"h.e.l.lo, Gavin," she said in a curt tone.
"You lying b.i.t.c.h!" he exploded.
"I beg your f.u.c.king pardon!"
"You told me you foresaw a future where Randolph and I ended up together and happy."
"I did," she lied.
"Then explain to me why Randolph is back in town. He"s out of the closet, openly gay, and has asked his wife for a divorce."
"That"s what you wanted, isn"t it?"
"He"s planning a commitment ceremony with a twenty-one-year-old. A vegetarian, Rollerblading, beach b.u.m he met at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, while he was there trying to find himself." Gavin spat the words with cold contempt.
With Gavin being in such a foul mood, Misty determined that it wasn"t a good time to fire him. Attempting to calm him down, she soothed him with more lies.
"He"s only trying to make you jealous, Gavin. He"s given up so much for you, and he wants to find out if you feel he"s worth fighting for."
"How do I do that when he"s hosting a dinner party tonight to introduce his boy-lover to our friends at our favorite restaurant. The restaurant where we shared our first meal together. It"s so demeaning. Such a horrible slap in the face."
"You should crash the dinner party and declare your undying love for Randolph in front of everyone. That should do the trick," Misty said, laughing to herself as she imagined Gavin making a fool of himself. "Call me tonight and let me know how it went," she said sweetly, though she planned to ignore his calls and possibly move to another hotel under a fict.i.tious name. Though she could afford to buy an elaborate home, and pay cash for it, she hadn"t taken the time to look at any places, yet. At the moment, hotel living more than suited her needs.
Still, Gavin was behaving like a loose cannon and she didn"t want him stalking her and seeking revenge after he publicly disgraced himself. Misty had no choice but to find an alternative living situation.
CHAPTER 40.
In bed all day and into the night, Brick and Anya shared the most intimate details of their lives during the time they"d been apart. Anya sobbed as she recounted the horrifying specifics of Sergio"s execution-style murder, but she became deadly calm as she described her brutal method of revenge against Natalie.
"Do you think I"m a monster?" she asked Brick.
"No, I think we"re very much alike. We love hard and we"re trusting to a fault. When that trust is betrayed or if someone we love is harmed, we become ruthless killers."
Brick proceeded to tell her how Misty had deceived him into believing she"d changed; how she"d pretended to be a wiser and more loving version of her former self. But it had all been a guise. She was the same self-involved Misty that she"d always been. Maybe worse. He admitted that he still had a soft spot for Misty, but no longer had romantic feelings for her.
"Our relationship is sort of like sister and brother. She"s like a stubborn little sister who thinks she knows everything, but always manages to get herself in trouble," Brick said, shaking his head. "I agreed to be her bodyguard because I genuinely want to protect her. And the money she pays doesn"t hurt. My son"s school isn"t cheap."
Anya frowned. "What are you protecting her from? Seems to me that she"s a danger to others."
"She"s not dangerous. She"s egotistical and she uses people, but she"s not a killer," Brick said, defending Misty.
"Does that make her better than us?" Anya asked.
"No," he admitted. "We"re pa.s.sionate people. Maybe too pa.s.sionate, whereas Misty is pretty much heartless."
"I want you to stop working for her, Brick. There"s no future for us if Misty is in your life in any capacity. You don"t have to worry about money. I have plenty of it."
"You did enough for me already. You spent a lot of dough helping me track down the dude who hurt Misty. I have to tell you, it blew me away when I discovered you had slipped a chunk of money inside my bag before we went our separate ways. It touched my heart that you were still thinking about my well-being even though I broke your heart."
"My love is unconditional, Brick. I don"t give love in order to get something back."
"That"s a new concept for me."
"Well, get used to it. I can pay for your son"s school and I can take care of anything else you need."
Brick shook his head adamantly. "I can"t let you spend any more of the money your mother left for you."
"My mom"s money is in the bank, accruing interest. I have Sergio"s money. Millions in cash. I have more money than I could ever spend. Aside from taking care of Sergio"s incarcerated uncle and his house- keeper"s family, I plan to give a lot of the money away to various charities." Anya looked Brick in the eye. "It"s time to part ways with Misty. I don"t know her, but I can feel her negative energy, Brick."
"It"s a wrap, babe. You don"t have to worry about me working for Misty anymore. I"ll give her a call first thing tomorrow."
"There"s one more thing," Anya said. "I don"t want to stay in this apartment you shared with her. We need our own place."
"I"m not gonna argue that point. I have the day off Sat.u.r.day. Do you want to start looking then?"
"No, I can"t wait that long. Being in Misty"s s.p.a.ce gives me the creeps. I"ll find us a place tomorrow. Is there any particular area that you prefer? Any amenities in the apartment that you simply must have?" Anya said, going from a serious expression to a big smile.
Brick thought about it and said, "Instead of an apartment, I"d prefer a house in the suburbs. Nothing elaborate. A cozy place with a big back yard for my boy. My divorce is up in the air right now because I haven"t signed yet. Thomasina only allows me to see my son on her terms, but I plan on getting a lawyer to fight for my parental rights and get me joint custody in the divorce settlement."
"That sounds fair to me. Don"t put it off much longer, Brick. Hurry up and get a lawyer so we can move forward without any attachments to your ex-wife or her daughter."
With so much on his mind, Brick couldn"t get into the groove of working. It was finally ten o"clock, time for his morning break, and it hadn"t come soon enough. He needed to make a call to Misty, to let her know she needed to find a new bodyguard, but it was too early in the morning to listen to her b.i.t.c.h about him quitting. The time could also be spent talking to a divorce lawyer, but he needed a strong cup of coffee before he"d be in the mood to deal with a shady, money-hungry attorney. Deciding to wait until lunchtime to make the calls, Brick left the work site and walked over to a food truck that served the best coffee and egg and sausage sandwiches in the area.
After placing his order, he absently pulled the Philadelphia Daily News from the rack in front of the food truck and stared at the headlines in disbelief: Heir to Stallings Fortune Killed In Lover"s Spat. Beneath the headline was a photo of Gavin that appeared to be about ten years old. The subheading mentioned a gay love triangle. Brick quickly read the article, determining that Gavin had interrupted a celebratory dinner at a posh restaurant, yelling that Randolph Bingham was his lover and soul mate and that he was willing to fight for the man he loved. A twenty-one-year-old California man, a psych patient who had walked away from a mental health facility three months ago, became incensed and beat Stallings over the head with a silver candelabra, bludgeoning him to death before stunned diners.
Forgetting about the coffee and food he"d ordered, Brick walked away from the truck as if in a daze. He leaned against a telephone pole, pulled out his phone, and called Misty.
"Have you heard the news?" he asked her.
"What news?" she responded in a sleepy voice. "I haven"t gotten out of bed yet. I had an orgy in my room last night with some of my fans, and we partied until daybreak," she said in a boastful tone designed to make Brick jealous.
"I don"t care about your orgy. I called to tell you about your friend, Gavin."
"What about him?" she said irritably.
"He got killed last night. Some psychotic white boy from Cali beat him over the head and splattered his brains in a public restaurant."
"Whaaat? I saw that s.h.i.t when I first met Gavin, but I didn"t know who was gonna do the deed," Misty said with excitement in her voice.
"Misty, your boy got murked and you act like you want to be congratulated for foreseeing his death. Why didn"t you warn him?"
"I"m only one person, and I can"t save the world. I can"t change folks" destiny either," she said somberly. Then her mood suddenly became upbeat. "Oh, by the way, I"ve been meaning to tell you, we have a trip coming up. We"re going to j.a.pan! Isn"t that exciting? This time we"re going to stay over and enjoy the nightlife and do some shopping. Can you get a few days off from your job? You must have some personal time you can use."
Brick was stunned by Misty"s lack of concern over Gavin. "No, I can"t get any time off. In fact, I don"t want to work for you anymore. You"re gonna have to find yourself another bodyguard."
"Brick! You can"t leave me hanging. Who else is gonna look out for me the way you do?"
"I don"t know, Misty, and to be honest, I don"t give a f.u.c.k," Brick growled and hung up on her.
CHAPTER 41.
The only thing Misty would miss about Gavin was the efficient manner in which he dealt with her clients. She"d been on the phone with Mr. Oshiro, the rich, j.a.panese bigshot, for ten minutes and she was ready to tear her hair out from having to listen to his bad English. Gavin had picked a h.e.l.l of an inconvenient time to get himself murdered.
While Misty struggled through the conversation with Mr. Oshiro, Audrey, sensing that Misty was getting stressed, took it upon herself to ma.s.sage Misty"s scalp to relieve her tension.
Aggravated that Audrey"s fingers were in her hair while she was conducting important business, Misty swatted the nurse"s hands and shoved her away with her foot.
Instead of taking a hint and making herself useful in a less annoying way, Audrey approached Misty again, this time ma.s.saging and kissing the foot that Misty had kicked her with.
"Excuse me, Mr. Oshiro," Misty said politely into the phone. She glared at Audrey, s.n.a.t.c.hed her foot from the woman"s grasp, and said through clenched teeth, "Can you keep your G.o.dd.a.m.n hands off me for a few minutes? d.a.m.n! Get out of here and go sit in the other room and watch TV until I call you."
Audrey nodded contritely and left Misty"s bedroom. "Get back here and close my door!" Misty yelled before returning to her important phone call.
When Misty inquired about flying in style, Mr. Oshiro a.s.sured her that she"d be traveling in his new Gulfstream V, a high-performance aircraft. The staff that would be at her beck and call included a chef, a ma.s.seuse, and a manicurist.
"Okay, I"m sold," Misty said with t.i.tters of happy laughter. "Oh, one last thing, make sure you pay me in American money. I prefer bundles of one-hundred-dollar bills."
After sealing the deal with Mr. Oshiro, Misty felt like celebrating. But with David at work at the hospital, the bellhop holding up his post in the lobby, and with Brick being obnoxious and stingy with the d.i.c.k, Audrey was the only person available for Misty to share her moment with.
"Pour two gla.s.ses of wine, Audrey! We"re gonna celebrate!" Misty yelled from the bedroom.
Audrey didn"t ask what they were celebrating. Accustomed to doing whatever Misty ordered her to do, Audrey hustled to the kitchenette. The sound of clinking gla.s.sware announced that she was doing as she was told.
Her phone rang and Misty hoped Brick was calling to make up with her, to tell her that he wanted to go to j.a.pan with her. It was a d.a.m.n shame the way she couldn"t let go of him. It wasn"t exactly love that she felt; it was more like ownership. And his desire to want to cut ties with her felt like the worst kind of betrayal.
She glanced at the phone, and felt let down when she saw David"s name on the screen.
"Hey," she said dully.
"Misty, I"m in trouble," David blurted in a frantic tone of voice.
"What kind of trouble?" she asked, though she didn"t care. She had troubles of her own and couldn"t be bothered with other people"s problems. She sighed as she thought about Gavin no longer being available to handle the business end of her operation. And with Brick acting like a temperamental a.s.shole, she no longer had a bodyguard.
"What do you want me to do about your troubles?" she said in a gruff tone.
"Misty, your vision came true. I shot Neil."
"Who"s Neil?"
"My wife"s coworker; the man she was having an affair with."
"Why"d you shoot him? You got your wife back. You should have been satisfied with that."
"Tamia was afraid you were going to take Caitlynn from her, and so she kidnapped my daughter and ran to Neil. They were on their way to the airport, trying to leave the state and I couldn"t have that. I shot out two of his tires and then ran up on him and popped him in his temple. I would have shot Tamia, too, but my daughter was crying and clinging to her."
"I told you not to buy a gun."
"I didn"t; I borrowed one."
Misty groaned. "This is ridiculous. I wasn"t actually going to take the child. I was only f.u.c.king with her, so she"d start treating you with more respect."
"I thought you wanted to marry me and adopt my daughter?"
"h.e.l.l, no. I don"t want any bratty kids." Misty was thoroughly disgusted with David.
"What am I gonna do?" David asked miserably.
"Turn yourself in. What else can you do?"
"Can you help me get out of the country?" he asked desperately.
"That would make me an accessory. You"re on your own, David. All I can say is good luck." And good riddance with your nutty, unstable self.
"Don"t hang up!" he bellowed. "This is your fault! You ruined my life!"
"f.u.c.k you!" Misty shouted and ended the call.
Audrey burst into the bedroom, carrying two gla.s.ses of red wine. "What are we celebrating?" she asked cheerfully.
"We"re not celebrating anything. Get that f.u.c.king wine out of my face, you goofy, four-eyed b.i.t.c.h."
Audrey scurried away and Misty slammed her bedroom door. The day couldn"t get any worse. All her prophecies were coming true at the most inopportune time. It was a good thing she"d never touched the bellhop"s palm. Not wanting to know his future, she"d avoided palm-to-palm contact with him. At least I have one good d.i.c.k left, she thought, attempting to console herself.
Still, none of the men she"d been f.u.c.king with could take the place of Brick. Somehow she had to convince Brick to come back to her. Once she got him in her clutches again, she would literally drug him and lock him down with shackles until he got it through his thick skull that he belonged to her.
CHAPTER 42.