The Hearts We Burn

by Briana Cole

  My eyes were still closed, but I heard the gunshot so close and so loud that it sent my own body convulsing. It popped like a firecracker, the hollow explosion echoing off the empty walls. One single shot. That was all it took.

  Chapter 22

  Kimera

  The smell of blood was strong and sickening. Whose blood? I moaned and tried to move, wincing at the pinch of fractured glass against the side of my face. Where was everyone? What happened? I couldn’t hear anything with the exception of a crisp ringing in my ear. Slowly, I lifted my eyes and tried to get my vision to clear. Just as I suspected, I was lying face down on the ground among tiny pieces of glass. I saw the crimson pool of blood but I couldn’t be sure where, or who, it was coming from. My entire body was on fire and throbbed with varying degrees of pain that startled a cry from my lips and left me paralyzed with the aching.

  The noise was louder now. Not ringing. Sirens. Thank God. My vision waned again but relief coursed through my body when I saw the sequence of blue and red lights flashing through the living room window to blend with the lights from the Christmas tree. Never had I been so grateful for those sirens.

  Then I saw it. A body. The face was positioned away from me but I could clearly tell who it was by the outfit and the body’s frame as it he lay limply a few feet away. Oh God Kareem! I couldn’t tell if he was conscious but he was certainly way too still. And was that blood seeping from under his chest?

  I mustered all of my energy to lift my head first, pausing only briefly to let the dizziness subside. Then my upper half. But that was as far as I could get. The pain was just too intense and I was just too weak.

  Someone had shot someone. I couldn’t remember much but that much I did. Had Leo fired his gun and killed Kareem? Where was he? Then a swell of fear and exhaustion had me collapsing back to the floor, ignoring the glass that nicked the flesh of my arms and hands. Shit, what if he was still around? Should I play dead?

  A shadow fell across the floor. Then legs moved quickly across the room, sexy legs I recognized stuffed into sneakers. She moved first to Kareem, stooping to his body to touch his neck, then his back. Just as quickly, she had come to me and bent in my face. My eyes were open as I could only stare at Naomi’s beautiful face as her lips moved though no sound came out. Was she talking to me? Her eyes certainly looked fearful as she kept her face close to mine and her intoxicating perfume tangled with the raw stench of death that thickened the air.

  I felt my lids getting heavy but was able to make out the other footsteps rushing in and lifting Naomi out of the way to get to me. Hands moved and shifted me though I couldn’t feel anything. Nothing but darkness and numbness.

  “Baby girl.”

  I didn’t see who was talking, but I definitely recognized that voice. It sent a sudden wave of comfort throughout my body that enveloped me. Damn, I hadn’t heard that voice in so long, the sound prompted tears.

  “Daddy?”

  “It’s okay, baby girl. You can come home now.” I didn’t even realize I was smiling, reveling in the pastor’s voice and encouragement. Welcoming the end. Home.

  A dull ache had me moaning, my heavy lids ignoring my brain and willing them to lift. My head was tight with wrapped bandages. Every stiff muscle, every bone, every cell in my body felt as if it was being squeezed with pliers and saturated in scalding hot water.

  Disoriented, I managed to open my eyes into narrow slits, the room blurry at first before slowly coming into focus. I saw the stale, blue couch, heard the beep and hum of various machines, saw the needles embedded in my arm as it rested lifeless on the starched white sheet. I didn’t bother trying to move; I just lay there waiting for what felt like death to take over.

  The door opened, and I couldn’t even muster the energy to express my confusion when I saw Naomi ease through, an elaborate flower arrangement in her arms.

  “I was hoping to get back before you woke up.” She spoke in a hushed voice walking over to the bedside. “The nurse said you were kind of in and out.” Naomi sat the bouquet on the table and rubbed her arm. “How are you feeling?” I groaned in response, and Naomi nodded in understanding. “I’m sure you are a little weak. Here.” She grabbed a plastic cup from the counter and angled the bendy straw to my lips.

  I took an appreciative sip, the warm water almost stinging as it dribbled down my raw throat.

  “Better?”

  I nodded. The pain was excruciating. Almost numbing all over my body.

  “Well, you certainly gave us all a scare,” Naomi teased. My lips twitched with the humor but I didn’t even have the strength to smile.

  “How . . . ?” The word came out in a raspy gush of forced air and I could only breathe at the intense energy it took for just that. The subsequent pain had me closing my eyes. I felt Naomi’s reassuring pat.

  “I understand. It’s a lot and you’re a little dazed because of what happened. Well for starters, we took care of Leo.”

  Now I did lift my eyes and I know my face carried sheer and utter confusion. That was when I actually noticed Naomi. She looked, different. Her hair was pinned in a neat bun at her neck, gone was all that elaborate weave she used to wear. And she didn’t have on all of the scant clothing showing off her voluptuous body. In its place was a crisp, white collared shirt and some navy slacks. Not to mention a police badge around her neck.

  Naomi noticed me staring and she glanced down, fingering her badge on a slight chuckle. “Yeah, I know, right? Weird huh?”

  “You . . . ?”

  “A cop? Yep.” Her grin was proud but I still sat in amazement. Never would I have guessed.

  “And Kareem?”

  Naomi chuckled. “He likes to think he’s a cop and we just let him go with it. He is more of an informant. He helps us out a lot.” She touched my arm gingerly. “And he certainly helped with your case, Kimera.”

  I started to lift my head from the pillow, didn’t even bother. For the first time in a while, I felt completely safe and relaxed even in the midst of confusion.

  “We had been working the Leo Owusu case for years and never really had an ‘in.’ Kareem was feeding us what we needed but the Owusus are very tight-lipped about their operation. So, we needed something else. I decided to go in undercover. I felt so sorry for you Kimmy, and I wanted to help you as best I could but I knew those cameras were rolling and until we were able to get control of that security footage, I knew we really couldn’t do much talking in the house. Hell, even I was bugged.” Naomi rolled her eyes. “Not by the police. By Leo. He suspected you were up to something. Therefore, I couldn’t really say or do too much around you without him being on to you. I knew you and Kareem had a plan going too. So basically, we were all on the same side, trying to work from different angles.”

  “But how did you know about me?” I asked.

  Naomi grinned. “Funny story. I got a little call from a Detective Terry in Atlanta, Georgia. She said your friend Adria came to see her. I guess a little birdy must have told her.”

  I was so happy I wanted to cry. So, my note did make it. And Adria, thank God Adria was okay. I was speechless.

  “How is she?” I asked. “And my brother? My mother?”

  Naomi patted my arm. “Everyone is fine. Don’t worry. You will see them soon enough.”

  “And my boys?”

  “Fine, I promise. And Leo, I shot him but it wasn’t fatal. He’ll live but he and his father are going to jail for a very long time.”

  So, the gunshot was from Naomi, not Leo. I remembered blacking out but I certainly thought it was because I was as good as dead.

  “Thank you.” Overwhelmed, all I could muster now was a whisper and another quiet prayer. I released a sigh, my chest tightening from the gesture. Damn. Talk about a crazy turn of events.

  I felt Naomi’s gentle fingers on the side of my head, above my ear. “No damage other than a few bumps and bruises. You took a pretty nasty fall when you passed out and hit your head on the table, so you may have headaches and
feel yucky for a while.” Naomi leaned down and, much to my surprise, planted a comforting kiss on my forehead. “I know that’s not really ‘police-y’ of me,” she said with a bright laugh. “But after all this time of being your sister wife, I think we’ve gotten pretty close, right?” I couldn’t do anything but share in her joy. “But, seriously,” she said, changing her tone. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”

  I smiled to myself. Yes, I would be all right. I was safe. My family and kids were safe. And I was finally free.

  “The hospital told me to make calls to your family,” Naomi went on. “I didn’t know how you felt about that, so I said I would wait until you woke up to ask you. Do you want me to call anyone and tell them what happened?”

  I sighed once more as everyone flashed through my mind one-by-one. Keon, my sweet baby brother who had become a pseudo father-figure to me, so protective. My mother, who was still so damaged, I was sure, from the whole ordeal, especially considering it resulted in my father’s death. Adria, my best friend who I had gotten tangled in my shit. And Jahmad. Poor Jahmad, who I had hurt beyond measure and I loved enough to leave alone because I knew he deserved better.

  Sure, I could tell them now and they would be on the first thing smoking out of Atlanta, too. Cards and flowers, sympathy and regret. It might even be genuine. But part of me, a small part, couldn’t help but wonder if some of it would be driven by guilt because I was hurt. Hadn’t I gotten myself into this mess?

  It was over. All over. I would start fresh, and even though I hadn’t done right by them before, I would now. No need to compound the strain and reopen the wounds. Maybe one day, they would find it in their hearts to move on and forgive me for all of this.

  My voice came out foreign, raspy with soreness and strangled with pain, but strengthened with renewed confidence. “No. Don’t call. As soon as I’m out of here, I’m going to see them myself.”

  I remained in the hospital for a few extra days for observation, the doctor said, but the longer I stayed, the longer I had to worry when I didn’t hear any word about Kareem. I remembered seeing him back at the mansion, lying face down in a pool of blood. The thought had my fear heightening that much more. Please God let him have lived.

  Naomi had said he’d been severely hurt with a gunshot wound, one he had suffered trying to block Leo’s bullet from me. To say I was riddled with guilt was an understatement. I thought of Kareem’s daughter. How old did he say she was? Nine? Ten? Had he even told me her name? I know he mentioned how long it had been since he’d seen her. Three years I’m sure felt like three lifetimes. Shit, it had only been a few months for me and I had been ready to risk it all to get back to my family. I’d pulled him in to helping me, relied on him. And he was suffering for it. If that man died trying to protect me, I would surely suffer more than these physical bumps and bruises.

  “He’s had a few surgeries,” Naomi updated me one day when I’d asked for the umpteenth time. “The bullet grazed a critical artery, and, though it didn’t puncture, he suffered a tremendous amount of blood loss. But he’s stable now,” she added when my face fell at the news. “He’s actually doing much better than he was. So now all we can do is hope for the best.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. So, every morning and every night I exercised what I knew was better than mere hope. I prayed, and I used my faith. My dad had taught me that much. God had certainly pulled me through, that’s for sure.

  So, I gritted through my pain and exhaustion and went as far as to lower to my knees on the side of my hospital bed. “Lord God, I know You know and grant the desires of the heart. I thank You for getting me out of that situation with Leo. But God, I come to You humbly now and ask that you please heal my friend Kareem. He has so much to live for so I pray with everything in me that You please see him through this alive so he can get back to his daughter. I thank You God.”

  That was where Naomi found me minutes later. I hadn’t mustered the energy to climb back in the bed so I’d merely sat there waiting. For what? I didn’t know. A sign? A voice? Something.

  Then Naomi spoke. “He’s awake,” she informed me with a smile. “And he’s asking for you.” Naomi had a nurse retrieve me a wheelchair and wheel me down to Kareem’s room.

  To my surprise, Kareem was sitting up in bed alert. And most importantly, alive. Even though he was hooked up to all kinds of machines and had a slew of bruises and abrasions canvassing his body in different stages of healing, he was alive.

  I sent up a silent prayer of thanks to God. His eyes landed on me, and we both exchanged a smile; obviously, he was just as relieved to see me as I was him.

  “Damn, I’m glad to see you, Kimmy.” His sigh was one of relief that brought happy tears to my eyes. “I was worried about you.”

  “Me?” I wheeled myself further into the room allowing the nurse to shut the door as she left. “You were the one in and out of critical condition. Hell, I was worried about YOU.”

  Kareem waved away my distress. “You know I was going to be all right.”

  “I didn’t. Leo shot you.” The reality only reaffirmed the horror of that night.

  “Well, really, he shot at you,” Kareem teased lightning the mood. “I just pushed you out of the way.”

  He tossed me one of those smirks of his and as much as I wanted to take it as lightly, a part of me felt like crying. The man saved my life.

  I eased my wheelchair closer to his bedside and reached out to grab his hand. “Thank you,” I said. “From the bottom of my heart. Thank you for everything.”

  Kareem leaned over in response, planting a passionate kiss on my lips. Slow and sensual. Loving.

  He broke the contact first and rested his forehead on mine as we both tried to catch our breaths.

  “Now what?” I verbalized the question but I knew he was thinking the same thing.

  “I wouldn’t be selfish enough to ask you to come to Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria with me,” Kareem said on a slight chuckle. “Wouldn’t that be ironic?”

  He was right. I had moved Heaven and hell to keep from going with Leo and Obi. What would I look like ending up there anyway. But this was different. This was Kareem.

  He read my hesitation and for a moment, a brief moment, a look of hopefulness graced his handsome face. But my apologetic smile had him nodding his understanding. “You’ve been gone long enough,” he said, already knowing my answer. “Your family in Atlanta needs you.” He paused briefly. “I want you to know something,” he said, and all of a sudden the tension in the room shifted. Gone was the humor and Kareem’s seriousness instantly had me nervous. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell you because I didn’t want you to feel different about me. But you need to know.”

  “What?”

  Kareem’s eyes glanced to the door to make sure we were alone. Then he lowered his voice. “I took that nigga out.”

  I frowned in confusion, then slowly, so slowly my eyes rounded with clarity. “Tyree.”

  His nod was slight. “I figured to make it look like a suicide but Kimmy, he had to go. He had too much of an upper hand. And when I found his cell phone with the video—”

  “What video?”

  “You and me on the wedding night. He was going to show that to Leo and get both of us killed. He had been looking for a way to get rid of you. And this was his chance. Especially considering he wanted me to set you up and though we were sleeping together, I kept telling him you were refusing me. So, he had nothing. Or so I thought until I found the video.”

  I mulled over his words. So close. Damn, we had gotten careless and had been so close to messing up everything.

  “It was a risk, I knew,” Kareem went on at my continued silence. “But he knew too much.”

  I didn’t know what Kareem expected me to feel but sadness sure as hell wasn’t the emotion. Relief was more like it. Tyree was accountable for all of my torture, all of my misery. Good fucking riddance.

  I smiled then and pulled Kareem in for another kiss. �
�That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I teased.

  Kareem laughed, obviously relieved his little confession hadn’t bothered me one bit. “I’m going to miss you.” He used his thumb to brush my lip, causing a shudder to ripple through my body.

  “You can always get your daughter and come to Georgia,” I suggested. I was only half-joking but he seemed to be considering the offer.

  “You never know,” was all he said, and he pulled me in for another kiss.

  Chapter 23

  Kimera

  “My love.”

  A hand touched my shoulder and startled me awake. Please God, not him again.

  My eyes darted around in a panic, settling when they rested on the plane’s coach interior, nearly empty with the early morning flight. I was even more relieved to see my riding companion, Detective Terry’s reassuring smile from the aisle seat beside me. I had to smile at my own foolishness. I would not have considered myself traumatized but I knew it was probably going to take a while before I would be able to get a peaceful, ‘Owusu-free’ sleep. That was one reason I had insisted on downsizing to coach, despite the first-class tickets I could afford. The way I saw it, I had had enough luxury (and the costs associated with it) to last a lifetime. Any disassociation with that lifestyle, the better. I was now more than appreciative for the simple pleasures.

  Detective Terry used those brilliant blue eyes of hers to gesture towards the window. “We’re descending,” she announced.

  The relief swelled and I looked from her to Leo Jr. sleeping quietly between us, his head against Detective Terry’s arm, his lips partially open as his soft snore signaled his deep slumber. Jamal was nestled in my lap, and had apparently slept through the entire flight as well. I turned to the window and took in a grateful breath at the sight.

  The familiar Atlanta skyline broke through the clouds and suddenly my excitement turned to anxiety. It had been, damn how long? Three months since I had been gone. Any other time, three months didn’t sound like much. But three months as a prisoner with Leo, shit felt like a lifetime. I hated to admit, I had started to lose hope of ever being completely free from those ties that bound me to the Owusus. It had been a shot in the dark trying to write a letter for Lupé to send home to my family and even though she didn’t, Kareem eventually informed me that he had made sure to mail it off anyway. And for that I owed him my life. And Adria for taking it seriously.