A Test of Love: Interracial Erotic Romance (Chasing Love) (25 page)

It was now Troy’s turn to chuckle. “No way, sweetheart. You know as well as I do that gang shootings don’t happen so far North in the city where the rich people play. Cops are quick to stop a regular brother from even walking on the sidewalk up there, but they won’t even bother a pretty little white lady ’who’s touting a gun. But you know that, right?”

Dawn whipped her head my way. The waves on her head wiggled. “Who’s this guy?”

“He’s Jasmine’s brother,” I said.

“And why is he here?”

“Ada and Maria will show you all to your rooms.” I placed my hands into my pockets. “I’ll meet with one of you in a few minutes.”

“Which one of us?” If Dawn’s blue eyes could shoot bullets, my head would’ve been filled with holes.

“I’ll let you know, when I decide.”

Lucy walked off with a scared expression on her face. With each step, she glanced at the walls and held herself as if the house itself was a monster ready to eat her alive. Wendy trailed behind her, swaying those little hips, probably in an effort to capture my attention. She glanced over her shoulder with a yearning pulsing from her gaze.

No, Wendy. It won’t be that easy anymore. You’ll have to look somewhere else.

Ada met Lucy and Wendy at the bottom of the staircase and led them upstairs. My heartbeats increased, pumping blood through my body at an erratic pace. Jasmine and Vivian were up there. It had been my only compromise. Benny sat in the next room, waiting patiently. But I knew that he would act when he believed it was time. He’d agreed to wait for my command, but all knew Benny didn’t obey anyone but his friends above him, and maybe his daughters.

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?” Dawn put her finger in my face. “You said we could come to talk about our frozen accounts.”

“We can, after I discover who’s been killing these girls.”

“No one has, Chase. They’ve been accidents after accidents.”

“Let’s not play stupid, Dawn.”

“You have some nerve! After all we’ve been through, you just leave us, take my own money, funds that my father trusted you with—

“What did you think would happen when Jasmine was shot? What type of reaction did you think would come?” I closed the distance between us until my face stood a few inches from hers. Anger bubbled inside of me. I could barely keep control of myself. “What did you think would happen?!”

She avoided my eyes. “I didn’t do it.”

“Someone did.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“Ah, but see, the bullets say otherwise.”

“What does that mean? Did the bullets have my name on them or something?” She edged back.

“They might as well have had your name!” I took several steps back, just to not feed the urge to punch her. “You just couldn’t keep the gun hidden, could you? You had to use it.”

“W-what are you going on about?” She ran her fingers through her layered hair.

Maria had been waiting for Dawn near the staircase. As my voice rose, Maria scurried out of there and headed for the kitchen. Only Troy remained, his gaze fixed on Dawn as if he were analyzing every reaction to what I was saying.

“You had to use my father’s gun. Didn’t you?” I walked a circle around her. “Was it some sort of sick message to me?”

“Your father’s gun? What are you even talking about?”

I stopped right in front of her. “My dad has many guns, Dawn, but there’s only one that you and I have a history with.”

She swallowed down hard, her tiny Adam’s apple bobbing under her skin.

“Do you know what gun I’m referring to?” I asked.

“The First President,” she muttered.

“Yes. That was your name for it, right? Why didn’t you bury it that night on the beach?”

“I was scared and. . .who knew what Benny would do to you or me or even our fathers. Dad taught me many things, but one thing was always have a foot up against your enemies. There was no way I would just let anyone get it.”

“So you never buried it?”

“We did. I went right to that space we’d been kissing in. I dug, put it there, and covered the spot with several red rocks.”

“Red ones?”

“Lucy had bled so much. All the rocks near her had been covered with her blood. I grabbed those and piled them over the place I’d buried the gun. Then the next day, while everyone went sailing. I returned and placed the gun with my father’s gun collection for the trip back to the states.”

“And here all this time, your father thinks you’re a ditzy little woman.”

“Most men underestimate me.”

“I damn sure did.” I sighed. “So why use the gun on Jasmine?”

“W-what?”

“Why use the First President to shoot Jasmine in the arm?”

She shook her head. “But how do you know it was that one and not—”

“There’s special bullets and powder that must be used.” I raised my hands in the air. “Unique in every way. Unique enough to be traced. You had to know that. In fact, I bet you were counting on it. What did you think? That because it was
that
gun, I wouldn’t file any reports? Did you assume that I would be afraid to go to war with you, because you thought you had something on me?”

Silence passed as she stared at me. She could’ve been a statue, one carved from fear. All that earlier confidence evaporated in front of my eyes. What stood before me was a woman falling. She released a breath that made me think she’d been holding it for as long as she could. Shaking her head, she inched away from me. “Something is wrong. Chase, that can’t be the gun. It just can’t be.”

I leaned my head to the side. “Why not?”

Side to side, she moved her head and backed up into the wall. “None of this is making sense. That was the gun used? Are you sure? That means that a gang didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Who knew that Dawn considered herself an actress? Are you changing your song because you know you’ve been caught?

Her eyes jumped around in her eyelids. Questions seemed to dance on her face. If she was acting, I was impressed, but I couldn’t let on.

“Chase. . .is Jasmine okay?”

“Did you use the gun on her?”

“No. Never.” She wagged her hands. “I couldn’t. I would never. . .Chase you have to believe me. In fact. . .”

“What?”

“I didn’t even have it,” she whispered and gave a quick glance to the stairs as if worried someone would be listening. “I haven’t had the gun for three years now.”

“Who had it?”

“I gave it away as a sort of. . .gift of commitment.”

I gritted my teeth. “To whom?”

She quickly shut her mouth.

“Dawn!”

Troy got between us, right as I stalked her way. She could’ve been lying, but I wasn’t sure. She kept checking the stairs as if worried Wendy or Lucy had heard her.

“Dawn? Who did you give the gun to?” I didn’t walk around Troy because I couldn’t trust myself to be too close to her. She had answers that I needed. Even if they were lies, I had to hear them. Anything to keep Jasmine safe. Any little fact or detail to get me closer to the end.

I calmed myself down and took great care in asking the next question. “Who did you give it to?”

Dawn checked the stairs again. “Quiet, Chase. Just let me see—”

“No. You don’t get to see anything. Who did you give the gun to?”

“I won’t be bullied by you.”

“You’ll do whatever I fucking want until I’m happy.”

“I’m not your gutter trash.” She stabbed the air. “When you talk to me, you speak with a proper tone!”

“You’ll have to earn it, Dawn!”

Turning around to face me, Troy tried to hold in a smile but it exploded on his face anyway. “Maybe you should calm down, man.”

“I need answers,” I said.

“I’ll give them to you as soon as I talk to her.” Dawn seized the opportunity to rush away.

“Where are you going?” I hurried after. Troy grabbed my arm. I shoved him away.

He raised his hands in defeat. “Hey, man. I’m trying to tell you to let this play out.”

“What?” I asked as Dawn escaped up the stairs.

“You got cameras everywhere?” Troy asked.

“Everywhere except the bathrooms.”

Troy furrowed his brows. “Do you think they know?”

“Maybe Dawn and Wendy. Lucy doesn’t pay attention to things like that. She’s more on the business end of things. I keep her busy.”

“Or at least she pretends to not pay attention.”

“That could be true.”

“Is there a place to view their rooms?” Troy looked at his watch. “Maybe we can rewind the past minutes when Wendy and Lucy were in their rooms. See what they said and what Dawn asks them.”

“I don’t believe she gave anyone the gun.”

“It makes sense to me.” Troy shrugged.

“Why?”

“Dawn isn’t a killer.”

I waited for the evidence to his statement. He gave none. Sighing, I led him to the viewing room downstairs in the basement. “Would you like to elaborate for me?”

“I don’t see it in Dawn’s eyes. She’s probably a bitch, but she’s no killer.”

Doesn’t see it in her eyes? What is he some sort of sprite or wizard?

“Did you see it in the others’ eyes?” I asked.

“Not yet. In order for me to really see it, the other two need to let their guard down. You get them to do it pretty easily. Dawn’s walls came down as soon as you started yelling. She was scared and not only of you, but someone else. I bet you she’s going to the chick right now to ask what’s up with the gun.”

“She’s full of it. Dawn wouldn’t give that gun to anybody she didn’t trust.”

“Who does she trust?”

“Me.”

“Who else?”

“Up until now, I would’ve said only me.”

“What about three years ago?”

“Three years? I don’t know. I think that was when Lucy joined our arrangement.”

“So Wendy came before Lucy?”

“Yeah. She was with Dawn and me for five years. Lucy had been my personal assistant already and knew all the intricate details. It must’ve taken her several months to ask if she could join us on her terms.”

“You mean the whole watching-you-all-have-sex terms?”

I unlocked the basement door and signaled for him to go down the dimly lit stairs where several guards monitored all of the screens. “Yeah. Lucy said no sex, but that she would love to watch. Dawn liked the fact that I wouldn’t be touching Lucy so happily invited her to our arrangement.”

“How did you feel about it?” Taking his time going down the stairs, Troy gazed back at me.

“It wasn’t a big deal to me. The addition of Lucy was more like inviting a good friend to a party or long vacation. I knew she could be trusted, but there wasn’t this tingling in my heart or anywhere else in my body.”

“Tingling?”

“I wasn’t heartstruck or horny to add her.”

“Okay.” Troy nodded.

And I was glad we stayed off the topic, because if he’d asked how my body reacted to Jasmine’s invitation, I would’ve had to admit so much more.

“So three years ago, Dawn says she gave a gun to one of them as a sign of commitment. You think she was telling Lucy that her secret about what happened on the beach was safe?” Troy asked.

“No. There would be no need. So many years had passed. Lucy’s father had been long gone. A new bigwig took his place. Others forgot about him, because he wasn’t much to remember.”

“But it doesn’t add up. Three years ago, Dawn gave a gun for a sign of commitment and Lucy enters your arrangement around the same time.”

“Well, this is according to Dawn. I don’t trust her at all.”

“But she used to be your lady.”

“Didn’t you mess with a few females that you didn’t trust?”

“All the time, but I never wifed them.”

“Wifed?”

“Made the chick your number one.” He laughed. “You know what I’m saying, man? Having her all up in the house with her own account and car and shit. Even if I had the money, I wouldn’t have gave it to a girl I couldn’t trust.”

“Well, then you’re smarter than me in that aspect. In my world, females of any age come with a price tag. You check the goods out, explore the possibilities, and then take them up to the register to finish the deal.”

“Is that right?” Troy rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

“Pretty much.”

“And what if they aren’t worth the value you gave them?”

“I let go.”

“That easy, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“How much is my sister worth to you?” Troy’s voice sounded off in the black of the space, but I couldn’t get a hold on whether he was still in front of me or not. The staircase’s light went out. Before I could place my foot on the last step, darkness hit me. I wagged my hands out. “Troy?”

He slammed me into the wall. I lashed out. He blocked it and punched me in the face.
What the fuck?!
My nose swelled. Hot liquid dripped from my nostrils. It had to be blood. I couldn’t see. Troy’s huge arms plastered me to the wall. Grunting, I kneed him. He wouldn’t let go. He wrapped those big fingers around my neck and squeezed. All oxygen left. Just pressure so hard I swore I would explode.

“My sister doesn’t have a price tag? I need you to understand that. She’s not for sale.” This didn’t sound like the easy going Troy from earlier. This guy was a monster. Each word held edge, each syllable a promised threat. “You’re cool with me, man. Relax. I’ll let you breathe.”

I struggled to get out of his arms, if only to free myself from choking.

“When I let you go, tell me you understand,” he said.

He released me. Gasping, I doubled over, trying to breathe in and out as much as possible. Once I got my breath it would be me and him. But he didn’t let me rest, he’d been ready. As if he could see in the dark, he slammed me back into the wall. “You understand me?”

More liquid dripped from my nose. Some of it hit my tongue.

Definitely blood.

I gritted my teeth. “This is unnecessary.”

“Not when it comes to Jazz.”

I shoved him. He punched me in the face. Pain bit at my jaw. I’d had that feeling enough in sparring to breathe through it. Sound came to my right. I ducked. Troy punched the wall behind me and screamed. “Fuck!”

I dove for his center, or where I assumed it was. When my body met his, I knew it was time to show him who the fuck he’d been punching. We crashed into the ground. I banged my fists into his sides, never letting up or giving him too much time to defend himself. He shouldn’t have, but he rolled me over and slammed his knee into my crotch.