“You believe Emilio Vargas killed your business partner,” Armstrong said, cutting to the chase. “Why? What’s the motive? You guys have been working for the cartel for a long while. What did Ramsey do to piss off Vargas?”
Arlington lowered his head.
“Or what did you do?” Schneider corrected.
Guilt washed over Mr. Chase’s entire body as he confessed to the floor. “I got greedy . . .”
2014
Ari watched his partner take a couple of laps around the large office. His partner grew harder to read with each passing day. “Well? What do you think?”
Javid shrugged. “What am I supposed to think?”
Ari rolled his eyes. “Don’t leave me hanging. Do you like it or not?”
“My liking it is not the issue. We can’t afford it.”
The real estate agent shot Ari a look and, in turn, he gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course we can. Don’t be such a wet blanket.” Ari pounded a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon. Live a little. You know as well as I do you have to spend money to make money. Right?”
Javid ignored Ari’s excitement and shook his head. “It’s not going to happen.”
“C’mon. It’s time to expand. Show the world we’re one of the big dogs.”
“It’s too big and too flashy. We don’t need the extra scrutiny.”
“Says the man living in a seven-million-dollar house in the middle of Calabasas.”
“That’s different.”
“Oh?” He lifted an eyebrow. “How?”
“Klaudya and I built our house with the money I inherited from my grandfather.”
“Must be nice,” Ari spat sourly.
The agent spoke up, “I’d hate to rush you guys, but a property like this isn’t going to be on the market for long. So I’m going to need a decision soon.”
Javid bounced his shoulders. “Oh, that’s easy. The answer is no.”
“The answer is maybe,” Ari countered before giving Javid his best puppy-dog sad eyes.
Javid pulled Ari farther away from the real estate agent. “Where is this shit coming from? Are you going through some midlife crisis I should know about?”
“No, I just . . . I mean when the hell am I allowed to enjoy the fruit of our labor if I’m always watching every dollar in fear of triggering some federal investigation? Why do we care? Our shit is tight. Nobody is going to find shit.”
“Shh. Shut the fuck up,” Javid hissed, shooting another look at the agent. “What’s with the diarrhea of the mouth?”
“Will you chill out? All I’m saying is, it’s time to expand the business and attract some bigger and legit clientele. To do that we have to have “the look.” The boutique shit is old school.”
“The look, huh? Is that why you bought a new Porsche and Aston Martin in the last month? You going for a new look?”
“C’mon, not that shit again. I told you, I got a deal I couldn’t refuse.” He sniffed.
Javid eyed him up and down and zeroed in on Ari’s dilated eyes. He stepped closer and hissed, “Are you fuckin’ high right now?”
“What? No.”
Javid hung his head. “I’m out.” He headed toward the door.
“What?” Ari turned, stunned his boy left him hanging. “But what about the space?”
“It’s still a no,” Javid shouted and walked out.
CHAPTER 11
Emma Richards had returned home after a long, exhausting day of shopping with an armload of luxury designer bags draped from both arms when Lieutenants Armstrong and Schneider pulled into her winding driveway. After flashing their badges and requesting a few minutes of her time, they entered another Calabasas estate.
“Oh yeah. K and I go waaay back. I believe she and Brandi used to dance at the Kitty Kat together. She found her Prince Charming about a year before I found mine and we became neighbors. It’s just a shame all the drama she’s been going through this past year. It’s all anyone talks about out here. I wouldn’t blame her if she did move and start all over somewhere—preferably where no one knows her name.”
“You consider yourself close to Mrs. Ramsey?”
“I’d like to think so. We have a close-knit group of girlfriends who got together every month for a girl’s day out. Of course, it’s been a while since she has joined us, but she’s welcome back at any time.”
Schneider pulled out his steno pad from his jacket. “What did you girls do on a typical girl’s day out?”
“Normal stuff: Blow a hole in our husbands’ credit cards, or spend a day at the spa, or even just sip cocktails by the pool. We’d talk about life, love, or our badass children. The last time Klaudya joined us, Tabitha hosted, and the conversation was interesting.”
“How so?”
“We talked about soul mates . . .”
2014
Klaudya would have never survived Calabasas had she not found four cool-ass chicks to clique with when she’d moved into the neighborhood. Together, they held graveyards of secrets stuffed into their princess closets. Every third Friday of the month the women would have a girl’s day out. Today, Tabitha Montgomery played host out by her pool.
Klaudya was happy to leave Ruthie with the kids while her mother pretended to look for a job and an apartment.
Tabitha handed out drinks. “Question of the day: Would you leave your man if he cheated?”
“Depends.” Brandi raked her red hair out of her eyes.
Tabitha frowned. “On what?”
“On the details of my prenup.”
The women laughed.
Bethany slid on a pair of sunglasses. “I’d be gone in a heartbeat. Life is too short to be dealing with unfaithful assholes.”
“That explains the four divorces,” Brandi joked.
“I’m serious,” Bethany pouted. “Marriages aren’t like what they used to be. No one takes them seriously anymore. If anything, they’re an excuse to throw big-ass, ridiculously expensive parties. Nobody means their vows anymore. For better or for worse. Until death do us part. They’re just words. If you’re not going to take the vows seriously, why say them?”
The women agreed.
“Some people mean it,” Bethany said. “Do you ever watch the ID channel?”
“Oh, girl. That shit is addicting,” Emma said. “My father was a cop, and my brother-in-law works at the county morgue. If you ever need help getting rid of a body or making it look like an accident, I’m your girl.” She winked.
Laughter ensued while they sipped on their cocktails.
Encouraged, Bethany added, “If you ask me, the problem is women are too damn easy. They have no moral code or compass. Most see men’s wedding bands as nothing more than jewelry instead of the stop sign they were meant to be. They pursue men like prey and never make any of them work hard for anything.”
Emma shook her head. “It cuts both ways.”
“That makes it worse,” Tabitha said. “Men nowadays have a wife, a girlfriend, a side chick, baby mommas, and a couple of Instagram thots on standby.”
“Wow.” Klaudya drained her mimosa. “You have been burned.”
“Oh. Like I’m the only one?” Her gaze searched around the small group.
The women’s gazes scattered.
Klaudya confessed, “I wouldn’t leave.”
Eyebrows shot up.
“Really?” Tabitha asked.
Klaudya shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I was raised in an unstable environment. It makes you unstable. You know what I mean? You never feel like you belong anywhere. I don’t want that for my kids.”
“So you’d stay for the children?” Tabitha crossed her arms.
The girlfriends groaned.
“What?”
Tabitha shook her head. “Honey, that is one of the worst things you could do.”
“Agreed,” Brandi added her two cents. “Now I know something about that. My parents stuck it out for my brothers and me. I can’t tell you how many nights I’d lie awake
, listening to my parents fight like cats and dogs and praying they’d put us out of our misery and get divorced already.”
Emma co-signed. “Yeah. Living in a house where everyone walked on eggshells was not fun.”
Klaudya clarified. “No. It wouldn’t be just for the kids.” A smile tugged at her lips.
“Oh?” Tabitha leaned forward.
Klaudya blushed along with the sweet buzz her pain pills and cocktail gave her. “Javid is my soul mate.”
“Ooooh?” Giddy, Bethany and Emma leaned forward with their brows high.
“Soul mates?” Tabitha crossed her arms. “I didn’t know they still made those.”
“It sounds silly,” Klaudya confided. “But it’s true. I love my husband with every fiber of my being. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“Spoken like a true future divorcée,” Brandi joked.
Klaudya’s smile vanished. “Forget it.”
“No, no.” Bethany waved off Tabitha and Brandi’s pessimism.
“Yeah,” Emma said. “Don’t listen to them. They’re bitter and jaded. It’s wonderful you still believe in a soul mate in today’s climate.”
“Yeah, but what kind of soul mate cheats on you?” Tabitha asked. “That’s the question. Would you leave your man if he cheated on you—even if he’s your soul mate?”
Klaudya sighed. “My answer is the same. I don’t mean I would take it on the chin if he did. I’m sure I’d be angry and even make his life a holy-hell for a while. But leave? I doubt it.”
Tabitha looked annoyed. “All right. What if he left you? Then what?”
“Oh, then I would kill him.”
Bethany and Emma gasped.
Tabitha and Brandi grinned.
Cool as a cucumber, Klaudya added, “Until death do we part? I meant that shit.”
CHAPTER 12
Ruthie Ann Coates sat nervously across from Lieutenants Armstrong and Schneider and spilled her guts immediately.
“Mr. Ramsey was a good man. He was fair and decent. Hands down, he was one of the best employers I ever had.”
“And you were employed for how long?”
“I came to live with them right after the Ramseys finished building their house. Before that, I worked for his father—Javid Senior in Beverly Hills.” Her expression soured. “Trust me. Those two were like night and day.”
Armstrong cut in. “So you’ve known Javid his whole life?”
“Oh, no. I came on board with the Ramseys when Javid was entering high school. Still, that’s a good long while.” She smiled. “He was such a bright kid—always seeking his father’s approval. But it didn’t work out in the end. I always knew that whatever Javid pursued he would be successful.” Her expression changed again. “I hope Nichelle burns in hell. Not only did she kill a great man, but she also destroyed a wonderful family.”
Armstrong cocked his head. “You don’t care for Mrs. Mathis?”
“Humph. No. I never did. I saw she was trouble the first damn day I met her. The moment she moved into the house, she acted as if she owned the damn place. God forgive me, but I don’t blame Klaudya one bit for trying to take her out last year. I mean, what kind of mother goes after her own daughter’s husband like a bitch in heat?”
2014
After a two-hour morning workout in the home gym, Javid followed the scent of cooking bacon into the kitchen. Seeing his wife working her magic at the stove, he moved behind her, giving her ass a good squeeze.
She froze. “Oh?”
“I take it we’re no longer vegan?” He kissed her neck.
Nichelle spun around with a sly smile. “Definitely not vegan.”
Javid leaped back, his face flaming with embarrassment. “Oh, my god. I’m sorry. I thought you were Klaudya.” He kept backpedaling.
“I gather that much.” She laughed, pointing a fork at him. “You should see your face.” When he looked sick, she added, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell about your mistake.”
“All clean!” Mykell and Mya shouted, racing into the kitchen to show their grandmother their hands.
“Good. I guess that means you two will get chocolate chips in your pancakes.”
“Yea!” The twins bounced around and scrambled into their chairs at the breakfast table.
“What about you, Javid? Have any special request for breakfast?”
“I’ll just have some eggs and toast.”
“That’s it? No bacon? It’s apple smoked,” she teased.
Javid hedged while a smile crept around the corners of his lips. “Maybe a couple of strips.”
She winked. “You got it.”
Javid rustled Mykell’s hair and delivered a quick peck on Mya’s cheek.
“Ew, Daddy. You stink,” Mya wailed, pinching her nose.
Javid grinned. “And that’s my cue to go jump in the shower.”
“Oh. I don’t know,” Nichelle said. “There’s something about the natural sweat of a man. I read somewhere it has something to do with pheromones.”
“Yeah?” He grinned, eyes sparkling.
“Oh, yeah.” She bit her lower lip and met his gaze straight on.
Javid, not for the first time, roamed his gaze over his mother-in-law’s svelte figure. His cock bulged against his briefs. “Well, I’ll be back in a few.”
“Take your time.” She winked and turned back to her sizzling bacon.
Javid gave her round bottom another look before departing for the staircase. Upstairs in the master bedroom, he found his wife still in bed—again. He pushed off jumping into the shower to check on her. “Honey? How are you feeling?” He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead to see if she had a temperature.
Klaudya groaned and rolled away from him.
“Honey, the kids. Aren’t you supposed to meet with the caterers this morning? C’mon, shake a leg.” Javid playfully smacked her ass but awakened a demon.
“What the fuck?” She came up and socked Javid in the jaw.
“The fuck?” He leaped from the edge of the bed, his fists reflexively balled at his sides.
“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Klaudya screeched. “Is it going to kill you to let me get some sleep? I’m fucking tired. You got me running around putting together this fucking party that I don’t want to do. The children are fighting all the time. The third party planner quit on me yesterday, and every damn time I turn around, there’s my mother, watching and scheming behind my back.”
Javid relaxed. “Baby, stop. Not this again. You’re starting to sound crazy.”
He took in the sight of her hair standing straight on the top of her head and added, “Not to mention, you also look kind of crazy, too.”
“Oh, this is funny to you, is it?” Her eyes went wild. “Fuck you. Throw your own goddamn party.” She snatched a pillow and launched it.
Javid dodged the pillow. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately. But maybe you need to put in a call to Dr. Helmsley to increase or lower your meds. Something.”
“Not funny!”
“I’m not trying to be funny. Look at you. If anything, your mother is picking up the slack. She’s downstairs cooking the children breakfast. Didn’t she take the kids to the Pacific Park yesterday while you lay up in bed?”
“I was tired!”
“All day?”
“Yes, all day. You have no idea how much work I do around here. You never did.”
“Right. You have it so hard with a housekeeper and a mother-in-law doing all the work.”
“What?”
“Okay. Okay.” He held up his hands. “Truce. I don’t have time to stand here and argue. I gotta shower and get to the job that pays the bills around here.” He swiveled and stormed toward the bathroom.
“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” She snatched the bedding back and finally jumped out of bed to storm behind him into the bathroom, their arguing voices echoing off the bathroom walls and carrying all the way outside their bedroom door, where Nichelle st
ood listening and smiling.
Ruthie shivered in her seat. “Horrible, horrible woman.”
Armstrong and Schneider shared looks.
“You had a front seat view of what happened the night Mrs. Ramsey and her mother clashed, didn’t you?” Schneider asked, flipping through his notebook. “You testified in the assault case.”
Ruthie tensed before admitting, “I’ve tried to forget about that night. It was the beginning of the end . . .
2014
Klaudya was still dressing for the Vargas’s party. “Everything is going to be fine, sweetheart,” Javid assured Klaudya as he moved behind her while she stood before the full-length mirror. I’m the one that’s supposed to be nervous, remember?” He kissed the crook of her neck. “Ari thinks Vargas is going to expand our operation.”
Klaudya’s smile tightened. “Is that supposed to be good news? I thought you were getting out?”
“I will. We will. But not right now.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What?”
“The more you do, the more we’re exposed. You’re already washing more money than every Whirlpool in America wash clothes. When is enough enough?”
Javid’s lips twitched. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you don’t have much faith in your man.”
“I have faith in you. It’s Vargas I don’t trust. And you’re crazy if you do.”
Javid laughed as he spun her around in his arms. “Trust is a dicey thing in this line of work. I run shit like a well-oiled machine. It’s as simple as that.”
Klaudya shrugged. “I guess.”
“You guess?” He cocked his head. “Don’t tell me you suddenly have a problem living like a queen?” He held her flush against his body. “Valentino gowns, Cartier jewels—a closet that looks like a boutique store.” He laughed, looking around. “I’ll never understand why women need so many clothes.”
Klaudya refused to be amused. “The few times I’ve met Vargas, he . . . ” She shook her head. “He creeps me out.”
No Loyalty Page 7
