Surviving the Chase

by Lisa Renee Johnson

  The letter was addressed to Payton. The sender was listed as Lois Greene. The postmark date had faded, but the envelope was mailed from Los Angeles, California. Sydney opened the letter, and a picture of a woman holding a baby fluttered into her lap. She began reading.

  Dear Payton,

  Where do I begin? Mommy has been clean and sober for twelve months. I know I have caused you pain, but Mama was sick, baby. I’m coming back to Pittsburg for you, and I’m going to move you to Los Angeles with me and your new sister. Her name is Austyn, and she looks just like you did when you were a baby. I can’t wait for you to meet her. When you get this letter, give me a call at 323-555-5678. I know I left you behind, but I’m coming back to get you. I promise.

  Love,

  Lois

  Sydney was stunned. Her eyes narrowed as she read the yellowing paper again, but the words on the page stayed the same. She picked up the picture from her lap and studied the woman and the child.

  “I don’t look that bad,” Payton said, yanking the picture from Sydney’s grasp.

  She thrust the letter in Payton’s direction and watched her as she read. This didn’t make sense. The woman who’d tried to kill Donathan and her was Payton’s sister? The woman Donathan was so desperate to find was her best friend’s mother? Sydney’s mind raced like an old still movie trying to fill in the gaps. She and Payton had been friends since they met at UCLA, and she knew Payton’s mother had abandoned her, but that topic of conversation had always been off-limits.

  When Payton spoke of her family and childhood, it was always about her grandparents and her father. But she never spoke her mother’s name. This news was going to devastate her best friend, and she was glad she’d be able to support her through it. She stared at Payton, waiting for the emotions to bubble to the surface, but after several minutes, the reaction she expected never came.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Sydney said. “I can’t believe you knew this and didn’t say a word!”

  “Sydney, please don’t get upset. When I found out Austyn shared the same last name as my mother, I thought it was purely a coincidence, but after running into Donathan yesterday in Pleasanton, he confirmed for me what I had begun to suspect.”

  “This is un-fucking-believable! Donathan James? My husband? And neither of you thought you should tell me?” Sydney rose to her feet, knocking over the almost-empty glass of wine that rested beside her. “You two are a piece of work!” She made her way toward the kitchen, Payton close on her heels.

  “C’mon, Syd, it’s not like that. My suspicions weren’t confirmed until yesterday. But this picture puts the nail in the coffin. Austyn Greene really is my half sister.”

  Sydney stepped around her friend, making her way back toward the stain on the carpet with a towel and a canister of salt in hand. She kneeled down, covered the red spot with the white crystals, and waited until they turned pink.

  “Well, say something.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Sydney snapped, her eyes sharp as daggers. “That my best friend doesn’t trust me enough to share what’s going on in her life? Or that my husband is a goddamn hypocrite? What exactly do you want me to say?”

  Before Payton could respond, the sound of the front door opening and closing distracted her. A knot in her stomach tightened when she saw Tony and Donathan appear in the doorway. Tony dipped his head, avoiding eye contact with her, and Donathan looked busted. No words passed between the couples for what seemed like an eternity. Then Sydney sprang up from the floor and headed for the stairs.

  “Baby, wait,” Donathan pleaded, following after her.

  Tony closed the distance and gently caught Payton by the elbow. “C’mon, let’s give them some privacy,” he said and led her toward the kitchen. An aroused shiver trickled down the length of her spine.

  “Get your hands off me,” she said, her dark brown eyes squinting to almost slits as she came face-to-face with the man who had not returned a single one of her text messages or phone calls in the past few weeks.

  Once in the kitchen, he leaned against the granite countertop and stared at her, his face void of emotion. And just like that her nipples stiffened under the sheer blue blouse. What the hell was wrong with her? She searched his eyes, wondered if he had even thought about her, and if he did, why did she feel so fucking lonely standing less than six feet away from him? She folded her arms across her chest, then looked away.

  “Look,” he cajoled. “My life is—”

  “You couldn’t return a text message?” Payton interrupted. “One minute you’re in my bed, and the next it was like you dropped off the face of the earth. No call, no text—”

  “My mother was fucking dying! What don’t you get about that? And on the worst day of my life, I had to walk past a window seeing the woman I-I- with some dude’s hand in her mouth. So, excuse me if I’m not behaving how you want me to,” he said, his voice trailing off.

  “I thought we had an understanding.”

  “So, help me understand the parameters of the ‘understanding’,” he said, using air quotes.

  * * *

  Payton stood speechless, pushing back tears as she was confronted by her lover, a man who had promised her nothing but gave her everything. She digested why Tony was upset with her and had come to the conclusion that even though their relationship wasn’t defined, she, too, would have been furious if she saw him being hand-fed by some random bitch.

  “That shit you pulled was pretty fucked up,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “I’ve replayed it over and over again, and my conclusion is still the same. Your ass is spoiled and selfish, and you always want shit when you want it. All you had to say was you were no longer feeling our arrangement, and that would have been enough.”

  Tony crossed the room and took a seat on one of the leather bar stools. Payton followed.

  “Tony, please,” she murmured.

  “Please what, Payton?” he asked coldly.

  His words hung between them like a block of ice. What did she want from him? A monogamous relationship? She blinked rapidly at the thought.

  Stroking his arm, she carefully eased her body between his legs, but right now she was spiraling into an unfamiliar abyss. She kissed him on his jawline, traced her tongue around his earlobe, and nuzzled the crook of his neck.

  “I don’t know how to do this...” she murmured, feeling the pressure of his growing erection. Payton lifted her head and searched his face for clues.

  “Payton, now is not the time for this.”

  “Why not?” she said, sighing heavily and moving in closer, this time stealing a kiss on his lips. She could feel him growing harder against her thigh, and her hand swooped down to massage the bulge she was so fond of. His mouth was saying one thing, but his growing manhood was telling her what he wanted. He studied her a long moment, then kissed her roughly, taking control of the situation.

  Payton shivered as his tongue owned her mouth before trailing down the column of her throat, while his hands skimmed her spine, finally cupping her ass and pulling her closer to him. Payton moaned, breathless, arching her back and pushing her breasts into his face.

  He kissed her again, long and hard, and she kissed him back. When they came up for air, his eyes locked with hers, and his brooding stare cut through her like a newly sharpened knife. She held her breath, feeling exposed and naked. Tony stood, adjusted his jeans, and tried to take a step back, but Payton wrapped her hand in the hem of his shirt to keep him close. At first, he looked uncomfortable, like he was fighting a war within himself, then he stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke.

  “C’mon. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Sheldon Jones quietly dragged his bike through the deserted courtyard of the Mar Ray Motel. He thought about chaining it to the pipe outside his room, but worried that might make too much noise and decided against it. He searched for any movement of the curtains as he eased by her room, th
en it dawned on him that he knew nothing about this woman, including her name. Who the hell was she? And why was she so interested in Payton and Lois?

  By the time he reached his door, he glanced over his shoulder one last time and noticed a hooded silhouette across the courtyard, standing in the shadows.

  “Hey, I need to talk to you.”

  Sheldon turned away in a panic, jiggling the key in the lock, knocking his bike over in the process. The door opened, but he wasn’t fast enough to scramble inside his room before she placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were avoiding me.” She eyed him suspiciously and hovered close as he bent down to pick up his bike. When he stood back up, she gestured toward his open door, a clear baggie pinched between her fingers.

  “Where are your manners? Aren’t you going to invite me inside?”

  Visibly agitated, Sheldon rolled his bike inside the room and propped it next to the window. She was the reason he hadn’t been back to his room in two days. The light from his cell phone screen sitting on the table caught his attention. He reached to pick it up, but the woman yanked the cord, sending the phone flying off the table.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sheldon yelled, reaching for her as she backed away from him. “Give me that.”

  “I’ll give you the damn phone back, but first I want to know why your niece came to my room looking for you today.”

  “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you need to get the hell out of my room!”

  She reached into her pocket, pulled out another white baggie, and brandished both of them in his face. “Do you still want me to go?”

  Sheldon froze, his eyes never leaving the tiny packages of crack cocaine. He hadn’t gotten high in a few days, and he needed to feel that euphoric rush with imaginary particles floating in front of his face. He had no idea what this girl was up to, but he could feel it in his bones that it wasn’t right. Even if she was feeding him his next high, he didn’t have to tell her much. Just enough for her to give him what he wanted and leave. “What do you want?” he begged, his voice trembling with desperation.

  “That’s better. Now, I’m going to ask my question again. Are you listening?”

  Sheldon nodded, and his body went numb. His stress level was so high he thought he’d drown in it. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but how it would feel to inhale the thick white smoke into his lungs. But first, he had to convince her to give him the drugs. If that failed, he could overpower her and just take them. A trickle of snot ran from his nose, and he swiped it with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

  “Why did your niece come to my room looking for you today?”

  “Payton was here?”

  “Don’t try to play me, old man. If you don’t start talking, I’m leaving and taking my baggies with me—”

  “I don’t know why she would come to your room. I haven’t seen or talked to her since she brought me here.”

  “What did you tell her about me?”

  “Nothing,” he said, his eyes darting from the plastic baggies to his phone, which she was holding in her right hand. “I can’t talk to her without a phone.”

  “You better not be lying to me.”

  “I swear,” he pleaded.

  Sheldon glared at her, growing more impatient by the minute. He didn’t want to answer any more of her goddamn questions. He wanted to get high.

  She tossed the phone in his direction. “Check your voice mail messages.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it!”

  He placed the phone to his ear and listened.

  “There’s only one message,” he lied. There was only one voice message, but after typing in his password, he saw a text message from Payton that read: I’m on my way to Pittsburg. Be in your room. It’s important.

  “Put the call on speaker,” she demanded.

  Sheldon reluctantly did as he was told. The voice message had to be from Payton, too, because she was the only one who had the number. He held his breath and waited for Payton’s voice to amplify into the room.

  “Uncle Sheldon, I haven’t heard from you in a few days. I need to talk to you. Call me back.”

  His eyes drifted away for a moment, contemplating his next move. He wondered if the woman had more than the two packets in her pocket. Wondered what it would feel like to lock himself in the bathroom and take that first hit. She tossed two baggies in his direction and made her way to the door.

  “Pace yourself. The last thing I need for you to do is have a heart attack,” she said, closing the door behind her. Sheldon jumped up, locked the door, and engaged the safety chain. Then, leaning against the door, he slid helplessly down to the floor. He wondered what was so important, but his mind wouldn’t stay focused on Payton. Instead, he drifted back to that woman who’d just left his room. That fake blond bitch was trouble, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He reached for one of the baggies she’d tossed at him, retrieved the lighter and pipe from his pocket, and prepared to take a trip that would make him forget about everything.

  CHAPTER 29

  Najee lay in bed, too revved up to fall back to sleep. She’d been awake for hours thinking about Blue’s pool party and couldn’t wait to see her real friends, sans Samantha. She’d been looking forward to this event for the last few days, but the fact that she’d barely spoken to her best friend in almost a week was cause for anxiety. And since they were not on speaking terms, Najee knew it would be awkward spending the night at Lauren’s place, so she opted to stay at her friend Nicole’s instead. She missed Lauren, but when she saw her in person today she was going to make it clear to her that as long as she was smoking pot and hanging out with a loser like Samantha, they had nothing to talk about.

  Najee showered, got dressed, then packed her backpack with the things she needed for the sleepover. She came across a card from Dante. She had to admit that when he approached her in the café, told her he was looking for models and had the perfect job for her right away it was almost unbelievable. She remembered him saying she could make lots of cash, and now that she’d done one gig, she wanted to do more so she could buy herself a car. Her excitement dissipated. There was no way Tony would let her model or do anything else. At first, she thought the permission slip with a guardian’s signature would be a barrier for her, but Dante took the consent with her Aunt Rosemary’s name forged on it and didn’t even look at it twice. She was still mortified that she just blurted out to a perfect stranger that her mother was dead. But her epiphany didn’t seem to faze the man at all. In fact, he assured her he had lots of girls with her exact same situation and they could work something out.

  Najee tossed the card into the wastebasket and fell back onto the bed. Enough of those thoughts... Her cell phone began to ring. She looked down at the phone lying next to her. Her brother’s name flashed across the display screen. She thought about sending him to voice mail, but she decided against it and answered on the fourth ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, kid. What’s up?”

  “Nothing. Getting ready to leave for the party.”

  “Sorry, I ran a little over helping Donathan and can’t drop you off at the party like we planned. Is your friend Lauren picking you up? I still need to meet her parents.”

  Najee fell silent. He was sorry, but she was elated. When he called earlier asking if she could get a ride because something came up, she’d been trying to figure out how to tell Tony that her plans had changed. Since the blowup with Lauren on Bay Street, she was no longer sleeping over at Lauren’s house, choosing to bunk with her friend Nicole instead. But if she told Tony the truth, he’d have lots of questions she didn’t feel like answering right now. Anyway, what was the harm? He’d met both Lauren and Nicole before, but he hadn’t met Nicole’s parents either. “Najee?” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

  “I’m waiting for my ride now.”

  “Okay. Can you do me a favor?”


  “What’s that?”

  “Can you check in with me before you go to bed tonight?”

  “What? C’mon, Tony,” she whined. “I’m not a baby.”

  “Okay. Okay. Did you feed the kitten?”

  “Yes, all done. I left enough food for her until I get home tomorrow.”

  “Alright, but promise me, if you need me, no matter what time it is, you will call me.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but okay, I promise.”

  After what seemed like never-ending prying, rescue came in the form of a ping from her cell phone alerting her the ride-share service had arrived. She knelt down to pet the kitten.

  “Make sure you use the litter box,” she cooed, brushing the tiny feline’s multicolored coat.

  She slung her backpack over one shoulder, then surveyed her image one last time in the full-length mirror, making sure she was ready for the summer party of the year. She wore cutoff denim shorts over a yellow two-piece swimsuit, a fitted orange T-shirt with I Got Sunshine emblazoned across the front, and blinged-out Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars. She liked the way her sun-kissed ringlets framed her face. Before setting the alarm, she peeked out the foyer blinds to see the car waiting with the recognizable decal affixed to the window. A young black guy who reminded her of Snoop Dogg smiled at her as she slid into the back seat of the vehicle. Glued to her cell phone, Najee rode in silence as they coasted down the street.

  When they reached the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, the car paused for longer than the usual three-count beat. Najee didn’t pay it too much attention at first, then suddenly, the clicking sound of the door locks disengaged and both back doors jerked open at once. A black and Hispanic man jumped into the back seat on either side of her. They sandwiched Najee close, muscular thighs pressing hard against her legs. Startled screams reverberated through the car as Najee felt a stranger’s hand clamp over her arm. She tried to snatch her arm back, but his grip was too tight. She took a second look at the black man. He looked familiar, but before she could put two and two together, the Hispanic man grabbed her elbow. “Stop it! Get your hands off me!” she yelled, her arms and legs flailing helplessly.