Real Love 4 (If Loving You is Wrong)

by H. H. Fowler

  “My God,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe how sick you are to show up here, after I’ve repeatedly told you I want nothing to do with you. How low will you stoop, Levi? My husband is in the house!” Sasha squeezed one side of her head, her wrath continuing to pour out like torrents of water. “How did you even know where I live? Did you follow me from school or stick a tracking device under my car? I can’t seem to get rid of you!”

  Levi wanted to laugh, but he squelched it so as not to infuriate Sasha more than she already was. He took in the fire of her eyes and how flushed her cheeks got when she was upset. Somehow, with all that built up passion, it didn’t take away from the graceful beauty he’d known since she was a little girl. If anything, she was even more beautiful with her dark brown hair pulled up into a messy bun. But Levi had had his share of getting his heart torn. Lucky for him, with Drake coming to his rescue, he need not say a word to defend his ego.

  “Sasha, why all the noise?”

  “Can you believe this man?” she fired, moving closer to her husband’s side. “He continues to make trouble for us, even after you have warned him to stay away. He won’t even tell me how he knew where we lived.”

  Drake turned his wife to face him. “Darling,” he said gently, “I gave Levi the directions.”

  “Directions? What are you talking about?”

  “I wasn’t sure what time you were going to be home with the car,” Drake tried to explain. “Hunter wasn’t here and with no other means to get around, I –”

  “You called Levi? There’s always means to get around.” Sasha whirled around and pinned Levi with a venomous look before turning back to her husband. “You could have called a taxi, or caught the bus, or even called me and I would have come and picked you up, but you called him? What’s the matter with you?”

  “Sasha,” Drake tried, “please try and calm down.”

  “I will not calm down. You hate Levi –”

  “I do not hate Levi…”

  “Well, you certainly had me fooled. Because you know quite well what Levi is capable of…he almost destroyed our marriage with his lies, in case you forgot!”

  “Get a hold of yourself, Sasha!” Drake rebounded, putting some authority behind his tone. “Why are you making such a big deal over the situation? Don’t you trust me to know what I’m doing?”

  “Let’s not go there.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Drake, really? You want to have this argument in front of Levi?”

  Sasha pushed past her husband until she was in the foyer, walking hurriedly toward the side entrance to the guesthouse. Right then and there, Drake decided that he would see his mother another day. Sasha needed him and he had no desire to be with anyone else at that moment.

  “Sorry I wasted your time, man,” he said to Levi. “My wife needs me.”

  “You don’t have to explain…I was gonna tell you to stay with her anyway. Call me if you need anything, man. I’m here for you…Love you, bruh.”

  The men connected with a firm handshake – an automatic reaction for them both. Levi reversed down the driveway with a smile on his face. He was not smiling because of escaping the drama that had just taken place with Sasha, but because it seemed as if he’d found a friend in Drake once again. He would be stupid to let anything jeopardize it, especially when he could use a friend right about now. Waiting in line at a traffic light, he took out his cell phone and typed:

  “Yasmine, I wish you would answer me, because right now I’m not sure if I should be concerned for you or angry with you. Just tell me: Are you in trouble, or is it that you simply don’t want to talk to me anymore? If it is the latter, I want you to know how cruel it is of you to treat me with such disdain, to abandon me in a time when I need you the most.”

  Chapter Nine

  Devin’s Cay Police Station

  “Albert, I still can’t seem to reach the witness,” Mitchell said into the phone.

  “The last time I checked,” Albert said, “she was fine, sir.”

  “What time did you check?” Mitchell spat. “Because I’ve been calling her consistently for two days and for some reason, she won’t answer any of my calls.”

  “Sir, Ms. Strummer is a stubborn woman. She’s complaining about the pregnancy and how it’s making her sick…she doesn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment.”

  “But for two entire days? That’s strange…very strange.” Mitchell was not satisfied with Albert’s response and it showed up heavily in his tone. “Do me a favor, but be sure to stay on the line. Walk over to her apartment and tell her that it is very urgent that I speak with her. There have been some changes in the case.”

  “Anything I should be made aware of, sir?”

  “I’m handling it, Albert. Please get the witness on the phone.”

  Mitchell thought it was strange for Albert to ask such a question, but he brushed if off as Albert showing concern. Moreover, Mitchell was too distracted by the distorted noises in the background anyway to pay any real attention to Albert’s motives. A female voice spoke into the phone, a nervous timbre that seemed to be Yasmine’s, but Mitchell couldn’t be sure.

  “Is this Ms. Strummer?”

  “What do you want, officer?”

  You did not confirm your identity. “I have consistently been trying to make contact with you.”

  “I was busy...and sick with this bastard’s baby.”

  “So Albert keeps telling me…are you really okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Because Yasmine was normally a babbler, Yasmine’s curt answers were raising a heap of suspicion in Mitchell’s mind. Could it really be the pregnancy like she claimed, Mitchell wondered, that had Yasmine acting so out of character, or was an abnormal plot going on behind his back? Mitchell did not like when he received confusing signals about a situation, because nine times out of ten, his hunches turned out to be right.

  “I just want to bring you up to speed about the case,” Mitchell told Yasmine. “We have several suspects in custody we believe are responsible for starting that fire at the church.”

  “So?”

  “So…it’s possible the prosecution will be able to force the judge’s hand to enforce Dewey’s original court date and not have to wait an extra three months. That’s if we get one of the suspects to turn crown’s evidence on Dewey.”

  “Well, goodie for you,” Yasmine said flatly. “You don’t need me as a witness anymore. And besides, whatever persuaded you to think that Dewey’s accomplices are going to turn against him? Those fools are loyal to the grave. Are you even sure you have arrested the right men, because the last time I spoke to you, you hadn’t a clue where to look for your next lead?”

  “You see, that’s the thing with an investigation, Ms. Strummer, it can be highly unpredictable. Some days you come up empty, and other days your net is full. And that is why, Ms. Strummer, you can never say that we don’t need you, because you may just be right that we have arrested the wrong men. Furthermore, I thought you would have been excited to know that your stay in Florida can be cut short.”

  “Why the heck would I want to come back to Devin’s Cay?” Yasmine snapped. “I have nothing left to come back to. If it was left up to me, I would get lost in Florida and never go back to that dreadful island.”

  Why would you use the word ‘lost’? Are you trying to tell me something, Ms. Strummer? “Is that what you really want?” Mitchell asked.

  “Of course, let’s make it official…” A deep sigh erupted through Yasmine’s mouth. “And if that is all you have to say to me, I would really like to go back to my bed and rest. This disgusting creature inside of me is continuously making me sick.”

  “Of course, Ms. Strummer. I will only call if there is a pressing matter. Please put Albert back on the phone.”

  “What?” Yasmine appeared confused. “Albert’s not here.”

  “Then how’d you get his phone?”

  “Well…” Yasmine soun
ded as if she was grasping for words. “I meant to say that Albert is not here now…he said he’s coming back.”

  “That’s not like him,” Mitchell said. “Well, have him call me as soon as he does.”

  “That’s if I don’t fall asleep by then.”

  By now, Mitchell was thoroughly convinced that something was off with Yasmine, because the Yasmine he knew would have been relieved to know that Dewey might possibly be convicted and sent to prison much sooner than all of them had anticipated. However, she seemed lackadaisical, caring not to be bothered with the details of Dewey’s case, when it was just over a week ago Yasmine was terrified that Dewey had been released on a cash bond. And for Albert to leave his cell phone unattended in a witness’ hand; that was both unprofessional and against the rules. Something definitely was amiss and Mitchell planned on getting to the bottom of it.

  “Sir,” Mitchell said into the phone to his superior. “I will be flying to Tampa, Florida first thing in the morning and I will need to carry a skilled team along with me.”

  “Explain…”

  Mitchell relayed his hunches and his questions about Albert. His superior was not one that needed a lot of convincing. With Mitchell being one of his top investigators, he had great confidence in him. The assignment was approved without much of a hassle.

  “You and your team will need help,” Mitchell’s superior said. “I will connect with the law enforcement agents over there and advise them of your mission.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  ****

  The gunman lowered the pistol from Yasmine’s head, putting it in his lap. They were sitting side by side in the back seat of the rental car, parked on the side of the road, about ninety miles from the Daytona Abortion Clinic. He had Albert’s phone, but Albert was nowhere to be seen. He was somewhere hiding until Yasmine was shoved back into the trunk. However, it was all part of the plan to make Yasmine feel as if the gunman was acting alone.

  “Because you have followed instructions so well,” the gunman said to her, “you may have given yourself a few more hours to enjoy what’s left of your pathetic life, especially the life of your new boyfriend. You know, Ronnie is real upset about you cheating on him with that bartender. Have you been making contact with him, saying stuff to him about Ronnie?”

  Yasmine shook her head like it was about to fall off.

  “Come on, sweetie pie, you don’t have to be afraid to tell me the truth. I have no intentions of killing you right now…and that’s only if you don’t make me upset.”

  “I haven’t seen or heard from Levi since coming to Tampa,” Yasmine said firmly. “And that is the God’s honest truth.”

  Every time the gunman mentioned Levi’s name, her eyes bulged with terror. Because Ronnie’s men knew that Yasmine cared more about Levi’s life than she did for hers, the gunman had threatened to have Levi killed if she hadn’t accepted that phone call from Mitchell and distracted Mitchell from what was really going on. She had to lie about Albert’s safety, when in truth Albert had been killed at her apartment in cold blood.

  “I’ve done exactly what you’ve instructed me to do,” she said to the gunman. “Even going as far as making it seem as if Albert is alive when we both know you shot him in the back. Now I expect you to keep your promise and leave Levi alone.”

  “Oh, that’s not up to me, dearie. You have to convince your daddy –”

  “He is not my daddy!”

  “You seduced the man, got pregnant with his child and now you want to disown him for a no-name bartender? No wonder Ronnie wants to smash your face in. You are a treacherous whore who doesn’t know how to keep her legs shut.” The gunman slid closer to Yasmine and rubbed the inside of one of her jean-covered thighs. “I would have taught you a lesson, if Ronnie wasn’t my boy.

  “Then again, he gave me permission to do what comes natural to me. And you know what that is? I will give you a hint. I spent eleven years in the slammer for statutory rape…” The gunman sniffed Yasmine’s neck, jabbing her flesh with his slimy tongue. “She was fourteen at the time, the same age you were back then when you first kissed your daddy on the mouth –”

  “I didn’t kiss him; he raped me and destroyed my innocence!”

  “And you loved every bloody moment of it!” The gunman suddenly forced his tongue through Yasmine’s lips. “You see, your daddy and I had a thing for young, sweet, innocent girls like yourself –”

  “Untie my hands,” Yasmine said, trying not show her distain for this dirty white man. “And I will make it worth your while.”

  The gunman grinned, a salacious glint in his eyes. “Now why would you wanna tempt a middle-aged man like myself? I’ve got a job to do… But then, you really don’t need your hands untied, do you? Your mouth is just as good.”

  “You disgust me, you good-for-nothing piece a –”

  Yasmine was slapped so hard she saw stars. The gunman grabbed the masking tape from the seat and wrapped it around Yasmine’s mouth. “Get out!” he instructed.

  They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by miles and miles of overgrown woodland. There was no one around to see or to hear her. Yasmine couldn’t help but think that this was her punishment for accusing an innocent man of rape. But there was no way she would be able to survive another hour in that dark, sweltering dungeon. The only ray of hope was secretly jammed in her jeans pocket – a secured cell phone that Mitchell had given her. But with both her hands and her feet tied, it was close to impossible that it would be any use to her, unless she found a way to cut her hands free.

  The only thing she could do at that moment was pray and pray sincerely, because it looked as if she wouldn’t make it out of this situation alive. Dying frightened her, but not being prepared to be accepted into heaven was even more terrifying. Many people didn’t believe in an afterlife. But what if there was one? It would be wise to get her house in order while the blood was still running warm in her veins.

  “Father God,” Yasmine pleaded in her mind as she was shoved back into the trunk. “Forgive me of my gross sins…”

  The way that her body fell into the truck, her tied hands were now tightly wedged near the trunk’s latch. She felt pieces of metal which appeared to be two screws of some sort, jutting out. Could it be the lever to open the trunk from the inside? She’d read in the news somewhere that since 2002, American cars were now required by law to have a trunk release inside the trunk. The gunman seemed to be driving a brand new car, so it was possible that the car was made with this feature included.

  But with her hands securely tied behind her back, Yasmine knew she would have difficulty trying to pull the lever. However, she was more determined than anything to free herself – if only long enough to call someone using the phone in her pocket. Against the jutted screws, she went to work, feverishly rubbing the masking tape, which the gunman had used to tie her hands.

  Love is a trap. When it appears, we see only its light, not its shadows.

  Paulo Coelho

  Chapter Ten

  Kevin stared at the sleek business card on his desk – the same one that woman had pushed into his pocket while he was at the jewelry showcase with Hunter several days ago. She’d told Kevin that she was now a jewelry designer, skilled in crafting masterpieces out of the shell of the conch. However, five years ago, Kevin knew her to be someone else – the mother of his dead fetus and daughter to one of the most ruthless investors in business acquisitions. And as beautiful as she was with her dark mocha complexion and flowing black hair, she was equally manipulative and certainly someone Kevin thought had been erased from his past. Someone he should have told Hunter about.

  Shiloh Bethune was synonymous with tenacity, which meant Shiloh always got what she wanted, especially with her daddy backing her ridiculous efforts. This worried Kevin immensely, because Shiloh was expecting Kevin to call her today with his decision about an ultimatum she’d made rather hard to ignore. And although Kevin had meant it when he told Hunter that he had rejected
Shiloh’s offers and had successfully warded off her sexual advances, he regretted not being entirely truthful with Hunter when he was first presented with the opportunity. Hunter hadn’t any idea that this woman had once been pregnant with his child. How could he go to Hunter now and explain something like this?

  But whether he accepted Shiloh’s ultimatum or not, Kevin knew his relationship with Hunter would be in peril. Shiloh would not take no for an answer and if it became necessary, she would try to intimidate him, like she did all the other men who’d gotten caught up in her web of deceit. However, Kevin was not one to be backed into a corner and not try to do anything about it, because this connection he had with Hunter was paramount to anything going on in his life at the moment.

  A rare inner beauty he had found in Hunter, who made Kevin feel complete in every sense of the word. He would be a fool to let such a woman slip through his fingers. So instead of picking up the phone to call Shiloh, he called Hunter and prayed that Hunter would seriously consider what he was about to suggest. The fact that Hunter sounded extremely pleased to hear his voice gave Kevin the extra boost of confidence he needed.

  “I want to ask you a question,” he said. “And I want your honest answer. This is no gimmick or string of sweet words to get you to do something you don’t wanna do.”

  “Wow, Kevin…this sounds serious.”

  “Because it is.”

  “Well, I do take you seriously, especially this connection that is brewing between us.”

  “I was hoping you would say that.”

  “You’re making my heart beat faster than it should,” Hunter said. “Just tell me what’s going on in your mind.”

  Kevin sighed, as he prepared to drop the bombshell of the century. “Do you love me enough to be my wife?”

  There was a pronounced pause as Hunter processed what Kevin was alluding to without trying to over analyze it. But that didn’t mean she was ready to answer such as question. As a matter of fact, she was as scared as hell to reveal the depth of her feelings so quickly in a relationship that had just barely gotten started two months ago.