Authors: Suzetta Perkins
A
ngelica sat on the couch, toying with her cell phone and feeling glad Santiago had left. He was in an ill mood, partly because he didn’t take kindly to her leaving the restaurant last night and because something hadn’t gone according to plan. He was shouting obscenities at Sammy and Dominic when she waltzed into the kitchen to find something to eat. Santiago sneered at her and then announced that the three of them were leaving. It didn’t matter to him that she didn’t feel well last night; he didn’t ask how she was doing or even bother to check on her. Angelica didn’t care. It was time for her to make her break.
Lifting her cell phone, Angelica dialed Ari’s number. She felt awkward but hoped he would answer. Weeks had passed, in fact, it was a month to the day since she had seen or spoken to him even if the moment was brief at Donna’s funeral.
And now Hamilton. What did it mean?
Thinking back to the day she left Ari made her realize what had probably caused him to wash his hands of her. She didn’t want to go with Santiago, but she knew the power he wielded and that her death warrant would probably be imminent if she didn’t go. It was Ari’s look of disgust that had hurt her the most. He was a good lover, and she was beginning to feel more for him than she had planned to.
The phone continued to ring until Angelica ended the call. She threw it down on the couch and grabbed her sides, contemplating what she would do next. She didn’t know how long it would be before Santiago returned, and she had to activate a plan before it was too late. She picked up the phone and dialed again. This time, Ari answered, obviously annoyed.
“What is it, Angelica? I thought I told you not to call me again. I’m busy.”
“Ari, when I get an opportunity, I’d like to explain all of this.”
“Don’t bother. I don’t care what you’ve done, whom you’ve been with, or any sordid story of your life. I don’t give a damn. Got it?”
There was a moment of silence. “Ari, I need your help.”
“I’m done helping, Angelica. Helping you has caused me nothing but heartache and grief. I can’t believe that one woman can wreak so much havoc in a person’s life. And to think, I really felt something for you. How could I have been so blind? A fool I was, but not any longer. Good-bye.”
“Ari, please don’t hang up. I really need you. I’m in trouble.”
“You’re always in trouble. What’s new? You were in trouble the moment you set foot in New York, and you’re not going to drag me down into any more of your desperate situations. Donna would probably be alive if you hadn’t shown up.”
“Don’t blame Donna’s death on me, Ari. I appreciated her giving me an opportunity. She may not have been my best friend, but I would never have killed her.”
“So what is it you want, that you had to call me to help you? Where is that big, bad boyfriend of yours?”
“I promise to explain all of that to you, but right now I’ve got to get out of New York.”
“Leave New York? Where are you going? What’s so urgent that you have to leave now? What if the police come to question you again?”
“Settle down, Ari. I don’t have much time. My ex-husband was murdered, and I need to get to North Carolina. I need you to rent a car for me. It would be much cheaper than trying to get a plane ticket. I don’t have any transportation to get around, and Santiago has made it next to impossible for me to leave his place without him. Please, Ari, I need you to do this for me.”
“Why should I do this for you, Angelica? I can’t get involved in your mess. You didn’t hear me when I said I hated being used.”
“You’re the only person I can trust. I wouldn’t ask you, Ari, if I didn’t need you.”
“I’ll get the car, but I’m not going to pick you up at that man’s house. I don’t even know where he lives.”
“How long do you think it will take for you to get the car?”
“I’ve got connections. It won’t take long.”
“I’ll call you later. Santiago just pulled up; I’ve got to go. I’ll have a plan when I call back.”
Ari sighed. “This is the last time, Angelica.”
“Thank you, Ari. I owe you big.”
Angelica quickly ended her call and hid the cell phone deep between the cushions on the couch. She picked up a magazine and pretended to read. She heard the front door open and shut but continued read. She felt his presence and then his breath as he descended upon her.
“Feeling better?” Santiago asked, acting as if nothing had happened as he pecked her on the neck from behind.
She shifted her body so that she was out of reach. “I’m okay, a little bored.”
“Being here is much better than shaking your ass down at that awful place.”
“You were there. It must not have been that awful.”
“I don’t make it my business to frequent joints where whores prefer to work inside instead of on the street. No matter what
anyone says, strip clubs are high-priced whorehouses, with foreplay without sex.”
“Go to hell, Santiago. I’m no one’s whore. I was making an honest living. It might not be the most prestigious profession, but I applied for it like any other job, took a test, and got the position. It’s not becoming of you to try and put me down.”
“I don’t have to put you down, you do that all by yourself, Angelica. It wasn’t a coincidence that I ran into you at Club Platinum. I knew you were going to be there.”
“Santiago, how would you have known that I’d be there? I haven’t seen you in over five years—before I went to pri…prison.”
Santiago took off his long leather coat, laid it across the back of the couch, and came around and sat down next to Angelica. He lifted her chin, but she would not look back at him. He took his hands away, got up and went to the bar. He poured himself a stiff brandy, walked back to the couch and sat down.
“Bad memories, huh?”
“I don’t want to go there,” Angelica said with a huff. “It’s my past, and I want it to stay there.”
“I hear your boy Jefferson is out of the joint, and Hamilton,” he hesitated, “Hamilton will probably die there.”
Angelica shot a menacing look at Santiago. Did he already know about Hamilton? If he did, who told him? At that moment, a cold chill ran through her body again. Of all the people who should have been in prison, Santiago was the only one still walking around and living the life. Something was wrong, but her first thought was on getting out of there.
“Look, I thought you might want some company, maybe take a drive somewhere.”
“I’m not in the mood right now.” Angelica jumped up and began walking in circles. “Santiago, you’ve changed. I don’t feel…”
Santiago stood and grabbed Angelica’s arms to make her stand still. “I’m getting tired of you, Angelica. Nothing about me has changed. You’ve changed. I thought you wanted the finer things in life. It wasn’t beneath you before to get what you wanted any way you could.”
“Prison made me rethink my priorities.” Angelica pointed her finger at Santiago. “I’m not going back there…for you or anyone else.”
“You were going to turn me in for what…that good-for-nothing ex-husband of yours that couldn’t run a police precinct if he tried? He certainly didn’t give a damn about you. Huh? And Jefferson…he didn’t think any more of you either. I hear he’s back with his wife. Poor misunderstood Angelica.”
“Are you through?” Angelica said through clenched teeth. “Your time is coming.”
“I’m out of here. I don’t know why I’m bothering with you. You’ll come around because you owe me.”
With that, Santiago summoned his two bodyguards and had Niko bring the car around. He looked back at Angelica, who had slumped down on the couch.
“Don’t wait up for me. Make yourself useful…do something constructive instead of sitting around making butt impressions on my couch.” Santiago laughed and walked out of the door.
There was no time to waste. It was hard to say how long Santiago would be gone. He seemed preoccupied and distracted, like something big was about to go down…maybe something big like having Hamilton killed. That something big had already happened. No, Santiago couldn’t be involved, Angela reasoned with herself. A bad feeling began to burn in the pit of her stomach, erupting like hot lava from an agitated volcano, its inferno oozing up to her chest. Then fear washed over her, drowning what little bit of sanity she had left.
There was no way for Santiago to know that she knew Hamilton was dead. Hell, she didn’t know if Santiago knew. She was making assumptions because that was all she could do at the moment, but her moment of sanity took over. She was going to walk off of this compound and go to North Carolina.
Angelica pulled the cell phone from between the cushions and punched in Ari’s number. He answered on the first ring, and before he could say anything, Angelica started in. “Hey, Ari, this is Angelica. Were you able to get the car?”
“Yes, a friend of mine has secured one. How do you propose we get it to you?”
“We don’t have much time.”
“I gathered.”
It was crystal clear to Angelica. She was going to get her purse and walk out. Only two bodyguards had been seen with Santiago at any given time and both had left with him. There was the guy sitting at the booth at the entrance to the house, but she would distract him and then get in the car that Ari sent for her.
“I have an idea that I think will work,” Angelica said before sharing it with Ari.
“Too dangerous,” Ari said. “You’ve got to come up with a better plan than that. You risk the car being seen, and I don’t want my friend to take any bigger risks than he’s already taking. I don’t know why I’m doing this for you anyway.”
“You care about me,” Angelica said very matter-of-factly.
“Don’t fool yourself. I would never be in love with a fool.”
“Who said anything about being in love?”
“We’re wasting time,” Ari said. “We need to move or forget it.”
“You love me, Ari,” Angelica said in a seductive tone. “I heard it in your voice. If it makes you feel any better, I feel something, too. I can’t say it’s love, but it sure feels like something close to it.”
“What’s your plan?” Ari interrupted. “We need a better plan.”
“I hid a piece of mail in my bag that has Santiago’s address on it. Let me get it so I can give you the address.”
Angelica went to her room, got her bag and retrieved the envelope. She gasped when she looked at the names above the address.
“What is it?” Ari asked with concern.
“This piece of mail is addressed to Santiago’s aunt and uncle. Maybe they’re fronting for him. He is still a fugitive.”
“A fugitive? What kind of mess are you involved in?”
“Later, Ari. I know for sure I’ve got to get out of this house.”
She gave Ari the address to the house. There was no other recourse than to go with her first idea, if she intended to leave right away. Angelica would wait until she received a call from Ari’s friend, who would drive the car. He would park as close to Santiago’s residence as he dared. He would call her at ten-minute intervals.
“You have thirty minutes to get to the car, unless I hear from you,” Ari said. “After that, consider our task done.”
“Thanks, Ari. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t have to. I knew I could depend on you.”
“This is the last time.” He hesitated. “Good-bye and good luck.”
Fear gripped Angelica again and sent beads of sweat dancing on her forehead until the sweat broke into a waterfall and leapt from her face onto the floor.
So Uncle Jorge and Aunt Maria weren’t so innocent. They didn’t have to want for anything because their nephew was greasing their palms while they kept him hidden from the feds. His time would be soon.
It dawned on Angelica that she had not been careful. What if there were cameras in the room recording her every movement? If there had been, Santiago would have known about the phone calls, and he and his goons would have returned to the house by now. She casually walked to her room and got a few belongings that she could easily tuck away in her bag and that wouldn’t cause questions to arise.
T
he housing market in the U.S. was taking a plunge, but neither Margo nor the real estate company she worked for felt the effects. In fact, sales couldn’t have been better. An estimated twenty thousand military troops and their families were expected to converge on the Fayetteville area in the next two years, and real estate deals were for the asking.
Margo sat in her office, preparing showings for two of her clients. She had sold over two million dollars in property this month and made a nice piece of change doing it. She picked up the photos of the homes she would show that afternoon and thought about how happy the families would be if and when they decided upon any one of the dozen properties she had chosen for them to look at.
She glanced at the picture of her family that sat on a corner of her desk. Those had been good times—times when she knew what a happy home meant. Over the past few weeks, she was trying to make it a home again. She and Jefferson were back to sleeping together, but her body wouldn’t respond to what her brain chose to ignore.
Glancing at her watch, Margo shoveled the photos and specs together and put them in a file folder. Thankful for the privacy screen that surrounded her office space, she grabbed her purse, took out a tube of lipstick, and painted her lips. Before she had
time to bring her lips together to make sure they were covered, she heard voices and then a face soon peeped into her cubicle.
She froze upon seeing him. Avoiding Malik had been easy, except on Sundays while at church. They would turn away from each other, if one happened to look in the other’s direction, especially since Jefferson was attending every week.
Eyebrows arched, Malik approached and stared at Margo as if she was the goddess Venus, the one responsible for love, beauty, and sexuality, not to mention marriage, procreation, and domestic bliss. Still holding the lipstick, Margo sighed and looked away.
“You’re beautiful, Margo,” Malik said, his stare searing her flesh and going through the garments she wore.
“You shouldn’t have come here, Malik,” she whispered. “Jefferson may show up anytime, and right now I’ve got to see a client.”
“When will you be finished?” Malik asked, not willing to let go so easily.
“I don’t know. It could take a couple of hours or more. And I’ve got another client to see after that.”
“Why don’t you cancel…reschedule your late appointment? I need to see you, Margo. It’s been weeks since we’ve talked, since we…”
Margo put her fingers to Malik’s lips.
“You’ve got to forget it, Malik. I’m trying to make a life with my husband. I promised that I would stand by him.”
“Did he stand by you, Margo? Think about all the time you lost while he was sitting in prison, unable to support you because he comprised his right to be with you. Embezzling from your own company and having an affair with your married next-door neighbor shouldn’t qualify you for a second chance.”
Margo stood up. “Listen to you, Malik. The pastor spoke
about forgiveness on Sunday. You’re better than Jefferson. Please, please don’t try and put me in a position to choose between you and my husband.”
“Oh, so I might stand a chance?”
“Cut it out, Malik, and leave. I’m going to be late.”
“Is something going on that I should know about?”
Margo and Malik jumped at the sound of Jefferson’s voice. “No, Jefferson,” Margo managed to say. She looked like a ghost. She wasn’t sure what he might have heard. “I’m on my way to meet a client.”
“I hope he isn’t it,” Jefferson said as he controlled the urge to do harm to Malik. “I received a call about an hour ago from my attorney.”
“What is it?” Margo asked.
Jefferson kept his eye on Malik, who had yet to move. “Hamilton was murdered today in Central Prison.”
Malik and Margo reacted at the same time.
“My God!” Margo said.
“Damn,” was all Malik could come up with, although he had relaxed a bit now that he was sure Jefferson hadn’t heard his exchange with Margo.
“Do you know who did it?” Margo asked.
“Another inmate. They believe Hamilton had a mark on him.”
Margo dropped down in her chair. “I don’t believe it. No matter how awful Hamilton was, he didn’t deserve to die that way.”
“Someone believed he did, and it has me a little worried.” Jefferson scrunched his face. “Do you mind if I speak with my wife alone?” he asked Malik.
“I was on my way out anyway,” Malik said and walked away.
“I don’t like him, Margo. I don’t like the sight of him, and I
best not catch him hanging around you again. Today was his lucky day because I didn’t feel like a fight with Hamilton on my mind.”
“Jefferson, I can’t keep him away from here. This is a public place,” Margo said and sighed. “You have nothing to worry about; I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m not worried about that right now. I’m afraid, Margo. I have to find out who killed Hamilton. Robert Santiago is still out there somewhere, and this sounds like him. Why now? Why today?”
“Hamilton’s death may be entirely the work of someone else. He probably pissed someone off in prison—you know he could do that well. I think you’re reading more into it, Jefferson. Try and relax. I wonder where Angelica is? Even though she and Hamilton had a rocky marriage, she loved that man.”
“She did.”
“Were you ever in love with her?” Margo asked as if it were a routine question. It was quite obvious to her that she caught Jefferson off guard.
Jefferson stared at her. “I’ve never been in love with Angelica, Margo. She used people to benefit herself, but she loved you more than you believe.”
“Well, it’s all relative now. I tried to do the Christian thing by her, love thy neighbor as thyself, but she ran off to who knows where, and I’m done being the nice person.”
“She’s probably somewhere making someone else’s life miserable. I’m glad she’s out of our lives. But I’m worried, Margo. Hamilton’s death has Santiago written all over it. Mark my words.”