Chapter 65
“Is Allen Roman alive?” Rashawn asked her sisters who gathered around her bed.
“No. You've been hallucinating. The doctors say you passed out behind the wheel and went off the road, hitting an embankment,” Ta'Rae lied quickly, speaking softly while stroking Rashawn's hair. She also gave her vitals a once over, Ta'Rae being the family physician. Rashawn had her own private doctor but Ta'Rae did back up for everyone in the family, giving them all that extra attention that their own doctors could not.
“Where is Chance?” Rashawn then asked. The women looked around at each other.
“He's with Rainey,” Trina lied. She didn't have all the facts but jumping in with a good whopper when needed was always her specialty.
Rashawn smiled weakly. “Is Reggie on his way home? Chance said he was gonna go get him and bring him home. Or was I dreaming? Where is he?”
“Yes,” Rita answered, trying to sound convincing. “Chance is on his way to get Reggie, beat his ass and bring him home.”
“Good. Because I had a horrible dream that Allen Roman was alive and said he was going to hurt him. I tried to kill him with my bare hands. I remember thinking, the hell you will. I hate dreaming about Allen that way. It must have been because of me and Reggie's fight. Whenever me and Reggie fight I think about Allen Roman.”
“You were just overworked and stressed out. When you get out, you just need to get away.”
Rashawn closed her eyes. “Yeah, maybe we'll go visit Shelby in Oregon.”
The sisters looked at each other. “Honey, the doctor said we could only stay a minute. We're breaking all kinds of rules. We have to go now,” Carlotta said rushing the other's out of the room. Rashawn nodded without opening her eyes past little slits.
Outside the room all of the sisters looked at one another. “Okay, so how long do we keep the lies up?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Has anyone heard from Chance?”
“No.”
“Is Shelby on her way?”
“You know it. She's probably at the airport now!” Trina blurted. “And if you think I'm mad, you just wait! Why you thought we shoulda been left outta this ... y'all just insane in the membrane. Our blood is thicker than any of this.” Trina fanned her hand around the hall where they stood. “Our sister needs us all together to pull her through! Believe that!”
Chapter 66
Juanita watched the helicopter land and Ovan climb out with the young woman in his arms. He looked so very concerned. The paramedics had met him on the landing strip. They strapped the young girl in the gurney. Juanita had no idea who she was ... but no matter, she wasn't Junior . . . or Reggie. Juanita tried to fight the negative thoughts she had growing.
“Poor girl,” she forced herself to say.
Chance wasn't with him. Where was Chance? Where were the boys? She was overwrought.
Her mind drifted back to Allen Roman. He was so dark and sinister. She couldn't even accept that she actually had found him sexy and seductive at one time. She shook her head in shame thinking about the time she allowed him to have sex with her during their sessions. At first it was a game. He'd teased her about his obsession with a woman he was stalking. He pulled the jealousy out of her with his talk of how he had sexed this other woman. In graphic detail he talked about their encounters until Juanita's passion would nearly drip from the mouth of her womanly cistern. “How could I not know it was Rashawn he was talking about,” she said now. “There were so many clues.”
Once while sexing her, she could have sworn he called her Rashe. “Rashe ... Rashawn ... ugh, Nita.” Juanita slapped her head. Allen Roman had an accent that would slip out from time to time. She should have picked up on it... and then hiding those videos from the cops and the DA. “That was just plain wrong.” Juanita went on browbeating herself. Just showing them those videos could have helped Rashawn's case. Rashawn was acquitted of murder in the case of Blainâreceiving only probation for the manslaughter charge that stuck, but surely those videos could have showed everyone how controlling Allen Roman was. And the sessions with Blain confirmed that, maybe they could have put Allen away for good for all the abuse he inflicted on his sick brother Blain Tollome. Juanita had all but burned the sessions she'd had with Blain. He was even worse than Allen. There was no way she wanted them to see her orally pleasing that crazy man and going at it like two animals in all positions. Blain too was masterful and powerful.
Again she shook her head, feeling the heat coming between her legs. Right then she had to realize that what she felt was not wantâfor she hated Roman more than then anyone could hate anything. What she felt was uncontrollableâjust like the doctors had told her she would feel as she reached recovery of her sexual obsession. “I'm gonna get on my medicationâI promise God. Please bring my baby back to me,” she begged. “I swear I'm doing this.” Tears came streaming down her cheek faster than she could wipe them away.
She watched as Ovan jumped back in the helicopter and lifted off. Ovan too was a masterful and determined man. She could only hope he thought of her as more than just a piece of flesh.
Chapter 67
Chance waited in the darkness, each sound more startling than the last. Again, the rain began coming down turning quickly into snow. He thought about Ovan's words now. “Doc was his brother?” he asked himself.
Chance shook his head, as he thought about the role of fathers in the life of their sons. The ironic twist of fate he was now a part of. “Junior is Allen Roman's son,” Chance mumbled.
He looked at the gun in his hand and cried out. “Junior is Allen Roman's son! What is happening to my life! How did this one man get into my life this way?”
He thought about the day he met Rashawn. He instantly fell in love with her. She was being stalked by this crazy boyfriend of her best friend. “Ever since I've known her crazy men have desired her... Maybe I'm flippin' crazy too.” Chance huffed. He then thought about Juanita. He was crazy about her at one time. “That's for damn sure.” He laughed. Suddenly he focused on the thoughts in his head. “God I hope my life isn't flashing before my eyes.”
“If this man shows up, I don't know what I'ma do. I guess kill him. I'm so angry right now,” Chance yelped waving the gun around. “What did I ever do to him? What did I ever do to deserve this?”
Stomping around in the snow, Chance continued his diatribe, airing out his angst and misery over all he'd been through at the hand of Allen Roman.
He'd been beaten, and now cheated out of the one thing he wanted more than anything: a son. Sure he had Rainey, but a son ... or maybe it was a son with Juanita. “He even took Juanita from me,” Chance bellowed. “Was my life too easy?” he asked the heavens, dark and empty of stars. “Was that the problem? Was I taking my life for granted? Was I being pompous? Chance Davisâalways the one with the right answers for everybody,” he mocked himself. “Well I don't have any answers now. I don't even know where my kids are. There's a dead man in that cabin,” he whispered to God, pointing with the gun toward the open door of the cabin.
“When this is over, what will I have? What did you leave me with? Will I even have a wife?” Thinking of Rashawn, he pulled out his cell phone, foolishly searching for a signal. He was losing control of his senses now and threw the phone into the dirty tracks left by the helicopter. “What if she's dead? What will I have?” he yelled.
Just then the helicopter lights appeared in the darkness. Ovan was on his way back.
Chapter 68
The lights of the helicopter went over their heads. Junior groaned out loud at the sight of it disappearing in the distance. “Yes, that was your rescue. But it's over now,” Roman said. “Besides, you're safer with me than anywhere else in the world right now.”
“Where are we going anyway?” Reggie asked noticing they were not headed back to the cabin.
“We're sure not going to the cabin. I'm sure if you're out here, Hap is either dead or about to be arrested. I don't want any parts of either of those scenarios.”
“You're crazy,” Junior barked, cutting him off.
“No crazier than that mother of yours,” Roman said stretching his arms over the width of the backseat.
“Don't talk about my mother,” Junior yelped.
“It's okay Junior, he's just goading ya,” Reggie said. “Don't give into it.”
Roman laughed and then playfully slapped Reggie's shoulder. “Oh and don't let me start on that mother of yours. She tried to choke me yesterday.”
“You saw my mother? She's in Arizona. Howâ” Reggie began.
“No she's not. She's in a coma,” Roman answered sucking the air through his teeth, sounding cocky and bombastic. “Now see how helpful I've been. Chance isn't here to tell you boys anything you need to know. He's nowhere around when you need a father figure. Where is he? Is he even looking for you? Doubt it.”
“I don't believe you. You're lying. My mother is in Arizona,” Reggie said, trying to force his body to turn but it was nearly completely lifeless and heavy on one side.
“Believe what you want,” Roman said before tossing Rashawn's cell phone cover over the seat and into Reggie's lap. “Would have brought the whole thing but then, hey! They would have found me.”
Reggie stared at the ugly floral cell phone cover that Rashawn always thought was so pretty. She covered her phone with it. It was dirty. His lip buckled and his rage grew.
“My dadâ” Junior began.
Turning his attention to Junior, Roman's voice lifted in volume. “Let's get this straight! I'm your father! I'm all you've got kid,” Roman said, before thumping hard, the back of Junior's head.
“But you're trying to kill us,” Junior said, sounding tense, his speed increasing.
“I am not. Who told you that?”
“You were trying to kill me. You were going to take my kidneys both of them. I'm not stupid, I heard Hap talking, and I know you can't live without kidneys,” Reggie said squeezing his mother's cover, feeling it crack under his grip. His heart was racing and his mind was soaring. He was not going to let this night happen.
“No. I was going to do nothing of the sort. I would have never left you without any kidneys. I was going to give you mine, but then, when I found out about Junior all that changed. Now I'm just going to take one from each of you. This is actually a great day. I can't understand why you can't see that.”
“You're sick mannnnn,” Junior said, twisting his face up in growing anger.
“Not for long,” Roman said, sounding smug. Reggie had heard enough. No one was taking anything from him or his brother. He had decided. If he and Junior were going to die tonight it was not going to be at the hand of this maniac. Dropping the cover, with his good hand, he reached over and grabbed the wheel firmly.
Chapter 69
The car rolled twice over the embankment and down the one hundred yards of cliff, ending back on its wheels and bouncing with the impact. Reggie fought hard to stay conscious as his head hammered against the window until finally he cracked it. Looking over he saw Junior. He was leaning over in the seat. Reggie shook him hard. “Come on Junior! Come on!” His emotions were at a peak. Junior stirred. “Come on,” he begged then in a softer tone. Reaching over and opening the door with his strong arm, he shoved Junior out. Junior stumbled around before falling to his knees. Reggie struggled to pull himself free from the car and made his way around to Junior dragging him to his feet. Junior slowly came to his senses.
“We gotta get outta here,” Junior mumbled, realizing he would have to help Reggie walk. Together they held each other up making their way in the darkness. In the cold. In the snow. In the silence of the night, Reggie could hear the door of the wrecked car opening. He could almost hear the man who claimed to be his father stepping into the soggy, wet snowy, marsh that lay beneath his heavy feet.
“I'm not in the mood for this. We don't time for this,” his said. His heavy baritone echoing in the night sent a chill of both of the boy's spines.
“Come on, we've got to just keep going,” Reggie said moving as quickly as he could through the thick marsh. He was being nearly pulled along by Junior and without Junior he would surely fall. He could feel the man closing in on them from behind. Realizing they were indeed not moving as fast as they could go, he stopped in his tracks. “Go Junior, leave me. You can move faster without me,” he told Junior pulling free from his arm.
“No! Are you freakin' crazy? I'm not leaving you,” Junior cried.
“Go get help,” Reggie demanded.
Suddenly a shot rang out in the night. Junior yelled out a pain-filled cry and dropped to his knees. All Reggie could think was that he was hit by the bullet of Allen Roman's gun. Turning to face the man, Reggie could see his shadow. He became enraged. His weakened limbs became strong as he charged the shadowy figure standing under the reflection of the full moonlight. Tackling him like the star quarterback that he hoped one day to be, they grappled. Reggie pummeled him. “You shot my brother. You hurt my mother. You ... you ...” Slugging him hard with hot tears streaming down his face, Reggie cursed him bitterly. “You bastard.”
“Reggie!” Junior screamed, distracting him just enough for Roman to get the upper hand pinning Reggie beneath him.
The gun appeared and Reggie knew he had to shoot or be shot. He grabbed at Roman's hand with both of his, twisting at the gun this way and that.
Roman growled and spat as he wrestled with his younger self. He saw his own eyes in the young Reggie's widened orifices. Dark and menacing but with one thing missing ...
“You're my son!” Roman cried out. “Reggie, you are my son!”
“I could never be your son. I could never have a father as evil as you,” Reggie said before feeling his finger on the trigger and pulling it.
Their eyes met for a moment before Roman's closed in death and his lifeless body gave way.
“Reggie!” Junior called again rushing over and shoving Roman's dead body off of Reggie. He pulled Reggie to his feet. “Come on,” he screamed.
The skies showed no mercy as the clouds released buckets of snow and rain mixed. The wind took the snow flurries south and then east, blinding them. The weight of their clothes was heavy as they attempted to climb the steep embankment. Junior led with Reggie working hard to keep up. The weakness was returning as the adrenaline was wearing off. “Junior,” Reggie called up. “I can't make it. Go on and get help!” he called, his voice, weak against the sounds of the climate burdened trees cracking, snapping and whistling the Oregon winds through their branches.
“No!” Junior screamed, sliding down until he was equal with Reggie. He began unbuckling his belt. “I'm going to put this belt around your leg and mine and when I move you move, okay!”
“You're crazy.”
“I ain't crazy ... I'm your brother,” Junior said, smiling weakly while following through on his plan. “Plus I saw it in a spy movie. It's gonna work.”
“You're so crazy,” Reggie said, allowing a weak smile to cross his lips as well.
Together they started up the hill again.