An Arrangement of Love (30 page)

What had I been thinking? Why did I even try to live there?

Chase was why. He’d set the trap with the job, hooked me with the high-end dining and trips, and then reeled me into his outrageous world.

Was it just that? Or was it more? God, it felt like more to me.

He’d confessed to Dawn that I was different.
But for how long? A year, or a couple of months?
Then girl number five would be moving into the house, or even worse, I’d be dead. I didn’t know how, but the fourth girl never survived and I wasn’t willing to hang around and find out why.

I love you, Jasmine.

He’d said that a lot in these past days, from when we made love in Paris to cuddling in my bed.
How could he love me and not tell me about Benny?
He knew Benny was my dad and never said anything.

Oh my god.

I glanced at my brother and Vivian.

Troy held her free hand as she drove. “Are you okay, sis?”

“Yes.” I twisted my lucky copper ring. “Umm . . . I have some really, really bad news and I don’t know how to say it.”

“Worse than you running with a knife from a rich white guy?” Troy smirked.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Worse than that. Unfortunately, it affects all three of us.”

“Then maybe we should wait until we get home.” Vivian gave me a weak smile in the rearview mirror. “You know I can’t drive well with bad news.”

“Okay.”

Troy kissed her check. “I love you, Viv. You looked so cute as watch-out today.”

“You see how sappy your brother is?” she laughed.

“Yeah.” I slumped into the seat. “I see.”

Chapter 32

B
enny, my father,
sat on the green park bench and tossed breadcrumbs on the stone pathway. Pigeons flew down to the pebbled path. A breeze blew through his silvery gray hair. A black designer suit draped him. All my life I wished I had a dad like Benny—strong, kind, powerful, someone who cared.

He’s my dad.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Last Saturday, Vivian and I took the weave out. My hair now hung a little past my shoulders in a pattern of lovely waves.

“Thank you for coming.” Benny kept his attention on the flock of birds.

“You made it worth my while.” I slumped down next to him and crossed my legs.

“You look nice.” Benny turned to me. “You have a date?”

“Yep.” I smoothed the soft material of my black dress with my hands. I wore silver shoes and jewelry.

“With who?” Benny asked.

“Gabe.” I shrugged. “He was promoted to executive chef and asked me out to celebrate.”

“Finally.” Benny handed me the brown paper bag with bread in it. “It only took him six or so years.”

I dug my hand in the bag, grabbed a handful of bread, and threw it on the ground. Birds swarmed my way.

“I watched all of you grow up,” Benny said. “All Gabe did was try to get your attention any way he could.”

I handed the bag back to Benny.

He waved it away. “Keep it.”

“Okay.” I gathered more crumbs and tossed them out.

“Where is he taking you?”

“Well, it will be at the Lan where he works. The whole restaurant is closed. The owner let him have the kitchen and one waiter to serve us.”

“Are you excited?” Benny smiled.

“Yes. The food will be amazing.” I winked at him.

“And the man?”

“He’s growing on me.” I blushed.

“After six years, he still has no chance.” Benny laughed. “Women.”

I nudged his side. “Hey. I like Gabe. He’s really nice and sweet.”

“Poor guy has no chance.”

Two women ran by, chatting with each other. It reminded me of Vivian and myself. We hadn’t run in weeks, no matter how many times I tried to drag her out of bed. She’d stayed in her room all day and night for two weeks. Sometimes I laid next to her, spooning ice cream into our mouths and forcing her to watch old black and white movies with me. This week I focused strictly on Humphrey Bogart films.

“And has Chase stopped trying to contact you?” Benny asked.

“He sits outside of my apartment in his limo all night. I think he sleeps there because he’s still parked there when I wake up.” I pulled a big chunk of bread out and threw it to a tiny bird, hoping she would get it before the other pigeons realized it was there. “I think he wiped his behind with my restraining order, though.”

“Would you like me to handle it?” He placed a folded newspaper on his lap.

“You’ve already done enough by assigning me two guards.”

“When you’re ready let me know. I’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of him.” Darkness shaded his eyes.

That’s what I’m afraid of.

“No, Benny. He’ll give up eventually.” I shook my head. “And since we’re on the subject of Chase, you said you would tell me what you had on him if I met with you, so here I am.”

He rubbed his eyes and looked tired. Vivian refused to speak to him. She hung up when he called and cringed when I brought up his name. We didn’t even discuss that we were sisters. That and Troy’s name were one of the many things I didn’t bring up in order to ensure Vivian would not run into her room and cry for the rest of the night.

Troy still worked at Stone Industries as a security guard. It made sense. No one else would hire him with his record and Chase doubled his salary the day after I left. I didn’t know why, but many reasons passed through my head—maybe he increased the salary to keep Troy quiet about the arrangement, or perhaps he was trying to get to me through my brother.

Chase had definitely won my mother over. She called me daily, begging me to talk to him. He’d moved her, my nieces, and nephews out of South End and into a five bedroom home in Knightson. All of the kids now went to one of the top private schools in the state and a nurse visited my mother three times a week to help with my disabled nephew. I had to admit that when I found out, a large bundle of worry rose off my back. I’d felt light on my feet for most of the day, but then reality hit.

If I continue to not speak to him, how long would he pay for the house and private school tuitions?

“How’s Vivian?” Benny asked.

“She’s still depressed, but she’s finally getting up and taking showers now, to the joy of my nose.” I forced a grin. “I think it will take her some time.”

“And have you heard from Troy?”

“I talk to him every day. He rented a studio apartment a few blocks from us.” Troy confessed to me one night in a drunken stupor that he moved so close so he could see Vivian whenever she left the house.
Too bad she never left the damn house.
Troy spent his days working and his evening in strip clubs drinking away his sorrows and depressing the poor dancers with his sad story about Vivian and him. I’d joined him in a club once. The owner had kicked us out for bringing down the mood.

“And have you found a new job yet?” Benny asked.

“No. As soon as I say my name, the person on the other end either hangs up or a guard escorts me out of the building. No one will deal with me.”

“Then Chase spread the word to not hire you.”

“I guess.”

“How are you paying the bills?”

I bit my lip. “Chase is paying all of our bills. Even my student loans are all paid off.”

“Jasmine—”

“Don’t start, Benny. It’s not like I have much of a choice right now . My bill collectors and even my landlord are too happy to take his money when it’s sent their way, no matter how many times I tell them not to accept it.” I held up my hand. “And stop stalling. You called me and said you had some information on Chase. What is it?”

“You’re impatient. I haven’t seen you since you cursed me out at my house. I’d like to spend time with...my daughter.”

How long have I dreamed of someone saying that to me
?

“I have a date.”

“Okay.” Benny opened the newspaper. “I’m really sorry, Jasmine. I wanted to tell you I was your father so many times.”

“You’ve already said that and I accepted your apology.”

“I cared for your mother, but I couldn’t leave my wife, not while she was dying.” He formed his right hand into a fist. “And then when she passed away, all of you were in your teens, and your mother wasn’t the same.”

“You already told me this.” I gazed at a squirrel that raced up a tree. “I don’t hate you. I just wish things had been done differently. I needed a father, Benny. I needed to know that someone loved me. When you helped I always felt like I owed you, as if I was never going to pay up my debt to you.”

Sorrow seized me like it had been taking a hold of my heart each day. I cried a lot at night and felt stupid for each tear. How pitiful was I to weep for the little girl who always wanted a dad, or shed tears for the shattered new love that Troy and Vivian had? And even my feelings for Chase brought a shower of tears and lightning-fast pain to my chest.

I told no one, but I thought of him almost every minute. Tender moments we shared played in my head like a depressing movie. On and on I reminisced about Paris and all thour times together. I smelled his scent on my skin no matter how many times I scrubbed it—new leather mixed with vanilla.

Like an idiot, I repeated his voicemail messages again and again, drowning in his luscious baritone. He begged me to come back to him. He pleaded that he’d take me any way I would come. But with shaking fingers, I ignored his messages and stayed away. And in the late hours of the night, when Vivian slept and Chase hung outside my window in his limo, I imagined him moving inside of me and my fingers mimicked his strokes. I moaned into my pillow and came so hard my body rocked. But then the hunger for him returned, and the hollowness appeared as if he had gutted me from within.

“Jasmine?” Benny covered my hand with his and squeezed. “Are you okay? Where did you go?”

“Somewhere I shouldn’t be,” I murmured.

Benny opened another newspaper on his side. A thin, black folder lay inside.

“These are just copies, not the originals.” Benny gave it to me. “Each time the three girls died, Chase was with them. Vicki took sleeping pills in the bathroom after having sex with him, returned to him in bed, and laid down. She never woke up. When we reported the death, we told the police she was alone.”

He patted the folder. “Put this information somewhere safe.”

I grabbed the folder and shoved it in my new bag. Chase had delivered it. A big bag with coconut pieces sewed on the fabric. No one knew it was from him. I cleared my throat. “What about the second woman?”

“Someone poured chemicals into a pool while Evelyn was swimming. It burnt her skin and lungs,” Benny said. “Again, Chase was sleeping in her apartment at Willow Park.”

I wonder if this is why they stopped him from sleeping in the girls’ bedrooms at night, or if he’d ended it himself.

“And the third girl?”

“Yancy, the last one, was attacked leaving Stone Industries. Chase was in the limo waiting for her to show up. At least, that was what he said.” Benny shrugged.

“I overheard Dawn say she washed Yancy’s blood from his body.”

“I figured he was around, but he’s always denied it.”

I focused on Benny. “Do you think he killed them?”

“I’m familiar with killers. I can see them a mile away. It’s always in their eyes and the way they carry themselves.” His lips straightened into a line. “It takes one to know one.”

I averted my eyes and stirred a little in my seat. Benny was a lawyer, but he was something else, too. Thugs followed him around. Things disappeared when they caused Troy, Vivian, or me any harm. In fact, no one had seen Noc since he’d been released from jail. Missing pictures were posted outside of Drunken Lyrics asking people to call the police if they knew of Noc’s whereabouts.

“So?” I said. “Do you think Chase killed them?”

He grunted with disdain. “I doubt it.”

“That’s not a definite answer.”

“It doesn’t matter. Stay away from him. It shouldn’t matter whether he’s a killer or not.”

I leaned against the bench. “I will stay away, but I would like to know.”

“Focus on Gabe or any other good guy. You’re beautiful, smart, and an amazing woman,” Benny said. “I knew when Chase spotted you at the Garden Party he wouldn’t let go. How could he? You can offer more to him than those pathetic airheads he has at his estate.”

“Whatever,” I murmured. “They’re beautiful women. They just fell in love with the wrong guy.”

He shook his head. “Karma is a serious thing. My biggest payback in life is that I was blessed with two amazing daughters who would fall for guys like me.”

My phone rang. I checked the screen. It was Chase calling at his usual time, hoping I would pick up.

One day he won’t call. How will I feel about that?

“I have to go.” I used the opportunity to leave. “I’ll see you again. Soon.”

“Will you talk to Vivian and Troy for me, please?”

“Yes.” I’d tried and failed to the point where I didn’t see why it was a good idea for them to communicate anymore. Troy and Vivian didn’t talk to each other either. I could tell they both loved one another, but it embarrassed them too much.

I rose. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Benny.”

“Good. I’ll be happy to hear from you.” His face seemed pained. When I’d called two weeks ago and told him I knew he was my dad, he’d sighed. And when I told him Troy and Vivian had fallen in love, he cried so loud I held the phone to my chest.

“Goodnight, Benny. Take care of yourself.”

“I will.” He got up and hugged me. His big arms wrapped and tightened around me. “I love you and I’m so sorry, Jasmine. So very sorry.”

I nodded my head and left, knowing all he wanted to hear was me say I loved him back. But I wasn’t ready yet. And feared I never would be.

Chapter 33

A
clear night sky
hung over Oshane City. Stars glittered. The moon glowed. My heels clicked on the sidewalk as I headed toward Gabe. He leaned against the door of Lan. To my surprise, he wore jeans, sneakers, and an Oshane Timberwolves t-shirt. Savory scents drifted to me. My stomach swung to overdrive as I anticipated the dishes to come.