Anything For Your Love (16 page)

Alex, don’t be so cold.” Rhonda stood and made her way over to him. “I’m sure you and I could find a way to make things hot again.” She snaked her arm around Alex’s.

“I don’t think so, Rhonda,” Alex responded as he felt the anger rising at her nerve. “I’ve told you before, we are done.”

“Alex, please. What we had was amazing. I’m sure we can rekindle love,” She purred.

Alex cringed at her words. He removed his arm from her clutches. “Rhonda, get a life and leave mine alone.”

At that point, Maddy was on her feet. “Rhonda, my brothers won’t touch you, but don’t think for one minute I won’t enjoy rearranging your face,” She said through gritted teeth. “Alex said you guys were through, don’t make him repeat himself.”

“Oh, Madison! You are a tough girl now with all these people around, huh?” Rhonda retorted, although her voice shook a little.

“You really don’t want a repeat of what happened years ago, do you, Rhonda?” Maddy asked, removing her suit jacket to reveal wonderfully toned shoulders and arms.

Rhonda turned her attention back to Alex, hoping Maddy would not cause a scene. “I won’t just be tossed aside, Alex. You and I were meant to be. Your little Ms. Perfect over there means nothing to me. As a matter of fact, she may be more valuable to some other people. She should watch her step.”

Alex took a step toward Rhonda and Ty quickly stepped in front of him. “If you even think about doing anything to Jada, Rhonda, I will personally make sure your life is a living hell!” Alex growled.

Rhonda was unfazed. “I’m sure you’ll see reason soon enough, Alex. She’s in love with someone else and is just using you for a good time...see?” Rhonda pointed toward the dance floor. Jada was dancing with James. He must have said something amusing because she was laughing.

Alex felt his temper reach the boiling point. Something about James just did not sit right with him. He definitely did not like the way he was holding her on the dance floor. Alex could feel his judgment clouding over and his hands slightly tremored.

“Rhonda, it was nice seeing you, but I think it’s time you leave,” Chris cut in.

“Ah, yes. I see some other people I must go speak with. Later, Love family. I’ll see you at the next family function.” Rhonda waved and slithered off.

Ty and Chris looked at each other, recognizing the gentleman Rhonda had been talking to. They decided to keep quiet for the time being. Alex had already been pushed to his limit, and it did not look like he was calming down any time soon. Jada and James left the dance floor and headed toward another group of people.

“Alex, calm down. You are shaking.” Ami cut into his thoughts, which at the moment included choking Rhonda.

“Who is that guy?” Alex asked, still visibly angry. The combination of Rhonda’s appearance and that idiot dancing with his woman turned up the heat on his usually calm temper.

“That’s James Post. He works in films. He’s a director,” Ami replied.

“I know his name, Ami. I want to know who he is to Jada. He is too familiar with her,” Alex stated, still not liking the man at all.

“He and Jada have worked together on a few projects. He’s always looking for something new for her to get involved in. He used to be interested in her, but they are just friends, Alex,” Ami said, trying to reassure him as well as herself. Alex was not feeling that at all.

Alex tore his gaze from Jada and James to focus on Ami. “Enlighten me, cousin. What does, ‘used to be interested in her’ really mean?”

Ami knew that whatever she said, Alex wouldn’t like. She grabbed his hand and gently coerced him into the seat next to her. She steadied her voice as she spoke to him.

“This is how I understand it, and I have no reason to think differently. Quite some time ago, Jada was producing an independent film and needed a director. James was recommended and hired for the position. They did the film and as soon as it wrapped, he asked her out. Besides business dinners with a bunch of other people, Jada never went out with him. He asked a few more times and each time she declined. Finally, she explained to him she was not interested in him romantically, but loved his work and hoped they could be friends. He seemed alright with that. She has never mentioned anything out of the ordinary with him, Alex. Nothing.”

Alex focused his attention to where Jada had moved to speak with another group of people. James lingered at a nearby bar, talking to a small group of young females. They seemed to hang on his every word. Jada seemed to be in her element. Her charm and wit were winning over the group of people she spoke with. She turned toward him and sent him a saucy wink from across the room. He smiled back at her, but his anger lurked under the surface.

“I don’t like him, Ami. I hope, for his sake, he doesn’t step even a fraction out of line tonight or I will wrap my hands around his throat,” Alex spoke evenly.

“I understand,” Ami smiled, trying to lighten his mood. She sat back and thought about how bad her cousin was in love. It was great, although she knew if James continued to flirt with Jada the way he’d done in the past, his great eye for film would be black.

About forty five minutes had passed and Jada had not returned to the table. Alex had calmed down and had accepted the fact that Jad
a
ha
d
to work the crowd that night. He wished he could be alone with her that very moment. Every so often, he would look up and scan the crowd for her, catching her eye. Her sexy smile was reassuring. He was feeling her heat and desperately wanted to be inside of her. Some time later, he picked his head up to scan the room for her yet again. He did not see her. He looked around more closely that time. He was 100% sure she was not in the room.

“Ami, where’s Jada?” Alex asked.

“Oh, I’m sure she is here somewhere,” Ami answered dismissively as she spoke with her agent.

An uneasy feeling blanketed Alex. “Ty. Chris. Find Jada for me,” He said quietly. They nodded without question.

Twenty minutes later, Ty and Chris came back to the table with Sean and David. Jada was not in the building. Alex scanned the room for James and Rhonda. Neither of them were in the building, either. Anger and panic swept through Alex. In an extremely calm voice, He leaned in to Ami and Maddy and said, “Excuse me, ladies, I need to borrow Reed for a second.”

“Sure, I’m not going anywhere.” Ami smiled and continued her conversation with her agent.

“I might!” Maddy replied, eyeing a very tall gentleman at the bar.

“Maddy, stay put! Don’t leave the party,” Alex demanded.

“Jeez, Alex, fine,” She said, taking note that his tone was very serious.

Alex gathered the gentlemen around and relayed the info that Jada, James, and Rhonda were all missing from the party. Reed was immediately on his cell phone’s walkie talkie, communicating with some of the other body and security guards in attendance. Most of them knew Jada and James from working in the business. Moments later, he came back.

“One of the guys saw Rhonda leave about thirty minutes ago. Some one else saw Jada get into a car with James about twenty minutes ago,” Reed reported in a deep, baritone voice.

Chris moved toward Ami and Maddy. “We need to go. Now!”

Ami and Maddy did not hesitate. When Chris talked like that, it meant business. Ami said a few quick good nights and the entire family was gone.

Everyone made their way back to Ami’s hotel. Reed, Alex, and Sean were each on the phone calling in favors with contacts. Both Alex and Ami dialed Jada’s cell phone several times. Each time it went to voice mail. Ami did not have James' cell number because she hated talking to him. Alex was sure James took Jada and Rhonda had something to do with it, and he was livid.

By the time they reached the hotel, several detectives were waiting for them courtesy of Sean.

Everyone made their way to the suite, not saying anything until they were in the room. Alex explained to Sean and the other detectives what happened during the course of the evening. They needed to find Jada before something happened to her.

Sean called in several favors, including tracking Jada’s cell phone. Ami had obtained James’ cell number from her agent, and they quickly added his number as one to be tracked also.

Jada opened her eyes and realized her head felt like it weighed a ton. She went to rub her eyes and further realized her hands wouldn’t move. She started to scream, “What the...” but her mouth was taped shut. She felt panic setting in as she tried to look around the darkened room. The last thing she remembered was talking to James and some other Hollywood big wigs and feeling a massive headache attack her. James had brought her a drink from the bar. She had started to walk toward the ladies room and...blank! That was it. That was all she could remember. It was like at that point some flipped the switch to off and she couldn’t remember a thing. She was sitting in a chair, hands and feet tied. She was still fully dressed, thank God! Her small clutch was lying on the floor several feet away.

Jada turned her head side to side in an attempt to take in her surroundings. She thought she was maybe in a basement, but quickly observed a window on the far side of the room. She was in a house. She struggled against her bindings, which only made them hurt even more and dig deeper into her skin. Who the heck would want to take her and why? She stopped when she heard voices coming from another room. They were arguing. The female voice was foreign to her, but she knew the male voice. James Post.

The door to the room flew open and it made her jump. She blinked to clear her vision from the sudden bright light that poured into the room. James came to a stop right in front of her and knelt before her.

“Baby, listen. I’m so sorry about all of this,” He started. “Will you promise not to scream if I take the tape off?” She nodded in agreement.

James carefully peeled the tape from her face and she winced. He came back around to her and held her face gently in his hands, almost like a lover’s caress. She wanted to gag at his nearness. When he began to speak, Jada thought she was in one of those bad movies that she often rejected as projects. A very bad movie.

“Jada, honey, I’ve loved you for so long, but you’ve never returned my interest. Sure, we have worked together a million times, but I have always wanted more.” He stood and began to pace a little in front of her. She could not believe this was happening and James was the one standing there talking and looking crazy. She knew someone else was in the room, but couldn’t quite see because whomever she was stood off to the side behind her. “You are so beautiful. Every now and again you would look at me with those eyes. Those beautiful, dark eyes.” He stopped in front of her again. “You were calling for me, and I know it.”

Jada thought to herself
,
You have got to be kidding me
.
She quickly assessed her situation. James had completely lost it and it shone clearly in his eyes. Someone else was there, where ever there was, and she had no idea how long she had been out. Alex and Ami would be looking for her soon so she hoped. Heck, she hoped they knew she was no longer at the party. She decided to use a little elementary psychology in an attempt to save her own life. “James, you are a wonderful person. Intelligent, talented, and handsome. You didn’t need to resort to this. Untie me so we can talk this over. We’ll go grab some dinner, just you and me, and work this out.”

“No!” James yelled, causing her to jump. “You will leave me and I can’t let that happen. We had a deal.” He gestured toward the mystery guest. “She gets what she wants. I get what I want. Everyone’s happy!” James gave a wicked laugh. “You and I are meant to be, Jada. We will be together forever.”

The mystery guest chose that moment to step into the light. Rhonda Jenkins. Jada thought to herself
,
You really have got to be kidding me
.
First she felt a little sorry for James, now she was pissed. “What the hell, Rhonda?” She finally said through clinched teeth.

Rhonda’s gaze was hateful. She spoke slowly when she answered, as if Jada couldn’t possibly understand the words. “I’m glad you recognize me. Alex does not want you, he wants me. You are a mere distraction. With you gone, Alex and I can focus on rebuilding our relationship. Hawk, let’s stop fooling around and get this show on the road. My man will be waiting for me, and I need to get back before anyone notices us missing.”

This chick is really craz
y
, Jada thought as she looked at her. She was in shock. “Alex doesn’t love you anymore, Rhonda. You ruined that when you left him. And, who the hell is Hawk!”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! You would think that! He just needs some alone time with me so I can work my magic.” Rhonda gave a twist to her hips as she spoke. Jada thought she would be sick. “Soon, you and your lover boy here will disappear and Alex will run straight into my arms, no questions asked.”

Jada thought that the bad movie scene playing out before her could not get any worse. “I’m warning you now, Rhonda. When I get out of here, and I will get out, I’m going to kick your ass,” She hissed.

“Try all you want, but you’ll have to find Alex and me first. Maybe we’ll be on a beach somewhere making passionate love, just like we used to.” Rhonda twirled around.

Jada’s eyes grew black and the fire behind them was dangerous. She could think of a million ways to change the way Rhonda looked and couldn’t wait for the opportunity.

James cut in. “Enough between you ladies.” He bent to Jada again. “Jada, honey, forget about Alex. He doesn’t mean anything to you anymore. It’s going to be about us now, from this day forward.” He reached out and touched her cheek gently. Jada didn’t flinch and her eyes were cold as she stared at him. “You’ll love me one day. You’ll see. Then, we can come back home and start our lives over.”

“Wait a minute,” Jada said, looking back and forth at both of them. “Where are you taking me? And, James, why is she calling you Hawk?!”

“I just needed an alter ego to move around a bit unnoticed, sweetheart. It’s no big deal. We just need to go away, honey, for a little while. Somewhere we can share our love with no interruptions,” He said tenderly. “I’ll send monthly letters to your grandparents, letting them know you are all right and happy. We’ll leave at dawn, baby.” James stood to leave, replacing the tape on Jada’s mouth.

“Bye, sweetie. It was nice, not knowing you,” Rhonda said as she swayed out of the room.

Jada squeezed her eyes shut. She hoped and prayed with everything she had that Alex, somebody, was looking for her. She willed panic away, but a tear still fell from her eye. She had to stay calm to think of a way out of the foolishness. She had to make it out before they left that place.

Alex continued to pace the sitting area in the hotel suite. “Alex, please! You are making everyone nervous,” Ami finally said. Alex just looked at Ami and continued his pattern of walking.

It had been close to ninety minutes since they all left the party and everyone’s nerves were on edge. Anything could have happened to Jada by now and Alex was furious. The men knew it was not the moment to even breathe in his direction. In that state, he could really hurt someone. Sean’s cell phone rang and the room stilled.

“Love,” Sean answered. “Yeah, Greg, what do you have?” There was a pause. “Yeah...yeah...ok. Let me write that down... How many?... Ok...Get Owens and his team. Meet me there in thirty minutes.” Sean disconnected the one sided call and sighed. Everyone waited for him to speak.

“You’d better say something, Sean Love, or I’ll strangle you myself!” Ami shouted.

“Well...” Sean started, “they found Rhonda’s car parked outside an abandoned house just up by the Wynnfield section of the city. They traced Jada’s cell phone signal to the address where the car is parked. Greg says there was a dim light on inside the house. We think that may be where they are holding her, but we are not sure. They went to Rhonda’s current address. Her mother said she had gone to a party and hasn’t come home yet. The tactical team is meeting me there to assess the situation.”

Alex had his keys in his hand and was headed toward the door. “Wait!” Sean shouted. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get my girl. Are you coming or not?” Alex asked, way too calm to make anyone comfortable.

Everyone seemed to be moving at once. Alex exited the room, and all of his family was on his heels.

“Wait a minute,” David said. “Ami and Maddy are staying here, right?” Everyone looked toward the two women who looked ready to fight.

“David...” Ami started in a cool voice, “I know you have to play the role of big brother and I love you for that. There is no way on God’s green earth that I am going to sit in a hotel room and wait while my best friend may be being held by a crazed maniac. So, unless you want to fight it out right here and now, I’m coming.” Maddy was standing next to Ami with the same defiant look. David turned to Sean for help. Sean shrugged his shoulders.

“Ok, everybody, listen...” Sean started addressing the entire group, “this could be a very serious situation. When we get there, everyone stays in the car. Reed, you stay with Ami and Maddy. No one moves until I say it’s alright or I swear I’ll arrest you myself and deal with our parents later. Does everyone understand?”

“Cousin...” Alex began, feeling his chest tighten, “I might not be able to promise that, but I’ll do my best.” Sean touched Alex’s shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Sean said.