by D. Camille
Danielle sat back on her sofa and smiled. “Incredible.”
“Girl, it took everything in me not to call you until today,” Toya told her.
“I wouldn’t have answered anyway.”
Toya laughed. “I wouldn’t have either, if it was me.”
“You’ve done it before,” Danielle reminded.
“Oh yeah,” Toya said slowly. “I remember that weekend.”
Danielle laughed and put her feet up. “Well I’m tired. I don’t even know what I would do if I had all that masculinity available every day at my disposal.”
“So everything was good?” Toya questioned.
“There is no word,” Danielle told her. “To describe how good it was.”
“Spill the tea girl,” Toya prompted. “I didn’t stop working in the middle of the day for nothing.”
Danielle smiled. “You could’ve called after you finished working.”
“Girl this is my first day back and I’m not trying to push the envelope. I can’t have them thinking I’m capable of doing that much work.”
“Okay, what do you want to know, and stay within reason, because I know you.” Danielle warned.
“Within reason? Girl bye…did that man put it on you or not?”
“Yes.”
Toya waited and when Danielle didn’t continue, she frowned. “Yes? That’s it?”
“Yes,” Danielle sighed.
“You’re so damn dramatic,” Toya complained.
“Really, I’m not.” Danielle corrected. “I’ve just never been cherished in such a way.”
Toya lifted a brow. “Cherished?”
“Oh my god Toya, that man…” Danielle shook her head. “He bathed me, rubbed me down, fed me in bed and made me lose every inhibition.” She touched her lips. “If I never saw Khalil Lewis again, I can always say that I’ve been made love to by a man.”
“Well…damn.”
“Yeah, I said that too and a few other words.” Danielle remembered with a smile.
“So where is this going?” Toya asked.
Danielle sighed. “Khalil is on his way to New York with his son’s mother.”
“Wait a minute, back that up…he’s going to New York with his baby’s momma?”
“It’s not like that, Toya. They have a situation with their son.”
Toya shook her head. “So he’s blows your mind this weekend, then takes off with another woman?”
“Toya, calm down, it’s not like that.” Danielle repeated. “He has to find out what this woman’s fiancé wants with his child.”
“And you’re cool with this?” Toya questioned.
“Yes, it’s way too soon for me to be tripping. Plus, if Khalil wanted another woman, he wouldn’t have to go to New York, there are plenty right here in Detroit.”
“But they have history, D. They share a son, so she knows how he gets down,” Toya offered.
Danielle shook her head. “Their relationship is almost contentious at this point.”
“Unfulfilled passion?” Toya asked.
“Stop, I’m not worried about Khalil and Melody.”
Toya sighed. “I don’t want you to get hurt Danielle.”
“I’m a big girl, T.” Danielle responded. “Khalil has no reason to lie to me and if during this trip something rekindles between him and his ex, then it was meant to be, but I’m going to trust him until he shows or tells me otherwise.”
“I hear you. I don’t think he’s that type, but you never know. I don’t want you to get blindsided because you’re obviously getting deep with him,” Toya explained.
“Deeper than I’ve ever been.” Danielle agreed.
“So what’s up with the baby momma?” Toya asked. “Do we need to get the Vaseline?”
Danielle shook her head. “You do know that I’m a judge, right? I’m just on vacation for a month.”
“Well, I’m not.” Toya told her. “So if it needs to go down...”
Laughing, Danielle said, “My ride or die.”
“Your Day One,” Toya told her. “I’ll take a chick out in a minute for you.”
“Let’s leave that in reserve,” Danielle told her. “I can’t have my best friend taking out my man’s baby momma. That’s not good publicity for any of us.”
Toya agreed. “So, Mr. Negus fed you in bed?”
“Yes, breakfast.” Danielle confirmed. “He made me frozen waffles and hot chocolate because he really can’t cook, and it was delicious.”
“You were still reeling from the “D” because there is nowhere in the world where frozen waffles and hot chocolate are delicious.”
Danielle laughed. “See, this is why I don’t like to tell you nothing.” She paused. “And yeah, I was totally reeling from the “D”. He could’ve come in the room with a cup of milk in a bowl and I would have licked it like a cat.”
Toya shouted. “I can’t!”
“I’m not lying…” Danielle confessed.
“When is he supposed to get back from this little excursion?” Toya questioned.
“I don’t know. He said he’d call me later and let me know what’s going on.”
Toya nodded. “And how was the family gathering yesterday?”
“His son is so adorable. Khalil has done such a good job with him.”
“Does he like you?”
Danielle smiled. “Khalil says that Kyros told him that I was nice and pretty.”
“Well there you go, what more could little man want?” Toya teased.
“The two kids get along so well.” Danielle shared. “Kam loves playing with Kyros.”
“And you love playing with his Daddy.”
Danielle rubbed her neck. “Yes, I do.”
“You’ll have lots of help with the baby,” Toya commented.
She sat up. “What baby?”
“Come on Danielle, we talked about this.”
“Please don’t start that Toya, Kim was over here saying the same thing.” Danielle protested.
Toya sighed. “D., you’d better start thinking about it. You’re not in that place anymore.”
Danielle lowered her head. “I can’t get my hopes up like that then disappoint both of us.”
“How does he feel about it?” Toya asked.
“We haven’t discussed that because I told him it was impossible.”
“So, you’re still using protection?”
Danielle frowned. “There’s no need. His sister makes sure he’s tested and you know I have my regular checkups, so I’m good.”
“Okay Danielle, I know how stubborn you are.” Toya backed off and glanced at her calendar. “We’ll talk about it again around Thanksgiving.”
“What’s happening at Thanksgiving?” Danielle asked confused.
Toya laughed. “You’ll see with your hardheaded ass.”
******
Khalil, Melody, Corvus and Malachi landed at JFK and picked up a rental car. Corvus sat in the back with Melody while Malachi drove and Khalil filled the passenger’s seat. He and Malachi thought it best to separate the two in order to avoid another scene like the one on the plane.
Khalil readily agreed, as he wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in Melody’s presence. Her mouth and ideals really made him wonder what he’d ever really seen in her. Khayla had warned him repeatedly that Melody was going to hurt him, but he hadn’t listened.
He was a different man now and although Melody was still a beautiful woman, the only emotion she stirred in him was contention at this point. She was still the selfish, self-absorbed, looking for the next meal ticket woman, who’d walked out his life and his son’s.
“You have the key Melody?” Khalil asked.
“Yes, Spencer gave me a key to his place and although I don’t feel right letting you look through his things, I’m doing this to find out the truth for myself,” she answered.
Khalil looked out of the window. “Thank you Melody. My son is important to me as well.”
Corvus looked at th
e woman next to him. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she loved to bait Khalil, when she’d been the one to leave him. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was still harboring some feelings for the man, which could definitely mean trouble down the line.
Khalil was just starting a new relationship with the fine judge and he seemed a little more mellow, which for Khalil it was kind of hard to really tell for sure, but he didn’t want his friend to mess up something good over something bad. He made up his mind to keep a close eye on Melody while on this short trip, because he wasn’t so sure that she wasn’t harboring some ulterior motives.
After a quiet ride, they arrived at the destination. The house sat almost in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but land. There had been an overnight snowfall and all you could see was a home surrounded by whiteness.
Khalil looked back at Melody. “This is where he lives?”
Melody nodded. “He likes his privacy.”
All four exited the car, dressed in coats and boots. Trudging through the pile of snow, they reached the front door. From the look of it, no one had been to the home recently. Melody keyed in the code then produced the key and opened the door letting them all in.
“Take your boots off. Spencer is very particular about the hardwood floors.”
Khalil kept walking into the home. “I’m not his guest.”
“Corvus, stay with her while Malachi and I look around,” Khalil instructed.
Corvus nodded. “Yeah, I had planned to.”
Still in their boots, Khalil and Malachi headed up the large stairway while Corvus turned to Melody.
“Don’t let this handsome face fool you,” he warned.
She removed her boots, then shook off her fur coat and took a seat on the sofa with a frown.
Upstairs, Malachi and Khalil each had their weapons ready as they walked down a hall. Peeking in rooms, they stopped when they reached a what appeared to be a child’s room decorated in a Spiderman theme, complete with a full wall mural. Khalil walked inside and looked around. Inside the closet were clothes that would all fit Kyros perfectly. His eyes narrowed as he walked over to the drawers that were filled with boy’s T-shirts and underwear. Next to the bed was a picture frame. Khalil picked it up and saw a recent picture of his son.
He walked back to the stairs. “Melody! Get your ass up here!”
A minute later, she appeared with Corvus behind her. “What did you find?” she asked as she entered the room and froze.
“Why is Kyros’ picture in this room?”
Melody looked around the room in awe. “This wasn’t here when we left. This room was a guest room,” she said quietly.
Khalil headed towards her and Malachi stepped in his way while Corvus moved in front of Melody.
“So this room is recently done?” Malachi asked.
“He didn’t tell me he was doing this.”
“There’s a closet full of damn clothes!” Khalil yelled. “What the fuck are you doing? You were trying to bring my son here?”
Melody shook at his tone. “I don’t know what’s going on Khalil!” she yelled back.
Malachi turned to the angry father. “Look, let’s just see what else we can find. Yelling at her isn’t going to help right now.”
Khalil nodded after a minute, still reeling from the shock and fear of his son being in this place. Melody began to cry and Corvus patted her shoulder as Khalil and Malachi exited the room. In the next room, they found men’s underwear in the drawers. Malachi moved to the closet and saw men’s clothes hanging inside.
He noticed something off and moved further inside the walk-in closet to investigate.
Malachi looked around then stopped and shook his head. “Khalil, I think we’ve got a problem.”
“What?” Khalil asked joining him in the closet.
Malachi pushed on the wall and the two men stood looking into the child’s room where Corvus and Melody stood.
Corvus looked surprised. “What the hell is that?”
Melody stood. “Where did that come from?”
Khalil tried to calm himself before he crossed the room and strangled her to death.
“It’s a hidden passage from the bedroom next door into this room, through the closet.” Malachi explained. “The mural hides the opening from this side,” he said examining the wall.
“Why would that be there?” Melody asked confused.
Khalil headed towards her. “Because you’re marrying a fucking pedophile!”
Melody’s hand flew to her mouth as Corvus grabbed Khalil. “What? What are you talking about?”
Khalil broke free then turned and walked out of the room before he actually murdered his child’s mother. Inside the other bedroom, he sat on the bed and lowered his head into his hands. He felt sick to his stomach and put a hand to his mouth. The mere thought of a man touching his son, sent him to a place he rarely visited…for everyone’s safety.
Corvus joined him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m about to lose it Corvus,” he told him honestly.
“We’re going to get his ass,” Corvus said firmly.
Khalil shook head. “My son, my baby…” he trailed off as his voice cracked. “This motherfucker!”
He looked at Corvus with water in his eyes. “Where is her ass at?”
“She’s with Malachi. He’s asking her some questions,” Corvus told him. “Look Khalil, just stay away from her right now. She’s just going to make you do something that you don’t need to do.”
“Let’s see what else we can find,” Khalil said standing to his feet. “Because when I kill her stupid ass, I need all the evidence possible, to get me off on all charges.”
“We need to call Brandon,” Corvus said getting out his phone.
Khalil walked out of the room and continued to look around on his own. He went downstairs and found what looked like an office. Inside he checked the desk. The drawers were locked and he reached on the desk to retrieve a stainless steel letter opener.
Quickly, he broke the lock and began opening drawers. In the bottom was a laptop which he sat on top of the desk as he continued to rifle through the paperwork.
Corvus entered the room on the phone. “He broke into a desk and he’s going through the papers.”
Khalil remained at his task while Corvus spoke to Brandon.
“Brandon says that nothing you find will stand up in court because you’re technically Breaking and Entering right now.”
“Shut up.” Khalil told him and continued to search. He picked up a piece of stationery with an acronym printed on the top. There weren’t any words, only letters. Folding the paper, he put it in his pocket and continued to search.
“Yo, Brandon, uh, I think you’re going to have to get Rion to call him.” Corvus said into the phone.
“Leave him alone, Corvus.” Brandon said. “This is his son. Nothing is going to stop him and I don’t blame him. If this dude was planning to hurt Kyros, he deserves everything that Khalil is going to do to him. We just have to keep him out of jail.”
“I’ll call Malachi and make sure he cleans the scene so nothing can be traced back to all of you. The X-factor will be Melody, because she’s an eyewitness to one crime but she could also be considered an accomplice to another, so we have to be careful with her,” Brandon instructed.
Corvus sighed. “I’ll check in later.” He hung up and watched Khalil as he lifted the laptop from the desk.
Khalil looked down at the large calendar on the month of April. There was a large red heart on April 25th. He ripped the calendar from the desk and took it with him along with the computer.
“Let’s go,” he told Corvus as he walked out of the room.
Khalil called for Malachi and the man appeared with a fearful Melody behind him. “I’ve got what we need.” Khalil held up the laptop.
Malachi nodded and came down the stairs. “Good job.” He looked at Melody, who’d slowly followed. “What are we doing with her?”
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Her eyes widened as she looked at the three men.
“I don’t care.” Khalil walked out of the door leaving it open to the cold wind that blew inside.
Corvus looked at Melody as Malachi went to clear any evidence from the office. “Uh, yeah. You’re going to need to come with us.”
“Where are we going?” she asked warily.
“You have two choices, Khalil can kill you or you can work with us to get Spencer,” Corvus relayed.
She shook her head. “I had no idea about this; I swear to you.” She began to cry. “I wouldn’t let him do that to Kyros. I wouldn’t let him do that to any child.”
“So I’m assuming that you don’t want Khalil to kill you.”
“I will do whatever you need me to do.”
Corvus nodded as Malachi returned. “That’s a good decision,” Corvus told Melody.
The two men waited while Melody put on her boots and coat. She locked the door and looked around at the secluded estate with fresh eyes. Inside the car, she climbed in the back while Khalil sat rigid in the front seat.
“Khalil,” she called his name softly.
“Do not speak to me Melody,” he said slowly.
She sniffed. “I didn’t know.”
Khalil closed his eyes. “You should have known, before you involved my son.”
Chapter 13
On the flight back to Detroit, Melody was now positioned between Corvus and Malachi with Khalil across the aisle seated alone. His profile was set in stone as he stared straight ahead. The short flight gave him time to compose himself before he got back home to his family. The news he had to share with them would be as devastating to them as it was for him.
Khalil couldn’t wait to get to his son, to hold him in his arms and confirm that he was safe from harm. He’d never thought something like this would hit this close to home. Of course, he was aware of children being molested and harmed, but for his son to almost become a victim was too much to bear right now.
The drive to the airport had been mostly in silence. Khalil had begun formulating a plan in his head. Spencer Tynesdale was his number one priority and seeing him pay was his mission. How many others had been his victims? How many boy’s lives had he ruined then hid behind his money and status?
