by Thalia Lake
Chapter Twenty - Confronting the Naked Truth (Roman)
Immediately after Carter was out of the picture, I made plans to visit Alderman Hines and Webber the very next day. I wasn’t going to visit them at City Hall where they could have security or the police prevent me from visiting with them, or have their secretaries lie to my face and tell me they’re too busy to meet with me. No, these meetings needed to be up close and personal - at their homes. I wanted to catch them relaxed, enjoying time with their wives and children and grandchildren, to let them know that if pushed, I could make their comfy worlds come crashing down before their very eyes. I drove to Alderman Hines’ home first. He lived in the suburbs in a gated community, far removed from the oppressed people that he is supposed to serve.
Once I got past the gate, I parked my car in his driveway and rang his doorbell. It was a loud, obnoxious sound that left no doubt that someone was at their front door. Hell, his neighbors two blocks down could probably hear the offensive doorbell as well.
A woman who looked to be in her late fifties came to the door, smiling and seemingly friendly. She had flour on her hands and I surmised that she was in the process of cooking or baking something in the kitchen.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Hi, my name is Roman Mancini. I’m a friend of your husband, William. I know my visit is unexpected, and I apologize for that, but I have some news to share with him that really should be told face to face.”
“Of course, please come in, Mr. Mancini. I was just in the middle of kneading some dough to make his favorite cinnamon rolls. If you stay awhile you can have some with us. They are always the best when they are hot out the oven,” Mrs. Hines smiled. Her perfectly coiffed hair and the string of pearls she wore around her neck reminded me of June Cleaver.
Poor woman. If she only knew the half of what her husband was involved in. Then again, maybe she does know, and simply doesn’t care. Sadly that’s the case with a lot of the wives of politicians.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hines, you are so kind.” I gave her my most dashing smile and watched as she blushed and ushered me into a sitting room while she called for her husband. I was standing at the large bay window that gave a wonderful view of their massive front lawn and the beautiful, detailed landscaping when I heard the door close.
“What the hell are you doing at my house, Mancini?” William Hines growled.
I smiled to myself before I turned around to face him. I couldn’t help it. “I’m the type of man who faces his enemies face-to-face, not behind their back or through invisible go-between’s like Carter Williams. Tell me, how does a smart man like yourself get involved with the bowels of a septic tank like Carter Williams?”
“What are you talking about?” William spat in return, his face turning red.
“Oh you know exactly what I’m talking about, Alderman. The constant rejection of my building permits, the bullshit reasons I’m being given as to why, and the expectation of paying you and your cronies, that include drug dealers like Carter Williams and the mob, under the table for your cooperation.”
That got his attention, and his face went from beet red to white. For just a moment he looked defeated, but then a surge of confidence sparkled in his eyes and I knew he wasn’t going down without a fight. “Mr. Mancini, that’s just the way of the world. You wash my back, and I’ll wash yours. It’s never going to change. I don’t know what you’ve been used to in New York, but we do things differently here in Detroit,” William said with newfound courage as he walked further into the room to face me, but at a distance.
“Corruption is corruption no matter what city you live in. I can see why the extra money under the table is needed though. You stay in a beautiful home in a gated community, you have a wife to take care of, kids are probably in college, and a steady stream of prostitutes that you must keep quiet, so I’m sure you have them on your secret payroll. Yes I can see how such a secret lifestyle can get…expensive to keep up with.”
“You better watch your filthy mouth and your baseless accusations, you smug son of a bitch!” William spat out between clenched teeth. He took a few more steps forward, but once he saw my angry glare he quickly retracted those steps.
I took the envelope out of my coat pocket and walked up to him and shoved it into his frail chest.
“Please, tell me what you’ll do to me if I don’t watch my filthy mouth. I’ll have a seat over here on your comfy couch and wait for you to tell me...Willie.”
The corners of my mouth slowly curled into a knowing smile. Now the alderman was scared, and he was scared shitless as he nervously looked at me and back at the envelope that he was holding. Finally he opened it, and I watched as his eyes looked at the very first photo and several after it. The poor man looked like he was ready to keel over as more color drained from his face and his hands began to shake. He looked at the door and then back at me and began to whisper.
“What do you want? What do you plan on doing with these? This is blackmail! I have a reputation to uphold; this can cost me my family and my career!”
The gall and hypocrisy of this man. I sat back on the couch and lazily crossed my leg over the other and folded my hands in my lap. I purposely took my time before I spoke as I regarded the sniveling, snake in the grass politician who suddenly wants to think about his family, career, and reputation after living a duplicitous life for who knows how long. My distaste for politics grew over the years as I established myself as a businessman. Having to rub elbows and meet with certain politicians and “play the game” never sat well with me, but I quickly learned why it was necessary. It’s good to have some politicians on your side for certain things, but what I learned is nine times out of ten they all have an agenda, and there is always some type of payback expected in return for their favors. Extortion is something I flat out refuse to put up with. Once you start paying, it doesn’t take long for others to come along and find ways to shake you down as well. I don’t want politicians dictating the flow of my business and how I run it. Everything I do will be by the book with no extra payoffs, and those who get in the way of that will regret it instantly.
“Alderman Hines, I find it laughable that you want to make your sins my sins. If you truly loved your wife and family, or cared about your reputation and career, you wouldn’t have gotten involved with the drug dealers and mob, or entertained the services of prostitutes on a regular basis. If you truly cared about your career you wouldn’t try to shake me down behind the scenes for something that should be easily attainable, especially when all requirements have been met, like building and zoning permits. You’ve delayed my building progress, and you’re costing me money, Alderman Hines, and I’m not happy about that. If you ever try to strong arm me again for any amount of money, these pictures, along with videos, will hit every TV station in Detroit and all major television networks. Your life, as you know it, will be over. Am I understood?”
The man looked as though he had shat his pants as he quickly nodded his head and tried hard to swallow the lump in his throat.
Satisfied, I stood up and buttoned up my suit jacket and headed towards the door.
“Y-you forgot this.” The Alderman was trying to hand me back the envelope of photos.
“Keep it. There’s plenty more where that came from.” I smiled and winked at him and walked out of the door.
As I was approaching the foyer, Mrs. Hines came out of the kitchen with a heavenly smell of cinnamon following her. “The cinnamon rolls are in the oven now. They just need to bake for a few more minutes. Please stay and have some with us,” she smiled.
“Maybe next time, Mrs. Hines. I’m sure they taste just as mouthwatering as they smell.” Once again Mrs. Hines blushed. The poor woman must get zero attention from her husband. Those photos he’s holding in his hand explains why.
“Have good day, Alderman, Mrs. Hines,” I said before I left their home. I couldn’t stop the chuckle that came out of me as I drove out of their driveway and headed to Gar
rett Webber’s home, which was just four blocks away.
***
Alderman Webber was a bit more combative than William Hines, but I still remained calm as I stood in his foyer and loudly called out for his wife.
“What the fuck are you doing? Don’t you dare drag my wife into this!” He grabbed a hold of my arm trying to usher me someplace private. I didn’t budge and instead looked at where his hand was on me and gave him a steely stare that let him know that he had better get his slimy hands off of my expensive suit immediately, and he did.
“I thought since you wanted to kick me out without hearing what I came here to speak to you about, that perhaps your wife would be interested in seeing this.”
I presented him with an envelope and he hesitantly opened it. Once he did he let off a barrage of obscenities. “Follow me!” he demanded.
We walked down a long hallway to his office and he shut the door behind us. “What the fuck is this, and what game are you playing?”
I looked down at the portly man and laughed. Politicians are the biggest hypocrites to walk the face of the earth. They are nothing more than professional liars and pompous gasbags who think they are untouchable, and unfortunately some of them are untouchable, which is why I was enjoying knocking Hines and Webber off of their high horses. They are no better than the mob, drug dealers, or pimps, as most of them do business with them regularly. They hide behind the law and their titles as they scam the people who put them in office. It was laughable and disgusting all at the same time.
“Let’s get something straight, Garrett, I don’t play games, especially when it comes to my business. But you; you have made it very difficult for me to conduct business with your expectations of being paid extra money under the table, money you don’t even deserve. Nobody fucks with my money, Garrett. When you fuck with my money, it’s like playing with my emotions, and I don’t like having my emotions played with, Garrett. I’ve done everything by the book, filled out all the necessary paperwork, provided a DNA sample and a vial of blood for good measure to satisfy you and your cronies at City Hall and you still come at me sideways trying to extort money out of me? You’ve upset me, Garrett, so why don’t you tell me what you plan on doing to make things right again?”
My voice was calm and low, but the venom behind my words was palpable. My angry gaze never left Garrett’s as I spoke, and when I finished, I helped myself to his seat behind his desk. I reclined in the expensive, leather office chair that no doubt was imported from who knows where, and put my feet up on his desk as I awaited his answer.
His combative spirit seems to have dissipated as he thought carefully about what to say next.
He had better think long and hard before he addressed me again, I thought to myself, because my patience with him is already thin.
He nervously cleared his throat and said, “I don’t know where you got those photos...”
“Does it even matter at this point?”
“You don’t understand, those photos could ruin me!” he whined.
“Oh, I understand, just like you understood when you tried to extort a ridiculous amount of money out of me in exchange for a stupid zoning permit. We’ve been through this already, Garrett, so stop wasting my goddamn time!”
“Okay, okay. Your permits will go through, matter of fact I’ll make sure you’re next on the to-do list tomorrow morning. You’ll never have a problem with me again, Mr. Mancini, you have my word.”
Taking my feet down off of his desk I stood up and walked up to Garrett. Looking down at him with a satisfied grin on my face I said, “That’s what I wanted to hear. Give my best to the Mrs. and make sure you put those photos someplace where she can’t find them. And if you decide to get stupid and try my patience again, I’ll make sure the video is played at the country club you and your wife belong to and send it to every TV news outlet across the country. Are we clear?”
His face paled as the severity of the situation truly hit him. His voice hoarse with fear he said, “Yes, yes we’re clear, crystal clear.”
I nodded my head and walked out of his home.
My next stop was obvious - I needed to see Sarah. I called her from my cell phone, and she answered on the third ring. “Hey, you,” came her sexy, sultry voice.
“Hey, yourself. Did I catch you at a bad time?” I couldn’t help the smile that came across my lips upon hearing her voice.
“I just got out the shower. I was over at Sloane and Luca’s helping them paint the baby room.”
Inappropriate, but very hot images of Sarah wet and glistening fresh out of a shower flooded my mind, and I found myself pressing on the gas pedal harder as I rushed to get to her apartment.
“I’m on my way,” was all I said next and hung up. I smiled as I knew she was probably cursing me for such short notice, and now scrambling to put something on. She knew about my love of fast driving, and at the rate I was going, I’d be at her place in no time. About ten minutes later I was ringing her doorbell.
Chapter Twenty-One - Life Is Good (Roman)
Sarah buzzed me inside of her apartment building and I jogged up the stairs and to her door. I was so anxious to see her I could barely contain myself. As my heart pounded in my chest, I thought about how everything on my to-do list was finally taken care of. The problems that bugged me and kept me up at night were finally dealt with, the main one being Carter Williams and his entire organization. I get no enjoyment from killing, but he left me no choice. Carter was a problem that was never going to stay away had I shown him mercy a second time. In retrospect I should have taken Carter out immediately the first time he attempted to harm me and my family, but I didn’t. He most certainly had no plans of sparing my life or Sarah’s for that matter.
Sarah… the thought of Carter coming after her again always crossed my mind. It was a fear that nagged at me constantly. It kept me awake at night until it sat in the pit of my stomach like a heavy lump of coal, taking away my appetite in the process. Knowing that she’s safe renews my spirit and faith. It gives me hope that there can be an “us” and we can have a future.
I took a deep breath before I knocked on her door. My head was down as I looked at my shoes with my hands in my pockets when her door finally opened. I looked up and smiled instantly even though she stood there with one hand on the doorknob and the other on her hip giving me a disapproving look. I began to walk in, not bothering to wait for her invitation. She began to back away as I walked forward, but I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.
It felt like it had been a lifetime since I last tasted her soft, sweet lips. Sarah gasped softly as I slowly and sensually kissed her. I missed her and I needed her, and my feelings came pouring out in my kiss. My arms tightened around her waist as I pulled her closer, and Sarah got on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around my neck, her hands tugging at my hair at the back of my head. We moaned at the same time as our kiss became hungry and urgent. I broke away from her lips and kissed her softly along her cheek and jaw and finally down her soft neck. She smelled like strawberries and cream and I just wanted to taste her from head to toe. I quickly found out that her neck is her sweet spot as she moaned and purred and whispered my name over and over.
“Roman...”
Sarah began to push against my chest to stop my sensual assault. She pushed harder and stumbled back a little as she panted and held her hand up letting me know to stay put.
I smiled wickedly at her as I too tried to catch my breath. My desire for her was evident as I saw her glance at the bulge in the front of my pants, just as I’m sure her panties are soaking wet.
“That’s some kind of hello.”
“I missed you.”
“I see.” Sarah smiled.
I cleared my throat and said, “Let’s sit down and talk.”
We both began to walk towards her couch. Before she sat down she asked, “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’ll take some water, thank you.”
My eyes never stopped w
atching her as she walked the short distance to her kitchen to retrieve two bottled of waters from her fridge. She had on some cut off blue jean shorts with white fringes hanging off of them, showing her beautifully rounded thighs, and a white off the shoulder top. Her hair was in a messy ponytail sitting on the top of her head. Her skin looked soft and supple from head to toe. She had a small scar on her right knee, but otherwise her skin was flawless from what I could see. She has beautiful feet and her toes were painted a hot pink color. I smiled on the inside because everything about Sarah screams feminine to me.
“Here you go.” Sarah handed me one of the bottled waters and sat down next to me. The enticing smell of her body wash wafted to my nose and I had to stop myself from reaching out and taking her into my arms again.
Sarah sat with one leg tucked underneath her and she was facing me, giving me her full attention. This was the first time I’ve seen her without makeup on, and she couldn’t have looked more beautiful to me. I began to feel nervous under her intense gaze because she was studying me, and I felt that if she kept looking she’d find out all of my hidden secrets; some secrets I will never tell her, some I’ll tell her at a later date.
I reached for my water bottle and twisted off the cap and took a long gulp. Sarah’s eyes never me.
“Carter is dead, isn’t he?”
I thought I’d ease into that topic, but Sarah clearly had no patience for beating around the bush.
My eyes met hers and we stared at each other for a moment. I didn’t want to admit to her that I killed someone…again.
Sarah spoke again, this time in a softer voice, “If you didn’t have a conscience you wouldn’t be so tense right now. It’s weighing on you, I can see it and I can feel it.”
