by Zane
I spotted Jason’s secretary, Allison, standing on the steps and rushed up to her. “What happened? Where are they taking Jason?” She glared at me, gritting her teeth, and crossed her arms in front on her. “Why are you ignoring me? Where the hell are they taking my husband?”
“You know, you have a good man and don’t know how to treat him.” She rolled her eyes at me before continuing. “The rest of us spend our entire lives trying to find a good man. It’s women like you that ruin it for the rest of us.”
I wanted to slap the shit out of her but just got up in her face instead. “Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about, nor do I give a shit. I asked you a question, and I would like a fuckin’ answer. Now, what the hell happened here?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you what happened. When you called earlier, and I told you Jason had someone in his office, that someone was your lover.” My mouth fell open. She sucked her teeth and added, “You’re such a tramp!”
I went ballistic, grabbed her by the shoulders, and started shaking her. “What lover? What the hell are you talking about?”
My immediate thought was that Quinton had changed his mind and broken his word to me about not telling Jason. I figured he told him out of anger or to protect him from my evil ways. It was apparent at the loft he felt more sorry for Jason than for me. I realized my mistake when Allison pointed to the other squad car that was still parked out front with the lights on. Tyson was seated in the back with handcuffs on.
I left Allison standing there along with other members of the staff, including one of Jason’s partners, who was shaking his head in disgust at me, and walked slowly over to the police car, wondering how the hell Tyson knew where to find Jason in the first place. Then I recalled the creaking exit door at the beginning of my confrontation with Quinton and realized he must’ve heard Quinton talking about Jason, including the location of his office.
Tyson confronting my husband was the last thing I ever expected. I shuddered to think what he must’ve told him and the crass manner in which he did it. How embarrassing it must’ve been to Jason to be accosted in his own place of business and told what a sex fiend his wife really was.
Before I could get all the way to the car, a police officer grabbed me by the arm, instructing me to stand back. I informed him my husband had been taken away in the other car and asked where he was taken and why.
The officer informed me that Jason and Tyson had gotten into a physical altercation, and while no charges would probably be filed against Jason, since he was provoked into fighting at his own office, they had to take them both down to the station to get the mess sorted out.
“Officer, I can explain this whole thing. It’s all my fault. My husband had nothing to do with it.”
“Well, then, you definitely need to come down to the precinct and give a statement. Here’s the address to the station. I’ll put my name on the card as well.” He scribbled his name on the little white generic card, on the blank line provided, and handed it to me. “Do you need a lift?”
I considered his offer, but only for a second. There was no way I was getting in the same car with Tyson, even if I was in the front and he was behind a barrier and handcuffed in the backseat. He had already tried to kill me and had apparently tried to kill my husband too. Getting in the car with him could only mean another ugly situation. “No thanks, officer. I have another way to get there.”
“Okay, ma’am.” He got into the driver’s seat, and while he was pulling off, I stared at Tyson, who had a look in his eyes that could melt ice. His lips were trembling, and while not a professional lip reader, I recognized the all-too-familiar nickname for me when he mouthed, “Bitch!”
I kept a key to Jason’s Land Rover on my ring, so I ran to the garage and found it parked in his assigned space. When I got to the precinct, it was pure madness. Those citizens who chose to cross the blue line of the law—from pimps and prostitutes to drunk drivers and drug dealers—and the ones paid to represent them were everywhere. They were all there. It was the one place Jason didn’t belong.
The officer that gave me the card wasn’t even there, having been sent back out on his beat. The female officer behind the booking desk told me to have a seat and wait for a senior officer to come and get me. I complied, even though I didn’t want to. I wanted Jason out of jail right that second, but causing a scene and bumrushing the woman behind the desk would’ve only landed my ass in jail too. Then again, I was the one who really belonged there. I was the seedy element.
After about fifty minutes of pure hell, not knowing where my baby was, a man in a pair of gray slacks, white shirt, and paisley tie approached me with a shield hanging out of his shirt pocket. “Mrs. Reynard, I’m Detective Rinaldi. Please follow me.”
He didn’t shake my hand or anything. He just stood there while I gathered my belongings so I could follow him to a small, cramped room at the end of one of the several cluttered hallways. He was a big man; the floor seemed to shake underneath his feet as he walked. He was having trouble breathing, and it wouldn’t have taken more than an educated guess to realize a heart attack was lurking in his near future.
Once we were in the room with the door closed, he asked, “Mrs. Reynard, I understand you think you can clear up the whole situation with your husband?”
“Yes, I can!” Twenty times a day, various people asked me would I like something to drink, and I always replied no. The one time I really was suffering from an extremely dry mouth, no one asked. I suppose making drink runs wasn’t in the detective’s job description. He was obviously a man on a mission, all about getting to the bottom of whatever dilemma faced him in the quickest manner possible. I decided not to waste his time.
I quickly related the whole sordid story—at least the part of it involving my extramarital affair with Tyson and the ultimate breakup. I told him Tyson couldn’t deal with being dismissed from my life and decided to seek revenge by telling my husband. I conveniently omitted the attempted murder by strangulation and my other affairs. Things were complicated enough without bringing all of that into it. I knew that would only escalate matters and possibly hold up Jason’s release.
Detective Rinaldi turned out to be a very nice man after all. He won brownie points for being one of the few people not to call me a bitch, ho, or tramp that day. He just calmly listened to what I had to say and informed me, “These types of situations happen every day.”
That shouldn’t have surprised me, considering all of the people who appear on talk shows fighting over their lovers, but his nonchalant approach took me off guard just the same. Scandalous affairs, dishonesty, violence, and things like that are supposed to happen to other people. Not to Jason and me.
“Wait here, Mrs. Reynard.” With that, he left me in the room all alone for about ten minutes. It felt more like ten hours to me.
He came back in with a grin on his face. “Your husband will be released without any charges. His story matches yours, and in this country, self-defense isn’t a crime.”
I jumped up from the table and took his stubby hand, shaking it viciously whether he wanted to shake hands with me or not. “Thanks so much, Detective Rinaldi. I really appreciate this.”
On my way out of the room, I hesitated. It shouldn’t have mattered to me, but I had to find out. “Detective, what about Tyson? Will he be released too?”
He smirked, probably wondering why I gave a damn, since I claimed the affair was over. “Now that’s a different matter. Mr. Chase violated his parole so the PO assigned to his jacket will have to deal with him.”
In all that time, I never knew Tyson’s last name. That made me feel even more like a whore. Jeopardizing my marriage for a man I knew on a first-name basis only. What Dusty blurted out earlier ran through my mind. Gurlfriend had been telling the truth. “On parole for what?”
“I’m not supposed to divulge that information. Sorry.”
“Please!”
“Sorry, no can do.” He was ready to get rid of me and move
on to the next case awaiting his attention. “You can have a seat out in the waiting area. He’ll be coming out that way from the holding cell in a few moments.”
“Thanks again, detective!” He didn’t respond, so I closed the door and made my way back out near the booking area. The worst challenge of the horrid day was still in front of me. I only hoped I could make Jason see the light.
My optimism quickly faded the moment I saw Jason’s face. I had known and loved the man all my life and had never seen him look so hurt, angry, and disappointed. He glanced at me, and when I headed toward him, he rapidly brushed past me, almost knocking me on my ass right there in the middle of the station. I followed him outside and caught up to him at the bottom of the station steps.
“Jason!” He just kept walking, headed in the opposite direction from the Rover, since he didn’t know where it was parked anyway. He didn’t care where he was headed. He just wanted to get the hell away from me. I was right on his heels. “Jason, you’ve got to talk to me!”
He stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and glared at me. “Zoe, I don’t have to do shit but stay black, pay taxes, and die! I don’t have shit to say to you right now!”
He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t walk away from me either. I took that as my cue to try to explain. Even though he claimed he didn’t want to talk, I knew him like a book. He wanted me to make sense out of it to him, or at the very least make a sincere attempt. “I was going to tell you, Jason. I tried to tell you a thousand times, and after talking to Dr. Spencer today, I was on my way to tell you. I swear!”
He rolled his eyes and started walking around me like he was examining a piece of furniture. “Do you honestly expect me to believe you were going to tell me?”
He was right! There was no reason on earth he should believe me. I tried to touch his arm, but he pulled away from me. “Baby, can we please just go someplace quiet and talk? I asked Momma to stay late with the kids. I told her we were going to dinner and a movie.”
“You lied to your mother?” Then as an afterthought, he added, “I guess you’re an expert at lying though, aren’t you?”
I could’ve denied it, but the lies were going to stop. Lying had done enough damage. “Yes, I’m an expert. Jason, I’m very sick, Boo.”
“You’ve got that right! That’s the one thing we can agree on, and who the fuck is Dr. Spencer?”
We were making some headway. We were having a conversation without raising our voices and I felt maybe there was a chance for us yet. “Dr. Marcella Spencer.”
“What’s wrong with you? What kind of doctor?”
“A therapist. The one I was telling you about. The one I met a while back.” I diverted my eyes to the ground because I couldn’t look him in the eyes and continue. “She’s been counseling me about my addiction to sex.”
“What?” So much for not yelling. “Sexual addiction? What the fuck?”
The poor baby was trying so hard to have some faith in me. He had loved me just as long as I had loved him, and I could tell he was trying to grasp on to whatever might be left. “The whole thing with Tyson was nothing. He means nothing to me. You’re the only man I have ever loved, and you’re the only man I will ever love. It’s just that—”
“Just that what?” I stood there trying to figure out a way to tell him I sought things from others he would never give to me sexually. “Just that what, Zoe?”
I couldn’t do it! I would have given anything for Marcella Spencer to be there. I would have given anything for my mother to be there. I would have given anything for Brina to be there. Anybody willing to hold me and tell me it would be all right.
“Jason, I love you, and you love me, and we’ll work this out. I promise!”
“Zoe, are you even hearing the shit you’re saying? That man barged into my office and told me you’ve been fucking him for months. What am I supposed to say now? Oh gee, it’s no big deal?”
Jason sounded so sarcastic, his words cut through my heart like a knife. “Not at all. It’s a big deal. It’s a very big deal, and I understand that. All I’m saying is don’t make a final decision to throw away everything we’ve built together until you hear me out.”
“YOU THREW IT AWAY!!!!!!!” For a second, I thought he was going to hit me. “You threw our marriage and our life away for a piece of dick! Not me!”
“That’s not the way it happened, Jason.”
“I’ve loved you all my life, Zoe. I’ve tried to give you everything you ever wanted, everything you ever asked for. I have never, ever cheated on you. I’ve never even thought about it. Not once! Then you turn around and do this shit to me!”
“I know, Jason!”
“Do you have any idea how many women have tried to sleep with me? I have women trying to throw pussy at me every damn day, and I never cheated on you, because you were my life!”
“I’m still your life, and you’re mine! Don’t you see that? I just need to fix what’s wrong with me, and we can go back to the way things were!”
He shook his head. “You don’t even realize what you’ve done. You don’t realize the damage you’ve caused. We have three kids, Zoe. Three beautiful kids. Did they ever once cross your mind when you were out in the streets acting like a whore?”
“All the time, baby. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt them. I never meant to hurt anyone, but I couldn’t control it.”
People were walking past us in both directions the entire-time but we were lost in our own little world. “Jason, please. Let’s go someplace where we can be alone and talk.”
“I’m not sure I want to be alone with you! I’m not sure I want to be anywhere near you period!”
“Don’t say that, Jason! Please don’t do this to me!” I tried to touch him again.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch me!” I started crying after managing to keep my tears under control up until that point. “I never loved them, Jason! Never! They meant nothing to me!”
“They? They?” I started backing away from him. I’d messed up big-time and I knew it. “What the fuck do you mean by they?”
“I can explain, Jason. Dr. Spencer will help me explain it to you. Let’s go see her, and she can help us get over this.”
“You’re nothing but a tramp, a bitch, and a whore just like that mutha fucka said! Pure evil!”
“Please don’t say that, Jason!”
He looked at me with pure disgust. “Why not? It’s all true, Zoe! It’s all true! You’re nothing but a manipulative, cheatin’, bitch-ass whore! That’s what you are, and that’s all you’re ever going to be!”
“Let’s go home, Boo. Let’s go home and play with our kids and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk about this in the morning when we both calm down.”
“Hell no, I’m not going home with you! I’m not lying down with you! In fact, I’m going home alone, and if you try to show up there, I’ll make sure you regret it!”
“You’re not being rational. We have to go home at some point. What will my mother think if you go home without me?”
“She’s going to think the truth, because I’m going to fuckin’ tell her! I’m going to tell her all about her baby girl, and how she’s nothing but a lyin’ whore!”
He started walking away from me, and when I tried to grab his shirt, he swung around and hit me in the face. I fell on the ground but was determined to hang onto him. I grabbed hold of his pants leg but he kept walking, dragging me along the concrete until I couldn’t hang on anymore.
“JASON, NOOO!!!!! I can’t live in a world without you!”
He looked down at me, and I will never forget his words. “That’s unfortunate, because as of this very moment, you’re dead to me! Fuckin’ dead! In fact, why don’t you do everyone involved a favor and just fuckin’ die!”
I got up from the concrete. He walked farther and farther away from me, and I realized he was right. I did deserve to die for what I did to him. “You want me to die, Jason?”
It was d
ark out, and the rush hour was over, so the speed of traffic had gotten back to normal. I repeated myself because I wanted him to see what I was about to do. I wanted him to see how much I truly loved him, how much he meant to me, and how my life meant nothing without him. “You want me to die, Jason?” He turned around and stared at me. “This one’s for you, Boo!”
With that, I walked out into the middle of traffic and waited. Cars starting slamming on their brakes. All I could see were blinding headlights. I heard Jason scream, “NOOOOO!” and saw him running toward me as fast as he could. He did love me! He did care! I was about to run into his arms when I saw the lights fast approaching out of the corner of my eye. The guy in the floral delivery van tried to stop and turned the wheel, but the truck skidded toward me sideways. I took one last look at Jason, who was less than five yards away and closing. I felt the impact, and then there was darkness.
chapter
twenty-six
The dripping sound from my IV was the first thing I heard when I woke up. My eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lighting in the ceiling of my hospital room. At first I thought I was paralyzed, because I couldn’t move my neck, but it moved a bit during my second attempt. I realized that it was just really stiff.
“Don’t try to move, Zoe. I’ll go get the doctor on call.” I recognized Marcella Spencer’s voice right off the bat, even though I couldn’t adjust my neck to see her. I heard her heels clicking against the floor when she rushed out into the hallway to find someone to check me out.
Before I knew it, I was getting poked and prodded all over my body. The nurse took my temperature and blood pressure while the doctor, who had to be the resident on call because he looked like a teenager, examined me with his stethoscope and checked my ears, nose, and eyes. When he got to my mouth, it was so dry and brittle I could barely open it. “Mrs. Reynard, that’s okay. I’ll check your throat later. We’ve been feeding you intravenously for the past week, so a dry mouth is perfectly normal.”
