Black Lace: Book 4 of the Black Butterfly Series

by Nika Michelle

  “Okay, cool. He can help,” he said before giving me his number.

  As soon as we hung up I called Chang. Less than an hour later he was in my living room. I only hoped that Ricky wouldn’t walk in. After almost another hour of trying a victorious smile finally broke across his face. I knew he had to have it figured out because he’d been so serious the entire time.

  “Finally,” he breathed. “We’re in there.”

  “Thank you so much Chang. How much do I owe you?” I asked anxious to start navigating.

  It was six fifteen and I didn’t know how long it would be before Ricky got there. I needed Chang to get paid and be on his way.

  “Oh, no worries. This one’s on the house.” He passed me a business card. “But if any of your friends need me that’s a different story.”

  I couldn’t help but smile because he was so charming. “I will definitely refer you.” He was cute too.

  After he left, I wasted no time getting back to Ricky’s lap top. Thankfully Resean was still knocked out, so I was free to snoop. After thirty minutes or so of boring emails, and an uneventful Facebook and Twitter page, I came across something rather interesting.

  * * *

  “Hey beautiful,” Ricky said leaning over to give me a peck on the lips.

  I had no idea if he noticed that I hadn’t kissed him back. He seemed to have not, because he went right on about his merry little business while I sat there fuming. What I had discovered let me know that I had no fucking clue who he really was.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I asked as I stood up to follow him into the study.

  He turned around and contorted his face as if he was confused. “Excuse me?” It came as if if he was taken aback by my question.

  “I said who the fuck are you? Is your name Ricky Cory, or is it Raymond Mosley? Wait, hold up. Is it Ricardo Emory, or Brad Quincy? Why do all of your so called last names end with the letter y? Does that mean something?” I let out a sarcastic laugh. “I can’t believe you’ve been misleading me all this time. We have a child together and we’re supposed to get married…” My voice trailed off because I was sure that I would burst into tears.

  “We’re still going to get married baby. I love you and our son. Please, just let me explain.” He reached out for me, but I lunged at him like I was going to slap the shit out of him and he backed away.

  “Explain what?!” I laughed sarcastically. “We’re getting married? Yeah right. What is your first name? What the hell will my last name be? Huh? Our son’s last name is Cory? Is that even your real last name? Oh my God!” I suddenly felt like I was about to faint.

  What the hell was I going to tell my parents? How would I explain why there was not going to be a wedding? I couldn’t marry a man like that. Shit. When my son grew up what would I tell him about his father? The tears couldn’t be contained anymore and they fell like the dam had exploded.

  “I don’t know what you’ve been up to, but I know…I know something’s not right about it. You…you left your computer here and I…I know about the off shore accounts in two of the names I found. There were pictures of fake IDs with your face and those names. What…what the hell are you into Ricky? Shit…I don’t even know if that’s really your fucking name. No wonder you didn’t want our son to be a junior.” The sobs made my words incomprehensible, but I was sure he understood me.

  The look of regret that covered his face didn’t move me one bit. If anything it just made me want to hurt him even more. When I went through the files on his computer I found bank information about two off shore accounts. One was in Switzerland and one was in Belize. The passwords and account numbers were also saved in files and it didn’t take long for me to access them.

  “One account has over a hundred million dollars in it and the other has two hundred and fifty million. Now, as a sports agent you should not be grossing that much revenue. As a matter of fact you told me that you were worth five million. I need you to explain where that money came from and why you have accounts in two different names. I’ll wait.” I tapped my foot and positioned my arms across my chest.

  “Nell. Look. Babe.”

  I could tell that he was caught up because sweat was pouring from his face and the AC was on full blast.

  “What Rick? Start fucking talking now, or I’m going to call the police and let them find out what the fuck is going on. Are you a drug dealer? Huh? Are you using me and your so called career as a cover up? What? You’re a fucking king pin?” I asked wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Shit, I had no idea what he was doing. Nothing would surprise me because at that point I’d seen and heard it all.

  He held his hands out in front of him as if he was surrendering. I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but I wasn’t falling for any of his bullshit. It was obvious that he was doing something illegal and part of me didn’t even want to know what it was. Shit, I wished it had just been cheating. That was what I’d expected. Damn, that would’ve been so much easier to deal with.

  “Fuck!” Ricky yelled and ran his hands across his face and head. “Why the hell did you have to go looking for shit that you know you don’t want to fucking deal with!?”

  I had never heard him take that tone with me and I was shocked. Although I had discovered something that I didn’t expect, hearing him yell at me was even more surprising.

  “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to! I have the right to look for shit when it comes to the man I planned on marrying! We just had a child you son of a bitch! I’m entitled to know what the fuck I’m getting myself into and what genes my damn son may have inherited against his will!” I yelled wishing I had something to hit him with other than my hands.

  Ricky walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders. He literally shook me and the look in his eyes scared me.

  “Get your hands off me! Are you crazy?”

  “Yes,” he said as he stared deep into my eyes. “I’m crazy about you and I have been since the moment we met. I remember when you invited me to your sister’s engagement party. I fell in love with you that night Nell. There is not one thing I regret about us. Not even the fact that I haven’t been truthful with you about everything. I’ve been the same man the whole time baby.”

  He wasn’t shaking me anymore, but he hadn’t loosened his grip on my shoulders either.

  “I knew that if I told you everything we wouldn’t have ever made it this far. In that case we wouldn’t have had the wonderful times we’ve shared and we wouldn’t have our son. You have made me the happiest man in the world baby and all I want to do is marry you and be a family.”

  I just stared at him like he had pure lost his mind. He still hadn’t explained where all of that money had come from and why he’d been using aliases. All I could do was think he was some kind of menace who was involved with organized crime.

  “Are you even really a sports agent?” I asked as I stared up at him with a look of disgust on my face.

  He looked down for a second and then regained our eye contact. Shaking his head, he let out a low, “No.”

  I could feel my heart sink and the tears came even faster. “What?” It came out as a croak. “I…you were one of my…clients.”

  “It was just a cover up baby, but falling in love with you was real. Shit. The fact that I am in love with you right now is real. I love you and Resean more than anything else in this world baby. Even more than that money.” He pulled me into his body, but I was stiff as a board.

  “How can I say that I love you when I don’t even know you?”

  “Shit Nell. You fucking know me!”

  I pulled away from him. “Okay, so is your name really Ricky Cory?”

  “Yes,” he said with a nod.

  I sniffed and tried to hold back the tears. He didn’t deserve them, so I held them in and tried to get some answers.

  “Tell me the truth Ricky. What the hell are you into?”

  He cleared his throat. “Are you sure that you want to know the t
ruth? Can you handle that?”

  “Hell fuck yeah!” I snapped before he could get it out good.

  “Okay. Please, sit down.”

  “Fuck that. You better start talking now, or you’re out of here.”

  “Is our son asleep?”

  I looked at him like I was going to murder his ass if he didn’t start explaining what the hell was going on.

  “Okay,” he said quickly and then took a deep breath. “Here goes…”

  Chapter 14

  Seantay

  I was doing an intense workout with Randy, but my mind was on what was going on in that hotel room between Chris Love and the DA. All I could think about was the possibility of something going wrong. What if he noticed the hidden cameras, or what if he just had a bad feeling and didn’t go through with it? Shit, anything could happen and if that new evidence was against us, it was going to be over. Even if the evidence only proved Dean’s innocence and they didn’t know we’d framed him, I still had to deal with Dean’s insane obsession with me.

  “Okay baby Beauvois. I don’t know what’s been going on with you, but you damn sure don’t seem focused. Do you want to end the session early, because…”

  I cut his flamboyant ass off with an annoyed, “Damn, if you don’t get my undivided attention you start crying like a bitch. This is just a damn work out session. Not a dance routine for a Beyonce concert.”

  Randy put his hand to his mouth which was formed into the shape of an O. “No the fuck she didn’t.” He looked around like there were other people in the room. “She has an attitude with me and for what?”

  I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why the hell are you so animated? I’m sorry Randy. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “The runway show, or your sister’s upcoming nuptials?”

  “Both,” I lied before taking a long gulp from my water bottle. If only he knew that I had bigger fish to fry.

  “Mmm. Well, I know it’s going to be extravagant!” His voice was full of excitement.

  “Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, but Nell’s going for simple.”

  Randy’s facial expression changed into an over exaggerated frown. “Why the hell would she be going for simple? She’s a Beauvois for heaven’s sake. Well, there’s hope with you and Raheem. I know ya’ll are going to go all out with that Beauvois money.”

  I laughed. “What about Seandra?”

  Randy giggled and then fanned himself with his hand. “Shit. What about her?”

  “Well, she’s in a relationship and she’s older than me. Wouldn’t you expect for her to get married first?”

  “Hell no.” Randy rolled his eyes. “That chica changes men like she changes her underwear.”

  “Don’t ever let her hear you say that.” I thought about the exchange between her and Nell. They still hadn’t made up yet.

  “Well, it’s the truth. I wonder if she’s going to slip up with that fine ass Pierre. I heard about what happened in the news. You think he really had a seizure, or he was high on something? Maybe he was sipping on that sizzurp like Lil’ Weezy. He claimed to have a history of seizures too, shit. Yeah right. He has a history of sipping on that sizzurp. Sizzurp and seizure sound damn close to me.” He laughed and slapped me five.

  “Get the fuck out of here Randy.” Tears were in my eyes I was laughing so hard. “That man is really epileptic. It was confirmed at the hospital.” I shook my head at Randy as I wiped my eyes.

  “Mmm hmm. Rich folks can pay doctors to say anything child. I ain’t buying that shit.”

  That damn Randy was a fool.

  “Are we going to finish this work out or not?” I asked suddenly ready to get my adrenaline pumping again.

  “Alright, but I see that I got to do some insanity type moves so you can stay focused,” he threatened with a straight face. The jokes were over.

  “Bring it!” I yelled before turning the music back up.

  * * *

  After a long, hot bubble bath, I lounged across my California King sized bed butt ass naked. The ceiling fan was on low and the balcony doors were open to let the balmy, late evening air in. I lit my freshly rolled joint and held it between my perfectly manicured fingers. For the first time in a while, I actually felt relaxed.

  When Raheem strolled in the room and flashed a sly smile at me, I had a feeling that my night was just about to get even better. He didn’t say a word as he quickly undressed down to nothing and laid down on the bed. As he rested his head on my ass, I passed him the blunt.

  “So…”

  He took a long pull and then exhaled. “All I have to say is damn I’m glad I love pussy the way I do. Just knowing what’s on that video makes me wanna url. Everything went as planned baby. Chris got the room with a credit card he just happened to have because he’s a student. They’d always do it like that so that Monroe wouldn’t be traced back to the room. Of course he pays Chris’s credit card bill. So, we met Chris a couple hours before everything was supposed to go down. He gave us the room key. Chang rigged the room with three hidden cameras. They did their thing and left a few hours later. We went back in the room to get the cameras and that was it. Poor Chang has to go through the footage tonight and put a nice video together. It’s going to look like a real damn porn once he’s done with it. Tomorrow we’ll go to the library and email the video to him from an email address that can’t be traced. Of course Chang knows how to do shit like that. After that we’ll wait for the DA to send us Dean’s entire case file. We’ll go over it and see what we need to do to destroy the so called evidence and then Dean will be found guilty and finish out his sentence. By the time he gets out we’ll be married and living on an island somewhere far away from here. If it doesn’t work, well, we’ll just have to go to plan B.”

  I sighed at the thought of plan B. Murder was not what I wanted it to boil down to, but we had to do what needed to be done. There was no way I wanted to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. It was bad enough that Dean thought we belonged together. I could only imagine how psychotic he’d become if he found out I’d taken a part in framing him. He’d probably come up with a hit list and knock us all off one by one.

  “I hope it doesn’t come to plan B babe. As much as I hate Dean, I don’t want you to have to do something like that. If you get locked up, or hurt…I…I…don’t know what I’d do.” Shit, I got choked up just thinking about it.

  “Nothing’s going to happen to me baby. I’m a…well, just put it this way, I know what I’m doing. I’m a street bred nigga and just ‘cause my pops had money doesn’t mean I’m soft.”

  He moved so that he was lying next to me. As he stared into my eyes I knew that he’d stop at nothing to protect me.

  “I love you Tay. I’ve never been able to honestly tell any woman that other than my mamma. When you came back into my life I knew that it was for a reason. Fate put us back together again, because although we both tried to defy it, this shit right here was meant to be. So, I ain’t gonna let nothing fuck up what we have. Not Dean, not Nafis and not nah other mufucka out there. I ain’t goin’ nowhere mami. I mean that shit. And shorty, you ain’t either. So, whatever it comes down to is a’ight wit’ me, cause I got you. Know that. A’ight.” He inched closer to plant a soft kiss on my lips.

  “You know that I love you too Rah and I don’t have any regrets when it comes to us. I’m just glad you put your foot down with me and made me see what was right in front of me.”

  “How about we get away for a few days. I think we both need to relax and shit. You know…shop…make love…shop…eat…make love…shop…sleep…fuck.”

  I laughed and closed my eyes as he kissed me again and again and again.

  “Damn baby. You sure do know how to treat your lady.” I couldn’t help but flash him a sexy smile.

  He passed me the blunt and I took a deep pull before placing it in the ashtray.

  “I know what that means.” He grinned at me.

  “What?” I ask
ed innocently before straddling his sexy, naked body.

  “You’re ready for some dick now.” He sat up and held on to me tightly.

  I laughed as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. “How’d you know?”

  “Shit, I know my lady,” he said before grabbing a condom from the nightstand.

  It was a good thing it was an arm’s length away because neither of us wanted to move. As we kissed he opened the condom wrapper and slid it on quick as hell.

  “Anxious are we?” I asked playfully as he grabbed my hips and squeezed.

  “Cause I know how good it is,” he said in a throaty voice.

  I lifted my pelvis and positioned myself so I could take him inside nice and deep. When I lowered my wet, moist, tightness onto his shaft, he let out a deep breath and held on to my waist.

  “Mmm…damn. You be tight as hell every time like I ain’t just beat that pussy up,” he whispered in my ear like that shit was hard to believe.

  “Uhh…that’s those kegals baby.”

  Shit, I worked them on him for about forty five minutes before he succumbed to the pleasure. It was cool because he always navigated to my G spot right away. After cleaning our bodies in the shower, we both dried off and got nice and comfy under the covers. My mind was heavy, although my body was relaxed. I knew that I would probably not get a good night’s sleep again until I was sure that Dean and Nafis would not see the light of day anytime soon.

  * * *

  Less than eight hours after the video was sent, Raheem was excitedly telling me that DA Monroe had responded to the email.

  “That mufucka was shook. I could tell by his message. He was like oh my God. He set me up.” Rah laughed. “He kept asking who knows about the video. I assured him that Chris didn’t set him up and was a victim just like he was. Of course I told him that no one else knows about the video and in order to make sure it stayed that way he would have to comply with my demands. In five minutes flat I had the file that contained all of the information about Dean’s appeal. He also promised to somehow counter attack the defense’s evidence and ensure a guilty verdict. Elise and LaTisha will not have to testify again. He said it’s a motion that he can use that will allow their testimonies from the first trial to be played instead.”