A Commitment to Love, Book 3 (12 page)

Vivian didn’t care.

Once Troy got out this last time, things heated up. He moved in with us because I wanted him out of South End and away from all its taunting dangers that always led to jail. Our roommate situation provided excellent opportunity for both of them to explore their feelings. They fell fast and hard. Giggling in each other’s arms in the afternoon. Cuddling all morning. Sex all night. It was hard not to vomit repeatedly.

Then I discovered Chase’s investigation on me and realized we were all siblings. They’d been having a difficult time adjusting. Vivian almost committed suicide. Troy couldn’t be in the same room as her without drooling, and then feeling sickened that he craved her so much.

“I think they have gotten over it in these recent months,” I said. “Troy definitely—”

“She sneaks into his room, when she thinks I’m sleeping. My security reports other things.”

My stomach rumbled. Vomit would come, if we continued down this road. “Maybe—”

“I won’t let this continue. You understand that?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t let that go on.”

I got ready to say something and paused for a second.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Jasmine?”

“What are
you
saying?”

“I’m saying that, if they don’t stop, then I’ll have to stop it myself. And we understand how I handle things.”

I made a note to get therapy as soon as I left London. There was no way I would be sane after this trip. “You better not be making any threats when they’re concerned.”

“I don’t make threats. I have my things. I don’t bother you all, unless my certain ideals are messed with. Chase is demon spawn. His slime touched you. Because of him, I’m revealed to all of you. I couldn’t let him be happy.”

I held my hand up again. “But, there’s no need to talk about Chase anymore. I doubt he’s happy now. What you needed is done. Let’s return to Troy and Vivian.”

My appetite left me. I’d been eager to try some of the things Benny had listed off. In the end, my stomach always overrode logic, but now Benny brought up my twin and best friend. Well, my twin and my sister. Enough was enough.

How many more people had to be ruined? No. Rock up, Jasmine. Rock the fuck up.

I pointed at him. “Don’t even think of hurting my brother or Vivian. Don’t even talk about it.”

“It’s incest.”

“It’s handled.”

“By who?”

Death. His death. It flashed in my mind. I had no idea who would slash his throat or pull the trigger or crush his skull, but I witnessed it in my head, and that was enough to stiffen and harden me.

I touched my chest. “I’ll take care of Troy and Vivian. You stay out of it.”

He seared me with a deadly gaze. “If you don’t, I will.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

My eyes watered. I was so goddamn tired of being close to crying. “Don’t you even think about killing either one of them.”

He frowned.

His name ripped out of my mouth like the sound an injured animal would make. “Benny!” Tears fell from my eyes. “Look at me.”

He’d already been staring, but I had no idea if I had the monster’s attention, that murderous beast that moved inside of him.

My next word was a ragged plea. “Benny. Don’t ever think that way.”

He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Never,” I whispered. “There has to be a point. There has to be a limit. You can’t kill everyone.”

“You sound like your mother.”

I hoped that was good. Knowing my mother, probably not.

“Troy and Vivian are your children,” I begged. “Death isn’t an option.”

“Then we need to handle this.”

“No!” I hit the air. “
I
will handle it. Me. No one else. Not Benny. Not … who the fuck else. I got this. What is the solution? What do you need to be okay?”

“Them moving on.”

“Good.” I extended my shaking fingers. “Then we agree that I’ll take care of this?”

“Yes.”

“Shake my hand, Benny.”

His serious expression faltered into the man that I remembered. The guy that all of my life I considered second to Christ. The man who’d saved me from horror.

When I was a kid, my mother’s boyfriend had snuck into my bedroom late at night and come close to raping me. Troy killed him. I called Benny. By then, I knew he fixed things. How? I had no idea. I just understood that if death lingered, Benny would come through and clean it up. Back then, he didn’t symbolize the king of pyschos. He was my hero.

That was the face that stared back at me.

“Okay, Jasmine.” He shook my hand. “I won’t hurt them. I’ll stand back and let you handle it.”

I exhaled, not even realizing that I’d held in my breath. “Thank you.”

“You’ve got three days.”

“What?”

“Back to the food. The best bagel is also on Brick Lane. I’m talking Jewish bagels.”

Three days or what?

In the back of my head, fear swayed from side to side, making me uneasy. I did my best to remain solid and keep up the strong Jasmine. “I don’t think you can identify certain bagels as Jewish.”

“Bagels are the poster-child for Jewish baking.”

“I’m going to need you to never say that.”

He chuckled again. “It’s the truth.”

And I pretended like it was the old days, when we argued about race and food. “Yet, it sounds like you’re a bigot. Jewish bagels is like saying the black fried chicken. People just don’t do that.”

“Yet, black people make the best fried chicken.”

“And this is where we end this conversation.” I forced a smile, but in the back of my head, my entire world imploded within itself.

Three days? What does he mean? This is too much. Rock up, Jasmine. Save Chase. Save Troy. Save Vivian. Save myself.

C
HAPTER
7

Chase

I
n
my limo, Sophia and I drove toward South End. My security team rode behind us.

I can’t believe you left me, Jasmine. Our love isn’t the worst. Damn you! Our love is strong. It’s powerful.

The Beatles said it best—all we really needed was love in the end. Not money or fame, power or sex with hundreds of women. I’d slept with enough to confirm it. I had three loyal women around me, and still I craved more.

Then Jasmine entered, and I yearned for nothing more than her gaze on me, her attention, her touch, the taste of her skin between my teeth, the lusty sound of her moan, the erotic scent of her cunt, dragging me down into an abyss of pleasure.

All we need is our love.

The Beatles changed the world, and they did it with inspirational messages, not singing about violence, guns, or sex. They represented the mood of the times. They breathed life into the idea of flower power, and all that other crap, that now would be useless against Benny.

Fuck. Maybe we need more. Benny won’t stop if I hand him a daisy. He’ll just cut my stomach up and stick the flower between my intestines. Maybe, Jasmine had a point. No. Never. She should’ve stayed.

My phone rang for the third time.

It was the same unpublished number. The only person who called me like that was Benny. Was he dialing to gloat? Or offer more threats? I didn’t know if I could trust Sophia, but I did believe her. Benny would kill me regardless of Jasmine and I being together or not. None of us could trust him to be loyal to this agreement.

“Who’s calling you?” Sophia asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should pick it up then.” She winked.

We sat in the back of her car, if the vehicle could even be called a car. It was a black Lincoln town car. It resembled a hearse. In my mind, we traveled toward a funeral. An old black man drove.

My phone rang again.

I picked it up. “Hello?”

“It’s about damn time,” Troy said.

I sighed. “I thought you were Benny.”

Troy’s voice held an edge. “Why? What’s going on with him? Sherman texted me something weird today.”

Lucy’s dead body flashed in my head. Hate dotted every one of my words. “You dropped the ball.”

“Speak English, man. What do you mean I dropped the ball?”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Answer my question first.”

“Is Jasmine with you?” I asked.

Silence hung on the line. Unable to hear the conversation, Sophia mouthed the words, “Who is it?”

I shook my head and turned the other way. Sophia claimed to be on my side, but Jasmine kept her at a distance—Troy, too—and that meant something. I had to watch my back. Any woman that could lay down with Benny, possessed her own dangers.

“Is she with you?” I asked again. “At least answer that for me.”

“Why the hell would Jasmine be with me?” Troy’s question interrupted the paranoia swirling around in my head. “I thought you told me you could keep her safe. What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “She left this morning.”

“Why?”

“I’ve answered your questions. Where are you?”

“I’m where I’m at.” Static coursed through the line. Troy’s voice came out shaky with each word. “So Jasmine isn’t with you? Where is she?”

“Gone, and you dropped the ball.”

“What the fuck is the ball? And why are you talking in code? Someone around?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“I can’t say.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have to explain myself.”

Silence came again. I could almost hear Troy thinking on the other side. That was how hard the man worked at solving puzzles. When I stood in front of him and explained a situation, he’d focus his eyes on a center point in the room and stand there deep in thought. A buzz of something would hum around him as if he burned huge amounts of energy when he spent time thinking.

Troy’s voice ended the silence. “You’re speaking in code because whoever is next to you knows me?”

I didn’t confirm or deny it. He let Lucy die. I owed him nothing.

“Who is it, Chase? Not Benny. You wouldn’t care about talking in code around him. Not Jazz. You don’t even know where she is. And on that, how the fuck did you lose my sister, man?”

I remained quiet. Any other time, I had a special love for this man. Not in a romantic way, but the sort of feelings that tragedy birthed. The sort that rose between two people that had spent several months escaping out of hell

He muttered the word, “Motherfucker.”

I rubbed my forehead. “Why did you call?”

“Wait a minute, Rich Boy. Is my sister safe?”

“That’s a tricky question.” That drunken euphoria continued to do its magic, massaging at my unease. Still, annoyance built at the back of my neck and made tense knots that couldn’t be rubbed away by soulful hands. I needed Jasmine.

Would Troy really help me get her back or get in the way? He fucking got Lucy killed.

“I have no idea where Jasmine is.” I glanced out of the limo’s window. “My understanding is that she’s probably with family.”

“Family?”

“Do you think most of her family is safe?” I glanced over my shoulder. Sophia eyed me. I could’ve sworn my flesh burned from the rage shooting off of her gaze.

“No.”

Interesting. Do you trust your mom?

Troy took his time with the next question. “So you don’t really want to say why Jasmine left in front of this person?”

“I don’t think it matters. You’ve lost your usefulness.”

“Watch your mouth, Chase. This is my sister. You told me you could keep her safe from Benny,” Troy snapped. “She’s not with you. That means either you fucked up, or Benny got her.”

“I didn’t fuck up. You did.”

“How? Wait a minute. Did you lose my sister to Benny?”

“Do you have any idea where he’s at?”

“Fuck! You lost her to him? That’s not good.”