Since the divorce hadn’t gone through yet, when he was murdered, I got the house, all of his life insurance policies, and everything in his bank accounts. Apparently, he had a few. So, not that I needed any of what he had, but once all affairs were settled and any debts were paid, it was all mine. As far as I was concerned, I deserved it for what he had put me through.
After having been hypnotized by the calm rippling effects of the pool water, I inhaled yet another breath of fresh, early summer air, then left the comfort of the terrace outside my room. I had been out there for close to an hour and needed to start getting ready to host the small gathering I had planned.
Heading down the spiral staircase that led to my closet, I heard my phone ringing in the distance. I had been so preoccupied with having some ‘me time’ before my guests arrived, I hadn’t taken into account that someone may call. I sped up my pace and reached my phone in enough time to grab it before the fourth ring.
I checked the caller ID and smiled. “Hello?” I sang into the line. “Is this my girl, Kaitlyn calling?”
A soft chuckle revealed her light mood. In Kaitlyn’s line of work, it wasn’t always that way. “It’s me,” she announced.
“Don’t tell me you’re calling to say you won’t make it.”
“Oh no. Definitely going to be there. Wouldn’t miss it. I need this break with all the criminal activity I see on a daily basis. I was just calling to give you a piece of news before I got there. Didn’t want to bring any work-related conversation to put a damper on the festivities.”
I put Kaitlyn on speaker and proceeded to step into the new sexy yellow number I got on a recent trip to San Francisco, with Leo. The two-piece chiffon dress with a V-neck bra crop top and high double splits on the skirt, was pure seduction.
“I’m all ears,” I said to her while sliding my feet into a yellow, heeled sandal.
“So, remember the guy that I told you about? The one that was found in front of the apartment building, with his throat slit from ear-to-ear about two months ago?”
Brock…
I paused momentarily to make it appear as though I was trying to remember. “I vaguely recall something about it.”
I remember every single thing about it…
“Okay, well get this, he’s a match for the second trace of sperm found on Royce Jacobson.”
“Oh shit,” I whispered in faux astonishment. “Are you serious?”
“Very. And there’s more. His name was Brock Davis, and he worked under your ex-husband. He wasn’t a direct report of Drew’s, but he was a direct report to someone two managers below him. From what I understand, he hated the man. Interviews that were conducted revealed that he had it out for him for quite some time. He had quit his job recently and was telling people that he was moving to Texas; that he’d come into an opportunity.”
“Wow, that’s crazy…”
I took in every word; shocked at the fact that Brock knew Drew and never said shit about it. He mentioned his ties to Royce, but never mentioned Drew at all.
Why was that?
“So now, there’s this running theory that maybe it was Brock who killed Royce after finding out about her and Drew. Maybe he went on to set Drew up for the murder...” Kaitlyn’s voice trailed, causing me to realize that I had zoned out. “You there, Nova?” she asked, with concern in her voice.
“Oh, I’m here. Heard every word.”
“Boring shit, I know. Just thought I’d let you know about the connection and how crazy—”
“So, who killed the Brock person?” I asked, curious to know what the police knew.
“Could be anybody. He wasn’t well-liked among his peers. Conniving, was a word often used in interviews with his co-workers. He was dressed in designer clothing top to bottom when he was found, so no telling what type of lifestyle he was into. Since it’s not my case, I’m not going to put energy into it at all. I just thought it was interesting that they all somehow connected. Who knows? They may have all three been involved in some shit,” Kaitlyn said. “One dies in her home, the other in jail and the other in a parking lot… all within a short time of each other.”
“Yeah, the world is a crazy place,” I commented. “You sure you want to be my friend, Kaitlyn? Apparently, some pretty sick people are connected—”
“Girl, please! This has nothing to do with you. Just be glad that it wasn’t you. Because there was a lot of deceit and hate going on in that small group of folks. And with that said, I’ll be there in about an hour. I’m about to head into the brow salon right now to tame this unibrow!”
“You’re a mess!” I yelled, laughing as we disconnected the line.
It should have been criminal, how big the smile on my face was when Kaitlyn’s and my call ended. Life was so damn good. I had my beautiful palace, a job that I absolutely loved, good friends who had earned a spot in my world, and a healthy relationship that was blossoming into something promising. Never again would I allow myself to settle.
As for Kyle and Raquel. Bliss is lying so heavily on me right now, that I’ve put them on the back burner. But make no mistake, they will be dealt with for making even the slightest attempt to fuck with my livelihood. For sticking their collective noses in a place that they didn’t belong. The fact that I let them live shows growth on my part.
At work, Kyle continues to avoid even walking in the same hallway as me. I know a part of that is because he’s scared of Mr. Canton, and is well aware that one word from me, and his so-called career would be mush. But the other part of it, is that he probably spends a pretty large part of his day wondering what really happened to his would-be partner in crime, Brock Davis.
I’ll let him marinate a little longer on that. In the meantime, I just hope Raquel knows that the last time she saw me... wasn’t the last time she’d see me...
Having made my way back upstairs to my master bathroom, I applied mascara, and lip gloss. I used a dab of Vaseline to smooth out my brow’s arches. When the face was done, I untied the silk scarf, holding my slick ponytail in place.
“Perfection,” I whispered to myself in the mirror.
Even more perfect, was the timing—Leo’s. As I was picking up my phone off the countertop, his text message came across my screen:
“Can’t wait to spend the day with you. The night too. Yeah, I’m being greedy…”
“Oh, you THOUGHT you were getting away from me after the party was over?”
“All CAPS, huh? Your guy is smiling.”
“Your girl is smiling too… Can you get here, please?”
“I’m out front. Come get me…”
The whole scenario with Leo continually brought to mind that Deborah Cox song, “How Did You Get Here?” Because honestly, nobody was supposed to be here. I was dead set against it. But then I realized that not all men are Drew. And I also realized that sometimes you have to take chances. So, that’s where I was, and that’s where I chose to be.
Like, I said… Life is good.
EPILOGUE
Monday, July 16, 2018
North Las Vegas Airport
Chazz Parker, waited patiently inside the comfort of his private jet, at the nose of hangar #17. The plane’s nose was pointed outward and ready for takeoff. Chazz had completed business in Vegas and was ready to hit the friendly skies. He had nowhere in particular to be; he just knew that he wanted out of Vegas. He hated the place. He only came to Vegas when it was extremely necessary. This time, like all the others, had been.
He hadn’t decided if he’d be headed back to Southern California to his main home in Malibu, or if he would hang out in Atlanta for a while. But the pilot was on standby for when his transaction was finished, and his decision on a destination was made.
The sudden whine of a woman’s voice, shook Chazz from his musings. “Are you listening to me, baby?” the woman asked. “I’m already feeling like you’ve forgotten about me and you’ve only been gone for an hour.”
“You shouldn’t feel like that. I heard e
verything you said,” he lied. “I was just waiting for you to finish.”
“Aww, aren’t you sweet. So attentive. You don’t even know how smitten I am.”
Actually, I do, Chazz thought to himself.
Hearing the sound of a car and then the sudden sound of music spilling from its windows, provided Chazz the opportunity he needed to escape the conversation.
“Let me call you back in a few, okay?” he said, hanging up before Mandy had the chance to agree to the terms.
Chazz abandoned the comfort of the customized leather, and made his way to the front of the aircraft to greet his visitor. Instinctively, he smiled because he knew that the conversation would be part comedy, part drama, and probably some other shit. He was looking forward to it.
“My man!” Chazz exclaimed greeting his God brother with their bro hug. “What took you so long?” he asked. “Oh, never mind. I know. Something dipped in chocolate, and with a nice ass, huh?”
“Hey, don’t go there,” Leo warned. “Show some respect.”
“Whoa! My bad, brother. It’s all love.” The two smiled at each other, then laughed out loud.
“What’s to drink?” Leo asked. “Since you insisted on meeting on the tarmac, the least you could do was have me something to drink on.”
“And I do.” Chazz pressed a small buzzer on the side of his seat, and a woman advanced toward them wearing only a bikini and holding a notepad.
“You can’t be serious,” Leo questioned, shaking his head. “Such a prima donna.”
“Is what it is, guy. Tell her what you want so we can get down to business and I can get out of your dirty-ass town.”
“A gin and tonic would be good, sweetheart,” Leo requested, looking the thick woman up and down taking note of all the bumps and curves.
She winked at Leo. “For sure. What about you Chazz?”
“I’ll take what my brother is having.”
“Back in a sec,” she said, prancing away with both men staring behind her.
“You’re somethin’ else, man,” Leo acknowledged.
“And so were you until you fell face the fuck down in the path of love,” he teased. “She’s beautiful, though. Beautiful and…” As the bikini-clad hostess returned with their drinks, Chazz halted his statement. When she walked off, he continued. “… dangerous.”
“We all got a little bit of danger in us,” Leo said in defense of Nova. “All of us.”
“Yeah, but she’s a different kind of ruthless, man.”
“I admire it. It wasn’t like she had multiple problems with no solution. She rid the problem with a well-thought out plan. I love the fuck out of her mind.”
“Shit. You love her crazy.”
Leo laughed. “Why you coming down so hard on her? You act like our hands are clean and we both know that’s the furthest from the truth.”
“Yeah, you got a point. I guess I just never…” Chazz halted his dialogue in search of the right phrase. He took down a gulp of his gin mixture. “She gutted the fuck out of that dude, Leo. Ear to ear. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. And here you wanted someone to watch over her. Shit, it’s the other people that need somebody to watch over them. I don’t suppose she knows that you know?” he asked, as more of a statement than a question.
“No. And she doesn’t need to. I want her to be who she is.”
“And who’s that? A serial killer like her grandmother?”
“Nah. And it was never proven that Deneen Sinclair was a serial killer.”
“Wasn’t proven, but please believe she was serial. That woman died with bodies. Trust me.”
“Well, Nova’s not a serial killer. Far from it, in fact. I see Nova as more of a necessity killer. There’s a difference. A big difference. She did what she needed to do to protect herself. There’s nothing wrong with that. Her heart, her livelihood. Everything she did was to secure herself.”
Chazz chuckled and shook his head. “You finally found the one. The one that matches you. Stroke for stroke. Fuckin’ Bonnie & Clyde, only Bonnie don’t know. Speaking of ‘don’t know’, that Drew Levine’s eyes damn near bulged from his fucking skull when I said, ‘Leo sent me,” right before I broke his fuckin’ neck. Pussy didn’t even know how to put up a fight. What the fuck was she ever even doing with a punk-ass like that?”
“It’s irrelevant now. She’ll never be with him again. I wish you could’ve gotten me in there to do it myself.”
“I know. But trust me; he knew it was a message from you, and he died knowing that Nova would be well-taken care of. He even cried a little bit,” Chazz laughed. “Bitch pissed his pants.”
“Really? Because he sure tried to flex when I visited him right before. I just wanted him to see me in person, so that he would make the connection when you went to see him.”
“It worked. He begged. Said he’d give her the divorce with no problem. That he would do his time without any trouble. Even said that he deserved what happened because he fucked up. Oh, dude begged and he pleaded.”
Leo shrugged, unaffected. “Oh well. Such is life.”
“You’re a cold piece, Leo.” Chazz shook his head at Leo. “And now you’ve met your equal. I’m happy for you, Bro. She’s a good one. I knew that the night I had that conversation with her at the Wynn.”
Leo looked down at the notification that had just rocked his phone. He smiled to himself, then looked at Chazz. “Thanks, Bro. She is a good one.” He stood from his seat preparing to leave. “I have to get going. Got a surprise planned for her that she’s gonna love.”
Chazz stood eye to eye with his godbrother, and the two hugged once more. “Is this about to be a proposal? Because I might need to stick around for that.”
“Not yet,” Leo laughed. “Nova’s coming into her own for now. I want her to do that. The more she does that, the more she realizes that she can tell me anything. I don’t want her living with secrets. I want her whole enough to know that she’s where she’s supposed to be—without censorship. But … of course, you’ll be the first to know when and if it happens.”
“That’s what’s up.” Chazz nodded. “She’s got a good guy in you; that’s for sure.”
“It goes both ways.”
“And I don’t doubt it for one second. I’ll be there one day.”
“Yeah, right!” Leo laughed as he walked back toward the front of the plane, and on his way to Nova.
Life couldn’t be better, he thought to himself…
-The End-
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BOOKS by PERRI FORREST
-SERIES-
Dario Caivano (2-book series)
In the Ring 1: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
In the Ring 2: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
Rush Cambridge (4-book series)
Rapture 1: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
Rapture 2: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
Rapture 3: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
Rapture 4: BWWM Alpha Male Romance
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Special Delivery 1: BWWM Fiction/Romance
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Love’s Awakening (2-book series)
Kennedy’s Awakening: BWLM Fiction
Awakened Desires: BWLM Romance
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Book 3 coming November 2020
Risqué 1: BWWM Romance/Erotica
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Pandora’s Box (Brooklyn Kellogg continuing episodes)
The Color of Lies
What Lies Beneath the Surface
Beautiful Lies
Crooked Lies
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Lethal Love: Interracial Fiction/Romance
Last Night: Interracial Romance/Suspense
Family Ties: African American Fiction/Romance
Beautiful Vengeance: African American Fiction/Romance
Destined: Interracial Romance
Captivated: Interracial Romance
Isa: Gift of the Baloma: Interracial Paranormal
Lethal Love: Deceit can be Deadly Page 27