Scandalous Heroes Box Set (113 page)

Double Trouble

Men of 3X CONStruction - Book Seven

Erosa Knowles

Copyright 2014 by Erosa Knowles

ISBN:
978-1-937334-40-6

First Edition Electronic July 2014

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author‘s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Erosa Knowles.

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AUTHOR’S NOTES

This book was written for those of you who sent questions regarding Red’s brothers - the twins, Donald and Blaine from Ready for Love. Those two guys were edgy in that book and tell their story in Double Trouble.

This story is also for those of you wondering how Ross, Smoke, Red, Roark, Frank, Julio and yes, Tex – those hot sexy men from the Men of 3X CONStruction series – were doing. Sit back relax and catch up with old friends in this story. Hope your fond memories are rekindled as they all meet up again in Michigan.

A great big thank you to Tasha and Vicki for having my back on this one. Whew, you ladies rock, couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks for all the talented authors in the Scandalous Heroes collection, I am truly honored.

A special thanks to all the readers who have accompanied the Men of 3X CONStruction through their ups and downs, love and heartaches. The men and the women that love them appreciate you, and so do I.

Erosa

Twins Blaine and Donald had no idea they have not one, but two sons from Belinda, the one woman who ever came between them. Seeing her again test family ties as they fight to rescue their son and reclaim the only woman they ever loved.

Chapter 1

Belinda Moore pulled into the parking area of the police station and exhaled. Closing her eyes for a moment, she allowed herself a second to relish the idea of at least one day where there were no fires to put out, no problems to fix, and no fake smiles to wear. Hell, she needed more than a moment to conjure that elusive vision. Opening her car door, she trudged up the stairs, through the thick doors, and headed to the high wooden partition where an officer sat behind really thick glass.

“I’m here to see L. Channing about my son,” she spoke into the round metal device embedded in the glass.

“Name?” the woman asked without looking up.

“Belinda Moore.” She paused and inhaled deeply as a shard of pain split her chest. “My son, Adam, was brought here earlier and I was called to pick him up, but I need to speak with Channing first.”

“I’ll let ’em know you’re here. Have a seat over there.” Her chin tipped up toward a space on the other side of the area.

Belinda gazed in the direction the woman pointed, looked back at the female behind the glass and realized she had been dismissed. Running her hand over her shoulder length hair, she headed in the direction of the uncomfortable hard plastic chairs. Before sitting, she pulled out her cell and called Abraham, her son and Adam’s twin, to check on things at home.

“I’m here, but I have to wait to speak to Channing. How’s your granddaddy?” She sat and crossed her legs while checking out the small waiting area. After snagging the last empty chair in the crowded space, she avoided looking directly in the eyes of any of the beleaguered faces nearby. No one enjoyed sitting in the police station.

“The CNA arrived right after you left. I told her you had an emergency come up with Adam and that you’d be back when you were done. I said it in front of him just in case…well, in case he can hear me beneath all the medication. She’s turning and cleaning him now.”

Belinda pressed her fingers to her forehead and lowered her eyes. Her father’s last surgery seemed to have made him worse. Right now all they could do was hope, pray, and wait. When she first arrived in Michigan, her dad had been bed-ridden and was in a great deal of pain. Seeing her and his grandsons went a long way in encouraging him to agree to this last surgery that would improve his quality of life. Watching her daddy struggle to survive his illness kept her on an emotional tilt-o-wheel. There were moments of pain, anger, and most of all, regret.

“Okay, thanks. I don’t know how long this will take. This isn’t Adam’s first time, so I just don’t know.... We’ll be home as soon as we can. Dinner’s on the stove, make sure you eat before it gets too late.”

“Will do.” He paused. “It’ll be okay. You know how Adam is, he’s having a hard time adjusting to Michigan. He didn’t want to leave Florida, especially the church and his friends.”

“He hadn’t wanted to leave Georgia either. And that was more like a prison camp.”

Abe snorted. “Yeah, but living with Ms. Trinity and going to her church after we moved to Florida wasn’t much of an improvement. That pastor went to prison for rape and Ms. Trinity got mad at you for leaving the church. Brainwashed people running around in those groups.”

Thinking of Trinity Jacobs and the hateful words spoken between them five years ago soured her stomach. They had been best friends in Georgia, but once Belinda stopped attending church after the pastor was convicted, Trinity showed another side of her personality. The name calling and snide remarks were bad enough. But when Trinity disrespected Belinda in front of her sons and friends, she moved out of the rental house and terminated their friendship.

Belinda looked up at a stylishly dressed, dark-complexioned woman who stood in the open doorway glancing around. There was a tug of recognition, but Belinda couldn’t place where she knew the woman from.

“Ms. Moore?” the woman called out in a soft, cultured voice that had everyone in the room gazing in her direction.

Belinda raised her hand as if she were in school. “Gotta go, I’m up.” She clicked off her cell and stood.

“I’m Belinda Moore.”

A smile crossed the pretty woman’s features. “I’m Lorie Channing, please follow me.” She turned and Belinda wished she had taken a moment to put on something other than her jogging suit and old tennis shoes. She ran a hand over her hair again, praying it wasn’t sticking up all over her head.

“You made good time,” Ms. Channing said, glancing over her shoulder when they stopped at a thick metal door.

“I came as soon as I got the call,” she said nervously, watching the woman slide her card through the security reader. They hadn't told her what Adam had done, only that he was being detained. Since this was her second trip to juvie in three months, she had no idea what to expect. Adam had been warned the first time after a janitor at the large Baptist church not far from their home accused him of loitering. He'd assumed this church was open to the public during the day just like their churches had been in Georgia and Florida.

It wasn't.

The door opened and Ms. Channing stood to the side. Heart racing, Belinda stepped through the doorway. Butterflies filled her belly as she wiped her damp palm down her leg. With each step down the hall, she knew today marked a new chapter in the lives of her and her sons, she just wasn’t sure how she would feel about it.

“This way.” Ms. Channing pointed to a hall leading in the opposite direction before walking ahead. Belinda fondly eyed the rust-colored dress and matching heels the younger woman wore. There had been a time when she'd dressed that way every day. Once the call came regarding her father's illness and his needs, she had given up everything to manage his care.

“Here we are.” The woman opened the door and Belinda stepped inside. Adam sat at a table with his eyes down and shoulders slumped. Being the product of a black mom and white dad, his fair complexion held a tinge of red, which concerned her.  She waited for him to look in her direction. His eyes widened hopefully when he saw her.

“Mom!” The relief she heard in that one word held a wealth of meaning. She was mom, dad, coach, protector and provider to him. Belinda had worn all those hats since her sons were born. Once again, she had come to save him, even if it was from himself.

“Adam,” she said, moving in his direction. That’s when she noticed he was chained, like a criminal, to his seat. Frowning, she glanced at Ms. Channing and then back at him. “Are you okay?”

He nodded while licking his lips. A sure sign he was nervous. She wondered what exactly had happened this time.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He ducked his head as she took the seat across from him. She looked him over, searching for anything to explain why he was in a police station.

“Why am I here, Adam?” No need to accuse him of anything, they’d get to that in a moment or two. First, she needed him to tell her what he thought he had done wrong; she would gauge her actions from his statement.

His head lifted slowly. Their gazes connected. He swallowed hard before speaking. After releasing his breath, he spoke. “I was at the pawn shop with Greg, you remember I met him the other day at the Boys Club.”

Pawn shop?

She nodded slowly, recalling the young kid who seemed just as alone as her son. When she noticed Adam talking to the smaller boy, she thought he was making more of an effort to make friends. Had she been wrong? Was something else going on?

“I stood outside, he went inside. The cops came and brought me here. Greg told them we were together.” He paused and dropped his gaze. “He tried to rob the place, had a gun.”

Her heart dropped at the implications. A gun changed everything. “Greg?”

“I don’t know him, not really. I just met him the other day, he was friendly, took time to ask me questions and listened, claimed we’d be going to the same high school in the fall. I saw him at the Boys Club this afternoon, he asked me to walk with him after we played a round of basketball. I said sure. Then we reached the pawn shop and he went inside. I didn’t know he had a gun, why would I? We were hanging out and he told me he’d be right back, for me to wait for him. So I did.” His eyes pleaded with her to believe him.

She did.

This was classic Adam. He believed people. It wasn’t that he was completely gullible, but he preferred to see things that weren’t always there in others. Her godmother was partially to blame for that. She'd drilled honesty and fairness into her sons when they were young. It worked with Adam, not so much with Abe.

“Why did he tell the police you were together? Is he trying to get you in trouble?” She glanced at Ms. Channing. The woman sat quietly at the other end of the small table, allowing them to talk. When their gazes met, Channing smiled before writing something on the pad in front of her. The small contact eased the knot of fear that had been growing in Belinda’s chest since the mention of the gun.

“While we were walking, he asked me to join his group, his gang. I told him no, plus we just moved here. He said the only way to make it in the city is in a gang. Ms. Channing said that’s not true.” His gaze slid to the other female listening at the end of the table.

A block of ice lodged in Belinda’s chest. “Gang? Did you say gang?” Her voice rose. No way was she going to lose her son to another group of fanatics, once had been enough.

“Ms. Moore, what happened to Adam is fairly common.”

“What?” Belinda’s head whipped around to face Ms. Channing. “Common? Setting my son up to go to jail or trying to get him involved in a gang?”

Ms. Channing stacked the papers in a folder and placed it on the table before clasping her hands together. She met Belinda’s gaze. “Both actually. It’s why I needed you to come down here so we can strategize how to keep either of those things from happening.”

Confused as to what the woman proposed, Belinda shook her head. “What do you mean strategize?” If they thought she would allow her son to go through some sort of scared straight program with hardened criminals, they had lost their minds. Adam wasn’t accustomed to the sterile world they faced in Michigan. Being raised in the south, with a close-knit church going family, he functioned best within a larger group of people rather than just her, his twin brother and her dying father.

Exhaling, she released her fear and zeroed in on what she was certain would be one of the most important conversations she’d had in recent years. “Please tell me what you have in mind?” She was surprised at how composed she sounded when the nuts and bolts that held her world together was disappearing at an alarming rate.

“There are mentoring programs in the city that are in place for at-risk youth. I would like to partner Adam with one of the groups to see if he connects with one of the men, that way he would have someone in his corner to help him understand his choices and how to navigate through some rough waters.”