Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (14 page)

Damon

The next day, I sat in my office with Jerome and Marcus. They were the only two people I trusted right now other than my lawyer, Jamal, who was still tending to Skye’s family in Haiti. To say the mood was somber would be a gross understatement.

“It grieves me beyond words to say this, but I’m convinced there is a leak in my inner circle. As far as I’m concerned, this motherfucker signed his death warrant last night. If you come up against him, and he poses any type of threat, shoot to kill. Marcus, I want the names of everyone who had access to the banquet hall checked into. From the janitors to the security guards, I want to know who helped that psycho pull this off. When you find them, give them to Jerome. I don’t care if you have to tie them up in a warehouse and torture the Intel out of them, Jerome. I want to know who this son of a bitch is. He crossed a line when he publically issued a death threat against my woman.”

“Do you want to call in outside help? There’s always Antonio Wayne Ramirez.”

“Let me think on that; there may be a more effective way to deal with this problem. If I call him in, I’m going to owe him, and I don’t relish the idea of being indebted to a Colombian gangster. Also, there’s still the possibility this could be Skye’s father, and I don’t want her knowing if I have to order the hit. Right now, I need information and the stalker subdued.”

Jerome chuckled as he spoke under his breath, “Antonio is great at getting information. The sadistic son of a bitch will torture it right out of them.”

“How’s she doing?” Marcus questioned.

“She’s resting right now. She was so upset I had to call the doctor in to sedate her. She’s scared and confused. After last night, I don’t feel like I’m doing a very good job making her feel safe.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this. Between Marcus and me, we’ll find out who’s responsible, and if we don’t, there’s always Antonio.”

I hated the thought of going to such extremes as to hire a hit man to kill this unknown assailant, but he was pushing me into a corner. It would be much easier to live with the guilt of killing him than it would be the agony I’d feel if something were to happen to Skye.

“Yeah… you’re right; there’s always the crazy Colombian gangster.”

Skye

I woke up feeling groggy and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, taking a moment to sort out the events of the night before. As embarrassing as it was to have the defaced mural revealed to the public, that was the least of my worries.

With everything that happened, I haven’t even had the time to talk to Damon about the bomb Kiara dropped on me. I had a sister? Great, a spawn of the devil demon sister from the bowels of hell was just what I needed. I wondered if she knew we were sisters when she came to the studio with her boyfriend/agent that day.

The click of the door opening spurred me to look up and I saw Damon as he walked in with a tray. “Mmm, the help is looking better by the day,” I teased.

“I see the threat of death hasn’t diminished your ability to engage in witty banter.”

“Why not go down with a fight?” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “We need to talk.”

He turned and eyed me as he poured coffee in a cup. “Ya think?” I knew his answer was facetious. He was trying to lighten the mood, and I was grateful he wasn’t letting whoever was threatening me affect our relationship.

“Oh, you have no idea.” I nodded towards the chair off to the side of the bed. “You might want to sit down for this one.” He sat his large frame in the chair and interlocked his fingers behind his head. He looked prepared for bad news, even more than what we’ve already dealt with over the last twenty-four hours.

“I had a run-in with our girl, Kiara, in the bathroom last night, and she informed me we’re half-sisters.”

“You have got to be kidding me. There’s no way I’m believing that shit without a DNA test. You two don’t even look anything alike.”

“Oh, well, she got into that too when she informed me I was too
fat
to be modeling.” I watched him lick his lips as he spoke.

He ignored me and continued, “So the bitch is not only a troublemaker, but she’s a liar too.”

“That’s what I said! I told her I was going to change people’s perception of beauty. Voluptuous was going to be embraced by the time I was done.”

“You go, girl,” he chuckled as he snapped his fingers.

“You are hilarious.”

“Yeah, that’s me… Mr. Comedy himself. No, love, you get to see a side of me no one else does.”

“Well, I’m honored. Now, how am I going to find out if the daughter of the devil himself is really my sister?”

“Oh, you let me deal with that shit. If she doesn’t give me what I want, she’ll never work in this town again.”

“Ooh, how sexy, a man with power who’s willing to use it for little ole me.”

“That’s not all I’m doing for little ole you. That bastard crossed a line last night. He’s going to mess around and get killed.”

“Please don’t kill anyone, Damon. If you end up in prison, I’ll be here all alone.”

He leaned forward, placed his elbows on the chair arms, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “I can assure you that if I have him killed, I won’t be going anywhere. He’ll simply disappear without a trace.”

His words chilled me to the bone because I knew they were true. I was dealing with a man who was not only powerful in the modeling industry, but also dangerous on a personal level.

The Stalker

I sat and flipped the photo of the defaced mural I had taken between my fingers. It was the first time I felt a sexual charge since I started following her. It wasn’t her beauty that made my cock hard; it was how close I had been without anyone being aware. The omnipotent Damon D’Angelo had been caught completely off guard. I knew I needed to be careful because I was dealing with a man of means. He had money, connections, and a motive to discover my identity. I was treading on dangerous ground dealing with him, and it only made the hunt that much more exciting. Skye’s little knight in shining armor wasn’t dealing with just any man. I had connections of my own, though my associates might be more questionable in nature. They were men with no scruples. More than that, they were men who owed me, and I was about to call in on some pretty heavy-duty favors.

I wished I’d been able to get a picture of the look on her face when she saw the death threat. Oh, and the fainting, that was just delicious icing on the cake. I was standing right there, witnessing everything first hand, and no one even knew. Getting in was easy enough. People had been coming and going all day, so the security system was turned off, and the janitorial uniform was the only pass I needed. I learned a long time ago that when you want to convince someone your lie is a truth, you must first convince yourself. I played at being a janitor for the whole day. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to any of the many people milling around, doing their jobs and preparing for the event. It was an adrenaline high, and I was a junkie. Every incident that I got away with mind-fucking Damon D’Angelo only increased my desire to continue. The professionals call it escalating, and that is exactly what I was doing. I was escalating to the final climax where I would have Skye in my possession and watch the almighty Damon squirm in fear.

The thing about karma is she really is a bitch. I found it humorous that Damon had no clue who I was, and therefore, had no clue as to why I wanted revenge. I waited patiently for years before acting, and did so purposely so he would never see it coming. Profound sayings are just that—profound—and they’re considered that for a reason. The old adage that revenge was a dish best served cold was certainly proving true. When you waited, you had the element of surprise. It gave you the upper hand because your opponent was caught off guard. When dealing with a man of Damon’s caliber, you had to use every advantage at your disposal, and that’s exactly what I was doing.

Damon

I set up a luncheon with Kiara, and I was honest with Skye about going to meet with her. I had no intention of Skye finding out that I met with her nemesis behind her back. Being honest and upfront would ensure there wasn’t any distrust on her part concerning my motives. I was also honest about my belief that it was smarter for me to go alone. It was an unusual feeling because I couldn’t remember a time I even cared about what one woman thought if I met with another. Skye changed everything. We both agreed it was less likely Kiara would be contentious if I went alone. Already, it was a known fact how jealous she was of Skye’s career, and it really hadn’t even taken off yet. If this whole thing turned out to be true, and they really were half-sisters, then they’d be adding sibling rivalry to an already strained and competitive relationship full of jealousy. Though I highly doubted Skye would be vying for her father’s attention after he abandoned her and her family, I was still going to protect her from the vicious woman seated across the table from me.

“Isn’t it funny how fate intervenes at the most opportune times,” she gloated.

“I’m still not convinced you’re half-sisters.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?!” I found it humorous how Kiara was behaving like she was angry. I’m sure it was all just part of her act.

“Because you get off on stirring shit up; we both know this is right up your alley.”

“I have no problem with providing a DNA sample. I have no doubt she and I are blood related.”

“Good,” I answered, pulling out the swab my personal doctor provided. She took it from my hand and swabbed the inside of her cheek as if this wasn’t the first time she’d been subjected to this sort of thing. She handed it back to me, and I tucked it safely away into the container provided before putting it inside my jacket pocket. It was best to deal with women like her immediately and, if possible, when they were agreeable. I knew if I let her out of my sight, she would just try to play games with me. Now, the only question was where the father was. I wanted to know if he was the one threatening Skye.

“So, just where is daddy dearest and, even more importantly, what’s the story on him after he abandoned his wife and kids?”

“I think you’re being just a tad bit dramatic, Damon.” She cocked her head as she eyed me. “It’s understandable how the ladies tend to fall for you. You are a very handsome man.”

“If this is your way of hitting on me, understand it’s never going to happen.” I wondered why she chose to veer so far off the issue at hand. What the hell did my looks have to do with anything?

“I wouldn’t be interested in you anyway. You’re a little too alpha for me. I like my men a little more biddable.”

“I never would have guessed.” I rolled my eyes at her, getting more and more annoyed that she wasn’t answering my questions.

“Daddy wanted a better life. I can’t say I blame him for leaving Haiti and the poverty-stricken life he suffered there.”

“I get that. What I don’t get is how a man can abandon his wife and kids, leaving them to endure that level of poverty on their own.”

“In
our
family, mother holds the purse strings, and she wasn’t about to pay for daddy’s past mistakes. Daddy is well aware of who wears the pants in their relationship.”

“So, what did he change his name to?” All I needed was a name. With that and her DNA, I would know where the guy bought his boxers by the time Marcus finished getting the down low on him.

“Daddy changed his name to Jack Baptist.”

“How ironic. Why didn’t he just go with John? I assume he changed it in order to hide from the family he abandoned.”

“I don’t think you need to be such a smart ass. His first and last name just fit his personality, and they were what he chose. As dramatic as you’re being, you’d think him starting over was a mistake of biblical proportions. It’s not that big of a deal, Damon. Anyway, you got what you came for, so I’d say this little discussion is over. Toodle-oo, and do tell your girlfriend I look forward to having lunch with her.”

I resisted the urge to laugh out loud because we both knew she would do no such thing. As far as Kiara was concerned, there was nothing wrong with her; it was everyone else who had the problem. There would be no love for her half-sister, if that even proved to be true. Kiara would only set up a lunch date to start trouble with Skye or to fish for personal information. If the woman thought I’d allow Skye to have lunch with her alone, she was insane. I didn’t want Skye anywhere near her evil half-sister, but on the off-chance Skye chose to meet with her, I’d make sure I was there as a support system. Even though Skye was a strong, confident woman, she was no match for the treachery Kiara was capable of unleashing. Skye was a good person through and through. Her half-sister, on the other hand, was evil and rotten to the core. No amount of reaching out to connect with her was going to change her innate malicious nature.

I had what I came for and felt like I was one step closer to finding out the identity of Skye’s stalker. I doubted it was her father because I honestly didn’t believe he could pull something of this magnitude off. If what Kiara said was true, the man wouldn’t be able to get out from under his controlling wife’s thumb long enough to stalk my girlfriend. Also, if Kiara’s mother controlled the finances, Skye’s father wouldn’t have access to the kind of money it took to pull off a scheme like this. It takes a number of things to stalk the object of one’s obsession. You need to have money, connections, and the freedom to manipulate your own schedule. I was still inclined to believe that whoever was harassing my girlfriend was an enemy of mine, not hers. She just happened to get caught in the crosshairs of a very sick individual.