A Tropical Rendezvous: A BWWM Interracial Bad Boy Billionaire Multicultural Romance (African American Romance) (53 page)

“He didn’t hurt me or anything, but when I got there…” She took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Clyde, Evan was coming out of the apartment with a big, black suitcase.”

“You already know we’re working undercover.”

“I do, but look he wasn’t working. He’s partnered with Tony. That’s how Skinny knew about you, the investigation, everything the other day. Here, read this text.”

She pushed her phone across the table. Clyde stared at her a moment, his mouth in a straight line. She didn’t think he was even going to read it until he slowly picked it up and looked at the text message.

“Are you sure about this?”

She nodded. “Evan looked really guilty. He wouldn’t even look at me at first. I’m telling you, they’re working together.”

Clyde stood up so fast his chair almost fell over. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“You didn’t exactly tell me your ex-boyfriend was in the mafia!”

“Well, you already knew, didn’t you?” She hissed.

He took a deep breath before he calmed back down. “Come on. I have to get you to someplace safe. If they found out you told me this, they will kill you.”

Janessa shook her head. “I’m fine. I made sure I wasn’t followed, and I’m going to go over to Tasha’s for a few nights.”

“Janessa…”

“No! I’m not giving up my life for this ridiculous drama. The only reason I told you is because I was afraid you’d get hurt somehow if I didn’t.”

“That’s the only reason?” He asked quietly.

“What other reason would there be?” She asked confused.

“Maybe you were so worried about me because you still care about me. You still have feelings for me.”

Janessa scoffed and frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“No? Maybe I’m wrong.” He pushed his chair in. “Thanks for the tip. If you need me for any reason, call me.” He started to walk away before he paused. “Oh, I hope you like your new furniture.”

Just like that he was gone. Janessa felt like chasing after him. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t care about the lie, that she knew he cared about her no matter how it started, but her pride kept her firmly in her seat.

She shook for a few moments after he left. When she had calmed down, she glanced around and then left as well. Everything was going to be okay. She was sure of it.

Janessa skipped going to Tasha’s for the moment. She wanted to be alone in her own space, with her own thoughts. When she got in, she locked the door tightly behind her before she headed into the bedroom to take a nap. She’d meet up with Tasha later.

Her sleep didn’t last long. When she woke up, the room was dark, but something was wrong. She could hear the faintest sound of someone else breathing. Reaching for her phone, she heard footsteps.

Janessa screamed as a hand went over her mouth. She tried to fight, but something sharp stuck inside of her arm. Within moments, a warm feeling spread throughout her body and made her dizzy.  Her head lolled to the side as she tried to scream, but nothing more than a whimper escaped.

Then, she was being lifted. She felt the sharp shoulder of someone go into her belly as she was carried through her apartment. Her brain was becoming cloudier by the minute as the person carried her to the front door.

This is it. I’m going to die.

Janessa passed out into an endless darkness.

Chapter Six

She was in a boat. The gentle rocking was making her drowsy. She could see Clyde down by the water, his hands pushing through his hair as he turned to smile at her. He held out his hand. Janessa tried to take it, but the image faded away just as soon as it had started.

Her head was throbbing. Whatever had made her think she was on waves, stopped. She felt hands grabbing her again, lifting her out of the darkness as she was carried somewhere. Little by little she began to remember what was happening.

Janessa tried to kick her legs, but they were held together by something. The same thing for her arms too, she could feel something biting into her wrists. There was even something pressed into her mouth. She wanted to scream, but it came out as feeble mumbles.

“She’s starting to wake up,” a familiar voice said as they stepped inside of a building.

“Good.”

Tony. Hearing his voice cut through the fog that had settled in her brain. This was Tony’s doing. Somehow, he’d found out. He knew. She panicked as she was taken into a room, the light making her squint as she was sat in a chair and tied to it.

Janessa didn’t recognize where she was. She’d been to many of Tony’s hideouts, but this place was new. She looked around. The room she was in looked like a small bedroom, but the window had been bricked up. A single light hung above her, making her head throb.

Skinny made sure the rope binding her was tight before he walked around her. She glared. He shook his head at her, grinned and walked out of the room. As soon as she was alone, Janessa fought to free herself from the rope. She wasn’t alone long however before Tony came waling into the door.

“Janessa,” he said, tasking her as he sat down. “What happened to us? I thought I could trust you with anything.”

She glared at him.

“Nothing to say? I didn’t think so. That’s okay. Now, what we’ve done is invited your little boyfriend down to come get you, but when he gets here, Skinny’s going to put him in here with you. Do you know what’s going to happen next?”

Janessa could guess. It wouldn’t end well. She only hoped that Clyde wouldn’t be stupid enough to come. Another part of her though prayed that he did. She didn’t want to die.

“I can see by the look on your face that you know exactly what’s going to happen to him. Good.” He ran a hand over her face, and she yanked away from him. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. Didn’t I promise you that? I’m going to let Skinny take care of you.”

That wasn’t the least bit comforting. Tony placed a kiss on her lips before he left, closing the door after him. She heard a lock thrown. For a moment she sat still until she was sure he wasn’t listening, then she started pulling at the ropes once again.

In the other room, Janessa could hear several voices. She recognized the rowdy laughter and smell of cigars from Tony’s poker games that let her know all of the regulars were there. With them, she could hear Evan. He wasn’t laughing. She guessed betraying someone you’d known for years even bothered rats.

The rope was biting into her wrists, but she felt it give bit by bit. If she could just get out, maybe she’d at least have a fighting chance. That was difficult to gauge considering the fact that they all had guns, and she had nothing.

Finally, she was able to get her hands free. Quickly, she started working on her ankles when she heard the house go quiet. It was too quiet. She felt alarm bells go off in her head and once again she hoped that Clyde hadn’t shown up. Tony’s men meant business, and they wouldn’t stop at just giving him a beating as they had in the past.

Janessa couldn’t seem to get her ankles free. She tugged, twisted her leg, pulled, but nothing was working. She was getting frustrated, and the picnic that had set in was causing her to tire out quickly.

A loud thud was heard before a loud bang followed. Janessa could make out shouting, running, gunshots. She wondered what the hell was going on. Finally, her ankle slipped free, and she stood up, massaging her arms and ankles where the rope had bit into her skin.

Janessa put her ear to the door. She didn’t know whether or not to try to escape or just stay put. What if Clyde was winning and her going out there got him hurt? Then again, what if they caught him and she was still stuck in the room?

She went with her first mind. Bracing herself, she used her shoulder to slam into the door again and again. The door was old and splintered after a few more attempts. Janessa gripped her shoulder as it throbbed and ran from the room.

Immediately, she knew who was winning. Clyde stood in front of the door, the moment he saw her he grabbed her. Janessa didn’t object. There was thick smoke that made her cough as he helped her out of the front door.

“I found her! She’s clear!”

Janessa blinked into countless headlights as she tried to shield her eyes. Tony lay on the ground, his arms cuffed behind his back along with the rest of his friends and Evan. Janessa was especially happy to see Skinny shackled up tightly as they prepared a transport van for them.

Once she was outside, Janessa felt her legs give out. Clyde held on to her before he picked her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the ambulance. Janessa had a bright light shone into her eyes, but she couldn’t understand what was happening anymore. Exhausted, she passed out, happy to have the darkness.

Janessa woke up to bright, white lights and the sound of talking. As she opened her eyes more, she recognized the voices she was hearing. Vanessa, Tasha, Clyde. She cleared her throat, making them all turn to her quickly.

“She’s okay,” Tasha said. Janessa could see the tears in her eyes. “Thank God!”

“Hold on a minute,” Vanessa said sternly. “Give me a minute. I need to check her vitals”

Vanessa walked over, removing her stethoscope from around her neck. “How are you feeling?” She asked. There was an edge of kindness that Janessa had never heard directed at her from the doctor before.

“I’m fine,” she said slowly. “Just a little woozy.”

“We gave you something to help with the pain. It looks like you dislocated your shoulder. We fixed it up, but we also gave you something for the pain. You needed to rest.”

Janessa nodded. “Thanks for not waiting until I woke up. I don’t think I could handle that,” she said with a laugh.

Vanessa smiled. “I figured as much. I’m almost done with your vitals, and then you can have these two back. They’re both a pain in the ass,” she whispered loudly.

“I know they are,” Janessa laughed.

The minute Vanessa was done, Tasha swooped in with a hug. Janessa tried to hug her back awkwardly with her right arm. She was happy to see familiar faces.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” Tasha said sternly. “I was so scared.”

“I know you were,” Janessa cooed. “I’m fine. Please, go get yourself some coffee or something. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“She hasn’t left your side since they brought you in,” Clyde said.

“Go, go,” Janessa said shooing her. “I’ll still be here.”

“Okay.” She gave her another hug before she left the room.

Janessa sighed. “So, what happened?”

“Oh, you mean after I told you not to go home?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, after that.”

“I followed you home, staked out your house, and when I saw Skinny breaking in, I called for backup. As soon as everyone was in the house, we set up a parameter and took them out.”

“What’s going to happen to them?”

“They’re all going away for a very long time. We have enough evidence collected to make sure they can’t get out of this one.”

Janessa sighed in relief. “thank God. I was so worried they were going to hurt you.”

Clyde smiled. “It takes a lot to hurt me. Hell, you hurt me more with your tongue than anyone will ever be able to hurt me physically.”

Janessa frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“I was just joking. I didn’t mean-.”

“No,” she held up a hand. “I really am sorry. I wasn’t even pissed at you the last time I saw you. I just let my pride get in the way. I have to tell you something.”

He moved closer to her. “What’s that.”

“I love you.”

Clyde grinned. “I loved you the minute you sewed me up.”

She laughed. Clyde leaned down to kiss her on the lips. She wrapped her arm around him, and he held her close until he held her left arm a little too hard.

“Ow! I thought you said you love me, don’t kill me!”

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled then kissed her shoulder.

“Hey, I have another question.”

“Shoot,” he mumbled against her skin.

“How the hell did you even get into my apartment?”

Clyde laughed against her arm until she wasn’t even sure if he would be able to answer her question. “I picked the lock.”

Janessa shook her head. “What a stalker.”

“Hey, I brought all of that furniture, and I was not going to haul it all home. You should have seen the movers waiting for me to get inside of your place. I think they were alarmed, but they couldn’t figure out why someone would be breaking in to drop furniture off.”

Janessa laughed until her side hurt. She was sure she’d picked the right person this time. Clyde walked over to a bag sitting in one of the chair’s while she collected herself and pulled out the stuffed dog that she’d won for him on their first date.

“I thought this might help you feel better.”

“Mr. Barker,” she said cuddling the dog in her arms. “Thank you. This really does make me feel a lot better.”

“I’m glad I’m useful at least.”

“You’re more than useful,” she said beckoning him to come closer. “You’re the best man I could have ever asked for.”

“Stop it,” he grumbled. “You’ll make me blush.”

He leaned down and kissed her again. This time he didn’t stop, and she loved every moment of it.

The End