A Dangerous Way to Love (Dangerous Bonds Book 3)

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  She was more outspoken and outgoing than my Raven. That much was certain. But even that glaring difference grew on me. I went back to scanning pages and pages of her adventure to becoming a world-renown singer. I was inspired to do more to boost her sales ranking, so I went to Amazon and bought a thousand copies of “Love Me Again.” Hours later, the song’s sales rank had gone to number two just from the boost of my purchase. That made me smile. Then, I got an idea. I would market and promote her single and push her to number one. It’s what I did for my clients every single day. I invented bestsellers, and who was more deserving of such success than the golden songbird, Alise?

  Chapter Six

  Alise

  On the Charts!

  9:16 a.m.

  Number one in the iTunes store. Number one on Amazon!

  I repeated this thought over and over in my head, and still, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it being true. My eyes had to be deceiving me. I refreshed the screen, and again the bestseller’s pages of both iTunes and Amazon had my single, “Love Me Again,” listed as the top song in the nation.

  Somehow, this had to be a glitch. Had to be.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in the song. I did. I’d spent hours in the studio perfecting it, and thousands of dollars went to the producer and promotions. But to see my solo “celebrity” name Alise at the top of the charts was surreal. It was a feeling out of this world, and I just couldn’t believe all of my dreams were coming true at this very moment.

  My phone started chiming as if on cue with the fast fluttering of my heart. The blaring sound startled me and brought my attention from my laptop to my phone’s screen that flashed Tameka’s name.

  “Tameka!!” I yelled into the phone. “I can’t breathe right now!”

  “You did it! Oh my God, you did it, Alise! And I know you’re going nuts because I am. I got up and got mama and daddy to download a copy on their phones and then checked, and you were sitting on top!” Tameka yelled, and her excitement rivaled mine as if she were the one who hit number one.

  “Really? Thank you for all of your support. I keep refreshing my screen because it just doesn’t seem real. This can’t be right, Tameka. There’s no way I have the number one single in the USA.” It was like I could, but yet couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of hitting number one in both the iTunes and Amazon music stores for all categories. I mean, I did it, but what did this mean for me? This was a huge deal for an independent artist. Was I ready for all that was to come?

  “However in the hell you topped Taylor Swift’s “Lover” is what you need to keep doing forever,” Tameka said with wonderment in her tone. “That worked for you, sis. Yassss to it all!”

  “Well, I hired this new promotional firm, and they have been heaven-sent. They pulled some strings to get the major bloggers to talk it up last week. But the biggest bump came from the Instagram couple who made a video about it. Sha-Sha and Kee-Kee, those two…”

  “Are hi-fucking-larious. You need to cut the promotional firm and just hire them to do skits for you from now on.”

  “Good point, but I think everything working together is what did it.”

  Tameka sighed, and there was a long pause on the line. “You made it, sis. You did,” Tameka said in a slow, motherly tone.

  I paused as well, thinking of my mother. She wasn’t supportive of me singing rhythm and blues. She was a church-going woman who didn’t like to hear her daughter sing secular music about parts of life that were unholy, namely sex out of wedlock. When I say I grew up in the church, I mean, I was in there.

  Monday, we had adult bible study. Tuesday, we attended the children’s bible study. Wednesday, there was more adult bible study. Thursday, there was choir practice. Friday, I had to stay home to practice choir songs. Saturday, we had choir practice. All-day long Sunday, I was in church for morning service, afternoon service, visiting church service, and maybe even dinner. I was just tired of church. I had participated in enough of it to last a lifetime.

  I was as spiritual as any Bible-loving Christian, but after I got old enough to tell mama that I wasn’t going to church, I did it happily. I decided to live a life outside of the church, which meant I only visited three times a year—Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter.

  I made a vow to never make my child give their entire life to something they couldn’t fully understand until they got older. Life has many phases that don’t involve the church. And, well, my current phase had everything to do with cleansing my soul of people who hurt me in the past so that I could fulfill my lingering desire for love, romance, and spending my life with all-around good people that weren’t sanctimonious. My musical journey, so to speak, was an exploration of finding me. I didn’t tell that to anyone, but I shared my feelings with my music.

  “This is no mistake, Alise. You earned it,” Tameka said, bringing my thoughts back to our conversation. It was so good to have friends like Jayne, Tameka, and Kemara. Moments like this made me truly embraced what I had accomplished.

  I refreshed the bestsellers page, and I was still sitting at number one. It had been that way for about an hour, so it was reality.

  “I hit number one,” I said slowly, finally taking the time to speak it into the universe.

  I quickly took screenshots of the bestseller’s pages on iTunes and Amazon and pulled up Instagram.

  “I’m about to make a post on Instagram about it,” I said.

  Tameka squealed. “Hold on. Before you do that, let’s call the rest of the girls and let them know about it. I’ll add Kemara, and you add Jayne,” she instructed.

  I saved the pictures to my photos. If, by chance, my rankings slipped by the time I clicked back on the page, I would forever have this memory. I dialed Jayne in, and she was already talking smack when she answered.

  “Girl, what’s up? Wait, don’t tell me you slipped from number two and went to number three because I’d hate to have to ride over to the Apple headquarters and threaten them at knife-point to get your shit back up in rank, but you know I will do it. I’ll take that one for the team,” she said, all on one long breath.

  “Calm down, Jayne.” I laughed. “I’m about to add Tameka to the call.” I clicked the line over to join our call with Tameka and Kemara’s without giving Jayne a chance to respond.

  “Oh, it must be a real problem if you’re assembling the team. We must be getting ready to ride down there to Apple,” Jayne was saying when I returned back to the line with Tameka and Kemara in tow.

  “Tameka just told me you hit number one!” Kemara squealed, breaking the news to the group before I could.

  “Number one? The hell, Alise! You hit number one?” Jayne yelled. “Had me over here ready to go to war with Apple execs when you’re sitting at number one. Welp, change of plans. It’s time to hit the strip club. Hold on, who comes through the Sugar Hill on Monday nights? I think Big Dick Marcus will be there tonight, so you know it’s on and popping,” Jayne conspired with herself as she concocted a wild plan to celebrate.

  “Uh—” Kemara said and then stopped.

  With Kemara being a newlywed and Tameka’s wedding less than a month away, they would most likely not be down for a stroll through Sugar Hill tonight. Truthfully, neither was I.

  “Yes, I hit number one, Jayne, and no, we’re not going to a strip club. You’re thinking too deep and too much about this.” I laughed.

  “How about we go out for lunch?” Tameka said, more sensibly.

  “Now, that sounds like something I can do,” Kemara said.

  “Y’all are so lame, but whatever. See you girls later. Be ready for the tea,” Jayne said. “Just text me the details.” With that, she hung up.

  Tameka, Kemara, and I made plans to meet up later, and I texted the details to Jayne, to which she responded with a ‘resting bitch face’ emoji. I shook my head and got up from the chair I was sitting in and decided to call my promotions firm and thank the lead, Monica, for her hard work. Before I could dial, Monica was calling me.<
br />
  “Hello.”

  “Have you checked iTunes and Amazon Music today?” she asked.

  I squealed. “Yes, I have.”

  “Well, how are you feeling?”

  “Like it’s unreal. Like if I pinch myself, I won’t feel it.”

  “Well, believe it, Alise. This is so real that, soon, your decision to quit teaching and invest in your music career will prove to be the best decision of your life.”

  “I already feel that way. I mean, I miss my kids, but dealing with a roomful of high schoolers on a daily basis is not an easy job. I love creating music more than anything.”

  “But, I’m sure you were the best at it, just like you’re the best R & B singer in the nation, right now.”

  “Wow. Say it again,” I teased.

  Monica laughed. “How about we take another one of your singles to the top of the charts? I would love to represent your song “Dangerous Bonds.” What do you think about that? You ready?”

  “That sounds amazing! What ideas do you have for it?”

  Monica spent the next hour running down a well put together plan to take Dangerous Bonds to the top. That song was inspired by my best friends’ relationships. It was written about interracial love and the hate that people who just want to love each other sometimes come up against. With America quickly turning into a melting pot of cultures, it needed to hit the top of the charts so that the message could be a part of the cultural conversation.

  After talking to Jessica, I headed to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed for my day. It was already 10:30 a.m. and noon would be here before I knew it.

  Fully dressed and ready to head out, I thought about calling my mother. I picked up my cell phone and searched my contacts. I found the contact that said “Mama” and hovered my finger over the call button.

  Just press it, Alise.

  I stood there for minutes, coaching myself to do it, but I couldn’t bring myself to press the call button. As much as I wanted, no needed, to hear her voice, to hear her tell me that she was proud of me and that I had done well, I couldn’t dial her number. If she rejected me right now, it would break me a little.

  I shook off the thought, placed my phone in my purse, and picked up my keys. It was safer to just meet up with my girls and enjoy the day without inviting hurt back into my life.

  ✦

  Five Days Later

  I bowed to the audience and looked out at my friends Tameka, Kemara, and Jayne, who were all there to cheer me on. When we went out for lunch earlier that day, we had a run-in with Tameka’s ex’s mistress that soured our lunch date a little, so it was good to see smiles on everyone’s faces.

  At the end of the night, I was tired. I went straight to the dressing room the club owner, Jeb, had created for me since I became a regular. I packed my bag with my cosmetics and extra clothes and went out the door. Dimir was nowhere in sight, so I walked briskly to the back door. I made it outside without him calling my name and asking me to wait for him, which was fine by me. I didn’t want to be followed by security tonight. I didn’t want to deal with anyone. After all the excitement of the day, I just wanted to be alone.

  I looked around the back parking lot, and no one was back there but a few couples who were booed up and kissing. I walked around to the side of the building to my designated parking space, peeked through my windows to make sure no one was inside, then hopped in. I shot a quick text to Tameka and let her know I was headed home and to tell the girls. She FaceTime’d me because she wanted to see my face to reassure her that I was okay, but just tired and heading home early.

  Within an hour, I was home. I sighed in relief because I made it inside the door without anyone attacking me. Over the past two weeks, Bruiser had badgered into me that I needed a guard with me at all times. Someone was always guarding my house when I was home. Every time I got ready to leave, someone had to go with me. According to Bruiser, if I didn’t have him or one of his guards with me at all times, someone would blindside me and attack me. Well, I had made it home. Safe. Take that, Bruiser. The guard that had been there earlier tonight followed me to the club. I shook him, leaving him at the club, and was now home alone.

  I was relaxing on the couch, a glass of red wine in hand, instrumental classical music playing, and a lavender incense burning. This whole vibe was like an oasis of relaxation. With this vibe, I had forgotten all about having a stalker. Forgot about having an overbearing man who was getting more and more into my personal space and threatening to take over. Forgot about the way he was going to go off when he found out that I shook my detail.

  I pushed all of those things to the back of my mind, leaned back further into the cushion of the couch, and admired the tranquility of my home. It was perfect. I never recognized how much I missed being at home, just being, until this very moment.

  A series of thunderous knocks at my front door rattled all of that peace right up out of me. I grabbed my wine bottle and walked to the door, ready to confront whoever was there. Peeking outside, I realized it was Bruiser. Damn. He had come sooner than I thought he would. I sighed, thinking about the confrontation that was sure to ensue. I flung the door open and started in on him.

  “What are you doing here, Bruiser? I told you that I won’t need you guys every night. Well, tonight is a night where I’m good.” I stood in my doorway, glaring at Bruiser, my gaze going to the gorgeous swirl of hair in the front of his perfectly cut hairline. For him to be such a rugged man, he was always well-groomed.

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I’m here because you ditched your security detail. That’s not acceptable,” he growled.

  “I’m a grown woman. I can leave and come home when I get ready. I don’t have to get permission.” I pushed the door to close it, but Bruiser’s hand reached out and stopped it. A loud thud sounded off as if the door had come against a brick wall.

  “Hey, I didn’t invite you in,” I said as he walked forward, forcing me to take a few steps back so as not to occupy the same space with him at once. “You can’t just come into my house like this.”

  “Move over, Alise. You have no idea of what kind of danger you are in.”

  Oh, I could think of several risks I would be taking if I allowed Bruiser to come in. My heart wouldn’t be able to handle either. He couldn’t be allowed in under any circumstances.

  Chapter Seven

  Bruiser

  Something to Feel

  I waited for Alise to come back from her dressing room. Eleven minutes ago, I helped her off the stage, and Dimir walked with her to her dressing room while I went to the bar to talk to Jeb and Xander about the plans for Jeb’s bachelor party. Though she was in Dimir’s care, and he had shown himself a capable guard, I always, and I mean always, kept a watchful eye out for her. Twelve minutes later, they still had not come from the back. I took out my phone and called Dimir’s cell. He answered right away.

  “What’s up, boss?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me. Where is she?”

  “Still in her dressing room. She hasn’t come out yet. I’m standing by her door, waiting on her right now,” he said.

  “It’s been twelve minutes already. She’s usually out in ten. Are you sure there isn’t a problem?”

  “Problem? No, boss. She must be doing something extra tonight. Do you want me to go inside and check on her?”

  “No,” I barked. Thinking of Dimir walking in on Alise and finding her naked made me go delirious inside. I didn’t like that possibility, at all. “I’ll go check on her myself,” I told him and hung up.

  “Is everything good with Alise?” Jeb asked, sounding concerned. He was the owner of Club Elite, so everything that happened on this turf he took personally.

  “I’m about to head back there to find out,” I replied. “Everything should be good, though.” Dimir had reassured me she was fine, and I trusted his judgment.

  “Sounds like trouble in paradise to me,” Xander chimed in with a huge Cheshire cat smile on
his face. I didn’t dignify that statement with a response.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, directed to both men.

  “Yeah, you’d better get back there and check on the singer before Dimir searches her panties like he tried to coach Limel to do with my underwear when I got here. You know he’s the touchy-feely type. Oh, and check on your boy Limel’s eye to make sure it isn’t black. I didn’t mean to punch him that hard.”

  Xander laughed at his own joke, but I didn’t find a damn thing funny. The thought of Dimir putting his hand anywhere near Alise’s pussy had my temples raging.

  “She’s alright, Bruise. Relax,” Jeb tossed at me as I walked toward Alise’s dressing room using swift, purposeful steps. I had to lay my eyes on her and see that she was safe. It was the only way I would be able to relax.

  Dimir was standing at his post outside of her door when I got to the back. When he saw me, he stepped aside to allow me access to the door. I knocked hard and called her name out as I knocked some more. There was no answer.

  “Alise, are you in there?” I called out to her. Still, there was no answer.

  “I’ve been knocking and calling her name, but she isn’t answering. She’s in there, though,” Dimir said, and I glared at him as I pulled the club’s keys out of my pocket and used the one for her dressing room to open the door.

  Empty.

  The room was thoroughly cleaned out without a faint trace that Alise had even been there tonight. It appeared as though she had wiped the room out. Even the countertops were sparkling clean.

  “Dimir, I thought you said she was in here. She’s gone,” I said when I came back out.

  A startled look covered his face that drained of all of its color and went pale. He didn’t have a fucking clue where she was. That meant he took his eyes off of her at some point after I handed her off to him.

  “She was in there. I mean, I saw her go in, and I stood out here until—” He paused and looked stunned about what he was going to say next.