“Bella, baby, have you heard from your sister?”
The sound of her mother’s voice prompted Bella to peek around her dad’s broad shoulders.
“Hey, Ma. I’m fine. Thank you. How are you?” Bella sassed.
Bella stepped out of her dad’s embrace and peered over at her mother. She was standing in the doorway, wearing her favorite apron. It read, ‘Do not Disturb.’
Winona, Bella’s mom, was tiny compared to her dad. He towered over her like a giant. Belladonna and her sister, Donatella, had inherited their mother’s crimson complexion and long, straight, black hair. But in regards to their height, they were somewhere in between. They were nowhere near their dad’s height but tall for girls.
“Hi, baby,” her mother responded with a smile.
At fifty-five, Bella’s mom hadn’t lost one ounce of her Native American beauty. Winona had dark, sultry eyes, a proud sharp nose, and plump lips. Over the years, she’d maintained her fit, girlish figure.
Bella crossed the room and hugged her mom. She rubbed her mom’s head and inhaled the familiar scent of love and security. Winona kissed her cheek and stepped back. She inspected Bella as she did every time she visited.
“I’m in one piece, Ma.” Bella chuckled. “What’cha cooking?”
“Hunter’s stew and fried, green tomatoes,” Winona responded with a grin.
Bella’s smile widened. Her inner foodie was secretly dancing. Her mom was making her favorite. “Mmm-mm,” Bella hummed, hugging herself.
Bella began to walk toward the kitchen, but her dad’s booming voice halted her steps.
“You didn’t answer your mother’s question.”
Bella squinted, trying hard to remember her mother’s question, but the only thing that she could focus on was the aroma of the stew and a plate full of fried, green tomatoes.
“Your sister?” her mother reminded.
“Ohhh… No, I haven’t talked to Donna in a couple of weeks,” Bella admitted.
Winona folded her arms and frowned. “How on earth could you go weeks without talking to your sister,” her mother fussed. “I thought that y’all were supposed to have some kinda special bond.”
Bella’s mother was referring to the fact that she and Donna were twins. She was right. They did share a bond. Like Bella, Donatella was a police detective. But unlike, Bella, Donna worked undercover. There were times that the job required her sister to stay away for long periods of time.
Since, as a homicide detective, Bella was usually called after a violent crime has been committed, Donatella’s job as an undercover officer was much more dangerous. However, she would never tell that to her parents. They worried enough about the two of them.
“Ma, Donna is fine. You know how she gets when she’s on assignment.”
“I’m sick of this,” Winona fussed, shaking her head in frustration.
“Mama! Why are you mad at me? I’m actually here,” Bella pointed out.
Bella’s dad walked over, looked down at Bella, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, pumpkin. Let’s get some food in you.”
Bella looked over at her mom. Winona smiled apologetically and nodded toward the kitchen.
“You coming?” Bella asked her mom.
“Honey, do you think I cooked all that food just for you?” Winona chuckled. “Go on. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Bella was concerned about her mom when she went into the kitchen. She didn’t have any children, but she could only imagine how fearful her parents must’ve been, having both of their daughters having such dangerous jobs. She understood why Donna was away so much, but her parents weren’t cops, and they didn’t. How could she and her sister expect them to understand? Her dad was a high school principal, and her mom was a dentist. Bella often felt bad for her parents, especially her mom. She made a mental note to reach out to her twin.
Without any further conversation about her absent sister, Bella and her parents enjoyed a delicious meal. After dinner, they relaxed and drank beer in the family room. Full and comfortable, Bella relaxed on the sofa. She had no desire to move, but she began the notice lustful glances being exchanged between her parents. Bella stood, ready to leave. She knew exactly what the looks meant. Even after so many years, her parents still couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. Bella decided to leave before she got thrown out.
“Sooo, I’m gonna go.” Bella chuckled.
She didn’t get an argument from either of her parents.
“Ooo-kay,” Bella muttered. She grabbed her bag and headed to the door.
“Wait, pumpkin. Let me walk you to the car.”
“Daddy, I’m good. You don’t have to—”
“Little girl, I said wait,” Bill demanded.
Bella did as she was told and stopped at the door. Her dad didn’t like to repeat himself, and Bella wasn’t about to make him. Winona stood to her feet and walked over. She tucked a strand of hair behind Bella’s ear and kissed her cheek.
“Thanks for dinner, Ma.”
Winona’s smile was warm and motherly. “Thanks for coming,” she replied. “I like feeding my babies.”
Bella’s dad opened the front door and held it open for her to exit.
“I’ll see you later, Ma.” Bella stepped out on the porch. It was dark and a bit cool outside.
Her dad followed her out and accompanied her to her car. “Pumpkin, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything, Daddy. What’s up?”
“See if you can get in touch with your sister and have her call your mom.”
Bella looked up at her dad. He would press for Donna to call home for the sake of their mother, but Bella knew that he wanted to hear from her just as bad as her mom did.
“I’ll do what I can,” Bella promised.
Bill kissed the top of Bella’s head and opened her car door. Bella climbed in.
“Thank you,” he said before closing the door.
Bill stepped back from the curb and waited for Bella to pull off. She wanted to call NiYah to find out if she had discovered something that could help her case, but she knew that he wouldn’t go inside until she pulled away from the curb. So, Bella pulled off, deciding to call NiYah when she got home.
*****
Bella’s phone was ringing as she entered her small house in the South Shore neighborhood. She had a nice size bedroom and two small guestrooms, one of which she used as a closet slash dressing room. Her kitchen was just big enough for a woman who barely cooked, but she had a large deck in the back. But, to Bella, the best thing about her house was that it was walking distance from the beach. Bella loved living near the water. Every morning, she made it a point to go for either a run or a walk on the beach.
After fishing the phone out of her pocket, Bella swiped to answer. It was Taylor.
“Hey, Taylor, what’s up?”
“Girl…” Taylor sighed.
Bella’s antennas rose instantly.
“What’s going on?” Bella asked her friend.
“Can you drop by the penthouse tomorrow afternoon? I can explain then.”
“Yeah, but is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m cool, I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Taylor seemed upset, but she didn’t seem to be in a panic. So, Bella agreed to meet up with her the next day and ended the call. She tossed her phone on the cocktail table and went into the kitchen. After pouring herself a glass of wine, Bella washed the dishes that she’d left in the sink the night before. Then she shook her head, thinking that surely, she would be a better housekeeper if she didn’t work so many hours a day.
After cleaning the kitchen, Bella grabbed a glass, the bottle of wine, and headed toward her bedroom. She hadn’t gotten one foot across the threshold to her peaceful place when she heard the lock to her back-door turn. Bella paused for a few seconds, but she wasn’t concerned. She knew exactly who was entering her house. She sat the bottle and glass on an end table, next to her recliner.
“Hey, Bella doll!” Dean shouted from the hallway.
“Hey, bae. I’m in the bedroom!”
Bella kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the recliner. The chair was her favorite spot in her house. She grabbed the remote and turned the television on just as Dean poked his handsome, smiling face through the doorway.
Dean was Bella’s ex-husband. But the end of their marriage hadn’t ruined their relationship. They were still friends. As a matter of fact, Dean was like her best friend.
“I fixed the brakes on your Chevelle.”
“My hero,” Bella beamed.
Her jet black 1970 Chevelle was her baby.
Dean stepped into the bedroom and walked over to the bed. He turned to sit, but Bella stopped him with a grunt.
“Don’t you get on my bed in them street clothes,” she warned.
Dean stood upright and lifted an eyebrow at Bella. “Das how you gonna treat me after I labored under your vehicle for hours?”
“Go get a glass,” she urged, ignoring him and gesturing toward the bottle of wine.
As Dean exited the bedroom, Bella took notice of his extremely good looks. That was one thing about him that remained constant. Bella’s ex was a tall, bronze Adonis with long African locks. His muscular body was covered with tattoos, giving him the appearance of a dude with hood credibility that he didn’t have. Dean was a lawyer. Granted, he was no punk, but he didn’t have a thuggish bone in his body.
Bella filled her glass with wine, knocked it back, and then refilled it. She took a sip from the glass and placed it on the end table. Dean entered the room and held his glass out to Bella.
“How was dinner?” he asked as she poured.
“My mom made Hunter’s Stew and fried, green tomatoes.”
“Mm-mm…and you didn’t bring me any?” Dean complained.
“How was I supposed to know you were gonna be here?”
Dean narrowed his eyes and took a sip of the red wine. “You should have guessed.”
“They asked about you.”
Dean sighed and sat on the floor. He rested his back against the bed. Even though Bella couldn’t see his face, she could feel his anguish.
“Have you told them yet?” he asked.
“Dean, we’ve been divorced for five years. Why is it so important to you that they know?”
Dean scratched his scalp and blew out a frustrated breath. “Because I still consider them family, Bella. They deserve the truth. I agreed to let you handle things your way, but I don’t think you’ll ever tell them the truth. Are you that ashamed of me?”
The sadness in Dean’s voice made Bella feel like shit. She slid down on the floor and crawled over to him. Bella placed her head on his shoulder and whispered, “I could never be ashamed of you. Other than my dad, you’re the most honest and courageous man that I know. I’m just afraid of how my parents will react.” Bella placed her hand over his. “I couldn’t bear to see you lose another set of parents.”
Dean was gay. Bella didn’t know that when they were married, and she wasn’t sure that Dean knew it either. He had been in denial, fighting his impulses since he was a teenager. He really thought that he could overcome his attraction to men and live a normal life. When he realized that he couldn’t pray away his gay, he immediately confessed his urges to Bella. Although she was devastated, she appreciated his honesty.
“Bella, it’s taken me a long time to get to the point in my life where I can love and accept who I am. If your parents can’t continue to love me once they find out who I am, I’ll have to live with that. I will be sad, but I’ll survive.”
“I know, Bella,” acknowledged in a sad tone. “I just don’t want to see you go through what you went through when you came out to your parents.”
Bella knew that Dean still felt the pain of his parents disowning him. She remembered the rage that she’d felt toward them when they told their only son that he was dead to them.
Dean wrapped his arm around Bella and pulled her head to his chest. “Don’t worry so much, Bell. I can deal with anything as long as I have you,” Dean assured.
Bella held him tight. “You’ll always have me,” she promised. “I love you, friend.”
Dean kissed Bella’s forehead. “And I love you, Bella doll.”
CHAPTER FIVE
LUCAS
Lucas stepped off the elevator and walked toward Victor’s penthouse apartment. He was greeted by Gregor.
“What’s up, big guy?” Lucas greeted, even though he was almost as big as the bodyguard.
“Same song, different key. How are you, Mr. Creed?”
“Lucas. Please call me Lucas.”
Even though Gregor nodded, Lucas knew that he wouldn’t comply. He’d insisted on the informal greeting many times before. Lucas just shook his head and chuckled as he entered his brother’s apartment. He crossed the foyer and walked straight to the bar.
“Victor!” he called out as he poured himself a glass of cognac.
“You need a bullhorn?” Victor grumbled as he entered the room.
“Naw, I got the result that I was looking for. What’s up, bro. Why I have I been summoned?”
Before Victor could respond, his brother’s fiancée entered the room. She walked over to give him a hug.
“Hello, beautiful.”
“Hey, Lucas. Thanks for coming.”
“Anything for you,” Lucas responded with a mischievous grin.
He knew all too well just how possessive his big brother could be over his fiancée. And Lucas couldn’t blame him. Taylor was a drop-dead gorgeous, powerhouse of a woman. She was tough, intelligent, funny, and built like a goddess. Lucas respected his big brother and his relationship with Taylor, but no heterosexual male could help himself from admiring her curves for a second or two. And admiring was exactly what he was doing until Victor slapped him upside his head.
“What the fuck?!” Lucas barked. His natural reaction would have been to knock the shit out of his brother, but he restrained himself. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself!” Lucas barked.
“Keep your fucking eyes to yourself!” Victor retorted.
“I didn’t—”
“I see nothing’s changed around here.”
Lucas was interrupted by an amused female voice from behind. He turned toward the source and lost his footing when he realized that the voice had come from his dead sister-in-law. “What the…how...how can this be?” he stammered.
“Divine intervention,” Rosemary jested.
She walked over and gave Lucas a hug, but he was too shocked to return her affection. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to see her alive. He was simply stunned by her presence. Lucas stepped back and grabbed her by the shoulders. He stared deep into Rosemary’s blue eyes. Lucas needed to make sure that he wasn’t imagining her presence. Once he was satisfied that she was real, Lucas pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. He was aware that she and Victor had never loved each other the way a married couple should have, but he’d always liked Rosemary.
Lucas stepped back and turned to Victor.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“It’s a long story,” Victor responded in a weary tone. “Let’s talk about it over lunch.”
Lucas nodded and followed his brother into the dining room. There was never a dull moment in the life of a Creed.
BELLA
Bella stepped out of the elevator and ran smack into a giant man wall. She stumbled backward, but the giant grabbed her elbows, keeping her steady on her feet.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I was just—”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m here to see the governor.”
“Right this way, Detective.”
Gregor released Bella’s elbow and escorted her to Victor’s apartment. He opened the door and ushered her inside.
“The governor is expecting you, but I need your weapon.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right, big fella,” she scoffed.
&nbs
p; She went to walk away, but the big man grabbed her arm. Bella’s eyes landed on the large hand on her arm and then back to his face.
“You need to get your hand off me,” Bella warned through gritted teeth.
“Detective, I’m only doing my job. I need you to turn over your firearm.”
Bella inhaled a calming breath. She didn’t like being manhandled.
“It’s okay, Gregor,” Victor interrupted. “I’m almost sure that the detective is not here to kill me.”
Bella could tell that he wasn’t happy about it, but Gregor nodded and released her arm.
“This way, detective,” Victor offered, as he walked across the foyer.
Bella followed Victor through the large penthouse and into what she guessed was the entertainment room.
“Hey, friend,” Taylor greeted when she entered.
Bella didn’t recognize the woman sitting on the sofa, but she immediately recognized Victor’s fine-as-fuck little brother, Lucas. If she were to be honest, Bella had never been attracted to men of other races. But Lucas was a white boy that demanded a double take.
“Wassup?” Bella greeted, trying not to stare at the tall, green-eyed, hunk.
“Ooh… she’s pretty,” crooned the blonde woman. “Lucas, isn’t she beautiful?”
She stood and walked closer. Bella folded her arms and narrowed her eyes as the woman looked her up and down in assessment.
“You’re Indian,” she guessed. “Native American or from Asian Indian?”
“It’s essentially the same thing,” Bella muttered, rolling her eyes.
She looked over at Taylor and gave her the, ‘Who the fuck is this bitch?’ look.
Taylor shrugged and gestured toward the bar. “Drink?” she asked.
“Naw, I’m still on the clock. What’s up?”
Bella watched as Victor made his way to the bar. He poured brown liquor into a glass and consumed it in one gulp. Bella blew out a harsh breath. She was becoming impatient.
“Meet Rosemary Creed,” Taylor finally offered.
Bella turned to the blonde and waited for someone to get to the point. “Oo-kay?”
Creed 2: Black Widow Page 3
