The Tower (The Tarot Series Book 1)

by Rhylee Davidson

  “Mmm, Yes.” Who is this bitch?

  “We’re not done yet. I’m going to make you cum again. Again? Are you ready to get fucked, Taylor?” Taylor? Who the fuck is…oh my god! He’s with Taylor? That bitch that’s been hanging around lately? No, it couldn’t be her.

  Tightening her grip on the phone until her fingers turn white, Kat listens even more closely. “I think I might need a minute to recover first.” It is her…that bitch! I recognize that deep throaty voice of hers. Oh, I’ll give you something to recover from bitch! Grabbing her keys off the counter, Kat heads towards the garage, opens the door, and in the right hand corner retrieves a 32-inch wood bat. I’m going over to Tony’s, draggin’ that bitch out of his bed and introducing her to my new best friend Louie…Louisville Slugger.

  Stopping long enough to look down at herself, she stomps her foot down hard, hollering, “Damn it! I’m in a camisole and panties. My mom would be so disappointed in me if I weren’t dressed properly before I left the house to go kill someone!”

  Turning around, she stalks back into the house with the phone still up to her ear. Listening intently, she hears them having sex and finally disconnects the call by slamming her phone down on the counter. The bat bounces off the tile as it slips from her hand. The sound reverberates throughout the room. Sitting at the table, she grabs the wine and starts drinking directly from the bottle. Tears fill her eyes. “What the fuck. He’s actually sleeping with someone else right now…and it’s Taylor? He said he could get laid anytime he wanted to, and with his looks, I knew it was true, but I didn’t think he’d actually do it.” Putting her head in her hands, she begins to cry. “I guess I really fucked up this time, but Taylor? Really? What’s her deal? She’s been showing up, hanging out with us, acting like she wants to be my friend…” Then, from somewhere back in her memory, it hits her, “Oh my god!” My last reading. The Queen of Swords. Madame Maddelena said, ’She will appear out of nowhere and her motives may not be pure. She is not without merit, but breaking through her armor may prove to be impossible. Thanks to the Tower, she will disrupt your life, and based on the influence of The Moon and The Two of Swords reversed, she could bring lies and disloyalty into your life. Watch out for false friendship, treachery, and misrepresentation.’ Gritting her teeth, she exclaims, “That bitch. The Queen of Swords is Taylor.”

  Needing to make things right and warn Tony, Kat picks up her phone, swallows her bruised and battered pride and dials his number. Ugh, voicemail. He must still be fucking that skank ho. “Tony, it’s Kat. We need to talk. Please call me, or better yet…just come by the house when you get this. I’ll be up all night.”

  The night passes by so slowly, Kat wants to scream. Pacing the floors, she can hear the seconds tick by and watches the time change minute by minute on the clock. This is fucking torture. Maybe I should go outside and watch the grass grow. Time might pass more quickly. Every time she hears a car go by, she runs to the front window and peeks through the slats in the blinds to see if it’s Tony. Where is he? Between running to the window, checking her voicemail and her text messages, she wears herself out. As the sun comes up, she still hasn’t heard from him so she passes out on the couch from emotional exhaustion.

  Morning

  Tony awakens, hung over, as daylight streams through his bedroom windows. He tries opening his eyes several times and is greeted deservedly with the painful pounding in his head. Holy fuck! It feels like someone is using a jackhammer in there. Cautiously, he turns his head and becomes aware that he is in his own room, lying on his bed, still fully dressed in the clothes he had on the night before. Using his right arm for protection from the sunlight, he places it over his now tightly closed eyes. Shit, how the hell did I get here? As torturous as it is, he gets up, slowly making his way to the window and peers outside. Sitting in the driveway is his Mustang. Thankfully, from what he can tell, it’s still in one piece. Damn, I don’t even remember driving home. Pulling the blinds shut, he makes his way to the bathroom, runs the water for a shower, and strips out of his clothes.

  Standing under the cool water, Tony places a hand on the tile wall, using it as support while the water cascades over his body. His eyes feel hot and bloody. Closing them, he sees spots beneath his lids. “How much did I have to drink last night?” Thinking back, he remembers dancing with that hot little foreign number, Gia. “Last thing I remember, I was about to get lucky with Gia. We were kissing, no wait, it wasn’t Gia I was kissing, it was a blonde with violet eyes. Taylor? Aw shit, I think I fucked Taylor on the hood of my car behind the club. From what I recall, it was pretty good too, so why do feel like she left pissed?” Kat…I took Kat’s hand to walk her to her car…“Kat? Oh freakin’ great, I was so wasted I called Taylor, Kat.” Smooth move, Ex-Lax!

  Feeling, at best, halfway human, Tony finishes his shower and heads downstairs. Grabbing his cell phone off the kitchen table, he notices he has a voicemail message. It came in during the night and it’s from Kat. She’d like to see him. Walking over to the refrigerator, he pulls out the OJ and drinks it straight from the container.

  “Aw! Come on! I wanted some of that.”

  Removing the carton from his lips, he holds it out to Bre. “Don’t worry, I saved ya some.”

  “That’s just gross! I don’t want it now that you drank from the carton.”

  Managing a smile, he winks at his sister and says, “Fine, I’ll finish it.”

  Tossing a bottle of Aleve at him, Bre croaks, “Here, take a few of these with the rest of that. I’m sure you’re hurting this morning.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” Taking the pain reliever, Tony grabs a slice of toast off the table, gobbles it down, and decides to head over to Katrina’s to find out what is so urgent. Looking around he asks, “Have you seen my keys?”

  “Yes, they’re in my purse.” Pulling them out of the main compartment, she tosses them at him…“Heads up!” Sluggish and hung over, his reflexes are slow and he misses. The keys hit the floor.

  “What are you doing with my car keys?” he asks, while slowly bending over to pick them up. The motion triggers the pounding in his head again.

  “Wow, you really were out of it last night. You don’t remember calling me? Telling me you couldn’t drive and didn’t want to leave your car at the bar. Asking me if I’d come pick you up?”

  “No, not really.”

  “I took a cab out to the club and drove you home. You were dozing off in the front seat of your car when I got there.”

  “Well at least I wasn’t stupid enough to try to drive home. I don’t remember calling you, Bre. I was wondering how I got here. Thanks, sis.”

  “Yeah, just don’t make it a habit. What the hell caused you to get so stinking drunk anyway? That’s not like you at all, Tony.”

  “It’s a long story and I really don’t want to go into it. I’m heading out for a while. Kat called and wants to talk to me about something. I’ll catch you later.”

  “Right…later. Tell Kat hi for me,” Bre says as Tony strolls out the door.

  Pulling into Kat’s driveway, Tony turns off his car and heads to the front door. He knocks. Waits. No Answer. He knocks again. Still no answer. Using his key, he unlocks the door and lets himself inside. Walking through the house, he stops, and there, curled up on the couch is Katrina, fast asleep. He stares down at her. Even with no makeup and mussed up hair, he can’t take his eyes off her. God, you’re so beautiful. I could watch you sleep all day. But I’m still pissed at you. Deciding not to wake her, he takes the seat across from her. Max appears, wagging his tail, and happily greets him.

  After about ten minutes pass by, Katrina stirs and opens her eyes. To her surprise, sitting across from her is Tony, with his head propped up in his right hand as he watches her. Sitting straight up and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she nervously whispers, “Hi.” He nods in reply. “How long have you been here?”

  “Not long,” he responds in a curt tone.

  “Oh.”

  “I recei
ved the message you left. It sounded important, so I’m here. What’s up?”

  Taking a moment to center herself, Katrina inhales a deep breath and then slowly exhales it. “Well, first of all, I’d like to say I’m sorry. About yesterday, you were right. What I did while you were here waiting for me was just plain stupid, wrong. I was insensitive and I didn’t mean to hurt you. Then, wanting to sleep with you after just having been with…well you know, Gage,” she says, red faced and embarrassed. Plucking a piece of string from her t-shirt, she nervously begins wrapping it around her index finger. She pulls it tight and it cuts off the circulation in the tip of her finger. She unravels it and starts the process all over again. Lifting her eyes from what she’s doing, she begs, “Please Tony, say something.”

  “Is that what was so urgent? Why you called me in the middle of the night and, according to your message, waited up all night to tell me?”

  Expecting him to at least accept her apology, Katrina’s eyes flash first with hurt, then anger. Overtired from waiting up all night for him, she is unable to hold her tongue.

  “No, that’s not what I called you about. I called to warn you. But now I don’t know if I should. I mean, I just poured my heart out to you and all you have to say is, ‘was that what was so urgent?’”

  Standing up, Tony shrugs and coldly states, “Yes, that’s all I have to say. So don’t warn me about whatever it is. I’m leaving.”

  Tony takes a step toward the door and Kat cries out, “Wait!”

  Turning, he stares down at her, expressionless. “Wait, what?”

  “Fine, okay. I’ll tell you. I called to warn you about Taylor,” she spits out, sarcastically.

  Startled at the mention of Taylor’s name, he raises an eyebrow asking, “What about her?”

  “She’s not what she seems. She’s the Queen of Swords.”

  Tony stares at her like she’s gone crazy. “The what?”

  “You know, the reading your aunt did for me after dinner at your mom’s. The Queen of Swords… the bitch that comes out of nowhere bringing lies, disloyalty, deceit!”

  “Really? There seems to be a lot of that going around lately.”

  Angry and hurt Kat, blurts out, “You bastard! What is that supposed to mean? I never lied to you. I never pretended to be someone or something I’m not.”

  “Bastard, am I? Whatever you say, Kat. Are we done here?”

  Incensed, Kat screams at him, “No, we are most certainly not done here. I’m trying to warn you about her, but you don’t want to listen, you just want to act like a jerk, even after I apologized to you. You’re pretty judgmental for someone who did the same thing I did.”

  “Oh, really? This should be interesting. And what, pray tell, did I do? Did I stay out all night, bound by some asshole, and then willingly fuck him repeatedly? Did I fuck that same person just a few feet away from where someone who was worried for my safety awaited my arrival? No I don’t think so!”

  “No, you prick. You just fucked Taylor while I was on the phone, listening to you! Why didn’t you just record it instead and send me the video?” Tables turned!

  “What? How do you know about that? What do you mean on the phone?”

  “Oh, you mean you didn’t know you called me? Bullshit! The call came in from your cell phone, Tony. I heard the whole thing. I heard her voice and yours. I could hear you eating her nasty, stank, snatch. Then I heard you fucking her and all her fake throaty-ass porn moaning.” Throwing the phone at his head, Kat screams, “Here asshole, listen for yourself.”

  Tony ducks just in time for the phone to miss his head instead of wearing an impression of it. “Christ sakes Kat. Don’t go throwing shit at me!”

  “Too bad I missed! Did you fuck her to get even with me for Gage?”

  Eyes wide and clearly angry, he shouts back, “Yes, maybe I did fuck her to get even. I was pissed at you. Still am pissed at you. I went out and got drunk with the intention of getting laid. I didn’t plan on it being Taylor, it just happened that way. She was there and wanted it, so I gave it to her! How does it feel, Katrina? Starting to understand what I’ve been going through? How I felt, knowing that you’re with him when you’re not in my bed? Yeah, sucks doesn’t it?”

  “So you did this to make sure I would know how you feel? How low can you get? Calling me so I can hear the two of you fucking? Is that your game? To make me jealous?”

  “I did not call you! I may be a bastard as you say, but I’m not sick. Don’t confuse me with Gage. That sounds like something he would do, not me. I don’t know how you got called. Look, I was totally wasted. Barely remember last night. I could have hit something on the screen when I took the phone out of my pocket. Hell, I don’t know, but it was not intentional.”

  “Oh and I’m just supposed to believe that?”

  Furious, Tony advances on her, grabs her shoulders, and lightly shakes her. “Yes, you’re supposed to believe that. You’re supposed to believe me! I am not Gage, Katrina Jameson. I do not play those kind of games.”

  Opening her mouth to fire back, the words die on her lips with his kiss. The tension builds, running high between them and igniting before either of them can stop it. Their bodies clash in an embrace and their mouths feverishly meet, roughly tasting and taking. Angry and excited, Kat grabs his tongue between her teeth and bites down on it. Tony responds by nipping her lower lip, grabbing her ass, and pressing her roughly against his growing hardness. She moans out, rubbing herself against him.

  Still angry at one another, they savagely tear at each other’s clothes, frantically working to remove them. In a heady voice Kat pants, “I want you!”

  “Well, I’m still pissed off at you, Kat!”

  “Good, because I’m pissed at you, too.”

  “Okay, just so that’s clear darlin’, this is not makeup sex.”

  “Hell no, it’s not. It’s…it’s angry sex.”

  “I can handle that.” Ready to oblige, Tony pulls her into his arms and lays her down on the floor of the living room.

  “No, I want to be on top.”

  Roughly flipping her over so she is on top of him, he tersely barks out, “You’re on top, now ride!”

  Taking the shaft of his penis into her hand, she positions it under her so she can slide down on it…

  Her cell phone begins to ring. “What the…”

  “Don’t answer that,” Tony demands.

  The ringing stops and then starts immediately again. Pulling away and dousing the flames between them, she explains, “I have to. That’s my mom’s ring tone. She would not risk calling me if there wasn’t something wrong.” Tony nods his head in agreement as Kat stands and reaches for her phone.

  “Mom? What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Her mother’s tear-filled voice echoes through the phone. “Katrina, I’m leaving your father.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “What? Mom, are you okay?”

  Sniffling, she replies, “Yes, yes darling. I will be fine.”

  “What did he do this time, Mom? It must be pretty bad because you’ve never left him before.”

  “No Katrina, but I should have. I stayed with him way too long. Honestly, it is not any worse than anything else he has done. He’s cheating on me again.”

  “Oh, Mom. Again? What does that mean? He’s done this before? I never knew.”

  “Of course you never knew. I didn’t want you to know, to let that scar you. Dealing with those types of adult issues — cheating, divorce — as a child, it fundamentally changes who you are, who you become as an adult. I never wanted that for you Katrina, so I stayed. I’ve been putting up with his catting around off and on throughout our marriage and this time, I’ve had enough. I’ve stayed with him over the years through affair after affair because of you, because I’ve always loved him, and because it would damage his political career if the press ever got wind of his little indiscretions, and trust me they will start digging the second they find out we are separated. On top of his con
stant belligerence and control issues, now I find out he’s sleeping with his new intern. I’m just finished putting up with his bullshit. I’ve decided life is too short to live it miserable. I hope you’ll understand.”

  “Oh Mom, I’m so sorry, and of course I understand. He’s my father and even I had to get away from him. Is there anything I can do? Why don’t you get away from everything up there and come stay with me a while?”

  “Thank you, sweetheart, but no. I’m much easier to track than you are. If I came to you, your father would immediately know where you are. He’d just drag you back here. Besides, I’ve already found an attorney and I’m in the process of filing for divorce. The second your dad gets served the papers, the proverbial shit is going to hit the proverbial fan. You know your father; he’ll be out for blood, which means things are about to get extremely messy around here. I don’t want you involved in that in any way.”

  “I understand, Mom. Where will you stay?”

  “If you don’t mind Katrina, for a short while, I’d like to stay at your apartment. I’ve contacted my realtor and she’s working on finding me a residence at the Ritz Carlton Central Park. She’s checking on penthouses for me. I’ve already filled out the paperwork and necessary applications, now I just have to wait for the right availability. Sally assures me it won’t take long.”

  “Of course, Mom. My home is your home, you know that. Why don’t you just keep my place for now? I mean I know it’s not the Ritz, but it’s there and it’s vacant. Eventually, I’m going to have to decide what to do with the place anyway.”

  “You’ve got time for that Katrina. Don’t make any rash decisions. Now is not a good time to sell. Wait for the real estate market to come back first. I appreciate the offer to stay there long term, but it’s time for me to make a new home for myself to go along with my new life once this divorce is over, so a few months at most should do it.”

  “All right Mom, you let me know if there’s anything you need. And please, pick up a prepaid cell phone and keep in touch with me with that. As long as you don’t give out the number to anyone else, Dad won’t get his hands on it.”