Deception (Tamia Luke) (29 page)

Authors: Naomi Chase

BOOK: Deception (Tamia Luke)

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Brandon gave her a look of genuine regret. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Save your fucking ‘sorry,’ ” she spat viciously. “If you were
really
sorry, you wouldn’t be doing this to me. But you know what, Brandon? Karma’s a straight-up bitch. So when that scheming whore betrays you again—because I know she will—don’t come crawling back to me with your balls tucked between your legs. You had your chance to be with a good, faithful woman who truly loves you, and you blew it. So fuck you, and
fuck her
!”

With that, she spun on her heel and marched to the door, yanking it open so hard she nearly sideswiped herself. Skewering Brandon with one last glare, she turned and stormed out.

Chapter 34

Tamia

“Mamacita! Welcome back!”

Tamia beamed with pleasure when she arrived home that evening to find Lou and Honey sipping cocktails in the living room.

“Hey, papi,” she called out warmly.

“
Hola
, working girl.”

After setting down her attaché case and stepping out of her high heels, Tamia made her way over to the sofa. She laughed as Lou caught her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap.

She kissed his pockmarked cheek, then drew back and smiled into his eyes. “I didn’t know you were stopping by today.”

He grinned. “Honey invited me over for dinner. She’s been telling me for months what a great cook she is, so I decided to see for myself.”

Tamia grinned at Honey, who sat curled up on the love seat. “You definitely won’t be disappointed. Baby girl can throw down.” She winked at Lou. “Which is why I’m still keeping her around.”

Honey pretended to pout. “And here I thought it was because you enjoyed my company.”

Tamia laughed, snagging Lou’s glass and stealing a sip of his drink. “Mmm,” she murmured appreciatively. “She even makes good mojitos.”

“I know.” Lou’s voice was slightly slurred. “I can’t stop drinking ’em. I’m on my fourth glass.”

“Fifth,” Honey corrected.

“Really?” He winked at her. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you were trying to get me drunk so you and Tamia can take advantage of me.”

Honey sighed. “I wish, but Tamia doesn’t do threesomes. I already propositioned her.”

Lou burst out laughing.

Tamia just smiled and sipped more of his mojito.

“Which reminds me,” Honey mused, tapping a manicured finger to her lips as she regarded Lou, “how come Tamia’s the only actress who never had any girl-on-girl scenes?”

After exchanging amused glances with Tamia, Lou explained, “That was one of her stipulations. No girl-on-girl action, and her identity had to be hidden from viewers at all times. She wouldn’t sign the contract unless I agreed to her terms.”

“Dayum.” Honey gazed admiringly at Tamia. “You were only, what, twenty?”

“Nineteen.”

Lou chuckled reminiscently. “Even back then, she was a savvy businesswoman who knew what she wanted. And after watching her audition performance, I would have been crazy not to sign her.”

“Wow.” Honey looked impressed. “Now
that’s
what you call a powerful pussy.”

Lou and Tamia laughed.

“Before you got home, Tamia, Lou and I were joking about how scandalized your neighbors would be if we went skinny-dipping in the pool after dinner.”

“Aw, hell, nah! Don’t even think about it,” Tamia warned.

When Honey and Lou traded conspiratorial grins, Tamia shook her head at them. “Okay, I think you’ve
both
had too many mojitos. And speaking of dinner, Honey, whatever you’re cooking smells wonderful.”

The girl beamed. “I’m making my grandmother’s jambalaya and corn bread.”

“Mmm. Sounds delicious.” Tamia smiled softly. “You know, I’d love to meet your grandma sometime.”

Honey grinned. “Funny you should say that. I was gonna invite you home with me for Thanksgiving next week. That is, if you don’t have any plans.”

Tamia’s expression clouded at the thought of Fiona, the only real family member she had. They’d always spent the holidays together. Even when Fiona was incarcerated, Tamia had made a point of visiting her so neither of them would feel lonely. It was sobering to realize that this would be the first of many Thanksgivings they would spend apart.

Observing her downcast expression, Honey said gently, “You don’t have to let me know right away. Take your time.”

Tamia mustered a grateful smile. “Thanks for the invitation. I’ll get back to you soon.”

“Whenever. No rush.” Honey set down her drink and rose from the love seat. “I’m gonna check on dinner.”

After she left the room, Lou kissed the top of Tamia’s head. “Thanks for letting her crash here. I really appreciate it.”

Tamia waved off his gratitude. “You don’t have to thank me. She’s a sweetheart, and I’m enjoying her company. Not to mention that I haven’t had to cook since she’s been here.”

Lou smiled, but only for a moment. “I know she came here because she had a fight with her boyfriend.”

Tamia was silent, neither confirming nor denying what he’d said.

His expression darkened. “She doesn’t want me to find out what happened because I told her what I’d do to that motherfucker if he ever hit her again.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Tamia gently assured him. “She can stay here as long as she needs. She hasn’t been taking any of his calls, so he doesn’t know where she is. This building has a twenty-four-hour front desk attendant. So she’s safe here.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Lou countered grimly. “That asshole’s a cop, so he has resources. Once he realizes that she’s serious about leaving him, all he has to do is triangulate her cell phone to trace her exact location.”

Tamia hadn’t considered that possibility. “So we’ll need to get rid of her phone and get her a new one.”

“Assuming it’s not too late. We both know that if he shows up here and flashes his badge, he’ll be allowed upstairs—no questions asked.”

Tamia frowned, remembering how easily Dominic had gotten to her on Saturday night. Since learning that one of her neighbors had vouched for him, Tamia had been on her guard, viewing everyone with suspicion.

Lou growled, “I don’t want to give that motherfucker a chance to find Honey—or you, for that matter.”

Tamia saw the leashed violence in his eyes, could feel the tension radiating from his body. Even the serpent tattooed onto his neck seemed to be quivering with lethal anticipation.

She swallowed. “Don’t do anything crazy, Lou.”

A muscle hardened in his jaw. “If that’s what it takes—”

“No.” She cupped his face between her hands, forcing him to meet her intent gaze. “Listen to me, papi. Are you listening?”

He hesitated, then gave a tight nod.

“Back in May, I came to you for help with Dominic. Remember that? I asked you to send a warning to him so he’d leave me alone. I was scared, desperate, and at the end of my rope. But I was wrong for requesting such a favor from you. Thank God Dominic was out of town at the time, and thank God you never made that phone call to—”

“Because I was gonna take care of that crazy motherfucker myself,” Lou said through clenched teeth.

“Thank God you didn’t! Don’t you see? If you
had
done something to Dominic, you’d be locked up right now, and I never would have forgiven myself. So I’m asking you not to go after Honey’s boyfriend. I’ll notify the front desk to alert security if he ever shows up here. And since Brandon already put the police on notice over Dominic, maybe we can ask him to make a phone call to Keyshawn’s supervisor—”

“Of course,” Lou drawled mockingly. “How could I forget about our powerful secret weapon who makes problems go away with the snap of his fingers?”

Tamia stared at Lou, taken aback by his sarcastic remark. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Instead of answering her question, he took the glass from her hand and downed the rest of his drink.

But Tamia wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “Aren’t you the one who’s always bragging about how great it is to have friends in high places? Aren’t
you
the one who nicknamed Brandon ‘the rainmaker’ after he got the feds off your back?”

“Yup.” Lou’s lips twisted into a bitterly sardonic smile. “It seems we
all
owe your boy a debt of gratitude. Honey told me that you’re working at the law firm as his assistant. So allow me to offer my congratulations. Didn’t I tell you everything would work out for you?”

“Yes. You were right.” Tamia paused. “Did you know Brandon was going to offer me a job?”
Like you knew about the apartment
, she added silently.

“Nope. I had no clue.” Lou set his empty glass on the table with a sharp
clink
that made Tamia wince. With mounting discomfort, she watched as his hazel eyes roamed down her bare legs and pedicured toenails. When she felt his dick harden against her backside, she knew their friendship had just veered off into dangerous, uncharted territory.

“I don’t know what he’s paying you, mamacita,” Lou said, “but I guarantee you would have made
way
more if you’d come to work for me.”

“Maybe,” she conceded, unnerved by the undercurrent of jealousy in his voice. “But I told you I didn’t want to work at the escort agency.”

“Right.” Lou smirked. “After all, we can’t have the wife of the future attorney general working as a madam.”

Tamia stared at him, searching his face for some sign of the man she’d always trusted and adored. “Where’s all this coming from, Lou?”

He returned her stare. “Where do you think?”

She swallowed hard.

Seconds passed.

When she moved to climb off his lap, his arm tightened around her waist, restraining her.

Their eyes locked.

Tension crackled between them.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Tamia said quietly.

“Maybe.” A shadow of cynicism touched his mouth. “Or maybe that’s what you’d prefer to believe.”

Tamia shook her head slowly. “Don’t.”

Something like pain flashed in his eyes. “Don’t what, Tamia? Don’t tell you that I love—”

“Okay, folks,” Honey announced, returning to the living room. “Everything’s just about ready.”

“Great!” Tamia exclaimed, jumping off Lou’s lap with such haste that Honey’s eyes narrowed. “I’ma go, um, freshen up before we eat.”

“Okay,” Honey said slowly, dividing a speculative glance between Tamia and Lou. “I thought we could have dinner on the balcony. It’s such a beautiful night.”

“That’s fine. Whatever.” As Tamia headed quickly from the living room, her cell phone rang on the foyer table. She grabbed it, pressing the talk button without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Brandon murmured.

“Hey, baby.” She glanced self-consciously at Lou. He met her gaze for a moment, then rose from the sofa and prowled to the windows, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark jeans.

“I’m coming up,” Brandon said.

Tamia’s pulse thudded. “You’re
here
?”

“Yeah. Getting on the elevator right now.”

“Okay.” She gulped a shaky breath. “See you soon.”

When she snapped her phone shut, Honey asked excitedly, “Brandon’s coming over?”

“Um, yeah.”

“That’s great!” Honey enthused, heading back to the kitchen. “He can have dinner with us.”

“Sure,” Tamia said weakly, stealing another glance at Lou. After what had just transpired between them, she didn’t know whether having him and Brandon at the same table was such a good idea.

But she didn’t have time to worry about that.

Tamia went to the front door and opened it just as Brandon raised his hand to press the doorbell.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Perfect timing.”

Tamia smiled, then leaned up and hugged him. Her body tingled at the memory of having him inside her, bringing her to one mind-blowing orgasm after another.

As she pulled away, he brushed her hair off her face, his eyes probing hers. “You left the office without saying good-bye.”

“I know. I wasn’t sure how much time you and Cynthia would need, and I didn’t want to be there when ...” She trailed off awkwardly.

Brandon nodded slowly. “I understand.”

Tamia cautiously searched his face. “Is everything ... okay?”

He hesitated. “Can we talk inside?”

“Of course.” She stepped aside to let him enter, then closed the door behind him. As she led him down the long entryway, she explained, “I have company, so we can talk in my—”

“Hey, Brandon!” Honey called out as she emerged from the kitchen and walked over to greet Brandon, her eyes glinting with feminine appreciation as she looked him up and down. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met briefly at Tamia’s homecoming party. My name’s Halima, but everyone calls me Honey.”

Brandon smiled, shaking her hand. “Nice to see you again, Honey.”

“You, too,” she purred.

When she clung to his hand longer than necessary, Tamia shot her a dark glance.

Honey grinned, reluctantly letting him go. “You’re just in time for dinner, Brandon. I made—”

“Let me guess.” He inhaled deeply. “Mmm. Jambalaya and corn bread.”

Surprised, Honey laughed. “How’d you know?”