by S. K. Lessly
********
I woke the next morning alone. I should be used to this but quite frankly, I wasn’t. I remembered her telling me she had to go, but I had no energy to stop her. We went at it like crazy for most of the night. My face was between her legs tasting her, trying to drink her dry. My cock was inside her, breaking her down and building her back up only for me. I didn’t quite have the strength to get up to leave either. I remember her falling a few times on weak knees, so she was still feeling the effects of our connection. Shit, I know I was as well.
I grabbed a shower first, then walked into my brother’s kitchen to find him sitting at the dining room table staring off into nothing.
“What’s up, bro? Thought you’d be at work by now.” I moved into the kitchen to make me a cup of coffee before I started making breakfast.
He didn’t reply, so I turned and looked at him. He looked to have the same clothes he had on yesterday. He still wore that tired beard and looked just as haggard as the first day I came.
When the coffee was ready, I placed a cup in front of him. “Are you just getting in?” I asked him but again, he didn’t reply.
I watched for a minute, but he just sat there staring out into nothing. I moved about in the kitchen and made breakfast: eggs, bacon, and toast. I sat a plate in front of him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Eat, Lock.”
Finally, he looked up at me, startled as if he didn’t even know I was here. “What?” he mumbled.
I leaned down a little. “I said eat. I’ll warm up your coffee.” He looked down at the plate of food and ate silently. I warmed up his coffee, sat down next to him and ate as well. When he was done, he just looked over at me. “I think you’re making a grave mistake being with her.”
And there he is, finally.
I shook my head. “Why is that?”
“Come on, Brad. She’s bad news.”
I sipped my coffee. “Not to me she isn’t. She’s a breath of fresh air. She’s awakening me in some way.”
“Yeah, okay, so now what? You can go back to Houston and settle things with Nora now that you’ve been awakened?”
I stood, gathered his plate and mine and went to the kitchen. I was tired of this shit. It didn’t matter how many times I’ve told him that Nora and I were done, he consistently brings her up.
“Come on, Brad, what’s your plan?”
I swiveled around to find him standing in front of me.
“Do you really want to know what’s up with me and Nora?”
He folded his arms in front of him. “Yeah, please enlighten me as to why you’re choosing Ayana over Nora.”
“That’s the reason right there; Nora isn’t Ayana. That’s the problem. I want her to be, deep down that’s who I want. I was trying to use Nora to fill in that gap. Ayana is my MJ, Lock. She’s everything MJ was to you—you know this.”
Lock shook his head and stepped back from me. “You don’t know what you’re saying. MJ was sweet, beautiful and loving. Ayana is none of those things. She is selfish and conniving. No, bro, what you’re feeling is pure lust. You think these walls keep what you two do a secret? Hell, the whole fucking block can hear you two. You have my neighbors looking at me crazy.” When I laughed, he barked, “No, don’t laugh. That shit isn’t funny.”
I couldn’t help but laugh even harder. “Lock, man, you have no idea who Ayana is. You are wrapped up in her brother and the fierce love she has for him that you don’t know what type of woman she truly is. And hell that’s okay; as long as I know who she is to me, I’m good.” I moved closer to him. “Remember the day after you buried MJ? We were sitting out on the patio and you said to me ‘I feel like I can’t breathe. Every moment without her feels like I’m suffocating, like someone is constantly sitting on my chest, and I can’t grab enough air into my lungs.’ Do you remember telling me that?” Lock tried to look away from me, but I followed his eyes. “Yeah, well that’s how I feel about Ayana. I can’t breathe unless she’s close to me. I never realized how much I was struggling until I laid my eyes on her in Ice’s for the first time in five years. Listen, you don’t have to get what she does for me. I’m not saying she’s perfect. Clearly, she isn’t. I just feel like she’s perfect for me. Understand, Lock, I’m not stupid either. I’m not going into this with blinders on.”
“Yeah, so why are you risking it then? You don’t know what it is she’s into right now. Why do the shit you’re doing, spending all this time with her, embedding yourself in her life like this?”
I put my hand on my brother’s shoulders and smiled wickedly. “Because, bro, the reward is so fucking worth the risk.” I closed my eyes and exhaled vividly, thinking about Ayana and all the things she does to me.
Lock pushed my hand off his shoulder and I laughed. “You’re a fucking pervert, do you know that?”
I walked out of the kitchen. “Yup… I know it. Oh and I left the dishes for you.”
“Let me ask you this before you go and waste your life.”
I stopped and turned to face him, arms folded over my chest.
“Did you ever fully give Nora a chance to be better than Ayana? You said it yourself you wanted her to be for you what Ayana was and she couldn’t do it. Did you ever stop to think that maybe Nora was what you needed and still is? Clearly, Ayana isn’t for you. She’s toxic, Brad. If you think about it, she has only brought you pain. Has Nora been that for you? Why don’t you think about that before you just completely give up on a life that has been good for you?”
I shook my head. If I was thinking logically, I might have agreed with him, but I’m not. I’m all kinds of mixed up in a woman.
I sighed. “Let me ask you a question, do you regret the time you spent with MJ?” My brother instantly started shaking his head.
“It’s not the same,” he replied.
“No, it’s the same brother. Look, Nora is a great woman. She is. She’s just not great for me. I don’t want to live my life bored half out of my mind when I get home. I don’t want to be a robot with no love, emotion, and desire in my life. That’s what it was like for me, and I’m not going to marry into anything that makes me that unhappy.”
“So you’d rather be with a junkie?”
I felt my temper starting to get the better of me, which I will explain sort of causes me to do things or say things that I normally wouldn’t do or say. It’s my alter ego that sometimes comes out when I feel threatened and cornered, sort of like what happened to Roger and his friends. My brother is fully aware of how volatile I could be. The potential was there I assure you, but I managed to always keep a lid on it… but the preverbal lid was starting to lift.
I took a few deep breaths while closing my eyes, missing everything else my brother said to me. I was counting to ten in my head.
Get it under control, Mills.
When I opened my eyes, I looked at my brother who was studying me closely.
I said to him, voice filled with the rage within me. “Call her that shit again and, I swear to God, you and I will have more than just fucking words! I’ve never known you to be this cold and judgmental, considering how messed up you are. I’m blown away.” He was about to speak, but I held up my hand. “I’m not saying Ayana didn’t have issues in the past. I’m not knocking that something is going on with her now, but I care enough about her to give her this chance. I’m in love with her, Lock. I need every bit of her, and I can’t explain what she does to me to you because there’s no way you can relate. You’re so gone over MJ that you can’t see shit. Maybe one day you will get it. I just hope we are still speaking when you do.”
As I turned to walk into my bedroom that sliver of doubt crept in my mind. What if this shit doesn’t work out with Ayana? What the hell am I going to do? What if my brother’s right and shit continues to be messed up with her? Maybe I did need normalcy, and I just needed to deal with it. It’s a strong possibility I was going down this road only to end up back where I started… with Nora.
I shook my head. That co
uldn’t be in the cards for me. I would not settle. What I needed was to look Ayana in her eyes and let her know exactly what’s at stake here.
I heard my phone ringing in the dining room, and I moved quickly to get it. My brother was silently putting the last few dishes away when I entered the room. I grabbed my phone and answered it quickly.
“Dr. Mills,” I answered hoping I didn’t miss my call. I’d been waiting for a call for weeks now, and I was hoping this was it.
“Dr. Mills, glad I caught you, I finally found some time to make this call. I’m Dr. Andrew Strauss, the head of Cardiology for Baytown University Medical Center.”
“Yes sir.” Because hell that’s what you say to a man like Dr. Andrew Strauss. He’s one of the top surgeons in my field throughout the country, behind my mentor.
“Ben contacted me a few nights ago. Said one of his top students was leaving him and needed a place to finish his fellowship in my city.”
“Yes, sir. Would you be able to assist in helping me find something?” I asked, hoping he would say yes. Cardiology is a tough science to get into and very competitive. It’s all about who you know, and I was thankful to know some really important people.
“Well, son, I would need to formally meet you and discuss some things. However, based off of Ben, some of the case studies you worked on, and your level of work, I think I can help indeed.”
“Sir, that’s good news,” I smiled. “Whenever you’re available, I would be happy to meet with you.”
“Well, let’s see… I have some free time in about an hour, then I have to scrub up to do an angioplasty for a friend of mine. Why don’t you come down so we can talk? Afterwards, you can scrub up with me.”
My eyes grew as if Magic Johnson just asked me to play a pickup game with him. This was a huge honor.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be happy to.”
“Fine. Here is where you need to go and when you get to the nurses’ station, just tell them you’re here for me.” I wrote down the address Dr Strauss read off to me, hoping this would be the start of a chapter in my life.
“Yes, sir. Thank you for the time and opportunity,” I replied, then hung up and smiled.
“What’s that all about?” I turned to find my brother frowning looking at me.
I clapped my hands. “That, my brother, is karma. I reached out to my mentor on finding me a job here in Dallas.”
“You what?”
I nodded. “Yes, and he’s come through for me with one of the top surgeons in my field. And to top it off, Dr. Strauss just asked me to scrub up with him for a routine surgery that he typically doesn’t do.” I shook my head. “Shit, I need to get going. See you later.” I walked back into my room quickly to get dressed.
Lock
He made sure the coast was clear before he took out his phone, found the number he wanted and hit the call button.
It rang a few times before she answered.
“Hello,” her voice breathed.
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said into the phone, keeping his eyes on the back bedroom door.
“Hold on a second.” He heard her muffled sounds, then she came back. “Okay, what’s going on? Is he still seeing her?”
“Yes, and you better get here sooner rather than later.”
“Why?”
“You’re losing him. He’s looking to find a job here.”
“What?! Can’t you do something?!”
“What the fuck do you want me to do?” Realizing his voice was elevated, he lowered it quickly and repeated, “What do you think I can do?”
“I don’t know. You’re the police. Can’t you arrest her or something? She was on drugs before; plant some on her. Show him she’s not good for him. At least until I get there.”
Lock closed his eyes. He should’ve never opened Pandora’s Box. “Look, I will not plant anything on anyone.”
He heard laughter in his ear. “Oh, please, like you haven’t done it before.”
Lock could feel his patience fleeting. “Lady, I’m about two seconds from hanging up on you after you kiss my fucking ass.”
“Okay, okay! Sorry. Sheesh... Braddock said you were some tough guy and here you are really in your feelings right now. Look can you do something? You said she’s into something. Follow her. See what she’s up to. At least until I can get there, then I can take care of everything on my own.”
Lock sighed deeply. If he wanted his brother free of Ayana, he had to make sacrifices and this was one of them. “Okay, I’ll do what I can from my end, but you get your ass up here, and fast.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it.”
Chapter 6 – Ayana
The sound of her nose cracking along my knee vibrated through me, but I didn’t feel remorse. This bitch deserved everything I was giving her. I grabbed her by her hair, spun, then grabbed her underneath her chin and twisted her over my back so she would land on the ground hard. She was barely moving and I resisted the urge to stomp her face.
The things I saw this girl do to other young girls the last two days sickened me. She was ruthless, she was cruel and it was completely unnecessary. Everyone here could see she had an abundance of talent. She could fight, and her skills were so much better than her opponents were. But she took it to the extreme. She could have brought these girls down quickly with a knockout or put them to sleep. Instead, she tortured them, dragged their beating on for no reason. Was she trying to make a point? I don’t know… but I know I’m definitely making a point right now.
She tried to get up, and my fist flew right to her chin, knocking her back down and out. I saw her chest moving, so I know I didn’t kill her, but I knew she was hurt pretty bad. I breathed deeply trying to calm myself down. I was keyed up. I looked around at the crowd and seeing them with their fists in the air chanting my name made my stomach churn. But it was my own fault. I lost control. The fury that I felt deep in me threatened to take over.
I saw Ramone off in the corner, and I hoped he was making progress with this case. I was getting tired of doing this. I got them where they needed to be, and he promised me that we would only do a few fights. A few fights turned into six, two a night once a week. I’m currently undefeated, and so far, the fights I’d won weren’t too difficult to do. As I mentioned, I was trained very well, so maybe these girls were good or, hell, maybe even great. Nevertheless, there’s only a few of us that seem to be the best fighters here, and I just knocked down one of us, so that left two.
Ramone came over to me smiling. “Girl, you were unbelievable.”
I nodded, and as I turned my head, I saw the man that nearly killed Noelle. I turned back and looked at Ramone. “That’s him.”
“Huh?”
“You idiot, that’s the guy that hurt Noelle and killed that other girl.” His eyes followed my sight, and he watched the big man walk around the makeshift ring. There were a couple of muscle type guys behind him, then a tall, thin Latin man with a white linen pants and sky blue shirt walked behind with two women on his arm.
“That must be Santos,” I said.
“Shhh… keep your fucking voice down,” he chided.
I looked at him closely and saw that beads of sweat had formed on his top lip. This guy was nervous. I mean, I was nervous too considering, but he shouldn’t be. He’s a fed for Christ sake.
“Ramone,” I called to him.
He didn’t look at me. Instead, he eyed the man in the linen outfit until he sat down. I noticed one of the guys that Ramone was speaking with earlier lean into the drug lord and as he talked the man’s eyes fell on me.
Shit!
I couldn’t move under his scrutiny. He looked me up and down, then a sleazy grin came on his face. I shivered and turned my eyes from him. “Please tell me this is my last fight. This has been one fight too many. I’m getting nervous someone is going to find out what’s going on.”
“No one’s going to find out. Calm down.” He looked down at me. “You just do what you’re told. We are almost at the fini
sh line.”
I looked deep into his eyes, and I didn’t like what I saw. I’ve seen it before in my brother’s eyes a lot. It was greed. He licked his lips and tried to act normal, but I could see his eyes travel back to Santos. Something is going on here that’s not right. I can feel it. I think I’m going to have to make my own way out and fast.
“Rocket…” I heard someone call, and I looked in that direction. The person that Ramone was speaking to earlier was looking in our direction.
Ramone nodded, and I looked up at him. Rocket? Really? I told you I hated this motherfucker, right?
“I’ll be back,” he said to me.
“Yeah, well I’m gone.”
He suddenly gripped my arm tight and moved me close to him. My eyes were wide from surprise and fear. It was something about that look in his eyes.
“Listen to me; you will stay right here, do you understand?”
Shit, he is pissed. I just nodded my reply. He let me go and stepped back. “Good, I’ll be right back.” He fixed his tie, straightened his jacket and plastered a huge smile on his face as he walked toward Santos and his men.
As I watched him interact with Santos, laughing and busting it up like they were the best of buddies, I realized first I needed to find a better place for Noelle, then I needed to figure a way to get a hold of Martins. I don’t think this is a sting operation anymore. This felt more as if… my life was in danger.
Ramone finally headed my way and again I felt Santos’ eyes on me. Santos was an attractive man, for a drug-dealing psychopath. He was tall and lean and seemed like he had a great body underneath his clothes. His hair was black and kept close to his head with skin that seemed like he lived in the sun twenty-four seven. On the surface, he looked like a very friendly man, but from here, I could see the danger engraved in his eyes. He wasn’t a man to be trifled with, and we were doing just that.
Ramone looked like he was in over his head. When he got to me, I could see he was sweating again over his upper lip, forehead and under his arms. I bet Santos could smell the fear drifting off him. I know I smelled something from him that definitely made my stomach churn.
