Deliver Me (15 page)

Eli laced up his white Nikes, then brought both hands over his head and
stretched. He rocked from side to side, loosening his oblique muscles.

“Would you quit with the workout, Jane Fonda,” Alex called as he
approached him on the outdoor court. His older brother hurled a basketball at
his midsection. “I’ve got about an hour before I have to be at the site.”

“What’s up with you, man? You trying to kill me?” Eli rubbed his stomach.
“Why do you have to get there so early? You’re the boss. You should have the
best hours of anyone on the job.”

Eli dribbled the ball, then stepped back and sunk a jump shot.

“Since the storm hit, Holmes Construction has more jobs lined up than we’ve
had since I stared the business. And if it’s going to grow, I’ve got to be
there to make sure everything’s running smoothly. I’m not leaving my livelihood
in just anybody’s hands. Besides—” Alex faked right and went around Eli,
laying the ball up and in the basket. “What else would I be doing?”

Eli caught the ball with both hands. “I’m tired of trying to convince you
of what any healthy,
normal
man would
be doing.”

Alex rolled his eyes, clearly indicating that Eli had better
not go there.

“Anyway, I don’t have time to worry about your love life,” Eli said as he
waited for Alex to take another shot. “I’ve got enough problems with my own.”

“What kind of problem? Is Alicia back?”

“No, thank God. I haven’t heard from her since the weekend.” Eli gripped
the ball with his left palm then switched to his right, swooshing past his
brother with a crossover that would have made Allen Iverson proud. “Damn, I’m
good,” he said when the ball floated through the hoop.

Alexander bent over, his fists resting on the front of his thighs. He was
already winded. Eli bounced the ball off his back.

“You need to get in shape, Dawg.”

That, of course, was a lie. With the hard manual labor Alex put into his
construction business, Eli couldn’t think of anyone in better shape than his
brother. It was age that was probably catching up with him, that and his work
environment. A thirty-seven-year-old who worked on dusty construction sites all
day couldn’t have the same lung capacity as he did as a seventeen-year-old.

“Kiss my ass,” Alex puffed out. He threw the ball back at Eli. “If Alicia’s
not bothering you then what’s the problem?”

“We’ve got a new doc in the ER.”

“And?”

“Let me rephrase that,” Eli said. His ball rimmed out. Alex beat him to
the rebound. “We’ve got a new Victoria’s Secret model-caliber doc in the ER.”

“Ah,” Alex said. He stood under the goal, balancing the ball on his hip.
Eli wasn’t falling for it. He knew his brother was just trying to catch his
breath.

They played for another twenty minutes. Eli banked his shot and decided
to let Alex off the hook. “That’s ten. We need to stop it here. I have to get
back to the hospital.”

“If you really want to stop,” Alex puffed out between labored breaths.

They walked toward the nine-foot fence that surrounded the court. Eli
retrieved two towels and a couple bottles of water from the gym bag he’d propped
against the fence. He tossed a towel and bottle to Alex. They both slumped to
the ground, their backs against the chain-link fence.

“So what’s the deal with the Victoria’s Secret model?” Alex asked after
taking a huge gulp of water.

Eli took a deep breath, already knowing the reaction his next statement
would elicit. “I’m bringing her to Jazzy’s party this afternoon. And I told
Mama I would bring her for Sunday dinner.”

Alex’s mouth dropped open.

“Don’t look at me like that, man.”

“How do you expect me to react when you tell me you’re bringing some
woman to Sunday dinner? That’s serious, E.”

“I know...I.” Eli wasn’t certain whether to confess to Alex, but he
needed to confide in somebody. Alex had always been his sounding board. Eli had
to make sure he was doing the right thing.

Alex downed half the bottle, then stopped. “Hold up a sec. Something’s
not right here. What happened to your rule about never dating doctors?”

“It’s complicated.”

“That does sound serious. Let me finish my water. I don’t want to miss a
minute of this.” Alex drank until the plastic bottle was empty then stuffed it
in his gym bag and turned to Eli. “Okay, so what’s the deal?”

Eli stretched out one leg and bent the other, resting his arm on his up
drawn knee. “I convinced her to pretend to be my girlfriend for the next few
months.”

Eli gave him the abbreviated story about the center being in trouble, and
Monica’s valiant effort to save it, while also making a good impression on the
senior staff. He told his older brother about the conversation he’d had with
their mother and how the idea to feign a relationship with Monica first came
about.

Alex listened without interruption, something he had always done when
playing the part of the confidant for his younger brothers, who always seemed
to get into one bind or another. Eli wouldn’t have guessed at thirty-four he
would still be looking to unload on Alex.

“I don’t know what to say, man. You’ve got guts to try pulling something
like this over Mama’s eyes.”

“What else could I do, Alex? Tosha has been back in town all of two weeks
and I’ve seen here more times than in the last fifteen years combined. I needed
to do something drastic.”

“Which this definitely is,” Alex agreed. “What about your rule?”

“Mama never paid attention to my rule.”

“Are you crazy? Do you really think Mama wouldn’t have been throwing
hints about you hooking up with a doctor all these years if she didn’t know how
you felt about it?”

Eli shrugged. “I can say the rule’s been overwritten.”

Alex’s brows arched skeptically. “And we’re supposed to buy that?”

“If you saw Monica Gardner, you would,” Eli clarified.

His brows rose even higher. Alex reached into Eli’s gym bag and grabbed
another bottle of water. He uncapped it, took a long pull, then draped the
towel over his head. “So, what do you plan to do? You know Mama’s got her heart
set on you and Tosha getting back together.”

“I’m hoping it’s not the idea of me with Tosha, just that I’m with
some
one. I need to convince her that
Monica and I are serious about each other.”

Alex nudged him with his knee. “You sure you’re not?”

He shot him an irritated look.

“Hey man,” Alex put his
hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying. Maybe this shouldn’t be pretend.
It’s not as if you couldn’t use a steady relationship.”

Eli lulled his head to
the side and stared at his brother. “Just in case you didn’t realize it, you’re
the pot,” he drawled with distinct mockery.

“What?”

“You are the pot, calling me, the kettle, black.”

“Don’t start.”

“How are you, a man who hasn’t had sex in God knows how long, gonna sit
here and tell me that
I
could use a
steady relationship? Do you even remember what a naked woman looks like?”

“You finished?”

“Are you?”

“Look, E, you’ve passed on enough good, fine women simply because they’re
doctors. Not every female with a white coat is Elizabeth Graves.”

“Leave it alone, Alex.”

“All right. I’m finish,” his brother said, dusting off his hands to make
his point.

Eli tilted his head back against the fence and closed his eyes. Monica’s
image flew to the forefront of his mind. He had visions of thick, luscious
hair, the color of deep, dark molasses gliding through his fingers. He could
almost feel the soft, baby smooth skin on his fingertips. And those eyes. They
had nearly stopped his heart the few chances he’d had to look directly into
them.

Man, he was in trouble.

Eli placed his right palm flat on the gritty asphalt and used it to push
himself up. He hauled the towel from Alex’s head, along with the one he had
used to wipe his face, and stuffed them both back in the black duffel bag. He
zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder.

“When’s Toby coming?” Eli asked as he stretched his hand out to help his
brother up.

Alex’s strong grip clutched his palm, and he heaved himself off the
ground. “Sometime this week, I think.”

“I thought that singer he’s been promoting was debuting in the city
tonight?”

“She is, but he couldn’t be sure when he would be able to get away. Some
new group he discovered is cutting a demo.”

“Ah, the life of a Quincy Jones wannabe.”

“You never know. Old boy may surprise you one of these days.”

“You can hold your breath if you want to, but I’ll pass.”

They walked out the gate, Eli stepping back to let Alex go first. At the
curb, they exchanged pats on the shoulder and took off in different directions,
Eli for his Range Rover, Alex for his Ford F-150.

By the time Eli arrived
back at the hospital, he only had time to make a short run through the
maternity ward before heading home to get ready for plantation hunting.

As he pulled up to the house, his shoulders sunk with relief when he didn’t
spot the white BMW in his driveway. He could not keep living like this. He’d
paid too much damn money for this house to be afraid to come home to it.

After putting away his basketball gear, Eli went up to his bathroom to
take a longer, more thorough shower than the one he’d rushed through at the
hospital. He groaned as the hot water pelted his shoulders and back. Eli stood
still for a moment, letting the pulsing streams work their magic as they shot
out from ten separate jets within the shower walls.

His skin was alive with excitement, but it had nothing to do with the
invigorating water spray. No, it was anticipation that had him ready to climb
the walls. He was practically salivating at the thought of seeing Monica.

Eli dipped his head under the stream flowing from the brass showerhead
and shook it. Man, he had it bad. When was the last time he’d felt this much
eagerness for a woman—one who wasn’t even a sure thing?

He would rectify that situation ASAP. He’d decided on the drive home that
just because they were pretending to date did not mean they couldn’t engage in
a little extracurricular activity. A man would be just plain stupid not to at
least
try
to get a woman like Monica
in bed.

Eli smiled at the thought.

It may take more finessing than he usually had to expend, but one way or
another, he would have that woman—every soft, luscious, caramel inch of
her.

He walked out of the steam-filled shower and wrapped a plush terry cloth
towel around his waist.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

“What the—”

Eli turned to find
Alicia Taylor standing in the doorway to his bathroom.

“Alicia!” He placed his
hand over his chest in an effort to calm the chaotic pounding of his heart.

Alicia took another step into the bathroom, the clack of her mile-high
stilettos echoing loudly on the marble floor.

“How did you get in here?” Eli wrapped the towel more tightly around his
hips, tucking the edge in at his waist.

“Why are you doing this, Elijah?”

She took another step. Eli backed up. A ripple of chilling fear raced
along the column of his spine as he took in the look in her eyes.

“Alicia, how did you get in my house?” It was hard to keep his voice
calm.

She held out a single key and dropped it to the floor. It hit the hard
surface with a loud ping.

Eli’s jaw dropped. She had made a copy of his house key? She really
was
crazy! “Copying my keys without my
permission is illegal, Alicia. I could call the cops on you.”

“But you won’t,” she said with cold finality that did nothing to
alleviate the bad feeling running through Eli’s gut. He would have been more
comfortable if she were acting a little hysterical. Her cool, unruffled, almost
tranquil state raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Only the maladjusted
remained unfettered in such situations.

Eli tried to decide if she was crazy enough to have a weapon hidden
somewhere underneath the skintight cat suit that clung to her body like a
second skin. The sight of her didn’t even arouse him anymore. Psychopaths, no
matter how fine they were, just were not enticing.

“I want answers, Elijah. I love you and you pretend it doesn’t matter.”
She continued her slow stroll toward him.

“We were together for less than a month, Alicia.”

“Why are you doing this to us?” She’d backed him up until the back of his
legs hit the bathroom counter.

How in the hell was he supposed to talk his way out of this?

Eli took a deep breath. He caught Alicia’s forearms in his hands and gave
her a firm shake. It was all he could do to keep from strangling her.