argentina asking questions. It’s not that I was worried that they would find me. With the things they’d seen the Bully do, they would never suspect me of being a cop, so they will never think to look in that direction. But I still didn’t like taking any chances. The cartel had a way of finding sh*t out.
Tomorrow, I was going to holla at Jackson and Asher; I needed more eyes on Free. Now that she was back in my life, if anything was to ever happen to her, I’m afraid of what I would become. I’m afraid of what would be released into the world. There would be no coming back for me because I wouldn’t rest till every member of their family met the same fate. EVERY F*CKING MEMBER!
Free
“Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe you’ve caught another
fish!”
We’ve been sitting on the deck at the back of the boat for a little over an hour. And in that time, Tucker had already caught two fish. After driving us out farther into the lake, he killed the engine and prepared both of our poles with bait before situating them in two slots that he'd built at the back of the boat so that we can fish hands-free. But it seemed that the fish only liked his pole because they hadn't so much as grazed mine.
He chuckled as he unhooked the fish from the bait. “It’s because you‘re sitting up there so stiff. The fish can sense your anxiety.”
“That’s not true…is it?”
He nodded before gesturing towards me. “Look at the way you’re sitting up there, no way the fish are going to come anywhere near you. You have to relax. Why don’t you come down here and sit by me?” He patted the spot on the step just above the one he sat on.
It was true, I felt a little stiff. He’d taken off his boots and rolled up his pants so that his feet and legs could hang in the water. I sat in one of the chairs at the little table still fully clothed.
He patted the step again. “Come on, Freebie, kick off your shoes and put your feet in the water.”
“Naw, that’s okay. I have on tights.”
He frowned. “What the hell…What are you, six? Tights? And what the f*ck is with the penny loafers?”
I looked down at my shoes. “What’s wrong with my loafers? They’re reliable.”
Chuckling he shook his head. “I take that back. You’re eighty…”
“Am not!”
He nodded. "Yeah, you are…You're an old square.”
I told myself I wasn’t going to let him get under my skin like he used to do in high school, but I was failing miserably. His words were upsetting me, mainly because they were reminiscent of something Rachel said earlier.
“Just because I wear tights and penny loafers doesn’t mean I’m a square!” I hissed.
“Well, prove it. Come down here and put your feet in the water.”
I slammed my empty beer bottle on the table and stood, kicking off my shoes. “You think you’re so cool…” I muttered as I reached under my skirt and rolled my tights down my legs.