Church Boyz--Book 4 (After the Rain)

by H. H. Fowler

  “Thanks for calling back,” Tayah said. “I know that you’re busy.”

  “It’s nothing; I’m happy to assist...”

  There was a pause in Nixon’s voice that caused Tayah to think that Nixon was holding something back from her.

  “Is everything alright?” she prompted him.

  Nixon cleared his throat. “Why don’t we start with the message you left on my voicemail?”

  “Okay…” Tayah pulled out a chair and sat. “I know you told me that the guards had searched Shaniece’s jail cell and that they were unsuccessful in finding a smartphone, but I don’t think the guards are being as thorough as they should be.”

  “Mrs. Housten, I cannot accept that as truth. The guards at the prison are well-trained to detect and apprehend illegal imports, or any variety of smuggled goods. I’ve explained to you that I’m keeping a watchful eye on this situation.”

  “Then explain to me why the time on Shaniece’s email shows as ten-fifteen at night when I know that by that time, all inmates would have long returned to their cells?”

  “Are you sure you’re reading that time correctly?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I will forward the email to you.”

  “When did you receive the email?”

  “Yesterday, but I didn’t read it until today.”

  Nixon sounded like he was taking notes. “Okay…I will have the security measures beefed up and hopefully get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.”

  “I would appreciate that very much,” Tayah huffed. “Which brings me to my next question. What is the likelihood of me getting Phillip out of the infirmary on compassionate release?”

  “Well…”

  Another pause, this time sending Tayah’s curiosity through the roof. “What is it you’re not telling me, Sheriff?”

  An unrecognizable sound expelled through Nixon’s mouth before he announced, “Unfortunately, Mrs. Housten, Phillip passed away this afternoon…”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I am so sorry that I didn’t call earlier, but I didn’t know how to break it to you. He was your husband at one time…”

  In the background, Tayah could hear the cries of her baby boys, which began to blend in with Nixon’s words. She had no clue of when she disconnected from the line. Somehow, she managed to find her way out of the kitchen and into the nursery. But did she dare believe that Nixon had told her the truth about Phillip’s passing? She had been planning to visit Phillip on Friday to let him know that she had forgiven him, but to hear that he was gone was another blow to her already guilty conscience. She shouldn’t have procrastinated.

  Tayah now needed someone to console her. With a baby rocking in each arm, she walked over to the window and peered out. Their SUV was nowhere in sight, which made Tayah’s anger return with a vengeance. Maybe her husband did not get caught up with his duties at the church, but was somewhere frolicking with Sanchez when he should be at home. I can’t believe you’re being vindictive, Dominic. Where are you when I need you more than anything right now? If you won’t call me, I certainly won’t call you. Because the only thing this shows is how little me and your children mean to you.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  6:10 p.m.

  Pin Chasers have been touted as one of the best bowling alleys not only in the Tampa Bay area, but on the planet. They offer fresh food and craft beers, fully hosted and catered parties and complementary bowling shoes and socks. Players can even go online and reserve a lane. That was exactly what Dominic had done, while ignoring the advice of his best friend to go home and check in on his family. However, Dominic convinced Sanchez that Tayah and the twins were okay and that if they needed him, he was only a phone call away.

  That nonchalant attitude didn’t sit well with Sanchez at all when Sanchez knew better than anyone how much Dominic cared about Tayah. He would sacrifice his last of everything, just to show Tayah that she alone held the key to his heart. Not that Sanchez didn’t relish spending that quality time with Dominic, especially since he hadn’t seen him for two years. But Sanchez naturally assumed that after spending close to three hours in the gym exercising and changing into fresh clothing, another hour sitting at a sandwich café and then Dominic having to stop at the church for a meeting that Dominic would be anxious to get home to his family.

  However, to Sanchez’s surprise, Dominic suggested that they all – including A’moree – continue their day of fun by going to the bowling alley. There, they would exhaust what was left of their energy before calling it a night. Sanchez looked on as Dominic pumped his fists in the air at yet another strike, with A’moree encouraging him with her little quirks and giggles. There was a reason why Dominic didn’t want to go home and whatever that reason was, drove Dominic toward A’moree in ways that reverberated heavily on Sanchez’s sexual antenna.

  Usually, Dominic would have been the one trying to keep Sanchez on a tight leash, as his lust, at times had a tendency to get out of hand. How ironic, Sanchez thought, that with all of these gorgeous ladies circling under one roof, he couldn’t focus on any of them because he was too busy watching the devil gain ground in Dominic’s life. How could Dominic forget that A’moree was the same girl who’d almost taken his life with an overdose of GHB, or that he had a wife and twin boys at home to think about? Yet, Dominic was presumably ignoring the warning signs of his spiritual conviction.

  “Man, I’m on fire tonight!”

  Seeing how excited Dominic was, Sanchez tried to hide his troubled spirit with a smile. “That’s only because I haven’t warmed up as yet,” he quipped.

  Dominic grinned. “Excuses, excuses. We’re halfway through the game, bruh. How long is it gonna take you to warm up?”

  “‘Til next Tuesday,” A’moree laughed. “Don’t mind Sanchez pretending he’s got game. This boy knows nothing about bowling.”

  “And I assume you do?” Sanchez countered. “All of your rolls have been gutter balls. For example, look at your pathetic score in comparison to mine.”

  A’moree raised a brow. “And what’s your point? I never said that I knew how to bowl.”

  “You and your smart mouth,” Sanchez said to his sister. “I don’t know why we brought you along.”

  A’moree playfully wagged a finger in her brother’s face. It was her turn to bowl and she took delight in teasing him. “You just sit back and learn…the both of you…”

  “Don’t look at me,” Dominic said. “Because you already know I don’t expect too much out of you.”

  Dominic’s comment stung A’moree, but that didn’t stop her from sashaying toward the lane in black yoga pants and a hot pink t-shirt she’d changed into before leaving the gym that morning. With an eight-pound bowling ball and three of her fingers securely wedged in the holes, she reared back and had planned to release the ball with a professional spin. However, her legs suddenly flew up from the floor and before she knew it, A’moree landed with an ungraceful smack on her butt. The ball got away, which of course, veered to the right before plunging into the gutter.

  A’moree could hear a coterie of laughter behind her. So infectious it was, that the only thing she could do was join them. Dominic came up next to her and although his toothy grin was still quite visible, he was kind enough to assist her to her feet.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve just embarrassed the hell out of myself and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

  “This is not a catwalk, A’moree,” Dominic said. “This is bowling and one important rule of the game is to never step over this black line, because you will slip and fall. It has been designed that way.”

  “Thanks for telling me that now, Dominic. I feel like such an idiot.”

  “Come on, don’t beat yourself up about it. Every unsuspecting bowler has had to contend with that black line.”

  Sanchez was still humped over in laughter, unable to compose himself. A’moree rolled her eyes, which caused Sanchez to laugh even more.

  “You ar
e so stupid,” she hissed at him. “Suppose I’d broken my bloody hip bone? What would you have said then?”

  Sanchez made a face and squealed at A’moree’s words. She angrily pushed him out of her way before bolting to the nearest cushioned seat.

  “I’ve had enough of bowling for one night,” she spat. “Please take me back to my hotel so that I can cry in peace. Everyone is staring and laughing at me…wow, this is so humiliating.”

  Dominic slipped in next to A’moree, sipping from a cup of juice he ordered before the start of the game. “Aww, don’t be a party pooper,” he told A’moree. “You shouldn’t let one little fall ruin the night. We’re just getting started.”

  “Oh really? What other embarrassing adventures do you have lined up for me tonight?”

  Dominic responded with a question of his own. “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “What?”

  “You know what.”

  “Seriously, I don’t.”

  “Okay, I see where this is going…you want me to spell it out for you.”

  A’moree leveled her gaze with Dominic’s, being careful not to get too aggressive. “Please do, because I would love to hear you spell it.”

  Dominic turned away and smirked. He couldn’t handle the lust that was so blatant in A’moree’s eyes. “You haven’t changed one bit,” he muttered.

  A’moree smirked too. If Dominic was suggesting that she was enjoying all the attention her fall had created, or more accurately, that she was enthralled by his presence, he would be right on all accounts. She was an opportunist, who could capitalize on whichever way a situation was spun. Their knees kept brushing against each other’s and although Dominic appeared unfazed by it, A’moree was literally sizzling in her seat.

  She was attuned to his every move, his toothy smile, the inflection of his voice and more importantly, the sexiness of his muscular frame. He even looked hotter since he’d gotten married to that miserable heifer. The fact that Dominic was being so conversational with A’moree renewed her hope that maybe, just maybe there was a slight chance that Dominic still found her appealing. When Sanchez came over and disrupted the moment, A’moree viciously cut her eyes at him.

  “Why does it look as if you two are gettin’ cozy all of a sudden?” Sanchez joked. “We have a game to finish, you know.”

  A’moree flicked her wrist with a great display of annoyance. “Go away, Sanchez. I fell and you didn’t have sense enough to help me up. You just stood over there and laughed like a stupid hyena.”

  “Get over it,” Sanchez countered, “because you were certainly no damsel in distress.”

  “At least Dominic was man enough to think so!”

  “Why are you gettin’ all hot and bothered about it?”

  “Because you’re getting on my blasted nerves.”

  “You’re only pissed because I’m interfering with your little reunion with my boy.”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  Sanchez’s nostrils flared at how innocent his sister was acting when all of them knew she was drunk with lust for Dominic. It was true two years ago when she almost killed him and it hadn’t changed now. “Then, for your benefit, I will say it plainly,” he said. “Get your mind off of sex, because this man is about to go home to his wife and family.”

  Dominic stood up in A’moree’s defense. “Okay…we shouldn’t be having this conversation here. Let’s take this on outside.”

  A’moree jumped up and pushed past Sanchez. She sashayed so fast toward the exit that she forgot to take off the bowling shoes to return them. Dominic and Sanchez followed shortly and would have joined A’moree on the walkway to where she had pouted her lips and folded her arms, but Dominic pulled Sanchez aside to issue a rebuke.

  “What is it you think you’re doing, man,” he hissed, “embarrassing your sister like that? Furthermore, you made me feel as if I’m scheming to do something evil.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you, Dom,” Sanchez said. “Take me and my sister back to our hotel room and then go home to your family. I’m sure Tayah is probably freaking out over the fact that you haven’t checked in with her as yet.”

  “Well, she hasn’t called me all day,” Dominic snapped. “So what does that tell you?”

  “That tells me that you need to be home with your wife, working through whatever problem you guys are facing. I didn’t come here to be a partaker of my sister’s foolishness. She almost landed the both of us in jail the last time she was here. I love A’moree, but if you allow her to ruin your relationship with Tayah, that will be on you.”

  “Look, man, I’m not allowing anything. You need to stop dredging up these crazy scenarios in your head.”

  “Come on, Dom, who knows you like I do? The minute you start givin’ me attitude for no reason, actin’ like you don’t want me snooping around in your business, I know somethin’ is up with you.”

  “Well, whatever you’re assuming is wrong.”

  Sanchez pushed Dominic a few more feet away from A’moree because of the sensitivity of the statement he was going to make. “For you to leave your house from this mornin’ until now – and it is swiftly approaching a quarter past eight in the evening—and not even once pick up your cell phone to check on your family, is very out of character. Tayah must have said or done somethin’ bad enough for you to wanna get back at her. Whatever it is, my friend, sex with my sister is not the solution. You shouldn’t even entertain the idea, because you know as well as I do that it will only compound the problem.” Sanchez rested a hand on Dominic’s shoulder, concluding in a lighter tone, “The devil is messin’ with your mind, boy. Shake him loose and make a liar out of him.”

  Dominic exhaled with a look of defeat. There was no use denying the truth any longer, especially with a friend like Sanchez. He’d had his back from day one and had proved to be an invaluable source of strength. Once again, Sanchez – the one whom Dominic had helped groom in the ways of God – had shown that he was spiritually apt to counsel an old Christian veteran like Dominic. To say it was humbling was to put it mildly. It was downright disconcerting, but being the man that Dominic was, he swallowed his pride and embraced Sanchez’s correction.

  “You got me on this one,” he said.

  “Look, Dom,” Sanchez replied when he saw the wilt of regret in Dominic’s face. “When I was living in Tampa, you kept me on the straight and narrow. I am who I am because of you. And I want you to know that in my eyes, you are a great mentor and I will always look up to you as such. Please don’t feel burdened over what I’ve said to you, because I’m only doin’ what you’ve instilled in me. I have no other choice. We all fall short from time to time and need someone to help us back onto our feet.”

  Dominic covered his face with his hands. When he finally removed them, he gave Sanchez a lopsided smile. “I’ve always hated when you’re right and I want you to know that that hasn’t changed.”

  Sanchez shook his head and grinned. “Give me a hug, man. I came here to stand as godfather for your two boys, which I hope is still on for Sunday.”

  “Of course!” Dominic exclaimed. “I would have it no other way.”

  A’moree stared at them, bristling with disgust. “You two make me sick. Please take me to my hotel room before I vomit my guts all over this sidewalk.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Visiting hours at the Hillsborough Women’s Prison began promptly at nine that morning. However, Ellie had been waiting in her car almost an hour before then, wrestling with the decision of whether or not she should ask Shaniece to help her get rid of Michelle. But the more Ellie’s thoughts marinated on how rude and condescending Michelle had been to her and how Michelle had turned Leroy against his son, Leroy Jr., – whom Ellie and Leroy had created in love – Ellie felt that dealing with Shaniece’s nasty attitude would be a small price to pay to get done what needed to be done. As long as Michelle was in the picture, Ellie t
hought, Leroy would never be free to marry her and take care of their son.

  By the time Shaniece had rolled her wheelchair in front of the glass and picked up the receiver, Ellie was giddy with the need for revenge.

  “I thought I wouldn’t see your face in these parts again for at least six months,” Shaniece said, a trace of sarcasm in her voice. “What wind blew you back here so soon?”

  Ellie butchered Shaniece with a piercing gaze. “Trust me, Shanny, I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t really need your help. You are very mean and hard to talk to these days.”

  “It’s easy to say that when you’re sitting on the other side of the glass. Try walking in my shoes.”

  “Oh please,” Ellie spat. “You were just as mean and as miserable before you ended up in prison. I was just too stupid to recognize it then.”

  “Here we go again.”

  A blast of air shot out of Ellie’s nostrils. “Are you gonna help me or not?”

  “What’s in it for me?”

  “But you haven't heard what I want.”

  Shaniece grew silent for a minute to study her sister. There was a certain kind of coldness in Ellie’s eyes, which Shaniece knew all too well. A murderous glare, grimly tempered with a mix of desperation would probably be a more appropriate description. That meant that Ellie was a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off at any moment. God forbid if Shaniece allowed that to happen – not if Ellie’s thoughtless actions were going to tack on a life sentence to two of the nine years she’d already spent in prison. She was saving that wildcard for something more elaborate – like wiping out the entire Paxton clan.

  “I guess you haven’t heard,” Shaniece interjected in a way she hoped would bring Ellie’s anger down a notch. “Phillip died yesterday.”

  Ellie said nothing; she simply squeezed the receiver to stop herself from dropping it.

  “Did you hear what I said?” Shaniece prompted.

  “Of course I heard you. I just don’t believe you.”

  Shaniece smirked. “Believe what you want, little girl. That’s not going to take away the fact that our brother is dead. Go ahead and confirm it. You’ll discover that fool died without so much as lifting a finger to help me get out of this place.”