Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
PHOENIX
“Nope, move away, Nix. You get to be with her all the time. Why are you even here right now?” Asha’s husky voice whined. She had held Genesis for the past two hours and did not want to share her.
“Well, you would see her if you decided to visit us every now and again. Why do we have to travel thousands of miles to come and see you?” Makayla asked, sticking her tongue out at Asha.
We were sitting in her living room; she had her own house on the compound. It was beautiful; the one-level house had three bedrooms with an open concept from the kitchen to the living room. She had pictures of us girls from the various events over the years. An old one of her and Levi from their graduation night matched the one he kept in his office. I saw it one day when I brought him lunch. She snatched the picture off the fridge when Makayla and I cooed at it.
“Okay, ladies, I will share her, but not right now. My Genny-Pop has gotten so big since the last time I saw her. Phoenix, how are you feeling, babe? I heard from Mama Lucy that so much has been going on with the stalker.” Asha turned her concerned gaze to me.
I shrugged because the incidents were spaced out. A part of me felt that it wasn’t actually real, but then, when a new note came after Madison’s funeral, everything smacked me in the face.
We all went together. Kendrix was against me attending, but everything went according to plan, with no surprises or crazy killers popping out of the woodwork.
“It feels unreal and so scary at the same time. Whoever this person is or people want to hurt me, but they also want to hurt Kendrix too, so whenever he has to leave the house, my anxiety is up to the roof. He isn’t concerned about himself at all, he went to the freaking grocery store without telling me and wouldn’t answer the phone after I called him five times. I was about to send the guys out to find him, but he called the minute he got back in the car.
“Travis has been the sweetest addition to the whole thing; his presence in the house is so calming. We played video games until 2 am until Kendrix shut down the party. He has been with us for 45 days, and I don’t want him to leave; the case against Judge Treegoob has now been put on pause because he was found stabbed and is now in a coma. Travis has to speak as a witness, so lucky for me, he can’t leave until the trial ends.” He was currently with the guys doing whatever it is that guys do.
“You know how Kendrix is, well, how all of them are. They are used to protecting us and not thinking of the harm that is out there for them.” Makayla was talking with a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
We were supposed to be here relaxing, but of course, we had to discuss what had transpired within the last few months.
“Can you protect yourself if something happens?” Asha ran the physical training sessions at the resort. Kendrix explained to me that Granny runs a housing company for women looking to escape from their abusive homes. The Unkept Woman Inc. was a women's witness protection program that helped them start over if that is what they wanted; she started it after Granddaddy Brian killed my real grandfather. That was how Aunt Jillian was able to start over after Brian’s dad tried to kill her. What was it about the women in this family that attracted these types of men?
“I mean, I haven’t sharpened up my skills in a long time, but I think I can cause a little damage if necessary. Granny taught me the basics a long time ago.” I cooed at Genesis, pulling on Asha’s long ponytail.
Asha handed Genesis over to Makayla so she could nurse her, “Okay, let’s test this theory; if I do this, will you be ready?” I kept my eyes on her because she was up to something. All of a sudden, a knife came flying in my direction, and had I not moved my head to the left at the speed I did, it would have been lodged in my forehead.
I gaped at her, “Asha!” Makayla shrieked, which caused Genesis to wail.
Asha stood there smirking at me, “Don’t call my name like that; I don’t know what is wrong with you two. Phoenix literally has a stalker, and she has no idea who it is, and my heart almost fell out of my chest when Richard managed to get you alone, Makayla. Thank God you got away, but Phoenix might not be so lucky.
“Since your case is different, Phoenix, how about we have our first training session? Stalkers tend to use more drastic measures. If you wake up tied to a chair or bed, can you escape the restraints?”
Kidnapping, stalkers, restraints, this whole thing is too much.
“Asha, I don’t think we have to take it that far; this isn’t a movie.” Her face changed from challenging to solemn in a matter of seconds.
“Yeah, well, I was kidnapped and restrained for four days without food or water, so don’t tell me that this isn’t a movie. I know that there are real sick people out in this world. Please don’t ask any questions because I am not ready to talk about it.”
I handed her a tissue to wipe the tears in her eyes.
Makayla and I both got up simultaneously and squeezed love, comfort, and understanding into her.
The room was dark, and the only sound in the distance was my heartbeat about to bust out of my chest. As Asha instructed, I closed my eyes and focused harder on the sounds.
“If one of your senses is unavailable, it heightens the others. Use what you can. What do you hear? Listen for cars, voices, anything that can give you a clue as to where you might be,” Asha said from a corner in the room.
“But I can’t hear anything over your voice.”
She snorted but kept quiet. I kept my eyes closed because I couldn’t see anything anyway. That’s when I heard it. There was someone coming. The steps were quiet, but I could hear the almost silent sound their feet made when hitting the ground. Whoever it was didn’t take into consideration the floors creaking.
The atmosphere in the room changed; I could feel their energy. Asha told me to entice them to talk to me and read their body language to determine the level of danger I was in. If there was a romantic connection that the perpetrator felt like he had with me, then I could play into that. Basically, my only mission was to come out of the situation alive.
The lights came on in a flash, and I opened my eyes to see a man standing before me with a mean mug on his face. My eyes shot to Asha in confusion, and she raised an eyebrow, giving me the signal to keep going.
“Hi,” The man said, licking his lips at me. I fidgeted due to the feeling crawling over my skin; I knew this was a part of the demonstration, but this stranger made it feel real. He had the whole creepy package, beady eyes, and an aroma of danger.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. “Hey.” I said. Asha said it would be best to let them lead the conversation. If it seemed safe to answer in short, one-worded sentences, keep it brief because there was no telling what would trigger them to violence.
“Do you know why I brought you here today?”
I said no and kept eye contact with him to ensure he was in charge and held the power in this situation…
Once, we went over that scenario three different times, and the suspect responded in the most common ways.
Desperation.
Revenge .
Love.
She warned me that there was no telling which way it would go, but we practiced what I should say to keep them calm. The problems come into play when the suspect feels out of control. Asha taught me how to break free of duct tape, zip ties, and being handcuffed to an object such as a pole, bedpost, or anything that could be moved with a certain amount of strength. If the situation called for it, the first task would be to get out of the restraints.
“How do you feel?” Asha tossed me a water bottle, and I guzzled it down. Her hand combat training was intense, and she even had me fight the man whose name was Dashawn; he worked on the resort as security. My body hurt like shit, I felt like I was run over by a bus, but mentally I felt prepared.
“I need a bubble bath and full massage from my man, but I believe I am prepared for what could happen. What tactic did you have to use when you were kidnapped?” My heart broke for Asha; she had been through so much and had told no one.
She looked uncomfortable, “Umm, it turned deadly, which is how I ended up here. That’s why I’m not on social media or anything like that. No one knows where I am, and it needs to stay that way until further notice.” The steely determination in her eyes made my heart crack even more.
I wrapped an arm around her and snuggled her even closer. When she and Levi dated, she had the brightest personality and carried joy in crown form everywhere she went. The person who broke her stole too many of her pieces that she may never get back.
“You are the bravest woman I know next to Granny and I am so fucking proud of you.” She laid her head in my lap and we sat there until Brian and Kendrix came strolling in the room. Levi stayed behind to see what he could find; he was putting in extra hours at the office.
“Aww, look at you two, Asha come over here and give me a hug, meanie.” Brian teased, pulling her up into his arms. He whispered something in her ear that made her laugh and push him away.
“Jewel, would you like to go out on a date with me?” Kendrix crouched down to be eye level with me. He wore a rustic orange short-sleeve shirt open, leaving his chest on full display, and matching pants. The pants were fitted but not too tight, and he looked scrumptious.
“Move back, Ken. I’m all sweaty. I don’t want to mess up your clothes, but yes, I would love to.” Kendrix grabbed the front of my sweat-soaked T-shirt and licked up from my collarbone to my chin, moaning as he went.
Why was that so hot? You think everything this man does is hot .
“I love you no matter how you look or taste; stop playing with me and give me a kiss.”
Once Kendrix finally let me get ready, I showered and saw a beautiful dress on my bed. I was staying in my old room; it had been upgraded over the years, but it still felt like home. The dress was made of satin; it matched the rustic orange of Ken’s outfit. The rhinestone straps were a nice touch to the cowl neck and corset midi dress. I know he has style, but somebody had to have helped him pick this out.
It fit me like a glove and the line in the back of the dress from top to bottom accentuated my ass even more. I tossed my hair into a high pineapple with a few pieces to frame my face. The weather was too hot for makeup, so I put some lip gloss on and fixed the buckle on my nude platform open-toed heels.
KENDRIX
“I’m saying you always doing the—” Anything else that came out of Brian’s mouth completely fell on deaf ears due to the literal angel walking down the stairs.
The dress, her hair, everything about her at this moment was perfect. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me because I swear, she floated in my direction.
“What do you think?” Her bashful dimpled smile was in full effect .
“I think my brain doesn’t have the words to express how perfect you look. Are you ready to go?” I kissed the back of her hand, and our driver for tonight pulled up right on time.
“So where are we going?” Phoenix’s curious eyes beamed right into my heart but I had to stand strong.
“No can do Jewel, a secret is a secret. You will see soon and I am confident that you are going to love it.” We talked about everything and nothing at the same time, it felt nice for us to be without all the drama waiting for us at home.
“Thank you, Thomas; I will text you when we are ready to go to our next destination.” He tipped his hat and I escorted my beautiful girlfriend to a date night that she will never forget.
The front door led us right to an elevator, I pressed the button that would take us to the top floor. The glass window elevator took us right beneath the clouds, “Wow, this is breathtaking; how many feet in the air are we?” Phoenix’s voice was full of child-like wonder. Tt was one of my favorite qualities that she possessed. No matter what life had thrown at her she still had this cloud of innocence following her, it teaches me to not be so jaded.
“1,200 feet in the air, it created a beautiful view but also I wanted our problems to be as far away as possible, at least for tonight.”
“The problems feel far away, so thank you in advanced for a beautiful nice.” She kissed my cheek and I blushed.
What is this woman doing to me?
She is loving you; love heals all wounds.
“Aye Mr. Thompson, you are right on time with our guest of honor for tonight. Hello Ms. McClain, my name is Pablo Jean and tonight’s dining experience will be hands on. I heard that you are quite the chef yourself, is that right?” Chef Jean’s thick accent descended from his Jamaican heritage and his travels all over the world, he had a blend of cultures wrapped together to create his own unique voice.
Phoenix stared at him with her eyes big and mouth open in shock and excitement.
“Baby you are a chef right?” I nudged her slightly and she nodded her head profusely, I threw Chef Jean a wink at her inability to talk in front of one of her idols.
“If you two will follow me into the kitchen, I have a special treat for you there.” Phoenix grabbed my hand, squeezing it to death, but the beam of light did not dim from her grin.