NIYAH
Xander opened the door and offered his hand.
After preparing her poker face, she placed her hand in his and exited the car.
Xander led her down the path to the front door.
Each step toward the Creed’s home felt less like walking into a family meeting and more like walking the plank.
When they made it to the door, Andrew, the Creed’s house manager, was there to greet them.
“Good evening, Alexander. Your family has assembled in the parlor.”
“Thank you, Andrew. Good evening to you.”
“Dr. Reed,” Andrew acknowledged with a smile.
Even though she’d committed a serious crime and dreaded an evening spent with trained observers, Niyah smiled in return. “Hello, Andrew.”
He stepped aside to allow them entry. When they entered the foyer, Niyah eased her hand out of Xander’s for fear that he would feel her trembling. She wasn’t a good liar, and she’d never committed a crime. But, for her sister, she prayed she’d be every bit as good at acting as Meryl Streep.
Xander must have noticed her apprehension. He looked down at her with expressive blue eyes. “You okay?”
The nervous chuckle that escaped felt unconvincing. “What? Yeah, I’m f-fine. I-I’m j-just…” Niyah sighed. “It- it’s been a long day.”
Bad liar!
Niyah’s face burned under Xander’s scrutiny. Surely, he must have known she was lying.
“Okay. Let’s get you a drink.”
Niyah nodded her head too many times for it to be normal. “Yes, a drink would be great.”
She inhaled a breath and forced a smile, trying desperately to pull herself together.
Xander cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “Come on. Let’s get this done.” With his hand pressed to the small of her back, he guided her to the parlor.
“Darling, hello,” Mrs. Creed greeted her son.
“Hello, Beautiful,” Xander returned before kissing his mother’s cheek.
She grinned, looking up at Xander as if he were her favorite person in the world. No doubt, she looked at all of her sons that way.
Tabatha Creed turned to Niyah with a warm smile. “Dr. Reed, it’s good to see you again.”
“You too, Dr. Creed. Please, call me Niyah.”
She agreed with a nod. “And please call me Tabatha.”
“Yes, ma’am. Tabitha it is.” Niyah agreed in the moment, but she knew she wasn’t going to be calling Xander’s mother by her first name. It just wouldn’t come natural to her.
“Drink, Dr. Reed?” Andrew asked as he approached.
“Yes, please. I’ll take whatever tequila you have.
“Dark or light?” he asked.
“Wet,” Niyah responded with a chuckle, ignoring the heat from Xander’s glare.
“Alrighty, then,” Tabitha remarked with a giggle. “Make yourself at home. Belladonna should be down in a minute.”
“Thank you.” Niyah crossed the room and sat on the sofa.
Xander studied her a bit before moving toward the bar.
Niyah sat, wringing her hands, and practicing in her head how to behave like someone who wasn’t breaking the law.
Voices outside the parlor sparked her anxiety.
She stiffened and prepared herself for Bella’s entry.
A small sigh of relief escaped when Lincoln and Jaysen walked in.
With perfect timing, Andrew approached and handed her a crystal sifter with a good amount of chilled tequila. Niyah accepted the drink and thanked him. He turned, but he hadn’t made three feet from her before she knocked back the entire contents of the fancy glass.
Niyah glanced toward the bar and caught Xander surveying her with a questioning squint. She looked away just in time to catch Bella’s entrance. She smiled her way before whispering something in Dr. Creed’s ear. Whatever it was, it prompted the doctor to leave the room.
Bella walked over and sat next to Niyah. “Hey, girl,” she greeted enthusiastically.
It had been a while since she’d seen Bella. She looked much better. The swelling in her face had gone down. Her bruises had faded, and she appeared stronger.
“You’re looking good, girl,” Niyah remarked.
Bella grinned. “I feel good.”
Panic warmed Niyah’s cheeks. “Good enough to go back to work?”
“I go back tomorrow.”
FUCK!
Niyah raised a brow. “Are you sure you’re ready to return to work?”
“Positive. I need to clear a few cases.” Bella leaned closer. “Speaking of which, did the DNA results come back from the gangbanger killer?”
Niyah’s breathing hitched before she could stop it. Her heart felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest. For a second, she contemplated faking a heart attack. It was the only thing she could think of to save her from having this dreaded conversation.
Bella’s brow wrinkled with concern. “Are you okay?”
After patting her chest and clearing her throat, she nodded. “Yeah,” she rasped. “I’m good. It’s just heartburn.”
“Oh, damn. Do you take something for that?”
“I do, but I’m okay.”
Bella’s lips parted, but her words were cut by Donna’s entrance.
“Hey, hey, hey!” she greeted everyone in the room.
“Hey, Donna!” Niyah chirped, grateful for the interruption.
Unfortunately, whatever relief Donna had provided disappeared when Bella nudged her. “Did the DNA results come back?” she repeated.
Niyah sighed and shook her head. “It turns out the sample was too small to test.”
Bella glared at her with disbelief. “All the samples? From every scene?”
“Well, no… not all of them. Some were contaminated,” Niyah lied.
“Contaminated? How is that possible?” Bella questioned.
Niyah was getting irritated, more so at her own performance. Surely, the detective detected deception. It was obvious the way she was staring at her through narrowed lids.
“So, I have some info,” Donna announced.
Thankfully, Bella’s focus switched to her sister. “What you got?”
Donna grinned. “I got a CI,” she proudly responded.
Bella perked up at the news that her sister had a confidential informant that could possibly shed some light on their unknown adversaries. “And?”
“It’s definitely Yakuza.” Donna sat in a plush chair across from them and dropped a pile of photos on the cocktail table. “And the tattoos confirm it.”
Bella picked up the pictures and flipped through them one by one. Niyah could see that they were copies of her autopsy photos.
“Why would the Yakuza try to kill us? Have you had any police-related dealings with them.”
Donna shook her head. “Nope. None.”
“Neither have I. So, why do they want us dead? And the better question is why would they go after Lucas?”
Donna shrugged. “I don’t know, but I have a name. My CI mentioned someone that they call, Master Kon.”
“That’s something,” Bella admitted with a sigh. “It gives us something to work with. Lucas is resting, but I’ll asked him about this Kon guy when I go up.”
“I’ll have some people check into this Yakuza connection and I’ll touch base with Victor to see if he’s heard of this Kon guy,” Lincoln chimed.
“Oh, my goodness!” Dr. Creed shrieked as she rushed into the parlor. She snatched the remote from the bar and activated the television. After surfing a bit, she landed on the news channel and turned up the volume.”
“We have some breaking news right now,” the anchor announced.
“We’re here in Los Angeles where Illinois Governor Victor Creed is holding a news conference concerning accusations made by Nicole Montgomery, the sister of Illinois first lady, Taylor Creed.
The governor’s sister-in-law has alleged that she and the presidential hopeful engaged in an illicit affair that resulted in him fathering her son. ”
The camera panned to Victor as he stepped up to the podium. Before he could utter one word, presumably to deny the accusation, reporters went on the attack with vile questions, insinuating that he had indulged in threesomes with his wife and her sister.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Bella grumbled.
“This jealous bitch!” Donna hissed. “Weeks before the election,” she pointed out.
The anger radiating from Victor’s family heated the room like a furnace.
Niyah had only seen Taylor’s sister a few times, and not one of those times did she bother to speak.
In fact, the last time she’d seen Nicole Montgomery, she was running behind her creepy fiancé as Lincoln was tossing him out of the Creed’s penthouse.
On the other hand, Victor was warm and friendly.
What’s more, he seemed honorable and completely devoted to his wife.
Along with the rest of the Creed clan, Niyah sat quietly listening to the press conference. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling incredibly guilty for being grateful that a terrible accusation had taken the heat off of her.