Forced Out of the Darkness (26 page)

“He was brown skin and
kind of tall. He looked like he was a little taller than you. He had a baldhead
and just a moustache. He was a big man. His chest was big like he worked out
all the time. He also had broad shoulders.”

“Did he say his name?”

“No Sir. He didn’t.”

“Ok, thank you Wilma.”

Monti didn’t know who
would bring something to him that fit that description. He took his keys out
and unlocked his office door. He closed the door behind himself and sat down at
his desk. He looked at the envelope and saw the words:

For Monti B’s eyes only

“Who would bring
something like this to my job?” Monti thought. Monti took a letter opener off
his desk and opened the envelope. He reached in and pulled out a note and read
it.

Monti,

I gave you my
motherfucking phone number so you would call me. You ain’t called me yet. Are
you ready to play my game? You are not as down low and secretive as you think
you are. People know who you are. I give you till noon to call me. You will pay
one way or another. If you don’t call me just be ready to live your worst
nightmare.

Calvin

“Who the fuck did this
guy think he was?” Monti said. “Who the hell was Calvin?” Monti thought about
it and could not think of who this was. “How can I call someone when I don’t
know who they are?” Monti said.

He pulled out his cell
phone and started scrolling through his contacts. The problem with this was
that Monti didn’t put people in under their correct names. He put them in under
what he knew them as. Yolanda was in under ‘The Evil One’. He scrolled through
and could not find anyone under Calvin in his list. He started back from the
top and tried to associate all the contacts with the name Calvin and nothing
came to him. He thought about the description that Wilma gave him but that did
not make him remember anything. Monti was getting frustrated because he could
not figure out who this was. He got pissed and said, “Fuck this stupid childish
motherfucker.” He tried to put this thought in the back of his mind as he
looked at his watch. It was only 10:00 am, so he just went about his day. He
was not going to let this control his day. He had 4 hours left in his day.

Monti had to go for a mind-clearing
walk around the hospital. He knew that he had to clear his head and sort out
what was going on. In order to think about the situation, he had to take a
breather. He walked to a place where he found peace. He headed to the chapel
where he could think. He spoke to employees and visitors as he passed them. He
was on a mission to be able to sit in peace for a few moments to clear his
head. Once he got to the chapel, he slipped in unnoticed and sat in the back to
ponder what direction should he take and how he should handle this mystery
person.

Monti picked up the Bible
and prayed that God would give him guidance on what direction he should go. He
prayed for peace and understanding. He sat there in the stillness of the
chapel. He knew he had to wait and see what would happen because he was not
able to do anything because he did not know who Calvin was. He could not call
someone that he did not know. There, in the chapel, Monti found peace and
tranquility. He looked at his watch and saw that it was close to 11:00. He knew
he had to get back to work but he was sure to make one more stop here before he
left work that day.

As he made his way back
to his office, Monti’s phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID to see it
was Pookie. Pookie was the nickname that he gave to Cameron. He did not know
how he came up with it but it was something that he liked. Cameron did not even
know that he had a nickname but in time Monti would share it with him. “Hey Cam.”

“Hey Monti, I just was
checking in with you to see how your day was going. Is everything ok?”

How did he know that
something was wrong? Monti thought. Panic struck Monti and he could not speak.

“Monti?” Cameron asked.
“Are you there?”

“Yes, Cam. I am here. Sorry
just caught me in the middle of something. I am here now. You have my undivided
attention.”

“I just wanted to know
if you were having a good day. I had a strong feeling a few minutes ago to call
you. Is everything ok?”

“What kind of stuff is
this? God, were you telling me something?” Monti thought. “Yes, I am doing
well. What do you have going on?” he replied.

“Not much…I was in your
area and wanted to see if you went to lunch yet?”

“Actually, I haven’t
yet. I would love to accompany you to lunch. How long before you get here?”

“I can be there in about
five minutes. There are a couple restaurants near the hospital we can eat at,
is that ok?”

“Yes, that will be
fine.”

“Good. I will see you
in a few minutes.”

“Ok, bye.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

You Want to Blow Me Off
?

Cameron picked Monti up
at the front entrance of the hospital and the two of them went to a local Coney
Island. They ordered lunch and as they sat at a booth by the window, Monti
could see that Cameron was excited about something. His eyes were sparkling
more than they usually did. “What’s got you so excited? I can see it all over
you face.”

“I have some good news
to share with you.”

“What is this good
news?”

“I just got a call
today that all my background and preliminary stuff is done.”

“What does that mean? They
make you have background checks after you have been flying for all this time?”

“No, I accepted another
job and now I am starting the new position on the Tuesday after Labor Day.”

“What? Are you
serious?”

“Yes, I am serious. You
said that you didn’t want to be in a relationship where your partner was gone
all the time. Plus I was tired of the mistreatment at the airline. So I applied
for a new job.”

“What are you going to
be doing?”

“I am going to be a
personal banker at National Bank, downtown Detroit.”

“Wow that is really nice.
That is great news.”

“I am really excited. It
is not something that I have done before, obviously, but I am excited to take
on new challenges and see what direction my career takes.”

“I am proud of you,
Cameron.”

“Thanks.” Cameron
reached into his backpack and pulled out the gift that he stopped off and got
for Monti a couple weeks ago.

“What’s this?”

“This is what I got for
you a couple weeks ago. I thought about returning it but figured that I wanted
you to have it then and I still want you to have it today.”

“You never cease to
amaze me Cameron. You are the one with the promotion and should be getting
showered with gifts and you come here with something for me. I am honored to be
in a relationship with you.” Monti was sincere when he said those words to
Cameron.

“Go ahead and open it.”

Monti opened his gift
and was surprised at how observant that Cameron was. He did not have Bvlgari in
his collection. The flat round bottle with black surrounding it was very sexy
looking. “Thanks Babe. I appreciate this.”

“No problem Monti. I am
glad you liked it. I would hate to have gone through all that for something
that you didn’t even like.”

“It is alright. So,
what do you have planned tonight?”

“Nothing. Why? What do
you have in mind?”

“I want to celebrate
your new job with you. We can go out for drinks and dinner. You name the
place.”

“What about Logan’s
Roadhouse? That is the first place that we met and had dinner so it is fitting
that we go back there for milestones in our relationship.”

“Ok sounds good. I have
to pay a couple bills after work but will be there right after that.”

“Cool. Let’s pay for
this lunch and get you back to work it is already 12:30 pm.”

Monti looked concerned
and Cameron picked up on it immediately. “Are you sure everything is ok? Are
you late for a meeting?”

“Yes, it started at
12:30.” Monti lied.

“Let’s go.” Cameron put
down a twenty-dollar bill as they got up. He dropped Monti back at work about 5
minutes later. Once inside the hospital, Monti was extra vigilant as he walked
back to his office. As he walked up to his door, he got nervous as he saw a
piece of paper stuck to the office door. He read the note that said:

Mr. Burroughs,

I looked for you to let
you know what was needed for the 2
^nd
shift as you asked. I could not
find you so I told Mr. Williams. If you need something else just call me on my
cell phone.

Have a good day,

Wilma

Monti breathed a sigh
of relief when he read Wilma’s note. He forgot that she was leaving early. He
settled into his office and worked on his EMS reports. After he completed his
reports, he went to do his final rounds for the day. He felt better because
nothing had happened since he received the note. He was thinking about seeing
Cameron again after work. He wanted to just have a good night to celebrate Cameron’s
new job and that he was going to be home each day. His rounds went well with no
issues. Monti was confident that the envelope was just a prank by someone and
so he went about his day. He briefed the 2
^nd
shift supervisor about
the activities of the day and proceeded to leave the hospital.

As Monti walked towards
his Jeep he saw another manila envelope that was stuck under the windshield
wiper. Monti ran to the Jeep and got the envelope. He got in the vehicle and
opened the envelope. He reached his hand in the envelope and pulled out a piece
of paper folded up. There was another envelope that he did not notice in the
envelope. He unfolded the note and read each stinging word.

So Monti,

You think that your
secrets are safe. I told you that you had some work to do but you want to blow
me off. What are you going to do when that sexy boyfriend of yours leaves you
because you can’t keep your dick in your pants. You can either set up some time
to meet with me or you can say goodbye to your little fantasy relationship. You
are far from relationship material with your flawed ass. I am sure that you
haven’t told him about your escapades in Palmer Park or in the bookstores, you
crazy ass whore! How do you like the game so far?

Calvin

Monti’s face burned
with anger as he read the note over and over again. He did not notice the other
envelope inside. “Who the hell is this?” Monti did not remember who Calvin was.
He questioned himself now trying to remember whom he had been with. It was hard
for Monti because he had been going to the park and the bookstores for many
years. He didn’t know where to start. He could not tell Cameron what he had
been doing or even how long he had been doing it because there would be so much
to tell and even Monti could not remember all of his escapades.

Monti was upset and as
he sat in the vehicle. “No one would do anything this nasty.” Monti thought. “Could
Calvin be one of Yolanda’s friends that she got to fuck with me?” He picked up
his phone and found her nickname among the contacts.

“What do you want,
faggot?”

“Oh you are still just
as fucking bitter as the day I walked out on you.”

“Shut the hell up. What
do you want?”

“Tell your friend
Calvin to leave me alone. Aren’t you over this bitterness?”

“What are you talking
about? I knew you would lose it eventually. What, you got caught up in your
shit and now you are looking for a way out? I don’t have a friend named Calvin.
Maybe it is one of those people you were messing around with when we were
together. The nerve of you to call me asking about some gay ass man you been
messing around with. Keep your bullshit away from me and don’t call me with no
bullshit.” She said as she hung up on him.

Monti looked at the
envelope and felt that it wasn’t empty. He reached in and found the second envelope
and opened it. Inside the second one were three photos. A tear formed in his
eye as he studied each of them. The first photo showed him leaning up against a
tree, with his shirt open and a figure kneeling in front of him. He could see
that he was enjoying himself by the expression on his face. The second picture
showed him grabbing a guy from behind as he was fucking Calvin over the fallen
tree. The third picture showed Calvin kissing Monti’s neck and grabbing his
chest. Monti’s head was tilted back as he was grabbing his own sex. Though
Monti knew who the other person was, the average person would not know because
the pictures never showed Calvin fully.

He looked at the photos
and knew exactly who Calvin was. He still did not remember how he knew Calvin
prior to that night in the park; but he knew that he had to find where he put
that number. He did not know how he was going to be able to find it. How would
he explain this to Cameron. He just moved in with Cameron a week ago. Monti did
not know what to do. Maybe Calvin was just bluffing but maybe he wasn’t. No one
that frequented the three B’s (Bushes, Bathhouses and Bookstores) wanted their
business to be put in the streets and Monti had to bank that Calvin was the
same way. Something inside Monti told him that he was not going to be right
this time.