Night of Seduction (39 page)

“I
’
m going to need your
help, but right now I have a problem. Can you get into bank
accounts?
”

“No, of course
not,
”
she hung up the phone. A minute later, a text came
through. Friday
–
your place.

Walking back in
the house, it was about three in the morning, she was tired,
frustrated and mad as hell. How could she let a sucker like Roy get
the best of her? Had she underestimated him that much? The more she
thought about it, the more she knew there had to be other players
in this game. Roy was not that slick. Latoya grabbed a bottle of
wine out of the rack, took a glass down, popped open the bottle,
and filled a glass. She drank nearly a half a glass, then poured a
refill. Taking a seat at the bar she continued to go through the
night of the exchange minute my minute. Then it hit her, she knew
exactly when he made the exchange. Maybe she did underestimate Roy,
she took another drink. But the feeling someone else was involved
would not leave her. Roy wasn
’
t that smooth, but Ty
certainly was.
“
Damn it to hell. How
did he find out about the video? She asked of the empty
house.
“
Is it possible Roy was working for
Ty?
”
No, she thought. The reason she hired Roy was because
he had no connection to Jason or Eric, which automatically meant no
connections to Ty. Something had gone very wrong on her end. Not
one to give up easily, the thought hit her. Eric
wouldn
’
t know the tape is cut. There was a diffident way
to find out if Ty was connected to this. But there was no way Eric
would take a phone call from her. So how could she get a message to
him? An answer came to mind, but it was not one she liked.
Unfortunately, he was the only one stupid enough to do what she
needed done. After draining the glass, she went into her bedroom to
lay across the bed. She didn
’
t remove her clothes
or shoes. This had been a horrendous day. Tomorrow would be better.
It had to be, was the last thought Latoya had before falling
asleep.

♫

The call Ty was
waiting for came through around four in the morning. The towers
gave the run down on Latoya
’
s activities after
leaving the club. She now knew that the tape was no good, and that
Roy had disappeared. Now, she was more dangerous than before, every
caged animal is more dangerous when they felt trapped. He looked at
the clock sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. In three
hours, they would be flying to Richmond for the wedding. He was
pretty sure things would stay at a standstill until they returned,
but just to be on the safe side, he left instructions for the
towers to keep a close eye on Latoya. He looked out the window,
over the skyline of Atlanta, that normally brought him some peace
of mind, but tonight it didn
’
t. He was too wound
up from all the
‘
cloak and
dagger
’
action. Doing a good job to protect his clients
used to be enough, but lately, it was just a job. The only
exception was with the people he considered family, Miriam, Jason
and Eric.

He would
protect them with his life if need be. Now, the family was growing,
with the addition of Sierra, TeKaya, and now, Siri, who, at the
moment was a mystery. Nevertheless, Eric was in love with her;
therefore, she was now under his line of protection. Lying across
the bed, he prayed,
“
Lord give me the
strength,
”
and promptly fell asleep.

Jason and
TeKaya

A
fter arriving at
Richmond International Airport, Jason and the family separated.
Eric, Miriam, Ty, Gabby, and Sierra went to Eric
’
s
penthouse, while Jason went to meet TeKaya so they could pick up
their marriage license. The building actually had two penthouse
suites, one on the south facing the James River and the other on
the north side of the building with downtown Richmond as a
backdrop. Eric had purchased both. The renovations had not taken
place, but the plans were in the making. Each penthouse consisted
of a state of the art kitchen, three bedrooms, four baths, dining
room, great room, office, four fireplaces, and a full length
balcony. For the week Jason, Gabby, and Sierra took one penthouse
while Eric, Miriam, and Ty stayed in the other.

“Man, I could
live here,
”
Ty, announced walking from the foyer
into the great room.

“I
can
’
t believe the view,
”
Gabby said as she
walked in from the penthouse across the hall.
“
Did you
see the river?
”

“I like the
city view better,
”
Ty replied still walking through the
rooms.
“
How big is this place?
”

“I have no
idea. You bought it,
”
Eric laughed.

Ty stopped and
stared at him,
“
I
did?
”

“You or one of
your people.
”

“Well, they did
a damn good job. I
’
ll find out who did
this and give them a bonus.
”

“Thank you.
When they finish with the renovations we
’
ll have four
bedrooms, a studio, a game room, five baths a few offices and an
indoor swimming pool. Should be nice.
”

Miriam walked
out of one of the bedrooms.
“
By us
I
’
m assuming you and Siri.
”

“If
I
’
m lucky.
”

She walked over
to him and kissed his cheek.
“
You
’
re better than
lucky
—
you are blessed.
”

“The furniture
leaves a little to be desired,
”
Ty
mentioned.

“It
’
s the model
furniture. I asked for it to remain until the renovations are
done.
”

“I
’
ll call a maid
service in for the week,
”
Gabby stated.
“
Then I
’
ll check for a good
cook.
”

“You are here
as a guest Gabby. We
’
ll get that taken
care of,
”
Eric said as he took the telephone from her.
Sierra ran into the room and straight into her
uncle
’
s arms.
“
Hey
Pumpkin.
”

“Where
’
s
Daddy?
’

“He went to see
TeKaya.
”

“Where
’
s
Mommy?
”

Eric hesitated
then looked at his mother.
“
She
’
s at
home.
”

“Okay,
”
she wiggled out of his arms and ran
back across the hall with Gabby in tow.

Raising an
eyebrow Eric smiled.
“
That was
easy.
”

“Her father
will have to explain things to her,
”
Miriam said as she
stepped out onto the balcony.
“
I have to agree with
Ty. I love the city view.
”

Eric stepped
out with her.
“
The master bedroom
will have both views.
”
He pointed towards the end of the
building.
“
The renovated space
will have the city view on the north end of the bedroom and the
river on the south. Mornings are going to be
breathtaking.
”

Miriam smiled
at her son as he talked about his future. Though he
didn
’
t say it, she knew in his mind his future included
Siri. Her prayer was that his dream would come true.

In the
penthouse across the hall, Ty called his secretary.
“
Who handled the Eric Davies acquisition in Richmond,
Virginia?
”

“Let me
check,
”
she replied.
“
Um, that would be
Rosa Sanchez. Is something wrong?
”

“No,
it
’
s perfect. You should see this place. I could live
here. There are renovations in the works, make sure she is included
in on all decisions regarding this project. It looks as if he may
be staying here for an extended period of time.
He
’
s going to need domestic service and a driver. I want
her to handle all aspects of this project.
”

“Will do. We
received the deed on Jason
’
s new house and you
received several calls from Latoya Wright this morning. I think she
is a little upset.
”

“I
’
ll get in touch with
her. Is there anything else?
”

“That
’
s it for
now.
”

“I
’
ll be in
touch.
”
He hung up the telephone, sat back on the sofa
that faced the windows and enjoyed the view of the historical James
River.

♫

Kerri had planned a family dinner in her
home and the house was a buzz. TeKaya had invited her girlfriend
Jasmine so that Tyrone would have a dinner partner and Siri came
right home from work to help her mother prepare the meal and
decorate the house. Unfortunately, her nerves were getting the best
of her. Tonight would be the first time she would see Eric since
the Saturday morning she left him. Seeing her daughter was
distracted more than TeKaya, the one getting married, Kerri put
Siri out of the kitchen and gave her decorating duties. The florist
delivered several floral arrangements from Jason. Siri was placing
them throughout the house. Every now and then, she would stop and
inhale reminding herself this was a special time for TeKaya and it
was important to keep her feelings of distress under control. They
were adults, after all, and keeping their hormones in check should
not be that difficult. She opened the French doors that led to the
side porch to expand the room. The table was set with the lace
tablecloth her nana brought with her, the best china and
silverware, wineglasses, and water glasses. Standing back, Siri was
examining the table.

“Child you
can
’
t put those candles in the center of the table, it
will block people
’
s views and I
won
’
t be able to watch their eyes.
”

Siri turned and
smiled.
“
Nana why do you have to see
everyone
’
s eyes?

“The truth is
in the eyes honey child. The truth is in the
eyes.
”
She walked in and hugged her grandchild.
“
You know your daddy used to love flowers.
That
’
s where I think you got it from. You put together a
beautiful table.
”

Siri hugged
her.
“
Thank you, Nana.
”

“Now,
what
’
s got you so nervous child? You are shaking on the
inside like a leaf.
”

Pulling away to
move the candles as she requested, Siri shook her head,
“
I
’
m not nervous Nana. I
’
m just excited
for TK.
”

“Umm
hum,
”
Nana replied never taking her eyes off Siri.
“
Where is TeKaya?
”
Not believing a word
of what her granddaughter had said.

“She
’
s with
Jason.
”
Siri looked at her watch.
“
They
should be here soon. Why don
’
t you have a seat?
Would you like some tea?
”

“No thank you
dear, but a glass of wine would be nice. You get a glass and sit on
the side porch with me.
”

Siri looked around to make sure everything
was in place, then poured two glasses of wine and joined her Nana
on the porch. There was still an hour before sunset. It was a
little after six, the evening breeze was perfect, cool, but not
cold, and traffic had slowed to a few cars here and there. The
tranquility of the porch was a welcome comfort. Siri placed the
glass of wine on the table next to the wicker chairs and sat across
from her Nana.