Ignoring him, I went on. “I’m serious. I can’t even go to a movie without looking up the spoilers before I go. I start books only after I’ve read the last chapter. Hell, my parents haven’t given me a surprise party where I was actually surprised since I was three. And, well, that was because I was three . . . and stupid.”
Finally taking his focus off the car and to the guy he’d been in the car with for the last some-odd minutes, he looked over at me. “What are you going on about, man?”
The henchman speaks. “I want answers. Information.”
His eyebrows narrowed. “Information?”
I eyed him like he was an idiot. “Yeah. I mean, the scene has been set: creepy guy requesting to drive my car.” I gestured toward him. “Driving by the dankest areas of town in the night . . .” I said, pointing out the window. “. . . near a lake. I’m not one for thrillers, but it all seems clear. I just need you to confirm the fact, so I can wrap my head around it, then devise my next move.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t follow.”
This guy was really going to make me say it. “You’re going to kill me. You drove me out here so you could kill me, then hide my body, and maybe call my father first about a ransom. Well, I wouldn’t bother. My mom would push him to help, but he probably wouldn’t. I know my father, and he doesn’t respond well to threats.”
I actually got that trait from him . . . and my mouth. Most likely the reason for how I got myself in this predicament in the first place. “Not to mention he’s the biggest nickel dick on the planet, so if you’re trying to con money out of him by using me, you’re wasting your time.”
He stared at me for a long moment before he busted out in laughter.
He really was a sick bastard. “I don’t believe I said anything funny, and I don’t respond well to being laughed at.”
He brushed his dark fingers underneath his eyes for the tears. “Sorry for laughing, man, but you’re a trip. You actually thought I was going to kill you?”
“You’re not?”
Finally composing himself, he said, “I’m not one for thrillers either, but I don’t think the murderer would drive the victim’s car to the busiest part of town to murder him.”
Confused, I stared out the window. Driving down the street, one of Chicago’s most prestigious sections, the Magnificent Mile, came into view. The lights from buildings, shopping centers, and restaurants lit the air, and pedestrians strolled in the midst of it all.
“So you’re not going to kill me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He chuckled. “No, man. I’m taking you to see Margot. She works at a theater downtown. And why would I kill the guy who impressed the hell out of Tyrone?”
My brows shot up. “I did what?”
“You impressed Ty. What? You didn’t know?”
I shook my head.
He gave a short laugh. “You’re still breathing, aren’t you? And he gave you Margot. That’s his personal dealer, son. He was trying to do you a solid.”
I sat up, impressed by even myself. I got in with those guys, and if I got back from my drug run to Father’s event before it wrapped up, I’d win the bet with my sister. Not bad for one night of fun.
“Hey, don’t get too cocky, kid. I would still avoid Ty if going down a dark alley. But just know that if he saw you during the day in that alley you’d live to see another one.”
I guess I’d take what I could get.
Finally at ease, I sat back for the last few minutes of our ride. When we got to the theater the marquee was lit up with show lights, but no one was outside. The audience was mostly likely still inside enjoying the show judging by the hour. Most curtain calls hit a little later at the shows I’d been to.
Derrick took us around the block and pulled us into a lot behind the building where a bunch of cars were parked.
“We’ll take the cast entrance. Margot doesn’t usually do any dealings here, but Tyrone’s like family to her, so she makes exceptions. She texted that she’d leave the door open.”
Nodding, I followed him to the back door. Once inside, the raised voices from a stage performance could be heard. I recognized a few of the words and realized I’d seen the production before. This show ended with a big musical number by a single actress soon judging by the lines I heard. It was a pretty good song.
Taking me up a darkened stairwell, Derrick stopped at a door. He knocked once, and a dirty blonde with rainbow-tipped braids opened up.
Grinning brightly, she gave Derrick a hug. “Squee! Derrick, wait until you see!”
My jaw dropped open. She was the happiest drug lord—or I guessed I should have said, drug lady—I’d ever seen. Not that I’d seen any, but I didn’t expect this girl at all.
Pulling away from Derrick, she saw me. “And you must be the client.” She shook my hand.
I nodded in a daze.
“Well, come in, and step into my office. Let’s do some business.”
Derrick and I followed her inside the booth. There were laptops and soundboards on a table with a panoramic view of the stage.
“Boys, you can take your break now. I can handle things.” Margot gestured to the two guys at the table.
I pointed behind myself after they left. “Shouldn’t they be here to run things?”
She brushed off my comment. “This place pretty much runs itself with the computers. We’re not a huge theater, and I can handle it. I have before.”
I guess I’d take her word for it.
“Anyway,” she said, clapping her hands together once. “What can I interested you in, and how much of it?”
I wasn’t going to pretend like I knew what to order. This was far above speaking into a prompter at McDonalds. I glanced Derrick’s way for help.
He patted my shoulder. “Kid’s new to the game. Pretty open though, I’d say?” He looked my way for confirmation.
I nodded.
“Well, excellent. I have a few of my specialties on me, but if it’s not to your liking I can get you something else. You can’t try anything up here, though, for obvious reasons. If you want a sample, we’ll have to reconvene another day.”
“I’m sure whatever you have is fine,” I said. I was open. Derrick was right.
“Brilliant.” Margot went to the back corner of the booth, and rummaged around in a large multi-colored shoulder bag.
As I watched her a voice perked my ears, distracting me. It wasn’t just a voice, though. Someone was singing, and they were doing it beautifully.
I walked over to the panoramic view. I’d heard these words before. After all, I had seen the show, but the actress singing then wasn’t like this. And hearing this voice, I discovered the one I’d first heard didn’t do the song justice.
Taking a seat, I watched the girl. Dressed in a long, pink ball gown, she gazed at the crowd during her song. Even from far away, I could still study every element of her. Sparkling doe eyes, rich caramel skin, and chocolate-colored curls that hinted a hazel coloring with the way the spotlight shined on her. She wore a soft pink flower in her hair. The small touch complemented her well.
The words of her song wisped about the room; her voice like an angel.
“Who’s that girl?” I didn’t really know to whom I asked my question. I didn’t really care. I just wanted an answer.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you, Derrick.” Margot sat next to me. “The lead fell ill, and she got into the show.”
Derrick came up on my other side. Crossing his arms, he nodded his head. “Go ‘cus.”
I glanced up at him. “Your cousin?”
“Yep. Great, isn’t she?”
I gazed back as she ended her song. The audience cheered, then gave her a standing ovation.
“Exquisite,” I said, staring at her as she bowed. “What’s her name?”
“Lacey,” Derrick said.
A small smile formed in the corner of my mouth.
“So. . .” Margot swiveled in her chair toward me. “Che
ck out the stuff, and let me know what you think.”
She passed me a few bags. I couldn’t really listen to her descriptions with the way the song still radiated in my head. I could have been buying something that would kill me in two seconds flat, and I wouldn’t have known it.
“After we’re done here, Derrick, you should come to the cast party at my house,” Margot said.
He chuckled. “Your house? They’re letting you have it there? In the ghetto?”
She pushed his shoulder. “Whatever. But if you must know it’s not the official cast party. Only the stiffs go to that one. The cool kids come to mine.”
“Right. Can I get in even though I’m not part of the show?”
“It’s my party, and I say who goes.”
“Will Lacey be there?” I asked, trying to act nonchalant by studying the drug bags.
“Um, yeah. She usually comes,” she said. “Why?”
Apparently, I wasn’t discreet enough. “No reason. Just wondering.”
She was silent after I said that, but I didn’t dare look up for her response. “So . . .” she asked after moment. “See anything that tickles your fancy?”
“Actually, no.” I finally looked up.
She leaned back. “No? I thought you’ve never bought before. How do you even know I don’t have what you want?”
“It’s not that. I just want more of what you have. You don’t have enough of . . .” I grabbed a random bag. “This one.”
She picked up the bag. “Nice choice. You can take this tonight. I can get more, then we can reschedule for your next buy.”
“I’d kind of like it tonight,” I rushed out.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” I said, leaning back casually. “I’m having a party. Friends will want something to smoke.”
She nodded once. “Well, why don’t you come to the party with Derrick? I can hook you up.”
Chapter Four
Lacey
“You invited your buyer to the party?” I asked, sliding on my Rolling Stones tee over my black bra. The sleeves were cut off and the hemline rose just above my belly button, but with it still being summer I felt the fitted tee was suitable attire for the party.
Margot took a jean skirt out of her dresser, then pulled the material up her thighs. “I didn’t have a choice. He’s offering a pretty big buy, and he needed it tonight. I couldn’t turn down that opportunity.”
Sitting on her bed, I pulled on my tan-colored moccasins. “But we agreed to a clean party tonight.”
One thing about Margot’s parties was they could get pretty wild very fast. And tonight was about enjoying our final performance of the season with our stage friends. Not all of them were from this side of town, and the ones that weren’t, I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable.
“I know, and it will be. I promise. He’s not sampling. I stressed that.”
Shaking my head, I pulled on my silver bangles.
She plopped down on the bed. “Hey? I promised. Clean. I know how it bugs you, and I respect that.”
I could never fool Margot. She knew the clean party wasn’t just for the benefit of our friends.
She hugged me around my shoulders as I nibbled on my lip ring’s backing. “Shake out of it, girl. The star of the show needs to be the star tonight, and celebrities always keep up their appearances in front of their underlings.”
I smirked. “You know what you did was bogus to that girl.”
She grinned diabolically.
“But I’ll never be able to repay you.” I hugged her back.
“Squee! I knew you’d love it. And don’t mention it.”
I held up my finger. “But you better never do that again, especially for my benefit. Backstage help is a fine job, and I enjoy it.”
She let go of my shoulders. “Enjoyed it. And speaking of, have you found a replacement job yet?”
With the economy being the way it was, I hadn’t. Which wasn’t good since I had Mama. “I’m going to have to go on unemployment for a while, and with Mama’s disability we’ll be okay for at least a few weeks.”
“Have you considered the idea I had?”
I watched her go to her top dresser drawer. “What? The nanny job? I don’t know, Margot. I mean I’m a certified sitter and all, but I’ve never done an extensive nanny job before.”
She changed from her band tee into a long cream tunic. “Doesn’t matter. You’ve been babysitting professionally since you were fifteen, and now that you’re eighteen and out of school you can nanny for the rich bitches. I say go for it.”
“I just don’t know about the hours. I need flexibility. Mama can’t stay by herself all day.”
“Don’t you get it? If you work for the Desperate Housewives of Chicago you’ll be making enough to hire a caretaker for your mama during the day. And make enough to take care of her medical expenses.”
I didn’t consider that.
“And with all that extra you could . . . You know?” She nudged the air with her arm.
I collapsed back on her bed. “Would you stop with all that dreamer talk? It just exhausts me.”
She pulled my arms, making me stand. “You’re not talking enough for the both of us. Somebody’s got to keep our dreams alive.”
She fluffed out my long brown curls, and I straightened her blonde braids.
When we got out to the living room of her apartment the party had already started. Margot had an open house policy during the cast’s end of the season party. People just came in and had a good time. We were all family in the neighborhood. Half the time the people who came in off the street were the most fun.
“I’m going to check around for the buyer,” she said in my ear.
I nodded, and mingled around the space. Margot’s place was pretty spacious. She had one of the bigger apartments in the building. Her living room was bigger than the one at Mama’s and my place. Margot’s business allowed her a few perks.
When I came across two boys in their bagging jeans and Rocawear tees sitting on the couch, I plopped myself down between them. Not seeing who it was, they didn’t hide their liquor fast enough.
With a sigh, the underage boys handed off their beer bottles to me.
“Thanks, boys,” I said, pushing off the couch.
“Dang, Lacey. You’re no fun,” one of the pretend thugs said from behind me.
They’d thank me later; maybe not tonight, but eventually.
I deposited the bottles in Margot’s trash bin, then put my hands on my hips. Seeing some new arrivals, I decided to help Margot out by retrieving the chips and soda they brought for the party.
“Nice job tonight, Lacey.” One of the actors who played a duke in the show handed me a bag of Doritos, then kissed my cheek.
“Yeah, much better than Julie,” said the blonde actress with him as she gave me her two liter of pop.
I smiled. “I don’t know about that.”
“Modest as always. That’s why we love you. See you around.” the guy with the blonde said.
After they left me, I dropped off the food items in the kitchen. When I came back to the living room, I received more recognition and pats on the back. I guess a star’s life did have its highlights. Feeling completely overwhelmed, I decided to head up to the roof for some air. There were actually a few people up there already by the overlook of the street. Joining them, I leaned up against the brick. Eventually they left, and I was by myself. I watched the street for a while. The sounds of cars passing by occasionally met my ears as I witnessed more people entering downstairs. There was some arguing across the street that took my attention. It sounded like it was getting pretty heated. The couple lived in the building across from Margot’s, and their disagreement came from their window on the third floor as their silhouettes moved behind the curtains.
As I listened to the noise die down, I thought about other neighborhoods. Thought about if it would ever be normal to not hear those traffic noises. Those arguments.
Dreamer ta
lk. Wasted thoughts. I needed to stop listening to Margot so much. She was starting to rub off, and I didn’t have time for the backlash of those wasted thoughts.
Flicking off some red specks from the brick, I sought other ones.
“Hey, there.”
“Hey . . .” My instinctual salutation awkwardly trailed off as I watched a guy join me by the brick.
Of Asian descent, he gazed at me with a set of mahogany eyes and was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with his strong features. He was dressed in a white-collared shirt and black slacks. The unusual tightness of the outfit outlined his long, lean body. He was muscular, but not huge. Like a swimmer. I’d ask him why his outfit was so tight if I cared about the fact that it was so tight. I didn’t care, so I didn’t ask.
As those warm-colored eyes studied me standing there, he smiled. He had a smile that had to have broken more than one heart, and rather shamefully, the expression currently played with mine.
“I’m glad I found you. I was looking all over for you,” he said.
His voice was deep; sultry. Velvety smooth, the tone wrapped around his words like a blanket, and it took me a second to think about what he said.
I blinked once. “You were looking for me?” Did I know him? I doubted I’d ever forget a handsome face like his.
Running his finger along the edge of the brick overlook, he nodded. “Yeah. I saw you perform tonight. Couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“Oh really?” I played it off like his cheesy line didn’t affect me, but the leap of my heart gave me away.
“Really.” He cocked his head to the side.
“So you were an attendee of the show this evening? Didn’t think I’d seen you before.”
That would explain his dress shirt and slacks. This was common attire to attend a show in. That fact didn’t explain the tightness, though. Maybe he was just one of those guys who enjoyed wearing tight clothing because they had the body to rock it. Whatever the case, there were no complaints from me.
The Space Between Page 3
