Lethal Love: Deceit can be Deadly

by Perri Forrest

  He slammed his fists down on the table. “Right!”

  “But you’re admitting to sexing her without a condom?”

  “Yeah, but not recent—”

  “Watch my lips move, Drew. A woman that you had an affair with is dead. You’re claiming that you haven’t been intimate with her in a week. They find semen in her which means somebody has been with her within these last three days… for semen to still be present.”

  “Finally!” Drew stated excitedly, folding his arms across his chest firmly. His head nodded quickly. “Yes!”

  “And there’s your motive.”

  “You’re not making fucking sense right now. And I’m fucking over—”

  “You can be over it, Drew. All you want. But what I’m telling you is that if what you’re saying is Bible, then the woman you were into… was also into somebody else. And she lost her life for it. That is motive…”

  Raquel watched as defeat chased assurance from her client’s eyes. It was semi-registering with him.

  “I’m innocent. Okay, not innocent-innocent. But I’m innocent. I’m being set up. And now that you say it, maybe whoever else Royce was dealing with, is the one setting me up. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

  “I’m looking at you right now, and I want to believe you. Because the you that I know isn’t a murderer. However, the evidence says the complete opposite. They’re going to try going after you for a crime of passion. I already know it. I can see it building before we even get there. Text messages, phone calls, semen on the body, a relationship that wasn’t so secret. Drew, there’s a lot.”

  “Dammit, Raquel!” Drew sat back and huffed loudly, in frustration. “Do I have to keep listening to you, basically, tell me that my fate is sealed? And that you’re helping to seal it? Or are you, at some point, going to kick into action like somebody who’s supposed to be advocating for me?”

  Raquel switched gears. “You said that you haven’t talked to Nova?”

  Drew shook his head. “I just can’t unsee that look in her eyes. Man, Raquel, I fucked up so goddamn bad. I had the perfect woman and I went and fucked it up. She’s never going listen to me unless I can be in her face and she can see the truth in my eyes. I have to keep trying.”

  Raquel wanted to ask him if he was delusional and exactly what ‘truth’ it was that he was referring to, but the poor guy was all over the place and she knew it would just ruin what was left of his livelihood. So, she kept quiet and let him hope.

  All Raquel knew was that with all the mounting evidence, if she decided to take this case on, it was going to take way more energy than she had to give right now. Especially, because her own relationship was already in jeopardy…

  9 | Brock Davis

  The dark green Ford Explorer Sport, with manufacturer’s tint on the windows, sitting across the street from Nova’s home had been there for almost an hour. He had been there when she had first appeared as a silhouette through the sheer curtains in her bedroom. He’d been there when she had emerged for a few seconds wearing shorts and a t-shirt. And he had been there when she turned off her bedroom light and a blue glow from the television emitted in its place. It was his third night making the stop before his commute to work, some two hours away, at the Nevada Test Site in Mercury.

  After four years on the job, he still hated it. But for what Nevada normally paid, thirty dollars an hour, was as good as it got. For all the bullshit he dealt with on a day-to-day, even that wasn’t enough. They owed him at least forty-five! For now, though, it worked. It kept him in a lifestyle he could live in comfortably. A nice three-bedroom apartment with 1,200 square feet of space, and two cars—the one he was in now for commuting, and the other, a Range Rover that he bought with the life insurance money he had swindled out of his mother, after the untimely death of her mother—his grandmother.

  If only he could devise a well-laid plan to steal his boss’ job as procurement manager, he would have an even nicer lifestyle to brag about. A lifestyle that would get him a six-figure salary, more respect from the bastards at the top of the organization chart, and possibly the woman of his dreams. He thought he had that at a point, but he had been sadly mistaken. That dirty bitch was a drive-through for the United Nations. If kumbaya was a place, it would have been her pussy.

  And because of that, she had paid with her life. He didn’t feel that it was fair for him to continue having to see her, day in and day out, knowing that she would never be his. The night he strangled her to death, was the night he finally got to feel how good she felt. When she begged for him to spare her life, he was tempted to let her live. She had promised him that they could be together, and that all he ever needed to do, was tell her that he wanted her. “I wouldn’t have hesitated to be with you had I known that you wanted me,” she said, as she sobbed. But he knew she was lying. And if he had let her live, she would have made sure that he was a permanent resident of the Nevada prison system.

  That whole situation was why he related to Nova Levine. He understood better than anybody why she did what she did. Some things were just unavoidable. Hurt people, hurt people. And in that way, they should be pardoned for their actions. He would forever stand by that.

  Nova Levine, was hot. A looker. But it wasn’t her that he wanted; an irresistible opportunity had put her on his radar. She happened to be linked by six degrees of separation—more like two…

  Though she was attractive, black girls weren’t really his thing. Well, maybe once or twice. But that was about it. They just didn’t do much for him. They walked around with airs about them, had mouths that were way too out of control, and much too uptight about anal sex. But they were smart as fuck. No honest person could deny that. Their thought process was unmatched. Before they did anything, the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed.

  That level of intellect was why he knew that he needed to tread carefully with Nova. She was not only smart, but calculated. The very last thing he needed was to come out on the short end of the stick. That, to him, would be a loss, and he didn’t come into this situation to lose.

  His Samsung Note was affixed to a cell stand on the dashboard, and turned in the vertical position. Because it was so dark out, and he didn’t want to be discovered with a glowing light from inside his vehicle, the screen had been dimmed. He didn’t need it to be at its brightest, anyway, for it was the sounds emitting from the Pornhub video that he needed to hear.

  There was nothing like desperate, hungry moaning from a butt-ass naked woman on her fucking knees taking it from the back, and in the back door.

  A guy can dream, right? he thought as he pulled his erection from the slit in his boxer briefs.

  Once the seat was reclined, the man closed his eyes and began to stroke his shaft, top to bottom. Excitement rose each time the skin rolled against his palm. The harder the on-screen lovers went at it, the harder he spanked his monkey. And he was not kind, either. He never was when it came to self-pleasure. Because to him, pain was pleasure. He pulled and tugged at his baby-maker so hard it felt as though it would detach from his pelvis. And so, when his nut let off a milky warning shot, he smiled knowing that the full storm was fast-approaching. He tried to keep it at bay. He wanted to weather the storm just as long as they did. There was no way he would allow dude on-screen to outdo him. It was unacceptable.

  But the more he tried to hold out, the more it became clear that he would lose the battle.

  “F-f-fu-fu… fuck…” he grunted out. “Aaahh yeah, baby! Aaahh fuck yeah!” His body twitched with the release of the flowing orgasm. “Ummf… ummf… wh-wh-whooo…”

  As he came down from the momentum, he huffed, pushing loud clouds of air from his chest.

  The towel he retrieved from the backseat was for the explosion that had left globs of debris all over his hands. Several moments after wiping himself clean, his deed was done and he was free to be on his way.

  “We’ll meet again really soon, Nova…” he promised, smiling to himself.

&nbs
p; 10 | Nova

  Tuesday morning, at 10:00AM sharp, me and my five-inch stilettos walked into the pristine, three-story glass building, that was Randolph Canton Luxury Cadillacs—my place of employment. The showroom was already busy, and littered with a predominately male crowd. Most of them wore tailored designer labels, that their celebrity clientele, and six-figure salaries afforded them. Randolph Canton, only hired the best to sell his luxury vehicles; I was the top one—and his protege. I had been with Randy for nine years… since the age of twenty-six. It was under Mr. Canton’s tutelage that I made my first million, two years in.

  I caught the questioning eyes of a few, as I passed a small gathering near the hospitality kiosk. It didn’t have to be shouted from the rooftop to know that I had been a topic of discussion. I expected to come back to buzzes and side eyes from a few. I even expected for one or two to be bold enough to ask questions that hadn’t been covered in the news.

  “Morning, Nova!”

  I turned around to see Mandy, a sweet girl who was our customer service supervisor. She had her hand in the air waving enthusiastically.

  “Hey Miss Mammas! I’ll be by to chat you up later! Gotta hibernate for a bit. I already got a glimpse of my day before I—”

  “I know, I know!” She smiled. “Just glad you’re back.”

  “Me too. See ya in a bit.”

  I activated my tunnel vision for the rest of the way, sweeping past as I encountered a group of guys that I never really talked to. But not even a few steps past their meeting spot, one in particular, was already headed my way.

  I got no time for you today, Kyle. Or any day for that matter.

  “Nova…” he called out, falling in line with me. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “You good?”

  “I’m great, Kyle.” I put on the biggest fake smile my mouth would allow. “Do you really care, though?”

  Kyle and I both knew that he would like nothing better, than for me not to show up to work—at all. He would have been all too happy if I had been the one to meet with an uncertain fate. Why? Because I was one of five women employed by Canton, and the only black one… in a senior role. And for a long time, I had been breaking records in a field that was male-dominated. I loved it. What I loved even more, was that I outsold everyone there—not once or twice—consistently. It didn’t sit well with them, especially Kyle Pendleton.

  But Mr. Canton loved it. That was all that mattered.

  As a token of his admiration and appreciation, I had the newest, and the most beautiful cherry-red beauty, one could imagine—a Cadillac ATS. Had already taken several all-expense paid trips to Brazil and Italy, in the nine years that I had been employed there. The perks were many. But I had earned them. And it couldn’t be for a better company.

  “Of course, I care,” Kyle responded. He was the annoying gnat that refused to go away. The one that attached itself to your favorite fruit in the fruit bowl. I made my way down the hall, and to my corner office. “How’s it going with you?” he pressed.

  I put a cardkey to the censor attached to the glass door of my office, then slid it over to enter. I thought ignoring Kyle would make him go back to the floor and out of my face, but there his insistent ass was. I stepped inside my door and hit a lever at the entrance to open my electric blinds, then padded over to my closet to place my satchel inside.

  “Kyle, what do you want?” My tone was dry, as I moved about paying my intruder, little attention.

  Leaning against the paneling of the threshold with his hands in his pockets. “Listen, I’m being real. We all know what happened. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

  At my desk, I clicked my mouse a few times to awaken my monitor. When my screensaver appeared, and my apps proceeded to load, I folded my arms across my chest, training my eyes on the liar in my midst. “I’m perfectly fine. Thanks for asking.”

  “Well, now… I find that hard to believe. It’s all over the news about how your husband—”

  “I don’t need a recap, Kyle.”

  “Man, oh man. It just really baffles me. I thought you were so happily married. And damn, to find out that your best friend was—”

  I was a split second, from verbally diminishing his manhood, when I heard, “Kyle…” in the sharpest of tones. A tone that wasn’t to be mistaken for anything nice.

  Upon seeing my mentor, Mr. Canton, the corners of my mouth formed into a taunting smile.

  Now, Kyle… we both know it’s your ass later.

  I had never seen a body erect so quickly, as when Kyle’s name was called. You would’ve thought he had just been ordered to go and get his own switch for an ass whooping. He about-faced in Mr. Canton’s direction, who now stood mere inches from him, and winning by about an inch in height.

  Whoa, Kyle. What a pink face you have.

  I so wanted to laugh out loud to humiliate him further, but I took the high road.

  “Go be productive, Kyle,” Mr. Canton ordered, staring him in the eyes. “Then meet me in my office in an hour.”

  Check ya draws, bitch-ass!

  Once Kyle was out of earshot, a chuckle finally escaped me. “Hello, Mr. Canton.” I met him where he was, and walked into his large, welcoming arms for a much-needed hug. “My savior.”

  “Always…”

  “How are you today?” I asked him.

  “No, the question is… how are you? I thought we agreed that you were taking a few weeks off. I wish you’d taken me up on my offer to take the jet anywhere—away from here.”

  “Honestly, I’d rather be here. This is more like home, than home. And…” I lifted up on my tiptoes to give him a final peck on the cheek, before we released each other. “…I didn’t need that much time. You know, that not much, can hold me down. Not even something as disgusting and degrading as—”

  “Fucking loser,” Mr. Canton hissed with a shake of his head. Disgust resided inside of his faded blue irises. He held onto the sides of my arms. “You know that I know you well, right?”

  I nodded. “Better than most.”

  “So then, lock your computer up and grab your purse. Let’s take a ride.”

  11 | Nova

  Mr. Canton knew exactly what he was doing when he brought me to the M Resort, Spa & Casino. He knew it was one of my favorite places in all the Valley. Not only had I been a guest—on a few occasions—I’d eaten at all nine of their restaurants over the years. They all had tasty dishes, but I had a feeling that we were going to the one I loved the most. Just being in the vicinity, created an appetite that wasn’t there before.

  I had wanted to resist so badly when Mr. Canton told me we were going for a ride. Only because I had days of work to catch up on. I had certain clients that only wanted to deal with me; and it seemed that while I was gone, they had all come calling. So, needless to say, my Tuesday had already been dictated for me when I got up and did a quick scan of both emails and voicemails. However, now that I was here, it was like, ‘Umm… work who?’

  “You play so dirty,” I playfully scolded him, when we pulled into the lot.

  Mr. C. turned to me with a sly grin. “You tell no lies, young lady. And it gets even dirtier,” he teased.

  I nudged his shoulder. “And just what does that mean, mister?”

  “You’ll see,” he responded.

  We handed off Mr. Canton’s Aston Martin to the valet, and entered Jayde Fuzion. We were several seconds in, when I realized what he meant by, “It gets even dirtier.” Up ahead, sitting beautifully, was Mrs. Canton. The regal goddess’s warm smile greeted us even before we reached her.

  “You lucky man, you. She’s a stunner.”

  “Ain’t she?” he bragged, beaming with pride.

  I glanced up at him for one reason—to see the love on his face, in his eyes. Their love, was at a point, goals for my own love life. They made me believe that everything you needed could for sure be found in a single person. Individually, and as a unit, they were amazing. I wasn’t connected to them by blood, but since
I entered Mr. Canton’s employ and met the Missus, they had always treated me with nothing but kindness. It was part of the reason that my colleagues at the dealership treaded carefully, when it mattered. Some just steered clear altogether. They swore that Mr. Canton showed me favoritism. And it may have been; but that was because he respected the level of dedication that I brought to his company.

  Mrs. Canton stood to greet me. Her embrace was as tender as they come. “How is our girl?” She pulled back, her brown eyes scanning mine in search of the answer to her question.

  “I’m—”

  “She’s going to tell you that she’s fine,” Mr. Canton offered, placing his hand on the small of his wife’s back and leading her back into her seat. “But we know different.”

  Once we’d all taken our seats, I addressed them. “I really don’t want you to worry about me. I really am okay. I mean, am I hurt? Of course. But will it break me?” I shook my head. “No. I won’t let it.”

  Like so many other times, I silently fanned out on how perfect they were together. They were an extremely handsome couple, both in their mid-sixties, but who could easily pass for ten years younger than that. Youthful, and stylish.

  When I interviewed with Mr. Canton years ago, I remembered wanting to ask him the whole time if he was related to Steven Michael Quezada, who played Steven Gomez on Breaking Bad. They could easily be brothers with their strong, dark features and eyes that seemed to look right through you. He had everything of that man’s down to the goatee. It was just that Mr. Canton’s was whisked with wisdom streaks that had gathered at a designated spot at the tip of his beard.

  Mrs. Canton was a picture of seasoned beauty. Tall, and voluptuous, with smooth, dark skin. There sat a single mole near the base of her right cheekbone. She always wore scents that called to the senses, and that smelled like they came directly from the shelves of Paris—and probably did. Her makeup never lacked. With the shortage of talent in the Valley, I was sure she had her very own MUA on retainer. If I had to pick a word to describe her, it would be, flawless.