by C. J. Thomas
Nash dropped his feet and stood. Taking his glass with him, he pointed his finger and said, “I told you she’s crazy.”
Folding my arms, I dropped my chin and snickered. “But we can use her to our advantage. She’s willing to help.”
He flashed a skeptical look in my direction. “Like she helped me?”
I placed both my hands on the kitchen counter. “Madam manipulated her to kill Maria.”
“You’re serious?” He arched a brow. “Did she tell you that? Because I can assure you that her thirst for blood began with jealousy.”
“Your ego wants you to believe that.”
Nash’s eyes hardened with a challenging stare.
“Either way, let’s just say that what she is saying is true. It’s powerful testimony. Evidence we can use when charges are brought against Madam.”
Nash sucked back a deep breath of air and shook his head. “Only if Madam gets charged.”
I stepped around the counter and came to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Nash. Alex had moved to Kendra and I knew from their body language that Kendra was telling Alex about what Madam did to her. My heart shattered like glass every time I thought about it but I remained strong for her—for us.
“Sylvia knows what Wes and I did.”
“So does Madam.”
Nash gave me a sideways glance.
“The woman hates me,” Nash said, referring to Sylvia. “Why would she want to do something nice for me?”
“You might be right about her hating you, but I can guarantee that she hates Madam more.”
Nash tossed back the rest of his drink. Stepping away, he entered the kitchen and poured himself another.
“Let’s not forget that the district attorney also knows what you and Wes did with Maria’s body.”
He looked up at me from beneath his brow. “What are you proposing? Because the best-case scenario for all of us is to have Sylvia take the fall for everything the DA can get to stick.”
“You mean Mario?”
“And Tonya, too.” Nash turned his head back to the girls. “Whatever.”
“Charges for Tonya won’t stick.” Nash flicked his gaze back to me. “Angelina Davis killed her as payback for what Madam did to have Mario killed.”
Nash reached for the bottle of vodka, gulped back a swig, and shoved his hand through his sandy blond hair. “This is insane. Are you hearing yourself?” Nash gripped his waist and paced the room. “And you’re still representing that asshole, Blake Stone?”
I gave a curt nod.
“Does Wes know about this?”
“Wes helped me sculpt the plan I’m currently working toward.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” Nash barked.
I stepped forward with a racing heart. “Nash, I need to know.” He stopped breathing. “Is there anything that might link you and Wes to that night?”
Nash was quiet for a long while as his dull eyes stared. “You’re kidding, right? It happened at Mint. Wes is always at Mint and I’m a member.”
“Did anyone see you in the act?”
He sighed. “I don’t think so. Hell, I don’t know. What’s this really about?”
Feeling the sparkle come back to my eye, I smiled. “I’m so close to proving Oscar committed a crime.”
Nash’s lips parted as his head floated back.
“When I collect all the evidence against him, he’ll go away for a very long time. Then, this will be over.” I inched closer. “But, until that happens, things will get ugly and I’m expecting some of that dirt to spill over into your lawn.”
His pupils dilated. He fell forward, gripping the ledge of the counter. Hanging his head, I let him process the reality of what might be heading his way. “Madam’s business is succeeding, Kelly.” He met my gaze. “I’ve seen it at parties. In the studio. Hell, even the DEA was here the other day talking to Alex.” He pushed back and paced. “This can’t be coincidence, can it?”
With knitted brows, my thoughts lingered on his words.
“If Alex finds out that I helped move Maria’s body she’ll leave me, and that will be on you.”
I blinked. Then I looked up and said, “What did you just say about the DEA?”
“They were here. Asking Alex all sorts of questions. God, you should have seen the shit they intimidated her with, speaking as if she was somehow involved.”
The cramps in my side spread as I feared what Alex might have inadvertently gotten herself into. Inside my mind, I replayed the phone call from Ty Lemon. “Tell me honestly, Nash, does the DEA have reason to be talking with Alex?”
Nash lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t fuck with me, Kelly.”
I showed him my palms.
Then his voice softened. “Should I be worried?”
Shaking my head, I muttered a quiet, “No.” Only Madam should be worried about them.
As we silently watched our women talking privately, it was clear we both understood what we were fighting for. We had each found the one woman who made us happy—the one woman we saw standing by our side until the end of time. Then they stood, hugged, and turned in our direction.
“Make sure you get your facts straight with Wes, because Oscar is going to play dirty,” I said. “He’ll leak the story of what you two did, and be prepared for when he does.”
Nash nodded above wide, scared eyes.
“If what you say is true, there isn’t any evidence linking Maria to Mint.” I reached out and took him by his shoulder. “It’s purely fiction, as far as we’re concerned.”
“It’s an election year, Kelly.”
“I know. And he’d be stupid to think using that story would help him win the votes.”
The patio door opened. The sweet fragrance of our girls hit our faces like a fresh breeze on a sunny day. Taking my eyes away from Nash’s, I could see traces of the tears Kendra had spilled. I moved to her, sliding my hand around her waist. She clung to me and said, “We better get going.”
I nodded. “Thanks for the drinks.”
Alex hugged us both and, on our way out, Nash invited us to a party.
“Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to make it this time. Maybe next time,” I said.
He held on to Alex as he nodded, acting as if he already knew what my answer would be even before asking.
“Just contact Wes.”
Alex tipped her head and gave him a questioning look.
“Do like I said, and I’ll do my part. This will all be over soon. I promise.”
Not a second after the door closed, my cell started ringing. My heart kicked up another notch when I saw who it was. “Mayor Bentley,” I answered. “Any luck?”
“There were no records of anybody you described.”
My stomach dropped.
“I’ve dug around with the ADA and Chief of Police. They are as clueless as I am.”
“Keep asking around. Someone has to know something.”
“You didn’t let me finish, Mr. Black. Surveillance in County showed you were right.”
My head lifted with a sudden rush of adrenaline reawakening my spirit.
“A mystery man showed up around the time Mario hung himself.”
“Then we have him.”
“How about you come to my office and see for yourself. Maybe you will recognize the man? Then we can discuss options going forward and how best to handle taking out the city’s lead prosecutor.”
24
Kendra
Kelly pulled his phone away from his ear and snatched my hand.
Tugging me along, I tried to keep up without tripping. His urgency sent my heart racing. “Who was that?” I asked.
Kelly lengthened his stride as he bent and reached for the car door handle. “Get in and I’ll explain.”
We shared a brief glance before I lowered myself into the passenger seat. The leather seat wrapped around my shoulders and I wiped my clammy palms on my thighs, watching Kelly round the hood and jump into the car behin
d the steering wheel.
Igniting the engine, he backed out, spinning the car around with tires squealing. “That was the mayor.” Gripping the door handle, I prepared myself for a fast journey. Kelly had that determined look in his eye I had grown fond of. He meant business. When he flipped his eyes back to the road he said, “He needs me to come down and I.D. the man we think might have killed Mario.”
He shifted gears as fast as he drove. The engine purred and, suddenly, I was having to keep up with the new direction our lives were suddenly going. I didn’t have time to dwell on my conversation with Alex. We had to focus on the future. This was Kelly’s world. Kelly’s plan. And I was the reason he needed to hurry.
The car whipped around a corner.
The speedometer inched its way higher.
I tightened my seat belt and pressed my hips further into the seat.
“Did you tell Nash?” I asked.
Kelly briefly glanced at me and nodded once.
“How did it go?” I kept my eyes glued to the road ahead. “He didn’t seem upset when we left.”
“He’s a man. He can take it.”
Pulling my brows together, I was confused by Kelly’s statement. It told me nothing. “You warned him that Madam could leak his story, right?”
Dropping a gear, Kelly pressed his foot down on the accelerator and passed the car in front of us. “Nothing connects him or Wes to that story. And if we keep it that way, it’s only a baseless accusation without evidence to prove it.”
“It’s not what happens that matters. It’s how the story’s told,” I muttered, caking my words with a thick layer of cynicism.
Kelly flashed me a knowing look. “As long as we get to Oscar first, then the world won’t have time to debate what might have occurred that fateful night. He’ll take the blame for Mario, and Sylvia will confess to Maria.”
“And Tonya, what about her?”
Kelly lowered his brow and pinched his lips.
Loosening the scarf still neatly tied around my neck, I swept my hair up off my shoulders and pulled it back into a ponytail. I didn’t know why Kelly didn’t want to talk about Tonya. It was a mystery to me. There was something he wasn’t telling me but, with the stress already piling sky-high, I didn’t press with further questions knowing answers would come in their own time.
The minutes ticked by and we retreated into our heads, sounds of silence swirling between us. With one eye on the road and the other always on me, I knew there was something he wanted to ask me. “Alex seemed receptive to what you told her,” Kelly finally said.
Allowing my muscles to release, I let my head fall back into the seat.
A weight had been lifted off my shoulders after sitting Alex down and talking. At least now she knew where my head was at—what I had been through and why I was acting the way I was. As if I wasn’t fucked up enough already, now I had this additional dark shadow to follow me through the rest of my life.
“She’s a great listener,” I said.
Even if I was afraid to discuss the details with Kelly, I wasn’t alone. Alex was always there. But I still refused to believe what happened to me was true. It was easier to fool myself into denying Oscar violated me than having to guess at what he’d done. I still couldn’t remember the truth.
Pulling my knees together, I glanced to my hands carefully folded on my thighs. “She did the right thing in having you pick me up the other day.”
Taking my hand into his, Kelly smiled. “We’re here for you.”
Choking back the emotions bubbling up inside of me, I nodded and smiled back. Then Kelly took a turn I didn’t expect. “Downtown is that way,” I said, pointing my finger through the window.
The sparkle I saw only a second ago was now gone “You’re not coming with me.”
His husky voice quickened my breaths. “What? Why not?”
With his hands back on the wheel, he murmured, “I can’t risk having us cross paths with Oscar.” He gave me a quick, sideways glance and I was holding my breath way before he said, “Nash mentioned something that has me a bit worried, Kendra.”
My head spun as I stared ahead with unblinking eyes. I was afraid to know what Kelly now knew. I had only just told Alex, but it wasn’t impossible for word to have gotten around to Nash first. Gossip in this town was valuable and once a dollar amount was placed on news, it spread like wildfire whether true or not.
“The DEA visited Alex.”
I angled my head toward the window, closing my eyes with a slowing heart.
“Did she mention anything about that to you?”
“She told me.” My tone rose a tad above a whisper.
Kelly flipped on his blinker and made another turn. “Why would the DEA visit Alex?”
My chest tightened. Instinctively, I went on the defensive, feeling suddenly backed into a corner. “I don’t know, Kelly. Because she’s friends with me and I’m Madam’s runner. Or maybe it’s because Nash is a film director, and so was Blake Stone.”
His chest rose as he released a heavy sigh. “I’m not picking a fight, Kendra. Only trying to understand what the hell is going on.”
Placing my fingers on my brow, I turned back to the window, needing to cool down.
“The film industry has ties to the cartel. Big projects are funded in all sorts of ways,” Kelly rambled on, thinking out loud. “I would think that this was all it was, however, she’s the second person I know to recently been questioned by the agency.”
Frowning, I kept my head turned away from Kelly. I felt so sick to my stomach with worry that I let my thoughts slip. “They’re going to come for me next, aren’t they?”
When our eyes met, he flashed a knowing glare. He didn’t have to say it. We both knew. It did little to ease the cramps stitching my side. The clock was inevitably ticking closer to doomsday and I would be forced to keep my mouth shut, lie, or tell the truth and face the consequences. None of which I wanted to do.
We didn’t talk the rest of the ride, but when Kelly parked in front of his garage I said, “You can’t leave me here alone.”
Unbuckling his belt, he turned and faced me. “It’s the safest place.”
“The safest place is wherever you are.”
Kelly held my stare. Then he opened his car door and said, “Stay here. I’m going to do a quick sweep.”
“I thought you said it was safe?” But he didn’t hear me before he left.
I sank further down in my seat, watching him carefully edge the house. He looked around, over his shoulder, and up the block before finally disappearing around back. Several agonizing minutes later, he was exiting the front door with a calm expression pulling his face.
Meeting him outside the car, he said, “I wouldn’t put you here if I didn’t believe it was safe.”
My tongue darted over my lips as I swallowed.
“And, like I said, I can’t risk having the DA see you.”
“But they know I’m with you.”
Kelly inhaled a deep breath, took my hand, and led me inside. When he closed the door behind us, my insides startled. Stopping at the house alarm panel on the wall, he said, “Arm the house as soon as I leave.” He showed me how. “Can you remember that?”
“I think so.” I tucked a loose strand behind my ear.
Gripping my waist, he lowered his head. “Don’t answer the phone. Don’t answer the door.” Then he reached under his arm and pulled out the silver glint of his gun. The gun he fucked me with. The gun I stole—the same piece of metal Drake knew I had. “Take this.”
My heart kicked up another notch as I stared at his weapon. Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t want it.”
Peeling my fingers back, he placed the handle in my palm, forcing me to take it.
“I don’t want to be left alone,” I muttered. “Take me with you. I’ll stay in the car.”
“You’ll be fine here.” He kissed my forward. “Don’t be afraid to use the gun. It’s why I’m giving it to you.”
I watc
hed Kelly turn and leave. As soon as the door shut, I turned inward and faced the empty quiet house, counting down the minutes until he would return.
25
Kendra
The voices in my head only grew louder.
Pulling my spine straight, I rolled my shoulders back and stood taller.
Gripping the gun tighter, it gave me the false sense of confidence I needed to be reminded of what it felt like to be in charge of my life.
Lifting my arm, I could do anything.
Wrapping my finger around the trigger, I could say whatever I wanted.
I closed one eye and aimed at an arbitrary object across the house.
And people would listen.
Do it, Kendra. No one would miss you. You’re a failure. You’ve let your friends down. The voices filled my ears until I couldn’t take it anymore. Just kill yourself and end the misery you’ve been living in.
My arms snapped down and locked at the elbows. Flexing my muscles until my body shook, I tossed my head back, squeezed my eyes shut, and screamed into the ceiling until I collapsed to the floor, nearly fainting.
With stars flashing over my vision, the room fell silent.
On all fours, I swiveled my head around across my shoulders. The voices were gone.
I blinked until the room stopped spinning. My lungs gasped to refill their depleted oxygen levels. That was when I noticed the ghosts staring at me from the walls.
Pushing myself up, I stood and floated to the staircase.
Nora’s face was everywhere. She had the amazing ability to bring each portrait of her alive. Her eyes pierced and followed me. I hadn’t noticed it before but, now that I was alone, she reminded me that I wasn’t.
I imagined what the house was like with them all living in it. Turning to the kitchen, suddenly the rooms brightened. The sounds came from everywhere. Music played, the summer salty breeze coming in from opened doors. It was a beautiful two-story home with an open floorplan designed to bring the family together.
I kicked off my heels, leaving them in the spot where I stood, and padded to the living room. Setting the gun on an end-table, I ran my fingers over the backs of the couches, envisioning Friday night movies, drinking wine late into the night while Patrick was sleeping. Nora cuddled under Kelly’s arm, his heart content with the hectic rhythm of family.
