Inner Circle (32 page)

Eve
sat motionless while Callie poured the two of them a cup of tea. Although her mind remained numb, her hands were still shaking as she accepted the ginger and pear infusion from Callie’s grasp.

“You’ve got to tell me what happened, Eve. You’re shaking like a leaf.” Callie gently placed her hand on Eve’s back.

Eve took a small sip of her tea as she tried hard to regain her composure. She wasn’t sure how she was going to break the news of what she’d discovered in Jackie’s trunk to Callie, especially since for weeks she hadn’t believed in her innocence. Although Eve had been supportive of Callie and had even managed to finally convince Jackie and Jai to contribute to Callie’s legal fund, she hadn’t been fully persuaded that Callie hadn’t attacked Carmen, until now.

Eve stared at Callie, admiring her ability to try to comfort her when she, in fact, had been the one who had gone through hell for the past few weeks. She wondered about the toll these allegations had taken on her marriage to Drew. The fact that Callie was so concerned about how Carmen’s attack would affect her family that she shipped her children off to Brazil to be with her mother angered Eve. Jackie had been guilty all along and instead of trusting the organization with
the truth about her actions, she’d allowed Callie to take the fall for something Jackie knew Callie didn’t do.

“Eve, are you going to tell me what happened or not?” Callie persisted.

Eve took a deep breath, then released twenty minutes’ worth of confessions complete with everything from her not actually believing in Callie’s innocence to Jackie’s bathroom affair with Paula to finally her discovery of Carmen’s braid in Jackie’s trunk. Eve’s body was wet with sweat as she freed herself from the information she’d been holding on to. She circled the room with her eyes until they found their way back to Callie, who sat calmly in the adjacent chair. Eve continued to breathe deeply as she waited for Callie to speak. Yet instead of saying anything, Eve watched as Callie unlocked a nearby desk drawer and pulled out a manila envelope.

“What’s this?” Eve asked as Callie handed her the envelope.

“I knew all along,” Callie admitted.

“Knew what?” Eve quizzed opening the envelope.

“The truth,” Callie answered, taking a seat next to her.

Eve pulled out several photos of Carmen entangled in what appeared to be another sex session. Only instead of the pictures of Carmen and Drew making love, the photos were of Carmen and Jackie.

“I don’t understand,” Eve declared. “How did you get these? And why didn’t you say something?”

“I got the photos awhile back when my private investigator was following Drew and Carmen. While investigating Drew, he also made the discovery about Carmen and Jackie. He didn’t consider the information important enough to tell me until he got wind of me being under investigation. He knew I was innocent. The pictures were his way of helping me prove that. But when I saw these, I knew that by exposing Jackie to prove my own innocence, I’d be violating the pact we all agreed to when we joined the association. I couldn’t allow all of your hard work to go to waste, nor did I want to put the association in jeopardy of exposure of far greater things.” Callie ran her fingers
through her hair. “I figured the police didn’t and wouldn’t have enough information to actually charge me with anything so we’d be safe.”

“You did all of this for us?” Eve asked astonished.

“Rule #5, remember?” She paused a moment, recalling how serious Eve had been regarding this point. “I took my commitment to The Wives Association seriously with the assurance that if put in a similar position, you ladies would have done the same for me, right?”

Eve nodded. “I don’t know what to say.” She stood and gave Callie a hug. “I would’ve done the same thing for you, Callie.”

“I know,” she replied with confidence. “Even with the pictures and the braid, we still can’t take this to the police, so I’m still in the same position.”

“No, you’re not. You went above and beyond duty to protect Jackie and the association, so now the association will do everything in its power to protect you. Since technically, Jackie is the one that got you into this mess, I’ll see to it that she personally helps to get you out.”

“Thank you, Eve. I knew I could trust you.”

“You can, Callie,” Eve stated. “No matter what, I’ll always have your back. Anything you need, just ask.”

“There is something,” Callie said. “Something I haven’t told you or any of the ladies.”

“What is it?” Eve asked curiously.

“I have a bit of a past.”

“Hell, don’t we all?” Eve joked.

“I’m sure not like mine. Let’s just say me attacking Carmen wouldn’t have been off base. I’ve done something like that before, which is why Drew accepted a deal to come here to the London I have a record for assault back in Brazil.”

“I had no idea. What do you need me to do?” Eve asked.

“Drew thinks I had something to do with this thing with Carmen. He’s threatening to leave me and take my boys.”

“He’s the one who cheated on you, Callie! How can he take your boys away?” Eve protested.

“It’s complicated,” she said sadly. “And to be honest, I don’t have the energy to fight this. I love Drew despite his indiscretions. I’ll do anything to keep our family together. That’s why I forced myself to get pregnant. I’ve been seeing a specialist and have been taking fertility pills in an attempt to have another child. Drew has no idea, but I know he’d never leave me if he knew I was having another baby.”

“Callie . . . I’m not here to judge you, but do you really think trapping Drew is the answer?”

“It’s the only choice I have,” Callie stated with desperation. “You’ve got to help me, Eve.”

Eve was stunned by Callie’s revelation but knew she had to help her. Regardless of her issues or even her past mistakes, Callie was one of them, and as an association, they protected their own.

“I’ll help,” Eve whispered. “And don’t worry. Your secrets are safe with me.”

Eve sat back in her chair and took another long sip of her ginger and pear tea. She couldn’t believe the loyalty Callie had displayed with her and the association, especially at the potential cost of her own freedom. In order for her loyalty to be matched, Eve knew that she was going to have to confront Jackie once and for all about the secrets she had been keeping on her behalf.

With Jackie there was no other way to handle her except head-on. She’d have to discuss this face-to-face and woman-to-woman, with hopes that they would see eye-to-eye and agree on what would have to be done in order to help Callie. Eve knew that this meeting of the minds between her and Jackie would not exactly be easy, but in order for the association and Rule #5 to work, it was extremely necessary for everyone involved.

Eve
tossed the braid into the trunk, slid into the driver’s seat, and flung her bag down. The visit with Callie had been exhausting. She
placed her hands on the steering wheel, lowered her head, and sucked in as much air as her lungs could hold.

“Son of a . . .” she whispered as she thought about what Jackie had done.
Jackie has to be stopped,
she thought. It was one thing to have her little tryst with Paula, but what had been done to disrupt the lives of Carmen and Callie was inexcusable.

Finally, she felt she had the ammunition she needed to confront Jackie, and like an automatic weapon that had been locked and loaded, with Jackie O’Connor as her intended target, Eve was more than ready to empty her clip.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the picture of Jackie and Carmen and stared at the couple.
Couple,
she thought. That’s what had been so confusing. They actually looked like a couple!

Eve tried to imagine what Jackie’s reaction would be when she presented her with the photo. Jackie was not easily ruffled, she thought, so it would be confrontational suicide to come at her with some weak shit. What was going on in this photo, however, definitely was not weak shit, Eve thought as she tucked the picture into the crevice of the passenger seat. She and Jackie had history, and she was counting on that history to cushion the fall that their relationship was about to take.

Eve retrieved her phone and slowly dialed Jackie’s number.

“O’Connor here, what’s up, Eve?”

Eve could barely hear Jackie over her music. Beyoncé’s “Party” was playing loudly in the background.

“I need to talk to you,” Eve yelled, competing with Jackie’s Bose system.

“About what?” Jackie shouted back.

“Can you turn it down?” Eve asked.

“This had better be good,” Jackie replied lowering the music.

“Damn, Jackie, how can you concentrate with the music that loud?”

“Well, until you called, my music was my concentration, and right about now, you’re disturbing my groove. So, what’s up?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“So talk,” Jackie said sarcastically.

“Not over the phone,” Eve said making sure the determination was evident in her voice.

“Eve, I’m on my way home. I’ve had one too many beers, and I am not in the mood for your usual cloak-and-dagger James Bond shit.”

“It’s about Carmen Garza and Callie,” Eve delivered the words boldly. The silence on the other end of the phone was a clear indication that Eve had Jackie’s full attention. “We need to talk face-to-face. I’ll come to you.”

“I’m in Inglewood. I just dropped my girls over at Mom’s in Carlton Square.”

“So where can we meet?”

Eve noticed a sudden silence as if Jackie’s engine was no longer running.

“I’m in the parking lot of the Forum. I’ll give you fifteen minutes, and then I’m going home.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Within minutes on the 405, Eve had made the drive from Brentwood to Inglewood. She spotted Jackie’s Jaguar in the middle of the parking lot as she turned off Pincay Drive. When she pulled up, she noticed Jackie was already out of her car, leaning against the hood with her park lights still on. Eve parked her Range Rover head-to-head with Jackie’s Jag, opting to leave her lights on as well. Grabbing the picture, she exited the car and stood directly in front of Jackie.

“So what’s this about Carmen and Callie?” Jackie asked.

“Well, I see you don’t want to beat around the bush,” Eve said handing Jackie the photograph.

She watched as Jackie, seemingly unfazed, admired the picture, viewing it from different angles.

“Damn, she makes me look good!” Jackie folded her arms. “So what do you think you have here?” she asked.

“Evidence that you had a relationship with Carmen and after
my conversation with Callie, evidence that you had a motive to attack her.”

“And if you’re right?”

“Not
if,
Jackie. I know I’m right. And because of you, Callie is under suspicion for something she didn’t do. You’ve made her life a living hell, and I’m here to tell you that you are going to fix this or—”

“Or
what,
Eve?”

“Or I’m going to make sure that people know what you’ve done. You can’t play with people’s lives and expect there to be no consequences, Jackie!”

“You don’t scare me, Eve, and if this picture is all you have as evidence, we could have saved this little meeting. You come at me; you’d better come with more than just a fucking photograph.”

“Oh, I have more,” Eve replied.

“I don’t care if you have a whole fucking photo album, Eve. I’m not worried about you.”

“Well, you should be, unless you want me to give a blow-by-blow of what you and Paula Andrews were doing in the bathroom in Baltimore,” Eve said matter-of-factly.

“Look at you,” Jackie said clapping sarcastically. “Eve done gone and got herself an exclusive! Too bad you won’t be able to use it.”

“Don’t think I won’t use this information to take you down, Jackie. You will fix this shit for Callie, or I swear I will bulldoze your little undercover playhouse and expose you for the freaky, two-faced, coldhearted bitch you really are.”

Eve waited, bracing herself for the wrath she was sure would follow, but instead, Jackie smiled, locking eyes with Eve’s stare.

“You may be smart, Eve, with all your fancy words and legal jargon. And you can call me whatever you like, but at the end of the day when you peel back the layers of your own life, you’ll realize that the two of us aren’t very different. Yes, you may be the mastermind behind The Wives Association, but this ain’t my first
time at the rodeo, boo-boo. I know how the game is played. Hell, I even invented some of the rules. I’m going to fix the shit for Callie, but not because of anything you think you have dangling over my head, and in return, you’re going to keep your mouth shut,” Jackie stated straightforwardly as she folded her arms leaning in closer to Eve.

“The Wives Association is the very reason that you are protecting Callie, and it’s also the very reason why you can’t touch me. Rule #5, Eve, and I quote, ‘All members of the association will be required to sign an agreement that forbids sharing any information regarding the activities of the association and its members with any person or persons outside of the association.’ So, you see, Eve, thanks to you and your rules, I’m protected from any recourse. And unless you want to find yourself guilty of breaching that clause and in jeopardy of being voted out of the association, you are bound to secrecy. Now, unless you have something else to discuss, I’m outta here.”

“Fix it!” Eve demanded.

“Count on it,” Jackie said as she turned to leave. She opened the door to her car and held up the photograph. “Oh, you don’t mind if I keep this, do you? It’s such a good picture,” she said admiring the photo again.

Eve stood silently as Jackie’s words resonated in her ears. Once again, Jackie was standing under the umbrella of protection provided by rule #5, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Fucking catch-22,
she thought.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Jackie said and turned to get into her car.

Eve watched as Jackie started her car and drove away. One thing she knew about Jackie was that she could be trusted to do whatever she said she would do. And although she didn’t exactly know how Jackie was going to pull it off, she knew Callie would be exonerated. Still, Eve realized that she had just opened a whole other can of worms, and she needed time to think things through.