Chapter 39
I must've been the luckiest man in the world.
Gianna was a dream come true. Gorgeous, Funny.
Intelligent. Loving. Patient. Kind. Nurturing.
To have been blessed with a woman like her—I was so glad I didn’t let my doubts cloud my judgement and keep me from her.
She had me staring at her ring finger wandering her size after she got done with me last night.
'Fuck me until I couldn’t speak' was accurate.
My chest was heaving like I ran a marathon when we were done.
I didn't have a single once of energy left.
Gianna turned me every which way but loose.
She fucked me from the floor to bed, and somehow, we ended up on the balcony.
With the breeze whipping around us, she rode me until tears leaked out my eyes.
Then she had the nerve to laugh afterwards. She enjoyed seeing me all dazed over her. She should've though—because I was. Head over heels for her. Gone. Locked in. And the way she looked at me like I was the only man that mattered…that shit turned me into mush. I was hers entirely.
I was barely able to stumble to the shower with her to wash the sweat off our skins.
She just kept giving me that look like she knew what she had done.
But I honestly couldn’t say shit anyway.
She tore me out the frame and then tucked me in and kissed my forehead.
I was the little spoon as I curled into her like a 6'2, tattooed baby, locking her arms around me so she couldn’t go anywhere.
She laughed softly and tightened her hold around me. "Comfortable?" she whispered.
"Mmhm," I mumbled.
"You sure?"
"No." I kissed the back of her hand. "Need you a little closer."
Her laugh vibrated against my back and she scooted closer. I could listen to that sound forever. Her fingers slid into my hair and I was knocked out in seconds.
It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when in the fog of my sex induced slumber, I heard Gianna's voice rise in alarm but hushed like she was trying to make sure I wouldn't hear.
But I heard the slight panic in her voice, so bleary eyed and all, I rolled over to see her pacing the floor, phone to her ear.
"Okay…Okay…I'm on my way." She hung up.
"Baby," I said voice heavy with sleep. "What's wrong?"
She looked over at me, her worried face illuminated by the moon seeping in through the window. "Just go back to sleep, babe. I'll be back." She moved towards the closet, but I was already up.
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I shuffled in the closet to see her yanking a pair of leggings and matching jacket off the hanger. "Slow up…" I grabbed her wrist softly to stop her from yanking the pants on. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
She shook her head, rolling her lips together before speaking. "Ronnie came back from the hotel with Boogie and she said the door was unlocked."
I frowned. "Unlocked?"
Gianna nodded. "Yeah. She asked me did I stop by and maybe forgot to lock the door. I told her no and not to go in." I let her wrist go and she began to put on her pants. "I told her to just go to her car and call the police. So I'm going over there."
"No, we're going over there," I corrected reaching over her to grab a hoodie.
"Remy, no." She tossed off her satin nightgown and shoved her arms into her jacket with no bra, zipping it up quickly. "Melo is sleep. It's three a.m. You have Sunday brunch at the restaurant…"
I wasn't trying hear none of that. "Gianna—baby, I'm not letting you go over there alone especially with the shit that's been happening. Melo sleeps heavy. He'll be fine," I said firmly already putting my hoodie on.
"Remy—" she began.
I gripped her chin in my fingers looking down at her, seriously. "Don't fight me. Remember you not doing anything alone anymore."
Her eyes fluttered closed briefly and she nodded.
Dropping a kiss on her lips I let her face go. "My keys are in the key bowl. Go start the car for me, okay? I'll be out in a second."
Without further protest, she nodded. Grabbing her shoes, she stepped around me. I threw on a pair of basketball shorts and gym shoes before going into my son's room. Melo was snoring lightly. I carefully slid on his Crocs and gently slid a zip-up hoodie onto him over his pajama's.
He stirred slightly. "Daddy, where we going?" he mumbled eyes still closed.
"Just for a little ride, buddy," I whispered scooping him into my arms and kissing the top of his head. His arms wrapped around my neck, and he fell right back to sleep.
When I got to my truck, Gianna was sitting with her face lit up by the phone screen as she texted who I was sure was Ronnie.
She looked back, watching me while I buckled Melo into his booster seat. "I feel so bad," she sighed softly when I slid in the driver's seat.
"Don't. He'll be fine, baby." I placed my hand on her thigh. "Let's go see what's going on." Pulling out, I was on high alert. Watching every dark truck that looked like that black one. I could feel Gianna on edge too. She alternated between texting and her eyes flicking around.
I placed my hand back on her thigh. She dropped her hand on top of mine and gave it a squeeze. Five minutes away from her building she let me know that Ronnie texted that the police had just arrived. "Good, right on time," I mumbled.
When we pulled up and I saw two police cruisers, I let Gianna get out first while I got Melo out.
I placed his hood over his head, my hand on the back of it to shield him from the blinking lights.
Gianna was waiting for us at the door. Taking her hand, we walked to her apartment where Ronnie was waiting outside the open door.
"Are you okay?" Gianna rushed towards her.
"I'm okay, sis, but this shit is weird." Ronnie frowned shaking her head. "Nothing is out of place. Look—" she pointed.
Me and Gianna peered in. Nothing was out of place. Everything looked exactly as it always did.
"The cops are doing a sweep," Ronnie exhaled sharply planting her hands on her hips. "They told us not to touch the door. They say the lock looks like it's been picked though."
"What the fuck?" Gianna's breath hitched.
Both of our eyes landed on the doorknob. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder pulling her towards me. I could feel a slight tremble in her body. She was scared and that pissed me off even more.
"Sorry about all this, Remy." Ronnie's eyes went to Melo. "But thank you for coming."
"No thanks needed. I wasn’t letting her come alone," I responded. "But you can't stay here either. You got somewhere you can go or you need help with getting a hotel?"
She smiled, genuinely. "That's sweet. But I'll probably just stay with my mom."
Our conversation was interrupted when the officers came out.
"Hello. I'm Officer Mullins and this is Officer Cooper." The female officer gestured towards the male. "Ma'am are you the other roommate?" she asked Gianna pulling a notepad out.
"Yeah," Gianna sighed heavily. "Gianna Taylor."
"And you are, sir?" Officer Cooper asked looking me up and down.
"Remel Robinson. I'm her boyfriend," I answered.
Mullins clicked her pen. "Well we did a full sweep, and nothing looks out of place. No broken windows. But that lock has definitely been picked." She pointed to it as Cooper stooped down to inspect it closer.
Gianna removed herself from my embrace to fold her arms around herself. "So…someone was definitely in here then?" she asked cautiously.
"Hard to say," Mullins admitted. "The lock has been picked, but there's nothing in there to suggest anyone actually entered." She pointed to the corner. "Noticed some cameras. Do they work?"
Ronnie rolled her eyes. "No," she huffed. "This dumb ass building was supposed to get them fixed months ago and they've been dragging their feet."
Cooper stood. "You're both pretty, young women. Anybody you suspect would want to try to come in—old boyfriends maybe?"
Ronnie and Gianna shared a look.
Gianna exhaled slowly. "Not a boyfriend exactly. But I used to see a guy who got kinda clingy. I saw him randomly at a restaurant last month. He got upset when I didn’t want to talk to him. Then I noticed a black truck following me and my boyfriend a couple of times."
"What's his name?" Mullins asked.
"Bishop Avery." Gianna licked her lips as the officer wrote it down. "I have a partial plate I took of the truck too," she added grabbing her phone out of her pocket. She showed it to Mullins who wrote it down.
"We'll run the partial and the name. See if anything comes up and let you know," Mullins said. "In the meantime, being here is no longer safe for you two. I would suggest you stay somewhere else tonight."
"What about all our stuff?" Ronnie threw up her hands. "We can't just leave everything unprotected like this."
"We can put up some caution tape," Collins suggested. "Changing the locks won't matter if someone knows how to pick them. We can also write a statement to assist with breaking your lease."
"This is fucking insane." Ronnie pressed her fingers to her head in frustration. "I can't believe this is happening."
Gianna was silent. Staring off into the apartment. They were in no condition to deal with this.
"Thank you, Officers." I spoke up, shifting Melo in my arms. "The caution tape will do, and if you can get that statement written before you go, we would greatly appreciate it.
Do you mind sticking around while the ladies go inside to do inventory?
Make sure there are no valuables missing that need to be logged. "
Collins nodded. "Absolutely. We can do that," he agreed respectfully.
Ronnie looked like she was split between crashing out or crying. "Ronnie?" I looked over at her. Her eyes flicked to me. "I got you. Relax." Through the anxiousness, she was able to give me a grateful look and nod.
"Baby—" I said gently taking Gianna's hand. She blinked up at me. "Let's go in and make sure nothing is missing, okay?"
"Okay," she mumbled.
We went inside. The officers waited. Mullins inside—Collins in the hallway. Ronnie went to her room while we went to Gianna's. I laid Melo down carefully on her bed before stretching my arms out.
Gianna stood in the center of the room looking around. "Everything looks fine." She shook her head in bewilderment.
"Just double check, babe." I kissed her forehead.
She went to closet first. Checked. Nothing was missing. All her jewelry, designer bags and shoes were accounted for. Still shaking her head mumbling, "This is crazy," she began to open her dresser drawers. Squatting down slightly at the last one, she opened it. As soon as she did—
"Oh my God," she gasped stumbling back, hand covering her mouth. "Oh my God."
"What's wrong?" I rushed to her, placing my hands on her shoulders and searching her frantic eyes that were still stuck on the empty dresser drawer.
"They're all gone," she whispered.
"What's all gone?" I frowned in confusion looking towards the drawer.
"My panties, Remy." Her hands dropped to her sides as tears sparkled in her eyes.
My jaw flexed hard as I stared into the empty drawer. Nah—there's no way.
"That was my underwear drawer," she pointed, shaking her head. Fear and disbelief were etched into every word." And every single pair is gone."