Antonio’s eyes gazed up at the thirty foot ceiling, then roamed over the wide, spacious area of the living room. “Wow! This is some fancy beach home you have.”
She sipped at her delicious wine. “Thanks. Zeke and I designed it together. Believe it or not, your brother has some good taste.”
“The moment he told me he was marrying you, I knew he had good taste.” Antonio’s eyes raked up and down Taylor’s body. An uncomfortable feeling faltered her excitement. Silly her. Antonio was just admiring her, that’s all. “Would you like a quick tour of the home?”
“Sure.”
Taylor showed Antonio the downstairs first, including the outdoor patio, then she led him upstairs, where the majority of the bedrooms were. After showing him Jaheem’s room, she showed him Zavier’s room. As she stood in the doorway of Zavier’s room, she looked at the name ‘Evan’ she’d had drawn on the wall.
Still holding the glass of wine in her hand, Taylor glanced up at Antonio. “Zavier wants me to take down the name Evan and put his real name up. Now that it’s starting to sink in that he was kidnapped, I think he wants to forget his past.”
“I can’t blame him. What Muriel and Mildred did to him was horrible. I hope they rot in jail for what they did to my nephew.” Antonio’s throaty voice had depth.
“My purse is in my bedroom. I’ll be right back.” Taylor left Antonio inside Zavier’s room and went to grab her purse. Inside her bedroom, she strapped the purse over her shoulder and picked up her keys. Walking back down the long hallway, she sipped at her wine.
When she reached Zavier’s room, Antonio walked out, and they accidentally bumped into each other. The red wine flew from her glass and splattered his white dress shirt. “I’m so sorry, Antonio. I didn’t know you were still up here.”
Antonio’s hand brushed the red stained fabric of his collared shirt. “Yeah. I was checking out Evan’s room.”
“Zavier. He wants to be called Zavier. Would you like for me to get you one of Zeke’s shirts to wear?” she offered.
Antonio waved a hand in the air. “No, that’s okay. Is it okay if I use the restroom in Zavier’s room?”
“Sure. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Antonio headed for the bathroom inside Zavier’s room as Taylor made her way downstairs. Halfway down the staircase, she turned and headed back upstairs. I ruined his shirt with the red wine. I’m going to get him one of Zeke’s shirts to wear.
Once back inside her master suite, Taylor pulled open the drawer to Zeke’s armoire and retrieved one of his folded T-shirts. Right before Taylor exited the bedroom, her cell phone rang. She tucked the shirt beneath her armpit and grabbed the phone from her purse. It was Dr. Sauer…her OBGYN. “Hello?”
“Hello, Taylor. This is Dr. Sauer. Sorry to call you so late, but there’s something urgent I need to speak with you about,” Taylor’s OBGYN stated. She hadn’t told anyone, not even Zeke. But after she’d had lunch with Katherine the other day, she went straight to her doctor’s office. Because she was thinking about trying to conceive, Taylor had had Dr. Sauer do an extensive exam on her, including blood work.
“What is it, Dr. Sauer?” Pressing the phone to her ear, Taylor held the empty glass of wine in her free hand and started walking down the hallway towards Zavier’s room so she could give the clean shirt to Antonio.
Dr. Sauer sighed. “You may want to sit down for this.”
Taylor’s nerves jittered. Oh God, please don’t tell me I can’t have children. “What’s wrong, Dr. Sauer?”
Disliking the sound of Dr. Sauer’s voice, Taylor entered Zavier’s room to find the door to the bathroom slightly ajar. Antonio stood at the sink, washing his hands, looking in the mirror.
Unnoticing her peeping through the crack of the door, Antonio grabbed the white towel from the rack, wet it, then dabbed at the red stain on his shirt. Unable to get the stain out completely, he unbuttoned his shirt to wipe the red liquid from his chest.
Dr. Sauer said, “Unfortunately, I have some very disturbing news to share with you. The lab called and reported that they found an enormous amount of arsenic in your blood. It looks like someone is trying to poison you.”
Someone’s trying to poison me?! Taylor’s heart clenched. Her eyes snagged on the bubbly skin on Antonio’s chest with the initials ‘SM’. SM? Southern Mafia! Shock hit Taylor like a ton of bricks. Her mouth dropped. Pressing the cell to her ear, the glass slipped from her other hand and shattered on the floor.
Antonio’s eyes snapped in her direction. He quickly looked down at the permanent branding on his chest, then back up at her face. Wicked evilness darkened Antonio’s eyes as he took slow, purposeful strides towards Taylor.
Throat clogging, Taylor took a few backward steps, then took off running. “Call the police!”
“Come back here!” Antonio chased after Taylor.
Taylor ran down the hallway. “Dr., did you hear me?!” The line went dead in her ear. Terrified, she scurried down the stairs. Right when Taylor’s foot hit the last step of the staircase, Antonio fisted her hair and yanked it hard. Hands flailing, Taylor’s feet slipped from under her, and she fell flat on her back. Her cell went flying in the air.
Losing her balance, she plummeted to her back, head banged hard into the floor. Lying on her back on the stairs, Taylor’s brain throbbed. Pain stabbed her spine. Her temples ached.
Antonio pulled a gun from his waistband, raised it above her face. “Please. No. No.” Bones aching, she felt crippled.
Antonio’s face twisted with a psychotic look. “I never did like you.” The handle of the gun came crashing down on Taylor’s head. Eyes rolling, she blacked out.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“I tell you, man, Zavier’s a soldier. Got his strength from Taylor and me. Got his good looks, though, from his mother.” On the phone with Richmond, Zeke steered the Porsche into the driveway of his beach home and parked.
Richmond laughed. “I’m glad you said Zavier got his good looks from his mother, because the last time I checked, you weren’t that good looking, man,” Richmond teased.
Zeke chortled. “My wife would beg to differ with you, man.”
“Nah, I’m just teasing. Kayla had a field day shopping for Evan today. Man, she’s super excited for you and Taylor. And so am I. We can’t wait to meet Zavier and Jaheem.”
“Feel free to stop by the hospital anytime to see Zavier. He’ll love that. Let me know when you go by, and I’ll try to make sure Jaheem is there so you can meet him, too.” Zeke inserted the key in the front door, pushed it open, then closed the door behind him.
“Are you sure it’s okay if I stop by the hospital?” Richmond asked tersely.
Tired, Zeke headed toward the kitchen. “Yeah, man, I’m sure. You and Kayla are like family. Hey, I’m home now. Tell Kayla I said hi.”
“Will do, my brother.”
The two men hung up with each other. Looking forward to spending time with Taylor, Zeke was glad Veronica had come to the hospital to sit with Zavier.
Hungry beyond measure for sex and food, Zeke pulled open the refrigerator. “Taylor!” Dropping his keys on the kitchen counter, his stomach growled. Imagining Taylor’s hot sex sliding down on his hard rod, the head of his shaft rounded into a bulging knot. His shaft grew. Inched down his thigh. I can’t even think about Taylor without getting horny as hell.
Walking around with a hard on, Zeke opened the SugarKanes box on the counter to find a nicely decorated cake inside. He read the cake: Welcome Home Zavier. “Nice gesture, Sandella. Zavier is going to love this. Taylor! I’m home, baby!”
Ready to eat his wife’s pussy, Zeke’s testosterone kicked up a notch. Wondering where in the heck Taylor was, he left the kitchen and headed for the staircase. As soon as Zeke lifted his foot to ascend the staircase, he noticed Taylor’s purse along with dark blood on the step. Blood. He stooped, swirled his finger in the slick substance, then held the slippery fluid up to his nose. Jesus Christ! It was blood, all right.
“Taylor!” Heart drumming against his ribs, Zeke cantered up the staircase. Searching in and out of every room, his heart thudded harshly inside his chest. Unable to locate Taylor, he darted inside Zavier’s room. Shattered glass was on the floor. A dirty red rag was in the sink.
“Something’s wrong.” He bustled downstairs, ran through the kitchen, and yanked open the back door. Taylor’s car was still there, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found.
Panic-stricken, Zeke whipped out his cell and dialed his wife. He was sent straight to Taylor’s voicemail. Zeke ran back to the staircase, pulled open Taylor’s purse. Searching for her cell, his hands floundered around the many items inside her purse.
Just as Zeke got ready to call Chief Shelton Wallace, his cell buzzed in his sweating palm. “Hello?”
“Hello, Zeke. This is Dr. Sauer. Taylor’s OBGYN. Is Taylor with you? Do you know where she is?” Panic was in her voice.
“No. And I can’t find her anywhere.”
“Dear Lord. I called Taylor several minutes ago and told her that the lab discovered high levels of arsenic in her blood. And it looked like someone was trying to poison her. While on the phone with her, she screamed for me to call the police, then I heard a man shout to come back to him. Suddenly, the line went dead.”
Holding the phone to his ear, bile rose to the surface of Zeke’s stomach. “Ohmygod. Jesus. Did you call the police?”
“Yes. I gave the police the address Taylor has on record with our office. If it’s correct, the police should be at your home any minute now.”
Police sirens blasted through the night air. Zeke flung open the front door of his home. Red and blue flashing lights emanated from a swarm of police cars as they sped up in his driveway. “They’re here. Did Taylor tell you who was with her? Did she scream a name?” The officers jumped out of their cars. Standing behind the doors of their police vehicles, they drew their weapons and pointed them at Zeke.
Dr. Sauer said, “No. She didn’t have time. The line went dead all of a sudden.”
Zeke glared at the weapons aiming at his head. Please don’t let them shoot me. “If you think of anything else, please call me.” Holding his hands up in the air, Zeke’s cell slipped from his grip. He dropped to his knees and sobbed. Surrendering to the police like he was a criminal, he lolled his head back and bellowed. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God! My wife. Who has my wife?!”
HEAD THROBBING, Taylor forced her eyes open to find herself immersed in darkness. Thoughts swooning, vision blurry, she touched her paining head to find it slick with something wet. Blood? Where am I? Dizzy, her aching body bumped and rolled inside a cramped space.
Rocking and bouncing, horrid thoughts ran inside Taylor’s head, terrifying her. Oh, God. Antonio. Antonio took me. Remembering the branded SM initials on Antonio’s chest and Dr. Sauer saying someone had poisoned her with arsenic, Taylor smartly put two and two together.
Antonio had had her kidnapped all those years ago, and Katherine probably had orchestrated the whole thing. Katherine poisoned me. She’d just had lunch with Katherine the other day, right before she’d gone to Dr. Sauer’s office to have an exam and some extensive blood work done on her. Katherine must’ve put some poison in her food when she’d gotten up and gone to the bathroom. No wonder she felt sick every time she ate Delbert’s cooking; Katherine had been poisoning her.
“Let me go! Help! Help!” Taylor banged her fists on the roof of the trunk. The car rocked and shimmied over what felt like hard gravel. Suddenly, the car slowed. The engine halted. Slam! The door shut. He’s coming. Oh, God. Help me.
The trunk popped open, revealing Antonio’s hateful glare. Pointing a big black gun at her face, he spat, “Get out of the car!”
“Why are you doing this, Antonio?” Her voice trembled.
“I don’t owe you an explanation.” He put the cool metal of the barrel to her cheek, yanked on her arm, almost tore it off. “Last warning. Get your ass out now.”
Taylor climbed out of the trunk. Checking out her surroundings, she realized she must be at Antonio’s home. Big oaks, dirt road, tiny brown house with a small porch, Zeke had told her Antonio lived somewhere off one of the main road in the woods, in a home that used to belong to Katherine’s parents.
Antonio put a hand to Taylor’s shoulder and spun her around so she’d be facing his wooden brown house. “Move it.” Afraid, Taylor walked slowly toward the dark, secluded house shielded by dense forestry. Antonio put the gun to the lower part of her spine, gave her a hard shove, and she stumbled. Almost fell on her face.
Right when Taylor lifted her leg to mount the steps of his home, Antonio fisted the back of her shirt, shoved her sideways. Stumbling, she fell to the ground on her knees. “You’re not welcome in my home. Go to the garage.” Her eyes wandered over to the unattached garage several feet away from the home. Stalling, Taylor slowly stood.
Horrified, Taylor took slow strides toward the garage located to the side of the old, worn home. Eyes darting back and forth, trembles shook her to the core as she looked for something to strike Antonio with. Looking for a way to escape, she spotted a wire fence behind the garage. A BEWARE OF DOG sign hung on the silver gate.
Antonio gripped the rusty handle on the old garage and lifted it. The rusty chains churned as the door rolled backwards. A strong gasoline odor attacked Taylor’s nostrils upon entering the junky area. Inside, the garage tools hung on the walls on either side. In the corner sat a lawn mower. A raggedy blue Honda with a missing rear bumper and shattered back window sat parked in the center.
Evil glazed over Antonio’s eyes. “When you got pregnant with Zeke’s baby, you signed your own death certificate.”
Screw you, Antonio! “I love my son. We’ve never done anything to you or Katherine.”
Antonio let loose a nasty chuckle. “You’re no different than Zeke’s mother, Bridget. Bridget tried to take everything from my mother.” Antonio pressed the barrel of the gun to Taylor’s chest.
Petrified, she flinched. “No! Please, Antonio! Please don’t shoot me. I’m sorry, okay?”
Head tilting, Antonio put the tip of the weapon to Taylor’s forehead and trailed the cool metal down the side of her face, let the black Glock rest at the base of her throat. “Bridget had a bastard child, just like you. She tried to take everything from Katherine. Bridget wanted my mother’s husband. Her life. Her wealth.” Laughing, Antonio slapped his forehead with his free hand. “But the bitch got nothing but murdered. Katherine killed Bridget.” Taylor shuddered. Nausea burned at the base of her throat, right where the hole of the gun still pressed. “Now, I’m going to kill you.” Antonio’s voice was thick and unsteady.
Taylor felt like spitting in Antonio’s face. He’s a psychopath. “Zeke is going to find me, and when he does, you’re going to rot in jail for the rest of your life.”
Keeping the gun trained on her face, Antonio stooped. He gripped the latch by his sneaker and lifted, revealing a deep cave in the ground. “Get in,” he ordered.
Taylor’s eyes lowered from Antonio’s evil glare to the big dark hole in the ground. Shaking like a leaf, she lifted her gaze back to his hard-lined face. Pulse rate up, she took off running out of the garage.
“Come back here, bitch!” Antonio fired his weapon. The hot bullet grazed her arm, shot past the tree. Taylor kept running. If Antonio wanted her, he was going to have to catch her. She wasn’t going down without a fight. She had two sons and a husband who loved her to fight for. To live for. Run, Taylor, run! her mind screamed.
Antonio fired his weapon three more times. Scurrying around a tree, bullets flew past Taylor’s head. Fast on his feet, Antonio caught up with Taylor. He fisted her hair and pulled. “Ahhh!” she bellowed. Falling backwards, she landed hard on the ground.
As Antonio dragged Taylor back toward the garage by the shirt, her body twisted along the cold dirt and her right tennis shoe slipped from her foot. Scraping her nails into the skin on his arms, her feet kicked wildly.
“I said get in!”
Taylor hollered. Pain submerged her ribs; they felt shattered. Gripping her aching chest, she cried. “You’re going to pay for—”
As Taylor lay on the ground helpless, Antonio crouched down beside her. “Shut up. I’m tired of your threats.” Putting his hands to her injured side, Antonio tossed Taylor into the deep cave. Legs flailing, scratching the air, Taylor landed hard on her back with a resounding thump. Air momentarily left her body, and she couldn’t breathe.
I can’t breathe. Can’t breathe. Lying on her back, glaring upward at Antonio’s contorted face, struggling for air, she inhaled deeply. Air rushed into her lungs, and she started breathing again. Her bones ached.
Antonio stood at the top of the cave inside the garage, peering down at her. His lips spread into a wicked smile. “Next I’m going to take care of Zeke, then your son Zavier. No one’s getting my father’s money except for me. Rot in hell, Taylor. Rot in fucking hell!”
Antonio slammed the door, and the entire cave went pitch black. Seconds later, Taylor heard the engine of the car gurgling over the latch. It sounded like Antonio had parked the car over the entrance of the cave so no one would notice the hidden entrance.
Lying in darkness, Taylor prayed hard. Lashes blinking at the darkness, a small, circular light appeared at the top of the cave. Inside the circle, she saw Jesus’ face. “I’m not ready to die, Dear Lord. Please let me get to know my sons Zavier and Jaheem before You bring me home.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Zeke’s heart clenched with fear. Gripping the steering wheel of his Porsche SUV, he circled to the back of the gas station, spied the green dumpster. Having no clue as to where Taylor was, he threw the gear in park, hopped out of his SUV, and flung open the lid on the dumpster.
MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) Page 25
