Playing with Fire ~
Loyalty Demolished
by
Charlee Renea
Playing with Fire
by
Charlee Renea
© 2015 by Alana’s Book Line
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means–electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise–without written permission from the publisher (A&A).
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Designed by Brittani Williams
Edited by Gloria Palmer
Acknowledgements
First off, thank you Lord for blessing me with a gift that I've been wanting to share for awhile now. I truly appreciate it! My major in high school was creative writing and when I was in middle school, I told myself I'm write a novel one day ! Never give up on your dreams and be patient!
Thank you Alana's Book line for giving me a chance and working with me to get my work published. I started off reading the Salty series and told myself, I'm go after my passion! It's only right to have a career that makes you happy a nd what you can see yourself doing every day.
Thank you to my family and friends that has supported me along the way. We're in a world full of greed and hate so, a loyal supportive team is hard to come by!
Most importantly, thank you readers for giving my work a chance and supporting! I truly appreciate the love and your feed back is important to me. So please leave a review-good or bad so I can fix the mistakes. I hope you enjoy the twist and turns and the characters. Remember, you can do whatever your heart desires!
Playing with Fire ~
Loyalty Demolished
. . . 1
The lights were dimmed and candles were lit everywhere inside the bedroom. Ray lay on his back in the king-size canopy bed naked as Bella straddled his waist bare and kissing on his chest. She rose up, grabbed the glass bowl of cherries off the nightstand, and started feeding them to him. She badly wanted him to choke on them for deceiving her for the ten years of their relationship. She faked the smile planted across her face thinking she had a better plan for him.
“You like that, baby?” she asked sexily.
“Yes, baby.”
She placed the bowl back on the nightstand and started playing with his nipples. Her sharp fingernails purposely scratched him, but she acted as if it was an accident.
“My bad,” she said when he looked up at her.
“Watch them damn nails, girl!”
“Sorry,” her smile was faint. Trying her best to calm the fury inside of her. Bella took a minute to look up at Ray. “I love you. You know that, right?” she asked meaning every word of it. She did love Ray, but his lies and betrayal couldn’t go unpunished.
“I love you, too, Bella. Yes, I know you love me.”
“I want to make everything perfect between us and I can’t wait until we get married.” Now she was lying.
“Me either, baby.” He licked his lips. He admired her beauty, liking how she’d changed her hair color to honey blonde with some black mixed in. He pulled her down to kiss her soft lips. She thought back to how his gentle touches were what had gotten her hooked to him from the start as their tongues played in each other’s mouth. She was still beautiful to him even though she was a crazy Italian mixed with African American. She rose up for a breather and to get ready for her mission.
“Let me go wash up.”
She climbed out the bed and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She turned the cold water on and threw some on her face.
‘Bella, you're too beautiful for this bullshit!’ she thought.
She was tired of playing these games with him, acting as if she didn’t know he was involved with her. He’d played with her heart too long and now it was time for her to get her revenge! She planned to hurt him and her for life, for demolishing their loyalty.
She grabbed the nine from under the sink that she’d placed there earlier. After she killed Ray, her next target would be her—her so-called business partner who had been trafficking her drugs while she was in prison locked up for nine-and-a-half years.
She headed back to the bedroom with the gun pointed at the man she loved, a slight tear escaped her right eye. Her heart ached, within the next second she would be ending Ray’s life. She had to do it, there was no way she could allow him to get away with what he did. He fucked over her and for that he would have to die.
Dressed in her lace bra set, Bella watched Ray lay in their bed. His eyes was closed. She cleared her throat. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see her pointing a gun at him.
“Bella.” He was all he was able to get out before she pulled the trigger…
POW! POW! POW!
Shots were being fired as Ray flew off the bed, landing on the floor to prevent getting hit. He jumped on the side of the bed and rolled under it. His heart raced a mile a minute. He could even feel the sweat that began to pour from his forehead. This bitch is crazy, she is trying to kill me, he thought…
Bella rushed to the side of the bed, aiming her gun towards the floor. When she didn’t see him, she bent down to look under the bed and he kicked her in the face. She fell back, hitting her head on the floor. He hurried from under the bed and grabbed her gun lying on the floor.
Bella looked up at him.
She smiled through tears. Even while hating him she still loved him and couldn’t deny how attracted she was to the man that hurt her. She could understand how Chyna or any woman would fall head over heels for Ray, but he was supposed to be hers.
Bella recently found some naked pictures of Chyna-his lover, and her ex business partner in Ray’s phone. She’d had a funny feeling they were messing around, but she didn’t have any proof. Until one night while Ray was asleep, she’d gone through his phone and found the pictures. She knew she was wrong for going through his personal stuff, but she had questions that needed to be answered truthfully—like, were they messing around?
He was sexy to her, pointing her gun at her. She gave him seductive eyes and licked her lips. She got on her knees and played with her breasts.
“Do it! Pull the trigger!” she said sexily.
“Bitch, YOU’RE CRAZY! You aren’t in your right mind!”
“I’d rather be dead if I can’t have you! So pull the fucking trigger!”
Ray hesitated and thought, ‘She isn’t worth spending the rest of my life in prison!’ He had a family depending on him.
“Naw, girl, I can’t do this bullshit! But you aren’t getting the gun back!” He started back walking slowly towards the door.
“You’re a real pussy! I thought you were a man, but you fooled me!” She got up off her knees with a red face, tired of playing his games. “How could you fuck that bitch when you have me? Huh? She’s broke!”
Ray, a confused look on his face, stopped in his tracks. He wondered who she was referring to. “What? What are you talking about?"
“Don’t play dumb, Ray! I know you’re fucking her!”
She rushed towards him, firing another gun at him. He missed how she’d gotten hold to a gun that fast. She pulled the gun from behind her that was tucked in her panties. He covered his face with his arms in an attempt to protect himself from the bullets. All he felt was light taps; then they turned into aggressive hitting.
~ ~
“Sir! Sir! Sir!” the tall, skinny, cocoa-complexioned flight attendant said. She shook Ray in attempt to wake him up. When he finally woke up, he was drenched in sweat. He realized where he was and that he’d had an
other bad dream. Lately, he’d been having dreams about Bella trying to kill him. He hoped she wasn’t planning anything harmful, and he knew eventually he’d have to tell her he didn’t want to marry her or be with her. He thought about the situation he was in with her. He felt like he was drowning in twelve feet of water.
Isabella, better known as Bella, had served time in prison for trafficking cocaine. She and Ray had met months prior to her going to prison. They had gotten close while she was locked up to the point he’d started hustling to pay her lawyer fees, but Ray needed more than just phone calls and letters. He met a woman named Chyna who he’d convinced Bella she was helping make money by selling cocaine to help with the lawyer fees. Bella assumed something wasn’t right about that picture so she’d taken matters in her own hands!
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to fall into a deep sleep,” he said, looking around the plane. Besides the other flight attendant, he was the only passenger left on the plane.
“No problem, sir. We just didn’t want to fly you to New York!”
“Thanks; I appreciate that!” He got up and grabbed his bag from overhead.
~ ~
Southwest flight 142 arrived in Cyril E. King Airport at eleven a.m. in St. Thomas. Ray only had a carry-on as he departed the plane. Chyna wasn’t aware he was coming and they hadn’t seen each other since she’d left Kansas City eight months ago. They’d kept in contact and he knew it was time to see her. The relationship between him and Bella was going good; that was why he hadn’t been in a rush to visit Chyna. He’d wanted to build a strong foundation with Bella first to make more money since Chyna couldn’t hustle due to the fact she was pregnant. He had a lot on his plate and not enough time. He was anxious to see Chyna’s baby bump and Junior. He knew he had a lot of making-up to do!
He rented a 2013 black Kia and headed to the house where they were staying. The door was open and the screen was shut when Ray pulled in front of the yellow one-story house. Beautiful flowers were planted in front. He invited himself in, ready to see Chyna’s facial expressions.
Nobody was in the tiny family room with the green sofa, old-model television sitting on a wooden TV stand, and family pictures on the peach wall. Ray came across a picture of Junior in the bed sleep when he was first born. Junior looked just like Chyna.
He headed down the hall to a small bedroom that only fit a queen-size bed and dresser. The door creaked some when he opened it, but she still lay peacefully sleep in blue cotton shorts and a sports bra. The air conditioner mounted inside the window was blowing out cold air. Ray walked over to the bed, admiring her basketball-size belly and her long, dark hair that was finally free from the weave. He started rubbing her belly. She jumped, panicked, and sat up in the bed holding her chest.
“Damn, baby, I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“BOY, I DIDN’T KNOW WHO YOU WERE! YOU WERE ABOUT TO GET PUNCHED!”
Chyna often had dreams of Tae killing her. Tae was a drug dealer from Omaha she’d been doing business with until Ray started getting jealous, especially after she admitted to having sex with him, and he’d demanded she cut all ties with him. To make sure she didn’t have sex with him anymore, Ray had made her tell him to meet her so he could rob him. Tae had been on a hunt to find Chyna and kill her, but he didn’t win the battle. He’d found her but Ray’s homie Vin had ended up pulling the trigger first. Even though she hadn’t pulled the trigger, his spirit still haunted her.
~ ~
Tae’s body lay seemingly lifeless on the ground. Chyna didn’t see any blood coming from his chest area.
“Are you sure he’s dead?” Chyna asked Vin who’d shot him.
“Yeah, my aim’s good now. Let’s roll before somebody comes!”
They ran out the warehouse and got into the car. During her flight to St. Thomas, all Chyna thought about was, was he really dead? They hadn’t checked to verify and the last thing Chyna wanted was for him to come after her.
~ ~
“Naw, we don’t need that! Come give your man a hug.” Said Ray.
She got out the bed and fell into his arms. She’d missed him and didn’t want to let go. He kissed her forehead then looked toward the bed. He was disappointed.
“Where’s Junior?”
“He’s with my mother. They went to the market to do some grocery shopping.”
“Damn, I wanted to see him and take y’all to the beach.”
He really wanted to avoid bumping into her mother because he knew she would be giving him the side-eye for getting Chyna involved in this dangerous lifestyle. Even though he was giving her money to care for Junior and paying the bills, it still wasn't enough! His absence from Junior’s life wasn’t explainable to her.
“They’ll be back shortly. I’m going to go shower.” She grabbed a yellow sundress that was hanging in the closet and some underwear out the tote. “Make yourself comfortable, babe.” She kissed him again then headed off to shower.
Ray realized the situation of them being alone in the house, not having any of her goods, and she was already pregnant! He proceeded to the bathroom; luckily, the door was cracked, so he invited himself in. Her naked body leaned over the tub, getting ready to turn on the shower. Her booty was still round and big like he like it. He remembered bending her over and pleasing her from behind. No other woman he’d sexed took his long, thick pipe like her.
The first day he’d seen her standing in line at the liquor store eight years ago, he couldn’t take his eyes off her body. Then, when they started doing business together, he knew he’d fall for her if she stayed around long enough. She was his ride-or-die chick that he’d built the strongest connection with, out of all the women he messed with. He knew Bella had sensed it, but how could she expect him to stay faithful to her while she was in prison? He knew he was a dirty dog, but all he could think about was taking care of his family!
“What’s wrong, babe? Do you have to pee?”
Ray pulled her into a hug, and started kissing her neck and palming her soft round apple bottom. Closing her eyes, she let him explore her treasures while she enjoyed the lips she’d missed and his pleasing touches. She thought back to the morning she’d rode him on the sofa, how the loving had felt so marvelous, they’d made a baby girl. It was the last time a man had touched her. She’d known Ray would come back. She hadn’t been happy about leaving him that day but she’d understood it was for the best. She knew Bella wasn’t going to be happy with the performance she’d done at the strip club and the fact that Tae had started shooting at her at the strip club. Chyna had been frying in a lot of grease and the best thing for her was to leave town. Plus, the fact that her and Ray had a child together and were messing around was a recipe for Bella to kill her!
The squeaky screen door closed, opening Chyna’s eyes. She tried to pull away from Ray’s strong grip, but he pulled her back into his arms. He started to plant more kisses until the soft-spoken woman called Chyna's name, bringing him to a halt.
“They’re back!” she said, feeling like a teenager on the edge of getting caught sneaking a boy in while her mother was gone. She redressed and they headed to the living room.
Chyna was the splitting image of her mother, Tara. Five-one, caramel, her mom was a few pounds heavier with long, jet-black hair that she kept dyed to cover up the grey. She looked good to be in her early sixties. She hadn’t let the stress overwhelm her from raising three girls and two boys by herself after their father had gone overseas for the Navy. She wasn’t informed where he would be stationed because of his job. One day she’d received a call from the Navy stating he was missing. His body was never recovered and the Navy had declared him dead, but she wouldn’t believe it until proof was presented in front of her.
Ray’s twin was in Tara’s arms when they walked into the living room. Over the years, Junior had started to look even more like Ray. Shocked at the figure standing in front of her, she looked twice to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her; she hadn�
��t believed Ray would show his face! Her insides were aflame because she believed Ray had forced Chyna into the drug cartel instead of going to college and/or working towards a career like the rest of her children. She also thought maybe Ray didn’t think Junior was his and that was the reason he was never around. He’d always claimed Junior to her knowledge, but he hadn’t signed the birth certificate. Whether Junior was a mistake or not, she cherished her grandbaby and would do anything for him.
“Hello, Mrs. Mix. How are you?" Ray already knew he wasn’t in her favor, but he was still respectful.
“Um, I’m fine, and yourself?” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Trying to do the right thing. I know I have a lot of making up to do.”
Tara rolled her eyes again in disbelief.
“Yes, mother, he does and everything is going to work out smoothly!” Chyna added.
Tara wasn’t impressed by their words. She needed proof. Chyna took Junior out of her mother’s arms.
“I’m already attending nursing programs online.”
When Chyna first got to St. Thomas, she’d enrolled in online classes to begin her nursing career. She had a lot of time on her hands since she wasn’t hustling or catering behind Ray.
Playing With Fire: Loyalty Demolished Page 1
