“What’s that?” I covered my nose, nauseated by the smell.
A Cheshire grin on her face, she lifted the bag and whispered, “Chinese food.”
“You’re going to get me in trouble. You can’t bring food in here,” I said, snooping in the bag.
“When are they going to let you fly the coop?” Felicia asked as she handed me an egg roll. “I think your boyfriend misses you.”
I shook my head. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I corrected her. “If he was, I wouldn’t be sitting here by myself.”
“By yourself? What are you talking about? He looks like hell. No one stays up all night for someone they don’t care about,” Felicia said.
I swallowed the food in my mouth. “What? Where did you see him?”
Felicia hopped up on my bed. “He’s in the waiting room down the hall. When I walked in to grab some napkins, he was knocked out on one of the chairs.”
My throat went dry. “He was?”
Her mouth full of food, Felicia rolled her eyes. “You’re killing me.”
“What? I didn’t know he was here all night long. I didn’t see him. Why didn’t he come in the room?” I didn’t know whether to be touched or angry. I didn’t have any memory of having seen him the night before. I wasn’t on any mind-numbing medications. There was no reason for me to not remember seeing him.
“Girl, I don’t know. I think he’s having a hard time. I mean, wouldn’t you? His little boy is gone with some stranger, his girlfriend is attacked by some dude in his house, and he doesn’t know what to do to stop it,” Felicia explained.
“I wish you would stop saying I’m his girlfriend. I don’t know what I am to him. I don’t know who I am these days. I think I’m in way over my head with him. Tell me what to do. I’m lost,” I pleaded with her.
“Well, if it were me, I’d start with kicking that little hussie’s ass, but that would probably get you arrested. We can’t have that because you’ll never work again.” Felicia was teasing, but it didn’t bother me.
“Believe me; I’ve thought about it. I want to rip her eyes out, but then again, what good would that do? I can’t prove she had anything to do with what happened. She wasn’t there. At least, I didn’t see her there,” I explained.
Felicia took another bite. “Did the guy say anything to you? I can’t tell you how horrible I feel about leaving you there. I should have stayed a little while longer. Maybe none of this would have happened.”
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. He probably would have hurt you too. Anyway, no, he didn’t really say anything to me. I thought it was E.J. when I heard the door open. I called out to him, but he didn’t answer. I didn’t think too much of it because E.J. was so upset when he left, but--” I didn’t want to think about it again.
“Okay, we don’t have to go there again. Sorry, honey. Let’s try another topic. What are you going to do about that hunk of man out there?” Felicia asked.
“I’d rather talk about the guy who hit me,” I groaned.
She wouldn’t let me off that easily. “Will you be serious? Are you really done with him? I mean, I get it. I’d be terrified too, but is it really a good idea to make a decision right now? I think you should give it some time. At least, wait until you’ve had some time to think. He obviously cares about you and I know you care about him and Edge. Why walk away now?”
“Seriously? Where do I start? He used me to hide his son. He got me suspended from my job. Oh, let’s not forget the best part, I’m in the hospital because some maniac walked into his house unannounced and decided my face would look better with a huge knot on it. I think there are more than enough reasons to walk -- no, run - away from him and never look back,” I explained.
Felicia shook her head.
“Is that all?” E.J. came in so quietly, neither of us heard him until he spoke.
“It’s enough, don’t you think?” I asked.
“Ignore her. She’s cranky. It’s probably time for some pain medications,” Felicia explained.
“No, it’s not. It’s definitely because of him. He’s the reason I’m so cranky,” I said, looking him directly in the eyes.
Chapter Twenty-One – Razor
“What are you talking about? What does that even mean? You’ll take her away from me, too?” I resisted the urge to wrap my fingers around her scrawny, glitter-covered neck. “Are you insane?”
“Maybe I am,” Stephanie gloated. “Will people love me more if I was? Wouldn’t it make you feel better if you told people I was insane? You know what I’d do, if you did? I’d tell them how you beat me all the time and threatened to kill me if I ever went near Edge again. I’d tell them all the stress was too much for me. It made me insane. How do you think that will play out?”
Sick bitch!
“How much do you want?” I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d broken me with her lies.
“How much what?”
She wasn’t fooling me. “How much money will it take to make you go away?”
“You’re so cute when you’re desperate. If I didn’t hate you so much, I’d rip your clothes off and jump all over you.” Touching her long, fake nails to my cheek, she added, “Remember how much you used to like when I jumped all over you?”
I shoved her off me. “Where is he, Stephanie?”
She smiled at me. “Where he should be -- at home. How’s your little girlfriend, by the way?”
I never hated anyone as much as I hated her. “Where do you live? Where’s my son?”
One of the bouncers -- a guy I considered a friend -- stepped over. “Is everything okay over here?” His gaze fell to Stephanie.
“Sure thing. It’s all good here.” Battling her long, fake eyelashes, Stephanie asked him, “Would you mind walking me out, Mike? I’ve missed seeing you everyday. I want to hear all about what’s going on in your life.”
I forced my hands into my pockets. “Where is he, Stephanie?”
She roped her arm around Mike’s thick waist. “Bye. Have a good life, asshole,” she said as she walked away.
I wanted to kill her. I wanted to do something, but Kelly’s warnings to keep my head played in my head. As much as it pained me, I had to let her walk out alive, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t follow her dumb ass.
My cell phone rang as I got into my car. “Yeah,” I answered.
“Where the hell are you?” Kelly didn’t sound happy. “Wherever it is, it better not be anywhere near your ex!”
“I can’t do this right now. I have to find my son,” I answered as I started the car and backed out of the parking space.
“Where are you, Edgecott James?”
I hated when she called me that. “I’m doing the only thing I know to do. I found her. You should see her. She’s gloating like she won. Like she beat me, but I’ll tell you what; she’s not going to break me. She even gloated about the attack on Hillary.”
Her car -- a new model Honda -- rolled slowly down the street, headed for the expressway leading to the south side of town.
“Don’t. Don’t do it. Come home. Let me handle this. If something happens to her, you’ll never get your son back. Leave it alone,” Kelly pleaded with me.
I pulled over, emotion vibrating my whole body. “I want my son. I want him back home with me.”
Kelly spoke in a low, calming tone. “We’re working on it. We’ll get him back. Let’s do this the right way. Let me do my job, E.J.”
I sat for several minutes allowing the tears and anger to flow from me, not caring who saw or heard me. None of it mattered to me. I didn’t care if the media caught up to me or if my coach found out; all I wanted was to have my boy and move on with our lives without his mother. She didn’t deserve him. As far as I was concerned, she was nothing more than the vessel that housed my beautiful, little boy, not his mother.
Without thinking, I dialed Hillary’s number.
“Are you okay?” she answered the phone. “Where are you?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking,” I started.
“You were thinking about Edge. I get it. I wish there was something I could do to help you,” Hillary said.
The sound of her voice calmed me down for the moment. “I’m coming home. Is Kelly still there?” I didn’t hear her in the background. “Tell her, I’m on my way.”
“She had to leave. Claire called her. She said she had to go take care of something, but would call you when she was done,” Hillary explained.
“Oh, hopefully, that means Stephanie has decided to do the right thing. She doesn’t want him. She just wants to hurt me,” I said.
After we hung up, I turned the car around and headed the other direction toward my house. I was thankful for the quiet time. I needed to try to get my thoughts together before I walked back into my house to face the emptiness. Without Edge, there was a void in not only my home, but in my life.
My mind was in such a fog, I didn’t notice the front door was wide open until I stepped through it. “Hillary? I’m back!” I called out to her.
No response. I closed the door behind me.
“Hillary?” I tried again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw her in the living room. “Hey, what’s up?”
Hillary’s body was lying in the middle of the room surrounded by toppled over furniture. I stepped forward, slipping on a puddle of blood.
“Hillary! Hillary! What the hell happened? Oh my God!” I cried out as I knelt down and lifted her from the ground.
Behind me, I heard footsteps. “Oh my God! What happened? Who did this?” Kelly sprung into action. “I’m calling for help. Are you okay?”
“No. Yes.” My voice shook. “Help her!”
Into the phone, Kelly said, “Yes, we need an ambulance. There’s a woman lying unconscious and bleeding.”
Chapter Twenty-Two – Hillary
It had been a long time since I’d experienced this much pain. It wasn’t even my head that hurt the most; it was my heart. At what point did I fall in love? I didn’t remember. It definitely wasn’t a conscious decision.
“It will be fun. Like old times,” Felicia mused as she changed the television station to her latest obsession: a reality show about three black fraternity brothers who hunt demons or something or other.
“Why do you watch this stuff? Don’t we have enough demons and devils running loose in the world?” I groaned.
“Nope. Anyway, have you ever sat down to watch this show? They’re a trip! They act all tough and strong, but let the wind blow and they are running out the door and back to the truck. It’s hysterical!” Felicia raised the volume.
“I want to go home,” I whined. “Maybe I should pack up my stuff and go back to Spain. Life was easier there.”
Felicia bit the inside of her cheek. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She was contemplating how to respond. “You’ll be alone over there. Is that what you want?”
“I want to be mad. I want to kick and scream and cause a huge scene, but what good would that do? Edge would still be living with virtual strangers. E.J. would still be a lost soul and my head would still hurt. What do I do? Stay here and wait for the next horrible thing to happen? How do I know the next thing won’t kill me or him?” I fought back tears.
“Is that what you’re afraid of? You’re afraid something terrible will happen to E.J.? You’re afraid for his safety?” Felicia hit the nail on the head.
“I’m terrified. I can’t lose someone else. It would kill me,” I said.
“First, you need to worry about why you passed out. Poor E.J. thought you were dead. What happened?” Felicia asked.
“I don’t know. They took some blood to send to the lab. Who knows; maybe, I’m dying,” I was only half-teasing. The fact of the matter was, I was scared, and not just because of the attack.
Felicia kept me company while we waited for the doctor to let me know if they were going to let me go home. “Where is your lover boy anyway?”
“He and Kelly went to a meeting. I don’t know where, but he said they’d be back in a couple of hours,” I said. “I hope he comes back with good news. I could really use some today.”
“So could he,” Felicia added. “This might not be the right time to ask this, but what’s your endgame here? One day, you’re talking about not wanting to see him again; the next, you two are sleeping together. What’s going on? Even when you’re bickering, you two have chemistry. You two are hot together.”
I had to agree, but there were still so many unknowns.
“Well?” Felicia asked.
“I know I’m going to regret this, but I think I’m in love with him,” I said.
A nurse walked in, followed by E.J.
“Has the doctor come in to talk to you yet?” the nurse asked.
I shook my head.
“He’s going to release you, but let’s wait for him, okay?” She walked back out.
“How are your doing?” E.J. asked. “Does your head hurt? That’s a nasty little gash you have on it. You keep this up, you’re going to be all bruised and battered.”
“Will I be too ugly for you to be seen with?” I asked.
“Never,” E.J. answered. “Not to change the subject, but I have some news.”
I held my breath.
“The police arrested the guy who attacked you,” E.J. said as he walked over to give me a hug.
“Hot damn! That’s great! Who was it?” Felicia asked.
Shrugging, E.J. said, “Some thief. I don’t know. I’m just glad they got him.”
“Did he say why?” I asked.
He took my hand. “He claims he never heard of Stephanie. It was a robbery attempt, but I think, that’s a lie. The police are still questioning him, so we’ll see. No matter what he says, I’m willing to bet Stephanie had something to do with it. He’s probably someone she knows.”
I shook my head, unable to believe the police had found the guy. “Wow; so what happens now?”
“We get you home and never leave you alone again. And, we keep fighting for Edge. I have a plan,” E.J. said. “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it will work. I know what she wants.”
“What does that mean? What are you going to do?” I asked.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Razor
I swear, I’ll never let anyone hurt the people I love again.
I sped up past the exit. “Why don’t you stay with me? Let me take care of you,” I offered.
Hillary offered a small smile. “Thanks, but Felicia said she’d stay with me at my place. Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I can call Felicia for you and let her know. I’d feel a lot better if you stayed with me. What do you think?” I hoped she’d let me do this. I had a feeling Stephanie would try another angle to get to Hillary. At least, if I was there with her, I could protect her.
She cleared her throat. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think I’m ready to go back there. You understand, don’t you?”
I was disappointed, but maybe it was for the best. “Yes, but let me do something for you. I feel responsible for all this. Let me help in some way. What is you faint again?”
She pursed her lips together. “I was thinking about things when I was in the hospital; I think I shouldn’t see you any more. So much has happened and I don’t think I’m made for this. I mean, I’m trying to figure my life out after losing Sam and this… it’s all so wrong.”
My heart sank and I didn’t understand why. Did I have feelings for her -- real feelings? When did that happen? This was supposed to be a means to an end. I’d get to keep my son and she could go on with her life. When did things change?
“Are you serious?” I asked because I needed to say something or else I’d lose my mind. “You’re leaving me?”
Hillary turned her head to face me. “We were never together. We weren’t ever official, were we? I’m not even sure I know what was going on between us. One minute, I’m dis
cussing some behavior issues at school and the next, I’m in the hospital because someone attacked me in your house. Someone who was after you, attacked me. And, now, my head injury is making me faint. Why? What did I do wrong? My mistake was letting you use me because I naively believed you might actually have changed after all these years, but I guess, I was wrong.”
“No, you weren’t wrong.” My voice broke. “I care about you. I do. I know I got you into this. I know everything is my fault. I accept that. I accept everything. But, understand this, I never meant for you to get hurt. I never thought something like that would happen. Stephanie is a psychopath. She always has been. I didn’t know she’d stoop to this level. I mean, she stole my son from me. She lied. She lied about everything.”
Razor's Edge: A Bad Boy Romance (Bad Boys of Football Book 2) Page 13
