Pawns & Kings Page 18

  I watched her march off and couldn’t help but laugh to myself. She was definitely a fiery one and I kinda liked that. I walked to the elevator at a steady pace and got there just as the elevator arrived. Janelle got on first and then I went on behind her. I glanced at her as I stood beside her and then lifted my eyes so that I could watch the indicator move from floor to floor. The tension between us was so thick that the elevator almost couldn’t hold it. I could see her squirming and shifting her stance out of the corner of my eye, but I stood there and continued to be cool, calm, and collected. That’s how I appeared on the outside, but my insides were doing flips. There was so much going through my mind, but nothing was affecting me greater than the sexual attraction that I felt for Janelle. Since the day we met it was obvious that we were attracted to each other and maybe that attraction was the real reason that I saved her life. I was only a man, and Janelle was playing to all of my weaknesses.

  “And one other thing,” she said suddenly as she turned toward me. “After tonight I don’t want anything to do with you. You’re nothing but an obnoxious tyrant. And if you think that I’m going to ever let you use me again then you’re wrong. I can’t believe that I…”

  Before she could continue her rant, I pinned her body against the wall of the elevator and began kissing her. She moaned against my mouth, partially out of surprise, but mostly out of pleasure. We kissed each other ferociously as we released all of the sexual tension that had been brewing between us. My hands were all over her body and they eventually found their way up to her supple breast. I immediately felt her nipples harden through the material of her sundress since she didn’t have on a bra. She honestly didn’t need one since her breast sat up perfectly on her chest.

  I was about to let my hands do some more exploring when she pushed me away from her, and slapped me. I let the slap slide because I deserved it. But that slap just turned me on even more.

  We were both out of breath and our eyes were filled with lust as we silently stared at one another. I knew that she wanted me. The way that she was looking at me and biting her lip gave that away. There was no doubt in my mind that I was about to tap that.

  I took a step toward her and reached out for her just as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. She stepped out of my reach and walked off of the elevator. I came off behind her and followed her halfway down the hallway before I was all over her again. I had her facing the wall while I pressed up against her backside. I was kissing her neck, nibbling on her ear, and caressing her thighs as my hands moved further up her dress. She moaned as my fingers found her clit and began to work their magic. We didn’t even realize that we weren’t alone until we heard one of the hotel attendants clear her throat as she was walking by us.

  Janelle took me by the hand and led me down the hallway to the room. I was mesmerized while I stared at her perfectly round ass as her hips swayed. Once we were at the door I let her reach into my pocket and retrieve the room key. She whipped it out and then opened the door. Once we were inside Janelle dropped the room key and her purse on the floor before heading for the bedroom. On her way there she pulled her dress off over her head, revealing her beautiful body and the black thong that she was wearing. After watching her from the door I walked across the living room and into the bedroom where she was removing her shoes.

  I closed the door and she came over to me and began removing my clothes. Once my shirt was off she led me over to the bed while unzipping my pants. She sat on the edge of the bed, pulled my pants and my boxers down, then dropped her head to go down on me. After that, we didn’t need to argue or exchange any other words. We allowed our desire to take over as we unleashed our anger on each other in the most sensual way possible. All I could think when we were done was that sometimes angry sex was the best sex.

  Chapter XXV- D.J.

  Before I even opened my eyes I could hear the steady beeping of the heart monitor machine. The smell of ammonia filled my nostrils as I began to become more aware of my surroundings. I was lying on a firm mattress with cheap sheets and I knew that I had to be in a hospital bed.

  I opened my eyes slightly and was instantly blinded by the florescent light that was hanging over me. I squeezed my eyes shut before attempting to open them again. My vision was blurred at first, but when my eyes began to focus I could see that there were two men standing at the end of the bed having a hushed conversation with each other. They were both dressed in t-shirts and jeans so I knew that they didn’t work at the hospital. I thought that I recognized one of them, but I wasn’t sure.

  I was about to get their attention and ask them why I was here, but then I began to remember the card game and everything that happened thereafter. I remembered the shootout, being stabbed, and getting help from a homeless man before I blacked out. I was surprised that I wasn’t dead or at least in pain, but they obviously had me on a strong dose of oxycodone so that I wouldn’t feel the pain.

  Suddenly the two men looked at me and realized that I was awake.

  “Go get the nurse,” the man with the beard said to his friend. I then remembered where I recognized him from. He was the white guy who was at the card game. I noticed that he had a police badge hanging around his neck, and I knew that could only mean one thing: he was an undercover cop. It seemed that there was a lot of sneaky shit going on at that game.

  I tried to speak to him but I couldn’t because my mouth and throat were so dry. The white guy’s partner, who was a Hispanic guy, came back into the room with a nurse. The nurse rushed to my side and instantly began checking my vitals.

  “We didn’t expect you to be awake this soon,” she said to me. “How do you feel?”

  Again I tried to speak but all I could only manage to rasp out was, “Water.”

  The Hispanic detective instantly moved over toward a table that was beside the window. He picked up the pitcher that was sitting there and filled a Styrofoam cup with water before walking the cup over to the nurse. I tried to sit up in bed the best that I could so that I could drink the water while the nurse held the cup. After a few sips my throat opened up a little so that I could talk.

  “What am I doing here?” I asked the nurse.

  “The paramedics found you in an alley,” she told me. “The dispatchers received a call from the owner of a liquor store in the area. He said that a homeless man told him to call 911 because there was someone who was seriously injured. You were in pretty bad shape when they found you, but you’ll be okay. You did lose a lot of blood though, and if it hadn’t been for that homeless man then you probably would have died in that alley. I’d say that you owe him your life.”

  The thought of me owing a homeless person anything was a strange thought, but I knew that the nurse was right. That bum saved my life, which was ironic since I had pretty much spent my whole life mistreating people like him.

  The nurse finished checking my vitals and then promised that she’d be back later before leaving the room. The two detectives were still hovering over my bed and I really didn’t understand why they were here. They needed to be out there looking for Francisco and his nephew instead of worrying about whether or not I lived or died.

  They both glanced at me nervously before looking at each other. They were acting weird and I wanted to know what was going on.

  “So you’re a cop?” I asked the white guy, causing him and his partner to turn their gazes on me.

  “Yes I am,” he replied. “I’m detective Ward and this is my partner detective Hernandez. I bet you’re probably wondering why we’re here.”

  I tried to sit up more in the bed but I didn’t say anything.

  “My partner has been undercover on this case for months, and tonight was the first night that he had gotten that close to the boss,” Hernandez told me. “But from what my partner told me, you were the reason that things went south.”

  I still said nothing, I just sat there and looked at the two detectives as if they were crazy.

  “What is your connection to Con
rad Baptìste and his operation?” Ward asked me plainly.

  “Conrad?” I said. “You still think he’s the one running the show?”

  Ward and Hernandez looked at one another confused.

  “What are you saying?” Ward asked.

  “It’s not Conrad’s operation,” I told him. “His uncle, Francisco, is the one running things.”

  “Francisco,” he said and seemed to be glad that he finally had another name.

  “Yeah. He’s the one you need to be trying to find. But good luck with that,” I said.

  “Thank you for the information,” Ward said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you committed multiple crimes tonight.”

  I knew they weren’t going to let me off that easily. When there were that many dead bodies in one place, you knew that they were going to incriminate everybody who survived.

  “So you’re here to arrest me?” I asked.

  “We will if you’re not willing to cooperate,” Hernandez told me. “We need all the information that you have on Francisco, Conrad and their business matters here in the US.”

  “You obviously oppose a threat to them or they wouldn’t have kicked you out of the game,” Ward said.

  I just lay there quietly wishing that they would leave me alone. They had some nerve to be there in my hospital room trying to get information out of me. I almost died out there and they were showing me no sympathy.

  “We’re going to leave and let you get some rest,” detective Ward said. “But we will be back tomorrow. And when we get here, you better be ready to talk.”

  With that they both turned and walked out of my hospital room. Little did they know, I wasn’t going to tell them shit. And I wasn’t going to let them arrest me either. What I had done that night was self-defense. Hell, I was the one laying up there in a hospital bed. But I was doing better than Armando and his boys.

  I had to get out of there. I didn’t have time to wait. I started disconnecting the wires and IV’s that were in me. I let the railing down on the bed and climbed out of it. I held my side which had begun to throb with pain as soon as I started moving. Ignoring the pain, I began to move around the room in search of my clothes. I opened a cabinet on the other side of the room and there they were in a laundry bag. They were still dirty and bloody, but I would have to make due until I got out of there.

  I quickly changed out of the hospital gown. I found my phone, wallet and keys in the cabinet as well. Now all I had to do was sneak out of there unnoticed.

  I quietly crept out of my room and into the hallway. There was no one in the hallway and no one at the nurse’s station. I headed for the stairs at the far end of the hallway. Once I made it there I knew that I was pretty much in the clear. I arrived at the first floor and then went out through the back door. I was walking with a limp since I was still in a lot of pain but that wasn’t going to stop me. I walked out into the night air having no idea where I was going to go or what I was going to do next. All I knew was that eventually I was going to get back on track with my ultimate plan.

  Chapter XXVI- Darius

  Janelle and I spent most of the early morning giving each other world class sex until we were both exhausted. We slept for a couple of hours before I got up. I showered, got dressed and went to a boutique that was right down the street. They weren’t opened yet but I convinced the owner to let me in so that I could get a few things. I figured that Janelle wouldn’t want to have to put on the same clothes that she had on the night before, so I bought a dress for her and under garments. Both of our clothes had been scattered across the bedroom floor so I checked the size of her dress before I left.

  I arrived back at my hotel suite with only a couple of hours to spare before the private jet would be ready to head back to Atlanta. I walked into the bedroom and found that Janelle wasn’t in the bed. I heard the shower running so I figured that was where she was. I laid the new clothes out on the back of the chair that was over near the window before pulling out my suitcase. I started gathering all my clothes and stuffing them into the suitcase. I didn’t really feel like folding them neatly, especially since I was going to have everything dry cleaned once I got back home.

  Janelle walked out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her head. She stopped in the doorway when she saw me and almost looked surprised to see me.

  “Hey,” she said timidly.

  “Hey,” I replied simply. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s just that when I woke up and saw that you weren’t here, I thought that maybe you left Miami without me.”

  “Nah. I figured you’d want some different clothes so I went and got you something,” I said before nodding my head toward the chair.

  She looked in that direction before walking over there. She ran her hand across the smooth silk material of the dress. It was similar to the one that she had on the night before, but the one that I bought her was purple instead of orange.

  “Wow. That was really nice of you,” she said. “I’m kinda surprised that you would be that sweet and thoughtful.”

  “Well, regardless of what you may think of me, I can be a sweet and thoughtful guy,” I said.

  She gave me a smile before turning her back to me. She removed her towel and began to get dressed. I didn’t know if she was trying to seduce me or not, but she was definitely turning me on all over again.

  “Natalie is really lucky to have you,” she said before turning back around, now fully dressed.

  The mention of Natalie’s name instantly made me feel guilty. I had been so caught up in everything that went down that she hadn’t even crossed my mind. It was less than twenty-four hours ago when I purchased her engagement ring, and here I was in my hotel room with another woman watching her get dressed.

  I still had every intention of proposing to Natalie, but if she ever found out about me and Janelle then I knew that would be the end of us. Janelle was a beautiful woman both inside and out. It was going to be hard to let her down after all of this Francisco mess was dealt with, but I didn’t have any other choice. My heart belonged to Natalie and it always would.

  “I’d say that I’m the lucky one,” I replied as I continued to pack my suitcase.

  “Darius, I know that everything that happened last night was unplanned and unexpected,” I heard her say as she approached me from behind. I turned to face her as she continued to say, “And I don’t expect anything to change after this. I promise that I won’t cause any problems. As soon as we get to Atlanta I’ll go my separate way and I won’t bother you again.”

  “Come on, now. Don’t start flaking on me,” I told her. “It doesn’t have to be that way. We both want the same thing, and if we work together we can get what we really want. Besides, as long as Francisco is still alive then we are both in danger. He isn’t going to stop looking for either one of us. It’s in your best interest to stick with me, and then once he’s out of the picture you’ll be able to start a new life.”

  Janelle sighed as she hugged herself and began to rub her arms as if she had caught a chill.

  “Its just that this isn’t what I ever envisioned my life being,” she said reminiscently. “I used to have goals and dreams, but I lost them all to Francisco. And all I want is to be free from him. I just want my life back.”

  I grabbed one of her hands as I stepped closer to her. “You’re going to get your life back,” I told her. “You just have to trust me and know that I’m going to help you.” I could see in her eyes that she wanted to believe me, but she still had her doubts. That didn’t stop her from wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me.

  She continued to kiss me as if she had no intention of stopping anytime soon. But I didn’t mind because at the end of the day we needed each other. She needed me for protection, and I needed her to act as a direct contact to Francisco. Not only that, but there may come a time when I would have to use her as collateral which made her a very valuable asset.

  *******


  A couple of hours later we boarded my private jet and prepared to leave for Atlanta. Once again there was perfect weather so there were no delays. I spoke with the pilot and co-pilot and they assured me that the plane was in good condition and that we’d be in Atlanta in a couple of hours. That gave me some peace of mind as I buckled myself into my seat and prepared for take-off.

  Since we didn’t get much sleep the night before, Janelle and I ended up falling asleep in the private bedroom on the plane. We were both exhausted so having sex again wasn’t even on our minds. Besides, my mind had been on Natalie ever since Janelle mentioned her earlier that morning. I couldn’t wait to see her and to hold her in my arms. Four days had been much too long for me. Even though I knew that sleeping with Janelle was a mistake, I was ready to put it behind me so that I could focus on my future with Natalie.

  We were awakened by the voice of the pilot coming over the intercom and telling us that we were about to land. I wasn’t quite sure how long we had been asleep, but to me it didn’t feel like two hours. Janelle sat up on the bed, stretched her slender body, then went into the private bathroom. I got up and went into the area where the seats were so that I could get buckled in.

  I looked out of the window and watched as we descended through the clouds. Once the clouds cleared I was expecting to see the Atlanta skyline, but that is not at all what I saw. One half of my view was a beach with the bluest water and whitest sand that I had ever seen. The other half was a jungle of palms and other tropical trees. I didn’t know where we were, but we definitely were not in Georgia.

  Janelle came and took her seat across from me. She buckled herself in and then noticed the confused expression on my face as I stared out of the window.

  “Darius, what’s wrong?” she asked. Instead of waiting for my response she looked out of the window as well. “Where are we?” she said, baffled.