Anything For Your Love (17 page)

The ride out to the address they had was stressful. Everyone was extremely quiet. There were three cars riding swiftly through the city toward their destination. When they arrived, Sean saw three unmarked cars parked away from the address. They also parked away from the house, and Sean exited the car. Alex, Ty, Chris, and David were on his heels. Sean rolled his eyes but continued moving. He’d deal with his family later.

Justin Owens exited one of the cars already at the scene and approached Sean. Justin and Sean were long time friends. He knew Sean’s family and was unbothered by their presence.

“Owens,” Sean greeted, extending his hand.
“Love,” Justin replied, shaking the offered hand in greeting. “What’s the situation?”
Justin went on to explain to the group that they had staked out the house. It seemed Rhonda Jenkins was indeed in the house, along with an unidentified man and a female hostage that he assumed was Jada Whitman. Alex felt his jaw tighten. There were two officers around back. Contact had not been made with anyone inside the dwelling. It was unknown if there were any weapons in the house.

Sean pulled his cousins aside. “Listen, guys. You have to let us handle this. We are going to get her out safe, but you have to trust me.” Sean was looking at Alex as he spoke. His face was unreadable.

“Sean, do what you have to do, but when you go in the house, take them down quickly because I’m coming in with you,” Alex said slowly and seriously. Sean knew there was no arguing.

“I’ll let Ami and Maddy know what’s going on,” Chris volunteered. “Reed and I will keep them in the car.”

Sean walked over to the rest of the officers to devise a plan. Alex stood in the circle of officers as they discussed the best possible way to enter the house and free Jada.

Jada could hear James and Rhonda in the next room. As they continued to speak to each other, she began twisting her hands in an attempt to free them. She had to get out of there. Both of them had lost their minds. She had produced enough crime stories based on real life events to know that if James moved her from that location, her chances of being found dropped.

“Rhonda, I hope you know what you are doing,” James stated as he started throwing his supplies into a duffle bag. “Alex doesn’t look like the type to mess with.”

“Please, Hawk. I know Alex. He and I were together a long time. He will soon remember once Little Ms. Thang is out of the way,” She countered. She picked at her nails while she spoke to him as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” James whispered as he looked toward the room where Jada was being held. “We sometimes worked together. She’s brilliant, you know. She has a great eye for film and great vision. She should really be a director. I have loved her since the moment I laid eyes on her. I know she loves me, too. You’ll see. We’ll be happy. She’ll have my babies and be my wife. It will be great.”

Jada's stomach turned as she listened to James. She couldn’t imagine what he would try to do to her if he got the opportunity to move her from that place. She wasn’t going to let it be easy for him. She was going to fight for her life, no matter what.

“Well, Hawk, I hope your plan works out for you. I plan to give Alex a little time. No doubt he will look for her because he is that kind of man. He’ll give up soon enough and when he does, I’ll be right there to pick up the pieces.” Rhonda walked around the small table where they were standing. “I expected to come back, reclaim Alex, and move on. That slut just had to come into the picture.” She shot a hateful glance toward Jada’s temporary prison. “She’ll be sorry.” She reached into a bag and pulled out a liquid sedative in a small medical bottle and a needle. “I don’t think your little sweetheart will take any more drinks from you right now, so you’d better use this.” Rhonda handed the small bottle and needle to James. “Just a little won’t hurt her, but it will knock her out long enough to have your way with her.”

James smiled. “I’d like that.”

Jada heard the longing in James’ voice and said a prayer that God would send someone to save her and soon. She couldn’t seem to loosen the bindings around her hands and hope was fading to black very quickly.

Outside the house, a S.W.A.T. officer approached Sean and Justin to report. He had been sent to case the house to get a feel for what was happening inside. Jada was tied to a chair in what would have been the dining room toward the back of the house. The two suspects appeared to be in the kitchen, also near the rear of the house. He did not see any firearms. There also appeared to be bags and maps on the kitchen table as if someone was planning to do long distance traveling. He reported no other persons in the house. Sean and Justin made a plan to storm the house. They’d do it quickly and by surprise.

James re-entered the room where Jada was tied to the chair. Her eyes carefully watched his every move. Rhonda was standing in the doorway, smiling. Her eyes fell to the way he held his hand behind his back as if he were trying to conceal something scary from a small child.

“Jada, honey, I know you are angry with me right now, but I promise, everything will be perfect for us. I have something for you,” James said gently as he pulled the needle out filled with a clear liquid. Jada’s eyes grew wide, but she could not scream at him because of her taped mouth. “It will just pinch a little, but you’ll feel so much better.”

Jada again tried to scream as she was thrashing about in the chair. Panic was settling in. She knew if James gave her was in that needle, she could end up anywhere, and that even included dead some where.

“Get a hold of her!” Rhonda shouted as she fully came into the room. “You have been a pain in the behind since I’ve laid eyes on you! I hope you get just what you deserve!” Rhonda wrapped her arms around Jada from behind the chair in an attempt to still her. “Give her the damn needle!”

James leaned in to Jada and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sorry, baby, but this is necessary.”

As he held the needle up to inject it into her arm, both the back and front doors of the house crashed open.

“Police! Get down! Get down!” Sean shouted. Within seconds, the entire house was filled with police officers. James dropped the needle as the S.W.A.T. officer who originally cased the house tackled him to the floor. Rhonda stood at the sight of Sean, screamed, and turned to run. She hit a solid wall of man that was completely unmovable. “Alex!” She screamed.

The eyes that looked back at her were cold, calculating, and anger burned deep within them. Alex’s jaw tightened and flexed. His hands were balled tight and his breathing was abnormally deep, as if he was trying to steady himself. She took a step back to attempt to get her story together.

“Alex. I’m so sorry. When I saw Hawk, I mean James, take her, I followed. It’s a good thing, too, because he was going to kidnap her. I know I should have called you and the police first, but there was no time. I came here to stop him.” Rhonda rattled off. Alex took a step toward her as she took another step back, still not speaking a word. Ty took several steps toward him, knowing it could not possibly be a positive situation.

He had never seen that particular look on his older brother’s face. It was dangerous and at that moment, scaring even him.

“Alex...” Ty said in the calmest voice he could muster. “Don’t.”

Ami and Maddy rushed into the room and immediately to Jada’s side. They started to untie her. Her wrists and ankles were red and deeply bruised from the ropes and tape. They removed the tape from her mouth and she shot up from the chair.

“She’s lying,” Jada yelled. “She and James are in this together. James drugged me at the party because Rhonda promised he could have me and she would help. They were planning to drug me again and take me somewhere else. He wants me to be his wife,” She spat with disgust. “And, she is after Alex!”

Justin entered the room carrying a bunch of the maps from the kitchen. “Looks like they were headed to Canada. There are fake IDs and passports in James’ bags. Even one already made up for Jada.”

“Shut up, you lying whore,” Rhonda shouted to Jada. “You don’t love Alex, anyway. You were just using him to get his money. I’ve always loved him.”

Before any one else could react and Rhonda knew what happened, she was lying on the floor and Jada was standing over her. She had punched her dead in the mouth. She leaned over Rhonda and said, “You know, you are never above a good smack in the mouth!”

Ami, Maddy, Ty, and Chris were all standing there with their mouths open. Rhonda went to move like she was going to stand up and fight Jada back. Jada kicked her with her satin heels before she completely blacked out. She was furious, scared, and relieved all at the same time. She was stomping her into the floor and punching her in the face in a succession of blows that would have made Muhammad Ali proud.

Seeing that Jada wasn’t looking like she was going to stop and no one else seemed to want to intervene, Reed came around the crowd and picked her up. Her arms and legs were still flailing about and she was yelling at the top of lungs, “I told you I was going to kick your ass! Get up! Get up!”

Alex quickly crossed the room to where Reed was holding a still screaming Jada. He came to stand right in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “Jada...Jada,” He said. “You are alright. It’s ok. I’m here.”

Jada blinked as if she was coming out of a trance. She looked around the room to fully take in all the people who were there. Reed gently placed her feet on the floor, making sure to steady her as the tears were streaming down her face.

“Jada, are you alright?” Alex asked.

“Yes, um, I’m fine,” She said, finally finding her voice although it was weak. “My hands hurt.”

Sean materialized from somewhere in the room, “The EMT is here, Jada, you should let them check you out.”

“Yes, of course,” She responded, still a little stunned by all that was happening. She felt a massive headache coming on and wobbled a little. Alex’s strong arms were holding her up, but she needed to get out of there.

As Alex and Sean led Jada from the room, Ty leaned over to Chris and Reed and said, “Damn. Jada punched the crap out of her.” They all chuckled, then quickly sobered when Rhonda moaned. It didn’t last long though, and they finally got a good look at her face. Jada had meant business.

Ami and Maddy gave Rhonda and James hateful looks as the police placed them in handcuffs. Ami stopped to address them. “James...” She started, “you were her friend. How could you do something like this?”

“I love her, Ami. She belongs with me,” James simply responded.

“You are sick, James. You need help. She made it very clear that there could never be anything between you and still worked with you.” She then turned to Rhonda. “Rhonda, you knew Alex was done with you.”

“Whatever, Ami. Alex would have never looked at her twice if I had come home sooner,” Rhonda shot back.

“See. There is where you are wrong. I knew from the day I brought Jada to that party she and Alex would be perfect together. That’s why I am so glad I brought her home with me. You were never any good for him. You weren’t all those years ago and you are even worse now. I realize now that you only pretended to be my friend to get to him. Leaving him was the best thing you ever did. So, for that, I say, thank you, Rhonda. I hope they put you under the jail.” Ami snapped her head around and left the room.

Maddy stepped up to the place Ami had just vacated. “Come near my brother again and I will do everything in my power to destroy you. Have a nice life.” Maddy walked out to join the others attending to Jada.

Jada got a clean bill of heath physically, although she still seemed to be suffering from shock. She still managed to give her statement to the police with what she could remember before leaving the party. James and Rhonda had been arrested and would be facing serious charges for drugging and kidnapping her. Alex had come for her and it made her heart leap. He had asked her several times if she was alright or needed anything. The entire ordeal forced Jada to recognize the one thing she did need. Love. She knew in her heart that she loved Alex, but she had no idea if he loved her back. He could have been there because of Ami. Thoughts of doubt were swirling around her aching head. Her jumbled thoughts were all running into each other and it was making her head hurt even worse. She was tired and didn’t want to think anymore. Having been led to a car, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She was exhausted.

Alex felt Jada's withdrawal as soon as she rested her head in the car. She looked tired, but she was so beautiful. So passionate. So brave. God, he loved her. With all that she had been through that night, he just wanted to hold her. Make love to her. Never let her go. He reached out to hold her hand and she was tense, but did not let go. He felt an overwhelming need to wipe all those negative feelings away. He knew she needed to rest, but tomorrow they would talk. Really talk. He loved her and needed her in his life. He couldn’t begin to imagine what his life would have been like if he’d lost her.

At the hotel, everyone picked up on how tense Jada was. No one wanted to make the situation worse, so they moved about quietly and spoke in hushed voices.

“Jada, do you want me to sit with you?” Ami asked.

“No, Ami. Thank you. I’ll be fine. I’m just exhausted,” Jada said. “Kicking butt will do that to you.”

Everyone chuckled. Alex approached her slowly. “Jada, I really need to talk to you,” he said.

“Alex, not tonight, please. I just want to shower and lay down,” She said quietly.

Alex turned Jada to face him. He looked deeply into her eyes. He wanted her to see his soul. “I’ll give you tonight, but tomorrow, we talk.” He leaned down and kissed her. He meant for the kiss to be gentle, but it quickly turned passionate. Ty cleared his throat and Alex broke the kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jada turned and went to the bedroom.

“Ty, can I talk to you for a minute?” Ami asked. “On the balcony.” Ty and Ami crossed the room to the balcony while the others were casually discussing the evening’s events and preparing to leave. Alex sat on the sofa deep in thought, staring at nothing in particular. He didn’t want to leave her.

“I’m worried about Jada,” Ami began. “She was really withdrawn on the way back. Her grandmother told me once that she acted withdrawn when she lost her family. What do you think we should do?”

“Ami, I don’t know. What I do know is Alex loves that woman and is scared to death. I think he’s afraid she’s going to leave and never come back. I don’t think he can take that kind of heartbreak again,” Ty answered.

“Well, I’m thoroughly convinced that Jada loves him, too, but is afraid to admit it to him. Now with that crazy James and his antics, she may really be on her guard. She may even shut down completely and we can’t let that happen. Those two need each other.”

“How about this? Alex really wants some alone time with her, but tonight I realize that she is a little shaken. Let’s arrange a private dinner for them tomorrow. I’ll get Chris to occupy Alex for a while and convince him he needs to tell her he loves her. I’ll set up a romantic dinner at his house. I’ve got the key. You just get Jada to his house.”

“Alright, I’m on it. See you tomorrow.” She hugged her cousin. “Thanks, cousin.”

Everyone was preparing to leave the hotel. Alex sat listening to the shower water running, wanting desperately to be in there with Jada.

“Alex. Alex?” Ty called. “Let’s go. She’ll be alright. Ami is staying with her.”

“I need to stay,” Alex said quietly.
“You need to get some rest. Let’s go.”
Alex looked up at Ty. He was too tired to argue. He turned to

Ami. “Tell her I’ll be back, Ami. Please.”
Ami touched Alex’s arm. “No worries, cousin. I’ll take good care of her for you, but just for a little while. Your job will be waiting for you.” Ami smiled and hugged him. “See you tomorrow.”

Moments later, the room was quiet and Reed was in the room next door. Taking a deep breath, Ami went into Jada’s room and sat on the bed. She waited for her friend to come out of the bathroom.

Sleep was a foreign subject to Alex. How could he sleep when Jada needed him? More than that, he needed her. The events of the evening proved to him, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loved her. All throughout the evening, he could not imagine not having her in his life. She was his perfect fit. She was his soul mate. Alex got up and headed downstairs to make a cup of coffee. It was going to be a very long night.

Ami was lying across Jada’s bed when she came back into the room. “Ami, what are you doing in here?” She asked.

“Where else would I be?” Ami asked honestly. “You don’t have to sit with me all night.” “Yes, I do.”
“Ami.”

“Jada. You know good and well you need me tonight. I’m not leaving you, no matter how hard you try to push me out. Two crazies tried to take you out today. You are my girl and my sister. You are stuck with me.” Ami defiantly folded her arms across her chest and Jada smiled while shaking her head.

“What am I going to do with you?” Jada sat down on the bed next to Ami. Both ladies laid back and looked up at the ceiling. They were quiet for a long minute.

“That damn Rhonda is crazy,” Ami stated flatly, “but you sure kicked her ass.” After a short pause, both ladies laughed so hard their stomachs started to hurt.

Soon, the laughter died down and both ladies again resumed their study of the ceiling. Ami again spoke. “You know, Jada, you don’t have to be afraid.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ami propped herself up on one elbow so she could look directly at her friend. “I’m talking about Alex.” Jada rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“I don’t want to talk about your cousin tonight, Ami.” She sighed.

“Yeah, well, you are going to have to talk about it some time. Considering neither of us will get any sleep tonight, it’s as good a time as any.” Ami reached over and grabbed Jada’s arm. “Come on. There’s a bottle of wine in the cooler.”

Jada studied Ami for a moment. Realizing Ami was not going to leave her alone, she got up. “Alright, Ami.”

Ami and Jada headed toward the living room of their suite. Ami ordered desserts from room service, and then changed into hot pink cotton lounge pants and a white fitted tee-shirt. As Ami and Jada settled down on the oversized sofa, there was a knock at the door. Ami jumped up. “Chocolate cake is here!”

Ami swung the door open, expecting to find the room service waiter. Reed was standing just beyond the threshold with the room service cart and a nervous looking waiter. He was wearing a pair of fitted jeans that hung low on his waist, threatening to expose whatever was beneath his belt buckle, and a perfect A-shirt. His sneakers looked brand new. His eyes were low and Ami started. “Reed! What’s wrong?”

Reed was momentarily dazed. He had seen Ami a million times, from dazzling to casual. She was beautiful, intelligent, and strong willed. He had always been attracted to her and was overjoyed when he received the call that he had the security job with her after his interview with her management team. He tried desperately to hide the way he felt for her, although he was sure his friends, The Love boys, knew. He had a job to do that her life depended on. He loved her casual look the best. The way she looked when she was wasn’t playing the Hollywood starlet. Her natural beauty.

“Reed?” Ami’s voice brought him back to the present. A lazy smile touched his lips and he saw Ami relax.

“You know better than to think room service was coming here and I didn’t know. Are you ladies alright? Does Ms. Jada need anything?” He asked, concerned.

Ami leaned against the frame of the door, crossed her arms under her breasts, and flashed her natural smile. Not the one she used when she worked, but the one that was all her. Reed breathed deeply as she spoke. “Reed Cooper, you are too good to me. What would I do without you?” Ami stood on tip toes to kiss Reed’s cheek. He leaned down slightly so she could reach him. “We are fine, thanks. You want some?” She offered.

Reed felt his body heat quickly rise from the contact of her feather soft lips on his face. “No thanks, Ms. Ami. I should get some sleep. Holla if you need me.” Reed turned to leave as the room service waiter wheeled the cart in.

“Reed,” Ami called after him. He turned to her with his alluringly dark eyes. “Quit calling me ‘Ms.’. Ami is fine.” She smiled.

Reed nodded in acceptance. “See you in the morning.” Reed knew no amount of push ups or sit ups would cure him that night. Ami was fast becoming a problem he would soon have to deal with. Otherwise, he would not only embarrass himself, but her in the process.

In the room, Ami and Jada had chocolate cake, strawberry cheesecake, ice cream, and lemon pound cake. “You know, if the tabloids saw this, the rumors would run rampant!” Ami chuckled as she shoved chocolate cake in her mouth.

“Please. You are beautiful and can drop weight by merely thinking about it. Me, on the other hand, a totally different story,” Jada countered, taking a bite of the cheesecake.

“Whatever,” Ami shouted, pointing her spoon at her. “You are just as gorgeous. I never did understand why you preferred to be behind the camera.”

“That’s just where my passion and interests are.”

“Passion and interest, hum,” Ami repeated slowly. “Is that how you feel about Alex?”

Jada paused. She picked up her wine glass and took a long drink. “He still scares me, Ami.” She put her glass down and sat back. “I know that I love him, but I have no idea how he feels about me. I’m not even sure I want to know. I’m so confused and it’s frustrating.” Jada stood and walked to the window. It was a beautiful summer night. “None of you will ever know how grateful I am that you all came for me. I was afraid that no one even knew I was missing from the party. Thank you for that.” She glanced over to Ami, and then continued to look out the window over the city. She suddenly turned to Ami. “I don’t want Alex to get his feelings mixed up with all the excitement of playing a hero.” Ami made a move to protest, but Jada held up her hands to stop her. “We deal with that stuff all the time, just in the films we make, Ami. I wouldn’t be able to survive if Alex got bored and walked away.” She turned back to the window.

Ami stood to join Jada at the window. “Listen, girlfriend. I think if you stop and look at the situation closely, you’ll see that Alex has more feelings for you than you think. He’s not shallow. He’s nothing like the guys in Los Angeles. You know that, you’ve said it yourself.” Ami turned Jada to face her. “Give yourself the chance to be happy. Give yourself the chance to love. You never know what might come of it.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Jada said quietly.

“Sure you can,” Ami said cheerfully. “You can do anything and the reason I know is because I’ve seen you do it.” Jada gave a weak smile. “Now, let’s finish this junk food. Tomorrow is a new day and a new challenge. I’ll be by your side, every step,” Ami finished.

Jada was glad Ami was confident, because she wasn’t. Not by a long shot.