“Because Uncle Raymond is a by-the-book guy. I’m sure Dad told him about his suspicions, or if he didn’t, he had his reasons. My job . . . Our job is to find out what Dad knew, and then we can decide whether or not we need to inform Uncle Raymond.”
“For all we know, he might already know something,” Montana added.
“You promised,” Savannah said.
Montana placed the folder down on the table. “I haven’t told Uncle Raymond anything. But come on. He’s a smart man. He should know we—well, you—aren’t sitting idly by while a killer is loose.”
“Has it ever crossed your mind as to why Uncle Raymond has never talked to us about finding the killer?” Savannah asked.
“Because maybe he knows and is just waiting to get enough evidence,” Asia added.
“Could be. But for now, let’s just keep this between us.”
The doorbell rang. “Were either one of you expecting anyone?” Savannah asked.
“No,” Montana and Asia said in unison.
“Grab your weapons,” Savannah said as she stood to go answer the door.
Savannah saw Asia reach for her small handgun.
She heard Montana say, “She better be kidding.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Asia responded.
Savannah looked through the peephole. To her relief it was Troy; however, she was upset at him because she specifically told him she would call when her sisters left. She glanced at the clock on the foyer wall. The time was ten o’clock. She didn’t realize they had been talking this long. The doorbell rang again.
Montana walked behind her. “Do we need to pull out the heavy artillery, or are you going to open the door?”
Savannah shooed her away with her hand. “I got it.”
She opened the door. Without an invitation Troy entered, dressed in a pair of black jeans and black buttondown shirt. “What a welcome party,” Troy joked.
Savannah’s heart skipped a beat. Her hand remained on the door as she turned around and saw both of her sisters with their weapons by their side. Her voice crackled. “We weren’t expecting company.”
“Obviously.”
Asia cleared her throat. “Excuse my rude sister. I’m Asia.”
“You’re the youngest, right?”
While they were introducing themselves, Savannah rushed to remove their notes and to get her nerves together. By the time they made it back to the living room, the table was nice and neat.
“You didn’t have to clean up on my account,” Bridges commented. The sparkle in his eyes lit up when he looked at Savannah.
Asia and Montana looked from one to the other.
“Did we miss something?” Montana asked.
“No, but my, my, my, it’s getting late and you both have to get up early,” Savannah said, walking toward the center of the doorway.
“I can spend the night over here in my old room,” Asia suggested.
“Or not,” Montana said. “Can’t you see she wants some time alone with her new beau?”
“He’s not my beau. Besides, he has somebody.”
“No, I don’t,” Bridges shouted from behind.
Savannah grabbed Asia by the arm and literally had to pull her from in front of Troy. “I’ll be back,” Savannah mouthed.
Troy laughed.
“He’s off-limits, Asia.” Savannah felt possessive, although they were no longer a couple. Now, if she could get her heart to remember that fact, she would be better off.
“You didn’t tell us he was cute,” Asia said.
Montana added, “And fine.”
“You didn’t ask. Now bye. Talk to you two tomorrow.”
Montana and Asia got a good laugh at her expense. Montana pretended to be offended. “We’ve been kicked to the curb because of a man. I never would have believed it.”
“Out now!” Savannah shouted. She loved her sisters, but at times they could be pests. She watched them enter their cars. She didn’t see Troy’s vehicle. She dreaded the questions her sisters would have after tonight about Troy.
6
Savannah walked back in the living room after they left. “See what you started.”
Troy couldn’t hold back his laughter. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but you should have called me.”
Savannah picked up a pillow and threw it at him. He ducked a little too late. “What was so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
Troy sat down on the couch next to her. “I reviewed the information you gave me last night, and I also had a chance to make a few phone calls.”
Troy went over what he had discovered through his phone calls. “We need to get those papers from your dad’s safe-deposit box, and that’ll probably solve the whole puzzle.”
Before Savannah could respond, the lights went out. “I hope I have an extra fuse.”
Savannah left Troy in the living room as she felt her way to the kitchen. She searched through the kitchen drawers to locate her flashlight and fuse. “Come on. It has to be in here somewhere,” she said out loud.
She smelled Troy’s cologne before he opened his mouth. “I don’t think it’s a fuse. I heard something outside and wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine,” she responded.
A noise came from the direction of the living room. Troy automatically went for his weapon. He held up his index finger to his mouth and mouthed the word, “Quiet.”
Savannah recalled the men in black’s surprise visit earlier during the day. She leaned and whispered in Troy’s ear, “Some men stopped by the house earlier today. I don’t know who they were, but they gave me the jitters.”
“I wish you would have mentioned it earlier.”
Savannah opened her mouth to speak but was thrown to the floor by Troy. Before she could blink, a smoke bomb flew through the kitchen window shattering glass everywhere.
Troy grabbed her by the arm. “Follow me.”
Smoke filled the room, making their vision cloudy.
Savannah snapped. “Why do I have to follow you? This is my house. You need to follow me.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. Get us to the nearest exit,” Troy said as he reluctantly let Savannah lead them out of the kitchen.
She opened the side door. Troy said, “No, it’s not safe. Find us another way.”
Savannah grabbed Troy’s hand and pulled him in another direction. She knew exactly where they were going. She led them to the secret panic room her dad had built in the house many years ago. Her father made sure they had safety drills, and fortunately, up until this moment, she had never had to retreat there. Not knowing what or who was on the outside trying to get in, she rushed with Troy behind her to the secret hideaway.
“Well, I’ll be,” Troy said as he helped Savannah move things out of a closet and rearrange them so they wouldn’t look disturbed.
Savannah shone the flashlight on a panel near the secret door and activated a code. She led them down the stairs.
Troy watched Savannah as she hit a switch and the entire room lit up. Instead of being a stuffy room, it was filled with state-of-the-art equipment and appeared more like a den rather than an underground dungeon.
She flipped on a security monitor. He looked at it to see if he could recognize the assailants. While he watched the monitor, Savannah removed some weapons from a glass rack on the wall. “Just in case you need this.” She handed him an assault rifle.
“And here I thought I had to protect you.”
“Now is not the time for jokes.” Savannah’s tone was more of being scared than being angry.
“Just trying to lighten things up,” Troy responded. “We need to get out of here. There are four that I can see, and they are going from room to room.”
“They’ll never find us.”
“I’m sure they won’t, but we don’t want to be trapped here, just in case.”
“There’s a secret passageway that’ll bring us to the other street,” Savannah said as she pick
ed up a backpack and placed a few more items in it, including additional ammunition and the flashlight she got from the kitchen.
“Good. That’ll put us closer to my car,” he said.
“I meant to ask where you were parked.”
“Fortunately for us, I thought it best to check out the surroundings before dropping by.”
Savannah glanced at the security cameras. “I’ve activated the alarm, so the cops should be here any minute. Follow me.”
“After you.” Troy extended his hand and followed Savannah through the tunnel.
Savannah stopped several times. She held her hand up to her nose. “I think I’m going to puke.” The stench smelled like a combination of moldy mildew and dead animals.
Troy gave her a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Hold this up to your nose.”
They continued down the pathway until they reached a ladder. “This is it,” Savannah said. She removed the backpack and handed it to him. She climbed up first. The round metal didn’t bulge.
“Let me,” Troy said. Savannah was in the process of going back down the ladder, and her buttocks ended up in Troy’s face.
“Now that’s a new meaning to kiss my—”
Savannah interrupted him, “Sorry.”
Troy backed down and helped Savannah when she reached the last step. She jumped off and landed face-to-face with Troy. Time stood still as they stared into each other’s eyes. Troy’s vibrating phone broke the trance.
“We better get going,” he said, ignoring the phone call. Savannah moved out of the way as she watched Troy climb up the ladder. With a few hard pushes he was able to open the metal. He looked around, and when he was sure all was secure, he motioned with his hand for her to follow suit.
She picked up the backpack and handed it to him right before he helped her out of the hole. He quickly placed the metal back over the hole and covered it back up with the grass. “Come on. I’m parked not far from here.”
The adrenaline rush Savannah felt had her on edge. She was glad she worked out regularly or she wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Troy’s fast pace.
He opened the door to his SUV for Savannah before rushing to the driver’s side. Savannah was impressed that even in times of distress he was still a gentleman. If it weren’t for their history, she would find his noble ways sexy. She got in and put on her seat belt.
“Whoever is after you will soon realize you’re not in the house.”
Although it felt like hours since escaping into the secret room, only minutes had passed.
“I need to use your phone.”
“Under the circumstances I think you need to keep communication with anyone at a minimum,” Troy responded.
“Either let me use your phone, or let me off at the first pay phone,” Savannah snapped. “I need to make sure my sisters are okay.”
Troy had been so concerned with Savannah’s safety, he had forgotten about her sisters. He couldn’t let anything happen to her or them. Major would never forgive him if he did. Funny, how a dead man could still control him from the grave. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Troy decided at the last minute to go down Savannah’s street. He hit a button and Savannah’s seat went straight back.
“What in the world!” Savannah shouted.
“I want to see if your houseguests are still there, and see if I can get a license plate number.”
Savannah let out a few obscenities as she dialed Montana’s number. She was barely talking above a whisper. Troy slowed down his car enough to see that the assailants were still snooping around. He made a mental note of the license plate and was tempted to stop, until he saw several shadowy figures exit the backyard. Troy continued to drive at a normal pace, so as not to draw attention. At the sound of the police sirens, it looked as if both he and the assailants had escaped just in time.
“I’m okay. Stop worrying,” Savannah repeated several times.
Troy tried not to listen to her private conversation. A part of him envied the closeness she seemed to have with her sisters. His thoughts lingered on distant memories of his mom and sister.
Troy heard Savannah say, “Call me on the number displayed on your caller ID if you need anything.” She hung up the phone and sighed. “All is secure. I told them I would be staying with you tonight.”
Lucky me, Troy thought.
7
Savannah marveled at the beautiful landscaping outside Troy’s two-story brick home. She remained silent as he pulled into a three-car garage. The lights turned on, revealing a black sports car and a white sedan. Troy reached the passenger door before she could exit. The loud sound of the closing garage door almost drowned out her voice as she said, “Thanks.”
“Glad to be of service.”
Troy led her inside, into a spacious kitchen. “You live alone?” she asked.
“Most of the time,” Troy responded.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Savannah didn’t mean to ask her question out loud.
“The lady cares,” Troy said as he deactivated his alarm. “Are you hungry?”
“No, I just want to lie down,” Savannah responded.
“You can have my room,” he volunteered.
“I’m sure with a big old house like this, you have a guest room.”
“I do, but you’re more than just a guest.” The way his words seemed to fall sensuously out of his mouth caught Savannah by surprise.
Savannah half listened to Troy as they walked through the house. She admired the artwork on the walls. A beautiful gold-trimmed chandelier hung above the winding staircase. The temptation to remove her shoes and walk barefoot on the thick plush carpet almost overtook her.
Troy opened the door to a room twice as big as her bedroom. Savannah assumed Troy’s favorite color was black, because the entire room’s decor was ebony furniture and accessories. On the thick comforter an illustration of a black panther with piercing eyes stared back at her. She was so tired, that all she wanted to do was plop down on the bed.
Savannah gasped as she saw her sweaty reflection staring back at her from the dresser mirror. “I hate to bother you, but if you have a T-shirt or something I can borrow until tomorrow. I want to take a bath before calling it a night.”
“I’m one step ahead of you,” Troy responded. He removed a black-and-gold T-shirt with the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl emblem across the front.
She frowned because she was a Dallas Cowboys fan. “It figures. I need some towels too.”
“Did anyone ever tell you, you were bossy?”
“My sisters tell me that all of the time,” Savannah said as she followed him to the master bathroom.
Savannah’s eyes bucked when she saw two sinks trimmed in sterling silver and “his and her” toilets. What impressed Savannah the most was the deep tub, which seemed to be calling her name.
“Here are your towels and some soap. If you need anything else, just yell,” Troy stated before exiting the bathroom.
Savannah smiled for the first time since being ousted out of her house. “I think I got it from here.”
She waited for him to exit and locked the door as soon as the door was closed.
“I’m not going to bother you,” Troy said loudly.
The steam from the hot bathwater fogged up the windows. Savannah thought about the events that transpired in the past twenty-four hours. Her muscles relaxed, releasing the tension throughout her body as she eased herself into the hot, bubbly water.
She leaned back and closed her eyes. Was she in over her head? Should she give up her quest to find her dad’s killer? Who were the people who broke into her house? What were they looking for? It dawned on her that she left the folder with the information in a secret compartment within the fireplace. She hoped they didn’t look there. She hid it when she was trying to get rid of the information when Troy first arrived.
The knock on the door broke Savannah out of her deep thoughts.
“Just checking to make sure you’re okay in the
re,” Troy spoke firmly so she could hear.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out soon.”
The water’s cool temperature alerted Savannah that she had been in the bath a long time and jolted her awake. She took her time getting out of the tub. Her body signaled she was more tired than she imagined. Not trying to be nosy, she searched through the cabinets in search of a tube of deodorant. A cabinet could tell a lot about a person. She noticed many hygiene products and cleaning products. She picked up an unopened box of condoms before throwing it back onto the shelf. Her search was not in vain. She located a new tube of deodorant and rubbed some under her arms.
Savannah pulled the long black T-shirt Troy had given her over her head. She cringed at the sight of her unruly curly hair tossed across her head. Standing before the mirror, she braided her hair into one long braid before exiting the bathroom. Troy was nowhere around. The bed was turned down and there was a glass and a bottle of water on a tray by the bed. She opened the seal of the bottle and took a sip. The soft bed welcomed her, and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.
Savannah didn’t know how long she had been asleep. When she woke up, she felt out of place. Where am I? Why am I in a strange bed? It took her a few seconds to gather her senses. The memory from last night rushed back to her. She jumped out of bed, looking for her clothes. Although they were not clean, it was all she had to put on. To her surprise they were washed and dried and folded up, placed on a chair on the opposite end of the bed.
“When did he find the time?” she asked out loud.
She pulled the clothes up to her nose and inhaled the freshly washed scent. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Are you up?” Troy asked.
“I’ll be dressed in a minute,” she responded.
She placed the Saints T-shirt on the chair. When she opened the door, Troy was nowhere to be found. She called out his name a few times but didn’t get a response. She wandered down the hall and leaned on the rail. She stopped to admire the downstairs view from the banister.
Troy walked in view and looked up. “I cooked a big breakfast, just in case you’re hungry.”
Savannah was starving. Her growling stomach would have betrayed her if she tried to deny it. Troy waited for her at the end of the stairway.
Savannah's Curse Page 4
