Chapter 4 #3
Before heading back into the house, he finishes his blunt and gathers his casings from the ground.
He never leaves evidence of his gunplay behind, even from stress-relief shooting.
As soon as he’s inside the ranch, he bags the casings, ties the bag, and places it into his duffle.
Then he grabs two bottles of water from the fridge, realizing that not only has he not eaten but he hasn’t given her any food either.
“Fuck,” he grumbles.
It’s late, he’s in this small ass town, and he doesn’t even know if any restaurants are open after nine, much less delivering. He digs through the welcome basket to find the menus. A burger joint is open and still delivering. So he orders two burger meals with fries, a side salad, and drinks.
Between the meat and vegetables, she should be able to eat something.
Firing his guns and smoking the blunt helped center and refocus Akeem but did nothing to clear things up about Sunjiya. Between the few things he found at the apartment and the info Axton gave him, he’s still on the fence about her.
Sunjiya’s adamant about being Tanjaya’s twin. Axton found evidence of two different people, but still, Akeem isn’t sure. As he waits for the food to arrive, he goes to the basement to talk to her. To his surprise, she’s off the sofa and seated at the table looking over the papers and envelopes.
How did she get over here?
Truly astonished to see she’s managed to get from the sofa to this table with her ankles tied together, his words get lost and all he manages to say is, “Did you touch this?” His tone is forceful and sharp, not what he intended.
“Yes,” she fires back. No hesitation, no fear.
If Sunjiya fears him, she hides it well.
That makes her even more intriguing. He likes that shit, and although he hates to admit it, he likes her.
She ignited a fire in him that he thought had been extinguished when Charis had her affair.
Sure, Akeem has dealt with other women. He keeps his bed warm with pretty faces but he hasn’t felt a spark or made any real connection with any woman until now, until her.
“I tried to make sense of it. Hell, of all this shit. Tanjaya did this to me and I don’t know why.
I hadn’t heard from her in years and out of the blue she texts and sends me a ticket.
Like the loyal sister and apparent idiot I am, I foolishly came.
I brought my ass here, only to be drugged, kidnapped, tied up, and stuck with a man threatening to either kill me or call some man I don’t even know to come get me and take me back to Mi-fucking-ami to some man she’s been with.
So yes, I got my ass up and came to this table to make sense of this and convince you to let me go,” she says.
Her eyes, those eyes, peer up at him and he relents. He drags a chair closer to her and sits. He decides to give her a real chance to explain herself.
“What did you come up with? Because I look at you and this and see Tanjaya Willis,” he says.
“But I’m not her,” she insists. “I swear.” She reaches for both cells but he places them in front of her. After opening hers and the other, she navigates to the text messages. “Did you look at this? She texted me. She asked me to come here and be her,” she says.
“Be her? What does that mean?” he asks, genuinely curious as he grabs the phones. He doesn’t look at the messages first though because he’s concentrating on her reaction as she explains this shit.
“We are identical twins, really identical. With some identical twins, you can see little differences. One has a thinner face, one has a thicker body. Little things like that. But Tanjaya and me look exactly alike. It’s got you believing I’m her,” she says, then smirks.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t even know she existed until I was fifteen. ”
“How the fuck?”
“Imagine being fifteen and finding a whole person out there who looks just like you. It’s wild shit but true. We became inseparable, really one person. We would switch all the time, tricking people and having a time,” she says with a smile. Something he hasn’t seen from her all day.
“I finally had a family and loved everything about that. See, I was born in the system. I don’t have a clue about my parents, who they were or why they didn’t want me.
I don’t have many memories as a little child.
I don’t know if that’s my brain shielding me from some shit or what.
I just remember not having a mommie or daddy and always being with different people I didn’t belong to.
It was very clear I wasn’t theirs, wasn’t a true part of their family.
All that shit on television with foster kids blending in and becoming part of the families is fake as fuck.
I was a check for them and a bother at the facility.
“Shit was far from sweet, but I got used to it and dealt with it. Then one day, I was in my bed, having a bad day, teenage shit, when Tanjaya, the girl with my face, walked into the room. She was not just my sister I knew nothing about but my damn identical twin. She had my face, my voice, and even some of my quirks. It was weird but amazing as hell,” she says, beaming. Akeem locks in on her every word.
“They never told you about her? Or her about you?” he asks.
“Hell nah. Dade County or the state didn’t give a shit about us.
They barely had records or lied about having them.
Tanjaya and I had a million questions but we never got any answers.
With over thirty foster homes and orphanages in Miami, Welcome Home Kids was probably one of the worst. They didn’t give a shit about us or where we came from. ”
“Shit,” he mumbles in awe.
“Yeah, that’s what it was, shit, real shitty.
Tanjaya aged out and could have gone to college for free.
Wards of the state and foster kids can go to any Florida public college without paying tuition.
Tanjaya stayed in Miami but didn’t finish and I went to Florida State in Tallahassee,” she reveals.
He makes a mental note to have Axton check for college transcripts.
“We grew apart, you know. Life happens and we stopped talking. But she’s still my sister, my blood, my twin.
Hell, the only real family I have. So when she texted and said she needed me to be her, I came.
No questions; I just came. Based on her pictures in the apartment, nothing’s really changed.
All I had to do was remove my braids, and poof, I’m here.
” She peers up at him then cuts her eyes.
“It fooled you,” she adds with major attitude.
The ringing of the doorbell saves him from replying, although he doesn’t have one.
Her story is compelling and tracks with the little Axton has found but Akeem is still on the fence about her.
Her eyes and his gut still lean toward her being Tanjaya.
Afterall, Tanjaya clearly ran from Marcelin, using the alternate name Taya.
She doesn’t want to be found. Why not make up this twin shit?
“That’s our food,” he says before standing.
At least he’s feeding me, Sunjiya thinks as he ascends the steps, giving her hope that this is a good gesture, a sign that he’s starting to believe her.
Plus, she’s starving. The last and only thing she had today was a latte and that completely vacated her stomach.
Whatever he ordered, she’s going to devour.
Hopefully, he lets her shower and lay down on that bed.
It’s been a long and draining day. While she might not be able to sleep, she needs to rest her weary body.
About five minutes later, Akeem is back in the basement with the food.
Everything looks and smells good as hell.
The burgers are juicy and dressed with crisp veggies, real cheese, and grilled onions.
The French fries aren’t frozen but fresh and hand-cut.
Even the salad is legit, not the usual iceberg lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes typically offered at fast food joints.
The food exceeds both of their unspoken expectations.
Before biting into his burger, to Sunjiya’s surprise, Akeem closes his eyes and says a silent prayer. She joins but says her own blessing, adding an extra plea that Akeem frees her before uttering amen aloud.
Akeem goes in on his burger first while she starts her fries and salad.
They eat in silence, both enjoying the food.
When her fries are half gone and she’s demolished the salad, Sunjiya takes a big bite of her burger.
As soon as she swallows, she coughs. Her eyes water and she coughs again, this one more dry and louder than the first. Quickly, she takes a sip of her drink.
When she coughs a third time, Akeem looks up and the sight immediately concerns him. Her eyes are watering and her hand is around her neck, rubbing it frantically. The panicked look in her tear-filled eyes causes him to slightly panic as well.
“What’s wrong?”
“I…can’t…breathe,” she struggles out and he springs out of his seat.
Thinking she’s choking, he prepares to administer the Heimlich maneuver to help her.
But when he steps behind her she says, “My pen. My…pen.” Confused, he cranes his head toward her face.
With her hand still around her neck, she points toward the bag he brought from the apartment.
“My purse,” she says, barely getting the words out.
Thankfully, he picks up her meaning and stretches out his long arm to grab the bag and her purse.
Tears fall down her cheeks now as she feverishly rubs her neck.
He dumps the contents of her purse and spots the EpiPen.
He’s definitely familiar with the pen because Quise has a peanut allergy.
As fast as he can, he removes the pen from the tube, takes off the safety cap, then jabs it into her thigh until he hears the click.
Almost instantaneously, she exhales loudly then sighs.
“Oh God! Thank you.”. After she catches her breath, she pleads, “Take this sling, off please. I need this off.”
Seeing the desperation on her face, he gives in, hoping he doesn’t regret this shit later.
After loosening the towel, he even removes his knife from his back pocket and cuts her zip ties.
As soon as she’s free from all restraints, she stretches her legs then slowly drops her arm onto her lap.
Carefully, she shrugs as she inhales and exhales rapidly back-to-back.
“You’re okay?” he asks with more concern than he should have for a job, an assignment.
“Yeah. Now. I thought I was going to die,” she admits, then sighs. Her head drops and she continues to steady her shallow breathing.
“What are you allergic to?”
“Soy.”
“Soy?” he questions as he looks at their food containers. What has soy?
After exhaling, she looks at her food container. “It must be the burger. Some processed burger patties include soy as a filler. I should have known but I was hungry and only checked for mayo,” she says regrettably as she shakes her head. “Thank you again.”
“Yeah,” is all he says, then steps to his side of the table. “I’m done. I’m guessing you are too.”
“Good guess,” she says with a slight titter.
He closes both containers then drops them into the to-go bag. “I’m gonna throw this out. Want to take a shower?” he says to her surprise and delight.
“Can I?” she asks for confirmation.
“Yeah. I’ll bring your bag down and more of those pain pills.”
Seeing her reaction to the burger and having to get her pen did something to Akeem. Something he hates to admit. It honestly softens him and triggers a thought. While she showers and changes, he’ll make a quick call to his brother.
“What about this stuff on the table? Are you calling the man in Miami?”
“Not tonight,” is all he offers but it’s enough to give her relief.
Akeem heads upstairs. When he’s on the main level, Sunjiya stands.
Her shoulder is back in place and wearing the sling helped because she barely feels any pain.
However, as she walks around the basement freely, she’s careful not to move her arm too much.
She’s sitting on the soft and comfortable bed when he returns with her luggage.
After placing it beside her, he leans in.
“That window is locked from the inside and the door will be locked too. Don’t try anything,” he warns.
“All I want to do is sleep,” she says.
“Good because I’ve done enough shooting for tonight.”
When he turns to walk off, she rolls her eyes then glares at him until he’s gone. As soon as the door closes, she falls back on the bed and plots her next move. I’ve gotta convince him I’m not Tanjaya in the morning.
The moment Akeem is in the main bedroom, he sends a text to Axton. Her soy allergy caught him off guard and added another level. Since Axton mentioned medical records, there’s a good chance her allergies are documented.