Black Lace: Book 4 of the Black Butterfly Series

by Nika Michelle

  The smile was still on Claudette’s face when she stood and waited for me to take her place in the rocking chair. “No problem at all Miss Beauvois. He’s such a good baby and it sounds like he’s breathing better.”

  She placed him in my arms and I held the bottle in place as she let go. That way we didn’t have to disturb his meal. When my son’s eyes locked on me, I could tell that he recognized his mommy. His little arms started moving all fast and he seemed excited. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Aww, I missed you too munchkin.”

  “Well, I’ll let you two be. Do you need me tomorrow?” She asked anxiously.

  “I think I’ll be in most of the day tomorrow, so enjoy your Sunday. Thank you again Claudette.”

  She nodded. “You’re welcome. Have a nice evening Miss Beauvois.”

  “You do the same,” I said as she left the nursery.

  I looked down at my son again and noticed that his eyes were getting lower.

  “You’re falling asleep on me already? Stay awake and play with mommy.”

  His eyes opened like he understood what I said and was trying to fight Mr. Sandman. I kissed his chubby cheeks and inhaled the sweet aroma that babies possessed. He was the greatest joy that anyone could ever be blessed with. As I thought of his father I cringed. What was he hiding and why? Was it another woman and if it was why were we planning to have a wedding in less than two months.

  I had no proof that he was cheating though. Truthfully, I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was that my intuition was telling me that something wasn’t right. The feeling in my gut never lied or led me astray, so I wasn’t going to second guess it. What I did plan to do was get to the bottom of it before I walked down that damn aisle.

  Chapter 11

  Seantay

  I was literally breathing down Rah’s neck when he walked in from his meeting with the DA’s undercover lover. There were a million and one thoughts running through my head and I needed to put my mind at ease. Shit, I needed to know that my life was not going to be flushed down the drain right before my eyes.

  “So, what happened bae? How’d it go?” I asked anxiously awaiting some confirmation that things were going to go as planned.

  If Dean was released from prison he would stop at nothing to make my life a living hell and I didn’t want to think about what the hell Nafis would do. Thank God he wasn’t contacting me anymore. Rah was keeping his ears to the streets and there was no word of him getting out of jail anytime soon. I was relieved.

  “Well hello to you too beautiful. How was your day?” He asked playfully avoiding my question as he pulled me close for a kiss. When he pulled away he gently nibbled my bottom lip and then sucked it.

  “Hmm, I take that as a sign that things went well,” I said following him to the plush, white, authentic lamb skin leather sofa.

  I especially loved the sitting room because its décor was black and white. The modern furniture and funky art work gave the apartment a jazzy, sophisticated flare. It kind of reminded me of the room in the house Tommy and Kesha had on the movie Belly. Rah made me wait for a response as he reached for the remote to the 72 inch flat screen smart Samsung television that was mounted on the wall above the electric fireplace.

  “Babe, come on…really?” I pushed him playfully.

  He swayed a little and then laughed as he turned the TV on. “Chill out lil’ ma. I’m ‘bout to tell you what happened.”

  “Okay, so what the hell happened? I do have something to do in a couple hours.”

  “What’s that?” Turning the TV back off, he turned to face me.

  “You know I told you that I have to choose the models for the Black Lace promo and fashion show. It’s in less than four months and I’m so behind. I hope Camille can handle all of the crazy shit I’m about to throw at her.” I sighed as I thought about trying to top the Black Magic and Black Onyx runway shows. It was going to be hard to do, but I knew that my lingerie was fire. Not only was it sexy, but I planned to feature models of all sizes, shapes and colors. Vicky’s so called secret didn’t have nothing on me, because my designs were the truth.

  “Mmm. Can I go with you? I would love to help you pick out models. Maybe we could bring one of them home and…”

  Before he could finish I had my fingers around his throat. As I squeezed he pretended to be choking to death.

  “Don’t play with me Raheem. I will kill your ass in here. You already know that there will not be a third party allowed in our bed. Well, not here in Miami anyway. I mean. I see if we were in like...Hawaii…or the Bahamas or something and that bitch was miles and miles away. Most of the time when a couple has a threesome close to home, one or both of them will dip back on the low.” I let his neck go and laughed when he acted like he was finally able to breathe.

  He was exaggerating because I wasn’t really choking him that hard.

  “Okay damn. That was a bad idea, but you don’t have to get all abusive and shit baby. To hold you to that, I guess we’ll be taking a trip somewhere exotic after your show.”

  When I shook my head at him he laughed and slapped his leg. “You’re all the woman I need baby. Don’t second guess that.”

  “Where the hell has all of this threesome talk come from all of a sudden?” I asked as I gave him the side eye. He had got me all off track with that shit.

  “Nowhere babe. Just fucking with you. That’s all.” The skeptical look on my face made him grab my hand and kiss it.

  “Mmm hmm, now back to the subject at hand. What the fuck happened with Chris Love? Tell me now and stop playing.”

  “Well, me and Chang met up with him and laid everything out on the table and shit. He could A, do what we told him to do and continue to keep his secret while getting compensated for his troubles, or he could B, be exposed to his family, locked up for solicitation and broke as shit at the same damn time. Of course he chose option A. I mean, babe, what did you expect? I’m a good negotiator.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck lovingly that time and he flinched like he was afraid that I was going to choke him out. A giggle rose from my throat as I kissed his neck, then his cheek, then his lips.

  “Don’t worry baby. I won’t hurt you. I love you and you are a great negotiator. I just hope we won’t have to use this dirt on Monroe. The gay ass perv should be exposed, but just like Frank, he has a wife and kids. If we destroy his life, we’ll be destroying their lives too. I mean, truthfully, two wrongs don’t make a right. Maybe we’re just as bad as Dean for what we’re doing, but to what extent would anybody go to save their own life? We’re not the only ones who’re just trying to survive. You feel me baby? It’s like survival of the fittest out here. Dog eat dog.” I shook my head.

  “I wish things were different baby, but truth be told Dean tried to kill us. If I had got him killed, things would probably be even worse. Being who he is, or was at the time, the police wouldn’t have given up until they found out who did it. I ain’t tryin’ to be the one locked away. Shit, I ain’t leavin’ you for shit mami. Believe that. So, I’ll do whatever I gotta do to ensure that you’re safe. Even if it involves framing and black mailing mufuckas. Shit, if Dean’s released, I’ll just have to take extreme measures. It’s not like I haven’t had to do that shit before.”

  A chill traveled down my spine as I thought of the goons who had tried to murder him and kidnap me. It was all a devious plot by Dean to finally have me all to himself. It backfired when LaTisha told me all about his plot. From that moment I knew that Dean’s obsession with me was deadly. The thought of paying someone to kill him had crossed my mind, but what if they were sloppy and the shit came back on me. There was no way I could chance that, so making sure that Dean was locked away seemed to be the most logical solution.

  The same went for Nafis’s crazy, deranged ass. He was delusional and hell bent on using me and my family’s status to expand his drug empire. How the hell did he expect me to risk everything my family had worked so hard for, for him? H
e was so much bigger in his head than he was in reality. It was like he couldn’t fathom the thought of someone not being at his disposal to do whatever the hell he wanted.

  “So, when does everything go down? Dean’s trial is a month from now. I just need to know that everything will be smooth sailing when Black Lace is launched.”

  “In a couple days sweetheart. Don’t worry. Chang’s going to put a few hidden cameras in the room and record all of the action. After that we’re gonna fuzz out old boy’s face, since he was cooperative. Then we’re going to anonymously send the DA an email from a dummy email account from a computer at the library. Chang has a card with a fake name and address, so it can’t be traced to us. If he doesn’t release the evidence that they have to clear Dean to us and doesn’t guarantee a guilty verdict without Elisa having to testify again, the video will be leaked to his wife and several media outlets. I have a list for him. Chris is worried that he will come after him, but I told him to go ahead and put in his transfer to a college out of state. For a million dollars that queer would’ve done just about anything. So, it’s on baby and if this doesn’t guarantee that nigga stays in jail, then it’s on to Plan B.”

  Shit, I knew what Plan B was and the risks that I had thought about before all came crashing back into my mental like ocean waves. Lately the stresses of life were getting to me. I could recall a time when things were so simple. It seemed like all I had to do back then was wake up and simply be me. Oh how things changed so fast and not always for the better.

  I managed to put a smile on my face. “After what happened to Renell, I have a whole different state of mind about life. It’s too short to be second guessing things. Your life can be snuffed out so quickly and so we have to always stay on our toes.” As I caressed his face softly, I continued. “I love you Rah and I’ll do anything to make sure that we stay together. I do mean anything.”

  When he leaned over to kiss me that time, he unleashed the pent up passion he’d been holding in since he’d walked through the door.

  “Shit, you know I love your fine, fancy ass too. I’ll do anything for you too mami and that’s my word. If I have to kill that nigga, then it’s just goin’ have to be that. I just hope you can live wit’ it.”

  I thought about it for a second and decided that it was something I could definitely live with. “I don’t want you to get hurt or locked up baby, and if it’s a way that you can ensure that, I’d live with whatever you choose to do. Dean is not only a threat to me, but he’s a threat to you too. Nobody would understand that we’re just trying to defend our own lives. Because of who I am, the whole thing would be so sensationalized. My family would be destroyed and so will our relationship. Shit, what if he actually tries to kill you again. I am most certainly not taking those chances,” I assured him.

  He nodded. “Okay, well it is what it is then.”

  I looked at my gold and diamond Chanel watch and noticed the time. “Oh shit, I have to hurry up. Damn. I forgot that I have to pick Reba and Samara up. They’re going to help me with the casting.”

  When I stood up, Rah pulled me down on his lap. “Ride it for me real quick baby,” he said in a sexy, deep voice.

  I looked over my shoulder at him and protested. “I can’t baby, but I promise to take care of you when I get home. Okay.”

  He pretended to pout and then swatted my ass when I got up. “Don’t come up in here actin’ like you’re all tired later. Either way that pussy’s gonna get beat the fuck up.”

  I laughed as I walked toward the bedroom. “Yeah, sure. You know I ain’t never tired and I puts it on your ass.”

  “Shit, you damn sho’ do baby!” He yelled after me.

  * * *

  Me and my sisters had finally sat down and agreed to the terms for VH1 to feature us on a reality show called Black Butterflies. We were kicking it off with a special episode that would show footage of the auditions and Black Lace run way show. It was scheduled to air a few weeks after the actual fashion show. After that we would start shooting the actual reality show. I was so excited about that, but lately what was going on in my personal life was trumping the professional part.

  “Earth to Seantay,” Samara’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

  “Yeah, you keep spacing out and shit,” Reba said as she flashed a concerned look my way. “What’s going on with you?”

  I sighed and stared down at the head shots that were spread out in front of me. We had already seen all fifty girls and were trying to narrow it down to twenty. After that I would do call backs and from there narrow it down to ten. If I couldn’t get all ten from that bunch, I was going to do another model call.

  “Well, you know that Dean is getting out and it’s been on my mind heavy. Not only that, but Nafis called me,” I said finally telling my friend the second part. We had talked, but I had left out the part about Nafis.

  “Wow. What did he say?” She asked.

  Samara just sat there looking confused. She was aware of the beef with Dean, but she didn’t know about Nafis. I filled her in quickly and then continued. I did leave out the part about me, Rah and Chang setting him up. They had no idea about our involvement in Dean’s case either. As close I was I was to Reba, I felt that the least amount of people who knew, the better off we were.

  “He said some fool is taking the charges for him and he’ll be out in a few weeks.” Reba didn’t know about any of our involvement in his arrest either, but she did know that he wanted to use my father’s private jet to move his weight. As much as I wanted to tell her about Chang’s life possibly being in danger, I didn’t mention it. I was hoping that Rah had already filled Chang in about it though. I made a mental note to ask him.

  “Damn. I know you don’t want to have to deal with his nutty ass. When I say he takes cuckoo to a whole new level, I mean it. He’s fine, but something is just not…right about him,” Reba said shaking her head and moving her pointer finger around in front of her ear in a circle.

  “You ain’t never lied Reb. I should’ve known something was wrong when he used to always want me to choke him with a silk scarf while we fucked. He had asked me if he could tie me up and stick a huge anal plug in my ass. That was the last time he got any of this pussy,” I laughed although I was in no mood for amusement.

  “Well damn.” Samara wrinkled her nose. “Some men are just down right shameless.”

  “I’m good though, so let’s look over these pictures and get this over with. I’m hoping we find our twenty in this bunch,” I said focusing my attention back to the photos that were on the table in front of us.

  “I really liked Meaghan,” Samara spoke up and pointed to her picture.

  Meghan was tall and thick with hips for days. Her stomach was unusually flat for her frame. Her mahogany complexion was beautifully smooth and flawless. The closely cropped, curly hair that framed her oval shaped face was a blazing red color and I thought it made her look edgy.

  “Hell yeah. I like her too. Her shape is crazy. She’d look so sexy in my designs.” I added her photo to the other two we’d chosen.

  Three down and seventeen to go. It was going to be a long night.

  “Who wants to grab a drink after this?” Reba asked.

  “I’m down,” I said a little too quickly.

  “Shit, me too,” Samara chimed in.

  I guess it was going to be another night of me drowning my sorrows, but first there was work to be done.

  Chapter 12

  Seandra

  A few days had passed since dinner with the family and I had decided to hit the beach with Seantay. Of course Renell and I still weren’t talking and I needed to vent to my baby sister. The paparazzi were snapping away. I should’ve been used to it, but I got tired of their asses. After a few more shots they moved along in hopes of finding someone else who was rich and famous.

  “So, what’s up big sis?” Tay asked with her dark, oversized Michael Kors sunglasses perched on her nose.

  I laid back in my fuchsia lounge chai
r and let out a long, deep sigh. One thing about me was I was known to be overly dramatic. That was why I became an actress I guess.

  “When it comes to relationships I have the worst luck. It’s like they always start off good, but then boom, here comes the fucking problems. I thought after the shit with Kristie was finally over Ahmad and I would be happy and shit. Damn, I was wrong. He has really changed Tay and not for the better.” I filled her in on everything from our session in the pool, to his apparent jealousy over Pierre.

  “He seems to be regretful when he does that type of shit, but his insecurity is turning me off. He admitted that he felt like he won’t be able to keep me. Knowing that he feels that way makes me wonder if I should wait around for shit to get worse.” Tears burned my eyes, but I willed them away. “If this doesn’t work out I’m swearing off all men and becoming a lesbian.”

  Tay laughed hysterically. “Yeah right woman. You love dick too much.”

  “They make strap ons,” I said making a point.

  “True,” she agreed. “Speaking of girl on girl action, Rah brought up the two of us having a threesome.”

  I sat up and peered at my sister over my Chanel shades.

  “Uh and what did you say. I know that you haven’t been with a woman before.” I wasn’t really surprised by Rah’s request, but I was fishing to see if my sister was down.

  “I haven’t been with a woman, but Reba and I used to share men. It was when we were younger and neither of us were really serious about the guys. Now that I’m older and I really love Rah, I’m not really down for sharing. I told him that I would never do that shit close to home, but maybe I’d consider it if we were somewhere hundreds of miles away from Miami.”

  “Oh, okay, so there’s hope,” I said with a teasing smile.

  “I don’t know how I would feel about seeing my man with another woman. I have to be honest though, I’m kind of curious about how it would be to…you know…” Her voice chimed off.