Secrets (23 page)

“How? Where’d you come from?” she asked
against his chest. He waited until his men marched the Hispanic
male from the area and closed off the paneled room. They moved
further into the recreation room.

“Let me get the boys in here.” Sven made a
call and clicked off. “Jonah and Micah will be here soon. Levi’s
driving them around, McDonald’s or something like that.”

“Thanks,” she squeezed him again before
looking around for Kenton. He and Ms. Cook stood talking quietly in
the corner. “How’d you get here? How’d you know?”

Sven told her about what happened at the
Bradley ranch. How the busted security system at the ranch prompted
them to come to the Pittsburgh house. She nodded, glad they’d come
in time. Her stomach growled again, louder in her mind. Sven smiled
and gestured to the stairs.

She shook her head. “No, Renee’s up there on
the floor.”

Sven’s brow rose, he waved two of his men up
the stairs. “Isn’t Renee the woman who came to the ranch with Maude
the other day?”

Ms. Cook heard his question and walked
closer. “I thought I remembered her. She tried to kill Chastity.
Had a gun on her.”

Embarrassed by the sudden attention, she
sputtered. “She planned to kill all three of us until I asked her
to take Mariah to Maude.”

“What?” Sven barked.

Kenton stared at her, his lips in a thin
line. “Why?”

“I didn’t want my baby to die. I figured
you’d eventually get her if Maude had her. At any rate, Ms. Cook
saved the day.” Without fanfare, she explained the events leading
up to Kenton rushing the kitchen.

“The last thing I heard was a gunshot,”
Kenton said, his face bleak. “I was scared shitless when the
connection died. I called Sven and that’s when he told me security
had been breached here as well. He planned to enter through the
basement’s hidden entrance and told me to come through the front
door.” Everything stopped as Renee’s body was carried through the
paneled room and out the basement secret entrance.

“Why’d she want to kill you?” Kenton asked
his brow wrinkled in confusion.

“She had the contract on me.”

Sven and Kenton stared without blinking for
a second.

“No…” Sven breathed in awe as Mariah reached
for him. He made cooing noises in her ear as she laid her head
against his shoulder.

“You’re kidding. I met her last year when
Uncle David was still alive.”

“I know.” Chastity soothed, seeing him
getting upset. “The two of you meeting had nothing to do with this.
She got the contract after the trial with Maude, put the pieces
together from that information, and called Maude looking for you.
Because I wanted to see your ex, she got a positive ID on me. Maude
ran her mouth about the ranch and Mr. Baxter’s holdings. They used
this house as a base and the rest as they say, is history.”

Kenton pulled her close and kissed her hard.
Hungry for more of him and damn grateful to be alive, she melted
into his embrace. They broke apart, gasping for air, without
noticing the others had left the room.

Reaching in her pants pocket, she pulled out
the purple cat-eyed marble he’d given her all those years ago.
Showing it to him, she offered a shaky smile. “I’ve been carrying
it with me ever since you mentioned it the other day.” She kissed
it. “I believed it was my good luck piece.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I was scared. I
thought I’d die without telling you how much I love you one more
time.” Palms on the sides of her face, silently he held her gaze.
“I’m so glad to be alive, here,” she whispered, heart in her eyes.
“With you. You’re the air I breathe; I want to be wherever you
are.”

His face tightened as he pulled her close,
her face in the crook of his neck. A shudder went through him as he
breathed hard and fast. Her hand stroked his wide, strong back.
He’d planned to come wherever she was to save her; at that moment
she knew life without him wasn’t living.

His head lifted, he tilted her face upward.
They gazed into each other’s eyes, promising so much without words.
“I love you so much, Chas. You have to marry me, take my name like
you have my heart. I’ll have the marble made into a ring if you
want.”

The earnestness of his soft-spoken words
tore away the last of her reserve. His joy at holding her in his
arms was contagious. A smile filled her entire body as the answer
bubbled forth. “Yes, baby. Whenever, wherever.” Smiling through her
tears, she let him know the full extent of her commitment. “I’m
willing to leave the ranch to be with you.” He picked her up and
spun her around.

****

Sven had Levi bring food in for everyone,
and they all ate before retiring that night. Mariah refused to
sleep without her mama
and
daddy. Understanding how
stressful how stressful her day had been, they agreed, just this
once. Jonah and Micah fussed at missing all the excitement. Sven
and his men erased all traces of Renee and her team’s existence
from the house.

Later that night they had an in-depth
discussion with the Hispanic male, Raymond, before dispatching him
along with the other two. Sven checked and rechecked the equipment
in the hidden offices. He deactivated the virus, which would’ve
eliminated years of hard work. Now that Chastity was safe, his new
job clicked in. He’d take over where Mr. B left off. He sat behind
the computer and prepared another packet for the FBI.

This time, he sent information on Maude
Stone, the woman had gone too far aiding and abetting Griffin’s
men.

It didn’t take much to get the full story
from Bradley’s son. He and Maude had worked a deal to gain access
the ranch; she sent the black female riding and then took the shot
at the woman. Bradley’s son had been left paying the woman off to
avoid a lawsuit. With Griffin in prison, Maude hadn’t been able to
collect the last of her money. She’d been desperate when she came
to the ranch with Renee.

She’d called him as he was leaving Bradley’s
spread. “Sven, please help me convince Kenton it’s okay for me to
see my grandchildren. Oh my god, the little girl, she looks just
like me.” She sobbed on the phone. “I’ll do anything, anything to
make things right. I… just want the chance to know her. Please help
me.”

Initially, he’d been pissed that she figured
it out so soon. Then, he thought of a way to restore balance. He
agreed to help her and had her meet him and Mariah at a hotel. He
played the “you’re her grandmother and have every right” angle
knowing she’d believe him.

Maude showed up to the hotel room as Sven
sped toward Pittsburgh to find Chastity. The room she entered was
empty except for a note from him saying he was running late and for
her to make herself comfortable. On the bar was a new bottle of
Chivas Regal Scotch, her favorite. He knew she’d take a sip and
moments later pass out from the drugged liquor. His man placed the
dead body of the man she’d been seeing in the bed, stripped her and
placed her on the sofa near the gun. He figured that ought to keep
her tied up for a while, at least long enough for Chas and Kenton
to get settled.

Smiling, he placed pictures of her and the
deceased in the packet. The sales receipt for the gun, and notes in
her handwriting arranging to meet with the dead sucker. When she
woke up in the hotel room, the gun, minus prints, was found near
her and the dead body of Griffin’s man. Last he heard, she was
squawking in jail, trying to make bail. Pity, he blocked her number
from everyone’s phone. Payback was a bitch.

****The End****

Erosa Knowles
has a
love for the written word. She lives in the Southwest with her
husband and son. Her favorite pastime is reading and people
watching. Coming from a large family, most of her stories
incorporate extended families, realizing it takes a village to
raise a child.

Please visit her website: www.erosaknowles.com
for other books.

The following excerpt is a FREE
story written for readers of the Men of 3X CONStruction series
entitled Not This Time and can only be found on that website.
www.menof3xconstruction.com.

This story is between Veronique, Cherise’s
mother, (Have I Told You Lately) and Frank, Red’s oldest brother,
(Ready for Love). Enjoy.

Not This Time

Erosa Knowles

Chapter One

There was nothing special about the small
hotel lounge other than it smelled clean. Not a pine scent or
anything commercial like that, in reality it was more what it
didn't smell like that grabbed her attention and appreciation. The
absence of stale cigarette smoke and unwashed bodies overrode the
lack of décor, the small liquor selections and insufficient
seating. Three large flat screened TV's droned on in the background
with various news and sports programming. It was the sort of place
you could chill in peace at the end of a long day if you weren't a
smoker.

“Another rum and coke.” Veronique motioned
to the bartender as she put an empty glass on the bar. Without
looking, she scooped a handful of peanuts from the half-full basket
on her left. It had been a long day. She needed a quick drink to
unwind before she reclaimed her hotel room. Her married sorority
sister Pam, had borrowed her suite earlier to engage in illicit
relations with a man she'd met at their Sorority's ball last night.
In other words, her girl was humping like a rabbit and didn't want
her husband or any of the other women to know of her loose morals.
Obviously, she didn't care that Veronique knew. What the hell
should she think of that? She tried to muster interest at the
question and realized she didn't care. Why waste time thinking
about her friend's immorality when she'd be on her back as well, if
she'd met someone interesting enough to place her there. Glancing
at her watch, she grunted. Hell, it'd been two hours, if they were
still at it, her girl would be on stage and she'd be the audience.
She was tired and her well of benevolence was bone dry. Taking a
glance around at the half-filled tables, she spotted an empty one
by the door.

“Here you are.” She took the drink, left a
five on the bar and headed for that table. After a few excuse me's
she reached her goal, and placed her purse on her lap. Once seated,
an unheard sigh echoed in every quadrant of her weary body. Her
feet hurt, her stomach growled, and her head sent signals of its
unhappiness. Shit, she was getting too old for these events. Next
year, she'd pass on her sorority's annual gala and after-party.

This afternoon's step competition showcased
the best and the brightest from every fraternity and sorority. What
made her think she and her contemporaries could still get down with
those young, boneless newbies? Her cute red and white pumps had
screamed stop-this-shit right now the entire time. Payback was a
mutha-, and her feet had taken her prisoner.

One foot toed off her shoe. “Ummm...” She
sighed in exquisite bliss. Then the other did the honors for the
other foot. Wiggling her toes, she'd swear they tingled in joy,
expanded in the open air, and wept merrily for their new freedom.
Sipping on her drink, she looked around the hotel's bar or lounge.
The room was filling up. Lots of men dressed in suits, with
precision haircuts and buffed nails. There was a time when those
men drew her like ink to paper. It didn't take long to realize she
didn't like soft, well-manicured hands. Or someone who read the
labels on their shampoo and conditioner. And a man that took longer
than her to match his attire worried her last nerve.

Nope, she'd moved to the admire from a
distance column with a lot of her colleagues, it made for better
friendships. Who'd that leave? A woman had to be realistic if she
wanted a man. Since becoming an attorney and her divorce, she'd
never paid blue-collar workers that much attention. Cherise, her
daughter, had met a man in construction. Tall, rock solid, good
head on his shoulders, with a don't-mess-with-me persona. It seemed
those kind of men ran in packs. The men that worked for Three X
Construction were mouth-watering in so many ways. Not the mention
the women, the few she'd met, all seemed to have silly smiles on
their faces. Her daughter glowed with so much happiness and
contentment; she'd thought they had a baby on the way. Although
Cherise denied pregnancy, it wouldn't be long, not with the way
Ross stayed on her.

Hedrick, her ex was military. He missed the
professional column and the blue collar. The past two months,
they'd been playing tag. Him tagging her ass and her allowing him.
His frustration that she wouldn't allow them to move past the
casual sex phase irritated her. Casual was all she wanted right
now, especially with him. Sex with him had always been good, but
trusting him in another relationship, that was off the table as far
as she was concerned. Not only had he cheated on her, but he
married the bitch a few months after their divorce. Cheaters who
lied and married the Cheatees, didn't get second chances with her
heart, her body wasn't as discriminating. Thoughts of him, their
past, sent her spirits into a downward spiral.

“Hell, I can be depressed in my own room.
Time to go.” Placing her glass on the table, she leaned over to
pick up her shoes and bumped into a pair of jean covered long legs.
Pushing back quickly, she bumped her head on the table.

“Ow.” She rubbed the bruised spot.

“I'm sorry, didn't see you... down there.”
The deep cadence of his voice reignited her long held crush of
Barry White. She'd bought every record that dark chocolate God
released. His music had been her panty-wetting-let's-screw anthem.
Eyes closed, she basked in the memories of days and nights of fast
and hard loving with Barry crooning “can't get enough of your
love,” in the background.