Deadly In Stilettos (48 page)

             
When Demi knew for certain they both were dead, she turned to leave. Her husband and daughter were downstairs in the car waiting on her. Everyone who had hurt her would never hurt her again. Her stilettos clicked against the tiled floor as she walked out of the bathroom. Putting on her Chanel sunglasses, Demi smiled. She was simply deadly in stilettos. She had her life back. And nothing would ever take that away from her again. She got inside the car, kissed her husband, turned to look at her sleeping baby in the back seat, and smiled.

             
“Where to next?” Makei asked.

             
Demi leaned her head back against the seat without a care in the world. “Surprise me,” she replied.

Chapter 37

DEMI SAT up in bed trying to catch her breath. She had woken in a cold sweat. What was going on? She looked over to her side to see Makei sleeping peacefully next to her. Was she having a bad dream? The phone on
the nightstand rang, bringing her back to reality. When she answered, she heard her father’s voice.

             
“Hello, Sweetheart. Did I wake up?” Her father was laughing. “I know how newlyweds are, but today is your birthday. So I wanted to say happy birthday to my baby girl.”

             
Demi was confused. She rubbed the back on her neck. What was happening? Suddenly she realized she had awakened from a terrible nightmare. It had all been a bad dream. “Thank God,” she whispered.

             
Makei stirred, waking. He sat up and kissed her. “Hey, Dad,” he called, already knowing who was on the phone. “Tell my son-in-law hello,” Melvin said. The thought of what she just dreamed alarmed Demi, and she was glad her father was on the line with her. And why wouldn’t he be? They spoke on the phone every day. After they mended their broken relationship when she invited him to attend her graduation from Princeton, she and her father became inseparable. He had been at her wedding to give her away when she married Makei, and there for the birth of their daughter Jade, and came to visit twice a year.

             
As they chatted, Melvin told Demi that he ran into her old friends Sidney Kickass and Anya Bankston at the mall when he was shopping for her birthday gift. “They told me to tell you happy birthday. Sidney told me she would be calling you soon so that the two of you could plan your next girl’s trip. I’m glad you girls are still good friends. I still have the same best friend from high school. It helps make things easier in life with someone always in your corner.” Her father went on for a few more minutes until Demi asked about his health. They found out the previous year that he had lung cancer. After several operations, radiation, and chemotherapy, his cancer was in remission. Demi was thankful. She could not handle losing another parent, and especially after having him back from so many missed years.

             
Demi prayed each day that her father remained cancer free, and so far God had answered her prayers. Prayer was the one thing Demi credited for her happy life. Without a relationship with God, her life would have probably been still full of pain and heartache. Yes, God was her lifeline and she planned on keeping it that way. Her father went on to tell her he’d also seen Troy Dunbar at the supermarket a few months ago, and he asked about her too.

             
Another name on the infamous list in her dreams was alive and well. Thank God again that it was only a dream. She even forgave Troy for what he put her through when she dated him long ago, when he left her to go play professional baseball. Her father told her he was happily married with three sons. Demi remembered she had a great life, great friends, and a great family. Although Sidney did not live in the same state as she, they always made time to get together for a girl’s weekend or longer. Makei and Sidney’s husband, Marcus, as well as his best friend Brian, understood and would sometimes go away for their own guy’s weekend. They all shared several vacations throughout the years when they dated. Even now that they were married, once a year they spent a week together on her and Makei’s private island getaway, which she still didn’t know the exact coordinates for.

             
Demi and Makei prayed together each night before bed, and she and Tabitha prayed together each morning. Speaking of Tabitha…Demi heard a beeping noise on the phone and looked at the caller ID. “Dad, let me call you back. Tabi is calling.” There was a pause. “Yes, Dad, I will call you back today. I promise. Now you have a great day as well.” Demi smiled as she disconnected the line with her dad. He was such a baby when it came to sharing her with her friends. He wanted her all to himself, with the exception of her husband and daughter. Demi could not blame him, considering all the time they lost.

             
She and Tabi spoke for an hour, catching up. Tabi mentioned that Enry Williams asked about her. She’d seen him while she was having lunch with a client named Laurel Cordwright. She also informed Demi that Devin Masters was getting married to one of her colleagues, L’Oreal Dawson. Again, Demi thought of her dream and all the people in it who had died. She thanked God yet again that the dream was over. If it had all been true, she would have surely been behind bars, a fugitive, or in a crazy house. When Makei walked back into their bedroom, he carried a tray filled with fresh fruit, English muffins, homemade jam, and cranberry juice. He’d also brought the morning paper, and when Demi opened it, she saw a name she had not heard of since she’d been in college.

             
Professor Chauncey Stratton was on the New York Times’ bestseller list. His book Peace in Politics was a page turner, according to the review she read. She made a mental note to buy the book. She also saw that a former friend of hers, Linda DeLacey, was being sued byher fifth husband for stealing from his company. Demi shook her face
.
‘Some people never change,
’
she thought. Makei kissed her neck. “Don’t forget about dinner tonight, Sweetheart. We have reservations for seven o’clock sharp. The sitter will be here around six, so please be here no later than six thirty.”

             
“Okay, Babe, now come here.” Demi kissed her husband. They made love that morning like never before.

                           
                 ~~~

Work that day flowed easily. Demi could not wait to get home to have dinner with her husband and get another dose of his good loving. Makei had given her two gifts that morning, one from her father and one from him and Jade. The shoes she received from her father looked great, but the ones from Makei were special. In royal purple, with cross straps, an ankle buckle, and purple and silver rhinestones, the Eccentric stilettos were gorgeous. They came from the owner of the little boutique on their island paradise, and she was now well-known around the world, thanks to Demi. She planned to wear them to dinner with a royal purple strapless minidress. Maybe she would seduce Makei on the way back from the restaurant and they could have a quickie in the car.

             
Her father’s gift—silver, strappy, and bejeweled stilettos—would have to wait until another occasion. Her father knew how to make her smile when it came to picking out shoes for her. She had Makei to thank for that, since he was the one who gave her father a head’s up on what to purchase. Melvin was especially thankful for his son-in-law and how much he loved his daughter and granddaughter.

             
When Demi and Makei arrived at the restaurant, they were escorted to a secluded table in the back. As they passed the bar, a man sitting there caught Demi’s attention. She knew him from somewhere, but where? As she glanced back at him, trying to figure out where they had met or knew each other from, he raised his glass, toasting her. That sent an uncomfortable chill down her spine.

             
Makei pulled out his wife’s chair and then sat down beside her. “Happy Birthday, Mrs. Davis. I love you so much. I thank God for creating you just for me. You make me the happiest man alive. I promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect you until the end of time.” Demi was overjoyed by his words. She loved Makei with all her heart and cherished the times they had together. Tomorrow when they went to church, she would kneel down before the altar and thank God for the life she loved. They had a perfect, romantic evening together. When they left the restaurant, Demi was so at ease, she did not see the man sitting in the car watching their every move.

Greg Stanley smiled. His assignment was sitting in a restaurant only a few feet away. Seeing her happy made the rage inside thrive.
His work was almost done. Deminis Bradshaw’s life would soon tumble down, as it had always been planned. A light knock on his car window startled him. Greg froze as the man looking down at him smiled. A ray of light suddenly blinded him, and then there was darkness. The car sat empty in the darkness of the night. “Not tonight or ever,” Spencer said.

              Spencer Channing walked away, on his way to see another old friend. Breathing in the crisp, cool night air, he felt great. Deminis Bradshaw was no longer fragile, heartbroken, or in need of a Guardian. Her life was now fulfilled. He had watched over her since birth, and now she didn’t need him anymore. Spencer looked forward to seeing the next woman who needed him. Ebony Grace, the one person he broke all the rules for. Would she remember him? That was foolish, they never remembered. Her life was in danger. She didn’t know it yet, but it was his job to make sure nothing happened to her. He would do everything in his power to make sure she was okay.

             
His heart ached, longing for a normal life. “The chosen ones never have a normal like,” he always told himself in times like this. “Pull it together, Spencer. People count on you to protect them.” The Guardian walked on into the night, whistling in the breeze before getting inside a black SUV.

Discussion Questions:

1.
     
What do you think about the way Demi’s father treated her?

2.
     
Why do you believe Demi found power in wearing stilettos?

3.
     
Why do you think Aunt Charlotte left Demi with her father when she went out of town instead of taking her with her?

4.
     
Do you think Troy ever truly loved Demi or was he only using her to feel relevant to make up for his short-comings?