by Darrien Lee
“Then who could’ve sent a journalist here?” Keilah asked as she handed Michael the business card the journalist had left with them.
Michael read the card and shook his head. “I don’t have a clue. Since I’ve come back from Iraq, I’ve been approached by a lot of reporters wanting to write a story about my ordeal, but I declined. It was hell over there, and it’s not something I’m ready to talk about.”
Ramsey nodded. “I understand that Michael, but there’s only four people who knew about Keilah catching you in bed with that guy, and three of us are sitting here. What about your boyfriend?”
Michael chuckled and said, “I don’t have a boyfriend. That lifestyle is behind me now.”
“He wasn’t there when I shot you,” Keilah added. “Did you tell him about it?”
Michael shrugged. “So much has happened since then. I really don’t remember.”
Ramsey leaned back in his chair and said, “I don’t care who he is or where he came from. I’m not going to allow him or you to pull my wife into any of this mess that you created, so you need to do whatever it takes to get rid of him and make sure no military investigators approach us, because if they do, it’s not going to be a pleasant situation for you.”
Michael stood and said, “I understand, Ramsey. I’m so sorry for all of this, and I’ll do what I can to get to the bottom of this. Again, I only told you about the military investigator as a precaution. It’s not a sure thing. But the story will probably hit the news. The lieutenant colonel is highly decorated and respected, but that’s how he’s been able to gain power over young boys.”
“That’s sad, Michael, and I appreciate your warning us,” Keilah said as she tenderly touched his arm to console him. “I hope everything works out for you.”
“I’m sure it will. One way or the other,” Michael answered as he reached for the door. Before exiting, he turned his attention to Ramsey, who was also standing. “Ramsey, for what it’s worth, I would never allow Keilah to be embarrassed or disrespected if I can help it.”
“I’m going to hold you to that. In the meantime I have a friend looking into this journalist’s background and his credentials. If I have to slap him with a slander lawsuit, I will.”
“Sounds good,” Michael said as he opened the door. “If there’s nothing else we need to discuss, I’ll get out of your way.”
Ramsey slid his hands in his pockets and said, “No, that’s it for now.”
“I’ll keep you informed of any progress I make,” Michael replied.
“I’ll walk you out,” Keilah said as they exited the room together.
Remaining in the office, Ramsey picked up the telephone and called Kyle. On the third ring he answered.
“Ramsey, I’m glad you called. I have some information for you.”
“Good,” Ramsey answered as he sat down and leaned back in his chair. “I want to know everything you found out on that journalist.”
“Cool,” Kyle replied. “Do you want to meet for lunch and go over it?”
Ramsey twirled around in his chair and said, “I wish I could, but my schedule’s tight today. Fax it over so I can see what you got.”
“I can do that, but don’t get into any trouble. This dude has a scandalous reputation in the industry,” Kyle revealed. “I’m surprised he’s working for a reputable newspaper.”
“All they want is the latest scandal to sell papers and make money,” Ramsey answered. “If he comes anywhere near here again, I’m going to end his career and maybe his life.”
“I hear you, bro. Oh, there will be two reports. Mine and one Neil was able to get.”
“Great. I’ll have to shoot him a text and thank him.”
“Cool,” Kyle replied. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Ramsey hung up the telephone just as Keilah returned to the office. She sat down and said, “That was interesting and sad. I hope Michael can get his life together.”
“Forget him. My only concern is protecting my family. I say Michael gets everything he deserves.”
She stood and walked toward the door without responding. She put her hand on the doorknob, but instead of leaving, she turned back to her husband and said, “You know, I love you and I love the fact that you want to protect me from all this drama, but what happened between me and Michael was almost two years ago. He deserves forgiveness, and he deserves the opportunity to turn his life around. If you keep holding on to this grudge, it’s going to eat away at you. He said he would get to the bottom of it, and I believe him. I forgave Michael for what he tried to do to me. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him too.”
Without waiting for a response, she closed the door behind her, leaving Ramsey to think about her statement. He knew she was right, but it wasn’t easy for him to forgive a man who had put his wife’s life at risk and had betrayed her in a way that he thought was unforgivable.
Across town, Michael pulled up to the complex of newly built town houses. He shut off the engine and made his way up to the front door of number 742. He braced himself against the door frame and rang the doorbell. As soon as the door opened, he grabbed Kevin by the throat and shoved him back inside the house and onto the floor. Kevin dropped the bottle of Heineken he was drinking, causing it to shatter on his hardwood floor
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kevin yelled as he tried to pull himself off the floor.
Michael walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off the floor. He slammed him against the wall and said, “You know exactly why I’m here, you son of a bitch! You’ve gone too far with this fantasy of yours.”
“Come on, Mike. You don’t have to do this. You know how I feel about you. I would never—”
Michael tightened his grip on Kevin’s throat, interrupting him. “Shut the hell up! I know you spray painted my driveway! I should have your ass arrested.”
Kevin had never seen Michael as enraged as he was right now. His eyes were red, and he could see the veins in his neck.
“Get your damn hands off me!”
Michael loosened his grip briefly and said, “If you come near my house again, I’m going to blow a hole in your ass.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kevin gasped.
Michael tightened his grip again on Kevin’s throat. Through gritted teeth he said, “I’m going to tell you this one time and one time only. If you don’t back off, and I mean right now, I will kill you. Do you understand?”
“You are a fake bitch, so yeah, I spray painted your driveway. I don’t know who that whore was, but she’s not your type,” Kevin whispered, straining for a breath.
Kevin’s eyes were now watering, and he was beginning to get lightheaded. Michael’s military training had taught him how to kill with his bare hands, and he knew just how far to go before taking a life. He was angry and he wanted Kevin to know what being close to death felt like before he released him, causing him to fall to the floor. As he lay on the floor, gasping for air, Michael leaned over him and smacked his face a couple of times.
“Hurry up and catch your damn breath, because I know you’ve been talking to a reporter about my relationship with Keilah, so this is what you’re going to do. You’re going call him and tell him to kill the story. Are you listening to me?”
Kevin continued to gasp for air, and when he looked up, Michael’s finger was pointed directly in his face. He still hadn’t admitted to being involved with the reporter, but now he was afraid that if he tried to deny it, Michael just might kill him for real.
Michael looked around the room and spotted a cell phone sitting on an end table. He looked at his watch and then tossed the cell over to Kevin. “You have thirty seconds to get your ass on the phone.”
Kevin stood up, picked up a bottle of beer he had on the table, and gulped it down. His throat was raw and swollen, and the coolness of the beer soothed it momentarily.
“Call him, now! I don’t have all day!” Michael yelled.
Kevin
slowly touched a series of buttons on the phone.
Clearly agitated, Michael sat down and said, “Put it on speaker. I want to hear everything.”
Kevin pushed the speaker button and drank more beer as he waited for the person to answer. Luckily, it didn’t take long.
“Kevin, I’m glad you called. You must be psychic or something. Listen, I was just getting ready to call you. You were right. This story is going to win me all kinds of awards... .”
“Jeremy,” Kevin said, trying to interrupt him, “we need to talk.”
“I know, because I need more details,” Jeremy answered. “This story is golden. I stayed up most of the night researching the Stones. Did you know all of them come from money? And your boyfriend has a Supreme Court judge as an uncle. This is too sweet! I don’t know why you held back on me. I can’t wait to write this story.”
Kevin noticed the scowl on Michael’s face and yelled, “Jeremy! Shut up for a second and listen to me. I’ve changed my mind. Cancel the story. I don’t want to do it anymore.”
“Kill the story?” Jeremy asked with a chuckle. “Have you lost your damn mind? I’m not killing this story. You got me salivating all over it, and now you want to pull the plug? You must be smoking crack.”
“I’m serious, Jeremy. I’ve had time to think about it, and I’ve decided not to pursue this.”
Jeremy started laughing even more. “I can’t believe this. What happened? You and your boyfriend get back together or something?”
Becoming frustrated, Kevin yelled, “No, we’re not together. Just kill the story.”
“And what if I don’t?” Jeremy asked.
“I’ll deny everything, and you’ll be setting yourself up for a lawsuit. Your career in journalism will be dead, and you’ll never get another job in the industry. You’ll be finished.”
“You son of a bitch! You’d do that to me after all I’ve done for you? You came to me, remember?”
“I’m sorry it has to go out like this,” Kevin explained. “I’m willing to pay you for your time if it’ll help.”
“I don’t want your damn money!” he yelled back at Kevin. “This story could finally get me a corner office, and now you want snatch it all away from me? I don’t think so. Go to hell! Delete my number, and don’t you ever call me again.”
The phone went dead, and Kevin looked over at Michael and asked, “Are you satisfied?”
Michael stood and said, “Time will tell. He could still run the story if he wanted to.”
Kevin massaged his throat and said, “He won’t do that.”
Michael open the front door and, before walking out, said, “You’d better pray he don’t, because if he does, I’ll be back and next time I won’t be so gentle.”
When Michael slammed the door, it sounded like a bomb going off. Kevin let out a sigh of relief. He felt like he’d been holding his breath the whole time. He slid down to the floor as tears fell out of his eyes. He had never expected Michael to treat him this way. They used to be so close. Now it seemed as if Keilah was in his head more than ever before, and because of her, he had lost someone he really cared about, leaving him angry, brokenhearted, and feeling abandoned.
Traffic was unusually heavy on the Capital Beltway. Michael’s hands were trembling as he drove toward the base. He needed to talk to someone quick, and a conversation with one of the army therapists was exactly what he needed to help him release his uncontrollable urge to hurt someone. Since his ordeal in Iraq, he’d had nightmares, reliving what was done to him. The therapists hadn’t been able to make any progress with him, mostly because of the wall he had built up, and in most cases it took months, sometime years, to help a soldier recover from traumatic ordeals. Michael was no different.
Chapter Eighteen
Ramsey entered the kitchen and found Keilah feeding their daughter while Target rested comfortably under her feet. The protective German shepherd raised his head briefly but laid it back down as his owner approached.
“Hey, babe.” He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey,” she answered as she spooned mashed peas into her daughter’s mouth.
Ramsey put his leather briefcase on a chair after kissing the top of Neariah’s curly head. He studied his wife and asked, “Are you still mad at me?”
She looked up at him and frowned. “I was never mad at you.”
He sat down next to her and took over feeding Neariah. “It sure felt like it.”
Keilah wiped some the peas off her stained blouse as she made her way over to the sink. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I know you’re only looking out for me.”
He looked into her beautiful eyes and softly replied, “Exactly.”
“You do know you can be a little intense at times. Then again, that’s one of the reasons why I love you.”
He smiled and then scanned her lovely body as he watched her refill Neariah’s cup with apple juice. She handed her daughter the cup and yawned.
Ramsey put a piece of chicken in Neariah’s mouth and said, “Why don’t you go on upstairs and chill? I’ll finish this.”
Keilah yawned again and asked, “Are you sure?”
He tickled Neariah and said, “Yeah, go ahead.”
She massaged his shoulders and said, “Thank you, babe.”
Ramsey and Neariah watched her as she exited the room. Seconds later Neariah looked up at her daddy with her bottom lip poked out and started to cry.
“No, no. I don’t want to see any tears. Your mother just went upstairs,” he explained as he removed his necktie. “This is daddy-daughter time, and we’re going to have some fun. Okay?”
Neariah glanced back over to the door and waited for her mother to return. When she didn’t reappear, she looked at her father with tears in her eyes and apple juice running down her chin and said, “Da-dee.”
“Yeah, Da-dee,” he repeated as he wiped her mouth and disposed of her leftover food. After removing her bib, he picked her up in his arms and grabbed his briefcase. “Daddy’s getting ready to give you a nice warm bath, and then we’re going to watch a movie together. How does that sound?”
Neariah laid her head against her father’s chest and started singing as he slowly climbed the stairs with Target on his heels.
In the bedroom Keilah lay across the bed in deep thought over the events of the day. It had been an emotional twenty-four hours, and it had taken a toll on her physically. Since she was pregnant, she wanted keep herself surrounded by peace and harmony as much as possible. Instead of her normal sexy lingerie, she was dressed down in one of her husband’s T-shirts and nothing else. As she lay there, she could hear Ramsey singing to their daughter as he gave her a bath. It brought a smile to her face and warmed her heart. Ramsey was an excellent father and a perfect husband. Yes, they often butted heads over things, but they always found a way to work through their disagreements. Her thoughts were interrupted when her cell phone chimed. She glanced down at her phone and opened the text message.
The situation with the reporter has been taken care of.
With best regards,
Michael.
She immediately felt as if a weight had been lifted. She just prayed it was really over, but before she could give it more thought, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her brother Luke.
“Hey, Luke,” she answered.
“Hey, baby girl,” he greeted her. “You sound terrible. Are you okay?”
She rolled over onto her back and let out a loud sigh. “I’m good. How are Sabrinia and the kids?” she asked.
“Everyone’s fine. Now back to you. Are you putting in long hours again?”
Her eyes were stinging with tears. They always did when she talked to Luke. He was like a father to her, and his concern for her well-being made her emotional. She felt vulnerable and came really close to telling him she was pregnant, but she wanted to break the news to their entire families with her husband by her side. It had been almost three months sinc
e she’d seen her brothers, and she missed her family terribly.
“No, I’m not keeping long hours anymore. Camille is a great caretaker, but I make sure I’m home to spend time with Neariah and put her to bed.”
“Good, because there’s no reason for you or Ramsey to work like that anymore. You guys have to take the time to enjoy each other.”
“We do,” she replied with a solemn tone.
“Is Ramsey home?”
“Yes, he’s giving Neariah a bath.”
Luke had seen this behavior in his sister before, and he knew she was homesick. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was on to her, so he decided to gradually ease into a conversation about home to feel her out.
“Do you guys have any plans for Super Bowl weekend ?” he asked.
“We haven’t talked about it yet. What are you going to do?” she asked.
With a smile in his voice he said, “Well, Roman was talking about having a party, but it wouldn’t be complete without you guys here.”
“I’d love to come, but we have to check our schedule. You know that’s a busy time for us, she answered.
Luke let out a frustrated breath and said, “Keilah, every day is a busy time for you. When are you guys going to relinquish some of your duties to your managers?”
“Soon,” she replied.
“When?” he asked. “You’re trying to run the D.C. location and open the office in Atlanta too. You and Ramsey can’t keep going at this pace.”
“You work just as hard,” she pointed out.
“That’s where you’re wrong, sis. I work hard when I’m there, but we split the responsibilities among each other. I work two days a week, and the other days belong to my family. That’s how it’s supposed to be, sweetheart. You’re successful, and you’ve done your job. Now it’s time for you and Ramsey to back the hell up and enjoy the benefits you worked so hard to build.”
Tears spilled out of her eyes. She softly replied, “I know.”
“What you gon’ do?” Luke asked with a firm tone of voice.
