by Carmen Green
“Tia, why are you home so early?”
In that instant, Tia decided not to heap any more of her problems on Megan. They were both healing and would have to do some of it on their own. “I just needed to get out of work a little early.”
“What happened?” Kirk asked, not buying that story.
Tia shook her head. “Nothing important.”
“I hope you still have a job,” Megan said. “You need health insurance. The APC wasn’t a country club, but they charged country club prices. I’d have been better off going to Hawaii.”
“Another career is just a phone call away, Tia. You have choices,” Kirk said, and Megan touched his arm.
“We all do. I learned that,” Megan said. “Tia, are you coming inside?”
“I-I need to take care of something. You don’t need me right this second, do you?”
Kirk looked at Megan and shook his head.
“I guess not,” Megan said, opening the door. “Should I expect you back?”
“Definitely. But maybe not tonight, unless you absolutely need me. Hey, do you have my extra car key? I’d feel more secure having more than two.”
Megan handed over the key without question. “Tia, I’m going to be fine. Is it the cop?” she asked, digging a little.
She couldn’t contain her smile. “Yes.”
Tia realized she missed this part of her relationship with Megan and Rachel. They used to share their lives, their pain, talk about their men, and it was like having sisters.
After all she’d been through, Tia wondered if she and Rachel could be friends again. All she could do was try.
Sometime soon Tia vowed to call and apologize.
“Megan, he’s something else,” Tia said, knowing there wasn’t another phrase that said it better.
A smile lifted Tia’s mood right off the ground. The joy of being with Byron filled her with energy.
“Goodness, you’re practically glowing. We have a lot to talk about, but not now. Have fun,” Megan said and winked.
Tia hopped into her car, raced to the ATM, and withdrew a hundred dollars.
She rationalized that in order to fulfill her obligation to the class, she’d need working capital. After she’d bought all the necessities, Tia called Byron. “Where are you?”
“On my way to your place,” he answered. “Traffic on 285 isn’t too bad, so I should be there in about twenty minutes. I thought you’d be there by now.” his voice dipped low enough to make her thighs tingle. “Waiting. Preferably undressed.”
Tia giggled seductively. “I was, but Megan came home today.”
“She’s there? Right now?”
“Yep.” Tia sympathized with his groan of frustration. “I have a plan B, and a plan C, based upon what you might like.”
“OK,” Byron said cautiously. “What’s your plan B?”
“I’m about a mile from the Eight-eighty Motel. We can get a room and have a great time, although it’s a bit seedy, or plan C is we can spend the evening in my car. I know it’s not big enough, but if we recline both the seats, you’d only have to leave your legs hanging out the window. The other important parts would be inside, with me.”
“So you just want me for my—”
A horn blew loud and long. “Talk about great timing,” Tia said after they stopped laughing.
“I have a suggestion, not that yours weren’t good.”
“I’m open to good ideas,” she said.
“We can go to my place,” Byron offered.
Tia’s heart thundered. This was a leap for him, a major step in the relationship, and one she hadn’t been expecting. They’d gone through a lot together, and Tia was glad to know that her feelings for him weren’t one-sided.
She pulled into the parking lot of a Walgreen’s to organize her thoughts.
“Tia?” said Bryon.
“I was just deciding if I wanted to go to your place.”
A long moment of silence passed between them. “What’s your decision?” Bryon asked.
“Tell me where to go.”
Tia followed the directions right to Byron’s front door and parked on his driveway.
They got out of their cars at the same time.
She drank in the sight of him.
Dark denim jeans and a white long-sleeved mock T-shirt covered him, and all she could think about was how much she wanted him to be undressed.
Tia pulled the bag of food from the car, along with a pink glossy bag from the lingerie store. He had bags in his hands, too.
Byron lived on a quiet street where the houses were spaced a good distance from each other. Peace emanated from the picturesque environment, and Tia was aware of how much someone like him, in his line of work, needed peace. She was glad to be in his world.
His keys tinkled as he unlocked the front door, and a gentle breeze billowed around the porch and kissed her cheek.
Tia smiled and looked up. Byron was looking straight at her. She stepped into the house after him, and he took the bag of food. “Hungry?” he asked.
“No.”
“Thirsty?”
“No.”
The strap to her purse slid down her arm, and she put the lingerie bag and her jacket on the kitchen chair. Byron smiled, and his dimple winked.
He backed up slowly as she advanced.
“Do you want anything?” he asked.
Tia already felt like she was coming apart. “Just you.”
“I’m yours.”
Tia didn’t feel elegant or flirty or even sexy. She felt like a woman with power that couldn’t be quantified.
In an instant, she was in his arms. Their bodies were as close as they could be, clothed. Byron remedied that by taking his off first. This was the second time she’d gotten to admire him as he stripped, unashamed of his nakedness.
When she began to take off her clothes, he knelt down, and on every uncovered body part, he placed lingering kisses. By the time Tia had gotten to her thong, she was nearly ready to climax, and he hadn’t even touched her there.
She tried to pleasure him, but Byron was on a mission, and Tia was his subject. When his tongue finally did meet her G-spot, orgasms racked her body. Even hours later, his appetite for making love was insatiable.
Tia vowed to herself that she’d keep up with him, and when she was sure he’d had enough, she fell asleep in his arms.
Hours later Tia awoke to the strains of Najee, but no Byron. She found one of his shirts and pulled it on as she walked from room to room, admiring the beautiful pieces of bronze art that graced the shelves and glass tables.
His furniture was dark, but what caught Tia’s eye was the artwork. There were vases and masks, African statues, and interesting framed tapestries.
His taste was exquisite.
“Byron?” she called and heard nothing. She retraced her steps and ended up at the front door. Peeking out, Tia saw her car, but not his.
She thought maybe he’d gone to the store.
Suddenly hungry, Tia looked for the food they’d forgotten about and found it in the refrigerator. She pulled it out and was about to heat it up when she saw the wine, a corkscrew, and a note.
Her heart tripped as she looked at his bold scrawl. Yet dread flowed over her like one of the dazzling climaxes Byron had elicited from her earlier.
Tia,
I’ve gone to stop A M group from getting into trouble. Please stay home. I’ll be back soon, and we can resume where we left off. Love, Byron.
Tia’s mouth fell open. She reread the note. Five times.
She quickly dialed his cell phone. “Where are you, Byron?”
“Stay in bed,” he ordered her.
“That’s very sexist and domineering and bossy.”
“If I thought you’d listen, I’d say it nicer. But for the sake of giving you the benefit of the doubt, I’ll say it differently. Please stay home and wait for me.”
Tia ignored her hunger pangs and scurried into the bedroom to get dressed. “I’m a
reporter.”
“A meteorologist,” he countered. “You’re not on the night beat. You report the weather. You can stay home and let me handle this, and everything will be fine.”
Tia thought of the promise she’d made to her anger management classmates. Along the way, she’d let Rachel down, and that’s why they weren’t friends anymore. Tia didn’t want to shortchange another person she called friend.
“Byron, I can’t. I have to see this through. If you hadn’t left me, we could have done this together.”
“When are you going to grow up?” he asked, sounding exasperated. “I’m a cop, Tia, and this isn’t a game. Someone could get hurt.”
“I know. That’s why I have to be there. To be the voice of reason. Nothing bad will happen if I’m there.”
“Baby,” he said, “you don’t have the power to predict the future.”
“You don’t either, Byron. We’re both taking a chance.”
“But I have a gun, and I’m authorized to use it.”
Just the thought of there being a shooting made Tia cringe.
“Nothing that serious will happen,” she said, slipping her feet into her shoes.
“You can’t leave,” he told her as she hurried to her car, her purse over her shoulder.
“I’m already outside.”
“I have your car keys,” Byron said, sounding grim.
Tia stopped, momentarily stunned. “You really big sneak! Okay,” she said, palming the backup metal key. “You win. I’ll be here when you get back. Your phone’s ringing. I’d better go. Camilla Ryan. I’ll let that roll over to your voice mail, okay?”
“That’s my sister. Tell her I’m on an errand and will call her tomorrow. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Okay,” she said, hanging up.
Tia hurried back to the front door to put the phone inside.
“Hello?”
“Oh. Hello. Is Byron there?”
“No. May I take a message?”
“Who is this?”
“Tia Amberson, a friend of Byron’s, Camilla. I’m sorry, we haven’t met, but I saw your name on the caller ID, and I was on the phone with your brother, and he said you were his sister.” Tia took a big breath. “Sorry for going on and on. Is there a message I can give him?”
“Just tell him I said thank you for the Prada, Gucci, and Coach purses, but I can’t take any more. My husband is beginning to think Byron is buying them hot or something.”
Tia couldn’t speak. “Do you have the green Baby Phat?”
“Girrrl, that’s my favorite! How’d you know? Oh boy. I don’t think we’re supposed to be talking.”
“He’s been buying my purses off eBay,” Tia whispered. “How many?” she asked Camilla.
“Thirteen.”
“Oh my goodness.” Tia covered her mouth, calculating the hefty total of all the purses. She’d hired an attorney with that money.
Love, Byron.
His handsome handwriting wove through her mind and down into her chest. Tia knew she had to hurry.
“I think my brother has some very strong feelings for you.”
“I do, too. Camilla, do you mind if I hang up now? I need to go and ... get him.”
“Please do, sister.”
The words wrapped Tia’s heart just a little tighter. If she survived this night, she and Byron had some serious talking to do. “Bye, Camilla.”
Byron’s phone began to ring as she put it in the house. She saw that it was him but didn’t stop to answer it. She had a promise to fulfill.
Chapter Twenty-two
Byron trudged over the last rise in the Georgia clay, moving quickly toward the screaming. A group of women crowded around a fire, a seated figure in the center.
He was screaming.
Byron approached with extreme caution.
The women had champagne flutes in their hands, drinking and chatting as if the man weren’t there.
Ginger was dressed in a black leather dress, a long skirt fanned out like a cape around her legs. She giggled with the other women and, for the first time, seemed tapped in to the real world.
“Oh no! Officer Official is here. He’s here to ruin our fun. How’d you know we were here?” Peggy asked, staring at Byron.
“I’ve got my sources.”
“Tia ratted us out! I can’t believe her,” Ann Marie said from the crowd that had assembled behind Pebbles.
“Tia didn’t tell me anything,” Byron said calmly, as he put himself between the man and the women.
The ladies didn’t know he’d been shadowing them online for quite some time, waiting for them to disclose the time and date of their revenge. Once he found out, he planned every move—up until now. Having Tia at his house, immobilized, was like icing on the cake.
They’d gotten Gary good. His chest bare, he smelled sickly sweet. He’d been tied to the chair, his legs wrapped in heavy duct tape, his arms and chest bound around the top of the chair. A tie had been used as a blindfold, so he couldn’t see.
“Tia wouldn’t do that,” Pebbles agreed. “But I wouldn’t put it past him to have read her e-mails.”
“I did read the e-mails, but not because Tia let me.” Byron cleared his throat. “She did exactly what you all asked her to do, and that was to keep me occupied.”
“She couldn’t be that great if you’re here,” Betty said.
“That’s not nice,” Ginger said, frowning.
“My accomplice was Fred,” Byron said.
The scared man emerged from the darkness, shaking in his shiny new tennis shoes. “Ladies, don’t hate me. I thought you all were going to commit a crime. I’m duty-bound to notify the authorities if that happens. I was the antagonizing voice in the e-mails.”
“That was you, Fred?” Ginger asked, smiling.
“Y-yes.” He tried so hard not to stammer. Byron was proud of him.
“You did a good job of scaring everybody.” Ginger’s compliment seemed to make Fred stand taller. “Right, girls? Byron?”
The other women in the class nodded their heads.
Buoyed by their support, Fred pulled a folder from beneath his jacket. “The good news is that you all didn’t do anything against the law. The even better news is ...” Fred hesitated, and Byron thought the FAMU marching band was going to stomp out. Fred smiled like he’d been skewered. “You all passed the class!”
Cheers went up, and the women linked arms and danced around the fire. More champagne was poured, and Peggy even gave Byron a plastic champagne flute. “Yours is ginger ale, like mine.” She lifted her flute and walked away.
“Will someone pay attention to me?” Gary whined.
“Shut up, Gary!” Ginger ran from her circle of friends and squeezed his jaw until all they could hear was a high-pitched squeal.
“You came here because you thought you were going to have sex with me and other women. As far as I’m concerned, you’re lucky to have both your balls. You keep talking, and we can change that.”
The entire group watched in stunned silence as the usually timid woman dragged her nails lightly around Gary’s chest, shoulders, and back.
He bounced and groaned as if his seat were getting hot. “More, more,” he whined.
“You two are sick,” Pebbles said, disgusted.
Ginger stopped, took a deep breath, and exhaled audibly. “Not really. You’ll see.”
“What are you going to do to us? Are we under arrest?” Pebbles asked Byron.
All of the women stared at Bryon with wide, scared eyes.
The law dictated that he take them in and, at a minimum, get statements.
But after all they’d been through, Byron would use his better judgment.
“Congratulations, ladies,” he said quietly. “Go home. The night is over.”
Despite his last instructions, they rushed him, covering him with grateful hugs. Byron bent down and accepted each one.
“Ow. Ow!” Gary complained. “Can somebody scratch me? These bugs are
eating me alive.”
Ginger and the rest of the ladies turned and took one last look at Gary. Mosquitoes covered him, feeding on his blood.
“See. I told you,” Ginger whispered to the group.
“You’re not crazy,” Pebbles responded as they started toward the hill. “You’re certifiable.”
“And rich,” Ginger laughed. “Good riddance, Gary.”
Byron waited until the last car had pulled off before he looked at Gary Kelston.
“Officer, are you still here?”
“Yes, Mr. Kelston. I’m still here.”
“Untie me, you nimrod. That bitch isn’t going to get away with this. I’m going to blow every one of them to bits.” This guy was a first-class jerk.
“Sir, calling me names isn’t going to get you out of here any faster. In fact, after you get medical assistance, you’ll be arrested and booked.”
Byron dialed his cell phone and gave their location as Gary shouted obscenities.
“Arrested for what?” he demanded when Byron wouldn’t take the bait of his anger.
“Making terroristic threats.”
“I didn’t do any such thing! You’re one of them, sissy boy. The only man in their class,” he shouted derisively. “They should’ve slapped a skirt on you and called you Sally. Get these bugs off of me!”
Byron looked into the cloudless sky. The rain had passed, leaving the air clear and fresh. Byron lifted his cell phone. “Cancel the EMTs,” he said.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Byron snapped the phone closed. “You want to insult me, Kelston? Then your help goes right out the window. Good night. I’ll pick up what the bugs leave tomorrow.”
“No! No! You can’t leave me here. I have a right to your help. Just like I have a right to teach my wife who’s boss.”
“My jurisdiction ended twenty yards ago, at the top of this dirt hill,” said Byron.
“I’m sorry, okay? Damn. You act as if I’m not a civilian in distress. She thinks that document she made me sign is valid, but I did it under duress. Therefore, I’m still entitled to her money.”
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right ...”
