Stormy Waters (Oceans of Love Book 2)

by Nia Arthurs

  Benjamin winced. What had Kelly not told her friend?

  “What are you playing at? Do you like her or not?”

  “This isn’t the best place to discuss personal matters,” Benjamin said coldly.

  Instead of being intimidated, Renesha folded her arms across her chest. Her hazel eyes burned right through him and he squirmed.

  “Is that why you’ve walked by Kelly’s office six times today?”

  “I wasn’t…”

  “Sir, we’re being honest with each other. I’m asking a personal favor.” She smirked, echoing the words he’d said to her the day before. “What are your intentions toward my friend?”

  “Rene, that’s enough.” A new voice broke through their tense conversation.

  Benjamin’s gaze whipped to door where Kelly stood with her hands fisted at her sides. He eyed her beautiful face, to her mother’s earrings that sparkled in the light, to her flattering pantsuit and heels.

  His admiring scan was cut short when his eyes connected with Kelly’s. If her gaze could shoot lasers, he’d be dead by now.

  “How long were you standing there?” Renesha asked nervously.

  “Long enough to hear you harassing our boss,” Kelly said, tapping her feet against the tile.

  “Well…” Renesha stuttered. “I was just checking…” The phone rang in the distance and Renesha brightened. “I have to get back to work. We’ll talk later. Excuse me.” Renesha pushed past her friend and scrambled away.

  Benjamin wished he could take off after her, but Kelly remained planted in the doorway, blocking his escape. He picked his cell out of his pocket and widened his eyes.

  “Would you look at that? I have an appointment…”

  “Not so fast.” Kelly tilted her head to the side. “I’m not blind, Mr. Levy. You want to explain why you’ve been distracting me all morning?”

  “Distracting?” He scoffed. “I had business in your corner of the office. That’s all.”

  She took a resolute step forward and he backed up. Kelly had that look in her eyes again, the one that always got him into trouble.

  You’re at work, buddy. Someone is stalking you and threatening your girl. Keep it together.

  “It almost looks like you’re checking up on me,” Kelly said, her hips lightly swaying as she advanced.

  “Why would I do that when I know you’re perfectly safe?”

  “If you’re not checking up on me, what are you doing?”

  “I told you—”

  “You have business in my corner of the office,” she recited. “I find it hard to believe you.”

  “Why?” Drawn like a moth to a flame, he strode toward her. “Did you think I was passing by because I wanted to see you? Because I can’t get you out of my mind, can barely concentrate, barely breathe, if I don’t get a glimpse of your face?”

  By the time he’d finished, he was standing toe-to-toe with Kelly. Her chin was up and her plump lips, glossy in the light, were parted.

  In a tense whisper, Kelly confessed. “You need to figure out what I am to you, Benjamin Levy. Because you’re playing with fire.” She stiffly backed off and walked out the door.

  Benjamin blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t just playing with fire. He was playing with a blaze.

  Sick To My Stomach

  Renesha plopped her purse on Kelly’s desk and glared at her, hazel eyes turning a burnished shade of green. Kelly ignored her friend and set the rest of her items in her bag before slinging the handles on her shoulder.

  “You’re going to what?” Renesha hissed, glancing around and sticking her face close to Kelly’s. “Are you crazy?”

  “Clayton’s in the hospital. I should go check on him.”

  “The only way I’m going to accept you visiting your ex-boyfriend, who happened to assault you last night, is if you’re planning to inject him with a lethal dose of poison.”

  Kelly winced. “So violent.”

  “I don’t get you,” her best friend raged. “You were so upset this morning. You said you could barely think about what happened without suffering a nervous breakdown. Why on earth would you go and visit him? He doesn’t deserve to see your face.”

  “I don’t know.” Kelly shrugged her shoulders. What Clayton had done was horrible, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate him. Perhaps she was crazy.

  “Please don’t tell me you’ll forgive that snake.”

  “Benjamin beat him up pretty bad.”

  “Yeah, and that was just one guy. Wait till I get all my cousins together and show him a real lesson. All I have to do is make one phone call.”

  “Don’t you dare.” Kelly walked toward the elevator and pressed the button to go down. “And don’t tattle on me to Benjamin either. Since when have you been his biggest fan?”

  “Since never.” Renesha snorted. “But I couldn’t help it. Mr. Levy says one thing and does another. I can’t stand guys like that. It’s why I’ve been with Randal so long. He’s a straight shooter, you know what I mean?”

  “If you say so.”

  “And stop trying to change the subject,” Renesha insisted. “I’m already upset that you didn’t feel you could come to my place after what happened. Don’t rub salt in the wound by showing kindness to Clayton or I’ll really disown you.”

  “I promise I won’t show any kindness.”

  “Then why are you doing this?”

  “I just… I want to look him in the eyes,” Kelly admitted. “I want to see if he can acknowledge what he’s done wrong. If he even cares.” She tapped her chest. “Benjamin may be charged with excessive use of force because of me. It’s a big deal and I need to check for myself. Does Clayton understand what he nearly cost me?”

  Rene leaned back, taking in Kelly’s confession. Instead of waiting for her friend’s approval, Kelly strode to the bus stop. Rene ran to catch up with her.

  “Well, at least let me go with you. I want to look the scumbag in the eye and rough him up too. See how he likes it.”

  Kelly chuckled. “You’re something else.”

  “So are you.” She nudged her friend in the side. “You were in Benjamin Levy’s house all night and you didn’t try anything?”

  “It wasn’t the best time.”

  “True.” Rene made a face. “I wasn’t thinking about that. Sorry.”

  The bus chugged down the street and Kelly and Rene rose. They waded through the crowd until they had found seats and, luckily, had a chance to sit together.

  On the ride to the hospital, Rene leaned over. “About Benjamin…”

  “What?” Kelly groaned. “I know we’re from two different worlds and he’s just being nice because he’s pitying me. You don’t have to hammer it in anymore.”

  “That’s not it.” Rene rubbed her chin. “Why do you think he knew your passcode?”

  “Huh?”

  “It just dawned on me that your landlady installed security cameras and fancy door locks all of a sudden. You said there was no notice, right?”

  “Oh yeah.” Kelly groaned. “It would suck if my rent increased on top of all this.”

  “I never mentioned it…” Renesha began hesitantly. “But yesterday, Mr. Levy called me into his office and asked me something weird.”

  “What was it?” Kelly scrunched her nose. “Did he try to figure out who I’d ‘slept with’ according to you?”

  “No.” Rene shook her head. “Though I’m sure he overheard my comment. I think that’s why he brought it up.”

  “Brought what up?” Kelly asked in frustration.

  “He was all paranoid. Told me not to let you run alone at night and to keep you from sleeping with just anyone you met at the club.”

  Kelly’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”

  “He said something about calling the police if you ever felt unsafe or if you felt like someone was watching you.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!” Kelly slapped Renesha’s arm. “I was banging my head ag
ainst the wall trying to figure out why Benjamin did a complete one-eighty last week. That’s an important piece to the puzzle.”

  “Do you think he knew about Clayton’s abusive tendencies before we did? I’ve heard that men can sense these things on other guys.”

  “That’s not it.” Kelly snapped her fingers as a memory surfaced. “A few weeks ago, just before he left on that mysterious trip, Benjamin had a really weird phone call.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know, but as soon as he heard the voice, he put me behind him and started looking around the park as if someone would bounce out of the shadows and attack us.”

  “You think that’s the reason he broke up with you?” Rene snorted. “Come on, Kel. Just admit that the man likes playing with your heart and get over it.”

  “It’s more than that,” Kelly said, her eyes softening. “The way he treated me yesterday, the way he cleaned up my bedroom so that I wouldn’t be uncomfortable when I returned home—those aren’t the actions of someone trying to be manipulative.”

  “And that’s exactly why he’s such a great manipulator. I’m sure his bedroom is littered with the panties of a hundred girls just like you.”

  “He’s not like that.”

  “Maybe you’re just blind,” Renesha snapped.

  “Or maybe you haven’t taken the time to get to know him.” Kelly swiveled her gaze to take in the scenery whizzing past her window. Her thoughts were in utter turmoil and she strained to make sense of the new revelations.

  Right after Benjamin’s strange phone call, he dropped her home and left for the States. When he returned, he gave her ‘the breakup’ speech and stormed out of her apartment without looking back.

  At the time, she’d been too hurt and embarrassed to look past the discrepancies, but in the light of his continued care of her, Kelly couldn’t ignore the doubts that plagued her mind.

  This wasn’t just a desperate attempt to convince herself that the guy she liked had the same feelings for her, was it?

  “Ugh, this is so frustrating,” Kelly murmured.

  “Imagine how I feel.” Rene glared at the hospital looming in the distance as if the building had done her a grievance. “If I suddenly lose it and smother Clayton with a pillow, bring me loofas when you visit me in jail. I hear it’s hard to take baths in the slammer.”

  “You’re crazy.” Kelly shook her head and stood as the bus slowed to a stop.

  The girls climbed off and walked into the hospital. The scent of antiseptic and fabric cleaner permeated the air. A sense of urgency seemed to ride every doctor’s shoulders as they passed, their faces firm and their stances battle ready.

  “I hope they gave Clayton an inexperienced doctor,” Rene whispered in Kelly’s ear. “Wouldn’t it be great if he suddenly died from needle poisoning?”

  “Could you stop?” Kelly frowned. “It’s hard enough to be here without all that negativity.”

  “Fine.”

  “Excuse me,” Kelly asked the lady behind the nurse’s station. “Is there a Clayton Neely here?”

  “He’s in Recovery,” the nurse said. “Go down the hall to the right.”

  “Thank you.” Kelly led the way down the hall, but stopped short when she saw the short woman talking to a doctor in front of Clayton’s hospital room.

  Her heart pounded and guilt inched through her body. At that moment, Leshawna glanced up, her eyes falling on Kelly. With short, stilted steps, Clayton’s wife walked up to her. Kelly remained still, poised, waiting to see what the other woman would do.

  Leshawna stopped right in front of her and stared. Kelly took note of the wrinkles that seemed to have multiplied since she had last seen Clayton’s wife. The woman’s clothes were ill-fitting and stained. Her untidy hair lent to her frantic, broken-down air.

  “Leshawna, I—”

  Slap!

  Leshawna’s hand came out of nowhere and delivered a solid blow to Kelly’s cheek. Her head went flying to the left and she hunkered over, frozen in shock. Renesha gasped and took a step forward as if to retaliate. Kelly held out her hand to keep her friend from hitting Clayton’s wife in anger.

  “You slut!” Leshawna trembled as tears sprang to her eyes. “Taking my husband wasn’t enough for you? You had to ruin my children’s futures too?”

  “Please—”

  Slap!

  This time, Kelly felt the sting of Leshawna’s wedding ring cut into her cheek.

  “Kel, you’re bleeding!” Rene yelled.

  Leshawna stood, stance open, chest heaving. “Get away from here. I never want to see your face again.”

  Where Fools Always Tread

  Benjamin

  He sipped from the rim of his glass cup and closed his eyes. The steel pan music wafting from the smiling band at the front of the restaurant dug into his bones and massaged the tension he’d been feeling since last night.

  “You good?” Ricky asked from the seat across from him. “If the bomb inside you is about to go off again, let me know. I’m always glad to grab a drink. Or a soda, if you will.” Ricky tipped his blonde head at Benjamin’s mug.

  “I have to get my temper back under control. Drinking won’t help.”

  Ricky peered at him with dark green eyes. The man’s aristocratic face and stocky build made him a hit with the ladies, but even with the entire female population of their university at his beck and call, Ricky had chosen instead to bury himself in his studies.

  Like Benjamin, Ricky hated losing—which was why he had trusted him with this case.

  “Heard anything more from the cops?”

  “Seems Clayton Neely’s hoping Kelly won’t press charges so he’s not throwing any stones. I almost wish he would. I’d gladly pay whatever fines I owe to see that man convicted.”

  “Worms survive because they know when to tunnel back into their holes and when to show themselves.” Ricky swirled the liquid in his glass. “Seems your friend’s attacker is no different.”

  “Kelly won’t fall for it.”

  “We’ll see.” Ricky chugged his drink in one swallow and slammed the cup back onto the table. “I found something.”

  Benjamin leaned forward, his blue eyes burning beneath the restaurant’s dark light. “Did you get the scum?”

  “Not exactly, but I got my first solid lead.” Ricky licked his lips, his pale face reddening from the thrill of the chase. “Six years ago, Kat made a report about the person who was stalking her.”

  “We went over that a million times already. Did we miss something?”

  “Not ‘miss’ so much as ‘glossed over’. The guy didn’t leave a trace. Kat had a feeling and there’s not much the police can do with premonition.”

  “Yeah.” He frowned and tapped his fingers on the table. “It was a feeling so strong she went in to report it, and a premonition that came true.”

  Ricky shot Benjamin a pitying look, but shook the expression as his friend caught his eye. “When the culprit left her the rose and the card the week before she died, Kat said the stationary had a smell.”

  “Cologne.” Benjamin’s eyebrows furrowed. “But we never got a name for the fragrance.”

  “We didn’t ask.” Ricky’s bright grin threatened to blind him. “Benji, it was such an insignificant detail so I paid it no mind. Yesterday, I talked to the officer in charge and asked to speak with one of the police officers who had worked on the case.”

  “They still remembered?”

  “He said he would never forget the smell.” Ricky grinned. “He said it was a luxury brand, one too expensive for a middle class man to invest in. The kind you splurge on when you have money.”

  “Kat’s killer was wealthy.”

  “Or at least he had access to the kind of funds that allowed him to spend frivolously.”

  “How does that help us now? Do we go snooping around the city until we find the hint of expensive cologne? Do we pull every rich frat guy from college by the collar and sniff him?”

 
“What kind of idiotic plan is that?” Ricky arched an eyebrow. “We’re in Belize. There isn’t a demand for luxury colognes here.” He brought out his tablet and opened a calendar. “If the stalker made the call two weeks ago, he must have been watching you for a while before then. His cologne may have run out.”

  “Sounds like a long shot to me.”

  “This entire case is a long shot.” Ricky sent Benjamin a pointed glare. “That’s why you hired me. And that’s why I’m working my butt off in the hot sun when I could be lying by the beach and perfecting my tan.”

  Benjamin snorted and mumbled. “What tan? You’d fry like a lobster.”

  “Be that as it may, I went ahead and left a notice with the custom officers at the Belize Customs Department, and I got a hit. Ever heard of Creed Ford No. 1?”

  “No.”

  “It’s a limited edition cologne by a fancy French company. It’s seven hundred a pop for a tiny eight-ounce bottle.”

  Benjamin whistled.

  “The box was supposedly owned by a ‘Clifford Border’. The name was bunk and so was the address. The couple who lived there knew nothing about Clifford or the order.”

  “Then how did he plan on retrieving it?”

  “He probably would have posed as the owner and claimed it. Rules can be bent and IDs not required if there’s extra incentive.” Ricky rubbed his hands together. “I’m closer to him now, but therein lies the problem. He may advance his plan because he feels cornered.”

  “You’re telling me to be careful.”

  “I’m telling you to keep your woman close. As close as possible. Staying away from her won’t do much good now. The culprit knows we’re on to him. He’ll get sloppy.”

  “And more dangerous.” Benjamin stared into the distance. “Couldn’t you have given me this advice before I messed things up with Kelly?”

  “What are you worried about? Sic your Levy charm on her. It usually works.”

  “She’s stubborn.” Benjamin shook his head. “And I blew my chances when I shut her down last week. It’ll look like I’m flip-flopping.”