Fatal mistake, p.8
Fatal Mistake, page 8
Once his strength returned he picked her up, carried her down the hallway through the double doors of his bedroom. They lay on the bed still entwined as he whispered. “Round two.”
Ericka’s laugh was as giddy as a schoolgirl’s with her very first love. While the first session was intense, this one was exploratory. For hours they explored each other’s bodies, not leaving an area untouched, by lips. She thought his hands, those wonderful long fingers of his were magical, for everywhere they touched she felt sensations unlike anything she had experienced before.
That hand that she had avoided for a week was now her focus, as they lay on the ruffled bed embraced in the warmth of each other’s arms.
As she played with his fingers, Nick teased. “You like that hand now?”
“I do.” She brought one of his fingers to her lips and kissed it.
“You want to tell me why you were afraid of taking my hand, before?” Ericka knew what he was asking. He could tell by the way her body tensed.
“We are having way too much fun to relive the past.” She turned her body to face him. “Nick…” she hesitated.
“Don’t hold back Ericka. What’s on your mind?”
He looked down at her with such sincerity. The guilt of her reasons for being there seeped in for a moment. She wanted to tell him that what they just shared was an exception and not a rule. For whatever reason she did not want him to think she slept with every target she conned. She did not want him to think being with him this way was about money.
Nick watched as the play of emotions showed on her face. He wanted her to open up and tell him why she was there. But for whatever reason, he did not like seeing the turmoil he was causing her.
Ericka’s hands caressed his chest. “You took dance lessons, didn’t you?”
“I did.” Nick kissed her neck, and sighed. She wasn’t ready. He would give her the time she needed to come clean. For now he wanted to enjoy whatever time they would have together. “When I was in high school my coach said a dance class would help my foot movement on the court. So I took a class and liked it. Every Tuesday and Thursday after basketball practice I would go. The guys laughed, at first, but then they saw the ease of my movements on the court and a few of them began coming to class.”
“Are you as good at dancing as you are on the piano?”
“I’ve got moves,” He pulled her body over his.
She straddled him. “I’ve got a few moves myself,” she grinned as her body moved against his.
“Do you?” Nick adjusted his position under her. “Show me and don’t hold back.”
“I don’t hold back. When I give, I give all I got.”
“That’s what I want Ericka. All you have.”
Ericka slid on to him, pulled her hair off her shoulder and held it on top of her head. She closed her eyes, then began to move slowly up and down as he held her firmly.
For the first time in her life Ericka knew she was in good hands.
Chapter 6
“I
can’t do this, Cannon.” Ericka took a drink from the glass of lemonade as they sat outside of a restaurant in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. She and Nick had spent two days together making love, laughing, making love, talking, and making love some more. Ericka shook the memory away.
“This is a good man. I don’t know why Singleton wants him disgraced and I’m not sure I care why.”
“Let me tell you what I’ve found out.” He pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to her. “This is a copy of Singleton’s father’s will.”
Ericka glanced through it and shrugged her shoulders. “It leaves everything to his wife and son.”
Cannon nodded, then gave her another piece of paper. “Now read this.”
Ericka read the second document and looked up at him somewhat confused. “Isaac has a child?” She put the paper on the table. “What does that have to do with Nick?”
“This is where things get a little interesting.” Cannon sat up. “According to this document, the mother of Isaac’s child was a Gwendolyn Spivey. Gwendolyn Spivey married an Avery Brooks.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Avery and Gwendolyn Brooks are Nick’s parents.” She frowned. “You think Nick is Isaac’s son?” She asked shaking her head. “No.” She pushed the paper back to Cannon. “No way.”
“Not Nick. He’s too young and he’s a twin. I’m thinking one of the older brothers may be Isaac’s son.”
“So go after one of them and leave Nick alone.”
“It doesn’t work like that for a man like Isaac.” Cannon shook his head. “I think his plan is to destroy the whole family. But there’s more. I followed up on your question about Isaac’s mother’s will. According to her housekeeper, she said she knows Mrs. Singleton did have a will. In fact, she was the one who drove Mrs. Singleton to your mother’s house the day she gave her a copy. She doesn’t know what was in the will but she knows it exists. That’s why she was surprised when Isaac got everything. But when he gave her one hundred thousand dollars for her service to his mother, she never said anything.”
“That’s the will my mother showed to you?”
Cannon nodded. “If we can find that will, Bobby is due to inherit half of what Isaac has claimed.”
Ericka sighed. “Cannon,” she looked away then turned back to him. “I want to help Bobby get what is rightfully his, but I can’t do this to Nick.”
“If you don’t, Isaac will find someone else to do it. You better believe that. Hell, he has instructed me to go after the sister now. You don’t need to know that, but the play is in motion.”
“What in the hell is his problem with this family?”
“It’s all about the Benjamins.”
“But there is plenty to go around.”
“Singleton is not the sharing type. That’s part of the reason he didn’t make it in the NBA. He’s not a team player. He’s selfish. After that murder charge, no team in the league wanted to deal with that and his problem is he’s also selfish on the court. They didn’t care how talented he was.”
“Somebody has to put a stop to this.”
“I think we can, but you have to play it out Ericka. Singleton is expecting a status in two weeks.”
“Hello, it’s Ericka, right?”
Ericka and Cannon looked up to see Nicole Brooks and another woman standing not ten feet away from them. What in the hell was she doing in Atlanta?
“Yes, it is.” Ericka turned to Cannon. “Would you give us a moment?”
Cannon had just received a complete dossier on the woman, so he knew exactly who they were and the consequences of them seeing him and Ericka together. He stood and put on his most charming smile. “Good afternoon, ladies. If you would excuse me.”
Nicole nodded her head but never took her eyes from Ericka. “Funny seeing you here in Atlanta with another man. Is he your next target?”
Ericka smiled. “Nicole, right? You have your brother’s eyes.”
“We share a lot more than that.” Nicole removed her glasses. “You weren’t able to get what you wanted from Nick so you’ve moved on, I hope.”
“I love it when women try to analyze my life.” She chuckled. “No, I haven’t moved on from Nick nor do I plan to.”
Nicole looked off then turned back with a sigh. “Look why don’t you go find a ball player to marry and leave my brother out of your plans?”
Ericka stared at Nicole for a long minute. “If a ball player was who I wanted I would have one. However”—she looked around shrugged her shoulder, then focused back on Nicole— “I choose not to live my life waiting for a man to dish out his shit and then stand back and ask may I have more of your shit please. Ericka stood, picked up her purse and put her shades on. I choose to be the one dishing. You should try life my way. Loosen those curls. You might like it.” Ericka turned, but Nicole caught her by the arm.
Ericka jerked away. “That’s crossing the line, Nicole. But out of respect for your brother I will not knock you on your ass.”
Nicole stepped in her face. “Respect? If you had any respect you would get a job and stop depending on decent people to support you.
Alicia, Nicole’s assistant stepped between the two women. “We’re causing a scene. Let’s walk away.”
“Yes, Nicole…walk away.”
“You may want to consider doing the same thing Ericka.” Nicole said as Alicia pulled her away. “Gold mines blow and collapse. Remember that.”
Ericka kept her eyes on the two women as they walked away. Any thoughts she had of a possible relationship with Nick just vanished. She turned and walked purposely over to Cannon, “Two weeks, Cannon, two weeks. You find what you need to get what is due to Bobby before I have to take this step with Nick. “
“Are you getting in too deep with this Brooks character?”
“Just find another way to do this, please.”
Seeing how upset she was getting, Cannon agreed. “Okay, let me ask you this. Your mother had a copy of a document she showed me. Would she have showed it to anyone else? A friend, or a neighbor…anyone?”
Ericka thought for a minute. “The only person I can think of is old Mrs. Crabtree. The woman would tell mom every time I climbed out the window. The old bat.”
“Every neighborhood has one. Somebody who doesn’t have anything else to do but mind somebody else’s business.” Cannon nodded. “Where does she live?”
“Her house was behind us on Maggie Walker Avenue. Her bedroom was on the back and so was mine.”
“I’ll start there.”
“Find what you need quick. I need to get out of this situation before I end up being the one hurt.” She turned and walked out.
Neither Cannon nor Ericka noticed the men following them.
“I have the woman,” Tower I aka Jake, spoke into his cell phone. “You take Cannon. I’ll report back to the boss.”
“Watch your back,” Tower II aka Peace, replied.
***
There were two people, other than his brothers, that Ty Pendleton trusted with his life; Tower number one, Jake Turner, and Tower number two, Peace Newman. Both had been middle linebackers on his college football team and were drafted into the NFL on different teams. Jake Turner busted a knee in his third year and Peach Newman sustained a concussion in his fourth. The injuries ended their careers. Thanks to the deals Ty helped them sign, both were financially set. However, neither was ready to be sportscasters for any network and decided for a more lucrative, action-filled position as bodyguards for the Pendleton Agency. Their duties consisted of a variety of responsibilities, but were not limited to anything needed by their friend and the man they simply referred to as Boss.
Both were in Atlanta gathering information on Ericka Kennedy and an old friend to Peace Newman, Tower II. “Cannon is not the type of person to set up scams, Boss. I’m telling you what I know.”
“If you believe you can approach him without compromising your mission reach out to the brother.” Ty sat up. “If Mr. McNally is into something that will cause problems for Brooks-Pendleton, are you prepared to end your friendship?”
“My loyalty is to you, Boss,” Peace stated. “You want Cannon handled…it will be done. Bank it.” Peace disconnected the call as he watched Cannon drive into the parking deck of B7Beats Recording Studios. The file showed Lawrence Cannonball McNally was representing Singleton Enterprises in the acquiring of the studios. The deal was in the delicate stages of negotiation, but it looked as if the takeover was inevitable. Peace looked at the paperwork again. Why would Cannon be involved in something of this nature? It wasn’t his thing. He was into security like him and Jake. Peace decided to sit back and observe…for now.
Chapter 7
“I
was beginning to think you stood me up.” Nick stood with open arms to Ericka as she entered the restaurant. He noticed her hesitation, but then she walked into his embrace. He kissed her neck. “Bad trip?”
She leaned into his gentle touch and longed for something she knew could not be. “Not great.” She slowly pulled away.
Nick pulled the chair out for her as she unbuttoned the double-breasted white trench coat to reveal a canary yellow dress underneath. He gave the coat to the waiter to check in as she sat. “Will a large glass of Chardonnay help?”
“Yes.” She nodded without hesitation.
Nick held up his hand as the waiter approached. “A bottle of Chardonnay, thank you.” The waiter nodded then walked away. “Is it something you can talk about?”
Ericka closed her eyes as she sighed. “Why are you always so nice, so considerate?”
He took her hand and held it so she could not pull it away. “You make it easy.”
“Nick.” She tried to pull away, but he held on. She looked up at him. “I wish you wouldn’t. You’re making things difficult.” She looked around before completing her statement.
“That was the plan, Ericka. I thought I made myself clear from the beginning. Once you knew me better you would do one of two things. Tell me what you want from me so I can give it to you. Or, have you so head over heels in love with me that you can’t do whatever it is you planned to do.” He shrugged as the waiter returned with the wine. “Leave it, I’ll pour. Thank you,” Nick said to the waiter.
He picked up the bottle and began to pour. “This is where you say, Oh Nick I can’t hurt you for it would be as if I hurt myself. Then you fall to your knees and beg my forgiveness for even thinking of pulling a scam on me.” He handed her the glass with the most ridiculously innocent smile she had ever seen.
Ericka gave him an incredulous look, then slowly began to smile as laughter begin to build inside of her and spill out. “You play dirty, Nicolas Brooks.”
“Ah, that’s what I want to see…laughter in your eyes. They sparkle when you are sincere with your laughter. Like black onyx that’s been polished to a spit shine. During the throes of passion, they turn a midnight blue. When you are about to indulge in a bit of fiction they turn jet black. My favorite is when they are ebony. It’s when you are just…you. No pretense, no scheming, just Ericka being Ericka.” He sat forward and held his glass across the table to touch hers. “That’s when the heat between us starts as a slow burn. As we talk the intensity of the burn builds. The only thing fueling it is the essence of you and me. No outside forces pushing us to do or saying anything. It’s just…us.” He tapped his glass to hers, took a drink then ran his tongue across his bottom lip.
She was losing the battle. Whenever she was alone, Ericka could come to terms with what needed to be done. When Nick was within fifty feet of her, the desire to be with him increased and the drive to help Bobby vanished. It was clear she was losing her damn mind.
“You’re conflicted because you are fighting a losing battle.”
“How do you know what’s going on in my mind?”
“I see it all over your face.” He tilted his head and stared at her. “It hurts that I’m the cause of your turmoil. Then again, it’s a sign that what you feel you have to do, isn’t going to be easy. That’s a good thing.” Nick put his glass down. “Just tell me what you need. I’ll give it to you.”
“It’s not…” She looked away, shaking her head. “It’s not that simple.” She looked up and held his gaze. “If this was for me, I would have let it go the other night. What we shared was…amazing, just freakin amazing. I don’t experience that with men, Nick. That was new for me.” She drank the glass down, then set it on the table. “As wonderful as it was, it scared the living hell out of me.” Nick refilled her glass. She picked it up. “I don’t know if I should be running for the hills or what?” She gulped it down and sat the glass back on the table.
Nick put his hand over the top. “Do you trust me Ericka?”
The question caught her off guard. What was more surprising is she had to think about it. The normal response would be a resounding no. But sitting there, looking into his eyes, she knew her perspective on things had changed. She did trust him.
“Trust isn’t easy for me Nick.”
“It’s not for me, either, but I trust you to do what is right when the time comes.”
