CHAPTER 28
NIYAH
“Here’s your mega-pint of wine,” Xander teased, mocking Johnny Depp’s amusing court testimony.
Niyah accepted the large glass with an appreciative smile. “Thanks. This is a much welcome end to a ridiculously busy day.”
Xander sat next to her on the sofa and sipped from a smaller wineglass Over the last two weeks of Xander staying with her, they’d settled into a pleasant routine.
He slept in the guest room. In the morning, they dressed for work and shared coffee before leaving.
With Lincoln’s man tailing them, Xander dropped her off at work every day and pick her up every night.
On nights that she was on-call, he drove her to crime scenes and waited.
If she needed to go back to the ME’s office, he dropped her off and returned for her later.
And when they finally made it back to her condo, they either ordered in or cooked together.
Niyah had no problem admitting that she liked having Xander around with the only downside being lack of privacy. She took another sip and looked down at the bracelet dangling from her wrist. Soon and very soon, she would have to shake her bodyguards and handle some personal business.
“Hey!” Xander’s voice and a nudge to her leg shook Niyah out of her daze.
“Y-yes? What’d you say?”
With wrinkled brows, Xander tilted his head as if studying her. “You okay?”
Niyah chuckled nervously. “I am. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted to pick up where we left of with the Son’s of Anarchy?”
Niyah shook her head. “No. I’m too tired. I don’t even think I can keep my eyes open through dinner. I’m just gonna go to bed.”
Xander’s hand caressed her shoulder. Niyah could see the concern in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
With a smile, she nodded to assure him that she was.
“Okay. Good night. Let me know if you need anything.”
Niyah cheeks warmed. It was the result of being cared for, a feeling she wasn’t accustomed to.
She cupped his chiseled jaw and ran her thumb along the stubble from his five o'clock shadow. “Xander, you are so very thoughtful,” she told him in an uncharacteristically sultry voice. “You don’t have to be here, I know that. You should know that I really appreciate you for that.”
Niyah stood and leaned to kiss his cheek. “Thank you,” she said in a whisper.
She turned to leave, but Xander caught her by the wrist and yanked her body against his. When Niyah looked up, it was like she was looking into the eyes of a different man. Oceanic blues turned into dark pools of sapphire.
Xander snaked an arm around her waist and gripped her ass.
He pulled until her pelvis was pressed against his thigh and glared down at her as if she were prey.
“I am no gentleman,” he hissed. “Niyah, I am neither sweet nor thoughtful. Please, make no mistake. I want to fuck you! I wanna fuck you long! And I wanna fuck you hard!”
Niyah’s breath hitched. She was frozen with every limb in rigor from the words that had slithered through his full, suckable lips. “I-I-”
“Shhh,” he shushed, pushing her back down on the sofa.
Swiftly, and with no resistance from her, he peeled her leggings from her body and pushed her legs apart. With his teeth, Xander gathered a mouthful of her lacy panties and ripped them from her pussy.
“Xander,” Niyah whispered with a hint of caution. “What are you doing?”
Xander’s gaze turned dark as he licked her hot, swollen clit.
Niyah inhaled a sharp breath and threw her head back against the sofa.
She grabbed the back of his head and lifted her hips in an effort to get her pussy closer to his face, but Xander gripped her hips, holding her in place.
He planted his face between her thighs and feasted on her pussy.
He teased around her clit and licked her wet folds.
Niyah's moans escalated as he flicked his warm, wet tongue repeatedly on her clit.
She nearly lost control when Xander loosened his grip on her hips.
Niyah fisted a handful of soft, thick strands of his dark hair and frantically fucked his face.
High-pitched cries of passion bounced off the walls of her living room as he worked her pussy over; licking, flicking, sucking, and teasing it until she lost it all.
Niyah cried out unabashedly when Xander sucked her clit into his mouth and moaned against it. Cumming was not sufficient enough to describe Niyah’s experience. Shattered was more like it. Like a wounded animal, she howled as she fell completely apart.
Niyah was struggling to control her breathing when Xander stood to his feet.
She gazed up at him, spent and filled with desire.
With his mouth still covered in her satisfaction, he grinned with a raised brow.
He massaged the massive bulge behind his pants and raised a devious brow. “I’m no gentleman.”
To Niyah’s utter shock and disappointment, he walked away, taking his big dick with him, leaving her wide-legged, wet, and desperately wanting more.
***
After wrapping her locs into a high bun, Niyah glossed her lips and stepped back to check herself in the mirror. For some strange reason, she was more conscious of the way she looked than the day before.
Xander’s seduction and cessation last night had her fucked up in the head.
So much so that she’d obsessed, uncharacteristically, in the mirror twenty minutes more than usual.
She smiled, somewhat satisfied with her hair and makeup.
But her smile fell when her eyes lowered to her dowdy green scrubs.
“At least they're clean,” she muttered with a shrug.
Niyah left her bedroom and headed down the hall to the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Xander greeted with a smile when she entered.
“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Like a baby,” he responded with a crooked grin that made her nervous. “How ‘bout you? How’d you sleep, Niyah?”
“Fine,” Niyah muttered, quickly looking away.
She walked over to the coffee pot. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be used as a distraction when Xander reached around her, offering her favorite mug filled with coffee.
Niyah accepted the cup and turned to face him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His deep, sultry baritone sent jolts of remembrance to her pussy.
Niyah shook away her desperation and cleared her throat. “Xander, I’m gonna drive myself to work today.”
Xander frowned. She could see confusion in his expression. “Why? Is this about last night? I--”
“No,” Niyah responded. The last thing she wanted to do was have a conversation about the night before. “I just need to stop by my mom’s house before work. I don’t want to make you late.”
Still frowning, Xander tilted his head. “I’m the boss. Work starts when I get there.”
“Must be nice,” Niyah said with a nervous chuckle.
“It is,” Xander replied, studying her through narrowed lids. “I can take you to your mom’s place. It’s not a problem.”
Niyah shook her head, but before she could speak, Xander added, “It’s not safe. I know you got the news about what happened to Donna last night.”
“I did, but--”
“But, what?” he asked with an elevated voice.
Niyah took a step back and glared at him. “But,” she repeatedly firmly. “I’m a grown-ass woman! And I need to stop by my mother’s house alone!”
Xander’s gaze softened. “Niyah, I’m not trying to be a creep. I just wanna keep you safe.”
“I know,” she whispered on a sigh. “But, I’ll be fine. I’m not the main target.”
“Tell that to the dead body that we found in your bathroom,” Xander quipped with frustration.
Niyah threw her hands in the air. “Well, what is that big-ass man always following me around for?”
Anger flashed in Xander’s eyes as he moved within a breath of her. “Donna had her own big-ass man following her around, and she still got shot!”
Niyah dropped her head. The back and forth between them was getting her nowhere but late. “Okay,” she relented. “Let’s go. But don’t worry about stopping by my mom’s. I can go after work.”
When Xander nodded with a smile, Niyah could see relief in his eyes.
But it was awkward between them. They finished their coffee in silence and headed out.
Within twenty minutes, he pulled up to Cook County Hospital.
Niyah grabbed her bag from the back seat and placed it on her lap.
She reached over the gearshift and covered Xander’s hand with hers.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly. “I really do appreciate what you’re doing. ”
Xander gifted her with a radiantly white, incredibly sexy smile. “Thank me by having a wonderful day.”
Niyah giggled. “I can try.”
Out of nowhere, she pictured him standing over her caressing his big dick. It took a few seconds, but she managed to tear her eyes from the lips that had owned her pussy the night before.
“Have a good day. I’ll see you later.” Niyah climbed out of the car and hustled toward the hospital, willing herself not to look back.
With just about thirty minutes before her staff was due to arrive, she pushed through the doors and jogged to her office.
She shoved her hand in her bag and fished around for her keys.
Once she found them, she opened the door, hurried inside, and locked it behind her.
Niyah dropped her bag by the door and hurried over to her desk.
After pressing the power button, she tapped her desk impatiently and waited for her desktop to come alive.
It took a minute that seemed like forever, but she was finally able to pull up the file she was looking for, the DNA results for the serial murders she and Bella had been investigating. Thankfully, they hadn’t come back yet.
Niyah closed the file and used her access to log into the State Police Crime Lab Request Database and deleted all of her requests for DNA testing on the semen found on the victims. After logging out of the database, she sighed and dropped her head in her hands.
“What am I doing?” the thought came aloud in a nervous whisper.
Oh, fuck!
Oh, fuck!
Oh, fuck!
While contemplating her life decisions, it suddenly dawned on Niyah that she still had DNA samples in her lab. “Shit!”
She logged out of her computer and ran out of her office.
Within seconds, she entered her lab. After an extensive search, Niyah realized that they weren’t where they were supposed to be.
She walked over to the handwritten log, which was on a clipboard hanging from the wall.
After flipping several pages, she found what she was looking for.
The samples were deemed too small for further testing and destroyed.
The order was handwritten and signed by Katima Leer, her new intern.
Niyah exhaled with relief. Though, however thankful she was that the samples had been destroyed, she deemed it rather high-handed of an intern to make that decision without clearing it with her first.
With some relief, Niyah went back to her office. She grabbed her purse, pulled out her phone, and requested an Uber.
Thirty-five minutes later, they drove past white women, pushing strollers and walking dogs, a staple of Mount Greenwood.
When the driver pulled up to the curb in front of her mother’s house, Niyah thanked her and hopped out.
She rushed to the door and rang the bell.
When no one answered, she rang it again.
She rang the bell four times before her mother yanked the door open and yelled, “What the hell?”
Niyah pushed past her mother. “Where’s Naomi?”
“Well, good morning to you too! What are you doing here so early?”
“Good morning, Mom. Where is Naomi?”
“You know she’s been working nights at . She’ll be up around noon.” Her mother’s expression turned suspicious. “What did she do now? It’s the drugs again, isn’t it?”
Niyah rolled her eyes. It was like her mother had been waiting for Naomi to fail. It was almost as if she wanted her to just so she could prove that she’d been right when she’d said Naomi was no good.
Niyah’s face twisted with disgust. “How many times does she have to tell you? Naomi is clean!”
Her mother threw her hands up as if she were a victim of Niyah’s viciousness. “Okay, okay!”
Niyah ignored her theatrics and walked away.
She jogged up the stairs two at a time and rounded a corner until she stood at Naomi’s door.
After inhaling a deep breath, she exhaled and pushed inside.
Instantly saddened by the sight of her sister still sleeping on a twin bed, she suddenly wondered if she could have done more to help her.
Maybe she should’ve brought Naomi home to live with her.
Maybe she should have pushed for her to go to therapy.
If she had done more, maybe she could've stopped her from becoming a serial killer.
But Niyah pushed all empathy for her sister to the back of her mind and stormed over to the twin bed.
She was in a deep, open-mouth slumber when Niyah hauled off and slapped the dream out of her head.
Naomi snapped awake and squared up for a fight. At first, she appeared dazed and confused, but when her eyes landed on Niyah, she screamed, “What the fuck? Bitch, are crazy?”
Niyah stepped to her taller sibling and looked her square in the eye. “Naw, bitch!” She held up the trinket for Naomi to see. “Are you crazy?” ?